Djeclipse's 3 x 8 journal....

[Cynical Simian]

Maybe 8s are heavy enough that that won't happen though. On 2d thought, they're probably just fine. I could see this being a problem if you started doing light sets of 15 though, which you aren't so . . . I have no point.

I went through the thought process you described about a month ago when deciding what to do during a post-5x5 cut and basically arrived at the above conclusion.

On one hand, all other things being equal, I would've preferred to "save" the 8s for a hypercaloric phase. But, looking at the proverbial big picture I decided that after a long run of 5s and 3s my joints needed a lighter phase. The 8s seemed like a good way to go while still building/maintaing strength that would carry over to the the more typical 4-6 rep range and not giving my body a license to throw away muscle.

 

[Mercere]

I see your point, but hopefully the 8's and the progression (adding weight to the bar every week) will be enough for me to make strangth gains.

Off to the gym now, we'll see how day 1 goes.

Good luck! Hope you fully recover soon.

 

[djeclipse]

FWIW, I went from 200 (38.5" waist, 27% BF) to 157 (31" waist, 13%BF) over the past year or so.

That is a huge change, congrats!

 

[djeclipse]

I took off work yesterday to watch Italy kick some German ass! So here is my mondays workout.

BW today was 176.4lbs, played soccer last night, scored a goal, set up 2 other goals.

My game has much improved at this lighter BW. I am faster, more agile and able to do what my brian tells me to do. The only draw back is when going up against heavier defenders I do get pushed around a little.

Week 1 Day 1 (mon)

The weights felt heavy for the 8 rep range. I don't know if I guessed wrong on the weights or if it was just taking the week off and my body not being conditioned to the 8 rep range. I got all my reps but I was expecting them to be a little easier then they were.

Squat
95 x 8
145 x 8
195 x 8

Bench
85 x 8
135 x 8
175 x 8

Rows
80 x 8
120 x 8
155 x 8

hypers
20 x 14
20 x 14
20 x 14

sit ups
30 x 15
30 x 15
30 x 15
30 x 15

Grip
60 x 10
60 x 10
60 x 10

My lower back had a little pain but nothing bad. I helped a buddy move yesterday and its bothering me a little. Hopefully today will go well.

 

[djeclipse]

Today will look like this, feel free to give opinions, comments if you think I should change anything.

squat
95 x 8
145 x 8 (should I do this twice?)

military press
70 x 8
90 x 8
110 x 8

Cleans

Not sure about these, I'll start at 95lbs doing sets of 5 and see how it goes. I was thinking about 4 sets of 5 for these.

Chins

needsize crunches

 

[Tweakle]

I'd suggest one heavier set then a backdown, that way you get the best of both worlds

maybe lighter rack deads from above the knee for high reps (10-20) might help the back problem

good work on the dieting so far

 

[djeclipse]

I'd suggest one heavier set then a backdown, that way you get the best of both worlds

You're talking about the cleans right? I like that idea.

Of course today will be simply feeling out the lift as I have never done them before except for getting my military press weight up from the floor.

maybe lighter rack deads from above the knee for high reps (10-20) might help the back problem

This sounds good also, but the only problem is the gym doesn't have a power rack, just a lame non adjustable squat rack. I'd have to use the smith machine...

Should I do them with the smith machine, and #2 how high above the knee do I set the bar?

 

[Cynical Simian]

Not sure about the cleans, but I don't remember seeing them for more than 3 reps in any of the journals around here. Just something to consider - see how well your form holds up from rep to rep. Like you said, it's not a big deal today since you'll be going light to learn the movement regardless.

With squats, I think you'd be fine with two sets at that weight or with a ramp to one set at ~80% of your Monday weight. A couple sets at that weight won't kill you, especially since your total load is less without conventional deads. Have you considered adding power/jump shrugs somewhere? They'd be good for trap development and would provide a bit of grip work as well but probably wouldn't cause any back issues like the deads.

 

[djeclipse]

Week 1 day 2 (wed)

BW this morning was 176.4lbs

Bare with me, this will be a long entry as I have issues with my squat, cleans and a few other things.

I finally was able to have someone look at my squat form. It's the only guy there that actually squats properly and knows a little about power lifting etc.

1. Right away he said my feet were too close together, I thought they were shoulder width but they were closer then shoulder width.

The next set I tried it with feet a little wider and it felt much better.

2. He said I was bouncing at the bottom (never realized I was) and I needed to take a slower descent.

So I have form issues, luckily I a starting over with light weight so I can really work on correcting these issues. I wonder if the bouncing was part of my lower back problem.

Cleans (from the floor)

I am not really sure how to do these, I have a few issues that I know of.

1. When to make the move to dive under the bar? A few times I'd pull real hard and the bar would fly up to almost my chin. Maybe it's just too light?

2. Catching position. I can not for the life of me get my elbows straight out like that. It must be a flexibility issue as my elbows are almost at my sides, palms facing up though.

I worked up to 145 for sets of 5, I don't know my true max as 145 seemed pretty easy. I will try to get a vid next week as I need help, lol. I do like the lift though.

I tried rack pulls but had to use those plastic steps sitting on some plates to get the bar just above my knees (the gym doesn't have an adjustable power rack). I went light but still got that small pain when I let go of the bar after the set so I will stay away from these for a few more weeks.

I did get a huge bruise form the bar ripping on my leg during the lift. I think it’s because of the prednisone which lead me to believe that the prednisone could also be a factor in my lower back pain. I can't wait till I'm off this stuff, it sucks ass.

As for the 3 x 8, it really doesn't feel like enough work. I am able to get through my sets fairly fast which is good. But it is only the first week, the 5x5 seemed like it wasn't enough work either in the first week, lol

Squat
95 x 8
145 x 8
145 x 8

Military press
70 x 8
90 x 8
110 x 8

cleans
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 5

rack pulls (kind of)
225 x 10
265 x 10

Chins
5lbs x 6 x 3

Needsize abs (with stop watch)
7.5 x 5
7.5 x 5
7.5 x 5
7.5 x 5

 

[mm107]

just stopping by to say goodluck with the new journal, since u are one of the journals i read daily!

GOOD LUCK bro, let us know how the new rep scheme feels.