531 Day 14

Cycle 2 Week 1

1.  Deadlift
295x5; 340x5; 385x5 . . . 405x2; 425x2; 455x1; 475x1; 495x1 . . . 295x5; 295x5; 295x5

2.  BTN Press
115x5; 130x5; 140x8 . . . 115x5; 115x5; 115x5

3a.  Cable Row
120x12; 120x12; 120x12

3b.  Windmill
45x5; 45x5; 45x5

4a.  Scaption
2.5x8; 2.5x8

4b. Curls
30x12; 30x12

Notes
First lift at Balance Gym in DC.  Balance is a great gym. Strong lifters and quality equipment.  They have 3 platforms with squat racks, and then 4-5 separate Rogue monster racks.  Nice glute hams, bands/rollers/pvc everywhere, quality bars.  Essentially everything an average strength trainee would want or need.

I met up with my good friend, and also met some big dudes that were squatting.  Got me pumped so I went a little overboard with the joker sets.  Sore as fuck today.  I'm meeting 10-15 people at noon for team strongman events. One event is max 315 deadlifts for 10 minutes (ppl on the team rotate).  I am so incredibly fucked.

531 Day 13

Cycle 2 Week 1

5 Day

1. Pendlay
155x5; 175x5; 195x5 . . . 205x3; 225x3 . . . 155x3; 155x3; 155x3

2. Incline
145x5; 165x5; 185x5 . . . 145x8; 145x8; 145x8

3a. Split Squats
BWx6; BWx3

3b. Scaption
2.5x8; 2.5x8

Notes
Moved into DC apartment yesterday. Started the drive around 4:30 a.m. and got down to DC in 9 hours.  I was completely moved in by 3pm. Sweated my ass off.  I had an amazing summer in NH.  I spent a lot of it studying, but also had my fill of golf, working out, and hanging with friends.  I'm excited to be in DC, but will certainly miss things about the summer.

So I decided to run 531 a second time but I'm going to combine the pendlay and overhead day.  So it will be: 1) Pendlay/Overhead, 2) Incline, 3) Deadlift.

I did the above in my apartment gym. Ceiling wasn't high enough for overheads.  The apartment gym is small, but nice for what it is. It has a half rack with about 400 lbs, dumbbells, and a solid cable crossover type setup. I can get a good workout there in a pinch.  Most of the time however, I'll just walk 2 blocks to Balance Gym and do my normal lifts.  I'll stop by tonight to sign up.

Skipped the incline jokers.  No spotter and I was using a rigged up DB bench for inclines. I use lower rep ranges for pendlay back offs because it just feels right.

Peak Day

Peak Day

1.  Incline

185x3; 185x3; 225x2; 245x1; 265x0

2. Deadlift

315x3; 365x1; 405x1 . . . . stopped workout

---------------------------------------------------

3.  Deadlift

315x3; 315x3

4a. RDL

135x12; 135x12; 135x12

4b. Incline

135x8; 135x8; 135x8

5. Facepulls

70x10; 70x10; 70x10

6.  Seated Strict Curl (Palm Out)

30x8; 30x8; 30x8

Notes

What a shitty "peak."  Ordinarily I'm pretty good at executing mini peaks.  Its basically the only thing I do since life has forced me into short run routines for the past year. In short, I tried to fit too much into a short period.  I started this 5/3/1 cycle on the 3rd or 4th of this month, finished it in 18 days, and also managed a total of 19 workouts in that time.  On top of that I played golf basically everyday. My body is sore and achy.  I played 18 holes today, and going to the gym I kind of knew what was coming.  Warming up I felt tired and weak.

I missed an incline lift, and then during deadlifts I called everything off.  I could tell I was heading down a path of self-destruction.  I've forced shit so many times in the gym I really have nothing left to prove to myself.  My hips feel awful, blah blah blah.  Anyways, in hindsight, this was still a successful run. I hit deadlift, pendlay, and press PR's. I need to rest.

Extra Workout 7

Scap emphasis

1. Scaption
1x10; 1x10; 1x10

2. Pushups
7; 7; 7

3.  BTN Jerk
135x2; 135x2; 135x2

4. Overhead Shrug
95x8; 95x8; 95x8

5a. DB Curl
40x8; 40x8

5b. CG Incline
135x8; 135x8

Notes
Really hammering the scap stuff and I'm seeing great improvements.  These are simple little workouts, but I really like working on specific things on days separate from the big movements.  All week long my rear delts have been insanely sore.  To be honest, I can't ever remember my rear delts being sore, and I wasn't sure what was causing it.

They immediately started burning on the scaption and overhead shrugs tonight. Ding ding ding.  Thats whats been doing it.  I've found that actually the one pound dumbbells are more effective for me during the scaption shrugs.  It just is what it is.  I can feel a great contraction and I think all that upper back shit is starting to move a little better.  I tested the BTN jerks to see what happen with my neck position.  Its pretty crazy, the second I begin to overhead press, my neck juts forward like an ostrich.

When I force my neck to stay neutral and packed, all this weird ass shit moves around in my low scapula and ribs. It kind of feels good in a way.  I find it fascinating that such a minor change in head position really does impact stuff all the way down my spine.  Cool shit.

Edit: pushups also feel completely different in the upper back area.  A couple of days ago Matt said I wasn't getting as much crazy scapular winging like I was before.  Still a work in progress.

Extra Workout 6

Recovery and Conditioning

1. KB Swing
53x15; 53x15; 53x15

2. Facepull
65x40

3. Tire flips
6; 6; 6; 6

4. Backwards sled drag
4 trips x 70 yards

Notes
Fun day. Squeezed in an AM workout this morning, then met some old coworkers for lunch.After lunch I played 18 holes, then came back to the gym for a quick conditioning session.

Legs and lungs were out of commission in short order. Granted, I carried my clubs for 6 miles today, but Ive definitely lost conditioning capacity. Im not too worried about. Right now Im just doing a couple intro sessions before I get to my apartment in DC. Then Ill be back to a normal setup of 2x a week sled pushes and stuff like that.

Extra Workout 5

Scap Emphasis

1a.  Scaption w/ Shrug
1x8; 1x8; 1x8

1b.  3 Month Position Pullover
40x6; 40x6; 40x6

1c.  Overhead Shrug
Barx8; Barx8; Barx8

2a. DB Curl
40x8; 40x8; 40x8

2b.  Hypers
10; 10; 10

2c.  Standing DB Press
25x8; 25x8; 25x8

531 Day 12

Pendlay

1. Pendlay Row (531) (Vids)
165x5; 190x3; 215x7 (PR) . . . 165x2; 165x2; 165x2

2.  Bulgarian Split Squat
BWx8; 53x5; 53x5

3.  DB Row
90x5; 95x5; 100x5

4a.  Tall Kneeling Cable Raise
85x6; 75x6

4b. Scaption
3x8; 3x8; 3x8

5a. Hypers
20; 20

5b.  Roman Chair Leg Raise
16; 16

Notes
Pendlay's felt crisp.  Omitted any joker sets because this is the last day of the mini-cycle, and I may go for a deadlift rep PR on Friday night.

As the videos show, I try to setup my Pendlay in the same manner as my deadlift, except I don't extend my knees/drop my hips to get into position for a pull from the floor.  I've found this approach makes Pendlay's a perfect assistance exercise for deadlifts.  My posterior is completely loaded.  Really gets the hamstrings fatigued.   A couple of months ago, I noted that I thought Pendlay's done like this + RDL's is basically the perfect replacement for deadlifts.  Its a nice combo to have in my toolbox for a time when I don't want to pull heavy from the floor every week.

I'd rate my Pendlay's as fairly strict.  I have a little more bounce than I was expecting, but not too bad.  I am obviously still struggling with upper back/neck posture.  Even when I think I am "packing" my neck, it is actually hyper extended.  Upper back starts to round as I get fatigued. As the sets go on, it gets worse.   I'm aware of it and trying to address this.  Its basically the final piece of spine neutrality that I need to master.

531 Day 11

Incline

1.  Incline Press (531)
165x5; 185x3; 205x5 . . . 225x3; 250x2 . . . 165x8; 165x8; 165x8

2a.  Cable Row
150x10; 150x10; 15x10

2b. Scaption
3x8; 3x8; 3x8

2c. Pushup
5; 5; 5

3a. Facepulls
80x20; 80x20

3b.  Windmills
53x3; 53x3

3c.  Curls
40x6; 40x6

Notes
Meh session.  Felt tired and underfed. My close grip incline PR is 260x2 and 275x1. Not sure if I'll be able to beat this on regular incline in a few days or not.  Also, I think my regular incline grip is borderline close grip anyways.

531 Day 9 and Day 10

Deadlift and BTN Press

1.  Deadlift
335x5; 385x3; 425x10 (PR)

2.  BTN Press
125x5; 140x3; 160x3 (PR) . . . 125x3; 125x3

3.  Cable Row
120x8; 120x8; 120x8

Notes
Sweet deadlift PR.  High rep, but I feel it is legit.  I'm still re-building my confidence, so this was important.  Felt good to have lots of the lifting crowd compliment afterwords.  Ommitted the extra sets because there was no point.

I'll get vids up on the other sets tomorrow or Sunday.  Exhausted right now.

Update: forget to mention I combined two days.  I wanted to get done with the three week cycle ahead of time, rest a couple days, and then maybe try to hit some more PR's before I move.

Update 2 for videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyC1yHz_eEE&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqpfszvXUGI&feature=youtu.be

Extra Workout 4

Scap Emphasis

1.  Scaption w/ Shrug
3x8; 3x8; 3x8; 3x8; 3x8

2.  Overhead Shrug
Barx8; Barx8; Barx8

3. Standing One Arm DB Press
25x6; 20x6

Notes
I basically shrug my traps and jut my head forward on all overhead movements.  I've been doing a bunch of neck mobilities, and I actually finally figured out what a "neutral packed neck" feels like (I think). Before, I was always just hyperextending my neck back.  I think this is why I could never hold the packed position during RDL's.  Anyways, I'm already seeing improvement in overhead movement.  I can actually overhead shrug now.  I'm also utilizing standing DB Press for additional scap work per this Lance Goyke article that Gabe directed me towards.

531 Day 8

Pendlay (Week 2)

1.  Scaption w/ Shrug
5x8; 5x8; 3x8; BWx8

2. Pendlay Row
160x3; 185x3; 205x8 (PR) . . . 225x3; 245x3 (PR) . . . 160x3; 160x3; 160x3

3.  Bulgarian Split Squat
BWx8; BWx8; BWx8

4.  DB Row
90x5; 90x5; 75x5

5a.  Tall Kneeling Cable Raise
70x6; 50x6

5b.  Scaption w/ Shrug (Round 2)
3x8; BWx8

6a.  Hypers
18; 18

6b. Roman Chair Leg Raise
15; 15

Notes
Intensity was off the chain.  Blasted through this in 60 minutes, including warmup.  Solid Pendlay PR's.  Didn't need the triple, but was just in the zone.

Bulgarian stability improves each session. Still lose my balance about one time per set.

Added anti rotation core exercise.

Scaption feels really unique and gets my scaps moving in a way I haven't felt before.  No idea what that means, other than maybe I've been cruising along not really moving shit the way its supposed. Crazy how fast I fatigue on them.  Not sure what drops out, maybe serratus?  Anyways, gonna hit this exercise frequently.

531 Day 7

Incline (Week 2)

1. BB Incline
155x3; 185x3; 205x5 . . . 225x2; 245x1; 255x1 . . .  155x8; 155x8; 155x8

2a.  Cable Row
130x12; 130x12; 130x12

2b.  Pushups
5; 5; 5

3a.  Facepulls
70x20; 7x20

3b.  Windmills
53x5; 53x5

Notes
Press felt ok.  Matt said I was shifting to the right side for stability.  *Shrug* Another day, another stability/movement issue.  I'm going to add in a 4 week anti-rotation movement.

My pushups suck balls.  I never mastered them.  My scaps just don't completely function right.  I did like 10-15 more max effort sets having Matt watch.  Per his suggestion, bottoms up start definitely improves some of the issues, but I still want to be able to do this from the top. I have  a lot of work to do with some stuff Gabe suggested for protraction.

 I really wish I could just fucking squat and do all this shit without a million issues.  I would just say "fuck it," but I'm committed to not fucking up my joints.  So whatever.  I've tried to balance everything the best I can.  Two steps forward, one step back.

Extra Workout 3

1a.  53lb KB Swing
16; 16; 16

1b.  3 Month Position Pullover
50x8; 50x8; 50x8

2.  50 yard Waiter Walk w/ 53lb KB
3 trips down and back

Notes
Nice little Sunday session.  I haven't done waiter walks for 2 months or so.  They became a staple for me over the past couple years.  I was really impressed with the stability I felt today considering I haven't done them. BTN presses + new thoracic mobility work = rock solid overhead stability.

Extra Workout 2

1a. RDL's
135x10; 135x10

1b. 75 degree high incline
45x12; 45x12

2a.  Close grip pull down
120x15; 120x15

2b.  Dips (new form)
8; 8

3a.  Hypers
17; 17

3b. Suitcase Deadlift
135x2; 135x2

3c.  Curls
40x8; 40x8

Notes
Quickly little pump session before grilling some ribeyes at Matt's.  I'm playing with my bodyweight press form (pushups and dips).  Tired, I'll explain later.

531 Day 6

Deadlift

1.  Conventional deadlift
315x3; 365x3; 405x5 . . . 425x1 . . . 315x3; 315x3

2. Bulgarian Split Squat
BWx8; BWx8

3.  Decline Leg Drop
6; 6

Notes
Kept this session very moderate because the Club Championship is tomorrow.  I'm the 7th seed, so I don't want to be all sore.  Deads felt fine.  I'm not going to do balls to the wall rep PR's on deadlifts at this point.  That shit can be destructive to my body.  It feels good to do nice clean and crisp reps right now.

Bulgarians... blah.  Unstable, falling all over the place.  A little better than last time.  Gonna keep rolling with bodyweight until I'm popping up and down with precision.

531 Day 5

Press

1.  BTN Press

115x5; 135x5; 150x7 (PR). . . 155x1; 165x1. . . 115x6; 115x6; 115x6

2a.  Cable Row

120x10; 120x10; 120x10

2b.  Pushups

15; 15; 15

3a.  Curls

75x9; 75x9

3b.  Side Plank

2x max hold per side

Notes

Forgot that "531" means sets of 5 the first week, and sets of 3 the second week.  Haha, oops. Got a solid rep PR.  I'll pay attention to the reps next time.

Much preferred the  cable rows over the chins after this session.  Close grip rows feel awesome on my shoulders and scapula.  Therapeutic almost.  I'm going to keep them in replace of the chins.  I don't like dropping chins, but I will go back to them eventually.

531 Day 4

Pendlay

1.  Pendlay Row
145x5; 165x5; 185x12 (PR). . . 205x3. . . 145x3; 145x3; 145x3

2.  Bulgarian Split Squat
BWx5; 53x4; 53x4

3.  DB Row
85x5; 85x5

4a.  Hypers
15; 15

4b.  Roman Chair Leg Raise
15; 15

Notes
Intentionally held back on the pendlays.  I've been lifting a lot lately.  Even so, reps felt crisp.  Last Pendlay session was about 3 weeks ago.  I don't feel like  I lost anything.  I'm happy I've prioritized this movement.  Feels good and strong.  Looking forward to a low rep PR in the next few weeks.

I find it challenging to maintain stability during split squats right now. I get a huge stretch off these and my knee feels fine as long as my front shin stays upright.  It feels good to be doing some unilateral leg work pain free.

531 Day 3

Incline

1.  Incline Press
145x5; 165x5; 185x10. . . 205x3; 225x3. . . 145x8; 145x8; 145x8

2a. Chins
5; 5

2b. Pushups
10; 10

3a.  Facepulls
70x15; 70x15

3b. BB Curls
70x8; 70x8

4. Windmills
3; 3

Notes
Cot damn that was alot of pressing.  I'm either going to have to reduce this press volume or drop chins.  My shoulders were screaming as soon as I hung from the bar.  I've been down this road before.  Heavy press volume + chins = fucked up shoulders.  Now, my chin form is damn near perfect.  Complete dead hang, straight pull up, bar to chest, elbows back, scaps depressed. So I don't think its a form issue.  It just irritates my rotators and shit.

I don't want to suck at chins, but part of me just wants to do high rep cable rows and stuff instead.  Those always feel great.

Extra Workout 1

1a.  Hypers
15; 15; 15; 15

1b.  Decline Leg Raises
6; 6; 6; 6

1c.  Rear Delt Fly
10x15; 10x15; 10x10; 10x10

Notes
I'm going to denote my extra workouts separately from the 531 stuff.  Basically, these are just little sessions to strengthen abs/lower back and pump some areas I need additional work on.  Nothing strenuous, just high volume stuff to get the blood flowing. I really like low intensity bodyweight stuff for recovery.

531 Day 2

Week 1 Day 2

1.  Deadlift
290x5; 335x5; 380x5 (belt)
joker sets skipped
290x3; 290x3 (first set last)

2.  Elevated Incline Forward Lunge
BWx8; BWx8; BWx8

2b.  Bulgarian Split Squat
BWx3; BWx3; BWx3

3a.  Hypers
BWx15; BWx15

3b. Windmills
3; 3

Notes
This was Saturday.  I felt beat up and weak.  I'm still catching up on sleep.  Also, I found the BTN presses completely destroyed me the day before.  My quads and core just felt really weak.  I guess its a good thing I'm bracing hard.

Wore the belt because my lower back is "tweaked." This has never happened to me and its really annoying.  I strained something during the 500lb pull like 2 weeks ago.  Anyways, its not bad, but I'm not messing around with it.  The belt made me feel safe and prevents the lower back from rounding.  I'm going to wear it if it makes me feel better on heavier stuff.  If I don't need it, I won't use it.

This day was before I worked out all my assistance.  Next week will look a little different.

531 Day 1

Week 1  Day 1

1.  BTN Press
110x5; 125x5; 135x8 (PR)
145x3; 150x1 (joker sets)
110x8; 110x8; 110x8 (first set last)

2a. Chins
5; 5

2b. Pushups
15; 15

3a.  Facepulls
60x15; 60x15

3b.  BB Curls
65x8; 65x8

Notes
This was last Friday and my first 531 day.  I really liked the rep scheme.  I rested for about 5-7 minutes in between the joker sets and then 3 down sets.  Eventually, I'd like to finish this cycle hitting 5 down sets.  Shoulders gonna get jaaaacked.

531 Intro

A few weeks back I bought Jim Wendler's new book, Beyond 531.  I immediately loved it, but was already committed to a 6 week mini cycle from Strength Life Legacy.  I used the Strong-15 short timer to hit a 500 lb no belt pull and 185lb behind the neck press.   I think I programmed for 455 and 175, so it definitely worked.  Its a nice short run routine to have in my toolbox.  With that said, the short-timer is exactly as Paul Carter described - a routine to run for a short time.  Its a strength peaking routine.  It doesn't really "build strength" so to speak.   But it was the right decision at the time. I had something semi-structured and hit some nice weights before the bar exam.

I move to DC on August 27th. So now, I'm in my usual position of having a short time to try to make some gainzzz before I move somewhere.  Part of me just wanted to say fuck it and play things by ear, but whatever. I'm going to do a 4 week intro run of a new 531 variation.  If I like it, I'll keep running it when I get to DC.  I can treat the move-in week as a deload if need be.  Chances are however, I can just keep on going with the routine even if I'm a couple days behind because...

I have great news for Deadlifts and Sandies:

I signed an apartment lease that is one block away from the gym. Literally a block.  It should be pretty easy to maintain a schedule even with the new job.

At the same time I need to be honest with myself and realize I might not be doing a damn thing at all for a while.  As soon as I get back on insurance I'll need to get my knee checked out.  I'm fairly confident I'll need surgery. If that is the case, I'm just going to do it as soon as possible.  My training has been severley compromised without squatting.  It hurts my fucking soul not to squat.  Its not like I don't want to try either.  My knee just easily is inflamed and still feels unstable as shit just in everyday life.  If I only have a partial tear, I'm not going to make it worse by squatting.  I'm getting creative and finding ways to progress in the gym anyways.

Without further adieu, here is my split.  The only thing I may change is some of the assistance:

Day 1

1.  BTN Press.  5/3/1 + joker + first set last (sets of 8)
2a.  Chins.  3 sets
2b.  Pushups. 3 sets
3a.  Facepulls.  3 sets, high reps
3b.  BB Curls 3 sets
4.  Side Plank. 2 sets per side

Day 2

1.  Deadlift.  5/3/1 + jokers (singles only) + first set last (triples)
2.  Stationary lunge - forward foot incline and elevated.  3 sets.
3a.  Leg drops. 3 sets.
3b.  3 Month Position pullover.  3 sets

Day 3

1.  BB Incline.  5/3/1 + jokers + first set last (sets of 8)
Same assistance as Day 1, but windmills instead of the plank

Day 4

1.  Pendlay Row.  5/3/1  + jokers + first set last (triples)
2.  Bulgarian Split Squat (3 sets)
3.  DB Row  (3 sets)
4a.  Hypers (2 sets high reps)
4b.  Hanging knee raises  (2 sets high reps)

Quick explanation

This is a little unconventional but I'm running with it.  I know my body and this is what I care about right now.  It seems like a lot of little assistance work, but thats all gravy and basically very low impact stuff.  Almost 50% of my assistance is bodyweight stuff.  The new 5/3/1 setup is significantly higher volume as compared to former 5/3/1 variations.  Its essentially 200% more work in the main lift.  That is where all the stimulus is coming from.

As such, my assistance work is basically centered around light stuff to keep me mobile and to address some of my problem areas.  The single leg work will all be bodyweight for a while, because thats all I need.  I found out I can do both of these movements without knee pain.  I think because my shin remains completely verticle.

Pendlays are weird for a main lift, but I don't care.  Its a legit heavy barbell exercise.  If 4 days are too much, I'll just combine days 3-4 and make move the pendlay rep scheme to assistance.

Beyond this, I'll do small workouts here and there for additional core work and the like.  Although I don't have any dedicated conditioning, I'm playing golf almost everyday now that I'm done with the exam.  Obviously this isn't the same intensity as what I've generally done in the past, but its good enough for a short period.  I'll get back to more intense conditioning in DC.

Days 48 and 49

Day 48

Last Sunday

Don't remember what I did. Basically just did some controlled reps with 135 on RDL, Bent Row, and Incline.

Day 49

Cleans
185x5

Deadlift
315x3; 315x3

Incline
185x5; 185x5; 135x8

Chins
5; 5; 5

Facepulls and Curls

Notes
This was last night.  I finally feel incredibly weak and soft after a summer of reduced lifting.  It wasn't the frequency so much as the past 2 weeks I barely lifted.  I think 2x a week is fine, but I've found that as soon as you stop, things go downhill pretty quickly.  Anyways, I plan to do a couple more workouts like this to get ready for a new routine on Monday.

Day 47

Deadlift

315x3; 365x2; 405x2; 455x1; 495x1 (no belt PR)

BTN Press
135x3; 145x1; 155x1; 155x1; 165x1; 185x1 (PR)

Notes
This is a session from about 10 days ago. I was balls deep in bar exam studying, and went in basically tripping on no sleep.  This was an important day for me psychologically, because I spent most of the summer on a very reduced training schedule.

This was a mini training peak, but it gave me something to focus my training on for a 6 week period while I was studying and shit. My best rep pulling is 495x5, which for whatever reason I've done 4-5 times.  Nonetheless, pulling this one time was very important to me.  I've never pulled 500 pound without a belt. Moreover, I did it while employing the neutral position I've been working on over and over and over again.

For the sake of posterity, I need to note that I was severely convulsing on the pulls from 405 up to 495.  Matt was at the gym, and literally lol'ing in my face because my entire body was spasming during the pulls.  I knew why it was happening at the time: extreme neural fatigue.  Now, I've seen plenty of dudes talk about how CNS fatigue doesn't exist, yadda yadda yadda.  Well suck my cock, because it does.  Call it whatever you want, but I saw it manifest clear as day in real life. Sleep was lacking, I had too many stimulants for days, and I had been engaged in intense mental work from morning to night nonstop.  Then I go into the gym and body is literally spasming/bucking from deadlifts.  I thought it was neat to see it all play out so vividly in the gym.