Another Single Factor 5x5 Journal

[anotherbutters]

Week 7, Friday

1. Freeweight back squat conditioning (kg)
bar x 18 (warmup)
40 x 9 (warmup)
60 x 5
65 x 5
70 x 5
75 x 5
80 x 5

2. Bench (kg)
bar x 9 (warmup)
30 x 9 (warmup)
45 x 5 (up 5)
50 x 5 (up 5)
55 x 5 (up 5)
60 x 5 (up 2.5)
66 x 3 (up 1)
55 x 8 (up 5)

3. Row (kg)
bar x 9 (warmup)
30 x 9 (warmup)
35 x 9
40 x 5
45 x 5
50 x 5
57.5 x 3 (up 1.5)
45 x 8

Comments

Nothing remarkable today. It felt good to get some weight on the bar for squats. I think I might do 85kg on Monday rather than the 90kg I said I would, then do 90 on the Friday. I was on the verge of losing my balance a couple of times today and I'm getting close to what I think my 5RM might be, so I'll take the extra step.

I upped all the bench weights as the top set was getting a bit far from the others. I have rubber mats down now, so I put a plate under each foot as the bench is a bit high.

Rows were done with pretty good form.

I took a look in the mirror after the workout and my god, my lats were big! I can only imagine what I'm going to look like if I can maintain progress like this for another 4 or 5 months.

Something else to note - I had DOMS for the first time ever in my biceps yesterday and today from the pullups. They're up to 13.75" now (were 13" a few weeks ago). Yay!

Those mats can be a bit smelly. ... In a few years time you won't notice it hardly at all anymore.

That's what I was worried about

 

[anotherbutters]

Some targets. These assume linear progress with weekly increases of 1.25kg on bench, 2.5kg on squat and 2.5kg on deads. I don't expect the linear progress to continue this long, and I'm new to freeweight squats so I don't know if I can meet these increases, so I don't really expect to meet these targets! But it's nice to have something to aim for anyway. I'd be really happy with the final weights if I could meet them!

week bodyweight	bench	squat	dead (kg/lb)
---------------------------------------
1    72
2    72.7/160
3    73.4
4    74.1
5    74.8
6    75.5
7    76.2  -----------------------------  NOW
8    76.9	66/145	90/198	130/286
9    77.6/170
10   78.3
11   79
12   79.7
13   80.4
14   81.1
15   81.8/180
16   82.5
17   83.2
18   83.9
19   84.6
20   85.3
21   86
22   86.7/190
23   87.4
24   88.1
25   88.8
26   89.5
27   90.2
28   90.9/200	91/200	140/308	180/396

Edit: Why do code tags increase the page width so much? I hate that! At least I made my 150th post and have Karmic power!

 

[blut wump]

Yay, he who has the power has it now.

The code tags aren't perfect but they're better than the alternatives. I've taken to slapping Bold tags around code sections.

That extra bodyweight will get stares and accusations if it's even moderately lean. Your lifts will probably rise a lot faster than you plot if your bodyweight does climb like that.

 

[anotherbutters]

I expect there will be a little bit of fat in there

I'm not sure what to expect of the strength gains. The linear gains will slow down over time, but by the same token, the longer I go, the less of an increase they become, percentage wise. It's kind of self-regulating!

Now, back to my steak and veggies that are piled so high I can't see the plate.

 

[anotherbutters]

Week 8, Monday

Bodyweight: 75kg (target: 76.9) WTF!

1. Freeweight back squats (kg)
bar x 18 (warmup)
40 x 9 (warmup)
60 x 5
70 x 5
75 x 5
80 x 5
85 x 5

2. Bench (kg)
bar x 9 (warmup)
30 x 9 (warmup)
45 x 5 (up 5)
50 x 5 (up 5)
55 x 5 (up 5)
60 x 5 (up 2.5)
66 x 5 (up 1) -------- PR

3. Row (kg)
bar x 9 (warmup)
30 x 9 (warmup)
35 x 5
40 x 5
45 x 5
50 x 5
57.5 x 5 (up 1.5) --------- PR


Comments

I'm really, really, really sick of my diet now! I find that I have to eat consistently in order to get the calories, otherwise my bodyweight goes all over the place. I've been having three portions of chicken, rice, tomato and various garnishes every day for several months now as part of my 6 daily meals. This past week, I've been trying to change it up and as a result my bodyweight's dropped. I need to sit down and work out something new and stick to it. Just no more rice. If I see one more grain of rice, I'm going to hurl. Hang on, what did I just cook myself three portions of whilst I was working out?

Squats - I'm out of the conditioning phase and doing these for real now. 85kg felt nice and heavy and I'm looking forward to the 90 triple on Friday. I don't have any more knee pains, although my left knee always feels a little 'loose'.

Bench was messy. I was all over the place with 60kg, then on the top set I lifted one of my feet on the 4th rep. It didn't slip, I just lifted it. I don't know why but the bar sure made an interesting path. I think he mentions it in Starting Strength - something you only do once! I managed to lock it out anyway, had to take a massive breath and went for the final rep. All I had on my mind was that if I miss this rep, I won't be able to increase on Friday, so I pushed and got it. Very messy, but it still counts

Nothing much to report on rows. The final rep wasn't quite to my stomach, but that's probably because my stomach wasn't hanging down as much as last week The other reps were solid with little standing up so I'm counting it. I tend to keep counting these less than perfect reps on rows, but so long as I can keep this form whilst the weight goes up, I'm happy.

I have to say, when I started this journal eight weeks ago, I was a little skeptical as to whether I'd make any progress at all. I know everyone said it was a good program, but I'd already been lifting for about 8 months prior with minimal results. I was pretty despondent, but madcow, bless him, rescued me from another forum and brought me over here. For any other newbie that can't seem to gain, all I can say is excess calories, compound movements and ever-increasing intensity have been key for me. Who knows where I'll end up a few months from now. What an excellent adventure!

 

[anotherbutters]

I forgot to mention, I tried needsize's ab routine today. Actually, I spent more time trying to figure out how to set up the bench than doing the routine.

The decline bench would have been perfect as I could lock the leg extension pads in place, wrap my legs around them and pull myself up against them. But it only declines to probably 20 degrees at the most.

Then I tried hooking my legs over the bar and leaning back onto the incline bench. That was better for the incline, but I didn't have anything to hold my feet down so I couldn't concentrate on my abs. And it was impossibly difficult to get in to and out of place!

I think I might try using the leg extension and resting one end of the bench on the bar or on a couple of small crates. It might be a bit unstable on the bar, socrates might be better.

 

[blut wump]

Did you pick up the update to Needsize's routine? I think he originally posted it as going down to parallel, holding for 5 and then coming back up. On another forum he posted an update of: go down to parallel, hold for five, go all the way down, come back up. It does add to the exercise.

I find myself looking out for your updates and it is fascinating to see someone progressing so steadily and regularly.

On a related note, I met an old friend yesterday whom I'd not seen for a year. When he saw me he stopped and did a double-take and asked whether I was trying to turn myself into a Barbarian Dungeons and Dragons character. I'd thought myself quite meaty a year ago and it was very pleasing to see his reaction to the results of madcow's teachings.

 

[anotherbutters]

Thanks, that means a lot.

I didn't get the update to needsize's routine. I thought it was go down to about 45 degrees below, hold for 5 then back up (which is neither of the two you said!). It put too much of a strain on my neck for my liking though, even though I wasn't holding my head with my hands. I tried relaxing my neck but couldn't.

I'll experiment a bit more on Friday.

lol at the Dungeons and Dragons character. What were you following prior to madcow and how long ago was that?

 

[blut wump]

I've lifted on and off for decades but, before coming on here, I'd been lifting steadily for around two years. I was just doing the usual kind of things: turning up at the gym and doing whatever felt right. I would work hard for about a month to six weeks and try to finish the cycle better than the previous one and then take a week off to 'deload' before everything broke, although I wasn't aware of any dual-factor theory then. I just saw it as managing my layoffs before they mis-managed me.

I'd discovered creatine and tribulus and its ilk and was considering pro-hormones which is how I stumbled onto this site last December. I spotted the 5x5 while browsing a thread that madcow had posted it in and immediately recognised the jewel that it is. I saw it as an interesting direction to take my workouts and a good way to begin to strengthen my bad back with more floor work. I started my first run of the 5x5 last January. The rest is history.

 

[anotherbutters]

I hadn't really done any exercise for years, then decided I ought to lose the belly last July (age 32). I wasn't massive at 75kg, but too big for my liking (70kg is better). I bought myself an incredibly expensive rowing machine and made great gains in fitness and lost some weight, but ended up just looking like a skinnier version of the old me.

So then I got some cheap weights and followed a routine laid down in the rowing machine handbook and got hooked from there, gradually moved away from the rowing and cardio and more into weights. Progressed to Max-OT but stalled very quickly and grew frustrated. Learned a lot about diet, switched to Mike Mentzer's HIT for a month then discovered the DF 5x5 on another forum.

So I haven't really lost that much time getting to where I am now, I only wish I'd have started the whole process ten years ago!

I just read the summary of your DF 5x5 from March. You did a 190kg squat for 1x3 back then, yet you're aiming for a 160kg single now. What happened? Was it a 190 smith squat or were you set back by injury?