PR Territory

I almost didn’t notice – I am back in PR Territory!

On Monday, I squatted 135 kg for a triple. PR! My DL PR should fall in 6 weeks.

I am amazed how easy it was to come back to my old numbers. In 2010/2011, I was trying real hard, getting sick all the time, pulling my groin squatting, almost passing out after max Deadlifts. This time it was mostly boring. I had some personal trouble and I was just going through the motions. Most of this 5/3/1 cycle, I didn’t even go for the + reps. I do almost no assistance exercises.

So what’s the secrect? Progressing slowly, staying away from true maxes. Not running myself into the ground.

Granted, my numbers are nothing special. But a 135 kg Squat is still the best I’ve ever done. And I am still going strong. I am really curious how far I can push it this time around.

Plan B

My elbows did not feel good this week. There is no actual pain, yet, but it felt like there would be. So I figured I’d stop before it develops into tendonitis.

I don’t remember where I have read about it, but ring pull-ups are supposed to be easiest on aging elbows.

We’ll see how it goes.

Course Corrections

I am in the 5th wave of my current 5/3/1 cycle. I started low, so I am still far away from any personal records, but I am making progress.

My pull-ups suck though. I’ve only been doing pull-ups on Mondays, and that is simply not enough frequency it seems – they have been getting worse. Best I ever did on pull-ups last year was when greasing the groove. Too bad my elbows could not keep up. During my biofeedback phase I was making progress as well – but I did at least the testing reps two or three times a week. So I need more frequency.

For the past 2 weeks I’ve been trying to get back into greasing the groove. The main problem was – I simply forgot to do them. They are just not in my daily routine anymore, but the last couple of days I was a good boy. So I had a slow start to ease into things again. I’ll just pretend it was intentional.

We’ll see how it goes. I am optimistic – my tendons had a year of getting used to pull-ups.

How to pick up girls at the gym

Genius!

Breaking Radio Silence

I have been training but I don’t have anything exciting to report – so I have not been posting

However, in no particular order

• I got some fat grip-z and use them for assistance exercises
• I am 2 months into my 5/3/1 run and I am training full-body twice a week
• I have not got the assistance exercises locked down yet; Chin-Ups and some kind of row are a must; but
  I’ve also been playing with curls, barbell complexes and KB swing breathing ladders. BBB is an option but, well, boring.

A Much-Needed Reminder

From Jim Wendlers 5/3/1 FAQ:

16. Retested max, way higher than training max. What should I do?

- Don’t recalculate. Keep the path your on now. If you are getting stronger the program is obviously working

Because, of course, contrary to my stated intent of being a good boy and not doing bigger jumps than I am supposed to, guess what I’ve been thinking about

Training with a Barbell again

It feels good.

I like kettlebells and I probably will switch between kettlebell and barbell phases in the future. But … it feels awesome to train heavier again.

I’ve been thinking for months about my renewed barbell training and I always planned to do some kind of linear program, then back to 5/3/1. Or maybe experiment with biofeedback training once I reached some “decent” weights again.

But this is exactly what I did the last time around. I was in a real hurry to get the weights up, and then spent the rest of the time banging my head against plateaus. Why am I in such a hurry?

So this time around, I’ll go with 5/3/1 from the start. If I am a good boy and I don’t increase the training maxes more than I am supposed to, it should take me 10 months to reach my previous PRs.