I need to burn some more calories working out. But im beat doing all the real heavy sets.
Would adding some lighter weight fast sets with short break in between at the end of my other work help?

Still busting tail.
Fewer and fewer plates on the rack during squats lately. Im still in the 3-5 reps for 30 total. my legs dont get sore but they feel like someones just been punching on them a bit if that makes sense.
Bench is still going up. I had some strange inner arm pain on heavier sets but I still slapped on the slingshot and still got some work all the way to failure. Things are alot more stable. I am adjusting grip width again though. I feel like at the bottom im a bit "chicken winged" So ill have to tinker with that a little. Chest feels like it is coming along, those pin presses have really helped. 185 doesnt feel like 1,850 anymore but still not like 18.5

Diet wise I felt like I stalled for a long time there, Couldnt get the scale to budge. Could not figure out what was up.
I broke things down into basics, I wanted to focus on recovering after a workout so I could keep adding weights and not stall there. But I also still wanted to lower my bf% just a bit more. So what I did was just eat carbs after I workout and get to bed as early as possible. It seems to have worked as I dropped a few more pounds quickly and around 2% bf loss. I found a scale on clearance that does BMI, BF etc and it matched exactly what my other tool said.

Thinking of joining a gym for a few months this winter. Im just not sure I can get out there if its zero degrees and super cold in there. There is a diesel stove in there but im not entirely sure about it either.

Cholesterol is gtg, vit D is gtg. T is looking alot better. Feeling good and want to get work done!

Sounds like things are pretty dialed in for you. Good stuff!

going to try and capitalize on it while I can.

So stronger still.
245 5x5 on squats, no belt or anything. Felt almost easy.
Stepping back and looking at what I am doing its like 5x5 in reverse. Start with 3x3 very heavy, work towards 4x4 then 5x5 over the weeks, up weight repeat. Really working well. So next time around ill move up to 255 for 3x3.
Diet wise, just carbs after workouts 130g is probably my peak. Protein 170-190grams. got that scale to move doing this. down to about 159 ish. Not sure I want to go below 155 but we will see.
I subb'd Tnation on facebook and they post some good articles and I found one they posted was of an exercise i was already but just a different grip. Man that made a difference!

I didnt update on bench the other day, but its going real well. making goooood use of the slingshot and destroying arms/shoulders/chest and some back 2 days a week. Had to rush on deadlift day the other day went less weight but really focused on the reps and form some, was so sore the next day.

days have been hectic, alot of trips to the specialists for my daughters (6+ hour round trips) but she has made some big improvements. Working on the new house. It took my wife and I an entire day and two big hauls to the dump to clear out the garage. It looks good. eager to get some pics up. Should be moving over there over the next few weeks. but its good work because it keeps you active and its fun to look forward to a new place you like. Ill get some pics up when i get the weights/rack etc moved over and things set up. sadly my K5 wont fit in the garage. real close. maybe if i let air out of the tires it might. In a house with 4 females I am so glad to get another bathroom...

Have you tried HIIT?

Sounds like some really good progress in life and lifting. Good stuff.

I am familiar with it but I havent tried it.

so this week basically zero workout, crap diet.
This moving thing has killed us and Ive been working non stop all day getting things moved and put away. We like it alot here though.
Going to try and get the ball running monday. Probably start 5/3/1 back up and get on it.
what strength Ive gained has come in handy that is for sure. Absolutely beat though.

Finally got first workout in at the new place.
After a week of eating whatever I could get my hands on and working non stop in record heat I lost some weight and hit 155. Sadly my BF % is about 20-22%
So id have to be down into 145 lbs range to get into 15 ish land. F that. On the plus side my chin up game has gotten alot better.
My OHP felt awful but pin press felt mostly unchanged.

We checked out a few gyms and most were real pricey. However, I mentioned that health screen deal where my wife works where they pay you $ if you do x, y, z etc. I think I hit every mark so should get $300 and a gym membership for free. its a bit of a drive, around an hour total but free is free i guess.

So my plan right now is to get back on trying to get my bench to 230, double the amount of chin up/pull ups I can do..

Do you guys have any advice for slingshot work? I usually work up to about 180 for 2 without then go for sets of 3 or 4 with the slingshot, then 200 fo 2x3, then 210 for 2x2, and 215 for 1 or so.
Also since im back with 5.3.1 should I swap my accessory work around like last time?
Examples:
OHP 5.3.1 - bench 5x5 or 3x10
Bench 5.3.1 - OHP 5x5 or 3x10
Deadlift 5.3.1 - squat 5x5 or 3x10
Squat 5.3.1 - deadlift 5x5 or 3x10

I like the idea of the swap because I work each group twice in a week and Ive read that is a very good thing.
I like the process im doing now of starting with 3 reps and working up to 5 over the course of a 1-3 weeks.

I usually just use the slingshot as I am getting ready to try a new max. One week I will hit some reps at my previous max. Then another week I will push past that and then try to go 5% or so over my next max attempt.

Ok cool, going to keep on doing that then. Working up to 90% or so then go as ham as I can with the slingshot. thanks bro. :)

wrapped up this week just barely.
A week off took a bit of a toll. squats felt terrible for being my best overall lift.
bench press still felt pretty stout, deadlifts felt fine, overhead press felt like crap.
So i just tried to work on getting muscles "woke" again and engaged, get the CNS firing again.

Found a new way for me to setup for skullcrushers that makes it alot easier for me and the half rack. So i was sure to blow those up today.
Also saw a cool article on TNation about getting mostly chest engagement out of bench press (guillotine presses), felt pretty good. I feel like chest is my worst/least developed muscle group.

Be careful with guilotine press, it can shred your shoulders. So if you do them, really watch the weight and pay attention to any twinges or anything your shoulders don't like.

yeah went pretty light and used the safety bars. just easing into them and not chasing weight.
im damn sore already though, I feel like Ive done 10,000 shrugs today.

well frick.
got through my 5/3/1 on deadlift, was going to do some rack/block pulls but was trying to get the safety bars adjusted. I pulled it off the safety bars, then went to set it on the floor, half way down my back tweaked and I just dropped down. I saw Thrall posted a video about back pain so going to put it into practice, cool video...

did some youtube searching and found a few great videos on solving back pain/injury.
One key thing was they said was that the pain was mostly from your hips. This made alot of sense to me, I often have "catches" in my back that can get triggered by things like driving in a car or sitting a certain way. When I stand up: "stab!". Usually as far as it goes though.
Years ago i hurt my back doing something, could barely walk. Forced to go to chiropractor, he told me my hips were off and even one leg was almost .5" longer than the other. He worked me over and I could have done a back flip out of the office.
Now I have one clue as to what happened yesterday as it hadnt made sense to me. 185 is no big deal for me on DL. I had already done my 5/3/1 sets so the weight was fine.
Just before I moved the bar off the safety bars I turned to my left and was going to try and just lift the bar off the safety bar and swap it down one. I couldnt so that was when I decided to just deadlift then set it down. I think this turn to my left caused some kind of mis-alignment in my hip then when I went to set the bar down whatever slipped slipped.
Another thing that the videos said was that when your body senses a big injury coming it will stiffen you up and basically lock you down to try and keep from hurting yourself. This is why your back gets sooo stiff after something like this. It is dang near impossible to get it to unlock when it does this.
So in short I had to do some things to unlock my hips and get them moving and use some ab type work to get the back to try and ease up. Once I got this to happen things got alot easier. I cut grass and even did some weedeating today.
I was going to workout (bench press) but I was still too stiff and could not get my heels on the floor when laying on the bench. So I had to give up.

Cleared to get back at things monday.
Chiropractor wanted me to not do deadlifts, said "nah ill keep doing them."
He did admit that the whole moving thing set me up for a back ache though.

took some time to work on some accessory work that I think will help me on the main lifts, lots more compound stuff with minimal isolation.
rack pulls, pin presses, etc etc.

Finally back in business. OHP was tough, ohp pin press even tougher.
Made some good pork loin roast on the grill yesterday tasted real good after a workout.

At least you are getting sorted out. I agree about a lot of back pain starting in the hips. My workout buddy likes rolling his hip flexors out with a lacrosse ball, other folks use foam rollers. I warm my hips up using a hip circle(slingshot brand). Minding your hips before you start up for the day seems to be a good policy.

How's the new house?

Ive never used one of the hip circles but maybe I should. Ive seen them on Mark Bell's videos.

New place is working out well. I like it alot here. We still have junk at the old place we need to get. Its amazing how much you accumulate over the years. Pitching A TON of stuff.
Oh tomorrow is the fitness checkup thing through my wifes employer. I got my bloodwork done, cholesterol is gtg, BMI is gtg, workout and food logs are gtg, bloodpressure should be gtg. So I should hit all the boxes and I THINK they will pay me $300.

Alright so nailed that. I got $300 and a free gym membership for a year.


Haven't seen their gym/life center but apparently it's sick. (This is at a huge hospital) apparently it's big enough to have a track and a pool. Wife acts like I'll love it.

Should come in handy this winter.

That's rad.

eased into deadlifts today, went fine. zero issues.
duaghter has therapy today so going to check out that life center/gym while we are there.

Good stuff. Have fun with the gym. I still go to a gym once a week to use machines and what not to focus on weak points, etc. and/or use the sauna/steam room/hot tub.

Best wishes for your daughter.

I am having a tough time getting back into the swing of things. I feel like Ive taken 100 steps back.
My schedule is all jacked up right now. I tried to do squats last friday ran out of time before I had to work on some stuff around here. I got my 5/3/1 set done and that was it. And it felt awful. My back still hits that nerve sometimes, especially if I even have the slightest downward momentum. So I didnt push my luck there.
Today was OHP it felt fine, no issues there, upped the weight on OHP pin press, still easing into that but triceps were on fire. I skipped skullcrushers and stuck some squats in there to make up for last week, worked to 185 no problems.

Ive got to get my goals back in line, it has all gotten away from me.

1. I want to cleanly add weight by eating good food. In other words, not just eat all the food but eat alot of good clean food in surplus.

2. I think I need to get that dumbbell set Anvil posted (what was that website? I thought I bookmarked it but guess not). Ill be able to just work out in the kitchen regardless of what the kids are doing anytime I want that way. Its better than not doing anything when I cant get to the gym.

3. I plan on going back to BBB sets on flip days. This way I can work each lift 2 times a week, hopefully that will get my CNS going again and my body will get going.
OHP + squats
Bench Press + deadlift
then flip it

4. Get my bench to 235 before may. I figure that should be plenty enough of a time frame if I can get things moving again. I had 210 for 1 last I tried.

edit:
I give up trying to sleep, its just not going to happen until these kids grow up some. The 3 year old can open the "baby gate" to her room now and promptly wakes us at 5am every morning multiple times. Daughter is doing good in therapy's but its alot of time running her places. We are looking into some kind of speech program called genesis I think. She doesnt talk except to sing songs and things like that and it is supposed to help with that. autism is strange, its alot like computer settings and defaults arent set to what you would think. Instead of the keyboard defaulting to numbers / letters / english it defaults to not even using a keyboard but gestures or only a few keys. So its not that the computer doesnt work its just looking for different input vs what everyone else uses as default. Its a challenge to say the least.

This is the set I have:
https://www.titan.fitness/strength-equipment/dumbbells/adjustable-dumbbells/pair-of-adjustable-cast-iron-dumbbells-200-lbs.html It goes up to 100lbs per handle and you can fit a couple extra 10's on there if you want 1 handle to go heavier(or you buy extra 10's). I recommend also getting the shorter handles for when you aren't loading them so heavy. That way you don't have a crap ton of handle sticking out. https://www.titan.fitness/strength-equipment/dumbbells/adjustable-dumbbells/adjustable-14-thread-dumbbell-handle-w-lock-collars-pair.html

I have their version of fat grips too. https://www.titan.fitness/strength-equipment/dumbbells/adjustable-dumbbells/2-weight-bar-grip-red.html


Good luck with sleep. Though nowhere near as tough as your situation, my daughter has been getting up every night between 11:30 and 2:30 and coming in our room. So I get to go over to the guest room. I haven't gone to sleep at night and woken up in the morning in the same bed in a long time. Weird phase.

How did you like the new gym?

Haven't got to the new gym yet, starts Jan 1st. Still working out in the garage, cold cold cold. I did get to see the gym though and it didn't blow me away but had more options than I have here. It'll work. May have to adjust some things. Squat rack looked like a half rack or smith machine, couldn't tell. May have to do floor presses instead of pin presses. Didn't see any machines for much isolation type stuff etc.


Kids are funny the way they do things. I never did any of that as a kid. Slept all night in my own bed.

Man it was cold today. I waited until it was about as warm as it would get.
I switched some stuff around, started the week with deadlifts, i really need to get on those.
yesterday was bench press work. Got my projections from AMRAP 5 lbs under where I was, so thats good. Same for squats today.
Im beat though. The time change has made the kids sleep even worse though, kind of a problem I cant resolve.

Feeling good though, going to try and put the pedal down and make some gains and stay thirsty.
Speaking of, i never ever feel like I got enough done. when my head hits the pillow at night im thinking "I should have done 2 more sets of x." or "You should be doing way more than you are...".
I am pretty strictly sticking to compound stuff. Skullcrusher and barbell curls are at the end and only certain days just to finish things off.

What are good "get it off the floor" work I can do for deadlifts? Ive been doing heavy as I can rack pulls but I need work getting the bar moving.

You can do deficit deadlifts to get stronger off the floor. They are a pain in the ass.

oh frick i didnt even think of those.
i think ill just try and mix in some sumo and some defecit and see if i get anywhere.

not much to update.
Trying to crush bench press and deadlifts, so far im on the upswing.
Deadlifts moved to first exercise in the week, I like this change. They felt really good yesterday.
Today was bench press and Its coming along really well too.
Weight is up, bf is not going up.
Since last measurements:
arms +2"
shoulders +1"
chest +.75

Had a yearly checkup today about the ole ticker, all gtg there.

Well still hammering it. Getting cold as heck though nowadays.
I find I am getting a little bored though. Ive been looking into RPE stuff and thinking I could benefit from it.
I like 5/3/1 structure but just getting a bit bored of the program overall. Going to have to figure something out and get more motivated and feel like Im gaining again.

Cube?

Ill have to look into Cube, dont know enough about it to say one way or the other.
I do know I want to get some pump going. Right now I really like bench press day the best.
5/3/1 as listed then
Bench 3x5 around 75%
then use slingshot for
85% 2x3
95% 2x2
100%+ 2x1
Then into 5x5 pin presses heavy as I can.
Everything feels destroyed (In a great way) after this and I look forward to those days.

ETA
I guess what Im chasing is a good productive feeling workout for each of the big lifts. My accessory work feels like its dragging.

What do your other days look like? Are you getting the same volume?

I typed a response out twice but kept changing my thinking.
I want to work each lift twice in a week in some way. So I paired up lifts but I did it wrong and had to re-write some stuff.
Currently I do:
Deadlift, Bench, OHP, Squats
I paired up Deadlift and OHP then Bench and Squats.
I try and do one good lift from its pair.

Here is what I came up with: ( I may have to adjust sets down from 5 to 3 to save some time we'll see.)
Attached File
Attached File

quick update:
Got heat in the garage now. (kerosene heater)
I am way stronger in the morning than in the evening.
Almost got 215 on bench today, made one mistake that cost me. I did almost pin press it though.

Not alot of traffic this way anymore. Probably keep updates quick and to the point. Been brutal cold out here in KY lately, even with a heater going you can see your breath and that bar is ultra cold. Still grinding away at it though.

Hitting the pause button on 5/3/1, just happen to see an article on T-Nation (really love that place) that was basically a 4-6 week program that looked really interesting and hits alot of angles. It was alot like what I was trying to do just more structured and to the point.

Layer System

I did the bench section today and it was pretty nice. 225 is right around the corner. Hope you guys are doing good and that the new year treats you well.

I feel your pain with the cold bars. Can't wait till you hit 225.

Pushing hard for it.

Got to hit the gym the other day. Daughter had therapy in the same building so they hit that while I hit the weights.
It was different for sure but I just made my way around the place seeing what machines they had and getting a feel for them.
Im sore all over thats for sure. Much nicer than the freezing cold. It was in the 60's today, shorts and tank top!

That’s cool. The good to be able to switch it up and be in a gym. It finally crept above freezing here, upper 30’s feel warm! lol

ikr, once it hit the 30's we thought heat wave!
Not sure how to work in that gym stuff in but I may just take advantage of everything when I can get there.

The way I usually work in the additional equipment at the gym is by targeting specific things to improve lifts(weak points). Like if you aren't hitting your arms directly at home, do an arm day. Etc. At the gym I will either usually try to hypertrophy my back, arms, delts, and/or hamstrings.

yeah going to depend on how many days ill actually get to go. Its a bit of a drive so I cant squander it.
My daughter has therapy there once a week. (just a room with different obstacles she can play on and things) so at least that day I can go.
Honestly Id like to just get some good upper back strength going and get shoulders bigger. I find overall that I am not a very explosive lifter. All my weaknesses are the start of the pull or push. the bottom of the bench press, the bottom of the deadlift, etc etc.

We've had some very un winter like weather. I had to open the garage door because it was so cold in there and so warm outside and workout. :D
weight is going up, both bar and body :D. I dare not mention my kids sleep lately. Trying to take advantage of everything as it presents itself.
Thanks to anyone still checking this thread out. :D

lol, our weather did the same thing. The garage was still frozen but it was 60 degrees outside!

Yep thats exactly what happened!

the gym had a new monster of a rack. It was the Rogue Fitness Infinity. (big big rack). It was nice but A few things I didnt care for on it. No markings on the holes and they were like every 1/2" so it was real hard to tell if you had them even. It also had some plating on it all and it was real slick so the bar could just slide all over the j hooks. Didnt care for that either. Otherwise it was nice.
I worked on bench press the first time there and used a Titan Fitness bench. It was really nice too but when I got home I noticed my back was bruised on both sides. I presume it was from wearing a tank top.
Fun day.