531 Day 19

Cycle 2 Week 3

1. Incline
175x5; 195x3; 225x7 (PR) . . . 250x1; 275x1 . . . 185x5; 185x5

2a.  Hip Thrusts
BWx15; BWx15; 85x8

2b.  DB Row
85x8; 85x8; 85x8

2c.  Scaption
2.5x8; 2.5x8; 2.5x8

3a. Facepull
80x20; 80x20

3b. Split Kneeling Cable Raise
80x7; 60x5

Notes
Solid incline PR at 225x7.  Old PR was 225x5. Left 1-2 in the tank as well.    275x1 ties my incline one rep max.  It was a slight grind, but not bad.  I was hoping for a double, but didn't want to risk a missed lift when things are going so well, so I racked it. Also, I felt moderate fatigue in my triceps from the 225 set.  I have no doubt I could have gone heavier without a fatiguing rep set beforehand.  Thats kinda the catch .22 of this setup of 531 I guess.  I'm not complaining, the reps are great and obviously what is behind the strength gains.  I want the 1 rep maxes mostly for my ego.  Got to try to be patient.

531 Day 18

Cycle 2 Week 3

1. Pendlay Row
175x5; 195x3; 220x8 (PR) . . . 225x3; 250x4 (PR) . . . 170x3; 170x3

2.  BTN Press
135x5; 145x3; 160x5 (PR) . . . 170x3 (PR) . . . 135x5; 135x5

3a.  Hip Thrusts
BWx20; 45x15

3b.  Facepulls
20; 20

3c.  Windmill
45x5; 45x5

Notes
Felt strong.  Adjusting to the new job and schedule is taking a lot out of me. Feels good to hit medium-high rep PR's, as well as heavy PR's on the same day.

Been working on hip thrusts because I realized I basically never get max hip extension other than a few glute bridges during warmups.  Also, I've been over flexing my hips with all the deadlifts and pendlays.  Basically, my front hip flexors are shortening.  But my knees, ankles, all feel great and opened up after the hip thrusts.

lol at all of the awkward stares as I maximally thrust my hips into the air with heavy, strained grunts.

Extra Workout 9

1a. RDL
135x8; 135x8 135x8

1b. Scaption
2.5x8; 2.5x8; 2.5x8

2a. Bent Row
135x8; 135x8; 135x8

2b.  Facepull
15; 15; 15

3a.  Strict Curls
30x10; 30x10

3b.  Side Plank
2 sets

Notes
I was still half-drunk on Sunday from all the NFL beer/chips.  Little pump action in the apartment gym made me feel better... A little better, not much though.

531 Day 17

Cycle 2 Week 2

1.  Deadlift

315x3; 365x3; 405x3

2.  Hip Thrust

BWx15; BWx15; 45x6

Notes

Mentally exhausted last night after my first week of work.

531 Day 16

Cycle 2 Week 2

1.  Incline
160x3; 185x3; 205x10 (PR) . . . 225x3; 245x3 (PR) . . .  160x8; 160x8; 160x8

2.  DB Row
90x6; 90x6; 90x6

3a.  Cable Row
120x10; 120x10

3b.  Glute Thrust
BWx10; BWx10

4.  Scaption
3 sets

Notes
This blog has almost 450 posts from the past 2.5 years.  I decided to search and capture as many PR's as possible. I found about 25 different lifts (a few more I don't care about), for a total of ~100 PR's in different rep ranges. It goes without saying I care a lot more about some more than others.

This new style of 531 gives me the opportunity to hit PR's often. So,  I made a google doc with all my PR's.  Then, I just go to the gym, pull it up on my phone, and hit PR's.

I'm not fooling myself with this approach.  I've talked a little about Fuck Yeah PR's! verses  technical "personal records."  Fuck Yeah PR's are exciting.  They take intensity, high effort, and are usually in the big bad-ass lifts. They make you proud.  They are memorable.  Technical PR's, on the other hand, aren't as exciting but in my mind they are still valuable.  I see technical PR's as a way to fill out rep ranges.  I also call them "technical" because I know that it might be a new lift, or that it may simply be a set in a given rep range that I could have done before, but simply did something else on that day.

Either way, regardless of what category a PR falls in, I think they are great and they make me happy.  It means I'm moving in the right direction.  More weight for more reps.

531 Day 15

Cycle 2 Week 2

1.  Pendlay

160x3; 185x3; 205x10 (PR) . . . 225x2; 245x2 . . . 160x3; 160x3; 160x3

2.  BTN Press

115x3; 135x3; 155x7 (PR) . . . 160x1 . . . 115x8; 115x8

3.  Facepulls

20; 20

4a.  Scaption

4b.  Planks

Notes

Pendlay was a 2 rep PR at 205 lbs. BTN press was a 5lb PR at 7 reps.  I'm pretty fluid with the jokers/first set last right now, but it seems to be working.  I'm hitting solid PR's almost every week.  At first, I was worried about whether my lift selection would do much for me.  I have no doubt now.  My body is really starting to harden up.  I'm starting to feel grooved with the BTN and Pendlay especially.  I think I'll stay with the pendlay/btn/incline/deadlift setup for another cycle.  Then I'll rotate in regular press, and close grip bench or something like that.

Extra Workout 8 - Labor Day Conditioning

1.  65lb Snatch
3 Rounds in 5 minutes, 34 total reps

2.  225 Sled Push
3 Rounds Max Effort


Over the weekend I met up with a bunch of DC friends on top of the roof for some Strongman type conditioning.  We broke into 5 teams of 3.  Two guys and one gal per team. Then we did 5 minute rounds where each team member rotated through as fast as possible.  I was hungover and threw up after the sled push.

It was a fun day.  We all went out to the river after words and grilled and drank the day away.  I'm in the back left in the picture below.  Its fun to be in the city with so many people that share a similar passio.  It might be hard to tell from the picture, but there five dudes there that can pull 500+.  Not bad for a crowd of professionals.