Another Single Factor 5x5 Journal

[anotherbutters]

Week 7, Monday

Bodyweight: 76kg (target: 76.2)

1. Freeweight back squat conditioning (kg)
bar x 18 (warmup)
40 x 9 (warmup)
50 x 5
55 x 5
60 x 5
65 x 5
70 x 5 (up from 60 on friday)

2. Bench (kg)
bar x 9 (warmup)
30 x 9 (warmup)
40 x 5
45 x 5
50 x 5
57.5 x 5 (up 2.5)
65 x 5 (up 1.5) -------- PR

3. Row (kg)
20 x 9 (warmup)
30 x 9 (warmup)
35 x 5 (up 2)
40 x 5 (up 2)
45 x 5 (up 2)
50 x 5 (up 2)
56 x 5 (up 0.5) --------- PR


Comments

I'm ramping up the back squats. I'm going to do 80kg on Friday, try 90kg on Monday for 5 reps, then carry on with the SF program as prescribed. Knees and adductors permitting, of course.

Another PR on bench. I'm really happy with this one, not just because of the weight, but because I finally feel like my form is pretty good. I've learnt a lot from Starting Strength, but it's taken a few workouts to remember everything and apply everything during each rep. A foot slipped during the first rep, but I recovered ok (my bench is quite high at 21.5" and I don't have rubber mats down yet).

Another rows PR too. I'm definitely standing up a bit, but I think it's only a small amount and I'm going to accept it for now. I'll keep an eye on it. I noticed Blut Wump said you should try to row a similar amount to your bench somewhere, so I'm going to keep ramping up the rows rather than stop and try to get perfect form.

 

[blut wump]

Have you tried putting some plates down on the floor to have your feet on while benching? It's one of the suggestions in SS.

The row/bench equivalence was something I gleamed from madcow2. He mentioned it a few times and seemed pleased when he noted that mine were comparable during my first 5x5.

Congrats on the new PRs and good luck with ramping the squats.

 

[anotherbutters]

Yeah, I thought about that, but the plates I have are metal so they're pretty thin, they slide when they're on top of each other and they slide when they're on the wooden platform I have. So not good all round really. I knew my feet might slip, but I didn't really expect it to happen. It was a pretty good wobble!

I have 140kg of weights including the bar and I'm up to 127.5kg on my deads, so I'm going to need some new plates soon if things go according to plan. I was thinking of getting a couple of 20kg bumper plates, so if I get them now, I can use them.

 

[Jim Ouini]

As far as rows I had a bit of body english on some of my heavy sets. Mr. Cow said it's all good as long as you know what's going on.

Funny enough, a buddy of mine at the gym asked me how to do these and I described the Pendlay row but it's hard to get away from what you know so he set up with perfect form but 1st rep was back to upright upper body and extending the knees almost.

 

[Guinness5.0]

The row/bench equivalence was something I gleamed from madcow2. He mentioned it a few times and seemed pleased when he noted that mine were comparable during my first 5x5.

If I remeber right it has to do with shoulder health. If you bench a ton more than you row a strength imbalance exists that could lead to shoulder injury.

 

[anotherbutters]

Thanks for the comments on rows guys. Guinness, that makes sense about the imbalance. I'm going to have to look up Pendlay and what's the other one, JS (John Smith) rows? I'm not sure which one I'm doing. I know I read something linked from the main 5x5 page, but it was a long time ago.

I've just taken a look at my stance side on in the mirror and my shins are vertical, my knees are slightly bent, my quads are about 20 degrees off vertical, the top of my back is horizontal, I have a bigger gut than I thought, and I row the bar to half way between the nipple line and my belly button.

 

[Jim Ouini]

the top of my back is horizontal, I have a bigger gut than I thought

Anyway, I believe Pendlay and JS rows are the same, or at least similar enough for our purposes.

And just to chime in with what G5.0 said, I think I read the imbalance can cause a lot of cuff problems.

 

[anotherbutters]

Week 7, Wednesday

Arghh!!! What have I done???

I bought a couple of 1x2m rubber mats for my platform and now my house stinks like a tyre shop. When I walk in the front door, the smell just hits me.

Ok, so last week I failed miserably on deadlifts. I now have a proper (albeit smelly) platform, I bought some chalk, I wasn't knackered from staying up late last night... and I have a new PR


1. Light free weight back squats (kg)
bar x 18 (warmup)
40 x 9 (warmup)
50 x 5
55 x 5
60 x 5
60 x 5
60 x 5

2. Deads (kg)
60 x 9 (warmup)
75 x 5
85 x 5
100 x 5 (overhand with chalk)
115 x 5 (one overhand, four mixed)
127.5 x 5 (same weight, mixed grip, no straps, chalk) ------ PR!

3. Military Press (kg)
bar x 9 (warmup)
25 x 5 (up 2.5)
27.5 x 5 (up 2.5)
30 x 5 (up 2.5)
32.5 x 5 (kept low to save myself)
40 x 5 (up 1.5) ------------ PR!

4. Pullups
BW x 4
BW x 3
BW x 3
BW x 3
BW x 3

Comments

First time using chalk. Excellent stuff! I tried double overhand grip on 115kg just to see what would happen but I could only manage one rep and had to switch to mixed. I was so confident about my grip, I didn't even wrap the straps around my wrist for the top set. On the top set, I could feel the skin on a couple of fingers pulling on the fourth rep but I carried on. I didn't quite lock out on the last rep, but I had to put the bar down quick as I couldn't hold it any longer. If my grip was a little better, I could probably have 'bumped' the bar up a little and locked out properly. I'm counting it anyway because it was close enough. Another 2.5kg next week!

I did a mini-PR on military last week (0.5kg) because the next jump is a big one, which I managed today. Today's was a 1.5kg jump, which doesn't sound like much, but from 38.5kg, it's a 4% increase. That's a lot when I'm trying to increase every week. Anyway, I felt strong today and it just went up!

After raising my rack onto its stilts I did the pullups. I used straps, which made a lot of difference. I think my grip was holding me back a lot in the past on these. I managed four in a row at bodyweight, which is a first for me, although there was a lot of kicking going on, lol. I'm thinking of increasing the volume on these as I want to get better at them and I don't think I put in enough reps. I'm thinking of doing 25 reps, taking as many sets as it takes. What do you think? I didn't have time today though.

Another excellent workout and more PRs!

I'm loving the home gym by the way, I only wish I'd have done it sooner.

 

[blut wump]

Those mats can be a bit smelly. My wife buys them for the stables and we usually leave them out for a few days so as not to upset the horses. In a few years time you won't notice it hardly at all anymore.

Congrats on the PRs. It sounds like these were hard-fought. I keep thinking of investing in some chalk. I might do it again tonight. Congrats also on the grip-work paying off.

Sorry I can't help you on the pull-ups. I've resigned myself to pulldowns these past couple of months.

 

[Guinness5.0]

I like the target rep training idea for pullups, particularly since you're still in single-factor. You may want to do it progressively also- start low (20 pulllups regardless of # of sets) then increase it weekly. Progressive resistance is key and this seems like a decent way to go about it for pullups IMO.