Had a great workout today...

[musketeer]

Cant sleep, so I'm up writting crap about whata good workout I had today. I'm 8 weeks into a 5x5 variant and I'm about 15 pounds heavier with noticable bf reduction (not a lot but noticable - hell, we just had Xmas too!)

I clean and jerked 10 sets of doubles, working up to 240lbs for a single, before stripping off to 210 for a set of 9 push presses.

Then I set up the smith (no squat rack :[ ) and worked up in doubles to 405lbs before moving to smith front squats where I worked up over 5 sets of 2reps to 240lbs. Then I stripped down again and did smith lunges working up in tripples to 155.

I went straight over to a bench and did 5 quick warmup sets and then did 5 sets of 8 reps, flat dumbell press with the 90lb dumbells (all they got!)

I then moved on to the chin bars and pumped out 5 sets of 5 reps for nice and slow, controlled bodyweight chins.

I did a bunch of pumping stuff for my arms and delts and went to the locker room and measured my arms at 17 3/4 inches (1.5 inches in 8 weeks for hardly any direct arm work!) I'm pretty happy with the routine so far!

 

[Jim Ouini]

You on vacation? Seems like you're jumping around from gym to gym lately.

Regardless, nice workout/progress and 15lbs on an already big dude like yourself is impressive.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Jeez that's some nice push-pressing. Just how much do you dip (for push-press I mean)? I barely dip at all but explode as hard as possible, but I've seen it done other ways.

 

[musketeer]

Jeez that's some nice push-pressing. Just how much do you dip (for push-press I mean)? I barely dip at all but explode as hard as possible, but I've seen it done other ways.

Well I dont get to look as I find I'm better at pressing if I'm looking up at about 45 degrees. My dip is probably about 4 inches so not a heck of a lot.

I drop to a split leg when I'm jerking and that is something that I'm trying to get nice and deep for when I'm jerking the really big weights! The speed of the rep is VERY important to me too, which is why I do 10 sets getting up to the max - all doubles with submaximal weight and full ferocity in expolding the cleaned bar right to the top - skill work as much as a thorough warmup.

 

[musketeer]

You on vacation? Seems like you're jumping around from gym to gym lately.

Regardless, nice workout/progress and 15lbs on an already big dude like yourself is impressive.

Thanks man. I'm only around 223 right now because I lost some weight from a good long layoff. I went under 200lbs when I went travelling with my GF this summer - started looking very 'normal'! I'm very pleased that I've gained 15lb of muscle back in just 8 weeks - but my goal is to get another 10lbs over the next 8 weeks!

I've not been able to find a good gym since I moved house in September. I've stepped down my own company's business and started contracting again, which has screwed up the training schedule a bit, but the 3 days a week nature of the 5x5 has been possible, and very successful - I'm just very tired some days!

 

[rbtrout]

Sounds like it's working well for you. Since the start of November, I put on 1" on my arms, 1" on my quads and about 1" on my shoulders. I wasn't doing a strict 5X5, but all of the exercises. I threw in 8 sets of tris and 4 sets of bis per week.
Great results! Keep up the good work.

 

[anotherbutters]

I thought smith squats would have felt bad because of the fixed range of motion, then I read you did front squats and that sounded even harder, and THEN you mentioned doing lunges in the smith!! Just how do you lunge in a smith machine?

Sounds like a great workout nonetheless

I don't suppose you know of any London based oly coaches on your travels?

 

[musketeer]

butters:

I HATE smith squats but there is no squat rack at this piece of shit gym, so even if I could get 405 'free' (which mabe I can), I couldn't get it up there (or off for that matter!)

I saw Jay cutler doing smith front squats on his latest vid so I thought I'd do it for a change seing as the back smith felt so bad.

The way to lung in the smith is to set the fron foot and then step BACKWARDS so that the 'non-working' leg does the 'lunge'. It's better to call them split squats when performed like this.

Crystal Palace, I am told, is the place for olys!

RB: so you got into it about when I did - lets compare again in a few weeks!

 

[anotherbutters]

Crystal Palace, I am told, is the place for olys!

Thanks.

 

[musketeer]

Thanks.

http://www.gll.org/borough/centre.asp?CategoryID=801

Call Keith Morgan at the Heavy Weights room - 020 8778 0131

(I'm going tonight for the first time!!!)

 

[blut wump]

Let us know how you get on, please. Have you had any Oly coaching before?

 

[musketeer]

Never!

My total is about 200kg but

I'm scared that they will tell me I have the worst technique they've ever seen...

 

[blut wump]

That, I think, is the whole point of going.

I did some cleans earlier this week for the first time in two or three months and got the usual ache in my forearm. I reckon I need to learn how to do the movement properly or stop doing it.

 

[HunterUk]

Crystal Palace, I am told, is the place for olys!

Thanks - not far from me!