Beerdrinker's log

[beerdrinker]

Decided I would finally make myself accountable to the board. I'll be doing a variant (from Madcow's site) of the Bill Starr intermediate 5x5. My stats and background:

Age: 30 (some days I feel it, some days I don't.)
Height: 5'8"
Weight: ~195-200 lbs. (abs are overrated. lol)

Previous routine: Rippetoe 3x5

5 rep maxes: (I'm going with what I was doing 3x5 because I don't want to overshoot the starting weights, and that last set of 5 is ugly. )

Squat: 235x5
Dead: 305x5
Bench: 210x5
Pendlay rows: 210x5
OHP: 135x5

I got to these weights pretty rapidly after a layoff of two months which wrecked a lot of progress I had made. I had been a little higher on bench, deads, and rows before my time off, but my squat has never been better. My deads are embarrassing, but I am hoping my ever improving squats will help. I am starting to feel the stress from the rapid pace of the 3x5, and I don't think I can progress on all the lifts that quickly anymore. That's why I am switching to the intermediate 5x5.

All squats will be done ATG (ALL the way down. ). Deads will be conventional. OHP may morph to push press along the way.

Layout will be (as if most don't already know):

Monday: Squat 5x5, Bench 5x5, Pendlay Rows 5x5
Wed: Squat 4x5, OHP 4x5, Deadlift 4x5 (I'll try to throw in pull ups too)
Fri: Squat 4x5,1x3,1x8, Bench 4x5,1x3,1x8, Row 4x5,1x3,1x8


Tomorrow I will post my first day.

 

[Sculelos]

Doing the good ole' 5x5 huh, well it will be good to watch someone else's progress that has given me good advice... better not take any more 2 month breaks though cause at the rate I'm advancing I might catch up to you...

 

[beerdrinker]

Doing the good ole' 5x5 huh, well it will be good to watch someone else's progress that has given me good advice... better not take any more 2 month breaks though cause at the rate I'm advancing I might catch up to you...

Yeah, those two months off hurt. I had to start pretty much back at zero. I gained back most of what I lost pretty quickly though. I'm sure not going to do it again.

I'll spell out my goal weights for 10 weeks here. It will be interesting to see if I hit them on schedule.

Squat: 275x5
Bench: 245x5
Row: 245x5
Dead: 350x5
OHP: 155x5

The goal date for these poundages is Nov. 26 for Squat, Bench, and Rows, and Nov. 28 for Deads and OHP. Which is pretty cool being the week of Thanksgiving, I'll be able to gorge myself on food to reward myself.

The early weeks should be pretty easy as it's not as intense as the 3x5. Only one top set should seem like a breeze for a while.

I don't necessarily want to gain too much weight, a recomp is more in order. I'd like to trade in 10 or so pounds of fat for more muscle. If I just gain muscle, I'm cool with that too.

My diet looks like this:

Eat lots of food. Eat lots of meat. Suck down whey and milk before bed. Fight the urge to say fuck it and drink, but occasionally saying fuck it and pounding a few beers on the weekend. No caloric deficit going on here.

In case you're wondering, with a diet like this, no I'm not training for the Olympia, lol. I just want to be strong as fuck. Not even close to that yet, but I'm on my way.

 

[Sculelos]

How long where you lifting before the two month layoff?

 

[beerdrinker]

How long where you lifting before the two month layoff?

Off and on wasting time for a couple of years. Then I got more serious. I started the 3x5 and restarted it a couple of times for about 4 months. I would sometimes take a week or two off here and there for work related crap or going out of town type stuff. Then I got sick, so I didn't lift for a week, after that I went on vacation for a week, after that I had family staying with me for a week and a half (which included too much alcohol), and then I had other family in town after that, and before you know it, it's been a month and a half without working out and I spent another two weeks feeling like crap and not working out because I felt like crap. I finally had enough and got back on the 3x5. I got most of what I lost back in a single run of it, but my deadlift really suffered. I'm still about 35 lbs behind what I worked up to on that.

 

[Sculelos]

Well I'm glad your back. Look forward to reading your log. Stay motivated and uninjured and good things are sure to come.

 

[skullcrushin22]

Yeah, those two months off hurt. I had to start pretty much back at zero. I gained back most of what I lost pretty quickly though. I'm sure not going to do it again.

I'll spell out my goal weights for 10 weeks here. It will be interesting to see if I hit them on schedule.

Squat: 275x5
Bench: 245x5
Row: 245x5
Dead: 350x5
OHP: 155x5

I think you should see better gains than this in 10 weeks. Esp. in the OHP, if you dont mind doing BTN then BTN push presses worked wonders for me.

 

[beerdrinker]

I think you should see better gains than this in 10 weeks. Esp. in the OHP, if you dont mind doing BTN then BTN push presses worked wonders for me.

Well, I'm not opposed to pushing it faster than this, I'm just going off the spreadsheet from Madcow's site. What do you think is a reasonable goal for these lifts?

 

[skullcrushin22]

Well, I'm not opposed to pushing it faster than this, I'm just going off the spreadsheet from Madcow's site. What do you think is a reasonable goal for these lifts?

When I used the 5*5 I used BTN push presses and I had the same goal for them as I did with every other exercise. Add five pounds every week. Now that may be hard for someone that has been pressing for months. But I never performed the BTN push press before therefore I went from 155 for 3 to 225 for 3 in around 12 weeks I believe, but then I stalled at 225 and switched things up. That was a huge increase but I never had done pressing before because I was a pitcher in college and I didnt mess around with heavy weight with shoulders. But I would assume you could incresase the lift by at least 35-40lbs.

 

[beerdrinker]

When I used the 5*5 I used BTN push presses and I had the same goal for them as I did with every other exercise. Add five pounds every week. Now that may be hard for someone that has been pressing for months. But I never performed the BTN push press before therefore I went from 155 for 3 to 225 for 3 in around 12 weeks I believe, but then I stalled at 225 and switched things up. That was a huge increase but I never had done pressing before because I was a pitcher in college and I didnt mess around with heavy weight with shoulders. But I would assume you could incresase the lift by at least 35-40lbs.

OK. Yeah, I see what you mean. Looking at the spreadsheet, it's definitely not increasing the weight 5 lbs. That's because the formula is the same, but the starting weights are pretty low compared to the rest of the lifts. I will do 5 lb increments and see where I end up. I think I'll still do them from the front, but push press definitely looks like the best way to get the weight up substantially. I would love to push press 185 at the 12 week mark.

What advantage do you see with the BTN? Is it easier to push heavier? I'm afraid of injury with BTN. I've always heard it's more dangerous.

 

[skullcrushin22]

OK. Yeah, I see what you mean. Looking at the spreadsheet, it's definitely not increasing the weight 5 lbs. That's because the formula is the same, but the starting weights are pretty low compared to the rest of the lifts. I will do 5 lb increments and see where I end up. I think I'll still do them from the front, but push press definitely looks like the best way to get the weight up substantially. I would love to push press 185 at the 12 week mark.

What advantage do you see with the BTN? Is it easier to push heavier? I'm afraid of injury with BTN. I've always heard it's more dangerous.

Yeah a lot of people dont like doing anything behind the head, but I have never felt any type of pain at all. The BTN push press allows you to do the max amount of weight for a press because of the leg drive that you use, not a lot of leg drive but some. If you dont feel comfortable then I wouldnt do it, it took me weeks getting used to that weight coming down on my traps and back.

 

[beerdrinker]

OK! Day 1, Week 1

Squat: 110x5,135x5,165x5,190x5, 220x5

Bench: 100x5,120x5,145x5,170x5, 195x5

Rows: 100x5,120x5,145x5,170x5, 195x5


Felt nice to do some more volume with lower weight for a change. Squats always feel heavy to me, no matter how much weight is on the bar, but only one top set has me MUCH less tired. I feel no fatigue tonight, actually pretty energetic. Squats on the 3x5 were wiping me out.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 1, Day 2

Squats: 110x5,135x5,165x5,165x5

OHP: 80x5,95x5,110x5,125x5

Deads: 175x5,215x5,245x5,285x5


Pullups: 1x5, 1x3. These sucked. I have not done them in a long time.


While I'm in the "easy" weeks, I'm trying to perfect my form and make adjustments as I need to. I've been wearing my Oly shoes for everything, and I like them, but they make deads a little different. I'm not sure I'll keep using them on deads.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 1, Day 3

Squat: 110x5,135x5,165x5,190x5,225x3,165x8

Bench: 100x5,120x5,145x5,170x5,200x6,145x8

Rows: 100x5,120x5,145x5,170x5,200x3,145x8

Weighted situps: 1x10,1x5.


Still feel good. Wed's light squats were kind of therapeutic. They kept me limber and fresh for today.

I adjusted my form on bench today, and it really made a difference. I finally actually did the things I thought I was doing before. It's all really coming together on it now. I did 6 reps instead of 3 on my top set today because it felt so much lighter. I probably could have started the program higher, but I'm not going to deviate from the plan. I want to avoid an early stall out as much as possible. I think I've set some realistic goals for the 10th week, and I'm hoping to ride this without resetting until Christmas. That may be a little optimistic.

I see a business trip to NYC in my near future, I hope I don't have to miss too much.

 

[SirDingo]

Week 1, Day 3

Squat: 110x5,135x5,165x5,190x5,225x3,165x8

Bench: 100x5,120x5,145x5,170x5,200x6,145x8

Rows: 100x5,120x5,145x5,170x5,200x3,145x8

Weighted situps: 1x10,1x5.


Still feel good. Wed's light squats were kind of therapeutic. They kept me limber and fresh for today.

I adjusted my form on bench today, and it really made a difference. I finally actually did the things I thought I was doing before. It's all really coming together on it now. I did 6 reps instead of 3 on my top set today because it felt so much lighter. I probably could have started the program higher, but I'm not going to deviate from the plan. I want to avoid an early stall out as much as possible. I think I've set some realistic goals for the 10th week, and I'm hoping to ride this without resetting until Christmas. That may be a little optimistic.

I see a business trip to NYC in my near future, I hope I don't have to miss too much.

Just curious what is up with the 8reps on a few of the final sets ??

So bust out my regular 5x5 and that do a final 6th set of lighter weight higher rep's, at the end of each 5x5 ?? That is a pretty interesting and smart thing to try

 

[beerdrinker]

Just curious what is up with the 8reps on a few of the final sets ??

So bust out my regular 5x5 and that do a final 6th set of lighter weight higher rep's, at the end of each 5x5 ?? That is a pretty interesting and smart thing to try

http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow1/5x5_Program/Linear_5x5.htm

On the Starr Intermediate 5x5, you do a triple as your top set with heavier weight on Friday than you did on Monday for 5. This will be the weight you will do for 5 the following Monday. By week 4 of the program, you are back to lifting your 5 rep max that you started with, only then it should be easier. Since you are only doing 3 reps instead of 5 on Friday for the top set, the logic is get more reps in at the lower weight to make up for the volume you missed by going for intensity in that top set.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 2, Day 1

Squats: 115x5,140x5,170x5,195x5,225x5

Bench: 100x5,125x5,150x5175x5,200x5

Row: 100x5,125x5,150x5175x5,200x5


I think I have done something bad to my ass. LOL. My right glute hurts pretty bad when I squat. I'm going to keep it stretched out as good as I can, eat lots of protein, and take some naproxen to keep the inflammation down. Other than that, I don't know what I can do about it. I don't want to have to stop squatting in only week 2. Thank God for light squat day on Wed. This has been a nagging pain I've had since my last run of the 3x5. It just got worse. This may be what is called "getting older", but I'm going to keep on.

 

[beerdrinker]

Hmm, maybe it's not my glute exactly, it could by my pirifomis. Whatever it is, it needs to heal the fuck up.

 

[beerdrinker]

I've been taking naproxen and ibuprofen (I think ibuprofen may work better for me for muscle inflammation) and stretching my pirifomis throughout the day. After searching about this, I have found that this is a very common problem. I'm doing a lot better, I just really need to keep it loose. That along with my hip flexor stretching. I wasn't even able to cross my legs without picking my foot up with my hands before, and now I can do it hands free without too much pain. I might as well start some rotator cuff exercises now before I have to do them post injury. I might as well admit it, I'm not 18 anymore and I need to do preventative maintenance.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 2, Day 2

Squat: 115x5,140x5,170x5,170x5

OHP: 85x5,100x5,115x5,130x5

Deads: 180x5,220x5,255x5,290x5

Pullups: bodyweight 3x5

Squats felt much better today. Even though today is just light squat day, I had no pain in my ass whatsoever so I'm encouraged. Only a little pain in my hip flexors, but it was minor. I think stretching is my new life. All day long, keep stretching. I'm finding my sweet spot in my stance, and it's a little more narrow than I had been squatting. Right at shoulder width or ever so slightly narrower. Once I get right, there is no pain at all anywhere.

I do think I'm sure I don't like deadlifts in my Do-win Oly shoes. They keep me leaning too far forward, and they put my shins and knees at an angle that is making them get chewed up worse by the knurling on the bar.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 2, Day 3

Squats: 115x5,140x5,170x5,195x5,230x3,170x8

Bench: 100x5,125x5,150x5,175x5,205x3,150x8

Rows: 100x5,125x5,150x5,175x5,205x3,150x8

Weighted situps: 3x8


Once again, mild to moderate pain when I squat, but the weight went up easily. Other lifts went fine.

 

[beerdrinker]

Sunday

My wife had recorded some stretching/pilates type show from FitTV. I did the workout (as best my inflexible ass could) and actually worked up a sweat. I feel pretty good and stretched out. I did some jump squats afterwareds and felt good.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 3, Day 1

Squat: 115x5,145x5,170x5,200x5,230x5

Bench: 105x5,130x5,155x5,180x5,205x5

Row: 105x5,130x5,155x5,180x5,205x5


Great session today. Little to no pain in squats, and the weight went up quite easy. I held the bar a little lower on my back today, and due to not having so much pain, I widened my stance back up a bit, concentrated on keeping my chest up, and pushing my knees out. Keeping my chest up seems to be key in whether the lift goes well or not. All the lifts went well. Next week I will be back at my starting 5 rep maxes, and I feel like I'll be able to run with some PRs for quite a while after that.

 

[beerdrinker]

Did the pilates/stretching workout again today. I know it sounds , but I love it. I feel so flexible now. I wish I was squatting again today. I also did some wall walkdowns to stretch my hip flexors more. I did some body weight squats and some very light "front squats", not with a bar, but while holding a 25lb plate in front of me, concentrating on keeping my chest up and my back arched. I noticed that if I don't keep my chest way up and my hamstrings engaged, my pelvis wants to curl under at the bottom, and that kills the lift. When I do everything right, the weight comes right up. Amazing.

 

[needtogetaas]

nice bro logs are always good.

 

[Sculelos]

Hmmm, your making me really want to start up a flexibility routine... I guess stretching after lifting will have to do for now though.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 3, Day 2

Squats: 115X5,145X5,170X5,170X5

OHP: 90x5,105x5,120x5,135x5

Deads: 185x5,225x5,260x5,300x5

Pullups: Not tonight. Maybe later.


Did stretch routine before I started. Squats felt good. No real pain. I have a little strain in my right glute through my hamstring, but it's nothing big. Light squats probably did it some good. Felt it much more during deadlift.

OHP is coming along nicely. I'm already back at my 5 rep max on it because I decided to accelerate the pace from the spreadsheet. That probably means I started too high, but I'm not worried since I will be transitioning into a push press when I can no longer get the bar off my front delts without a little leg drive. That may happen in a couple of weeks from now. Maybe longer, 135x5 went up pretty easy.

Deads. I'm so pissed at my grip. Something has happened to it. My grip failed half way up rep four, and I had to set it down and switch to a mixed grip. I repeated rep four and finished the set. Before my layoff, my grip was so much better. It's really faded. I will have to to some rack holds now. That's worked for me before. I really prefer pulling double overhanded. Took off the Oly shoes for deads and pulled in my socks. Much better for me.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 3, Day 3

Squats: 115x5,145x5,170x5,200x5,235x3,170x8

Bench: 105x5,130x5,155x5,180x5,210x3,155x8

Rows: 105x5,130x5,155x5,180x5,210x3,155x8


No other assistance work tonight. I need some rest. I will probably do weighted situps, pullups, and rack holds tomorrow if I have time.

Even though I am pretty tired and wasn't ragingly motivated to hit the weights, all lifts went well. Feeling good going into next week.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 4, Day 1

Squat: 120x5,150x5,175x5,205x5,235x5

Bench: 105x5,135x5,160x5,185x5,210x5

Row: 105x5,135x5,160x5,185x5,210x5

Weighted situps: 12,12,10

Started off with strech workout. Got nice and limber. Did all squats with virtually NO PAIN!!. Finally! I will admit that the final rep was a little hard. Bench and rows went well and with speed. I had a few more reps in me on those, and that's a good thing since I'm back at my starting 5 rep maxes. Next week I start hitting PRs.

Hopefully I will have my order of Amp02 in by Friday. I'm counting on it being as great as everyone says it is. I want to ATTACK those triples on Friday, and I want all the focus and energy I can get for all the PRs to come.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 4, Day 2

Squats: 120x5,150x5,175x5,175x5

Deads: 190x5,230x5,270x5,305x5

OHP: 95x5,110x5,125x5,140x5

Pullups: bodyweight 3x5

Grip work: Rack holds: 275x10sec, 315x10sec, 345x8secx3


Everything went great. Last rep of the OHP was tough, but I grunted it out.

I figured out that last weeks grip problem on deads was due to doing OHP before them. That's been getting my forearms and wrists tired and stretched out in the rack position. I switched the order this time, and no problems with grip at all. Still am able to pull double overhanded without issue. All the same, I did some grip so that I will stay one step ahead of my deads.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 4, Day 3

Squats: 120x5,150x5x175x5,205x5,242.5x3,175x8

Bench: 105x5,135x5,160x5,185x5,215x3,160x8

Rows: 105x5,135x5,160x5,185x5,215x3,160x8

I'm using my micro loading chains to get another 2.5lbs on squats to stay in line with the spreadsheet formula's progression.

Squats did not go well. To start, I was just tired and was finding it difficult to get prepared to squat. I rushed through stretching, and I think I paid for it. I was not able to hold form well, and I had a bit of pain in my right hip/glute. That's a large reason my form didn't hold up. I was compensating for pain. I got the weight up OK, but it wasn't pretty. The triple felt pretty damn heavy.
I hope I am OK to squat again on Monday. If my warm up sets don't feel good, I'm going to not squat for the rest of the week. Sucks, but I can't be stupid about this. Getting a week behind schedule is better than getting hurt for a long time.

Bench and rows went great. I'm going to increase these quite a bit before this is all over, I think.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 5, Day 1

Squats: 120x5,150x5,180x5,210x5,242.5x5 PR

Bench: 110x5,135x5,160x5,190x5,215x5 PR

Rows: 110x5,135x5,160x5,190x5,215x5 PR

Assistance:

Overhead squats: 45x10,45x10

Cardio! Eliptical 10min. at medium intensity.


What a great session. In no small part thanks to my shipment of Amplify02. . That's some good stuff. I took 8, and I think that's a pretty nice dose for me. I finished my 3 core lifts in no time, lol. I usually dick around and it takes me forever. I was lifting with purpose! I'm still full of energy. I decided to do some overhead squats, because if done right, those force your body into good form and give you a nice stretch. I even did some cardio. Not a lot, but it's been a LONG time since I've done that.

I came so close to taking the week off from squats. Even this morning, I rolled out of bed feeling my glute from Friday. I'm glad I didn't. I stretched and warmed up thoroughly, and felt good all through my warm up sets. My final set felt good and a grunted out a PR! The final rep was damn hard. I had to make a decision: set it down on the spotter bars, or drive that bitch up! Felt great to do it.

Bench and Rows were a breeze.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 5, Day 2

Squats: 120x5,150x5,180x5,180x5

Deads: 195x5,230x5,275x5,312.5x5

OHP: 100x5,115x5,130x5,145x5


Pullups: bodyweight 4x5

Cardio: Eliptical 15 min.

Pretty decent session. Was starting to lose my grip a bit on deads, but held it. I will try to get in some rack holds on Friday. I'm supposed to do 320x5 on deads next week, and I'm worried about my grip on those. I'm still trying to keep it double overhand.

Last rep on OHP was very difficult. I locked it out, but I'm sure I looked pretty funny doing it. I've been planning to move these to push presses, and next week I will start at 150x5. I will still keep the warm up sets free of leg drive.

 

[Sculelos]

Looks like your lifts are doing pretty good.

How is your glute feeling, seemed like the switch to atg was playing havoc on mine but it has seemed to get significantly better, now to the point where I basically don't feel anything anymore.

 

[beerdrinker]

Looks like your lifts are doing pretty good.

How is your glute feeling, seemed like the switch to atg was playing havoc on mine but it has seemed to get significantly better, now to the point where I basically don't feel anything anymore.

Feeling much better. I just kept it stretched out, kept it moving, and got really warmed up and flexible before I started squatting. I probably would have been better off giving it some rest, but I'm dumb like that, lol. I have scheduled goals, dammit! I'm just going to have to keep giving my pre-workout stretching and warm up session the time it deserves.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 5, Day 3

Squats: 120x5,150x5,180x5,210x5,247.5x3,180x8

Bench: 110x5,135x5,160x5,190x5,220x3,160x8

Rows: 110x5,135x5,160x5,190x5,220x3,160x8


Assistance

Rack Holds, double overhand: 160x10sec,225x10sec,275x10sec,315x10sec,345x10sec,345x5sec

Rack Holds, mixed grip: 345x10sec,345x10sec,390x10sec,390x10sec

Weighted situps: 4x5

Good day. Nailed all my lifts. Did full stretching/pilates type workout to get nice and stretched out. Squats felt good, but damn heavy.

Did lots of rack holds so hopefully my deads will be good next Wed. When I went to mixed grip, I alternated the suppination so each side would be worked equally. I'm just a little OCD like that. 390 made my hands feel like they were on fire!. It was cool to see the bar get a little bendy on me. . Cheap bar, lol. I think I could do more on these rack holds, but 390lbs is all I have.

Still taking Amplify02. 8 caps gets me revved up and focused at relatively mild level. Keeps me energized throughout the entire session. It's just that little extra boost that I'm looking for, not getting all cracked out, and it seems to work for that purpose. I do have a little trouble getting to sleep though.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 6, Day 1

Squat: 125x5,155x5,185x5,215x5,247.5x5

Bench: 110x5,140x5,165x5,195x5,220x5

Row: 110x5,140x5,165x5,195x5,220x5


Assistance

Overhead Squats: 45x10,45x10,45x10

No cardio. Started too late tonight.

Squats are starting to get very hard. I know I didn't have one more rep in me. Also, for the first time in the program, I felt the same about bench and rows. I MAY have been able to grunt another out on bench, but I doubt by ass would have been down.

So far, I'm making good progress. I hope I can keep it up. I don't want to start stalling out.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 6, Day 2

Squat: 125x5,155x5,185x5,185x5

Deads: 200x5,240x4,280x5,320x5

OHP/PP: 105x5,120x5,135x5,150x5


Pullups: bodyweight 3x5

Cardio: Eliptical 25 min.


Overall, damn good workout. Squats felt pretty easy, even for light day. Deads were strong. Last set of OHP I did push presses as planned. Good idea too, because I wouldn't have gotten all 5 reps with no leg drive. Pullups sucked. I wanted to get 5 sets of 5, but after 3 sets I knew I couldn't do more. For one, I kind of tweaked my left bicep squatting by letting the bar put too much weight in my left hand, and two, I was 7 lbs heavier this week than I was last week. That puts me at 207. Some of that weight is water, but I've been eating like total garbage the past few days. Fried chicken, pizza, you name it, and lots of it. I will be back down to 200 quickly as soon as I get my act together. Cardio had me breathing hard by the end, but hopefully it will add to my overall general fitness and thereby help in future lifts and workload capacity.

 

[Mercere]

Very nice progress man, good luck for the upcoming PR day. You're feeling pretty normal for week 6. It's supposed to be like "Man I don't know if I can add more to this lift." Just be confident and kill those PRs!

 

[beerdrinker]

Very nice progress man, good luck for the upcoming PR day. You're feeling pretty normal for week 6. It's supposed to be like "Man I don't know if I can add more to this lift." Just be confident and kill those PRs!

Thanks man! BELIEVE ME, After Monday, I thought I was going to die, lol. All I wanted to do was sleep ALL DAY on Tuesday. I slept almost 11 hours that night. I'm not sure what's going to happen tomorrow with squats, but I'm sure bench and rows are going to go well. I think I'll get the triple with much strain and agony, but I think it's the 5 reps on Monday that will be the true test of my will.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 6, Day 3

Squats: 125x5,155x5,185x5,215x5,252.5x5,185x8

Bench: 110x5,140x5,165x5,195x5,226.25x3,165x8

Rows: 110x5,140x5,165x5,195x5,226.25x3,165x8


Assistance

Weighted situps: 3x6


I really don't know what to say, but not only did I hit every lift, I did them somewhat easily. I had more reps in me on every lift. Even squats. This is not the workout I predicted after Monday's grueling session. Squats were 100% pain free in the hips/glutes.

After my PR on squats though, I had really sharp pain in my left bicep or shoulder or somewhere in there. It was just sharp shooting pain, and I couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from. This is the problem I had on Wed. I have decided my grip on the bar is too narrow. I widened it up for the back off set of 8, and it felt a LOT better.

This pain really persisted though. It felt like someone had my arm in a Kimura hold. I almost didn't complete the workout. I stretched it out and gave it a little rest and continued. I just worked through the pain, and that actually helped. It actually forced me into good form on bench, and even though I felt some pain, it didn't affect my strength. By the time I went to rows, I was virtually pain free.

I think Monday is going to be a good day. Tomorrow, I will do cardio.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 7, Day 1

Squats: 125x5,160x5,190x5,220x5,252.5x5

Bench: 115x5,140x5,170x5,200x5,226.25x4

Rows: 115x5,140x5,170x5,200x5,226.25x5

Bench again: 135x3,185x3,205x3,226.25x4,226.25x5

This was one ball busting workout.

I was so pissed about missing my last rep on bench, (I had it in me, I was robbed!) that I ramped up again after rows and made another attempt at 5. This time, on rep 4, I somehow got stuck underneath the pins, which ruined any attempt at the fifth. Fuck! I would have gotten it too! I decided I wasn't going to stop until I got 5. I rested for about 5 mins, and attempted it again. Holy shit was rep 5 hard! I did it though! That satisfies me enough to go for a new PR triple on Friday.

Squats really drained me. And for some reason, my arms are hurting afterwards. I don't get it. I widened my grip up on the bar, and it seems to help, but my arms still hurt afterwards. That's mostly why I missed that rep on bench. I was exhausted and my arms hurt.

This was my first early morning workout. It was a little difficult getting going, but max effort squats will get the blood going.

 

[beerdrinker]

Cardio today.

Eliptical 25 min, 5 min cool down.

Going to bed early tonight to try to get up for another early workout. Deadlifts at 6 AM.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 7, day 2

Squats: 125x5,160x5,190x5,190x5

Deads: 205x5,245x5,290x5,327.5x5

OHP/PP: 110x5,125x5,140x5,155x3


Well, today was for shit. I got little sleep last night, just kept waking up every hour or so. Deads were unbelievably hard. The first pull at my last set didn't even come off the ground. I had to step back, get my head into it, and pull with everything I had. After that came up, reps 2 and 3 came a lot easier. Rep 4 though, I had to switch to mixed grip, and it was UGLY. Dangerous even. I took a few breaths and pulled up 5 with a bit better form. I will be repeating these weights next week.

OHP went fine until my last set which I am now doing push press on. I was just too tired to get up more than 3. I think I need to space the weights out a little further from now on on these. 140 is a little close to 155. I will repeat the weight on these next week as well.

I think I'm at a point here where my top set shouldn't be done without a belt since these are going to be PRs from now on. I am feeling it in my back. I ordered a 13mm lever belt from Inzer yesterday, and since I'm under 2 hours from their warehouse, I think I should get it before Friday's workout.

 

[roy2]

Have you found that cardio screws with your lifts at all? Or do you just eat more food to make up for the burnt calories?

 

[beerdrinker]

Have you found that cardio screws with your lifts at all? Or do you just eat more food to make up for the burnt calories?

Hard to say since I really haven't been doing it that long. Right now I would say no overall, but I do think cardio Tuesday night kept me revved up and ruined my sleep, screwing up Wednesday morning's workout. My hope is that it will eventually increase my work capacity.

I'm rarely in a situation of needing to make up calories. I have a big appetite. I don't really want to gain more weight, I'd rather stay the same and change my makeup.

 

[Mercere]

The reason for your arms hurting after squats may be that you are unconsciously pressing the bar up while squatting. I used to do that too on heavy weights. I wouldn't recommend widening your grip too much, that will compromise the form. Maybe concentrating on squeezing the bar will help.

Overall, I'd say you're making excellent progress.

 

[mad dipz]

The reason for your arms hurting after squats may be that you are unconsciously pressing the bar up while squatting. I used to do that too on heavy weights. I wouldn't recommend widening your grip too much, that will compromise the form. Maybe concentrating on squeezing the bar will help.

Overall, I'd say you're making excellent progress.

I second that. I usually feel a sharp pain in my left bicep/shoulder area when I lose focus on my heavy squat sets. I have to re-adjust and concentrate my form even harder on the next rep(s) and the pain will go away.

 

[beerdrinker]

You guys are right. I was thinking this could be the culprit as well, so I cracked open my Starting Strength book last night to refresh myself on squat form. Found a few things I had forgotten.

I wasn't holding the bar with my thumbs on top. I had them wrapped around like I was going to press it. Thumbs on top make it a LOT harder to subconsciously push up on the bar. Helps keep your wrists straight and everything a lot tighter. I changed this today and it was a lot better. I was even able to bring my grip back narrow again. My top set though, I did put a little strain on my left shoulder. It's hard to concentrate on so many little things when you have a heavy ass weight on your back.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 7, Day 3

Squats: 125x5,160x5,190x5,220x5,260x3,190x8

Bench: 115x5,140x5,170x5,200x5,232.5x3,170x5

Rows: 115x5,140x5,170x5,200x5,232.5x3,170x5

No assistance today.

Overall, pretty good workout. Squats were strong, but like I'm finding a lot these days, that last rep of 260 was probably all I had. Monday will be interesting.

Bench was OK. I know I couldn't do another rep of 232.5. Same with Rows if I'm staying in halfway decent form with them. I may be doing these weights two weeks in a row. We'll see.

I didn't get my Inzer lever belt yet! I'm kind of pissed about it. It's a 1 day UPS shipment to my house from Inzer and I ordered it 8:00 AM Tuesday. I ordered standard black too. Hopefully I will have it Monday. I think I'll need all the back and abdominal support I can get for 5 reps of 260.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 8, Day 1

Squats: 135x5,160x5,195x5,227.5x5,260x3

Bench: 115x5,145x5,175x5,205x5,232.5x4

Rows: 115x5,145x5,175x5,205x5,232.5x4


Today progression came to a screeching halt. I've had a good run, it couldn't last forever.

After I racked the bar after 3 reps on squats, I thought maybe I pussed out on another rep, but I think it was a 70% chance of failure on that. And I still don't have my belt. I called Inzer today, and somehow my order didn't get to the right place or something. They shipped it out immediately, and I will have it tomorrow.

Bench, I failed on rep 5. Rows, rep 5 would have been with ridiculous form, so I did not attempt.

Friday, I will attempt to get all 5 reps with these weights instead of the triples normally scheduled.

Next week, I go out of town for Thanksgiving starting Wed, so I may only get Monday's workout in. Maybe I will attempt some 1 rep maxes. I need an answer for "hey man, how much you bench?", lol. The rest of the week will be a very nice and needed break. I need a rest.

 

[Mercere]

Won't you consider a mild deload, such as setting the weight back 10-15% and working your way up to the stalling point, before peaking for a max? Maybe you can squeeze out a couple of more PRs that way.

 

[beerdrinker]

Won't you consider a mild deload, such as setting the weight back 10-15% and working your way up to the stalling point, before peaking for a max? Maybe you can squeeze out a couple of more PRs that way.

Yeah, that's a good idea. I will do that when I come back from my holiday trip.

 

[Mercere]

Yeah, that's a good idea. I will do that when I come back from my holiday trip.

That would be a nice break. I know missing reps is demoralizing as s**t, but I still believe you have a couple of more in weeks you. Whatever the outcome, you've had a very good run. Congratulations!

 

[beerdrinker]

That would be a nice break. I know missing reps is demoralizing as s**t, but I still believe you have a couple of more in weeks you. Whatever the outcome, you've had a very good run. Congratulations!

Oh, I think I have a lot more weeks in me. . I'm going to hit walls, reset, hit more walls, reset, and see where I get from there. I'm hoping I can keep doing that until around April with some time off here and there.

I want to get as much in as possible until the end of April because at the end of April, I will be a new dad. My first child is due April 22. I know I will have to take a break from lifting for a while then. At least until life gets somewhat settled again.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 8, Day 2

Squats: 135x5,160x5,195x5,195x5

Deads: 205x5,245x5,290x5,327.5x5

OHP: 110x5,125x5,140x5,155x3


I actually did the squats yesterday, but I just felt too tired to finish my workout so I did deads and OHP today. Yesterday wasn't the best day.

Anyway, Deads went well. The belt really helped on those. OHP, I'm still stuck at 155x3 so I will reset the weights. Actually, I will reset all the weights 10% when I come back from my week off next week.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 8, Day 3

Squats: 135x5,160x5,195x5,227.5x5,260x5

Bench: 115x5,145x5,175x5,205x5,232.5x3

Rows: 115x5,145x5,175x5,205x5,232.5x5


My arms hurt. Really bad, lol. I see people complain that this program doesn't hit arms hard enough. Either they are way too advanced for this, or they aren't pushing themselves.

Squats kicked ass today. Put the belt on for 260 and got 5 reps. Not easily, no PR should be, but I actually think I had another rep in me. That felt great.

Bench and rows are definitely stuck, so when I come back, I will drop them back down. I've thought that I would drop everything down, but I might not do that for squats. I may have some more room to run with these after my week off. I'm not decided on deads yet.

I think I'm going to take some light dumbbells with me next week and do some rotator cuff "prehab" work.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 9, REST


Week 10, Day 1


Squats: 135x5,160x5,195x5,227.5x5,260x5

Bench: 110x5,135x5,160x5,190x5,215x6

Rows: 110x5,135x5,160x5,190x5,215x6


Squats were hard. Almost didn't get the last rep. I was well above parallel when I started to stall, and my quads and hams were about to give out. I got it up though. Interesting that I was pretty strong deep in the hole, but at the "quarter squat" position I almost didn't get it.

Dropped down Bench and Rows as planned, put up 6 reps in the top set instead of 5. I'm going to try to do this until I get to my previous sticking point, so 5 reps hopefully wont be as difficult.

The week off was awesome for recovery. I felt great. No pain anywhere. It took me a little bit to get used to doing the movements again though.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 11 Day 1

OK, so week 10 was a bust. Too much work BS. Hopefully that's over for now.

Squats: 135x5,160x5,195x5,227.5x5,260x3,195x8

Bench: 110x5,135x5,160x5,190x5,215x5

Rows: 110x5,135x5,160x5,190x5,215x5


OK. So I'm getting back into this after pretty much two weeks almost completely off. I HAVE to get this going again or else I will start going backwards. My squats have started a slight backward slide already. I only got 3 on 260 this time, so I did a backoff set of 8.

 

[Mercere]

I think you'll be right back on track once you start lifting heavy regularly again. 2 weeks off could have affected your neural adaptation, but you need those weeks off sometimes.

 

[beerdrinker]

I think you'll be right back on track once you start lifting heavy regularly again. 2 weeks off could have affected your neural adaptation, but you need those weeks off sometimes.

Thanks. I think you are right about that.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 11 Day 2

Squats: 135x5,160x5,195x5

Deads: 195x5,235x5,275x5,315x5

OHP; 95x5,105x5,120x5,135x5


Decent workout. Light squats got me good and stretched out. I dropped the weight back down a bit on deads, and they felt really good. Two weeks off from deads did me some good, I think. OHP, I dropped it down, and it felt good. Keeping the OHP free of leg drive until I start needing it.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 11, Day 3

Squats: 135x5,160x5,195x5,227.25x5,260x5

Bench: 110x5,135x5,160x5,190x5,220x3,160x8

Rows: 110x5,135x5,160x5,190x5,220x3,160x8


Back on track. Due to not getting all 5 squats on day 1, and treating it like a day 3, I am switching day 1 and day 3 around on squats. I don't think that will be a big deal. Squats felt strong. I'm pretty sure I had another rep in me. Next Monday I will be hitting a triple on a new PR.

Bench and rows went well. Hopefully I can get some momentum to make new PRs in a few weeks.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 12, Day 1

Squats: 135x5,160x5,195x5,227.25x5,266.25x3,195x8

Bench: 115x5,140x5,165x5,195x5,220x5

Rows: none.


Motherfucker, does my left arm hurt. I'm pretty sure I have tendinitis in my left bicep tendons, both at the shoulder and at the elbow. I had been having the pain in the last couple of weeks before my little break, but it had gone away since I came back. Well, this weekend, the city made me trim my trees (or else get a fine), and working that manual pole saw up and down brought the pain back like no other. I had a hard enough time with bench, but my opening set of rows was just too much pain to bear. I hate this. If the pain calms down a bit, I may attempt rows later tonight or tomorrow.

On the plus side, I did get a 3 rep PR on squats! Admittedly not the prettiest 3rd rep, but at least the depth was there.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 12, Day 2

Deads: 200x5,240x5,280x5,320x5

OHP: 95x5,110x5,125x5,140x5

Squats: 135x5,165x5,200x5,200x5


decent session. I think I'll be hitting new PRs on deads soon. Hopefully they will continue for a while, too. They felt really strong today.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 12, Day 3

Squats: 140x5,170x5,200x5,232.5x5,266.25x5

Bench: 110x5,135x5,165x5,195x5,225x4,165x10

Rows: 110x5,135x5,165x5,195x5,230x3*,220x3,165x8


Squats were tough. Felt like my hams were going to snap, lol. Had a couple that almost went into a goodmorning. The worst rep was the first, I just wasn't set up right or something. I got all 5 reps, but I'm going to repeat this weight next week because I'm not happy with the form. I took video of it because I knew it might not go so well, and while it didn't look near as bad on video as it felt while doing it, there was plenty wrong. I'm pretty happy overall with how I'm coming with squats though, this ought to get me pretty damn close to 300 for a 1RM.

Went a little over my scheduled lifts on bench, I want to make sure I can break through my previous sticking point.

I'm back to rows again, my arm feels a lot better. *I accidentally did 10 lbs more on my triple than I was supposed to, and my form really reflected it. I took it back down to 220 and got them perfectly.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 13, Day 1

Squats: 140x5,170x5,200x5,235x5,265x5

Bench: 115x5,140x5,170x5,200x5,225x5

Rows: 115x5,140x5,165x5,195x5,220x5


Friday is a weird day for a day one, but my schedule is all messed up lately.
Anyway, picked up where I left off.

Squats went great, no form issues this time around. Tuesday I will have a triple of 270. I was hoping to have 275x5 by Christmas, but shit happens.

Bench went OK. Kind of hard by rep 5. Should have no problem with 230x3 on Tuesday. I always feel really strong in the first three reps, it's the last two that get me.

Rows went fine.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 13, Day 2

Squats: 140x5,170x5,200x5,200x5

Deads: 200x5,240x5,280x5,320x5

OHP: skipped

Arm hurt, and I had stuff to do, so I skipped OHP. Deads were surprisingly easy. Looking forward to the next few weeks on these.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 13, Day 3

Squats: 140x5,170x5,200x5,235x5,270x3,200x8

Bench: 115x5,140x5,165x5,195x5,230x3,250x1

Rows: skipped


Got a PR tripple on squats today. Not completely happy with the form on them, but I will attempt 5 on my next session. I wouldn't be surprised if I am not able to get 5.

Decided to try for a PR single on Bench today after my working sets instead of a backoff set of 8. Just wanted to see if I could put up 250, and I did.

Ran out of time to do rows. Had Christmas stuff to do. I will do a "day 4" this week to get in OHP and rows since they got skipped.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 13, Day 4

OHP: 95x5,115x5,125x5,145x3,115x8

Rows: 115x5,140x5,165x5,195x5,225x3,165x8

Just a catchup day for stuff I had to skip this week.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 14, Day 1

Squats: 135x5,165x5,200x5,235x5,270x5

Bench: 115x5,145x5,175x5,205x5,230x4

Rows: 115x5,135x5,165x5,195x5,225x4


Not the best day. I'm a little sick, but I took some pseudoephedrine. That really opened up my nasal passages. I could get used to that. I got 5 reps on squats, but I'm not happy with form. The last rep felt like I was starting to go into a goodmorning, and I thought I was going to puke, lol.

Missed rep 5 on bench and rows.

I will repeat all of these Friday. I think I will nail them then. If I do, I will start microloading bench and rows next week. That's the only way to keep the gains coming on these, I think.

My left arm doesn't feel like a tendon has been ripped out of place today, so that's good.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 14, Day 2

Squats: 135x5,170x5,205x5,205x5

Deads: 205x5,245x5,290x5,325x5

OHP: 95x5,105x5,125x5,145x5


Supposed to do this yesterday, but I was too sick. Still sick today, but am getting better.

Warmed up on the elliptical real well and did dynamic stretching, light static stretching, and no weight squats to warm up my hips, hams and glutes.

Deads felt good and strong, my double overhand grip started slipping a tad on my 5th rep of the last set.

OHP/PP felt strong. 5th set was performed as a push press. I think I will micro-load these so I don't stall out at 155 or so. I think I can keep it rolling for a lot longer if I do that.

 

[skullcrushin22]

14 weeks damn

I think you might be in a need of a break and switch it up for awhile.

Great progress bro.

 

[beerdrinker]

14 weeks damn

I think you might be in a need of a break and switch it up for awhile.

Great progress bro.

Thanks.

I did take a couple of weeks off at Weeks 9 and most of 10. Plus a schedule conflict here and there since then, so I'm feeling OK for now. Except for being sick, but I'm headed to the doc right now. I got worse.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 14, Day 3

Squats: 135x5,165x5,200x5,235x5,270x3,205x8


That's all. I'm probably too sick to have even done that. I'm completely gassed. Antibiotics have kicked in, but I probably won't be near 100% until Monday.

270x3 actually went very well. Form was right on, I think. Much better than last week. I bet I could have gotten 5 if I could breathe. I will have 270x5 on Monday for sure.

 

[Sculelos]

Sucks about the sickness, but your lifts have gotten quite a bit stronger it seems so that is good.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 15, Day 1

Squats: 135x5,165x5,200x5,235x5,270x2,270x5

Bench: 115x5,145x5,175x5,200x5,230x4,175x8

Rows: 115x5,135x5,165x5,195x5,225x3,165x8


Good to get a full day in. Feeling much better, just about hacked up a lung during and after squats though.

Squats went OK. My final set I almost failed on rep 2 due to bad form. I racked it and came back and grunted out 5 decent reps. Felt heavy as hell.

First time back at bench and rows since 8 days ago, so I'm no stronger there. Hopefully I can rep out 5 in a few days.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 15, Day 2

Squats: 135x5,165x5,200x5,200x5

Deads: 205x5,245x5,295x5,330x5

OHP: 95x5,105x5,125x5,147.5x5


Not a lot of energy today. Even these light squats felt very heavy. I will probably do 330x5 again next week on deads because I don't think my form was that great towards the end. I locked it out fine, but felt my back rounding. My grip was better this week than last. I think it's because I concentrated on getting a firm tight grip before every rep. Still pulling double overhand.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 15, Day 3

Squats: 135x5,170x5,200x5,235x5,275x3,200x8

Bench: 115x5,140x5,170x5,200x5,230x4,170x8

Rows: 115x5,135x5,165x5,195x5,225x5


PR on Squats! 275x3 went up relatively easy. I was surprised. I think I really nailed the form, and that seems to be the difference between a successful lift and a miss with the top end of my strength.

Bench. Stuck again at 230x4. Getting frustrated here. This is where I got stuck before. I lowered the weights and ramped back up, but I'm back where I started. I'm going to try for 5 one last time next week, and if I don't get it, I'll have to try something else. Maybe sets of 3 with heavier weight for a while or something.

I have lost some weight and my diet has been lacking, so that may be contributing to my stalling on bench.

 

[roy2]

Week 15, Day 3
I have lost some weight and my diet has been lacking, so that may be contributing to my stalling on bench.

Being sick a while ago might have something to do with it as well. I was too sick to go to the gym for over a week, and when I finally managed to get back in and lift, all of my lifts took a big knock.

 

[beerdrinker]

Being sick a while ago might have something to do with it as well. I was too sick to go to the gym for over a week, and when I finally managed to get back in and lift, all of my lifts took a big knock.

I'm sure it was a factor. I am needing to change it up though.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 16, Day 1

Squats: 140x5,175x5,205x5,240x5,275x4

Bench: 115x5,140x5,170x5,200x5,230x4

Rows: 115x5,140x5,170x5,200x5,230x2,230x3,170x8


Squats failed on last rep of last set. I didn't really think I could do it, but I thought I'd give it a shot. That's what power racks are for. I think I should be able to get 5 at the end of this week.

Bench failed again at rep 5. I almost had it, but failed after it was half up. I am definitely weaker at the top. I am going to change this up now. I am very strong in the first 3 reps but reps 4 and 5 have me running out of steam. I'm going to change this to 3x3 starting Friday or Saturday. I will micro load it up to 232.5 and do it for 3x3. I will see how that goes.

With rows, I failed at on the third rep on my first attempt at 3. I came back to it after a few minutes and took a little different approach. I treated it more like 3 singles. I took a few breaths between each rep instead of one rep per breath as I usually do it. This helped, and I got the 3 reps. I kind of doubt I will get 5 reps next time, but I will see.

 

[beerdrinker]

Squats: 140x5,175x5,205x5,240x5,275x3

Bench: 115x5,145x5,175x5,205x5,232.5x3,232.5x3,232.5x3

Rows: 115x5,140x5,170x5,200x5,230x4


Squats sucked. Didn't get 5 like I hoped. These are feeling very very heavy. I think I am finally, after 16 weeks, going to have to reset the weight on these. What a ride though. Almost 40lbs gain.

As planned, I did 232.5x3x3 on bench. First set wasn't too bad, but the second two sets were HARD. I managed to get all reps though.

Failed on rep 5 on rows. Got 1 rep better this time, so next time I will try for 5 again.

I think this post will close out this log. I am making changes to my routine, and while I am going to keep it in the same vein as the intermediate 5x5, it will be different. Hopefully this log will be of use to another novice lifter finding his way. I may bump it a now and then with PR updates and such.

 

[Sculelos]

Impressive improvement. Look forward to reading your new log!