Guru's 2nd Training Log - Experiments with 5-3-1.

[holvoetn]

Three hours after the workout I'm still feeling beaten.

Nice workout!

+1

[groundskeeperwillie]

Hi guru. New routine seems to be coming along nicely, even if it is early days yet.


gkw

[guru]

Vlad, H, you guys are sadists.

Yo willie, nice to see you man. Early days indeed. Let's see what lies ahead.

Week 2 - OHP day - 25/09/09

OHP - 27.5 kg - 1x3, 32.5 kg - 1x3, 37.5 kg - 1x8.
Pull ups - 10x3.
Seated D/B press - 12.5 kg each - 3x12.

The OHP numbers are a joke, due to my low 1 RM. The top set today is just below 37.5 kg& the top set next week is just above it. Since I don't have microloading facility, they both round off to 37.5 kg. Anyway, glad to get the bar up 8 times here. Hopefully the 1 RM situation improves.

Pull ups were definitely harder today than last week. I think last Friday was a damn good day.

Upped the weight on the seated D/B presses & it went up well. Tough, but no sticking around. Will keep this for this cycle & move up to 15 kg on the next cycle.

End of week 2. So far, so good. I've managed to be regular and the workouts have been satisfying.

[KIB]

End of week 2. So far, so good. I've managed to be regular and the workouts have been satisfying.

Great stuff, Guru!
8 reps at 37.5 on the OHP is nothing to sniff at.
As you say, only two weeks in. But you've established the groundwork and proven the effort.
Going to be some big changes for you on this program, I'm sure.

[holvoetn]

Keep the good sessions coming, Guru.
Looking good so far.

Vlad, H, you guys are sadists.

Thank you very much

[guru]

Thanks KIB & H,

Going to enjoy the short rest before I get into Week 3.

[MikeD]

It was probably the 8-reps on the press that made the pull ups harder. One of the reasons I actually moved them to bench day. Good work though, I didn't like having to humble myself by cutting the weight on the OHP either.

[mjh]

good lifting Guru, you're becoming a real pocket rocket.

Who is the guy in your avatar, btw? I'm assuming some old-timey Indian strongman. I know you guys have a strongman tradition, but I don't know a lot about it.

[guru]

Thanks for dropping by MikeD. What you say might be true about the pull ups.

Mickey, that is The Great Gama, an old time Indian wrestler. Today looks like your logs visit day.

[mjh]

Today looks like your logs visit day.

Thanks for the link Guru. Indeed I have been doing the rounds today. I often feel guilty that I don't keep up on logs as much as I'd like to. They are, after all, where some of the real value of a forum such as this one lies.

EDIT: I've been sucked into a wiki-black hole starting from the Great Gama, heading into Pehlwani and beyond.

[guru]

I've been sucked into a wiki-black hole starting from the Great Gama, heading into Pehlwani and beyond.

Haha, I've got company.

[guru]

Week 3 actually starts tomorrow, & I was supposed to enjoy the two days' rest before that, but tomorrow is Vijayadashami, a festival day & the gym is closed. So had to get my ass up there today.

Week 3 - Squat day - 27/09/09

Squat - 60 kg - 1x5, 70 kg - 1x3, 77.5 kg - 1x6.
Front squats - 50 kg - 3x10.
Good Mornings - 50 kg - 3x12.

First set of squats felt heavy & I was afraid for a moment that today might be a bad day, but the second set was better & the top set was beautiful. I never expected to get 6 reps there, and the bar didn't slow down for the first five.

Front squats were agony. I have never felt like puking while lifting weights, but today was close. When the second set was over, I was thinking of reducing the weight for the third one, but just rested a bit more & did it. My wrists were not happy at all though.

After getting a few pointers from James & Muddy on these, I was much more conscious of my technique & the first set was a bit of experimenting. I realized that in Week 1 & 2, I was keeping the knees locked out & as such felt them mainly in the hamstrings. Today I allowed them to bend a little & felt these much less in the hams. There was that funny feeling again in the right lower back (not exactly pain), but it has almost subsided now.

A good beginning of Week 3.

[MikeD]

Squat, front squats, AND good mornings?! You're a madman.

Just a question, do you notice any assymetries when you do good mornings? My hips shift a bit to the right when I go back, and I have to consciously make sure everything's in balance every rep.

[Kathy]

Geez Guru....you've become a lifting machine 3x10 of front squats?

On the GM's, did you find the bar rolling toward your head or did you do something to prevent that? I really like doing these but I never feel fully in control of the bar which is a bit disconcerting. Where do you place the bar? Where it is for a back squat or higher up on your neck?

Enjoy your holiday...I'll have to look that up on Wikipedia! Between you and mjh I am getting quite an education

[MikeD]

I've been putting it on my traps (only 110 lbs so far), and gripping the bar hard. You shouldn't have too much of a problem if you're putting your hips WAY back instead of bending over.

I've heard the low bar position advocated in general, however. I'm going to try it today.