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Another Single Factor 5x5 Journal

I've never been to a chiro before. In fact, I haven't had to go to a doctor since I was a child. That's no bad thing - the surgery where I'm registered back home in Manchester is where Dr Harold Shipman worked :worried:

I usually just let things heal of their own accord. I thought I was doing ok, but I didn't do myself any favours unloading the plates I bought yesterday from the car two at a time.

I was hoping it'd be better for next week, but I'm not so sure now. A chiro visit might be just what I need, thanks. I just tried squatting in front squat stance without the bar and I can feel it, so I don't think I can get away with front squats. I'm not sure how to massage the area effectively. I've been prodding and poking all day long with my hands as it's been nagging at me. It's a dull pain most of the time, but it can be sharp if I twist/stretch/compress it right.

A visit to a chiro won't do any harm. I'll see what I can do, cheers.
 
A tennis ball lets you get to the parts your hands can't reach. You can either lie on the floor with the ball beneath you and roll it around the troubled area or do the same against a wall. It makes a good substitute for a messeuse provided you don't expect a happy ending.
 
Week 18, Friday

Bodyweight: 80.2kg/176lb

1. Freeweight back squats (kg)
Skipped.

2. Bench (kg)
bar x 9 x 2 ..... warmup
30 x 9 ........... warmup
40 x 5
45 x 5
50 x 5
55 x 5
60 x 5
65 x 5 ........... (143lb)
60 x 8 ........... backoff, for the hell of it

3. Powercleans (kg)
Skipped.

4. Abs
Skipped.


Comments

Good news - my back's feeling great today! I had a dull ache for most of yesterday, but I have to really twist and turn to feel any pain today. I didn't go to a chiro in the end. I might have been able to squat today, but there's no point risking it for the sake of one workout. I'm hoping to be back, fighting fit on Monday. I think I'll take it easy next week, which will be the first week of a new push into SF land.

I think carrying in 200kg/440lb worth of plates from the car on Wednesday is probably what made my back regress. The new plates do look good though! I always hated my old weight set because there were too many small plates and not enough large ones. I now have plenty of 20kg/45lb plates, none of the pointless 15kg/35lb plates and exactly two of each of the smaller ones. I love the fact that there's now only one possible combination of plates for each weight I want, it just makes things easier.

It will also be nice to actually put 3 plates on the bar when I finally get to 3 plates on deadlifts, rather than putting on 1 plate and about 8 smaller ones.
 
Hehe, I know. I almost felt like a gym rat, except I didn't do any curls. It's funny, I never do curls, I just don't see the point.

Today was just damage limitation - leave my back alone and get what I can done. If I didn't work out at home, I might have tried some leg presses, just to give my legs some work. I'm looking forward to Monday.

BTW, my left hand is better, but still not right, 3 weeks after I worked it with the gripper. When I wake, it feels like the tendons running over the first knucle on the fingers are going to snap when I try to form a fist. It's better after a few minutes.
 
Enough is enough - I've just booked an appointment with a chiro. Some days my back feels ok, some days it doesn't. It doesn't bother me in normal day to day activities, just when I get under the bar and start to put some weight on it.

I don't know whether it's worth trying to do some exercises that don't hit the lower back - all I can think of is bench press really. Right now, a nice bottle of cabernet sounds much more appealing :)

The appointment's on Wednesday night, so that'll be two more workouts I've missed. Sorry everyone, this has been a pretty crap journal for the past four weeks. I keep thinking of canning it, but I know I'll be back setting PRs eventually.
 
Bench is a good one, obviously. You might be able to row with you laying one the bench and the bar beneath it. OHP might be possible but I'd be careful on that.

The cabernet and some light hammer curls sound good.

Good luck with the chiro. Try to get a quick feel for whether the guy runs a production line or a healing facility. Is your health or your money his first priority? A good sign would be that he makes an effort to relax your back before trying to adjust it, ideally with massage. See whether he gives you exercises to perform at home.
 
Health is the priority (EDIT: just realised you were talking about his priorities!). I don't think this is a big injury and I thought it would have gone by now. I guess little tweaks to the back can have a big impact.

I picked someone who advertises in the gym I used to go to. How ironic that I end up going back to the gym for help with an injury due to freeweight squatting, after leaving the gym because I couldn't do freeweight squats there. I sneaked in to pick up a leaflet without anybody seeing me :)

Anyway, I figured he might have a sports angle to him. I'm treating the initial consultation as much as a way of me assessing him as me receiving treatment/advice.

I didn't explain at the time, but when I did tweak my back, it was because my form was wrong. I was wearing a pair of shorts that had become too tight to squat in, but rather than change them, I carried on. I couldn't squat down properly, so that, combined with doing a few heavy sets after a week off is what caused my form to drop enough to cause the injury. It's the silly things in life that get you!
 
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I'd say just take it easy and stay away from weights, rowers, grippers, non-padded walls, etc. before your appointment. I mean, you could always bust out the "average guy at the gym" workout and do a bunch of bench presses, curls and damn-near-vertical rows, but it doesn't seem like that'd be worth the risk of exacerbating/prolonging an injury that's keeping you from doing squats, deads and rows.

BTW, what happened to your K? Is it tied to squat frequency or something?
 
Cynical Simian said:
I'd say just take it easy and stay away from weights, rowers, grippers, non-padded walls, etc. before your appointment. I mean, you could always bust out the "average guy at the gym" workout and do a bunch of bench presses, curls and damn-near-vertical rows, but it doesn't seem like that'd be worth the risk of exacerbating/prolonging an injury that's keeping you from doing squats, deads and rows.

BTW, what happened to your K? Is it tied to squat frequency or something?
Click to expand...
lol at non-padded walls. I laughed heartily at that one.

I workout at home and don't have dumbbells, cables or machines to trouble myself with, just a bar, bench, rack and a few plates. Can you send me a link for how to do curls, I can't remember ;)

I bet my k on a whim. I was surprised to see it go down too, but I guess if you bet it, you bet it... Wish me luck.
 
Ok, I've just got back from the chiro. He's a fairly well built guy himself, so he obviously works out and isn't the kind of chiro that's going to tell me that squats are bad for me or other such nonsense. Overall, he seemed to know what he was talking about and explained things well to me. I'm glad I went. Blut Wump, thanks for the suggestion, I owe you. I would normally have just let this heal without finding out what the real issue is.

He started by pushing his knuckles into my back to find out where it hurt and whether it was on one side or central. Whilst I was lying face down, he looked for and spotted that I've got one leg longer than the other :worried: but then he said it's not the legs, it's caused by my pelvis being out of alignment. He said it's probably been like that for years (which explains why I always walk round in circles ;) ). He had me lie on one side with the hand of my lower arm on my upper shoulder and the upper leg bent at the knee. Then he put his bodyweight on my pelvis to kind of twist it, with respect to my lower back, resulting in a few cracks. Then he did the same on the other side. After that, I lied face down again and he said my legs were the same length :) He also forced his elbow deep into the muscle around the pelvis (glutes) to 'distress it'. I think that's so that it would release it's hold on the pelvis somewhat, to let it settle in its new position.

The twisted pelvis meant that I'd been transferring loads unevenly from my spine to the legs, hence the eventual injury. Whenever I did squats, I always noticed my right foot was further forward than the left and if I put them level, it felt as though I was twisting myself. Duh! That should have told me something was wrong!

He then had me take my shoes and socks off to look at the arches in my feet, which were pretty non-existant. I think that meant my feet were more pronated than they should be, resulting in slightly twisted legs. I'm trying to remember all the things he said. He said it could cause patellar tracking problems. He said flat feet like mine are pretty common in today's western world with us walking on hard surfaces like concrete. He then suggested I get some Orthotics, which are like shoe inserts that are tailor made to my feet. I didn't do it today, but he has a computer program along with a flat panel that you can walk on to analyse your feet. The data's then sent to some place in Canada, where they make the inserts and charge £220 for them (ouch!). I need to do a bit of research into these to see whether I want to lay out that kind of money. I'll pay it if I have to, but I don't want to get something if I don't really have to. http://www.theorthoticgroup.com

It cost £40 for today's initial consultation and treatment. He wants me back on Monday, and probably once a week after that at £30 a session. It seems reasonable.

I asked him about working out and he said to leave it until at least next time he sees me. At some point I'd start with the bar and work up to PRs again. Right now, a voice in the back of my head is telling me to build up to bench pressing 3 times a week with high volume, since I'll have the capacity to recover from it :evil:
 
That sounds cool. The adjustment with you laying on your side is the 'standard' adjustment you'll get pretty much every time. They do vary it but it'll be a while before you realise which part of the back they're aiming for. I'm glad it was productive and not too pricey. Mine charges £27 for a 30-minute session.

I don't know anything much about arch supports. My grandfather used to put a piece of sponge into his shoes. No computer analysis but a shade cheaper. Good luck with the recovery.
 
Just had another chiro session. He said my legs were the same length, so my pelvis has stayed in the correct position, which is good. He also did the old neck twisting routine today. It sounded like he was twisting a length of bubblewrap! I wonder whether he's ever loosened anybody up too much. Having a broken neck would really suck.

He mentioned having good form in the squat last time I saw him, so I took him my copy of Starting Strength today. He seemed interested and asked to keep it until I saw him next. I figure if he's impressed enough with it, he might start recommending it to his clients to help them avoid injury. A little bit of evangelising might go a long way :)

He said I could start to squat again, but just with the bar to get the muscle used to the range of motion. He said I could do with another couple of sessions with him, so he wants to see me on Wednesday, then again next Monday. Does that sound too frequent?

On the plus side, my back feels great now.
 
The frequent visits are a good thing at this stage. The potential problem is that your muscles try to revert to the bad position they are accustomed to and pull your spine back out of shape. With these frequent adjustments that should be prevented. Ideally, you'll be cured by next week. He'll doubtless want to see you again after that and at some point you'll have to decide whether it's worth continuing to see him.

Neck-cracking always induces a bit of anxiety. I do it to myself quite a bit but not to the extremes the chiro puts it to.
 
My back felt better once I started doing extension exercises, ala Robin McKenzie. I know Siff mentions him at some point, as well. I trust Siff, and by extension, McKenzie. My three bulging discs will just have to deal. ;)
 
I couldn't wait to get started!

Week 20, Monday (can't believe I didn't do a thing in week 19)

Bodyweight: 81kg/178lb

1. Freeweight back squats (kg)
bar x 9 x 5 sets

2. Overhead squats - for fun!
bar x 9 x 2 sets

3. Bench (kg)
bar x 9 .......... warmup
30 x 9 ........... warmup
40 x 5
45 x 5
50 x 5
55 x 5
60 x 5 ............ (132lb) .... a light start, way down on my PR

4. Powercleans (kg)
bar x 5
25 x 5
30 x 5 x 4 sets


Comments

Ok, a very light workout. I wanted to throw some weight on squats, but I knew there wouldn't be any real benefit. This isn't about building muscle yet. My back felt great, so I'll add maybe 10kg on Wednesday.

I did some OH squats for fun. The bar was a bit precarious to start with and it didn't get much better! I got the bar to a position where it felt like it was directly above me, but I had to arch my back quite a lot and it felt like I was on the limit of my flexibility. Does that sound correct? It didn't feel balanced having the bar any further forward. I think I broke parallel, but didn't get ATF. I'll keep trying because these are fun and I think they'll be great for aiding stability.

Bench was easy enough. I'll use this as my new starting point and start ramping from here. I'll do bigger jumps than usual over the next couple of weeks just to get back up there, but I expect my strength is down and it'll get tough before I get near my PR.

Powercleans - wow, my back felt great doing these! I thought I might start to feel a twinge with it being a dynamic movment, but it didn't. I had to add a little weight because I nearly hit myself in the chin with just the bar. I tried to pull the bar up with the pull from my shoulders going back, keeping my arms like ropes and it kind of clicked and felt much better. I even had the bar just skim past both my thighs and gut on the way up (chest would have been better, but it doesn't stick out as far :) ), so I know the position is in the right ball park.


All in all, I really enjoyed this because my back held out. Hopefully it'll stay that way and this will be the start of another SF run. It's really good to be back!

I'm also hoping that this will help with my deadlift. I always remember feeling that something wasn't quite right on the PR attempts. Maybe that was my back being out of kilter. If so, then PR attempts ought to feel better (albeit still damn heavy).
 
Another quick chiro session today. He said I'd gone back to being a little bit twisted again, so he set me straight. I could feel it in my back ever so slightly yesterday, so at least I'll know the warning signs if it happens again.

He loves Starting Strength by the way! I let him keep it until I see him on Monday. If I thought I could do it without making a loss on every copy, I'd import a crate load of them and sell them myself in the UK.

First day in the new job today. I didn't take my usual shakes to work, not wanting to look wierd on the first day and not even knowing whether they had a fridge. So I only had breakfast and lunch today, then went straight to the chiro after work, so I didn't get home until an hour before I usually go to bed, having only eaten two meals :worried:. As a result, today's workout is postponed until tomorrow. The good news is that I can access EF at work, which I couldn't do in my old job :D
 
Great, now we have to deal with you posting even more? ;)

Good job promoting the book. I've spread it around to some people, as well. Everyone seems to have taken a liking to it. Then again, why wouldn't they?

I haven't been keeping up to date with what's going on with you but, what happened to your back?
 
I took a week off 4 weeks ago after kind of reaching a plateau, then hit the weights too hard and tweaked it a bit doing some squats. I'm not sure whether I twisted slightly or what. The chiro said my pelvis was slightly twisted and could have been like that for a long time. But that meant my spine wasn't transferring the weight evenly down to my legs. He's straightened me out and I feel great now, so I need to start ramping the weights up again. Thanks for asking.

I feel like starting a new journal. This one's feeling a bit stale and I'm sure nobody reads it any more because I've not done a decent workout in weeks.
 
I know I gave up reading a couple of months back. ;)

It's good to hear that the chiro is still earning his pay. You might want to consider turning off avatars at work. Some might be considered not work-safe.
 
anotherbutters said:
I feel like starting a new journal. This one's feeling a bit stale and I'm sure nobody reads it any more because I've not done a decent workout in weeks.
Click to expand...

How would your masses of loyal readers know you haven't been working out if they didn't read it? :)

You might want to wait until you're fully healed and know what you're going to be doing (since you were in a transition phase out of pure SF before this break) before starting a new journal...unless you want the title to be Another Chiropractic Journal. ;)
 
blut wump said:
I know I gave up reading a couple of months back. ;)
Click to expand...
:rolleyes: :)

blut wump said:
You might want to consider turning off avatars at work. Some might be considered not work-safe.
Click to expand...
Good call, I didn't know you could do that, thanks. You've saved lots of embarassment for the girl sat next to me :qt:

Cynical Simian said:
How would your masses of loyal readers know you haven't been working out if they didn't read it?
Click to expand...
I will continue, I was just testing the waters. I've been flooded with two replies and a k message so far ;) But I'll continue anyway as I'm sure there are more people out there watching. It has been boring for a long while and I can't blame anyone for giving up on me. I would have done!

I was going to work out first thing this morning. I set my alarm clock early and forgot to turn it on :rolleyes: Easy deadlifts waiting for me when I get home.
 
I sleep through my alarms all the time. I'll put the clock across my room and I'll wake up six hours late, to find my alarm off. How? I must sleep walk and turn it off. Either that, or my special Jedi training is really paying off.

I can't wait to get back into lifting. I keep pushing myself and practicing olylifts, but that's probably not a good idea with my back & job. Weighing the pros and cons, things will be worlds better in a few months. Then I can start hammering away again.

I want to run a smolov cycle in the future, I know that for sure.
 
Week 20, Thursday (Wed's workout)

1. Front squats (kg)
bar x 9 x 2 sets ....... warmup
30 x 5 .................... warmup
35 x 5
35 x 5
40 x 5
40 x 5
40 x 5 .................. (88lb)

2. Deads (kg)
40 x 5 x 2 sets .......... SLDL warmup
50 x 5
55 x 5
60 x 5
70 x 5
80 x 5 .................. (166lb) ..... felt great!

3. Military Press (kg)
bar x 9 ............... warmup
25 x 5
30 x 5
35 x 5
37.5 x 5
40 x 5 ................ (88lb)

4. Pullups
BW x 2 x 5 sets .... only attempted 2 reps each (probably couldn't have done 3 anyway)

5. Chins - to get some volume in after pullups
BW x 2 x 2 sets ...... easy
BW x 3 x 3 sets ...... hard


Comments

I'm going to start doing front squats on Weds rather than light back squats. These were ok, but I did them in my bench/squat rack and the bar didn't feel as comfy coming from the rack vs cleaning it from the floor.

I tried some stiff leg deads to warm up, at least I think that's what they were. I can't really tell much of a difference between stiff leg, straight leg and Romanian. I kept my back arched and kept my legs stiff but not locked, sticking my arse out as the bar went down. So whatever that's called ;)

For the actual deads, I couldn't resist throwing on a little weight. Everything felt fine, no twinges from my back at all, even when I twisted and prodded it, and it's ok now after the workout too. I also noticed I could pick up the 20kg/45lb plates without my back feeling strained. I always used to feel as though I was working my back just putting the plates on the bar before (embarassing as it sounds). I think that must have been because my back wasn't right. Oh, and I also managed all my sets with overhand grip, which is a first :FRlol:

Military felt heavy, but not PR heavy. PR weight is 46kg.

I've never been good at pullups and probably couldn't have got 3 reps if I tried, so I stuck to just 2 reps today. I still felt a bit chipper once I'd finished so I switched to close grip chins to get some volume in. I think last time I tried chins I didn't use a close grip and I found them just as hard as pullups. I used close grip today and they were so much easier, I went up to 3 reps for the last 3 sets, which is a bit of a result. I'll have sore bi's tomorrow after all this time off!

I'm happy with this workout because my back felt great. I'll see what I'm like in the morning. I think I'm fixed. Woohoo! About bloody time!
 
Interesting that we both find the rack better on front squats when cleaning the barbell into place. Anybody else experience this this?
 
Week 21, Monday

Bodyweight: 81kg/178lb

1. Freeweight back squats (kg)
bar x 9 x 2 sets ... warmup
bar x 9 x 2 sets ... OH squat warmup - I forgot I was going to do this first!
30 x 5
40 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5 ................ (110lb) .......... just 50kg for today

2. Bench (kg)
bar x 9 .......... warmup
30 x 9 ........... warmup
40 x 5
45 x 5
50 x 5
55 x 5
62.5 x 5 ........... (138lb) ....... why did this feel heavy? :worried:

3. Powercleans (kg)
bar x 5 .......... warmup
25 x 5
30 x 5
35 x 5
40 x 5
45 x 5 ........... (99lb) ........ this felt heavy too!


Comments

My back's still not 100%, but it's close. I have another chiro session tonight.

I'm thinking of adding 10kg each time I squat, so 60kg on Wednesday, 70kg Friday, etc.

Bench felt heavy, which is silly. It's 10kg less than my PR! I'll try to add 2.5kg each week from now on until it gets tough, then use smaller increments.

Powercleans felt good. I concentrated on snapping my elbows under the bar for the first time and it made a big difference. The top set felt heavy and I thought it was a PR weight (not because it was particularly heavy, but because I haven't been doing them long). It's the same weight as I've done before for 2x5 though.

Overall, not much to report really. I'm sure today's bench and PCs felt a bit hard because I'm out of practice. Things ought to get better in a week or so. Today was my first morning workout, after getting up before 6am (I haven't done that in a long while). I'm going to start light cardio sessions on Tues and Thurs before work too and increase the intensity of those over time. I still want to cut down a bit of bodyfat, but I don't want to compromise that much on the strength gains, so I've cut down a bit on the calories and I'm adding cardio. Hopefully I can do a bit of a Guinness and recomp. :)

I missed Friday's workout because of a Christmas do. It was a choice between going home and working out or going out partying with a bunch of girls :)
 
You didn't think to bring the girls home for some squats and powercleans?

I often find that a lift is unexpectedly heavy. Some days everything's heavy. So long as it goes up when I tell it to, I don't let it bother me. I usually just put it down to inadequate warmups but that doesn't always explain it.
 
blut wump said:
I often find that a lift is unexpectedly heavy. Some days everything's heavy. So long as it goes up when I tell it to, I don't let it bother me. I usually just put it down to inadequate warmups but that doesn't always explain it.
Click to expand...

Maybe you ought to make sure you didn't sprout a vagina, or blossom some ovaries, hm, Nancy?
 
anotherbutters said:
Hopefully I can do a bit of a Guinness and recomp. :)
Click to expand...
To be a true Guinness you can't do cardio :)

Ever thought about dropping the cleans to triples? I've been told numeroous times not to go over three reps on these and I'm pretty sold on it. IMO triples would net a better workout than sets of 5.
 
Guinness5.0 said:
To be a true Guinness you can't do cardio :)

Ever thought about dropping the cleans to triples? I've been told numeroous times not to go over three reps on these and I'm pretty sold on it. IMO triples would net a better workout than sets of 5.
Click to expand...
I forgot to mention, I was thinking of dropping cleans to triples for the top 2 sets. Good call :)
 
Hey I have been looking through your journal for past few days now and i think you have had great runs with the pr's, but i notice you do 5x on all days, thats just what i do.
I asked in 1 of my threads if there was a reason for cutting back to 4x 3x and djeclipse shed some light and cleared it up for me. So from now on im gonna try set pr's on 3x or 4x on fridays and then try match it on mondays but increase to 5x maybe you 2 should give this some thought, after he cleared it up it seems a great way to gain pr's each week.
check out this link to see his explanation http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5603780#post5603780

Do you do any stretching before starting your lifts?

Good luck setting future pr's, ille be following more of your journal :-)
 
Thanks introspective. I've recently injured my back a little and I've skipped workouts here, there and everywhere. If I've done 5x5 on a Friday, it's not part of the single factor plan, it's probably just me trying to get some work in. If you look at my journal up to about week 14, on Fridays, I've done 4 sets of 5, then a triple, then a back off set of 8 reps, as per the single factor description. But thanks for the keen eye ;)
 
Just got back from the chiro. He said I was straight, which is good :rainbow:

I told him I only did 50kg on squat and he was like :), but then I said I was going to do 60kg on Wed and 70kg on Fri and he gave me the old :rolleyes:

I told him my right foot was still slightly more forward than my left when I squatted this morning, and I felt twisted when I put them level. He said I would actually have been straight with my feet level now, but the positional sensors in the muscles need to unlearn the old position and learn the new one. He said I'll be using the muscles in a slightly different line, so I ought to stick to 50kg for the rest of this week and build up slowly. It makes sense. I hate him ;)

I didn't mention the 80kg deadlift I did on Wed :p

Oh, he also showed me how to do that stretching where you tense the muscle against someone else, then relax and let them stretch the muscle even further. I've got a really tight right hamstring and I could only just get my straight leg to 90' in the air with me lying on my back. He had me stretch, relax, stretch, relax, stretch, relax, then he said "make a wish" as he was about to push my straight leg to what looked like 110'. The bastard :)
 
I know you are only doing full 5x5 because of your back but i just thought that doing 3 or 4x5 on wednesdays and fridays will help you slowly boost back up to your pr's, without doing more damage to your back. Also read about you not wanting to drop weights because of scaring the neighbours, what about using some sort of cushioning system like a mattress or something.
 
My immediate goal is letting my back heal, which means using light weights for a while. PR weights are heavy by definition, whether I get to them in 3 sets or 5.

On the platform issue, not being able to drop the weights isn't holding me back. I don't do any lifts like high pulls where I might want to let the bar drop to the floor. I just mentioned it in another thread with regards to the mats moving.
 
I was looking at your eating plan and saw that you eat 2 whole eggs and 6 egg whites.
How do u eat the whole eggs, do you boil them or eat them raw and what are egg whites
how do you make them ? sorry for all the questions just im really trying to learn as quick as possible.
 
Egg-white is the albumen which is that part of the egg that is neither part of the shell nor of the yolk. Whole eggs are often mixed with egg-whites to increase the protein content of the egg-fest. Another way to look at that is to think that egg-whites are added to whole eggs (which is a misnomer since it rarely includes the shell) to increase protein content without increasing fat content since approximately half the protein and all of the fat of an egg, excluding shell, is in the yolk. Omelette or scrambled are common methods of preparation although raw is a viable option if you choose to dismiss a risk of salmonella poisoning.
 
Eggseedingly.

I get the egg whites from http://www.eggnation.co.uk/, which is the equivalent of http://www.eggbeaters.com/ in the US. I don't bother with the dispenser, I just pour half a glass out and drink it. That's about 6 egg whites. You buy them frozen, either mail order or from a reseller.

For the whole eggs, I just boil a pan full, eat one or two and put the rest in the fridge. I get them from Sainsburys ;)

8 eggs is a decent amount of protein, but the yolk contains a lot of fat, so 8 whole eggs would be too much fat (and calories), hence combining whole eggs and egg whites. I think the yolk raises LDL (bad) cholesterol too, which is another reason for not eating too many, but I might be wrong on that.
 
Get some chickens. I have 8 which is almost enough for me and the neighbours. The dogs can eat any spare yolks which might mean getting some dogs, too, which would put the price up a little.
 
Week 21, Wednesday

Bodyweight: 80kg/166lb


1. Front squats (kg)
bar x 9 x 2 sets ....... warmup
30 x 5
35 x 5
40 x 5
45 x 5
45 x 5 .......... up 5 ........... (99lb)

2. Deads (kg)
40 x 9 x 2 sets .......... SLDL warmup
50 x 5
55 x 5
60 x 5
70 x 5
80 x 5 ...... no change ....... (166lb)

3. Military Press (kg)
bar x 9 ............... warmup
25 x 5
30 x 0 ..... put 35 on the bar by mistake
35 x 5
37.5 x 5
41 x 5 .......... up 1 ........... (90lb)

4. Pullups
BW x 2 x 5 sets

5. Chins
BW x 3 x 2 sets .... ran out of time


Comments

Another light workout. I definitely need to lose a bit of bodyfat. I have about 20 shirts in my wardrobe and I only dare wear 2 of them. My bodyweight's going down slowly, which is good. I just hope I can hold onto a little muscle.

Front squats felt better today, even though I took the bar from the rack again instead of cleaning it.

Deads, light and easy. I kept the weight low again, on advice from the chiro. I hate this. I really want to get started.

Military - I'm not sure if I did 5 or 6 reps on the top set. But I'm also not sure if I had the 0.5kg plate on both sides - I might have only had it on one side, in which case it was only 40.5kg. Whatever.

Pullups/chins - felt as hard as last week. I ran out of time, so I couldn't do any more pullups. Had to dash for my train.

I tried CEE for the first time today. I know everyone says it tastes foul, so I thought I'd try it neat in water to acheive the full affect. Wow! It's like drinking something from a chemistry set isn't it? I'm not sure whether I like it better that glucosamine.
 
Wow thanks for the in depth explanation blut wump, I think ille pass on the chickens, wouldn't want to have to kill em if they got bird flue, was thinking of getting a cow for the steak seen as though some smack heads keep raiding all the steak from my local shop. Also thank for those links butters, ille definatley check that out. I also read somewhere that the yolk is bad for cholesterol levels,
Im hoping to start a good eating routine soon. I also saved the chart you made, there's some good info on that ;) im gonna be shooting for about 4000 cals a day, currently drinking gallon of whole milk, 30 grams whey protein 3 times a day
cee hcl 3 grams 1 hour before training and 3 grams after tea non training days, yea it tastes horrid but i drink it with a small glass of water and down it fast.
Any of you checked out this site www.myprotein.co.uk they have the best supplements and they say they will beat any price in the uk.
I was gonna incorporate front squats in my wednesday workout but i tried them for first time today and my wrists kept hurting, so i just sticked to back squats to save injuring myself.
 
Don't buy their egg-white powder, it tastes truly dreadful. I bought 10Kg from there a few months ago and hate the stuff. Aside from that, I've had only good stuff from http://www.myprotein.co.uk .

I use the cross-over grip on front-squats. Some eschew it but it works for me and there's no grief on the wrists. I like to do them heavy before good mornings. Usually 5 sets of 3.
 
The CEE and my last 10kg batch of dextrose came from myprotein. It's a pretty good site.

Practice with the front squats, they'll become easier. Warm up on a treadmill or something before you start and do a bit of wrist stretching - pull each hand back by the fingers.
 
LMAO! Everyone read the link from BW. I love the Cillit Bang reference.

Today:

AM: Cardio

PM: 8 pints of beer :rolleyes:. I couldn't really turn it down. It was the 'welcome AB to his new job' night and one beer just lead to another. It's currently 00:35 and I ought to be getting up at 05:30 to work out...

I've turned into a slacker.
 
What's wrong with simply boiling 8 eggs and eating only the whites? I don't really trust products like "egg whites in a can", I mean where did they get them from? I personally like the old school method of eating egg whites... from real eggs.
 
djeclipse said:
What's wrong with simply boiling 8 eggs and eating only the whites?
Click to expand...

Nothing, if that's how you prefer them. But there's also nothing wrong with other ways that are more simple/convenient or work better with other foods.

djeclipse said:
I don't really trust products like "egg whites in a can", I mean where did they get them from?
Click to expand...

Um, chickens? It's not like they're selling you water with a bit of gelatin thrown in to give it an appropriate texture. And with pasteurization, they're at least as safe as any whole eggs you'd buy.
 
anotherbutters said:
I took a week off 4 weeks ago after kind of reaching a plateau, then hit the weights too hard and tweaked it a bit doing some squats. I'm not sure whether I twisted slightly or what. The chiro said my pelvis was slightly twisted and could have been like that for a long time. But that meant my spine wasn't transferring the weight evenly down to my legs. He's straightened me out and I feel great now, so I need to start ramping the weights up again. Thanks for asking.

I feel like starting a new journal. This one's feeling a bit stale and I'm sure nobody reads it any more because I've not done a decent workout in weeks.
Click to expand...

might be a good idea
that way you can keep things orginzied by date
cus now there are like 23 pages to look through lol
that can be intimidating
you could give each 8 week cycle (or howeveryou wind up doing it) it's own thread
and date them
 
Kane Fan said:
might be a good idea
that way you can keep things orginzied by date
cus now there are like 23 pages to look through lol
that can be intimidating
you could give each 8 week cycle (or howeveryou wind up doing it) it's own thread
and date them
Click to expand...
and then have another thread to index them.
 
djeclipse said:
What's wrong with simply boiling 8 eggs and eating only the whites? I don't really trust products like "egg whites in a can", I mean where did they get them from? I personally like the old school method of eating egg whites... from real eggs.
Click to expand...
It takes me about 10 seconds to pour out 6 egg whites and drink them. How long does it take to cook, shell, separate the yolk and eat 6 hard boiled whites? It's just plain easier. And, um, they come from chickens. Insane ones. It says certified free range on the tub.
 
Kane Fan said:
might be a good idea
that way you can keep things orginzied by date
cus now there are like 23 pages to look through lol
that can be intimidating
you could give each 8 week cycle (or howeveryou wind up doing it) it's own thread
and date them
Click to expand...
To be honest, I wish I could just cut off the last 10 pages of this thread and leave it at that. Because anybody that reads all the way to the end will be sorely disappointed to see things didn't get better.

I might can it and start a new one in January when I really am back in the swing of things. New year, new journal, new start.
 
anotherbutters said:
It takes me about 10 seconds to pour out 6 egg whites and drink them. How long does it take to cook, shell, separate the yolk and eat 6 hard boiled whites? It's just plain easier. And, um, they come from chickens. Insane ones. It says certified free range on the tub.
Click to expand...

When I get up in the morning I put the eggs in the water turn on the stove and take a shower. By the time I'm out and ready to go the eggs are done. I've become pretty good at removing the shell, it takes about 15-20 seconds per egg. I eat while de-shelling the others.

I guess pouring it out is easier but you really don't know where it's coming form, and I mean the process in extracting the egg white as well as putting in in the container etc.
 
Unless you have your own chickens, you don't know where the eggs are coming from. I loathe that slightly fishy taste of store-bought eggs and, for all you know, they might come from chickens with bird-sniffle. At least AB's pour-your-own are pasteurized.
 
Each to their own. As well as the whites, I have a kiwi fruit to peel, a hard boiled egg to shell, porridge to make and two milkshakes to blend for later in the day, so I just can't be bothered boiling and peeling more eggs. Life is hell :)
 
anotherbutters said:
Each to their own. As well as the whites, I have a kiwi fruit to peel, a hard boiled egg to shell, porridge to make and two milkshakes to blend for later in the day, so I just can't be bothered boiling and peeling more eggs. Life is hell :)
Click to expand...

lol there is your problem, you're supposed to get a woman to do all that stuff for you! :)
 
lol i read those cee hcl reviews.
I didn't think asking about eggs would cause so much debate hehe, thanks everyone for the help.
Im gonna try using different grip for front squats, until my wrists get more flexible.
I also think would be a good idea if you start a new thread in january ab.
I remember reading about 200 posts from madcows 5x5 when i first joined the site i had square eyes by the end of it. and i wasnt even quater of the way through.
 
anotherbutters said:
To be honest, I wish I could just cut off the last 10 pages of this thread and leave it at that. Because anybody that reads all the way to the end will be sorely disappointed to see things didn't get better.
Click to expand...

"Uh-oh, shouldn't do the SF 5x5 if I don't want to have back and kidney problems." :FRlol:

djeclipse said:
lol there is your problem, you're supposed to get a woman to do all that stuff for you! :)
Click to expand...

Or, better yet, Britain could just recolonize a few countries and everybody could have a personal indigenous egg peeler to go along with their personal chickens.
 
Wouldn't you just hate it if your browser crashed after you'd typed up a workout, just before you were about to hit submit :mad:

Week 21, Friday

1. Freeweight back squats (kg)
bar x 9 ... warmup
bar x 9 ... OH squats
40 x 5
50 x 5 x 6 sets ..... (110lb)

2. Bench (kg)
bar x 9 .......... warmup
40 x 5
45 x 5
50 x 5
55 x 5
65 x 5 ........... (143lb) ....... not too hard, so I did 5 reps rather than a triple
55 x 14 ........................... got carried away a bit on the back off set

3. Powercleans (kg)
bar x 5 .......... warmup
30 x 5
35 x 5
40 x 5
45 x 3 ........... switching to triples for the heavier sets
47.5 x 3 ........ (105lb) ........... still getting used to these, but it's a PR!


Comments

My back feels like there's never been anything wrong with it. I still kept the weight down on squats, but did a bit more volume. My stance was ok, not twisted.

I watched a clip from the net to check my form on OH squats and realised I need to use a very wide grip on the bar. I had a normal shoulder width grip before and when I tried to break parallel, I couldn't keep my arms straight. I'm not sure whether these are good for a warmup or whether I need to warm up before trying these! I have a pretty healthy arch in my back trying to keep the bar above my head when I get near the hole. I still don't get all the way down.

Bench was fun. Felt easier than Monday.

My form was lousy on powercleans today. I'm going to do triples for the last set or two on these from now on. 47.5kg is light, but I haven't done it before, so I guess that makes it a PR :) I think my form needs to get a lot better on these and a lot more consistent.

I've just noticed this is my first whole week of workouts since I took that week off in week 14/15. And I've done some cardio too. Yay!
 
Week 21, Sunday

Cardio

10 mins above 150bpm on the rowing machine.

I forgot how good cardio in the morning makes you feel for the rest of the day.
 
Guys, I'm going to stop this journal. I've not logged anything interesting for 6 or 7 weeks now. The first 14 weeks of this program were great, with good strength and size gains, although I over did it on the food and put on a fair amount of fat (went from about 160lb to 180lb).

Since I tweaked my back a few weeks ago, all I've been logging is rehab. I think I'm fixed now and ready to start again, but I've thought that a few times. Even when I really do start, it's going to take a few weeks to get back up to PR weights, so I'm going to spare you the details.

When I started this journal, I'd only just read about the SF5x5. Since then, I've learnt loads from everyone who's posted on here so I just want to say a big THANK YOU! (Special mention for BW as he's given me loads of K, er, I mean support ;)). I've got a lot out of this journal and I hope some of you got something out of it too.

This journal still gets a lot of hits, so I know people are still watching. But don't worry, I will be back in the New Year with a new journal as soon as I'm close to those PRs :)

It's been fun!
 
We'll miss the updates but you're right; this has become a little C&C in the weights forum. I've enjoyed the journal right from the start and always looked out for fresh entries.

Good luck with your rehab and I'm sure I'm not the only one who'll be anticipating the start of Mark II.
 
Pulling a young_squatter, closing your EF journal and slinking off to bb.com with a program built around curls and cable crossovers, eh? ;)

Do you know what you'll be doing next, assuming no further setbacks? Things were really getting interesting (or frustrating from your perspective, I guess) before your back issues. How you transition out of the SF will be a new/informative addition to the madcow canon.

Anyway, hope your rehab/"Guinness recomp" goes well. Looking forward to the new journal.
 
Thanks for the kind words everyone.

CS: I know, it was just getting interesting for me too. With hindsight, I now realise I was too keen on keeping the intensity high when I stalled. I learnt a lot from the discussions that went on at the time (and since), so I ought to handle the next stall a lot better. I'm keeping my eye on Ripstone to see what he does when he stalls.

Don't worry, the last thing I'm doing is leaving for bb.com! I'll be continuing with the SF. Nothing's changed there. I really liked Glenn's post a while back on changing the set/rep scheme when you reset after stalling, so I'll probably do that when I stall again. To be honest, I was pretty bored with the exact same routine after 14 weeks, so a change like that would make a lot of difference.
 
This was a great read.

I would love to see an update from anotherbutters.

Are you still training? Have you got any stronger? Are you still using Madcow?
 
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