04 SEP 11 -- Pec Pumpin' and Mini-Tires

The bench press moves up 5 lbs to 350 and today is the 3 x 5 workout.

Warm up sets

45 x 25
140 x 5
175 x 5
210 x 5 (only required to do 3, but I put out 2 more reps by mistake)

Working sets

230 x 5
265 x 5
300 x 5

I stayed with the requisite number of reps for the last set.

The decision was made to do a muscle building workout after this, shooting for some hypertrophy work for the pecs and lats. After my workout the other day, I was reading a new Canadian bodybuilding magazine that's just come out, and after looking at some of the bodybuilders' physiques featured in it, I thought it would be cool to work more on hypertrophy again. Big, strong and lean.

Pecs:

Incline bench press 185 x 10, 195 x 10, 205 x 8, 225 x 5, keeping rest to a minimum.
Incline dumbbell flyes 40 x 3 x 15

Back and Lats:

One arm dumbbell rows 85 x 2 x 10, 95 x 10, 100 x 10, 120 x 10
Wide grip cable pulldown 100 x 15, 125 x 2 x 15
Face pull 70 x 15, 10 (I lost concentration, as someone was talking to me), 15

Triceps work was just some cable extensions doing 70 x 10, 80 x 3 x 10

Again, the flexibility of the 5/3/1 program reveals itself to be adaptable to any agenda one might have, be it powerlifting, strongman, football, wrestling, martial arts, and yes, bodybuilding. It's a unique, yet simple plan, based on an uncomplicated linear progression, and very easily fitted into other training programs. Even the "bodyweight only" crowd can use this program to their advantage, as one of the assistance templates which Wendler includes in the manual incorporates bodyweight exercises after the main strength movements of the day.

Yesterday, I just did a mini-tire flip workout at my dad's place. There's an old Goodyear tractor tire there, which I think probably weighs around 250. That's just a guess. My oldest son and I were over for a visit, and I decided to do some tire flips with it while we sat outside on the patio, doing a total of 5 sets of 10. At first, it was just half-assed stuff, as I felt it would be better than doing nothing. Then it dawned on me how each tire has its own defined way of being flipped. This tire, for example, is light but it allows for explosive, rapid flipping movement to be trained. I would bend to grip the tire, and then explode upward while flipping it, driving powerfully off the ground, much like a  clean. The lightness of the tire also allowed me to focus more on the practice of the technique of "tire chasing", which is a vital part of successful tire-flipping, whereby the individual must keep in constant motion, working for speed before fatigue sets in.

There just might be room for this tire in the workout plan :)