oso's beginning westside journal

[oso0960]

so this is my first time ever doing something related to powerlifting as i've been doing the 3x5/5x5 for a while and i've been wanting to do it since the beginning years. hopefully by starting a journal you all will be able to help me out.

Stats:
17 yrs old
220 lbs
~15% bf
6'1

max olympic ATG squat: 315x3
max paused bench: 215x3
max deadlift dbl overhand: 320x5

I'm going to be doing a westside template, but since i'm still a lot newer i'm still only going to be working out 3 times a week: mon, wed, fri. I'll still have the ME/DE bench and squat days but i'll be putting the 4th workout to the next week so i don't get burned out.

DIET: in check. i eat about 4k calories of entirely healthy foods. the only thing i am not too sure about is the 13 cups of 2% milk i drink...(i couldn't give it up, skim milk just tastes/feels/etc nasty ).

CARDIO: gpp sled work!

 

[oso0960]

Wednesday 7/11

DE lower body

box squats (1" below parallel)
155 x 8x3

good mornings (first time seriously trying these)
bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 5
175 x 5

hyperextensions
bw x 10
bw+10 x 10

GHR
bw x 2x8

GPP work with sled

goodmorning form was probably 'decent'...

i'm sure i'll be sore as hell tomorrow from doing all completely new exercises lol

 

[oso0960]

Friday 7/13

DE upper body

Speed bench
125 x 9x3

decline dumbbell press
45 x 2x6
50 x 2x6

Straight bar row machine
#8 x 2x12
#6 x 2x12

dumbbell shoulder press
25 x 1x10
35 x 2x10
after benching, everything was either too light or too heavy..just trying to get the feel of where i should be with everything.

GPP like always

 

[fortunatesun]

I felt a little bit disoriented when I first started doing dynamic work also. I had to think it through by remembering I had a new goal. I wasn't 'working a body part' anymore but trying to increase my ability to generate the force needed to increase my maximum lift. In my own case, I decided to stay lighter but increase intensity by keeping time between sets down to no longer than necessary. I felt it was more in keeping with the spirit of 'speed day' lol. It was the right choice for me, though. It helped me understand exactly what I was trying to do in the gym. Either way, as you said, in a few weeks you'll have a clearer picture and some basic motor experience, any adjustments you have to make will be easy to figure out.

 

[oso0960]

I felt a little bit disoriented when I first started doing dynamic work also. I had to think it through by remembering I had a new goal. I wasn't 'working a body part' anymore but trying to increase my ability to generate the force needed to increase my maximum lift. In my own case, I decided to stay lighter but increase intensity by keeping time between sets down to no longer than necessary. I felt it was more in keeping with the spirit of 'speed day' lol. It was the right choice for me, though. It helped me understand exactly what I was trying to do in the gym. Either way, as you said, in a few weeks you'll have a clearer picture and some basic motor experience, any adjustments you have to make will be easy to figure out.

thank you for posting, that definitely helps me from being eve more confused lol. yeah i've never really tried moving weight very fast, so it's very lacking right now. most of the time though i feel like i'm not doing enough, so hopefully i find out exactly what my body needs to keep progressing.

anyway here's today's workout

Monday 7/16

Max effort lower body

Box squats 1" above parallel with tampon pad (didn't have a manta ray so i'll use that instead)
135 x 3
155 x 3
185 x 3
215 x 2
245 x 1
275 x 1
295 x 1
315 x 1
325 x 1 (raised my hips before my upper body on accident, but i still got it)

GHR
5x5

Hyperextensions
20 lbs x 1x10
25 lbs x 2x10

ab pull downs
200lbs x 4x15

GPP work

Most of these days it really doesn't feel like i'm doing too much. i don't get winded AT ALL, and i feel like i can do 3x as much. i'll see what happens after a few weeks.

 

[oso0960]

Wednesday 7/18

ME Upper body

Decline bench
115 x 5
135 x 3
160 x 2
180 x 1
205 x 1
215 x 1
225 x 1
235 x 1

Barbell skull crushers
75lbs x 2x10, 2x8

lat pulldown (pullup grip)
#8 4x12

standing shoulder raises
15lbs x 1x10
10lbs x 2x10

Declines were sooo damn easy, 235 went up in about a second so i still had much room there.

still getting the feel.........

 

[carlsuen]

whoa dude!! remember me? man, u progressed so much since the last time i hung around EF... i remember u were around 2 plates for ur squats and DLs.. but now 3 plates!! congrats!

 

[oso0960]

whoa dude!! remember me? man, u progressed so much since the last time i hung around EF... i remember u were around 2 plates for ur squats and DLs.. but now 3 plates!! congrats!

yeah i remember you lol. did you take a break off of EF for a while? I did for a bit..but i'm back . thank you for posting, that's some great motivation, i haven't gotten a compliment about weight lifting for a long time. how are you doing? are the lifts coming along nicely?

 

[oso0960]

Friday 7/20

DE lower body

box squats parallel
175 x 12x2

goodmornings
95 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 2x5
135 x 8
(form was probably better than before, but the bar position was different so it started hurting my traps...which aren't used to it)

ab pull downs
4 x 15 with 100lbs

GPP work

today i felt like i actually worked out well. i was hoping that i wouldn't feel so "worked" because i was thinking about moving it to a 4 days a week split like it normally is, but i'll see how it goes for another week.

 

[carlsuen]

nice work.. i've gained abit since the last time i was around.. was stuck around 225 on my squats for awhile but managed to make new PRs last week@275.. so yay to me.. i'm still training based on the SF principle and taking breaks every 2-3 months.. the gains have prooved to be a lil slow for me, as i just couldn't continue to make PRs after week 8.. so am looking into DF which some of my friends adviced against.. saying that unless i absolutely need it, i shouldn't be on the DF.. so am trying to find my bearings now..

 

[oso0960]

nice work.. i've gained abit since the last time i was around.. was stuck around 225 on my squats for awhile but managed to make new PRs last week@275.. so yay to me.. i'm still training based on the SF principle and taking breaks every 2-3 months.. the gains have prooved to be a lil slow for me, as i just couldn't continue to make PRs after week 8.. so am looking into DF which some of my friends adviced against.. saying that unless i absolutely need it, i shouldn't be on the DF.. so am trying to find my bearings now..

congrats! yeah the gains were getting real slow for me, maybe a 5 pound increase every 8 weeks lol, if that on some of the exercises...

I think my biggest mistake was not enough exercise variation. i wasn't too motivated to go into the gym anymore. i think to whoever i talk to about weight training, i'll tell them to master the basic movements (squats, deads, bench, press..) then once you can't milk anymore out of them, use related exercises instead. I've been reading through articles of powerlifting and found one thing that stuck out.

"if your squat stops making progress, more squatting will not help. you must work the muscle group that is lagging."

"When lifters repeatedly use the same simple method of training to raise their strength level, they will eventually stall. Like the scholar who must utilize many sources of information to achieve a higher level of knowledge, the lifter must incor-porate new and more difficult exercises to raise their standards. Many have the theory that to squat, bench, or deadlift more, you simply have to do the three lifts. If it were that simple no one would need special exercises, machines, or systems of training. But we know this is not true."

"Think about it if you read only one book, no matter how many times you read it, you will only learn so much. If you only squat, you will get only so strong because no new stimulus is introduced. This may not happen in the early stages of training, but as you become more advanced, you will need a more strenuous method of training. This training will indeed help your motor potential and help you to perfect your technical skill."

So i figure, why not try something different, see if it works. if not, oh well, what do i lose? i can probably easily get back to my previous records because i've been stuck at them for a while now

 

[oso0960]

Monday 7/23

DE upper body

Speed bench
125 x 9x3

decline dumbbell press
60 x 4x6

Straight bar row machine
#7 x 4x12

dumbbell shoulder press
45 x 3x10

speed bench didn't seem too quick, probably because of issues in my life right now. i still completed them in under 3 seconds though.

GPP

 

[carlsuen]

i hear ya on the switching up of exercises.. i also do incorporate assistance lifts.. work on weaker muscles and lagging parts.. i've been doing moderate negatives to improve my bench, i've yet to try board presses.. gotta find my sticking point and make me a board too.. haha.. would look funny to carry a piece of timber to the gym..

my gym does not have a GHR where i can really work on my glute and hams.. so have resorted to ham curls which i absolutely feel gay while performing it.. so RDLs it is..

5lbs increment this morning on my squat, and i feel light headed after completing 6 reps.. this lift really scares the shit out of me... but sure feels good to know that i'm only my way to a 3 plates squat!

 

[oso0960]

i hear ya on the switching up of exercises.. i also do incorporate assistance lifts.. work on weaker muscles and lagging parts.. i've been doing moderate negatives to improve my bench, i've yet to try board presses.. gotta find my sticking point and make me a board too.. haha.. would look funny to carry a piece of timber to the gym..

my gym does not have a GHR where i can really work on my glute and hams.. so have resorted to ham curls which i absolutely feel gay while performing it.. so RDLs it is..

5lbs increment this morning on my squat, and i feel light headed after completing 6 reps.. this lift really scares the shit out of me... but sure feels good to know that i'm only my way to a 3 plates squat!

lol yeah it would look hilarious for someone to walk in with chains/boards/etc to the ymca...at least for everybody else.

my gym doesn't have a GHR either. i tried my hardest to find something to substitute it. i found out when i was looking around that i can fit my shoes under my desk and do GHRs on the ground without anything tipping over.

Congrats! sometimes i got a little concerned with how deep i went and if my back started rounding at the bottom :/. good luck on the 3 plates squat, i'm sure you'll hit it in no time!

 

[oso0960]

wednesday 7/25

ME lower body

Box squats 1" above parallel with tampon pad (didn't have a manta ray so i'll use that instead)
135 x 3
175 x 3
205 x 2
235 x 1
265 x 1
295 x 1
305 x 1
320 x 1 (almost failed on this one because afterwards i had realized i used a different tampon so this was pretty much my max with that certain tampon.)
320 x 1 ( have to remember this is about TRAINING and not about hitting PRs, so i stuck to 320 with the new tampon and it went up pretty decently)

GHR
5x5

Hyperextensions
25 lbs x 3x10

ab pull downs
100lbs x 4x15

GPP work

Hypers were a bitch driving home! my back was soo sore and tense i had to stop the car, and start stretching it because it hurt so badly. maybe i'm one of those people that definitely can't work their backs 2x a week.

 

[oso0960]

Friday 7/27

ME upper body

Decline
115x5
135x3
165x2
185x1
205x1
235x1
240x1
235x1

Barbell skull crushers
70lbs x 3x10, 1x7

lat pulldown (pullup grip)
#8 4x12

standing shoulder raises
10lbs x 3x10

think i'm getting a little sick, 240 went up as my 100% max..hopefully I can do better next ME day

 

[oso0960]

Monday 7/30

DE lower body

box squats parallel
195 x 10x2

goodmornings
95 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 3x5

ab pull downs
4 x 15 with 100lbs

GPP work

 

[oso0960]

Wednesday 8/1

DE upper body

Speed bench
125 x 9x3

decline dumbbell press
65 x 4x6

Straight bar row machine
#7.5 x 4x12

dumbbell shoulder press
50 x 1x10
50 x 1x6
45 x 1x8

cable rows were getting extremely hard...failed on dumbbell shoulder presses.

GPP

 

[oso0960]

Friday 8/3

ME lower body

Box squats 1" above parallel with tampon pad (didn't have a manta ray so i'll use that instead)
135 x 3
175 x 3
205 x 2
235 x 1
265 x 1
295 x 1
315 x 1
320 x 1
325 x 1

GHR
5x5

Hyperextensions
25 lbs x 3x8

ab pull downs
110lbs x 4x15

GPP work

 

[oso0960]

Monday 8/6

Decline
115x5
135x3
165x2
185x1
205x1
235x1
240x1x2

Barbell skull crushers
70lbs x 4x10

lat pulldown (pullup grip)
#8 1/2 4x12

standing shoulder raises
12.5lbs x 2x10
10lbs x 1x10

 

[oso0960]

Holyyyyyyy shit. Today I did some PT (physical training) with my friend. something run by the marine corps. their training is hard as fuck. going from 1 rep maxes to 20+ reps of something isn't an easy transition lol. I think it's much more mental than it is physical because I could physically do everything, but i feared of passing out and puking. I don't think i'm going to workout tomorrow because i'll probably be too sore. i know i'll pull my sled with low weight to get the blood flowing for faster recovery.

 

[oso0960]

haven't posted in a while but i'll post last weeks workouts:

Monday

Incline
worked up to 175x2
then 175x1

flat dumbbell press
60s for 4x6

4x10 rows

3x12 lat raises

Wednesday

sumo deads
315x5

lunges

Sat

bench 135x20
135x7
135x4

skull crushers
65 x 3x10

lats pulldown chinup

4x10

standing shoulder press with 30s
3x10

curls
25 x 3x8

abs

 

[oso0960]

Monday 8/27

ME upper body

Incline bench
95x5
135x3
155x3
175x3
185x1

Flat dumbbell press
65lbs x 4x6

hammer curl cable rows
2x10 #10
2x10 #9

lateral raises
10lbs 3x15

abs
130lbs 5x10

 

[oso0960]

Wednesday 8/29

ME lower body

sumo deadlifts
135x5
185x3
225x3
275x2 (pulled some muscles in my neck so i stopped for 5 mins)
275x1
325x5 (max PR!!!, almost lost grip though)

Lunges
50s x 3x10

GHR
5x5

 

[oso0960]

Friday 8/31

upper rep

bench
135x20
135x7x2

skull crushers
70lbs 2x10, 1x9

lat pulldown chinup
4x10

shoulder press standing
35lbs 2x10
30lbs 1x9

hammer curls
25lbs 3x8

decline weighted abs
5x10