Return of the King

Sunday November 1st: 531 Cycle 4 Week 3 Military Press (7pm-7:55pm)

Military Press
20kg - 1x5
25kg - 1x5
30kg - 1x5
37kg - 1x3
46kg - 1x5
52kg - 1x3
58kg - 1x4 ... pb. Prescribed reps = 1
43kg - 2x10 (10, 9+1)
40kg - 3x10 (10, 10, 8+2)
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Chin Ups
1x12 ... straight through
1x12 ... dying: 6, 3, 3
1x11 ... death: 3, 3, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1!
2x6 ... band assisted
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Shoulder Dislocates (band)
3x10
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Pull Apart (band)
3x10
---

Military Press was really strong. That 58kgx4 is just 2kg under my previous 1RM from June. Must check exactly what I was doing back then.

Totally died on the chin ups. First 12 were easy. Second and third sets were embarrassing. Energy went out the window and had to resort to singles.

Finished off with some band assisted chins, shoulder dislocates and pull aparts. I got that band in Houston a year ago with the intention of using it exercise when away with work in hotels. Works fine for the exercises above & will hopefully help my shoulder flexibility (which is rubbish).

Wednesday November 4th: 531 Cycle 4 Week 3 Deadlift (6:30am - 7:30am)

Bird-dogs
2x10 per side
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Deadlift
54kg - 1x5
67kg - 1x5
80kg - 1x3
100kg - 1x5
114kg - 1x3
127kg - 1x8 ... reps pb at 5kg under old 1RM. Prescribed reps = 1. Video to follow
88kg - 5x10 ... boring but big. Added 2kg to last week
---
Glute Ham Raise (toes under frame)
2x12
1x11

Hanging Leg Raise
2x12
1x11
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Dips ... making up for not doing these on military press day
3x6 ... was supposed to be 2x12, 1x11. To knackered to do that
---

Deadlift is going through the roof (or floor?).

Bodyweight 80kg.

Thanks for the comments, both.

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

Boss just a few things i noticed if ya dont mind!
1: the running shoes? i know ive seen you deadlift barefoot before so im just wondering if you had forgotten

I am purposely deadlifting in the runners since starting 531. When the reps get lower and I get closer to maximal weights I'll throw off the runners to gain the extra couple of mm and thus make it a bit easier. The runners make it like a tiny deficit deadlift.

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

2: It seems that on a couple of the reps when your letting the bar down,if it comes down away from your shins you dont reposition it, you just pull it from there, aka the bar isnt starting the reps close to your shins at the start.

Yeah, good point. It seems to roll forward on a number of reps. Something for me to watch next time.

kevpants wrote: »

Jesus Boss things are going great! Haven't had much time recently to read logs but man you're really flying. Those deadlifts looked easy. I remember your frustration pulling those weights for singles!

The glute activation link you posted months ago (i.e. bird dogs, etc) really seems to have helped my deadlift. Hanley can take credit for teaching me to squat. You can have the deadlift

BossArky wrote: »

Bench Press
84kg - 1x2 ... prescribed reps = 1. Got a video. Weak. Failed on 3rd rep

BossArky wrote: »

Bench Press
60kg - 5x10 ... boring but big (10, 10, 10, 8+2, 5+3+2). Got a video of the first set

BossArky wrote: »

Pull Ups (wide grip)
1x12 ... straight though. Video to follow

This is the widest grip I have tried.

BossArky wrote: »

Squat
108kg - 1x1 ... prescribed reps = 1. Failed on 2nd. Video to follow

Think I gave up too easily on the second rep. I was over the hardest part.

Oh doubting Thomas, eh?

Thought I had a video somewhere on my youtube account but it turns out it was a good morning. I'll get a video next time - probably in about 10 days.

Stiff leg deads after squat rock. My ar$e is rapidly turning into my proudest bodypart :pac:

Thursday November 12th: 531 Cycle 5 Week 1 Military Press (6:30am-7:25am)

Shoulder Dislocates (band)
3x10

Pull Aparts (band)
3x10
---
Military Press
air - 1x5
20kg - 1x5
26kg - 1x5
32kg - 1x5
38kg - 1x3
42kg - 1x5
48kg - 1x5
54kg - 1x7 ... prescribed reps = 5. Probably a reps@weight pb
44kg - 1x10 ... boring but big
40kg - 4x10 ... last set was 7+3

Chin Ups ... superset with boring but big
BW+10kg - 3x8 ... last set 5+1+1+1
BW - 1x8
---
Weighted Crunches (plate overhead)
10kg - 3x15
---

I have decided to add weight to the chins and pull ups over the next two cycles. I wasn't sure exactly what weight and reps to move to after ~3x12 last week at bodyweight. 3x8 with 10kg seems ok. The last set at bodyweight felt so easy after unhooking the weight. Could have done another few sets at bodyweight but decided not to kill myself on the first day back.

Military Press was handy enough.

Bodyweight 81kg. The year of my birth! :cool:

Sunday November 15th: 531 Cycle 5 Week 1 Bench Press

Walk 5km ... outdoors, in the morning before gym
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Bench Press
36kg - 1x5
46kg - 1x5
55kg - 1x3
59kg - 1x5
68kg - 1x5
77kg - 1x7 ... prescribed reps = 5. Failed on 8th. Reps@weight pb
60kg - 1x10 ... boring but big
50kg - 1x10
40kg - 1x10
30kg - 1x10
20kg - 1x10
---
Pull Ups (wide grip)
BW+5kg - 3x8 ... 8, 4, 4, 4, 4

Calf Raise
40kg DB per arm - 5x15
---
Floor Press (in squat rack, pins about 2 inches above chest)
20kg - 1x3
50kg - 1x3
60kg - 1x3
70kg - 1x3
80kg - 1x2 ... was aiming for 3
80kg - 1x0
70kg - 1x3
60kg - 1x6 ... 4+2
50kg - 1x6 ... 4+1+1
---
One Arm Row
12kg per arm - 1x8
22kg per arm - 1x8
32kg per arm - 1x8
12kg per arm - 1x8
---
Face Pull
10.00kg - 1x10
11.25kg - 2x10
---
Shoulder Dislocates (band, at home)
3x10

Pull Apart (band, at home)
3x10
---

Tonight I was aiming for 6 reps on the bench top set of 77kg, so getting 7 was a bonus.

I focused on squeezing the bench between my legs. I read somewhere that this will help with a tighter setup. Felt a bit narrow though and my feet weren't flat on the floor as I had to go up on my toes. My legs are too short.

I have rejigged my 531 assistance a bit for cycle 5 onwards. On the bench I'm going to strip down the big but boring (or even skip it altogether) to allow time for floor pressing and dips. This evening I ran out of time/forgot to do the dips.

The floor pressing feels good. It is tough going from a dead stop at the bottom of the press. I will work this up over the 6 weeks and see if it brings my bench along with it.

The weighed wide grip pull ups weren't too bad. It felt like I had the power but not the endurance (if that makes sense). Perhaps an extra rest day between deadlift and bench would have made them easier. My back is & was fried.

You may have noticed yesterday that I dropped the glute ham raise from deadlift day. I don't think they are adding much when done on the floor, so replacing them with standing hamstring curls.

Saturday November 21st: 531 Cycle 5 Week 2 Military Press (10:30 - 12:30)

Bird-dogs
2x10 per side
---
Military Press
20kg - 1x5
26kg - 1x5
32kg - 1x5
38kg - 1x3
45kg - 1x3
51kg - 1x3
58kg - 1x3 ... prescribed reps = 3. Half heartedly went for a 4th
40kg - 5x10 ... last set 8+2

Chin Ups
BW+10kg - 3x8 ... superset with boring but big. Last set 7+1
BW - 1x8
---
External Rotation (DB)
1kg DB per arm - 3x8

Reverse Fly
1kg DB per arm - 3x8
---
Shoulder Dislocates (band)
3x8

Pull Apart (band)
3x8
---
External Rotation (pulley)
1.25kg per arm - 3x10
---
Dips
BW+5kg - 3x8
---
Stretching & Rolling ~15 mins

Weighted Crunch
10kg overhead - 3x15
---

Good. Next week will be Military Press pb territory.

Sunday November 22nd: 531 Cycle 5 Week 2 Deadlift (9am-11am)

Bird-dogs
2x10 per side
---
Deadlift
56kg - 1x5
70kg - 1x5
80kg - 1x3
97kg - 1x3
111kg - 1x3
125kg - 1x9 ... reps@weight pb. Prescribed reps = 3
91kg - 5x10 ... boring but big. Added 1kg to last week
---
Hanging Leg Raise (feet to hands)
4x8 ... got a video of the last set to see what my form is like
---
Standing Leg Curl (Hammer Strength machine)
20kg per leg - 1x8
25kg per leg - 1x8
30kg per leg - 1x8
35kg per leg - 1x8
40kg per leg - 1x5
15kg per leg - 1x10
---
Rolling & Stretching ~10 mins
---
Bicep Curl (alternating)
16kg per arm - 1x20 i.e. 10 per side
5kg per arm - 1x50 i.e. 25 per side
---

Happy enough with the deadlift. Was aiming for 10 but form getting a bit dodgy so stopped at 9.

9 reps at 125kg gives me a projected max of 162kg. This just happens to be double bodyweight as my bodyweight is currently 81kg. I'm not sure how accurate that is. Hopefully my max is up somewhere around 150kg anyway.

Today I pondered how to test my new 1 rep max for each lift. I will probably wait until the 3rd week of cycle 6. On the top set I will just go for 1 rep (which should be a pb on everything except bench). After that I'll add weight and see what happens. On the deadlift I will probably go up in 10kg initially and then 5kg until I stall.