ExRx.net

That was a pretty good read... To summarize... Progress is increasing something.. Reps or weight.. And predicted PR's won't always be set...

Looking forward to this weeks Deload... I had a long, stressful, tiring, and Fun Weekend.. It involved loading and unloading a 24' box van full of Production equipment (Lighting, sound, stage) for a Convention. Can't forget the setup and teardown of said equipment, and then running the equipment for 3 shows. Long days and short nights... Man am I tired...

On the upside, I worked this same show last year. When loading and unloading the equipment, much of it "Felt" Lighter this year.. To me that says I am getting stronger in a noticeable Real World way...

I am really dragging today at the office...

Cliff

I think for the next cycle I will only add 5# to my Working Max.

I am considered adding 10#, but since I have been having so much trouble adding weight to my Bench, I don't want to move to fast. I'd rather go Slow and keep progressing rather than stall out again.

As a Bonus, I will be 3+ repping my previous 1+ weight. This should give me a nice "DIRECT" comparison from cycle 1 to cycle 2.

Below will be my weights for the cycle starting 11/30/2009

RED=Actual BLUE=USE,Rounded
Week 1: 5x(81) 80, 5x(93.57) 95, 5+x(106.25) 105
Week 2: 3x(87.55) 90, 3x(100) 100, 3+x(112.5) 115
Week 3: 1x(93.75) 95, 1x(106.25) 105, 1+x(118.75) 120
Week 4: 5x(50) 50, 5x(62.5) 65, 5x(75) 75

I am questioning whether or not to continue my normal Sunday Routine with the Rep Bench workout at 95#. It hasn't seemed to hurt progress on this cycle, but I'm not sure.

My Biggest issue at this time with my workout and continuing with the WS4SB Template is that my normal Lower Body Day has been neglected for various reasons ranging from Work, Softball, family, and now Holidays. As mentioned before by Peter, I "workout to live", not "Live to Workout". I wonder what would happen if I added some Lower Body work to my routine and turn it into more of a Full body workout. I don't really think that is a good idea though. ARRGGHHH (Just voicing my own frustrations)

Cliff

I also miss quite a few workouts because of schedule conflicts. When this happens, why not just do the next workout in the rotation, rather than having a certain routine for a certain day of the week? Seems to work for me.

The 5/3/1 book recommends 5# per cycle for bench and military press, so I'm with you there.



Remember that week 3 is 5/3/1+, not 1/1/1+.

Well crap...

Since i typed it wrong the first cycle, I did it wrong.. I will fix it for this cycle.

I actually checked my public library the other day for the book to read, but sadly they don't have it.

Cliff

They won't. It's only available as an ebook, as far as I know. It's only $20, and well worth it.

I should probably do this..

I just keep telling myself that "next" week will get me back on schedule. It just isn't working though.

Cliff

I treat missed days as part of my deload. Often when it is the official deload week, I have missed some wo recently, so I don't do the full week as deload, then start into the next cycle.

If you all get a chance, I'd love comments on what I am planning to do this time around. It might be a bad idea, or it could be a good one, let me know what you think.

Cliff

Cliff, you don't say how frequently you plan to train but you suggest that it might not be regular. In this case I strongly support full body workouts. A squat and/or a deadlift followed by an UB push and pull Should always be your "go to" workout. I don't think 5/3/1 is a good idea for an infrequent or inconsistant workout schedule. You would be better to just do 3x5 to ensure that you get both sufficient volume and intensity to carry you through to the next workout. I think it will be hard to see progress on a 5/3/1 if it's too long between workouts.

You probably should add a body weight circuit as a daily routine that you can do at home. This will help sustain your conditioning between workouts.

Well, Crap.. All that rambling this morning and I left out the planned frequency of my workouts.

I see 2 days a week as doable right now, with the occasional 3rd day thrown in. This is in addition to my Softball night and helping my daughter practice her t-ball and such.

So, saying Tuesday and Thursday with the occasional Saturday or Sunday workout thrown in when possible, does my plan to use Wendler's 5/3/1 sound better?

Cliff

3 days a week sounds fine.

I agree, your 5/3/1 plan sounds fine. Great deal on the DL, too!

I know DOMS are not a good sign of a good workout, BUT.. For Me, they are a sign of working muscles that have been used different than normal.

That being said, My legs are still quite jellowy today after that light Leg/squat work. Truly sad, but it is what it is.

Cliff

Anytime you resume training after a layoff you're going to experience that. You body retains most of the strength that it had before but it's deconditioned. This means that it's not used to doing work so you are going to have pain even with loads that seem light. That's why you should always increase loads and volumes gradually. The important thing is to not get discouraged and stop training. Do something on a frequent basis. As a rule of thumb, try to get a squat, push and pull every 3 days at a minimum even if it's a light body weight exercise. That's why I put one of each in my daily warmup.