Since I gave up on my last logging effort...

[AlphaBrass01]

Happy Labor Day...and by labor, I mean squats.

Warmup Squats: 5x155; 5x190; 3x230
Work Squats: 3x270; 3x310; 7x345
Assistance Squats: 5x10x190
Standing One Leg Hamstring Curls: 3x10x80; 2x10x85
Elliptical: 2.54 miles in 10 minutes

...and now to let the remainder of the long weekend waste away...

[AlphaBrass01]

Right - I just meant that I definitely wasn't going to even think of making changes until the end of one. I agree - I don't like to make changes until I feel they're necessary to continue progressing.

[farmerson12]

No kidding! I figure I'm going to see how it plays out for awhile and mess with the assistance stuff as time goes along. I want to stick with what I'm doing now for at least one wave and then possibly re-evaluate.

Heck I would even stay with your structure for 2 more cycles(2 months). Either way wont hurt but if it aint broke then dont fix it.

[AlphaBrass01]

No kidding! I figure I'm going to see how it plays out for awhile and mess with the assistance stuff as time goes along. I want to stick with what I'm doing now for at least one wave and then possibly re-evaluate.

[farmerson12]

Dude thats a huge coincidence that we are both on the same template now. Actually Im doing more of a periodization style, after reading Dave Tate's Bible, but Im back on 5/3/1 after a year. I was told to try Defranco's template but I fit more with 5/3/1. About your first prediciment: The beauty of 5/3/1 is its versatility. It can be used for a bodybuilder, powerlifter, football player, basketball, etc. Once you hit your first lift of the workout(deadlift, bench, military, squat), its all up to you after. Ive seen some guys hit their arms 2x a week and some not do a single curl or extension. If you want to add in a calf or arm excercise in one of your workouts, go for it. For me, I leave that decision at the end of my workout. If I feel like my arms took a beating or my calves were stimulated enough, then I wont bother. If not, then Ill add in an excercise. Just experiment and see what works for you.

[AlphaBrass01]

So, here are some thoughts on the first week of this template. I know I can't really speak too much to effectiveness or anything like that because, well, it's only been a week, but I still have some initial observations.

First, one thing I was worried about was the fact that i'm losing direct arm and calf work. I know that in the long run, this in't a big deal, especially if you're focusing on strength anyway, but we all have our hangups. I'm glad to say that in this week, I haven't seen anything negative from this. I have definitely felt my biceps and triceps working through the exercises I'm including, and my calves are still being worked with the cardio stuff I do. The stepmill hits them especially well.

Second, I was wondering how so the assistance work I've chosen would leave me. The truth is that it left me VERY sore. It's pretty interesting. The way these workouts have left me feeling confirms my suspicion that I had just overcomplicated what I was doing before. I'm doing fewer sets, and a much simpler and smaller set of lifts, but I feel like I'm getting a better training session in anyway. Maybe my body just reacts better to this type of thing. We'll see how it goes as I settle into the program a bit further.

Regarding individual sessions, they are shorter, but feel much more intense during the workout. I feel completely beat afterwards, but not mentally destroyed.

I really like the boring but big assistance work right now. I've gotten a couple of weird looks and questions when people see me doing so many sets of one exercise, but it doesn't bother me. I get weird looks just for deadlifting at all sometimes.

I'm also feeling that certain muscle groups (especially my back and shoulders) are getting hit from different angles.

Overall, I'm happy with this week and excited to see what happens as this goes on.

[AlphaBrass01]

So, Saturdays will definitely be my b**** days on this setup. They involve two exercises I've never really focused much on. When I started working out, I sucked at pullups, and never really incorporated them, and I've always just done other things for shoulders.

The good thing is that I definitely feel the military presses in my traps as well as the rest of my shoulder area, and I feel the pullups in my bis a lot more than I expected.

Warmup Military: 5x45; 5x60; 3x70
Work Military: 5x80; 5x90; 10x100
Assistance Military: 5x10x60
Bodyweight Wide Grip Pullups (to failure): 16; 13; 11; 11; 11
Elliptical: 2.56 miles in 10 minutes

[AlphaBrass01]

Stepmill: 55 stories in 10 minutes
Arc Trainer: 0.69 miles in 10 minutes
Free Motion Weighted Crunch: 15x145; 15x145; 15x150; 15x150
Elliptical: 2.47 miles in 10 minutes
Stationary Bike: 7.55 miles in 20 minutes

I will say that I don't feel as completely beat directly after my workouts as usual, but I sure as heck feel it more the next day.

[AlphaBrass01]

So, GHRs were NOT going to happen after deadlifts today. I did some bodyweight back raises, instead, which still got my glutes going, in a more limited capacity, and REALLY exhausted my erector muscles - pretty tiring session.

Warmup Deads: 5x145; 5x180; 3x220
Work Deads: 5x235; 5x275; 10x310
Assistance Deads: 5x10x180
Bodyweight Back Raises (to failure): 26; 22; 21; 19; 19
Elliptical: 2.58 miles in 10 minutes

[AlphaBrass01]

Endurance and heavy abs today - I know it's a lot, but like I've said, it leaves me feeling good, and actually feels like it loosens up my legs a bit.


Stepmill: 55 stories in 10 minutes
Arc Trainer: 0.69 miles in 10 minutes
Free Motion Weighted Crunch: 15x145; 15x145; 15x150; 15x150
Elliptical: 2.45 miles in 10 minutes
Stationary Bike: 7.57 miles in 20 minutes

[AlphaBrass01]

So, it felt strange to bench reps at such a low weight, but I felt it. It didn't push me quite as much as squats did yesterday; I was probably a bit more conservative on my 1MR estimate for this.

I think I hit my right side harder with the rows. I need to concentrate on the form with my left side - might have gotten a little loose with it because my left hand grip isn't quite as strong and wasn't as steady.

Warmup Bench: 5x95; 5x120; 3x145
Work Bench: 5x160; 5x185; 9x210
Assist Bench: 5x10x120
One Arm Dumbbell Row: 5x10x45
Elliptical: 2.49 miles in 10 minutes

I can feel my legs a lot from yesterday - good stuff. I can also feel my face from my horn practice session last night - killed my embouchure. It's interesting how much playing and lifting equate when I think about it.

[AlphaBrass01]

Copied from my BB.com log

Just a little bit more information to start out. I mentioned that I'm pretty OCD, which has been a part of what has helped me get to where I am from where I was. It has been a part of how I approach things for a long time, and interestingly enough, helped a lot with my musical development (I've played [French] horn for years, and play freelance whenever possible, hence my user name and the title of the thread) as well as my diet and training. I find that the way I practice horn has fed naturally into the way I train. The similarities surprise me, but really make sense.

Well, I figured I should start this thing with a bang, so squats it was this morning.


Warmup Squats: 5x155; 5x190; 3x230
Work Squats: 5x250; 5x290; 9x325
Assistance Squats: 5x10x190
Standing One Leg Hamstring Curls: 5x10x80
Elliptical: 2.52 miles in 10 minutes


I expect some of my assistance stuff to be pretty low. I'm trying to use lifts or variations of lifts that I don't have a lot of experience with. I've never used this particular ham machine. I've never done much one armed row stuff. I've shied away from pullups in the past. Also, I'm thinking GHRs will happen, and I've NEVER done one before, so this whole thing will be pretty new to me.

This day definitely accomplished one thing I was after. I wanted to cut the time of my workouts down. Over-complicating my routine, as I have a tendency to do, had added too much time to everything, and I as sure that I had reached a point of diminishing returns. This simplified things and I got out of the gym much more quickly and still felt pretty much dead when I left. Good deal.

[AlphaBrass01]

I decided to double my log on the new 5-3-1 template on BB.com.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=127155543

If you're a member there, feel free to visit and comment. I'm going to see how much of a pain it is to keep both logs going. We will see. Someday, I'll have to get some pictures or something.

[AlphaBrass01]

So, same deal as last week with deadlifts - closer, though. I think starting a new program will at least give me a shot to reset.

Deadlift: 8x135; 6x185; 6x225; 5x275; 3x315; 1x365; 2 attempts at 405...FAILED; 1x365; 3x315; 6x225
Alternating Standing Dumbbell Hammer Curl: 10x40; 10x40; 10x45; 10x45
Upright Row: 10x95; 10x105; 10x105; 10x105
Standing Overhead Dumbbell Tricep Extension: 6x75; 6x75; 6x75; 6x75
Standing Calf Press: 20x285; 20x285; 20x300; 20x300
Elliptical: 2.52 miles in 10 minutes

I'm ready to start with 5-3-1 on Monday. It will definitely be different. I'm looking at using the "boring but big" template suggested in Wendler's e-book. That means I won't be including any direct arm work...interesting change. Also, I'll be using some exercises that I haven't really done much at all - standing one-legged leg curls, one-armed dumbbell rows, pulls/chins, and back raises (since I'm a little nervous about trying glute-ham raises). Also, I've only done limited work with standing overhead presses, so that core lift will be starting REALLY low. I'm looking forward to seeing how this works.

I also feel that I've been putting a little bit too much in my workouts lately, and with more weight, they've been getting longer - almost a little bit too long for my taste. I think this program will mediate that a bit.

Anyway, I'm beat to crap after this week - a marathon of a week at work and I've been killing myself at the gym...basically trying to max out the last week of WS4SB before moving to 5-3-1.

[AlphaBrass01]

Stepmill: 55 stories in 10 minutes
Arc Trainer: 0.69 miles in 10 minutes
Free Motion Weighted Crunch: 15x145; 15x145; 15x150; 15x150
Elliptical: 2.39 miles in 10 minutes
Stationary Bike: 7.57 miles in 20 minutes

This week has been a marathon. I've been essentially working two positions at work since someone was terminated last week, and last night was the first night I've been able to leave the office before 8:00.