Week 2: 20 - 24 August

FRONT SQUAT	88	x	5	:	103
FRONT SQUAT	85	x	7	:	105
BENCH	83	x	5	:	97
BENCH	75	x	5	:	87
HANG CLEAN	65	x	3	:	71
DEADLIFT	130	x	5

Week 1: 13 - 17 August

A slight change to the plan. Included some 5x5 and dropped Press, as my left shoulder is unhappy with it.
Tired of always having one shoulder or the other complaining. I must be getting old or soft. Possibly both.
With the current split some exercises will be done twice a week. Once 531, and once 5x5.

FRONT SQUAT	83	x	5	:	97
FRONT SQUAT	75	x	5	:	87
BENCH	75	x	5	:	87
HANG CLEAN	60	x	5	:	70
DEADLIFT	110	x	5

Week 4: 06 - 10 August

Rest Week again...

FRONT SQUAT	80	x	3	:	88
BENCH	70	x	6	:	84
DEADLIFT	110	x	3

Week 3: 30 July - 03 August

SQUAT 120 x 3 : 132 BENCH 90 x 2 : 96 PRESS 50 x 5 : 58 HANG CLEAN  60 x 5 : 70 DEADLIFT 150 x 1

Week 2: 22 - 26 July

Week 2 Details:
Squat:    115x5 : 134 Projected
Bench:   85x3   :  93 Projected
Press:    45x7   :  55 Projected
Deadlift: 140x2

Week 1: 15 - 20 July

Week 1 Details:
Squat:      110x6   : 132 Projected
Bench:      80x5    : 93 Projected
Press:       40x10  : 53 Projected
Deadlift:    130x1

Week 3: 02 - 06 July

Time really does seem to be flying. I've been through two cycles already.
8 weeks gone in a flash.

DAY	EXERCISE	RESULT	MAX(EST)
Mon	Squat	115x7	141
	Bench	90x2	96
Fri	Press	40x10	53
	Deadlift*	145x1
* Done for Singles, Doubles, and Triples.
No Max Rep work.

Everything is still rolling along. Projected maxes still increasing (mostly).
I may have to step down bench press soon, but will see how it goes.

Week 2: 25 - 29 June

A pretty good week. Time flies. Already 3x3 again.
DAY	EXERCISE	RESULT	MAX(EST)
Mon	Squat	110x8	139
	Bench	85x3	93
Fri	Press	37x12	52
	Deadlift*	135x1
* Done for Singles, Doubles, and Triples.
No Max Rep work.

Wed was some play at the park. Chins, Dips, Jumps.
A nice break, and some good "work".

Bench press is very narrow due to shoulder issue.
I'm happy with it. Training maxes based on standard width.

Week 1: 18 - 22 June

Illness affects training once more… Monday skipped.
DAY	EXERCISE	RESULT	MAX(EST)
Wed	Squat	105x6	126
	Bench	80x5	93
Fri	Press	33x14	48
	Deadlift*	130x1
* Done for Singles, Doubles, and Triples.
No Max Rep work.

Week 3: 04 - 08 June

The 5-3-1 reps for Week 3 have been ok
DAY	EXERCISE	RESULT	MAX(EST)
Mon	Squat	105x8	133
	Bench	90x2	96
Fri	Press	35x10	46
	Deadlift*	135x1
* Single, Doubles and Triples only (Speed Focus)
Combined workouts this week due to other matters.
Started the mobility and flexibility work in the evenings.
When combining workouts:
1. Get the Main Exercises Done
2. Do Main Assistance if possible
3. Include extra work last.

Apart from a big error on the Bench (90 instead of 85), its going well.
The Deadlift really seems to get overcooked easily. Doing Speed reps seems to work.
135 came off the ground easily, so I'll just keep going and see how it ends up.

Week 2: 28 May - 01 June

The 3-3-3 reps for Week 2 went well.
DAY	EXERCISE	RESULT	MAX(EST)
Mon	Squat	100x7	123
Wed	Bench	85x4	96
Fri	Press	?
	Deadlift*	?
* Single, Doubles and Triples only

A small drop in est. max for Squat, but the 7 was not full out.
Tiny increase in bench est. max.

Trying to catch up with the logs again. Perhaps some more interesting prose will follow soon.

Week 1: 21 - 25 May

The 5-5-5 reps for Week 1 went well.
DAY	EXERCISE	RESULT	MAX(EST)
Mon	Squat	92.5x11	126
Wed	Bench	75x8	95
Fri	Press	33x10	44
	Deadlift*	125x1

* Done for Singles, Doubles, and Triples.
  No Max Rep work.

Week 4: 14-18 May 2012

Spent last week as Week 4 (Deload) of 531.

This week: Started with Full Body Template:
Mon: Squat
Wed: Bench
Fri: Press, Deadlift

My shoulder is coming right now after some intense physio.
Not 100%, but I can bench again, and pressing seems OK.
Looks like I might just be able to get back on track for 2012.

As an aside:
Olympic Lifting Rocks: Check this out >> Learn the Snatch [T-Nation]

Gotta run...

A New Beginning

I feel like I have been out of circulation for a while, so my posts have been few.
It started with a stupid move. I moved a barbell from one hook to another.
Simple. Yes. But, if you do it with a shoulder press, when it's a weight near your max its not smart.
Enter the shoulder injury. Eight weeks later, I'm still broken.
I've been rehabbing and fixing, and it's much better. I even have a better understanding of shoulder health now.
So, not all was lost. But, eventually I gave in and went to see the Doc.
I've had my scan, and will see the physio next week.
Hopefully the end is in sight.

What this means: No bench. No Press. No Squat (too much rotation on the shoulder).
What I can still do: Deadlift, Front Squat, Snatch, Chin, Rows. One Arm Presses.
So my training will continue.

I realised that I lost the plot a bit with my workout routines. This will be remedied.
Back to what has worked: 5/3/1. 3 Days a week. Basic. Simple Progression.

Starting Monday. Planning to stick it out for at least 6 Months. Time to get a grip.
I can't let another year go by with too little progress.

Today I tested my Deadlift so that I know where to begin on Monday:

Snatch: 30kg : 4x3
Deadlift: 70kg,85kg,100kg,115kg,130kg,145kg,160kg : all 1 rep.
Bench Test: Nope, shoulder don't want that.

It's been a while since I lifted 160kg. I'm quite happy about it.
I may have to start with a recovery week...

A Workout Update

By now you may have noticed that I have not posted a workout in a while.
Firstly, I was laid low by the Spanish Influenza. At least it felt that bad.
But, I bounced back, and went at it with my training. But, there is a catch.
I was questioning the validity of my training paradigm. Not the effectiveness of 531 or 5x5.
Rather, I was questioning whether it was the best for me. And I was thinking long term.
My shoulder is not happy with the low-bar position, or with overhead pressing.
My lower back has started to talk to me in language I've never heard before.
In short, I felt like I was barreling along toward an early retirement from training. That is unacceptable.
At the same time, I was reading some prehab\rehab\injury prevention type stuff. One article stood out.
"21 Exercises For Injury-free Mass" by Bret Contreras.
Its geared toward the man made of glass, which isn't me, but it gave me an idea.
What if I used the big exercises to "test" my strength, and stuck to safer versions to "train" it?
Could it work if I only had to load up the barbell and strain once a month? (Less exposure).
Could the "safe" exercises still help me to improve, but save me from further injury?
It was a theory that I had to test, as there are several advantages:
1. No injuries means more training time.
2. Less spinal loading means increased recovery.
3. Less chance to grow stale on the big exercises.
Yes, there are negatives, like not getting practice at the specific lifts. Nothing is perfect.
I've put together a simple A-B Split using the exercises from the article.
The plan is still geared more towards a 5-rep strength approach (with a bit of hypertrophy thrown in).
I'll go for one cycle of 4 weeks, then retest my strength and see where I am.
Hopefully the same-but-different exercises I chose will work.
Time will tell...

Workouts 57, 58, 59

WEEK 1 of the new plan. It's mostly tweaking of the previous method.
I will have to give it a fair shot of at least one cycle. 
It's not perfect. (Is it ever?). But, I think I might be getting the basic pattern right.
Time (and increasing strength) will tell. 
Hopefully the shoulder stability work will keep me from breaking down.


MON
 SQUAT
65x5, 90x5, 110x5, 110x5, 110x5
 BENCH
50x5, 70x5, 85x5, 85x5, 85x5
 RACK CLEAN
60x3, 60x3, 60x3, 60x3, 60x3


WED
 TGU                             24x3
 REVERSE CRUNCH      8,6
 WALL SLIDES              10,10
 PLANK                        45s, 15s
 YTLI + WING                10+5
 DISLOCATIONS             5, 5
 INV ROW                      10,10,10
 SCAP PUSHUP            10,10,10
 SWINGS                     24x15,15,10,10


FRI
 SQUAT
70x5, 90x5, 113x5, 113x5, 113x5
 PRESS
20x5, 30x5, 35x5, 35x5, 35x5
 DEADLIFT
70x5, 95x5, 120x5 
CHIN
15x3, 15x4, 15x3

Workout 54 55 56

Mon [13/02/2012]
 Heavy Deadlift
 Shoulder Press
 Squat

Wed
 Turkish Getup
 Pushup
 Swing
 Goblet Squat
[Skipped some exercises]

Fri
 Squat
 Bench
 Row

This arrangement didn't work out exactly as planned. There were one or two logistical issues that upset the week too. In the end I just didn't feel that I had the balance right for my goals.

Next week will be similar, but a better arrangement, and hopefully better matching with my prehab/rehab and goals.

Workouts This Week v2

Well, some more tweaking went on, and things changed a little.

I needed to make one or two changes to my new plan, so it's actually very close to the previous one again.
I've got Wed a bit more firmed up, and include Kettlebells, which I've missed a bit.
I also trimmed the Bodyweight stuff to bare bones. Plus a little bit of rehab work for my shoulders thrown in.
Hopefully I have the balance right now. We'll know in a few weeks.

There is still inspiration from "Power to the People", "Madcow 5x5", 531, "Enter the Kettlebell".
It's a bit eclectic, but so are my goals.

Along with all this I've changed my eating plan. I've tried a couple of Intermittent Fasting approaches, but none of them have really worked for me. The LeanGains approach is a bit more to my liking. It's been almost a week already, and so far, so good.

The next cycle is under way...

Workout 51 52 53

Week 5 of the 12 week plan.

Day 1:
Squat: 5x 60,75,90,105,120
Bench: 5x 55,65,70,80,90
Deadlift: 5x 95,110,125 [cluster of 5]

Day 2:
Pushups: 20 20
Inv Row: 20 14
L-Handstand Pushup: 10
Face Pulls: 10 10
Short Bridge: 20 20
Asst 1 Leg Squat: 6 6
Dips: 20 14
Chins: 5 5 5 3
Bench Lying Raise: 20
Supermans (5Sec): 10

Day 3:
Squat: 5x 60,75,90,105
           3x125
           8x90
Bench: 5x 55,65,70,80
            3x 90
            8x 75
Pendlay Row: 5x 40,55,60,70
         3x 75
         8x 60

The volume is accumulating...
I'm thinking of entering a powerlifting meet next week, we shall see.

Workout 48 49 50

Week 4 of the 12 week plan.

Day 1:
Squat: 5x 60,75,90,105,120
Bench: 5x 50,60,70,75, 85
Deadlift: 5x 95,110,125 [cluster of 5]

Day 2:
Pushups: 20 20
Inv Row: 20 13
Half Handstand Pushup: 6
Face Pulls: 10 10
Short Bridge: 18 18
Asst 1 Leg Squat: 6 6
Dips: 20 13
Chins: 11 8
Bench Lying Raise: 20
Supermans (5Sec): 10

Day 3:
Squat: 5x 60,75,90,105
           3x120
           8x90
Bench: 5x 50,60,70,80
            3x 90
            8x 70
Pendlay Row: 5x 40,50,55,65
         3x 70
         8x 55

Week 4 done, now the hard work begins...