gsop_3 Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share Posted March 9, 2011 Yesterday, after teaching 4 PE classes and coaching baseball practice, I ran 2 miles and played soccer with the 5th and 6th grade boys for about 45 minutes before going to evening classes...Man, I was fried! Today, the side of my knee hurts mostly from the ITB and I rolled it out with the bat this morning - - it's SUPER tight with squatting three times a week and now the running...I need to keep an eye on those ITBs! Any suggestions for this? ...other than just rolling it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 Today I was only able to get my squats in...a bit disappointing, but I'll get in the rest tomorrow sometime.Ran on the treadmill then rolled out my legs focusing on the ITB and piriformis. I've also noticed a lot of movement in my sacrum...self adjusting, etc. Squats:1x5 - 90kg1x5 - 110kg5,5,4,5,5 - 121kg (I went into the third set too soon...knowing I had little time and wanted to get in more, so I failed to get five that set but came back and blasted the last two sets after about 4-5 minutes' rest in between each) Side Note: I find that low carbs the day before a workout leaves me running out in the middle of my sets. Not sure how to best organize my diet to make sure I have excess calories on W/O days and a deficit on off days without sacrificing gains and performance in the gym. Perhaps I should just forget the deficit on off days and shoot to keep gaining weight and strength for now... Still a beginner establishing my foundational strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewybaws Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Don't think of it as a deficit on off days. Eat big every day, and more on workout days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 Well put Chewy! I'll do just that! Thanks for pointing my wayward thinking back to the right path! Eat BIG, Lift BIG, Get BIG(GER)! haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 So, I was able to get in three working sets on bench last night before my spotter decided he needed to leave...feeling a little bummed and de-motivated right now and when I woke up this morning, I felt like I got hit by a semi-truck...totally exhausted. I am thinking maybe my body is telling me to deload - since I haven't really done that PROPERLY since Oct. when I started. Considering a 4 week 5/3/1 cycle...WAY lower volume! squatting only once a week looks really good right now! LOL ...and I'll add some more running in there. I ran on treadmill,I did a lot of myofacial work on my piriformis and ITB. I ran again on the treadmill, then... Bench: 1x5 - 65kg1x5 - 75kg1x5 - 85kg5,5,4 - 95kg (I rushed into the last set b/c my spotter wanted to leave. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewybaws Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 There's no faulting lowering the volume. If I tried what you're squatting 3x a week I'd die. Underestimate yourself for your initial figures in 5/3/1 - the first couple of cycles should be pretty easy. You get the option to "rep out" the last set of each exercise. Keep the assistance simple. It's a fun program Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 Thanks for the affirmation Chewy! I really needed that reassurance since I've become somewhat obsessed with the plan I've been following...a bit too attached. Perhaps yet another sign it's time to do something different for awhile. I'm putting together a spreadsheet now for the 5/3/1 and I def. plan to keep the assistance simple. I'll start it tomorrow (Monday). Thanks for the pointers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 (edited) OK, Today was day one of 5/3/1...This morning I ate a head of cabbage, head of garlic accompanied by some steamed sweet-bean buns and water. snack was a peanut butter/pea protein bar with almonds and some flower tea, lunch was about EDIT: (250g) cooked sprouts, 500g stir-fry cabbage, 500g cooked rice, 200g homemade kimchi and a bowl of millet porridge - SO FULL! that in the afternoon I missed my snack. Protein drink following the w/o...having Plenty of CARBS for dinner and another protein drink before bed. That should do it for calories today. Have no idea how many that is but, that's a typical calorie level for me during the week on a W/O day lately - minus the missed snack. Yesterday we ate what I think was fresh bamboo shoots (for the first time) stir-fried with garlic and onion and salt. Many other new Chinese dishes I've made recently. I'll share more later...sorry to babble about my latest food escapades! Back to the task at hand... cycle 1 week 1 session 1run and stretch, myofacial with bat and ball, then...Squats:1x5 - 100kg1x5 - 107kg1x8 - 114kg (could have gotten 1-2 more but didn't want to overboard first time doing this routine.)5x10 - 67kg (the weight felt light until the last set's final few reps) followed with DC-style stretch Leg curls:5x10 - 40kg (WOW! FIRE!! ...that's all I'm gonna say) followed with DC-style stretch Edited March 15, 2011 by gsop_3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 (edited) Maybe I should be starting a new thread for this, but here's a picture of what my typical Chinese cafeteria meal looks like. This was today's lunch tray. It may not look like it, but this tray has about 2kg of food on it. You can't really see how high it's mounded here. Edited March 15, 2011 by gsop_3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 Here's the promised pics of the weight room I get to use...this bar is loaded to 121kgNotice the foam roll on the end of the bar! LOL! They don't have any collars! The bench is set up so I can't do a wider grip. It's actually quite narrow. The posts are right about where I want to grab the bar. It's not much but does the job for now! No need to mention the station in the center, since it doesn't ever get touched by me except for hanging leg raises (when I don't just use the chinning bar) Though, I have to say, the best part is it's free (not to mention the zero travel time)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewybaws Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Food looks great! Don't need fancy equipment to strength train Anything more than bars, racks and benches are a distraction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrilliumFortnight Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 The new program sounds good. The lunch tray looks amazing. I wish I had one of those waiting for me every midday. Your tip on particular stretches before squats has been helpful for me too, cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 Hey guys! Right on!! I am SO thankful for the food here. @Chewy YEAH BUDDY! Plus, nobody else uses the free weight stuff I use anyways! HAHA they all use the machines. I NEVER have to wait! @TF glad to hear the stretching is helping! keep up the great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 5/3/1 cycle 1 week 1 session 2Today's W/O: Warmed up the shoulder girdle with arm circles, dislocates, etc. Bench:1x5 - 78kg1x5 - 83kg1x8 - 88kg (barely squeaked out the last rep.) Followed by DC-style stretch5x10 - 52kg (I exploded up and sent the bar in the air and caught it after each rep) Stopped only long enough to get the bar on the ground and set up for rows. BB Rows:5x10 - 45kg (super strict, focused on form - arched back parallel to the ground-"big butt", squeezing the shoulder blades back and driving the elbows to the ceiling while eliminating momentum caused by hip drive) All lifting was finished in under 30min. Treadmill for 2.25km in 15min. average speed of about 9km/hr. may not look like much but for me it is. Maybe I'll work some sprint intervals in there somewhere with box jumps! left, right, prone planks for 40 seconds each. Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day! Don't forget to wear some green! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob PMFF Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 What are all the things on that tray? I'm guessing the reddish stuff in the top middle is kim chi? the green stuff on the left some kind of pickled thing maybe? obviously a banana at the bottom...what's the purple rice? does it have poi in it or something? I ask because there's an asian market close by and I might want to look for some of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 20, 2011 Author Share Posted March 20, 2011 The purple rice is actually black before it's cooked. It's rather pricey so they usually just mix a little into the regular white rice...adds a nice nutty flavor. The lower right is potatoes and celery, top middle is the kimchi, left is cabbage, cucumber, chili peppers and garlic with sesame oil and salt...sort of "pickled" top right is seaweed with carrots and garlic...probably just stir fried with some salt and soy sauce. And last but not least, obviously, the bananas! mouth watering yet? know mine is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 20, 2011 Author Share Posted March 20, 2011 Today's W/O: Friday 3/18/2011 5/3/1 cycle 1 week 1 session 3 Deadlifts: 1x5 - 85kg1x5 - 105kg1x5 - 127kg1x5 - 135kg1x5 - 144kg5x10 - 85kg 20 minutes and DONE! Going out of town for the weekend - be back to it on Monday. I'll do chins tomorrow but may not be able to get in the OHP that's prescribed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 20, 2011 Author Share Posted March 20, 2011 So, I was traveling all weekend and spent about 24 hours on the road...not a good situation for DOMS in the lower back from Friday's deadlifting! I'm still in OUCH! mode. Plus, I developed a pain in my right knee just above the kneecap. I hope it clears up tomorrow!I think I ate maybe 3 meals the whole weekend, too. felt like I was wasting away! mostly just poor planning on my part. Either way, got a bit of catching up to do. I wonder how it's going to affect my lifting tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrilliumFortnight Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 It's always tough to keep it up when you're on the road. Hope the knee and back pains clear up quickly. Why do you do a lower weight/heigher rep set at the end of your exercises? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 20, 2011 Author Share Posted March 20, 2011 @TF Good question! The lower weight/higher rep at the end is simply one of the many options for the 5/3/1 format. For me, I feel it's a good way to add volume to the W/O and as a "finisher." Also, I find that doing lower weight/higher reps at the end helps my main lifts at the heavier weights (when used as assistance work). When I'm fighting through a sticking point on a final rep, I don't want to fail because the muscle has no endurance or is fatigued. This helps take care of that. That, and making sure I've got enough nutrition (glycogen stores). This may certainly be different for others, but that's my experience and "logic." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 For those that are curious about the 5/3/1 as I am doing it, here is a snapshot from the spreadsheet I created. It's set up for anybody to use...just need to plug in the main numbers and it figures out the weights for each session for you...all the way out to (5) 4-week cycles, so 20 weeks total. If you'd like a copy, PM me. Today's W/O: Originally, I was going to just skip the OHP session and keep on track with the squats for today. BUT, the knee pain was more than I could bare. Jogging this morning was really rough, but felt better toward the end. Later, I tried a REALLY light set of 10 with only 35kg and it was screaming during every rep. The lower back just feels like DOMS, so I'm not worried there. The knee issue is NOT a happy thing...more like a knife being jammed into my thigh just above the kneecap. I'll continue to stretch and roll the area and hope it's better in time to squat on Wednesday. I'll also probably take some anti-inflammatory meds tonight and follow the RICE principle. Overall I wasn't very motivated today in light of the knee issue, even though I got 9 reps on the last core set...my only consolation. cycle 1 session 4 OHP:1x5 - 53kg1x5 - 57kg1x9 - 60kg5x10 - 35kg 20 minutes and DONE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrilliumFortnight Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Thanks for putting the spreadsheet up. Nice going on the OHP, when I looked at the spread I assumed that was pounds and thought "still decent". Did you get chin ups in too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobsteriffic Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 This log is great, love seeing the pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 Thanks ya'll! Actually, Trillium, it's kg. and I didn't do the chins yesterday (it's my least favorite) PLUS, I've been considering skippin' the assistance exercises through this cycle since I am still planning to go back to SL5x5 after once through the 5/3/1 and the point is to give my body the rest it needs to be able to squat three times a week again. go get 'em! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsop_3 Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 Today's W/O: This morning I went for a light jog of 600m just to feel out the knee. It actually felt a little painful, but WAY better than yesterday. Afterward, I spent over an hour rolling out the legs and glutes with the bat and a glass sphere about the size of a softball (the piriformis got extra attention this morning! ) Everything was feeling great after all of that, so I figured, "why not get some squats in and get caught up with the schedule!" It turned out to be a great idea and after squatting the knee pain was completely gone. Seems a bit bizarre that the thing that was so painful to do is actually what made the pain go away! Squats:1x10 - 85kg1x5 - 95kg1x3 - 109kg1x3 - 116kg1x8 - 123kg (quite pleased with this, thank you berry much!) 5x10 - 68kg Leg Curls:5x10 - 40kg All finished in under 30 minutes. I'm really enjoying the short workouts here. I hope I'll still want to go back to SL5x5 after this cycle! What ever works best! We'll see at the end of this 4-week cycle and go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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