Mercere's 3x5...The quest for a decent Squat

[Mercere]

24.09.06

Squat:
bar 1x8
95lbs 1x5
170lbs 3x5 PR

Bench:
bar 1x8
130lbs 3x5 PR

Deadlift:
bar 1x8
135lbs 1x5
230lbs 1x5 PR

On squats, I miscalculated the weights and made 170. Felt like a regular increment so no worries there. Bench was hard the first two sets, then on the third set I got into the groove and nailed it. I'm really looking forward to lifting plates on bench, which is the "macho minimum." Deads are so far so good. I decided to go for 5lbs increments because I'll be deadlifting twice this week, so 15 pounds per two weeks seems like a reasonable progress.

 

[Mercere]

26.09.06

Squat:
bar 1x8
95lbs 1x5
175lbs 3x5 PR

MP:
bar 1x8
95lbs 3x5 PR

Rows:
bar 1x8
125lbs 2x5
125lbs 1x5 Miss

----------------------------------------------

28.09.06

Squat:
bar 1x8
95lbs 1x5
180lbs 3x5 PR

Bench:
bar 1x8
135lbs 3x5 PR

Deadlift:
bar 1x8
135lbs 1x5
235lbs 1x5 PR

At last, my initial goal of bodyweight squat is reached. Though my bodyweight was 155 lbs when I set that goal. Now I weigh around 180. Also, I lift plates on the bench now. All would be well if my dumbass didn't miscalculate the weight on the rows and missed. I'll go for 120 next time. I'm very happy with the way squats are progressing, I hope to hit 200 before moving on to 5x5. If I can get it up to 225, it would be awesome but I don't really know if my bench, mp and rows can go that far without tweaking or re-ramping. Only one way to find out

 

[carlsuen]

great job on the prs dude! how's the eating coming?

 

[Mercere]

Eating has been great since I moved to the U.S. Since I'm living in a southern town, the food is ample. Plus, Virginia Tech (my school) has ranked 2nd in the dining programs nationwide. I'm not counting calories, I eat a lot of red & white meat. Mash potatoes and whole grain bread are my primary sources of carbs. I try to stay away from anything processed and I eat no fast food. I treat myself with an occasional brownie though. I eat whenever I'm hungry till I'm full. That approach helped my lifts quite a bit

 

[carlsuen]

cool chow.. just go easy on the buffet rampage..

 

[Yips]

Great job on the progress.

Just a question to all the guru's (mercere, anotherbutterss etc). I am about to start my own 3 x 5 run, and am unsure if I need to partake in any form of fitness testing?

Eg: 1RM or 5RM testing for the staple lifts?

Do you get your 5RM's prior to the commencement of the program, and try to break it (PR's) each time you lift?

I haven't read it anywhere re: testing, but I thought it would be a good reference point to look back on.

 

[Mercere]

Great job on the progress.

Just a question to all the guru's (mercere, anotherbutterss etc). I am about to start my own 3 x 5 run, and am unsure if I need to partake in any form of fitness testing?

Eg: 1RM or 5RM testing for the staple lifts?

Do you get your 5RM's prior to the commencement of the program, and try to break it (PR's) each time you lift?

I haven't read it anywhere re: testing, but I thought it would be a good reference point to look back on.

Thanks a lot yips. I'm far from being a guru on this but what I did was start with weights that I knew I could get for sure with at least some effort. A guy starting 3x5 probably hasn't trained the core lifts on a regular basis and maxing out can be dangerous at this point. If you've never done a lift before, like me never deadlifting prior to this, start very conservatively.You'll be setting 3 PRs every 2 weeks so it will catch up very quickly. I started very light and made 10 kg (22 lbs) increments till it caught up. Though 10 kg on other lifts may be too much... You can do 5 kg increments, just experiment.
Besides, starting light teaches you to practice good form and allows body to get used to the frequency before going heavy. Long story short, don't sweat on your starting weights. I'm very glad I did this, hope you have a similar experience.

 

[Mercere]

01.10.06

Squat:
bar 1x8
95lbs 1x5
185lbs 3x5 PR

MP:
bar 1x8
100lbs 3x5 PR

Rows:
bar 1x8
120 lbs 3x5 PR

Every lift was challenging, but I them all. I'm determined to make it to 195 on squats this week. When I stall on squats, I'll probably start to ramp up to a top set of five like GSP did. This will happen with other lifts too, but I'll repeat them longer before switching anything. When I'm ramping with all my lifts, I'll make the transition to 5x5. I'll have a good sense of my 5RMs then.

 

[Mercere]

cool chow.. just go easy on the buffet rampage..

mmmm...chinese buffet...mmmm....

 

[Mercere]

03.10.06

Squat:
bar 1x8
95lbs 1x5
190lbs 3x5 PR

Bench:
bar 1x8
140lbs 2x5
140lbs 1x5 Miss

Deadlift:
bar 1x8
135lbs 1x5
240lbs 1x5 PR

Man I was tired today. Squats were very hard, I saw stars after making that PR. That may be why I missed the last rep on the bench, just couldn't lock it out. My microplates will be arriving on friday so I'll make more reasonable increments. Anyway, bench just isn't my lift. So I'm happy with weekly PRs on that. Deadlifts are fine as usual, but my grip started failing on the last rep. Time to switch to either hook or alternating grip.

I was pretty beat after the workout. There are minor aches and pains all over my body. Feels like I'm overreaching, been this was the past couple of workouts. Maybe setting 3 PRs a week on squats in coming to an end. I'll see how 195 feels on the next workout. Any comments on this?