Forgot to mention in my program right off, I will be monitoring rest times from now on with an interval app. 3 minutes rest for main work sets. This is a big change for me. 

Yukon squats

380 x 5, 5, 5

Bent-over dumbbell rows

100 x 8

Bench press 

265 x 5, 5, 5

-

Super-set with bilateral dumbbell rows

115s x 8, 8, 107

Iron Woody band pressdowns 

14, 15, 10

-

Super-set with bilateral dumbbell curls

50s x 10

35s x 10, 10

5 minutes exercise bike 

Interestingly enough, these are basically the weights I used 10 years ago, although my squat is stronger now, but with vastly reduced rest times. It feels fresh and exciting to use that as a progression model.

I had a blast this workout, and even got a good pump at the end. Had to rest a little longer than 3 minutes on the last bench press set but when I got into the bar I realized that was probably not necessary; the first set felt the hardest (partially because of my greatly reduced warm-up prep) and I began to ease into 265.

After 11 years of running 5/3/1 variations I'm ready for programming with a new skeleton. I'm also firmly set on resuming my weight cut to remain in the 198 weight class and optimize my athleticism for martial arts. With those circumstances in mind, I will be embracing abbreviated training once again via Andy Baker's Heavy Light Medium template.

The label is unliteral because Andy actually recommends spreading out the heavy effort throughout the week on all three days if you're not a beginner. Here's what I came up with:

Day 1 (heavy)

Squat: 3x5

Bench: 3x5

Super-set with weighted rows: 3 x 8-10

Bench or press accessory movement: 3 x 8-12

Day 2 (light): 

Press: 3x5

Super-set with chins

Clean: 3x5

Deadlift: 1x5

Hamstring movement: 3 x 8-12

Day 3 (medium):

Squat variation 3 x 8-12

Bench variation: 3 x 8-12

Super-set with weighted rows

Bench or press accessory movement: 3 x 8-12

With that said, I'll be using the day's theme as an intensity guide. On day 1, though I'll be starting with something manageable, I'll eventually get to a point where it's a 90+% 3x5, and I can take the rows to failure. The light day will be a progressive but fairly digestible lineup of pressing, leaving a rep or two in the tank, with only the deadlift being truly heavy. Saturday will basically be what I've done for 5/3/1 accessory work. The weight will be challenging but autoregulated by the higher ranges and not taken to failure. I can throw in a bunch of other exercises on this day too if I feel like it. 

Andy recommends a high calorie cheat day, which I already practice, on the heavy day. 

It was getting exhausting treating every lifting day as a test for a maxing out, which was my fault, not Wendler's. I need a change, and perhaps something else will come out of this based on how I'm progressing.