[BendtheBar]

Best lifts January 2010 were approximately:

SQ - 130kgs probably a little high
BP - 102.5kgs touch and go
DL - 155kgs with straps and poor technique

Great work Ltl, as I have told you many times. The progress you've made is a testament to what happens when hard work and persistence are cornerstones. I've seen you lift through a marriage, the birth of your daughter, while dieting and through several minor injuries.

You never miss workouts, continue to learn, keep an open mind and always understand that training is 90%.

What I liked about 5/3/1:

Forces progression
Allows for high rep' assistance work to gain size
Gives you lots of main lift practice to get technique sorted
Encourages a good push/pull ratio
Designed for RAW lifters

What I disliked:

Planned deloads which come too often
Too much high rep' work on the main lifts
Not enough work at 90% +

Excellent analysis.

What I liked:

Progression every week
Lots of bench pressing and variations like floor press and (when I was too beat up) dumbell pressing
Lots of upper back work (balancing pressing and striving for 1:2 ratio)

What I disliked:

Two heavy pressing days per week mashed up my forearms and elbows
Weekly heavy deadlifts (towards the end of the cycle) killed my lower back. At one point last Christmas I could barely wash dishes at the sink without getting the most brutal pump imaginable
Weekly heavy straight bar squats were also contributing to the general joint mashing

I have to add that the fact you took the time to experiment and find out what works and doesn't work for you at this point was a good move. At some point programs need to be custom tailored. This is the bridging step (which could last a while), in my opinion, between the intermediate and advanced lifting stages.

You allowed yourself to play a bit and learned a lot in the process.