re: Let's go N.O.V this Summer with 5/3/1!

That’s a really impressive press, I don’t know your body weight but even when I was heavy into 5/3/1 I don’t think I ever did more than 205 for a couple reps.

I kind of have had a shift in my assistance work as well, I use to do 5x5 at the end of my chart work, then I did strength specific assistance, now I’m doing muscle endurance type work. It’s made a big difference in what I feel is “pop” or explosiveness in my lifts and I think it’s helping in my runs as well. It’s a grind for the first month dealing with doms that come from higher reps.

That’s where I’m at at the moment I’m 5’11 220 really trying to maintain strength and lose fat. I’ve been losing weight very slowly for nearly six months so I feel pretty dialed for diet, I just really need to accept that this is how I eat now and it’s not a diet.

Bench Press:
I no longer do much of a warm-up for bench press, couple sets of 5 with empty bar, 135 x 5, 185 x 2....HIT IT!

Set #1: 250lb x 5
Set #2: 280lb x 3
Set #3: 315lb x 7(AMRAP)

Notes:
Again, procrastinated too long in the day to get to the gym on time to do a full session, so I just did the core lift and got out of there. One more workout to go and then I am finally on to week #4 of 5/3/1, the deload week. I started this 4 week cycle on May 20th and it will have taken me 12 weeks to complete it one time through. This is due to restarts and general 'fricking off', although the new job and all the orientation and training did take a lot of my time, and I've been in Vietnam for the past month, but it still seems to me that I'm a real "piece of work" when it comes to screwing around. I'd like to get rid of this bad habit as quickly as possible.

On the positive side of things, my 1RMs that I used to calculate my training max from were just guesses, but based off my AMRAP set performances over the last month it looks like my strength levels are right in line with those guesses. I could add weight to the bar after this upcoming deload week and just keep doing 5/3/1, but I think for my sanity I should shift to a short maintenance phase with my diet and do Brace Yourself...It's Coming to prep for Squatober. I do not want to do Squatober in a deficit. So the next 8 weeks will be in a caloric maintenance level, a pretty big change of pace in programming, and then I will resume 5/3/1 in NOVember!

I hear ya...

Didn't think about it like that. I was thinking about how it should be 325lb x 7...or more.

Final Day of Week #3(5/3/1) - SQUAT!

After the appropriate warm-up, I began to collect the required bumper plates to complete this session's warm-up and work sets. Because my beloved steel plates marked in POUNDS are not available to me, I have to do math and figure out what the best way is to load up what I need with these enormous bumper plates that are set in KILOS. Loading and setting up the bar for the lifts has become a workout in and of itself because the gym is actively being renovated and I'm doing all my lifting on a Rogue Monster lite multi rack that is in the middle of the room. None of the bumper racks are anywhere near it, so I'm required to basically do farmer's carries throughout the workout. I'm not complaining, it essentially takes care of my conditioning work and wears me out so I don't feel it necessary to do anymore assistance work once I'm done with the main lift.

SQUAT!
Set #1: 330lb x 5
Set #2: 375lb x 3
Set #3: 420lb x 7(AMRAP)

Notes:
I had my first massage yesterday, nice experience, felt good, and I'm a little tender from it. I think the massage merely revealed the need to more regularly obtain massage services if I want to keep lifting and feeling good. Just like everything in Vietnam, shite is cheap as hell here. I went to a "spa" and it was a very nice place. Went with the girlfriend, got a couple's massage, 60 minutes long, got tea, juice, and snacks before and after the massage. Also got to sit in a steam bath and then a sauna after the massage, and then finished by showering up. All of that cost us 1,100,000 Vietnamese Dong, or $43.81...., for 2 people. Can I get that in America?

That's acceptable. I'm looking into making a massage a once a month routine, I don't need the tea/juice/crystallized ginger etc, but the sauna/steam was nice. Eventually, I'm building a sauna at my house, just haven't decided on where and what kind.

I already know the answer to this question, but when you take 11 weeks to do 3 weeks of work, do you really need to do the "deload" week that was supposed to be Week #4?

I'm busting my own balls here. Obviously I do not, deloads aren't necessary unless they're necessary, and if you don't push yourself to the point of needing to incorporate deload periods into your training, then you don't have to do them. I did push myself hard at times during individual training sessions, but overall, from when I started this on May 20th until now, I've been anything but intense. However, other responsibilities rose up and required my attention so I just had to "back burner" my training for a while.

This is my last week in Vietnam, so it will be busy with flights this weekend and until then I'd be wise to devote more time to being with my girlfriend, so doing the deload week #4 this week works out perfect for me.

I did the press last night,
Set #1 - 85lbs x 5
Set #2 - 110lbs x 5
Set #3 - 130lbs x 5

I did lots of air squats for warmup, Kb swings, dislocates, etc, and then after my press sets I did a few rounds of a little circuit I just made up for myself on the spot consisting of a set of dips, a set of Kb swings, push-ups, and then air squats. No rest in between any of that, rest for 2 minutes after those 4 movements were done and did it again for round 2, and then the gym closed so I went home.

It felt weird to put so little weight on the bar and lift it. There were no racks available so I just had the bar on the ground and cleaned it before each set. No problem at these weights. Deloads....while actually doing them, feel fricking worthless, but the coming weeks will show how effective and beneficial the deload is if my body feels stronger as a result. Traveling is usually a decent way to over-stress your body, so I fully expect the airplane ride to be the biggest stress my body will deal with this week. I can't wait to get home. Brace Yourself..it's Coming will be my program until Squatober begins. No dietary deficit, I will be in full maintenance mode. Whatever I weigh when I step on the scale August 20th is what I intend to maintain until November 2nd when the next cutting phase begins. Gonna actually try to lose fat this time, it sounds like a good idea to do it that way.

I’m at about the time in a program cycle where I’m psychologically checking out. Your deload looks mighty tempting.

8/16/2024: Bench Press - deload

Work Sets
#1 - 135lb x 5
#2 - 165lb x 5
#3 - 200lb x 5

Assistance:
Superset: 3 rounds of dips x 5 & close hands push-ups x 10

8/17/2024: SQUAT! - deload

Work Sets
#1 - 175lb x 5
#2 - 220lb x 5
#3 - 265lb x 5

No assistance work today. Want to spend more time with my girlfriend relaxing, and I have to go to the Cuban cigar store before I fly out. Speaking of my girlfriend, these last two training days there has been this new chick at the gym. Vietnamese, dyed blonde hair, tattoos, I think it's Tila Tequila, if Tila found a time machine and went back to when she was 23. Yesterday she came in wearing a toga style sports bra(only 1 strap over the shoulder) and a pair of white translucent shorts that were so short that the cheeks were just hanging out in full display(not that that was even necessary as, like I said, her shorts were basically see through). Today she had on just a bikini really. In 2 days I've only seen this chick work 1 muscle group, glutes, that's all she does. Brazilian Booty Blaster workouts. On the one hand I'm very happy to see ever more women weight training as the years go on, but on the other hand what I usually see them doing is the female version of the dude who only works chest and arms. I think she wants a boyfriend, so if one of y'all wants to come take my girlfriend off of my hands, then I can start nailing this chick. I'd appreciate it.