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

[|D_J^B_J|]

Just thought I'd start up a training journal starting from today for my own viewing pleasure. Feel free to comment or critique my workout.

The program is here. I have replaced powercleans with bent-over rows, high Pulls with deadlifts and incline press with military press.

Stats: (nothing too impressive here, just your average skinny kid with reasonable lifts for his weight)
19, 175cm, 65kg, sub 10% BF.
Been lifting for 7 months (began at 52kg! when I was training as a middle distance runner).
Body type: Ectomorph with long limbs
Goals: Hypertrophy, strength, increase speed/acceleration
Injury History:
- Had a fairly bad case of patella-femoral syndrome a few months ago - I think from squatting on the Smith Machine. The pain went away completely after I was able to do free ATF squats though.
- I also get occasional back alignment problems and slight pain/strains in my thoracic region. Other than that, nothing too serious.
Lifts: Not sure what my one-rep maxes are, but before todays workout, my five-rep maxes using correct form for the main lifts were as follows:
- Bench: 62.5kg
- Squat: 65kg (too low compared with my bench, I know)
- Bent-over Row (back at 90deg): 45kg
- Deadlift: 97.5 kg
- Dumbell shoulder press: 20kg in each hand (will be replacing this exercise with barbell press when my spotter is able to train again)

As I have already said, my lifts aren't all that impressive, but they used to be much worse, believe me!

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

WEDNESDAY:

Warm-up: 5 minute brisk walk

1. Front squats (light), toes pointed slightly outward:*
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
45kg x 5

First time I'd ever done front squats (I usually do light regular squats on the Wednesday). I could feel it more in my quads than regular squats and in the first couple of sets the bar felt awkward resting on my clavicle. However, as I was about to begin the final two sets I remembered reading to raise your elbows as high as possible while holding the bar. I did this and it felt much better.

2. Dumbell seated shoulder press (the weight stated is the weight of the dumbell I was holding in each hand):
15kg x 5
17.5kg x 5
17.5kg x 5
22.5kg x 1 (tried to get 5 reps but failed after the first; at least I know what my one-rep max is)
20kg x 5

As soon as my training partner recovers from his injury (hopefully next week), I will begin doing barbell overhead press. The dumbells only go up in increments of 2.5kg, so increasing the weight is all the more difficult. Doing barbell press instead will allow me to lift more weight and allow me to increase the weight more easily, since I will be able to add 1.25kg on either side and attempt 2.5kg extra, rather than the 5kg extra I would have to lift with the dumbells.

3. Deadlifts (semi-sumo stance):*
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5 (New PR! )

Extremely happy about the new PR as it is the first time I have EVER lifted a weight of 100kg for reps in ANY exercise!
However, I felt really dizzy and sore in the head afterward, so I drank some water and had a rest for five minutes until I felt a bit better.

4. Pull-ups:
Body weight + 7.5kg x 7
Body weight + 7.5kg x 7
Body weight + 10kg x 5

5. Donkey calf-raise:
60kg x 15
70kg x 15
80kg x 12

6: Decline sit-ups:
BW + 5kg x 12
BW + 5kg x 12

Overall, it was a pretty taxing workout and I still felt a bit light headed when I got home. I also felt a bit of a strain in my back. Perhaps I should take it easy on the deadlifts next week and do my fourth set at the same weight as the third before ramping the weights up again the following week? What do you think? (Bear in mind only three weeks ago my 5-rep max deadlift was just 80kg)

*At the moment I am doing all my deadlifts and squats with a semi-sumo stance, firstly because of my body type (long limbs) and secondly because I believe it reduces the stress on the patella, which has given me pain in the past.*

 

[Jim Ouini]

Congrats on the dead PR. I had that 'dizzy and sore in the head' feeling too but that was actually during my set

Looking forward to following your progress.

Any reason you're doing Military Press seated? Standing seems to be generally regarded as better, plus you won't really need a spotter you can just drop the bar.

 

[Guinness5.0]

I don't know if you've ever kept a journal before, but you will find it very helpful. Also, why insist on a spotter w/ military? Maybe I'm nuts, but I feel that it's pretty easy to bail out if you're doing 'em standing. Plus you shouldn't be aiming for failure anyway. That was the only "weird" thing I see. Good luck!

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Thanks for the replies.

I'll start doing standing military press next week, but what do you do if you fail?

Just drop the bar in front of you? I go to the gym during peak time when it is fairly busy, so I don't think there is enough space for me to drop the bar, which is why I think I should do it with a spotter.

 

[Jim Ouini]

I don't actually drop it...if I can't make the lift, I'll just lower it to my shoulders again and walk it back to the rack (I do them in a power rack or a squat rack).

 

[Guinness5.0]

I don't actually drop it...if I can't make the lift, I'll just lower it to my shoulders again and walk it back to the rack (I do them in a power rack or a squat rack).

Exactly the same here.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Oh yeah one other thing, I've read that conventional dead is a better movement for performance/growth.

Since you have long arms (compared to your torso?) it should be no problem pulling that way.

Although I'm currently pulling sumo, then do my clean pulls with a regular stance.

I'll probably try some speed deads with conventional stance in the near future.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Hmm, interesting point you make on conventional deads being better for growth. The reason I do sumo stance is to avoid my knees buckling in as I have had knee injuries before as stated earlier.

I'm thinking next week I should do a light week of deads (probably conventional deads) and then go for another PR the following week? Thoughts?

So in a conventional deadlift, your toes should be pointing forward and your arms to either side of your legs, right? Other than that, the movement is the same?

Also, when doing standing military press, should your arms be behind your back or in front of your face? Can you use your knees to gain extra momentum?

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

THURSDAY:

Did 8 sets of 25 metre explosive swimming sprints with 50 metres of slow swimming/pool walking as a rest in between my sets. Didn't time myself (not interested in improving my swimming times).

I haven't done running sprints for a couple of months due to my knee injury - I've been doing swimming sprints instead.

For the next couple of weeks I plan to start doing some 15 - 20 second cycling sprints twice a week for 20 minutes and if I don't reaggravate my knee injury I'll start doing adding some running sprints in a couple of months.

I intend to play Australian rules football next season (social level, nothing too competitive), so as well as increasing my size and strength, I'll also need to improve my speed.

 

[Madcow2]

Don't change your deadlift technique in this program. Ramping to records in 2 weeks requires that you already have a significant amount of experience and are conditioned to perform a given lift. So in reality, if you wanted to pull conventional, you needed to have been doing it for a while before this 4 week block. Although I prefer conventional for functional strength, athletics, and general developement - it's not like there is a big enough gap to stress over here. Sumo will do you fine.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Yeah I forgot you were already in the throes of the program. I can attest to sticking with a stance/technique in the 5 x 5 - I tried to switch to ATF squats from parallel halfway through and kind of hurt my knee since I wasn't ready for the weight, especially since my technique wasn't down yet.

Anyway, in addition to MC2's comment about conventional, this quote from Matt Reynolds stuck in my mind:

Also, on the deadlifts, sumo deadlifting is not real deadlifting. It has some merit, but I wouldn't really use it much at all unless I was competing at powerlifting and pulling sumo. It can be a good assistance exercise for your hips, hamstrings, and glutes but pulling conventional (and especially of standing on a 2-3" box or plate) will induce much more strength and size gains overall.

So I think when I try DFHT I'm going to pull conventional. Just food for thought for later

Also, when doing standing military press, should your arms be behind your back or in front of your face? Can you use your knees to gain extra momentum?

Press should be in front. And my military wasn't very good (it still isn't), so I did push presses to allow me to move more weight, which has a leg drive.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Don't change your deadlift technique in this program. Ramping to records in 2 weeks requires that you already have a significant amount of experience and are conditioned to perform a given lift. So in reality, if you wanted to pull conventional, you needed to have been doing it for a while before this 4 week block. Although I prefer conventional for functional strength, athletics, and general developement - it's not like there is a big enough gap to stress over here. Sumo will do you fine.

I was actually doing conventional deads several months ago before I injured my knee but have been doing sumos up until now.

In that case, would it really be that critical if I were to stop the sumos and have a light week or two of doing conventional deads before ramping the weight up again and attempting new PRs?

Also, the jist of the single factor program is that you should be trying to get new PRs in all of your core lifts (squat, bench, row, dead, etc) by 2.5kg every week or two, right? Then when your PR stalls in one of the lifts you do less reps for one of the preceeding 'warmup' sets. Then when you stall after that, the Monday lifts are 5 x 5 and Friday's lifts are 1 x 5 (increase in volume, decrease in intensity). Then the volume is lowered and intensity is raised (back to 1 x 5 on Monday, lower # of sets, skip the Wednesday squat, etc).

I am taking this from what Glenn Pendlay does to train new lifters when the weight stalls: http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4658227&postcount=235

 

[Madcow2]

Whoops, I forgot you were doing that program. I was assuming you were at most a week away (maybe closer) from setting records a la the periodized version (a la ramping the weights to records in 2 weeks). Yeah, just take it easy and work out the kinks and you'll be fine to push harder on your conventional dead in a few weeks.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Friday:

1. Squat:
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
67.5kg x 5 (New PR! )

The last set was a bit of a struggle - but I made it. Pretty happy about that.

2. Bench:
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
62.5 x 5

Had someone spot me with the last set. I was fine with the first three reps by myself then the spotter touch the bar to 'keep it moving'. Unfortunately he wasn't a very good spotter and he did more work than I would have liked.

I'm a bit worried about my flat bench because it's not progressing as much as I'd like. My squat and DL are progressing fine but 4-5 weeks ago I was still benching 60kg (only a 2.5kg increase in that time). Any suggestions?

3. Bent-over Rows:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
40kg x 5
47.5kg x 5 (New PR)

On my PR set, the first four reps were fine but I think I cheated by lifting my back to an angle greater than 90 degrees with the ground.

I'll attempt the same lift on my final set next week but will lighten the weight on some of the 'warmup' sets and increase the difference in weihgt between each set.

4. Dips:
BW + 10kg x 8
BW + 12.5kg x 7
BW + 15kg x 5

5. Decline crunches:
BW + 5kg x 15
BW + 5kg x 15

Summary:
Not a bad workout overall. For someone with naturally skinny legs and bad knees, my squat seems to be progressing quite nicely - I've only been squatting for about five weeks and my PR has gone up by 10kg since then.

I'm still worried about my bench though. What should I do? Four weeks ago I was benching 60kg and now (four weeks later) I can't even manage the 62.5kg bench (2.5kg heavier) without someone helping on the last couple of reps. What should I do to allow my bench to progress?

 

[Jim Ouini]

I'm sure some of the bigger benchers here will have some better advice, I know my bench has been the slowest to make improvements and in the smallest increments.

I use the 2.5lb plates A LOT for benching

I recall MC2 saying that as long as your squat and dead are coming along no worries.

Congrats on squat PR

 

[blut wump]

I'd be inclined to agree that so long as you are experiencing clear and definite improvements in the other lifts then not to worry about it too much.

Have you taken a good read through the bench sticky in the Power forum? You might be able to raise your bench with some form changes/improvements. Aside from that you might have to wait for your lats to catch up or you could devote some time to triceps exercises.

Congrats on the PR.

 

[Guinness5.0]

I've only been squatting for about five weeks and my PR has gone up by 10kg since then.

That's why your squat is moving along faster than your bench. Any time you're new to a movement progress will be rapid.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

MONDAY:

Did 12 sets of 20 second all out cycling sprints separated by 1 minute of rest (very slow cycling) preceeding by 3 minutes of warming up and 3 minutes of cooling down.

I intend to do this twice a week for a few months to regain some speed before doing running sprints again. Knee felt fine.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

TUESDAY:

1. Bench:
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
62.5kg x 5

The last set seemed easier then when I attempted it last Friday - I did three reps easily, struggled through the fourth, and needed a little help from a spotter with the fifth to ensure the bar didn't hit the rack.

2. Squat:
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
67.5kg x 5

3. Bent-over Row:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 5

I'm not sure if my form was 100% correct on the last two reps of my final set. I think I was cheating and moving my back slightly above horizontal - unfortunately I never see anyone elsein my gym doing this exercise so I won't know for sure.

4. Dumbbell Curls:
12.5kg DBs x 10
12.5kg DBs x 10
12.5kg DBs x 10

5. Weighted Decline Sit-ups:
BW + 5kg x 12
BW + 5kg x 12
BW + 6kg x 12

 

[Madcow2]

Just looking, your bench is weaker than your squat yet you start it higher and do 2 sets at 40kg. I don't know when exactly you started this program but give it some time.

A few things you can do:
-space out your sets for so you are fresher for your top set (just make sure they aren't too spaced out and you get crushed)
-Drop back a bit and work up again over the course of a few weeks before trying to set a new PR
-Focus on bringing up the weight on the other sets for a few weeks (the net impact is higher workload), when you drop them down and space them out wider you'll probably PR
-work on technique and accelerating the bar in the concentric phase to generate maximum force (do not jerk it, just smooth acceleration)
-take one bench day, go easy on some other stuff and do a lot of work with that weight. Say 60kg is your best set of 5. Get 20 reps. Not all at once but over a long period. Just keep working with that weight. Even if it comes to several minutes between doubles and singles. Do 20 total reps. Take it easy with no records if you do any other pressing/bench for the rest of the week and the following week you will likely find yourself better and able to break the plateau. There are lots of plateau busting methods. This is just one.
-In general keep eating, squatting, pulling, and rowing - they will also drive your bench up.
-After perfecting your technique and learning to accelerate, take a look at where your bench breaks down and identify areas where you are weak.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Awesome post Madcow - wouldn't have expected anything less... In hindsight it doesn't make sense to start my first set of bench at a higher weight than my squat when my squat max is heavier.

I'll try spacing out the sets further next time and see if it makes the final set any easier.

When you suggest 'dropping back a bit and working up again over the course of a few weeks before trying to set a new PR', I assume you mean to decrease the intensity (weight), right? Or do you mean to decrease the volume (# of reps)?

Also, when you say 'take one bench day, go easy on some other stuff and do a lot of work with that weight. Say 60kg is your best set of 5. Get 20 reps. Not all at once but over a long period. Just keep working with that weight. Even if it comes to several minutes between doubles and singles. Do 20 total reps. Take it easy with no records if you do any other pressing/bench for the rest of the week and the following week you will likely find yourself better and able to break the plateau. There are lots of plateau busting methods. This is just one.':
I don't fully understand this. Say my best set of five was 60kg, do you mean to lift to failure on each set until I reach 20 reps of that weight with any number of sets? An example being 60kg x 5, 60kg x 5, 60kg x 4, 60kg x 3, 60kg x 2 and 60kg x 1?

 

[Madcow2]

Awesome post Madcow - wouldn't have expected anything less... In hindsight it doesn't make sense to start my first set of bench at a higher weight than my squat when my squat max is heavier.

I'll try spacing out the sets further next time and see if it makes the final set any easier.

When you suggest 'dropping back a bit and working up again over the course of a few weeks before trying to set a new PR', I assume you mean to decrease the intensity (weight), right? Or do you mean to decrease the volume (# of reps)?

I meant the weight and then push it back up gradually and break through. That said, you could try training triples and doubles for a bit too to get the weight up before going back to sets of 5's.

Also, when you say 'take one bench day, go easy on some other stuff and do a lot of work with that weight. Say 60kg is your best set of 5. Get 20 reps. Not all at once but over a long period. Just keep working with that weight. Even if it comes to several minutes between doubles and singles. Do 20 total reps. Take it easy with no records if you do any other pressing/bench for the rest of the week and the following week you will likely find yourself better and able to break the plateau. There are lots of plateau busting methods. This is just one.':
I don't fully understand this. Say my best set of five was 60kg, do you mean to lift to failure on each set until I reach 20 reps of that weight with any number of sets? An example being 60kg x 5, 60kg x 5, 60kg x 4, 60kg x 3, 60kg x 2 and 60kg x 1?

What I mean is do 20 reps in your workout with 60kg. Number of sets doesn't matter, do what you can at any time, rack the weight, recover a bit, push some more reps. You might need a lot of time to do this.

Note - just concentrate on pushing everything within the confines of the program for now. Your bench was out of line with your other lifts so it's going to take time for those to build in (they are now as you can see). This will start driving your poundages up. Right now, I'd worry less about the bench and more about the other core lifts. The stuff above is if you really get stuck and the only reason I think you are stuck is because you've spent time on the bench but not a lot on anything else. Maybe spend some time perfecting technique by reading the bench sticky in the PL forum.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Had Wednesday off. I felt extremely tired on Wednesday - like all I wanted to do was sleep all day. I'll have to assume that it's because I'm recovering from a virus, but if it happens again soon I'll need to see someone about it.

Thursday:

Front Squats (light):
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
55kg x 5
55kg x 5

BB Military Press:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
37.5 kg x 5
40kg x 4

Did these for the first time. Still not 100% sure about form.
Should one leg be further in front of the other to prevent me from falling backwards (in my final rep I felt very unstable)?

Also, would it stimulate more shoulder growth if I did them without the leg drive? Or is it better to be pushing more weight and using the leg drive as momentum?

If someone could provide me with a link to a video it would be very much appreciated.

Deadlifts:
60kg
70kg
80kg
90kg

I hadn't done conventional DLs for a few months, so I decided to do a moderate weight for the last set (I probably could have fought through another couple of reps at that weight). Next week I'll push up to 100kg, and go for a new PR the following week.

Pull-ups:
BW + 7.5kg x 7
BW +7.5kg x 6
BW + 10kg x 4 --> dropped the weight and did two more reps

Donkey calf raise:
60kg x 12
60kg x 12

Decline Crunches:
BW + 5kg x 12
BW + 5kg x 12

 

[Guinness5.0]

BB Military Press:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
37.5 kg x 5
40kg x 4

Did these for the first time. Still not 100% sure about form.
Should one leg be further in front of the other to prevent me from falling backwards (in my final rep I felt very unstable)?

Also, would it stimulate more shoulder growth if I did them without the leg drive? Or is it better to be pushing more weight and using the leg drive as momentum?

If someone could provide me with a link to a video it would be very much appreciated.

That "not steady" feeling should go away with time. It did for me. It's just a matter of balance and core strength. I found that getting the right amount of leaning back was key, at least for strict military. If you're going to use push press, then I can't help as I'm learning that one right now
vids:
http://www.uwlax.edu/strengthcenter/videos/video_index.htm

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Saturday:

Squat:
45kg
50kg
55kg
60kg
67.5kg

I decided to increase the workload of my squats by increasing my five previous 'warmup sets' so that I can space them out a bit more next time and be more likely to hit a new PR. I actually ended up getting through them all fairly easily.

Bench:
35 x 5
40 x 5
45 x 5
55 x 5
62.5 x 5

Spacing out the sets certainly seemed to help, and made the final set much easier. However, I think I was lying too far back on the bench, so as I pushed the bar up on the fourth rep, the bar hit the rack which fucked up my form.

Row:
30 x 5
35 x 5
40 x 5
42.5 x 5
47.5 x 5

My row doesn't seem to be progressing as well as my other lifts. I also think I was cheating with my form on the last set. I'll see how I go with this weight next week before trying some 'techniques' to push my PR up.

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

Pushdowns
3 sets of 8

P.S. Sorry about the late entry (I'll explain more on the next post).

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Now - the reason for my lateness... I went away with a few mates on Saturday night and Sunday night. Not sure if it did me any good though. I ate as much as I could (good), I drank until my liver could handle no more (not so good) and I was partying all night so barely got any sleep (bad). I could feel it on Monday because I was half asleep all day and felt like shit from all the alcohol. I was still severely undersleeped by Tuesday, and I'm fairly certain it would have affected my workout.

Tuesday:

Bench:
35 x 5
40 x 5
45 x 5
55 x 5
62.5 x 5

I didn't hit the bar on the way up this time , and managed all 5 reps cleanly. I think I'll stick with this weight for my next workout though, just to be sure, and then go for a new PR next week.

Squat:
40 x 5
45 x 5
50 x 5
55 x 5
70 x 5 (New PR! )

I've only just started squating a month or two ago, so I've still got a long way to go, but nothing beats the feeling after setting a new PR, no matter how small (Okay, so maybe I can think of one better feeling ).
I think I'll stick with this weight for another couple of workouts before ramping it up again next week.

Row:
30 x 5
35 x 5
40 x 5
42.5 x 5
47.5 x 5

The final set still felt awkward - I had to cheat and raise my back above 90 degrees on the final rep. I'll see how I go after my next workout and if I'm still struggling at that weight, I'll drop back a bit and push up over the course of a couple of weeks.

I guess it's harder to increase the weights with rows because it is weaker than my other lifts (which is usually the case), so each weight increase is a greater percentage of total weight of the previous lift.

DB Bicept curls:
12.5 x 8
12.5 x 8
12.5 x 8

Decline sit-ups (weighted):
3 sets of BW + 5kg

 

[anotherbutters]

Hi,

I thought I'd post a cross-single-factor-journal "Hello"! We're both pushing up about the same weights at the moment, but you're a good 14 years younger than me (boy, that makes me feel old), so I expect you'll make quicker progress. We'll see...

I read your comment on the size of the jump when increasing weights at our level. Get yourself some microplates. I got myself two 1.25kg and two 0.5kg plates as my gym's smallest are 2.5kg. They were dirt cheap, and I think they're probably the most useful thing I've bought. Ramping up the weights is just impossible without them. I added just 1kg to my row this week.

Keep up the good work!

 

[anotherbutters]

BTW, what's your diet like? Are you eating everything in site? Is your weight going up?

 

[blut wump]

Hi,

I thought I'd post a cross-single-factor-journal "Hello"! We're both pushing up about the same weights at the moment, but you're a good 14 years younger than me (boy, that makes me feel old), so I expect you'll make quicker progress. We'll see...

I read your comment on the size of the jump when increasing weights at our level. Get yourself some microplates. I got myself two 1.25kg and two 0.5kg plates as my gym's smallest are 2.5kg. They were dirt cheap, and I think they're probably the most useful thing I've bought. Ramping up the weights is just impossible without them. I added just 1kg to my row this week.

Keep up the good work!

Where did you get the micro-plates? I've seen them advertised at gymratz going down to 0.125Kg (0.27 pounds) but they were £20 a pair.

 

[anotherbutters]

Where did you get the micro-plates? I've seen them advertised at gymratz going down to 0.125Kg (0.27 pounds) but they were £20 a pair.

I've seen some really expensive ones on the net too. There's a place called Pullum Sports in Luton, which is near me. They're out on an industrial estate but they're open to the public. They have all welding equipment in there and were making weight benches and things. Anyway, the 1.25kg plates were £1 each and the 0.5kg plates were about £4.50 (smaller plate, why more expensive?). I got two of each and the bloke gave them to me for a tenner! They do smaller ones too, but I didn't think they were necessary.

Pullum Sports
Unit 10
Luton Enterprise Park
Sundon Park Road,
Luton,
Beds,
LU3 3GU
Tel: +44 (0)1582 560555

BTW, they're olympic plates - for a 2" bar. I nearly ordered plates for a 1" bar from elsewhere by mistake before finding this place.

 

[blut wump]

I've seen some really expensive ones on the net too. There's a place called Pullum Sports in Luton, which is near me. They're out on an industrial estate but they're open to the public. They have all welding equipment in there and were making weight benches and things. Anyway, the 1.25kg plates were £1 each and the 0.5kg plates were about £4.50 (smaller plate, why more expensive?). I got two of each and the bloke gave them to me for a tenner! They do smaller ones too, but I didn't think they were necessary.

Pullum Sports
Unit 10
Luton Enterprise Park
Sundon Park Road,
Luton,
Beds,
LU3 3GU
Tel: +44 (0)1582 560555

BTW, they're olympic plates - for a 2" bar. I nearly ordered plates for a 1" bar from elsewhere by mistake before finding this place.

Thanks, I'll bookmark that.
I'll have to leave you with a K IOU until I recharge.

Edit:
IOU honoured.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Hi,

I thought I'd post a cross-single-factor-journal "Hello"! We're both pushing up about the same weights at the moment, but you're a good 14 years younger than me (boy, that makes me feel old), so I expect you'll make quicker progress. We'll see...

I read your comment on the size of the jump when increasing weights at our level. Get yourself some microplates. I got myself two 1.25kg and two 0.5kg plates as my gym's smallest are 2.5kg. They were dirt cheap, and I think they're probably the most useful thing I've bought. Ramping up the weights is just impossible without them. I added just 1kg to my row this week.

Keep up the good work!

Good idea on the microplates. The lightest plates at my gym are 1.25kg, so I'll see if I can get some 0.5kg plates from anywhere.

My diet:
On weekdays I usually eat the following -

Meal 1:
3/4 cup (raw) steel-cut oats
1 cup egg-whites (yokes seem to give me gas)
Banana, blueberries, strawberries
1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder
(All the ingredients are blended and cooked over the stove to make chocolate pancakes)

Meal 2:
3 tuna and tomato sandwiches (3 slices of bread, 1 tin of tuna)

Meal 3:
3/4 cup rice
Chicken breast
Veggies

Meal 4:
3/4 cup pasta
Salmon fillet
marinade (tomato paste, soy sauce, lemon juice, etc)

Meal 5:
Large lean beef steak
4-5 potatoes/sweet potatoes (peeled, sometimes mashed, baked, grilled)

Meal 6:
1 bowl of cottage cheese
1 TBSP flax/UDOs oil
1 TBSP flax meal
1 TBSP ANPB
Fake syrup

After my workouts, I also have 35g of protein powder and 70g of a dextrose/maltodextrin combo.

Comes to about 3300 - 3400 Kcals on workout days.

On weekends I get up late and go out at night, so I don't have time to eat so often. I usually eat out or just eat 4-5 larger sized meals each consisting of a starchy carb and protein source.

I try weighing myself every week or two to make sure my weight is going up and that I am eating enough calories. It usually goes up anywhere from 0.1 - 0.5kg per week. I haven't weight myself this week though.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Thursday:

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

2. BB Military Press:
30kg
32.5kg
35kg
37.5kg

Question: Why is it that I can lift less weight for military press with the barbell than I can with dumbells? I can DB military press 20kg in each hand for 5 reps quite easily but struggle with 37.5kg on a barbell.
I always thought more weight could be handled on a barbell?

3. Deadlifts (conventional):
60kg x 5
75kg x 5
85kg x 5
100kg x 5 !!!

That final set equalled my PR for sumo squats, and boy, was it tough!! Time for a new PR next week!

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

5. Calf raise:
2 sets of 15

6. Decline crunches:
BW + 5kg x 12

 

[Jim Ouini]

Ya know when I used to seated shoulder press I noticed I could do more with db's than bb.

I think with the bb I was forced to keep the bar in front, whereas with db's they were more to the side and it was easier to cheat by twisting and turning slightly to bring in some other muscles.

Well that's what I always thought. But now that I do them standing that's my best OH lift.

 

[anotherbutters]

Congrats on the dead PR! Is that with/without straps? I ditched mine a while back and switched to mixed grip and I'm glad I did. It's nice to not have to use them.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Question: Why is it that I can lift less weight for military press with the barbell than I can with dumbells? I can DB military press 20kg in each hand for 5 reps quite easily but struggle with 37.5kg on a barbell.
I always thought more weight could be handled on a barbell?

i don't get it but I'm that way too. I was repping 100 lb db's for 6-8 before 5x5 and my 3x3 PR at the end of my dual factor run was 200 on standing military. Just one of those weird things I guess...

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

So given more weight can be handled using dumbells than using the barbell? Would it not be logical to use dumbells for military press rather than the barbell?

 

[blut wump]

I rarely see people doing heavy shoulder-press while standing. Make that never.

Another side is that Push Press is also a great exercise and only a minor variation from MP. I can't image PP with DBs.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Saturday:

1. Bench:
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
62.5kg x 5

2. Squat:
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
55kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5 *

During my fourth rep on squats, I ****ed up my form. I must have been leaning forward too much because my centre of gravity fell in front of my feet, causing me to lose balance and step forward slightly on the way up... My final rep was alright though.

3. Row:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5

The first four reps felt fine but I think I 'jerked' the bar on the final rep of the final set. I got some 0.5kg plates, so on Tuesday, I'll make my final set at 42.5kg, then push up to 43.5kg on Friday. Hopefully the shorter jumps will make it easier for me to progress.

4. Dips:
BW + 10kg x 8
BW + 12.5kg x 8
BW + 15kg x 6

5. Tricep Pushdowns:
3 sets of 8

 

[Guinness5.0]

So given more weight can be handled using dumbells than using the barbell? Would it not be logical to use dumbells for military press rather than the barbell?

I think the fact that we're now standing has more to do with it than the db to bb switch, but I didn't make that clear in my post

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Tuesday:

1. Squat:
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
55kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5

Used the same weights as last Saturday, and it all felt so much easier. Last time, I struggled on the fourth rep of my final set but this time I breezed through it all... I'll definitely be pushing up the final set next workout.

2. Bench:
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
62.5kg x 5

Once again, this felt relatively easier than last time and I managed all five reps of the final set cleanly. The bar went up very slowly on the last rep, but it got there.

Only problem was, I was unhappy when I unracked the bar and locked it into position. I don't think I was lying perfectly in the middle of the bench, so I had to adjust my position while I was already holding the bar, which was awkward. Not sure whether or not it would have affected the set, though.

3. Row:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5

No problems here. All reps were super-strict with my back at 90 degrees. Next workout, I'll add my new 0.5kg microplates and up the weight.

4. BB Bicep Curl:
3 sets of 8

5. Farmer's Walks:
3 x 35kg DBs for 30 secs

My grip strength is really piss weak, so I thought I'd add in a few sets of farmer's walks (holding two heavy DBs in your hands for as long as you can) at the end of my workout once a week. Since my gym doesn't have a reverse hyper machine and the program calls for them to be done today, I'll do farmer's walks instead.

6. Weighted sit-ups:
3 x BW + 5kg

Overall it was a good workout. All reps were strictly clean and none were missed, which is good.

Question: As I mentioned above, my gym doesn't have a reverse hyper machine. I assume they are an assistance exercise for your hips, but what exactly are reverse hypers, and is there anything I can do instead?

 

[anotherbutters]

There are a couple of hyper extensions here:

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/WaistWt.html#anchor1945210

I can't really tell the difference between the hyper and back extensions, or the hip extension. When I've done them in the past I've used an arm curling bench, standing on it facing the other way. I'm not sure it's supposed to double up as a hyper extension bench, but it worked for me!

Nice to see you got the 0.5kg plates. Hope you find them as useful as I do!

 

[Jim Ouini]

Not too many gyms have a reverse hyper - as far as I can tell they're about as rare as a squat rack in England

I use the back hyperextension machine and face the other way (so I'm facing the foot pads). I hold onto the post so my upper body is parallel to the ground and my legs are straight down. Then extend the hips so your legs are parallel. For weight I hold a dumbell between my feet. I can see this being a problem as I move up so I'm going to use bands soon.

 

[marklm725]

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

 

[blut wump]

Why would you discount the possibility that a the press could be failing due to inability to lockout and be triceps failure?

 

[Guinness5.0]

Not too many gyms have a reverse hyper.

That seems to be the case from what others have said but every gym I've been to has had at least two!

I would definitely say if this is a strict good benchpress there would be no tricep failure

Huh? The top of a BP is practically ALL triceps.

 

[Jim Ouini]

That seems to be the case from what others have said but every gym I've been to has had at least two!

Does your current one have one? That's awesome I'd be all over that.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Does your current one have one? That's awesome I'd be all over that.

3 actually, and there are almost always HOT girls using one

 

[Jim Ouini]

3 actually, and there are almost always HOT girls using one

My gym doesn't have either

 

[|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.

 

[Shepherd4]

I rarely see people doing heavy shoulder-press while standing. Make that never.

Another side is that Push Press is also a great exercise and only a minor variation from MP. I can't image PP with DBs.

I'm going to hijack here for a minute (apologies to |D_J^B_J|) because there have been a few interesting comments made about presses - military and push, standing and seated.

Dumbbell versus barbell. This one's interesting. I'm not sure why some of you guys are finding you can press more with dumbbells than with a barbell. For my own experience, I can press my two 55lb dumbbells for 5-6 reps, but I can bang out sets of 110lbs (50kg) for 10's without breaking a sweat. The reason you can typically lift more with a barbell than dumbbells is best illustrated by analogy: barbells are to dumbbells roughly like machines are to barbells. That is, dumbbells force you to support and balance the weights in a way more demanding that a barbell does (just like a barbell press is more demanding than a machine press). Feel freel to mix it up a bit.

Standing versus seated. As Dan John would say, "Get Up!" You guys are training 5x5, so you're clearly training for strength -- functional strength at that. Given the option to do something standing up, take it. That's why we prefer Pendlay rows to seated rows and squats to leg presses. The fact that you rarely see people doing standing shoulder presses should (as always) tell you that they're harder -- just like you rarely see people doing cleans, snatches, ATF squats, etc. If you're the only guy in the "fitness center" doing what you're doing, there's a good chance you're on the right track.

Push Press with dumbbells. Don't imagine it, try it! I work out in my garage (only place I can use bumper plates freely), and my only set of dumbbells is a set of 55's (25kg). Dumbbell push presses are a terrific exercise that you'll feel not only in your shoulders, but your entire upper back and torso. Even better: try one-handed push presses as part of your core-strengthening routine. Just take a single dumbbell and do one-handed push presses with it. Don't hold onto the rack, though - hold yourself upright with your core.

Good times.

mpc

"Think of Tiger Woods out there hitting a bucket of balls. He's not swinging the 5-iron to get stronger -- he's swinging it to hone the groove. Hone the groove."

 

[anotherbutters]

Firstly, I was only joking about the cricket

Hehe, I know, me too. Good luck though, you'll need it this time

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 ).

Failure will occur at some point and we'll plateau, but hopefully we can get by for a while yet before it happens.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Some interesting points there Shepherd. I think performing lifts while standing and with barbells is much better for functional strength. Sure, I'd like to get bigger, but I am playing Australian rules football next season which also requires more strength.

Also, as it turns out, my standing barbell military press has already overtaken the combined weight of my seated dumbell military press.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Thursday:

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

2. Standing Barbell Military Press:
30kg x 5
32.5kg x 5
35kg x 5
41kg** x 5 (New PR!) --> up 1kg

3.Deadlift (conventional style):
60kg x 5
75kg x 5
90kg x 5
105kg x 5 (New PR!) --> up 5kg

After just missing 105kg last week, I owned it this week! Only problem was that I paused for about 1-2 seconds after placing the bar on the ground to re-adjust my grip at the end of my last few reps. I'm assuming this is acceptable though?

[4]Pull-ups:[/b]
BW x 8
BW + 7.5kg x 6
BW + 7.5kg x 5

I'm always knackered after deads and it definitely affects my pull-ups. I just read that the pull-ups don't make or break the program, and as long as the deadlift is going up, it's alright. That makes sense, so I think I'll decrease the weight on my last couple of sets for pull-ups next week to make sure my form is right.

It just feels weird since this program is about progressive resistance in the core lifts and my pull-up has gone down from body weight +12.5kg to body weight + 7.5kg.

Donkey Calf Raise:
3 sets of 15

From next week, the only accessory work I'll do on the Monday will be reverse hypers on the back extension machine and sit-ups.
I'll still do a calf exercise on the Wednesday, but on the Friday, I'll do 3 sets of a barbell curl exercise, 3 sets of a tricep exercise and a 3 sets of a grip strengthing exercise.

WRT the tricep exercise, is it okay to do close grips with the amount of pressing I'm already doing? Or should I stick with either dips, french curls and/or cable pushdowns? My arms seriously lag compared with my chest and back and I feel my chest doing most of the work for dips.


Also, earlier today, I went to a store that sells 'fitness' equipment to look for some 0.5kg olympic plates. I have tried everywhere else and it's the only place that sells them in Perth. You wouldn't believe it, but they only had ONE plate left and won't be getting any more in for a couple of months!

He gave me the plate on the house for the inconvenienced it caused, but what the hell am I going to do with one 0.5kg plate?

I found a thick wad of sticky tape in the cupboard, weighed it, and it turned out to be 300g, so I added the sticky tape to one end of the bar, and the 0.5kg plate to the other end to make my 1kg increase for military press (well, really 0.8kg).

Tomorrow I'll see if I can find a shop which can grind a larger hole in my standard 0.5kg plate, and then somehow stick the part they cut off onto the end of the plate. It's a long shot, but it will certainly look better than having sticky tape at the end of the barbell....

 

[blut wump]

I'm going to hijack here for a minute (apologies to |D_J^B_J|) because there have been a few interesting comments made about presses - military and push, standing and seated.

Dumbbell versus barbell. This one's interesting. I'm not sure why some of you guys are finding you can press more with dumbbells than with a barbell. For my own experience, I can press my two 55lb dumbbells for 5-6 reps, but I can bang out sets of 110lbs (50kg) for 10's without breaking a sweat. The reason you can typically lift more with a barbell than dumbbells is best illustrated by analogy: barbells are to dumbbells roughly like machines are to barbells. That is, dumbbells force you to support and balance the weights in a way more demanding that a barbell does (just like a barbell press is more demanding than a machine press). Feel freel to mix it up a bit.

Standing versus seated. As Dan John would say, "Get Up!" You guys are training 5x5, so you're clearly training for strength -- functional strength at that. Given the option to do something standing up, take it. That's why we prefer Pendlay rows to seated rows and squats to leg presses. The fact that you rarely see people doing standing shoulder presses should (as always) tell you that they're harder -- just like you rarely see people doing cleans, snatches, ATF squats, etc. If you're the only guy in the "fitness center" doing what you're doing, there's a good chance you're on the right track.

Push Press with dumbbells. Don't imagine it, try it! I work out in my garage (only place I can use bumper plates freely), and my only set of dumbbells is a set of 55's (25kg). Dumbbell push presses are a terrific exercise that you'll feel not only in your shoulders, but your entire upper back and torso. Even better: try one-handed push presses as part of your core-strengthening routine. Just take a single dumbbell and do one-handed push presses with it. Don't hold onto the rack, though - hold yourself upright with your core.

Good times.

mpc

"Think of Tiger Woods out there hitting a bucket of balls. He's not swinging the 5-iron to get stronger -- he's swinging it to hone the groove. Hone the groove."

The aspect of getting onto your feet for shoulder exercises was what I was getting at. Agreed: don't do an exercise seated when it's functionally the same done standing since the standing variant will work you much more and work more of you. I guess that makes them not functionally equivalent but I'm sure you know what I mean. I've yet to see anyone else at the gym doing cleans, PP or standing MP.

DB PP, still not sure on this one. I'd have to file it in the same category as DB snatch or DB C&J. DB MP, on the other hand is almost certainly worthwhile once you've worked out how to get decent weight up to your shoulders. Agreed, one-handed would be great for the core and I'm sure most of us have done that exercise when newbies. Maybe I should give DB PP a try just to experience it. I'm not happy about playing around with ballistic exercises with DBs since it seems to be asking for injury but that same argument keeps people using machines when they should be on free weights.

Good post especially "Don't imagine it, try it!"

 

[Shepherd4]

Maybe I should give DB PP a try just to experience it. I'm not happy about playing around with ballistic exercises with DBs since it seems to be asking for injury but that same argument keeps people using machines when they should be on free weights.

And that's really the bottom line. Don't knock it 'til you try it. As for the injury potential, it's no greater than anything else we do in the gym. Just start with a relatively light weight and move your way up the dumbbell rack. Keep the dumbbells tight against your shoulders and your elbows directly under them. As with many compound movements, there's a learning curve associated with it, and your weights in the early stages will move up as quickly as you move up that learning curve.

mpc

"Think of Tiger Woods out there hitting a bucket of balls. He's not swinging the 5-iron to get stronger -- he's swinging it to hone the groove. Hone the groove."

 

[|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

Bench felt tougher than the first workout of the week for some reason - I don't know if I could have managed another rep today, whereas on Tuesday I did four reps.

2. Row:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
48.5kg x 3
--> 35kg x 8

3. Squat:
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
60kg x 5
65kg x 5
(71.5kg x 3)
73.5kg
--> 50kg x 8

The set in brackets was actually a mistake - I had a 20kg plate, a 5kg plate, a 1.25kg and a 0.5kg plate on one side, but I accidently put a 2.5kg plate on the other side instead of the 5kg plate, meaning the bar was unbalanced and less than the weight I had intended to use. Unfortunately I only realised this after I had completed the three reps... I wasn't sure whether to redo the set at the desired weight, but I took a break for a minute and did decide to redo it.

Dips:
BW x 8
BW + 5kg x 8
BW + 7.5kg x 8

I decided to lighten the weight on dips and focus on keeping my elbows in to ensure the triceps do most of the work, and not the chest.

Weighted Sit-ups:
3 sets of 15

As you can see, I managed to get someone to cut a larger hole in my standard 0.5kg plate to fit on an olympic bar. Now I finally have my two 0.5kg olympic plates!

 

[blut wump]

Did you glue the cut-away metal back onto the plate lest it weigh less?

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Did you glue the cut-away metal back onto the plate lest it weigh less?

Yeah, thanks for reminding me, I just forgot to mention it.

I used blu-tack to stick the cut-away metal back onto the plate. So they both weigh the same amount.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Unfortunately, I have been sick since Sunday and haven't trained since last Saturday. I am starting to feel better now though and thankfully I haven't lost my appetite, so haven't lost any weight.

I plan to hit the gym this evening and once again before the end of the week, focusing on the compound exercises but lifting at a low intensity (light weights). Next week I plan to get back into the heavy lifting and PR setting.

 

[anotherbutters]

Unlucky. Hope you get back into it soon.

 

[blut wump]

Think of it as an unscheduled deload and enjoy it.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

As it turns out, I didn't feel too bad on Thursday, and I actually set a new PR. Here's how my workout went.

Thursday:

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

2. BB Military Press:
30kg x 5
33.5kg x 5
38.5kg x 5
41kg x 5 --> PR

3. Deadlift:
60kg x 5
75kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 5

4. Pull-ups:
BW x 8
BW x 8
BW + 5kg x 6

5. Calf Raise:
3 sets of 8

6. Weighted situps:
3 sets of 12

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Saturday:

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

2. Squat:
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
65kg x 5
73.5kg x 3
---> 50kg x 8

3. Row:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
43.5kg x 5
48.5kg x 3
--> 37.5kg x 8

4. Dips:
BW x 8
BW + 5kg x 8
BW + 7.5kg x 6
--> Cable pushdown x 8

5. Standing Barbell curl:
26.5kg x 8
29kg x 8
29kg x 7

 

[anotherbutters]

Congrats on the military PR. How's your bodyweight? Have you put on much weight/size since you started this? I think I've put on about 4-5kg in as many weeks.

PS. Enjoying the cricket?

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Well, my progress in the gym seems to be better than the Australian cricket team at the moment, and to make matters worse, my (Australian) football team just missed the finals for the second successive year .

Anyway, back to the stuff which I have control over: I haven't weighed myself for a while but I definitely look noticeable bigger in my back, chest and legs, while still staying fairly lean. People have commented that my arms are underdeveloped compared to the rest of my body, which is why I am considering going to the gym four times a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday.

I was thinking of doing the program as it is set out on the Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then doing the accessory arm and calf work on the Saturday - for example, I could do four sets of a curling exercise, two different tricep exercises (dips/pushdowns/skull-crushers), some forearm exercises, a calf exercise and some grip work. The only accessory exercise I'd be doing during the week would be situps once or twice a week and some hypers. What do you think of that?

I think it would also be better because my gym sessions wouldn't be much longer than an hour (before they were around 1hr 20mins).

 

[anotherbutters]

I thought of this quote from madcow:

"Substituting Exercises:
Don't fuck with this. Every BBer seems to have Attention Deficit Disorder and an overwhelming desire to customize everything. The bottom line is that these are all the most effective exercises and just about anything one does will result in less gains. As a rule those people who want to change it don't know enough to make proper alterations - those who do know enough, don't have much to change. The two guys who are responsible for this program are some of the best on the planet at bulking lifters and making people stronger."

Then realised you're not substituting exercises. But you are adding extra work, which means extra recovery is required. And you're not getting extra recovery, you're getting less as you're adding that work on Saturday - during the only two day rest period you have, and prior to Monday, which is the PR attempt day.

You won't know unless you try it, but personally I wouldn't. If you can get away with it and keep making PRs on the Monday, with extra arm development, then that's great, but I suspect adding work and reducing recovery will affect the PRs.

You might want to start tracking weight instead to make sure you're eating enough. I know my arms have gone up from 13" to 13.5" over the past month or so (and my gut's gone up from 33.75" to 35" but that's another matter). My weight's up to 74kg, about 4kg in as many weeks.

I should be the one complaining about upper body strength anyway - you're stronger then me on all the upper body lifts, but I beat you on lower body.

 

[blut wump]

I found myself the other day thinking that I should finish off my workout with a few sets of curls. The thought didn't last long though since I realised that if I had energy for a few sets of curls then I probably had energy for another set of deads. I did the deads and went home.

Personally, I do extra triceps work from time to time and I throw in some biceps work between programs or add a few sets of curls to one of the scheduled workouts. Same with calves. If you feel a bodypart is lagging behind and needs work then you have to deal with it but the 5x5 does hit everything in some way or another.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Re: arm work

I found that my arms were lagging and a couple heavy sets of bb curls (6-10 reps) at the end of a workout seemed to help. I agree that adding an extra day would most likely be detrimental. just toss in some stuff at the end and see how it goes.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Sorry, I've been pretty busy this week and haven't had as much time to access elitefitness as I've liked.

I think for now I'll keep it as it is by training 3 x week and throwing in some arm exercises at the end of the final workout. In a month or so I might reassess by doing the arm exercises on a completely separate day.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Tuesday:

1. Bench:
40kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
50kg x 5
55kg x 5
65kg (up 1.25kg) x 3 (miss)

My bench seemed to be much weaker than usual - I have done 4 reps at that weight before. I wasn't wearing gloves today but surely gloves wouldn't make that much of a difference?

Anyway, next week I think I'll attempt 63.5kg as my final set of five, and then make another attempt of 65kg the following week.

2. Squat:
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
60kg x 5
65kg x 5
73.5kg x 5 (up 1kg) --> PR!!

3. Row:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
43.5kg x 5
48.5kg x 5 (up 1kg) --> PR!!

4. Weighted Hypers:
two sets of 12

5. Weighted Decline Sit-ups:
3 sets of 12

Apart from the bench, todays workout was fairly good - 2 PRs successful from 3 attempts. I also missed last Tuesday's PR setting workout because I was sick.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Thursday:

I played cricket about 3 hours before my workout this afternoon (spontaneous decision, nothing planned) and I wasn't sure how it would my workout would be affected. Those of you who aren't yanks and play cricekt will know that it isn't the most strenous form of exercise, but I don't usually do any other exercise on my training days, so I ate more in my pre-workout meal to compensate --> I had a plateful of pasta and a large salmon fillet.

1. Front Squats (light):
35kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
40kg x 5

I could feel the effects of the earlier cricket game already at this stage. It didn't look like it was going to be a good workout.

2. BB Military Press:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
38.5kg x 5
41.25kg x 4 (up 0.75kg --> miss

I was so frustratingly close on the final set - next week I'll own it for sure.

3. Deadlifts:
60kg x 5
75kg x 5
90kg x 5
107.5kg x 5 (up 2.5kg) --> PR!!

Just a question on deads: I do them so that the bar is fully deweighted on the floor between each rep which requires me to wait about 1 or 2 seconds before continuing with the next rep.

Another guy was doing them touch-and-go style: the bar wasn't fully deweighted between each rep, and there wasn't really much of a pause between each rep.

Which of the two is the preferred method?

4. Pull-ups:
BW x 8
BW + 2.5kg x 7
BW + 5kg x 6

5. Donkey Calf-raise:
3 sets of 12

Reasonably happy with that workout and the deadlift PR considering I played sport earlier in the day. Let me know about my question on deads.

 

[blut wump]

You should always de-weight on the floor. It gives you chance to collect your breath, reset your grip or back position and makes the lift harder by taking away any stretch reflex. You don't need to do any long count or anything similar just make sure that the floor has taken 100% of the weight away from you.

If someone views the top of the lift as the start of a new rep rather than the bottom of the lift then they are going to attempt any slight resetting of body position at the top while everything is under stress. This is almost impossible to do well and unsafe. They'll end up getting sloppier as the set progresses.

The stretch reflex in a touch-and-go makes the lift easier but a deadlift gets its name from lifting a dead weight. The movement should begin with the concentric phase not with an eccentric leading into a concentric.

Congrats on the PR.

 

[Shepherd4]

You should always de-weight on the floor. It gives you chance to collect your breath, reset your grip or back position and makes the lift harder by taking away any stretch reflex. You don't need to do any long count or anything similar just make sure that the floor has taken 100% of the weight away from you.

If someone views the top of the lift as the start of a new rep rather than the bottom of the lift then they are going to attempt any slight resetting of body position at the top while everything is under stress. This is almost impossible to do well and unsafe. They'll end up getting sloppier as the set progresses.

The stretch reflex in a touch-and-go makes the lift easier but a deadlift gets its name from lifting a dead weight. The movement should begin with the concentric phase not with an eccentric leading into a concentric.

Congrats on the PR.

100% absolutely correct.

 

[Guinness5.0]

just a little pointer- I struggled with deloading on the floor because I like to keep a good pace going. Just relax your grip for an instant at the bottom, then tighten it back up. It's subtle but you'll KNOW that the weight's deloaded and you can keep moving along.

 

[anotherbutters]

Bump to all the above. I set the weight down, fill my belly with air again, re-grip and pull again. It only takes a second, but it's dead on the floor in between reps.

Congrats on the PRs after being off sick.

So, bro, which one of us is going to bench 65kg for 5 reps first? We're both attempting it next week

Edit: sorry, I misread. If you've done 4 reps at 65kg before, maybe it's worth trying 5 reps next week. Just count today as an off day.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Saturday:
1. Bench:
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
57.5kg x 5
65kg (up 0kg) x 3
--> 50kg x 7

I seem to have hit a wall with my bench again - I don't think I could have done another rep with the weight in my final set. I think it was partly due to the jump from 62.5kg --> 65kg being too much in one week, however there was nothing I could do about it at the time because I didn't have my 0.5kg micro-plates then.

Next week I plan to do 63.5kg on the Monday, and assuming I make that, I'll go for 65kg again the following week.

2. Squat:
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
60kg x 5
67.5kg x 5
75kg (up 1.5kg) x 3
--> 50kg x 8

Now if only my bench was going up as quickly as my squat! It seems to be so easy each week. The only problem is that I am reluctant to increase it by such a large amount at once, for fear of failing.

3. Row:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg (up 1.5kg) x 3
--> 37.5kg x 7

4. Dips: (strictly focusing on keeping elbows in to hit the triceps)
BW x 8
BW + 2.5kg x 8
BW + 5kg x 6
--> cable pushdown x 8

Are there any tricep exercises I can do other then dips on this program?
Would doing close-grip bench be too much of a workload?

5. Barbell Curl:
EZ Bar + 12.5kg x 8
EZ Bar + 15kg x 8
EZ Bar + 16kg x 7

I'm not exactly sure how much the EZ bar weighs.


Was a fairly good workout overall. I just weighed myself, and I am now 67.2kg, so my weight does seem to be going up. I might start eating a bit more in my pre-workout meal though, just to make sure I have more energy for the workouts.

One thing I have learned from this week is not to play sport on a workout day. I won't be doing that again!

 

[anotherbutters]

You might want to try eating a bit more in general, or maybe get a few pints of milk down your neck in addition to what you already eat. You were 65kg when you started, so you've only gone up 2.2kg in 6 weeks.

In contrast, I'm up 3.5kg in the same amount of time (I thought I was up more, but not according to my notes!). Remembering this quote: "Mark Ripptoe is routinely able to get 30-40lbs onto a new lifter in 6 months", that works out at 0.5 - 0.7kg per week as something sensible to aim for, or 3.1 - 4.2kg in 6 weeks.

If squats really are that easy, you might want to try a 2.5kg jump for a few weeks, just to see how you fare, then slow down again before you stall if you can.

I don't know about dips vs close grip bench. I threw in dips once in a while, but don't have anywhere to do them now

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

TUESDAY:

1. Bench:
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
57.5kg x 5
63.5kg x 5 (up 1) --> New PR!

2. Squat:
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
60kg x 5
67.5kg (up 2.5)
75kg x 5 (up 1.5) --> New PR!

3. Row:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 5 (up 1.5) --> New PR!

4. Weighted Hypers:
2 sets of 12

5. Weighted situps:
3 sets of 12

What an awesome workout! 3 new PRs from 3 attempts!

The irony is that I didn't think the workout would be very good because there is some heavy construction work being done next door to me which has been waking me up at 7am every morning.

I called the shire council and they told me that council rules state that builders are entitled to start using power machinery at 7am (fair dinkum).

I bought some earplugs before my workout, so I'll see if they help to shut out the noise and let me continue to sleep in order to get big and strong.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

THURSDAY:

1. Front Squats (light):
35kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5

2. Standing BB Military Press:
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5 (up 1.5) --> New PR!

3. Deadlifts:
60kg x 5
75kg x 5
90kg x 5
110kg x 5 (up 2.5) --> New PR

Deadlifts were good. I could feel my grip beginning to slip on the last rep, but it was good enough to count as a success.

Would it be wrong of me to use gear such as straps or a belt for my last set next week? At the moment I don't use any gear except for gloves.

4. Pull-ups:
BW x 8
BW + 2.5kg x 7
BW + 5kg x 6

5. Calf-raise:
3 sets of 12

So that's 5 new PRs this week from 5 attempts. Life couldn't get any better.

P.S. As I type this, the Aussies have just taken another wicket in the cricket and are back in the game. Looks like the Ashes may well be staying where they belong (sorry AB).

 

[Jim Ouini]

Congrats on the PR's, nice work.

I personally use straps on my heavy sets since I have a lot on my mind without worrying about my grip

Still, most guys here seem to eschew the straps in favor of working grip and forearms.

I've never worn a belt while deadlifting, though, even for max attempts. Maybe I should try it.

 

[blut wump]

Congrats on your slew of PRs.

Given the choice between using straps and missing the lift, take the straps. I think it's worthwhile to use a double-overhand grip while you can and then be strap-free while you can.

 

[anotherbutters]

Congrats on the new PRs! Out of curiosity, do you do your pullups with a wide or narrow grip? Palms in or out?

I think it's worthwhile to use a double-overhand grip while you can and then be strap-free while you can.

Any particular reason on not mentioning mixed grip? I try for double-overhand for as much as I can (although I admit I don't know why), then switch to mixed, where everything suddenly becomes a lot easier. I'm sure mixed grip will work your grip strength as much as overhand, so try that if you're not already trying it before resorting to straps.

I occasionally use straps, but only as a last resort if I know my grip's going. And if memory serves correct, I find those lifts particularly hard. It's probably something to do with something Blut Wump mentioned yesterday - about you not being able to lift something that you know your grip won't hold on to. I think straps get round a grip problem, but you still have that reflex.

I also used chalk for the first time yesterday and that made a lot of difference. I usually get sweaty palms during a set, even if I wipe them thoroughly beforehand. Chalk eliminated that.

Try to do them without gloves. Gloves are another layer of movement between your hand and the bar. Try to hold the bar low in your hand, which is where it's trying to go during the set, not in the middle of your palm.

Sorry, I'm rambling a bit tonight. I'm tired and I just got in from yet another leaving do. Hope some of that helped.

Good luck with the cricket

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Thanks for the positive feedback.

BW: Are double-overhand-grip deads really that much better than mixed-grip deads? I've never really tried them with a double-overhand-grip.

AB: My pull-ups are done slightly wider than shoulder width, with palms out.

One other thing: I find that the day after I do deads, I get quite an irritating pain in my mid-lower back (not excruciating), and it usually goes away in a couple of days. Today, it seems to be much worse than usual.

Is this pain normal? It's kind of like a strain in my back, but I'm not sure whether it's good or bad. Perhaps wearing a belt for extra back support would help?

 

[blut wump]

The double overhand is harder on the grip due to having to control the bar more. I also find it a more natural grip since it doesn't provoke a spinal rotation and it takes less out of my shins.

I think fighting that tendency of the bar to open your fingers as it tries to roll in your hand is an excellent grip-strengthener. I do all my warmups with a double-overhand grip and stick with it until I think it's likely to fail or I just don't want the hassle of thinking about whether it will fail as I'm going for a particularly heavy lift or set.

I just took a look in Rippetoe's 'Starting Strength' (Page 108). I quote:
"The lift is famous for is alternate grip, but the use of the double-overhand grip as much as possible makes for stronger hands"

I use the double-overhand as much as I can and my grip has improved steadily all year.

I don't know about the pain. I always do some hamstring stretches after deadlifting. I find that the stretch goes right into the lower back.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

I don't know about the pain. I always do some hamstring stretches after deadlifting. I find that the stretch goes right into the lower back.

Hamstring stretches certainly seemed to help as the pain has subsided a bit now. I still think I'll use a belt next time I deadlift, though. I only get the pain from deadlifting and although I would like to be bigger and stronger, I don't want to have arthritus in my back by the time I'm 30, and then not be able to lift again.

 

[blut wump]

Maybe your spinal erectors are feeling overworked or maybe your form is slightly out. I'd recommend doing hamstring stretches after every workout for a while and maybe you should also drop the volume on the deadlifts. Perhaps drop down to 3x3 rather than 5x5 at your current lift. If the problem is just fatigue in those muscles then that should help noticably within a couple of weeks and then you can work the volume back up.

 

[Jim Ouini]

I need to do these hammie stretches after deadlifting. Lately my back has been really sore upon waking and then as it loosens up it feels better.

|D_J^B_J|: Like BW said, just to be safe you may want to check your form or have someone watch you dead and see if you have rounded back.

 

[61stude]

i've read that when doing the bent over rows, you should'nt go past 70 degree's from vertical, so you would'nt be cheating if go past 90. Seen some builders doing it that way. Just a thought

 

[anotherbutters]

madcow recommended 90 degrees for maximum recruitment of the lats. You can do them higher, but you won't hit the lats as much. The subject was deadlifts though, not rows.