Starting 5/3/1...

Tomorrow I will begin 5/3/1 with a bodybuilding emphasis.  Four day rotation, five days a week (Tues & Sat off).  The reason for changing my routine is that I was plateauing on a lot of things.

MAXES - 2011/11/09

Bench:  235#
Squat:  365#
OHP: 145#
Deadlift: 425#

I am not displeased with those numbers.  On June 23, I had 245/335/135/415.  I used straps on the deads in June, none today.  My squats are likely higher than the 365, but when I maxed out a few days ago I did a lot sets to get up there [4x45/95/135/185/225/255/275/295/315; 1x335/355].  Also, this is the first time I have lifted heavy since June, and the first time I have really benched anything or done any deadlifts since I broke my wrist in early September.

All in all, not too bad

2011-11-06 Check in [200.5 @ 34.875]

Mass:  200.5 (+0.25)
Waist:  34.875 (--)
Arm:  16.25 (+0.25)
Thigh:  24.375 (-0.25)
Calf:  15.0 (--)

Odd results from last week, but nothing distressing.  My lifts have all been going up, so I am improving, even if my measurements are funky for this week.

Happy thing:  I hit 355# on a squat.  And I am reasonably certain that I could have hit 375# if I had not dialed in so slowly.  I did sets of 4 at:  45,95,135,185,225,255,275,295,315; and then singles at 335,355,375 (fail).  And my weakness is that my upper back rounded forward when I was in the hole.  Still, not too embarrassing.

2011-11-02 Routine Success

Currently, my "diet" and training routine seem to be working rather well.  Mild mass gain, small waist reduction, increased strength, and I am still enjoying my lifting routine.  I am not being very hard-core at the moment.  I eat mostly on-plan & I lift at least 4 days a week, but I am not killing myself in any way.  So, current plan is to continue what I am doing until I stop getting good results.

2011-10-30 Check in [200.25 @ 34.875]

Mass:  200.25 (+0.75)
Waist:  34.875 (-0.125)
Arm:  16.125 (+0.125)
Thigh:  24.625 (--)
Calf:  15.0 (--)

Small changes this week, but that is ok.  If I can keep my waist going down a little and my mass going up a little every week, I will be happy.  If I can gain about 4-5# and drop about 1/2 an inch off of my waist over the next month I will be quite content.  I'd even be ok with maintaining mass while dropping my waist, or maintaining my waist while gaining mass.  Just so long as the waist does not go up and my mass does not go down.

Workout-wise, I seem to be not so much in a program-ADD mode, as in a "figure out what works for me right now" mode.  I am on a 4-5 day rotation:  Chest, Back, Legs, Shoulders+Arms.  And depending upon how my days go (ex:  I cannot lift on Saturday due to gym hours), I will throw in a total body or conditioning workout between my shoulder & chest days.  I am also trying to do at least a bit of conditioning (currently elliptical sprints) at the end of some of my workouts.

2011-10-23 Check in [199.5 @ 35.0]

Mass:  199.5 (+1.75)
Waist:  35.0 (+0.625)
Arm:  16.0 (--)
Thigh: 24.625 (--)
Calf: 15.0 (--)

Obviously, I am not happy with these results.  However, I cannot be terribly surprised.
Workouts:  1/2 on Sunday plus a 3 mile hike, 1 on Monday, 1 on Tuesday.  No cardio to speak of
Diet: Very inconsistent, plus several very bad meals.  Wednesday night (1am) had Wendy's.  Thursday night had a lot of bread.  Friday night had Rodizio's.  Saturday had Del Taco and Wendy's.  Granted, these were due to social things (Wednesday:  Thorn of Gesthemene, Thursday: Janna&Jade, Friday: Jon&Laurell, Saturday: Five Finger Death Punch).

Anyhow, I need to fix this up.  I am going to be lowering my intake a bit (and being more careful with it), getting all of my workouts in, and doing cardio & abs at least a few times.  My hope for cardio is to do it pre-breakfast on days when I don't have any morning work.  And if I have the energy/time, I will do some after lifting sessions.  If I can reduce my waist without dropping mass too quickly I will be happy.  Well, I will be happy with waist reduction in general.  I just do not want to drop 10# to get back to a 33" waist.  That would erase all of the mass gain I have had.

Diet for this week:
Breakfast, pre, post-workout:  40gP + 40gC
other two meals:  40gP + 20gF
Peri-workout:  Surge Recovery immediately following lifting

We'll see how this goes.

2011-10-16 Check in [197.75 @ 34.735]

Mass:  197.75
Waist:  34.375
Arm:  16.0
Thigh:  24.625
Calf:  15.0

My waist is growing larger than I would like it to.  However, my thigh and calf are larger than they have been since I started cutting fat 16 months ago.  And I am leaner than I was at that point.

Anyhow, I will actually control my diet a bit.  Mostly by actually measuring my intake and not just eating randomly sized portions.  I will also add in a bit of cardio.  If that doesn't work, I will cut out wheat again (yes, I know, it is bad), and add in more cardio.

Last week is when I started high rep squats.  It looks like they work well, so I am going to continue them.  However, the new hypertrophy program I was on courtesy of CT was killing me.  I had no strength or endurance, and was having hypoglycemic crashes after every workout regardless of food intake.  I am going to try out a workout that is based more upon what I have found works for me.  Mostly in the 8-10 rep range.  I will be going back to a fairly standard five day split (chest, quads, back, shoulders, hamstrings).  Although I will some extra quad work on my hamstring days.  Progression will be either straight weight (for a few exercises), or volume then weight (ex:  week 1 - 4x8, week 2 - 4x10 with same weight, week 3 - 4x8 with more weight).