My Training Journal - Bill Starr's Single Factor 5 x 5

[|D_J^B_J|]

how is your form on the lifts for bench press. I would definitely say if this is a strict good benchpress there would be no tricep failure so we can take that out of the question.

As above, how does good form on the bench eliminate the possibility of tricep failure, since the lockout phase of the lift involves the triceps?

how is your preworkout going? are u feeding your body before you go?

I usually have a grilled chicken breast or salmon fillet and 3/4 - 1 cup of cooked rice about half an hour - 35 minutes before a workout, sometimes with a vegetable.
I can never eat too much before because I don't like feeling bloated while I work out.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Thursday:
1. Front squats (light):
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
45kg x 5

1. BB Military Press:
30kg x 5
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5 --> PR! (up 2.5kg)

I had actually intended to do 32.5kg for the second set, but I was chatting and forgot to add the weight ( ). So I told myself that I HAD to get 40kg for the last set to make up for it (I had only intended to attempt 38.5kg)... and it worked .

3. Deadlift:
60kg x 5
75kg x 5
90kg x 5
105kg x 3 (miss)

This has been the first time I have ever missed a set on deads... and I think it was my grip that failed. I did two reps, but on the way up during the third rep, the bar slipped through my left grip. I dropped the bar and took about 20 secs to wipe the sweat off my hands, did another rep, took about 5 secs to adjust, and did the final rep.
So, I suppose I did do 5 reps, but the whole set was awkward so I'm going to count it as a miss.

I guess the moral of the story is not to bump the weight so high when attempting a PR. From now on, I'll only attempt a PR LESS THAN a 5kg increase from my previous PR.
Next week I'll go for 5 reps of 102.5kg, which I should be able to do.

4. Pull-ups:
BW x 7
BW + 5kg x 6
BW + 7.5kg x 5

At this point I was fairly knackered, so pull-ups were much harder than usual.

5. Calf raise:
3 sets of 15

 

[Guinness5.0]

I'd say to just attempt it again next week bro. You were close enough today so just try it next week again. Also, IMO there's nothing wrong with straps for a PR here and there.

 

[blut wump]

I'd agree with that. You'll smoke it next week.

 

[anotherbutters]

Hope you didn't get carried away because of my 5kg jump yesterday

Congrats on the military. I'd say retry 105kg on the deads too. I'm going to start adding grip work as my grip was only just up to it yesterday.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Saturday:

1. Bench:
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
65kg x 3
--> 50kg x 8

2. Squat:
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
60kg x 5
72.5kg x 3
--> 50kg x 8

3. Bent-Over Rows:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
47.5kg x 3
--> 35kg x 8

4. Dips:
BW + 10kg x 8
BW + 12.5kg x 8
BW + 15kg x 5

5. Cable pushdowns:
2 sets of 8

Workout went fairly well.

My training partner went to his uni ball on Friday night and was hungover on the Saturday morning (but decided to come to the gym in the afternoon). His lifts weren't 50% of what they usually are - just goes to show how much alcohol affects your training.

Also, I didn't get to use the 0.5kg plates I bought, because I only realised afterwards that they are the right size to fit onto a dumbell, not a barbell . I'll have a look on Monday to see if I can get ones that fit onto a 20kg barbell.
It didn't seem to matter though, because I made all of my lifts with an increase of 1.25kg on either side (they may have been useful for rows, though).

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Tuesday:
1. Bench:
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
65kg x 4 (needed a bit of help from my spotter for the fifth rep)

2. Squat:
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
60kg x 5
72.5kg x 5 --> New PR (up 2.5kg)

3. Row:
40kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 5 --> New PR (up 1.25kg)

Fairly happy that I was able to complete my final set with clean form. It usually gets sloppy at that weight, but it was really good today.

4. Standing barbell curl
30kg x 8
30kg x 8
30kg x 8


Questions for anyone else doing the single factor 5 x 5 or anyone with any ideas:

WRT my final set of bench today -
What should you do on the Friday when you don't quite get the 5 reps on the Monday workout? Obviously you wouldn't increase the weight, but do you do three reps at that same weight again or go for another five rep attempt at that same weight on the Friday?

Also, should you get a bit of assistance from a spotter to complete the final rep like I did today or just do as much as you can by yourself?


And a question directed to anotherbutters:
I realise you are in the UK, but where did you get your 0.5kg plates from? Does it fit on an olympic sized bar? I have been to three shops but none of them had 0.5kg plates to fit a 20kg olympic sized bar. The smallest they had for a 20kg bar were 1.25kg. Do you use a smaller sized bar for your lifts in order to fit the 0.5kg plates on?

And on a side note (I guess now is the ideal time to say this), we love beating you and we will still own you in the cricket by the end of the Ashes series )

 

[anotherbutters]

And on a side note (I guess now is the ideal time to say this), we love beating you and we will still own you in the cricket by the end of the Ashes series )

Grrr... I probably shouldn't tell you about the 0.5kg plates now

On the bench for Friday, I'd say go for 3 reps again at 65kg. If you think you can knock out 4, or even 5, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't try. But I think you should view Monday as the important one and still aim for 5 reps at 65kg again, whatever happens on Friday.

It's a pity you missed it. I thought it was a bit of a jump, from 62.5kg. I'm right behind you - I'm going to try 63.5kg on Friday, just because I can, because I have some 0.5kg plates that I'm not going to tell you about

















Oh, ok then...

My plates are for a 2" bar. I had trouble finding them and originally ordered plates for a 1" bar by mistake and had to cancel the order. They're from a place that's local to me, Pullum Sports, which I heard about here (section 5.4):

http://www.netsweat.com/FAQs/Hardgainer_FAQ.html

Unfortunately, no addresses for Australia.

I think I found a couple of websites in the UK that sold them, but they were either really expensive, expensive to ship, or I had to buy a box of 16. I guess I fell lucky with Pullum Sports, which is only about 10 miles from me. They charged £4 each for the 0.5kg plates.

For what they are, you could even get some made up at a metal fabricators or something. Just get them to make up a couple of disks from some scrap and machine them down until they weigh the right amount. I considered this whilst I was looking for mine.

Good luck finding some! And for monday.

Oh, and on the spotter thing, I always get someone to spot for me on the top set on Monday. It hasn't happened yet, but if they have to do any more than a little touch to the bar to keep it steady, I think I'd discount it. I don't think there's any point increasing the weight if you don't manage the current weight properly. You're only going to miss the higher weight too.

 

[d-dub]

Good to read your training log. What state are you in?

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Firstly, I was only joking about the cricket , and secondly, I can see how the microplates would be very useful, especially on a program such as this which requires progressive resistance. After doing a quick google search, I think I may have found a shop here (Perth, Western Australia) that sells them. I'll check it out tomorrow to see if they have any in stock.

Also, for the Friday workout, I think I'll do three reps of 65kg as the program requires, and attempt another 5 rep set on the following Monday. I realise failure shouldn't very occur often (preferably not at all) in this program, and I think having microplates would largely prevent this from happening because the jumps in weight would be hardly noticeable (well, that's the idea, anyway ).

P.S. Cheers for the link you provided - some great info there.