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miked8c
New member
Age: 21
Height: 5’8
Body Weight: 185
Objective:
Make progress in both weight and form on the five main compound movements of my program. Improvements made on these lifts will equate to an increase in strength and/or LBM. I will take a video recording of every set done for max reps to evaluate my form and to track my progress, as well as provide some legitimacy to my log. Monthly physique updates will also be included.
Overview of My Routine:
- 5/3/1 Progressive Loading Scheme for Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Pull Up and Overhead Press.
- Each compound exercise, barring the conventional deadlift, will be done at least twice a week. However, each exercise will only be worked for a max reps set once a week, the other times it is used will be for assistance. When used as assistance I will still try to increase the weight or reps on a weekly basis, however the intensity will be less than that seen on my max reps sets.
- This frequency serves the purpose of continually training the motor pathways for these essential lifts. I don’t believe you should bench, squat, OHP or do pull ups only once a week. In order to maximize your productivity in the gym these exercises should be trained twice a week, at different volumes and intensities. This frequency helps to ingrain these movements in your central nervous system allowing you to become more proficient in the movement and able to lift heavier loads, spurring muscle growth.
- I squat deep and have a hellacious arch on my bench press, neither of these things will change.
- Assistance will consist of two to four exercises in addition to the compound exercise of the day. My assistance exercises are selected with regards to the following goals set forth by Jim Wendler in his book 531:
o Strengthen weak areas of the body.
o Compliment and help increase the four basic lifts.
o Provide balance and symmetry to your body and your training.
o Build muscle mass.
- “The best assistance exercises are those that directly contribute to the performance of the basic movements that produce the most benefit” – Mark Rippetoe
o Similarly, in my routine 80% of my assistance work will be the compound movements themselves or variations of these movements. Front squats, SLDL’s, Good Mornings, Chin Ups, Romanians and the big lifts themselves are my bread and butter for assistance.
- The Pull Up is treated as a compound exercise in this program for these reasons:
o It is the heaviest upper-body pull movement available.
o It is a multi joint movement which incorporates some of the most functional and massive muscles in the upper body, as well as working forearm and grip strength.
o It is an excellent indicator of upper-body strength.
o A strong pull up has carryover to all other pulling movements more so than any other exercise, except for the deadlift.
o It is a movement that has a constant and measurable form that is easy to judge consistently. This is an important trait for a compound movement as it allows you to measure your progress accurately from workout to workout. You reach full extension at the bottom and pull your chin above your hands at the top. If these two requirements are met it becomes very difficult to unintentionally cheat at the pull up.
o It has supreme carry over to the bench press and overhead press, promoting muscular balance and stability while aiding in shoulder health for frequent benchers.
o No other exercise strengthens the latissimus dorsi muscles (IMO the most underrated upper body muscle) like a full ROM pull up.
Lifestyle:
I am currently in my senior year of college studying to become a merchant marine. I ship often and am rarely able to work out at the same gym for a period of longer than three months. Sometimes the ship I work on is not equipped with a barbell meaning I could go months without squatting, deadlifting etc. This is by far my biggest hurdle, as committed as I am to strength training I struggle to find the consistency I need to make long term gains. For the next four months I will have access to a fully equipped weight room and should be able to make some decent improvements which I can focus on maintaining next time I ship.
I want this to be a long term log, something I am always recording even if I don’t have access to a barbell. I am in this for the long haul so I need to accept the fact that because of my career I may need to make certain changes and sacrifices in my training.
Diet:
Get my bodyweight per gram of protein and fill the rest with carbs and fats. 1.5 to 2 gallons of water per day. I don’t cook my own food since I am either on a ship or eating at the school dining hall. For this reason I haven’t calculated my macros as I cannot measure the food I am consuming accurately enough to warrant knowing my exact macros. However, I have a pretty good idea of how much food I need on a daily basis to support my time in the gym. Luckily, both the ship and school serve nutritious food so I have no trouble eating plenty of relatively "clean" food.
I also do two 40g shakes of protein a day. I shoot for over 185 g’s of protein a day and stuff my face with carbs and fats depending on how hard I have been hitting the gym that particular week.
I tend on the IIFYM side of the spectrum, meaning I don’t stress too hard about eating processed foods as long as they fit into the macros (rough estimate) I am trying to hit. For example, I love bagels, pasta, Chobani greek yogurt and Chipotle, I eat all these foods fairly often.
I consume alcohol at most once a week, almost always on a Saturday night that way it doesn’t screw me for training since I have Sunday off. This will go down to more like once a month once school starts back up. As dedicated as I am to training, accommodations need to be made some times, I enjoy hanging out and drinking with my friends way too much to give it up completely.
Routine (Assistance):
Monday - Bench Press 5/3/1 (5x10 Bench Press, 5x10 OHP {60 BW Pull Ups spread between sets of assistance})
Tuesday- Deadlift 5/3/1 (Deficit SLDL’s 3x10, Squat 2x10, Back Extension 3x10)
Wednesday- Barbell Row (Pull ups with mixed grips, abs)
Thursday- Overhead Press 5/3/1 (OHP back off 2x5-8, Bench Press 3x8, DB Chest press 3x10-12, DB Lying Triceps Extension 3x10)
Friday- Squat 5/3/1 (Front Squat 5x8, GHR 3x10-12)
Saturday- Pull Up 5/3/1 (Pull/Chin Up back off sets with different grips 5x5-8, Barbell Row 3x10, Lat Pull Down Supinated 2x10, DB Row 3x10)
Sunday- OFF
Short Term Goals:
495x1 Deadlift (All time max 520x1 @ 195 BW)
405x5 Squat (All time max 420x4 and 475x1 @ 195 BW)
250x10 Bench Press
60x10 Pull Up
185x3 OHP
Feedback:
Comments, Questions, Criticisms, Encouragements, Discouragements and Miscellaneous Banter are all appreciated.
My YouTube Channel is ConventionalStrength, here you can see my total collection of videos uploaded thus far.
Height: 5’8
Body Weight: 185
Objective:
Make progress in both weight and form on the five main compound movements of my program. Improvements made on these lifts will equate to an increase in strength and/or LBM. I will take a video recording of every set done for max reps to evaluate my form and to track my progress, as well as provide some legitimacy to my log. Monthly physique updates will also be included.
Overview of My Routine:
- 5/3/1 Progressive Loading Scheme for Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Pull Up and Overhead Press.
- Each compound exercise, barring the conventional deadlift, will be done at least twice a week. However, each exercise will only be worked for a max reps set once a week, the other times it is used will be for assistance. When used as assistance I will still try to increase the weight or reps on a weekly basis, however the intensity will be less than that seen on my max reps sets.
- This frequency serves the purpose of continually training the motor pathways for these essential lifts. I don’t believe you should bench, squat, OHP or do pull ups only once a week. In order to maximize your productivity in the gym these exercises should be trained twice a week, at different volumes and intensities. This frequency helps to ingrain these movements in your central nervous system allowing you to become more proficient in the movement and able to lift heavier loads, spurring muscle growth.
- I squat deep and have a hellacious arch on my bench press, neither of these things will change.
- Assistance will consist of two to four exercises in addition to the compound exercise of the day. My assistance exercises are selected with regards to the following goals set forth by Jim Wendler in his book 531:
o Strengthen weak areas of the body.
o Compliment and help increase the four basic lifts.
o Provide balance and symmetry to your body and your training.
o Build muscle mass.
- “The best assistance exercises are those that directly contribute to the performance of the basic movements that produce the most benefit” – Mark Rippetoe
o Similarly, in my routine 80% of my assistance work will be the compound movements themselves or variations of these movements. Front squats, SLDL’s, Good Mornings, Chin Ups, Romanians and the big lifts themselves are my bread and butter for assistance.
- The Pull Up is treated as a compound exercise in this program for these reasons:
o It is the heaviest upper-body pull movement available.
o It is a multi joint movement which incorporates some of the most functional and massive muscles in the upper body, as well as working forearm and grip strength.
o It is an excellent indicator of upper-body strength.
o A strong pull up has carryover to all other pulling movements more so than any other exercise, except for the deadlift.
o It is a movement that has a constant and measurable form that is easy to judge consistently. This is an important trait for a compound movement as it allows you to measure your progress accurately from workout to workout. You reach full extension at the bottom and pull your chin above your hands at the top. If these two requirements are met it becomes very difficult to unintentionally cheat at the pull up.
o It has supreme carry over to the bench press and overhead press, promoting muscular balance and stability while aiding in shoulder health for frequent benchers.
o No other exercise strengthens the latissimus dorsi muscles (IMO the most underrated upper body muscle) like a full ROM pull up.
Lifestyle:
I am currently in my senior year of college studying to become a merchant marine. I ship often and am rarely able to work out at the same gym for a period of longer than three months. Sometimes the ship I work on is not equipped with a barbell meaning I could go months without squatting, deadlifting etc. This is by far my biggest hurdle, as committed as I am to strength training I struggle to find the consistency I need to make long term gains. For the next four months I will have access to a fully equipped weight room and should be able to make some decent improvements which I can focus on maintaining next time I ship.
I want this to be a long term log, something I am always recording even if I don’t have access to a barbell. I am in this for the long haul so I need to accept the fact that because of my career I may need to make certain changes and sacrifices in my training.
Diet:
Get my bodyweight per gram of protein and fill the rest with carbs and fats. 1.5 to 2 gallons of water per day. I don’t cook my own food since I am either on a ship or eating at the school dining hall. For this reason I haven’t calculated my macros as I cannot measure the food I am consuming accurately enough to warrant knowing my exact macros. However, I have a pretty good idea of how much food I need on a daily basis to support my time in the gym. Luckily, both the ship and school serve nutritious food so I have no trouble eating plenty of relatively "clean" food.
I also do two 40g shakes of protein a day. I shoot for over 185 g’s of protein a day and stuff my face with carbs and fats depending on how hard I have been hitting the gym that particular week.
I tend on the IIFYM side of the spectrum, meaning I don’t stress too hard about eating processed foods as long as they fit into the macros (rough estimate) I am trying to hit. For example, I love bagels, pasta, Chobani greek yogurt and Chipotle, I eat all these foods fairly often.
I consume alcohol at most once a week, almost always on a Saturday night that way it doesn’t screw me for training since I have Sunday off. This will go down to more like once a month once school starts back up. As dedicated as I am to training, accommodations need to be made some times, I enjoy hanging out and drinking with my friends way too much to give it up completely.
Routine (Assistance):
Monday - Bench Press 5/3/1 (5x10 Bench Press, 5x10 OHP {60 BW Pull Ups spread between sets of assistance})
Tuesday- Deadlift 5/3/1 (Deficit SLDL’s 3x10, Squat 2x10, Back Extension 3x10)
Wednesday- Barbell Row (Pull ups with mixed grips, abs)
Thursday- Overhead Press 5/3/1 (OHP back off 2x5-8, Bench Press 3x8, DB Chest press 3x10-12, DB Lying Triceps Extension 3x10)
Friday- Squat 5/3/1 (Front Squat 5x8, GHR 3x10-12)
Saturday- Pull Up 5/3/1 (Pull/Chin Up back off sets with different grips 5x5-8, Barbell Row 3x10, Lat Pull Down Supinated 2x10, DB Row 3x10)
Sunday- OFF
Short Term Goals:
495x1 Deadlift (All time max 520x1 @ 195 BW)
405x5 Squat (All time max 420x4 and 475x1 @ 195 BW)
250x10 Bench Press
60x10 Pull Up
185x3 OHP
Feedback:
Comments, Questions, Criticisms, Encouragements, Discouragements and Miscellaneous Banter are all appreciated.
My YouTube Channel is ConventionalStrength, here you can see my total collection of videos uploaded thus far.
