Wendler 531 for 2011

After my last 531 cycle I hurt my right shoulder and had to take it easy on benching and OHP for awhile...was able to move my squat to 475 but failed on a 545 dealdift the day after Thanksgiving. I did pull 495 for a double, which equates out to something close to 545. I'll go for a PR again after this cycle.

Think I'm going to go with BBB and mix it up just a little.

SOHP:5-3-1
5 sets 10 reps at 50%
BB shrugs
Either light DB side raises(my shoulder really like these for strength) or tri extensions

Squat: 5-3-1
5 sets 10 reps at 50%
GHR or RDL

Bench: 5-3-1
5 sets 10 reps at 50%
DB rows

Deadlift: 5-3-1
5 sets 10 reps at 50%
GHR or rack pulls

Start with deadlifts tomorrow. See how it goes!

Current stats: 260lbs, 475(425) squat, 320(290) bench, 505(455) dead, 205(185) OHP

Wave 1 Week 3

Today we started the final week of heavy weight in our first wave of Wendler's 5 3 1

1 rep sets working up to 95% of your calculated 90% 1RM...

SOHP
Warm up, stretch, and light bar movements

Work sets:
155x1 175x1 195x3(these felt really solid)


Accessory work:

Seated DB shoulder press
60x10 65x10 70x12 70x12 70x15

Heavy BB shrugs
135x10
225x10
405x15
495x10
315x20

Some Amazing Training Videos

20 year-old Olympic weightlifter Pat Mendes squatting 363kg/800 lbs. Completely raw. He weighs 130kg/286 lbs.


Pat again



Blenderate's 462x20 RAW



Mike Tuchscherer is always motivational...



Mikhail Koklyaev performance in Glasgow. The guy is an animal!

Wave 1 Week 2

Week 2 of the Wendler 5 3 1 program. We're sitting here, Thursday night during a week of a very weird schedule- the gym was closed Monday and I have to sub for a softball game tomorrow evening, so we've had to shift training days around. Anyways, here's what this week has brought us so far-

Week 2 is 3 reps 3 sets at 70%, 80%, and 90% respectively, with the last set being an "all out" set. Plus the 3 accessory exercises you do normally.

Day 1 SOHP
145x3 165x3 185x5 *Didn't have a good warm up session, although I foam rolled at home and stretched, my body still wasn't feeling very fluid*

Accessory work:

Dips: 3x15 2x15 with 30lbs chain around neck
BB shrugs: 225x15 315x15 405x15 475x10(power shrugs, resting on 3rd pin- felt great) 315x25
Tricep extensions: 5x15 cable machine

Day 2 Deadlifts

Warmup with 225 for a few sets, foam rolled to get blood flowing, and stretched.
325x3 365x3 425x5(I might have hit 6, I'm really not sure). I had my belt on too high and after my 2nd rep, felt a nasty pain from it digging into my ribs, so I took it off for at LEAST 3 more reps. We'll call it 5, but I haven't had an issue hitting 6 before)

Accessory work:
Hack squat 5x15x4 5x25
Incline sit-ups 5x10
GHR 5x10

I'm starting to really appreciate the GHR. Great for posterior chain development, great for the hamstrings, and should really aid in bringing good numbers to my squat and deadlift. If you don't know what a GHR is, here's a sample video-




Day 3 Bench Press

Warm up with foam roller and bar exercises
135x5x2
185x5x2

Work sets:
205x3 235x3 265x6 265x3

Accessory work:
DB flat bench:
70x15 100x12/10 80x12 70x15
BB rows(worked really light with good squeeze.form)
135x15x5
Overhead seated cable tri extensions
5x15

Last day of Week 2 was SQUATS!

Warm up, foam roll, and light squats with 135 for good stretch

Work sets:

285x3 325x3 370x4(had a long weekend out of town with a lot of driving and horrible eating schedules- I'm lucky I even made those last 2 reps :P)

Accessory work:

Good mornings
10 reps 5 sets from 95 to 125
Hanging leg raises 10x5
Leg Press 4 platesx10 6 platesx10
8 platesx15 10 platesx15 10 platesx20

410+chains Squat and 505 deadlift video

Here's a couple of older videos.
First one is a deadlift complilation. Yes, I realized I hitched, decided to kinda jerk shrug it for some reason...the pulls weren't too bad.




Here's 410 on the bar plus 60 in chains



Here's 320x11

Jim Wendler's 5 3 1 Program

Starting 1RM for each major compound movement:

SOHP 225
Bench 320
Squat 455
Deadlift 505

Calculated to 90% of 1RM for program:

SOHP 202.5
Bench 288
Squat 410
Deadlift 455

Week 1 Wave 1 went pretty good. It is a pretty taxing program that takes a lot out of you. We are doing the "Periodization Bible", which includes 3 accessory movements, 5 sets for 10-20 reps for each compound movement. These accessory exercises are meant to focus on the most worked muscles to aid in further strength and development. For example, on deadlift day, after your final set of deadlifts, you will do 1 hamstring exercise, 1 lower back exercise, and 1 abdominals exercise.

Wave 1 Week 1 - 65%x5 75%x5 85%x5(hit a minimum of 5 reps, but go as far as possible). Plus 3 assistance exercises.

Day 1 SOHP:
135x5 150x5 175x7

Assistance work:
DB flat bench. 50x20x3 60x15x2
Machine shrugs: Heavy sets, 15-20 reps 5 sets
Tricep extensions: seated overhead, using cables 5 sets, 15-20 reps

Day 2 Deadlifts:
295x5 365x5 390x8
Assistance work:
Hack Squat 15-20 reps, 5 sets
Incline situps 5x15
Ham curls 5x15

Day 3 Bench Press

185x5 215x5 245x11 245x10(didn't feel warm after 11 reps, wanted to do another set)
Assistance work:
DB incline 80x18/14/12 70x14 60x18
DB rows 120x18/14/12/10 65x15
Tri pushdowns 5x20

Day 4 Squat

265x5 305x5 345x8
Assistance work:
Good mornings 95x15
Leg press 5x15-20
Hanging leg raise 5x15

It feels good for the first time actually sticking with a program and not just "doing what feels good". I hope to see good gains with this program. I'll follow up with weekly blogs of each cycle, plus phots/videos, etc...