Disclaimer: Although this 5/3/1 Building the Monolith is the program I am referencing the changes I made make it no longer the program Wendler Wrote. Let's say inspired by.
I write this having only completed 5 of the 6 weeks knowing full well I will complete the final week in the next few days. So I feel good about writing /typing out my notes and perceptions of the Template /program.
I will say this is not really a "Rehab program" or a program for someone just returning to lifting after a long of hiatus as I have had. It did feel great to push some heavier weights 3 days a week, eat a ton of food and gain some confidence back in my body's ability to do things.
I only started Squatting, Benching, OH Pressing, and Deadlifting in Sept. When I started all of those lifts my low back still required time to stabilize and strengthen in all of these movements so I took light and progressed slow. This program showed up at a good time for me. The Volume and the heavier percentages felt very good.
My intention going in was to complete every day and every movement as prescribed (except of course for the adjustments I will note.)
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| I have 2 out of the 3 down, working on the lifting heavy part. |
Training:
- I set up my TM based off where my Lower Body is capable of doing with solid form. As always I started Light with my TM. By no means did this make things easier as the soreness I felt the day after was always uneven. Having the TM kept me from doing anything stupid.
-Conditioning on the off days was not as prescribed. instead I did my rehab and took my dog for longer walks. This suited my Hip and Glute better as they needed the added recovery time between training days.
-Monday Squats were as prescribed. Friday Squats during Weeks 1-3 I used a box (only to touch), Weeks 4-6 I set the pins in the Squat cage so that I would touch just below parallel. Both of these methods gave me feed back to make sure I was squatting level. By level of soreness I had the day after I would say it did not make things any easier.
-Due to not lifting as heavy with the lower body I did push the AMRAP sets hard with OH Press
- I Benched before DLing due to wanting this to be the focused lift and my DL numbers were low so not a lot of warm up sets and using the Bench to warm up with felt more natural for me.
-Wendler takes the simplest things and they turn out to be awesome. All the extra stuff made me feel like a million bucks without over taxing things.
-Face pulls and Band Pullaparts were complete in 1 set of 100 reps.
- Shrugs I changed to DB Shrugs and "Ran the Rack" Starting at 75lbs, dropping in 10lbs increments until 100 reps were completed.
-Curls for 100 reps I changed from week to week but it was simply one or two exercises with a light weight completed for a total of 100 reps no rest.
-I used the Box Squats on Fridays because my lower back was usually still jacked and having the box keep me at parallel felt safer for my lower back at this time.
- I like the layout of this program a lot. Mon- Squat /OH Press /Pull Ups, Wed-DL, Bench, Db Row, Fri- Squat, OH press for volume, Heavy Pullups. I like it enough that going into my next 6 weeks of lifting I am doing something similar.
-I was sick at the start of Week 4 (sore throat and mild fever over the weekend), I did the required lifting for Squats and OH Press on the Monday but cut all the reps in half for everything else. This was enough to let my body not completely crash again.
-At the start of Week 4 I increased my TM for BENCH, DL, and OH Press. I left my Squat numbers the same. This may seem counter to the program, it is, for me it allowed my body to continue to smooth out my squat motion. I can tell that the tension and stretch reflex in my glute is much smoother than Day 1 Week 1. Which in really is what I am after long term, getting my squat movement to feel natural and smooth.
-Reps for the DL felt great and yet still very taxing. My lock out is still questionable at times, as the glute learns to fire it is getting much better.
Nutrition:
-You have to eat. I avg 8-10 eggs a day and 1 lbs of ground beef a day. For me with the lighter numbers it was enough. Something happens when you eat this much protein, I stopped craving junk food and was not hungry between feedings. Go figure. I am taking this info moving forward. My next training log will explain why in greater detail.
-This is an excellent program to use in Dec as excess Cal (if you eat the Protein first) is not a worry. You need to eat for this template to not crush you
-There were days where I felt bloated, fat and gross. I sucked it up and got on with things. Those also happened to be followed by rockstar like training days. Sacrifice for the end goal, get bigger and strong(er)
Recovery:
-Sleep. I work shifts so this is always something I pay attention to. Even more so since getting my CPAP last Feb. I like the fact my CPAP tells me how long I was "sleeping" (aka had the machine on). I made sure to take naps whenever possible and if I could get more than 8hrs I took it. Sometimes I only sleep 5-6hrs. a night because of the changing schedule and my body simply getting screwed up.
-As I stated earlier I did all my hip rehab as well as foam rolling, Lax balling and stretching on the days I was not lifting.
-See nutrition section because that is key for recovery on this program.
-McGill big 3 were also completed on off days and some days when I had extra time.
Increases over the 6 weeks:
-Week 1 day I completed 60 total pull ups. Week 6 I completed 87 pull ups. I did pull Ups through out the session without compromising recovery between sets
-Weighted Pull ups Week 1 was 5 x 5 x 5lbs, Week 6 5 x 5 x 12.5lbs.
-Squat and DL feel smoother.
-PR OH Press AMRAP
Summary:
-You walk out of the gym after training feeling as though you just prepared to stand next to Thor ready to battle the Ice giants. It really does give you a boost of self confidence.
-I want to pull this program back out in 10-12 months when my body is strong(er) and I am further out from my body adjusting to surgery and the stuff that has come with it. I know in advance how gruelling it will be and I look forward to it.
-I hand wrote every day with all the numbers written in advance. This created a focus through a sense of perceived obligation (to myself) to complete this program. This helps when you are sore and tired and have those moments of weakness. It helps lock in the discipline.
-Overall this program did for me exactly what I wanted it to going in. My lifts are strong(er) and feel smoother with no side issues of my lower back feeling weak. My confidence is increased and I will finish this program with a sense of achievement. Despite my adjustments this was still grueling to get through some days.
If you decide to do this. Buckle up and prepare to be smashed down but walk away feeling awesome.
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