Training log Week 4

Week 4:

This was a heavy week for me which will be followed by a week of deloading and speed work.

Weight x sets x reps in lbs

Squat
315 x 3 x 3
Reverse bands
up to 395 x 3

Assistance work:
Glut/ham raises
sled push/pull
abs

Bench

210 x 3 x 3
reverse bands
275 x 1
295 x 1

Assistance Work:
incline alt db press
db tricep extension

Deadlift:

225 x 3
275 x 1
315 x 1
365 x 3 x 3

Assistance work:
Straight leg deficit

Front squats

Glut/ham raises

Abs

Event day

Overhead press

Warm up

195 x 4

175 x 5

DB farmers carry x 3

Keg carry x 2

Week 3 Training log

Squat:

295 x 3 sets x 4 reps

Assistance work
Glut/Ham raise
Front squat
Abs


Bench
195 x 3 sets x 5 reps

Assistance work
Football bar bench press
Weighted dips
Wide grip pull ups

Deadlift
345 x 3 sets x 4 reps

Assistance work
Still leg deficit deadlifts
Glut/ham rasies
Barbell rows
Abs

Event Training Day:

Log presses
Up to 170 lbs x 3

Log cleans
170 x 5

Single are DB snatches
Atlas stones

Very tired this week, attempting to switch my squat up a bit and fix my form. Still needs a lot of work. I'm now squatting flat footed instead of in Olympic shoes. Seems to be  helping a bit.

Week 2 Training Log

Week 2:

I'm relying off memory here... my b.

Weight x sets x reps

Squat:

Warm up

Cambered bar:
245lb x 2 x 5

Cambered bar

Regular bar (these felt heavy...)

225 lb x 2
245 lb x 2
275 lb x 5


Bench:

Warm up

155 lb x 2
185 lb x 3 x 5

Deadlift:

Warm  up

225lb x 3
275lb x 2
325lb x 3 x 5

Overhead press:

Shit felt soooo heavy

Warm up:

185 x 3
175 x 3
165 x 3


This is NOT everything I did, these are just my main lifts. I felt kinda beat up this week... just keeping my head above water here.

Alanna Casey’s Version of 5/3/1

Alanna Casey’s Version of 5/3/1

I maintain that 5/3/1 is my favorite powerlifting program.  However, after a couple years of running it, I made a few changes that definitely work for me.

Week 1	Week 2	Week 3
60% x 5 reps	65% x 3 reps	70% x 5 reps
70% x 5 reps	75% x 3 reps	80% x 3 reps
80% x 5 reps 80% x 5 + reps	85% x 3 reps 85% x 3 + reps	90% x 1 90% x 1 + reps

Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8
65% x 5 reps	70% x 3 reps	75% x 5 reps	40% x 5 reps
75% x 5 reps	80% x 3 reps	85% x 3 reps	50% x 5 reps
85% x 5 reps 85% x 5 + reps	90% x 3 reps 90% x 3 + reps	95% x 1 rep 95% x 1 + reps	60% x 5 reps

Week 9

Max out

*On deadlift ALWAYS stop at 6 reps, even on your last set. There’s no reason to ever deadlift more than 8 reps when prepping for a powerlifting meet, and 6 reps is even better.

I came up with this version after going through 5/3/1 multiple times and not feeling like I was doing enough volume, and thinking I wasn’t giving my body enough time to get stronger.

I did work with Steve Pulcinella to come up with this and it was his idea to add more volume to the program, which was exactly what I needed.

I also want to stress that you should never go to ABSOLUTE failure. Not in this program. However, you should be able to just baaarely get your last rep in on your last set. DON’T practice failing though! If you get to a point where you think that you will fail on your next rep; stop, and rerack the weight. It’s more important to practice speed and form.

Keep your deadlifts at a max rep scheme of 6 to avoid poor form and risking injury.

That’s my two cents, I hope it works for you! If it does, be sure to tell me!


- Alanna Casey

Week 1 Training Log

Week 1:

When you first start any powerlifting/strongman programing your initial goal is to develop your base strength. Therefore, keep your reps in the 5-10 range and work on form and explosiveness!

 

Weight (in lbs) x sets x reps

Squat:

Safety squat bar> 245x2x5 225x10

Realized after I was supposed to do more sets with 245…whoops!

Bench:

Barbell bench press> 165 x2x5 148x10

Realized after I was supposed to do more sets with 165 … whoops, again!

Deadlift:

From ground > 305x4x5 , 265 x 8  

As you can see from my above workout, sometimes you make mistakes. Don’t beat yourself up about it but instead just move on. Don’t add even more sets to your next work out or try to make up for your mistakes the following day. Just move on and don’t make the same mistake again.

10 Reasons Why You Should You Keep A Lifting Journal

Yes, you definitely should keep a lifting journal. I cannot say enough good things about logging your workouts in a journal.

1)      It’s fun picking out your journal. Your journal is going to be your lifting diary, your work outs, on pen and paper. Spend some time at the Walmart up the street, or a fancy book store and pick out the journal that speaks to you. It’s a super fun experience for some reason.

2)      If you’re like me and have a memory like a fish, your workout journal becomes a reference machine. You’ll never have to guess at, “How much weight did I do last week?” Or, “How many reps did I get last time?”

3)      Your journal inspires you to work harder and get PRs, especially rep prs. Your journal holds you accountable. When you are about to do an exercise and you see that last month you were about to get 6 reps and you are doing the same weight, you KNOW you should be able to do at least 6 reps this time. That knowledge of your previous abilities gives you confidence to beat your previous record.

4)      You look really professional when you have a journal…or kinda nerdy but, I’ll go with professional. 

5)      After an entire cycle, or a few cycles or even a few years it’s really awesome to look in your old journals and see how far you’ve come.

6)      Long term, you can easily compare your results after doing different kinds of programming/lifting cycles to see which ones yielded the best results.

7)      Having a journal keeps you on track with your programming. When you can easily refer to your past workouts, you know exactly where you are in your training program.

8)      Journals seem to keep you focused on a goal. Whenever I start a journal, I start it with a goal in mind. I will write down all my current lifts (ex. squat/bench/deadlift) and then my goal lifts for the end of my program.

9)      Journals are one of the most inexpensive ways to improve your training. Journals are anywhere from a dollar to 20 bucks (for a super fancy journal). That’s money well spent.

10)   You develop a friend in your journal. You get attached to it and it never lets you down, because it can’t, it’s a journal… your very special journal friend.

Now go out there and start journaling my lifting friends!