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Pre-juice 5x5: Darkness on the Horizon

blut wump said:
These places do have their economics in place. For every gargantuan, ravenous lifter there are a couple of dozen secretaries who feel bloated at half an egg-white and a leaf of lettuce not to mention the vegetarians who were outvoted.
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Yeah, I know...the comment was in jest. They wouldn't stay in business long or be so prevalent if they didn't have an appropriate pricing structure. It's likely just a product of paranoid buffet managers, but back in the heyday of the Atkins diet and its ilk stories occasionally showed up in the papers here about low-carbers being refused additional servings of meat.
 
Week 5 -- MONDAY

Had a great 'refeed' weekend. Waistline measurement barely budged despite my best efforts to epitomize gastronomic gluttony.

Squat 5x5: warmup to 315
-Making two changes at once is rough. I used my oly shoes for the first time today. I'm very happy with them but it'll take a bit of getting used to. Also, keeping my lower back in the proper postion is becoming natural rapidly, but again, it's new to me so it's gonna take some time. It seems like the use of Oly shoes places a lot of stress on the lower quads and low back, but maybe the back thing is just b/c I'm so used to relaxing in the hole. Like others have mentioned, it felt as though I was attached to the floor in these shoes.

Bench 1x5: 135x12, windmills, 185x5, 225x5, 255x5, 280x5, 305x5 (PR)
-Man it feels good to get a PR. Ten pounds better than the last one, which was too long ago.

BB row 1x5: 135x5, 185x5, 205x5, 225x5, 255x5
-I had a MASSIVE low back pump midway through these. It bordered on being dibilatating. I'm surprised at how pronounced it was given my relatively low dosage. It lasted a good twenty minutes after I finished my last set.
EDIT: I suppose I can officially call these 'Pendlay rows' as I finally fully deweight all of 'em, make a point to accelerate 'em throughout the concentric, and attempt to arch my upper back at the top.

CGBP: 225x8x2, 255x10
-Shoulders felt fine after 2 set of 225, so I just kinda went nuts w/ 255. I'm very pleased with my accessory stuff thus far, even though it's kinda all over the place. Whatever.

Hammer curls: 55'sx8x3

Coc #1: 5 triples/hand, two 30 second static holds per hand.
-Def. was stronger today. I bet I was giving some folks a chuckle during my static holds - I was squirming quite a bit and making hilarious faces trying to last half a minute (kinda like sex :D)

I may drop powercleans, at least temporarily. Since I'm using my low back so much more on deads and squats it just isn't a good idea IMO to bombard it with another low back killer. If things catch up rapidly I'll add 'em back in. Or maybe I'll warm up with 'em for deads. They'd probably be a better warmup than a buncha pansy pullin' w/ 225 anyway.

Oh and I may have located a nice, cheap digital camera w/ video clip capabilities. The long awaited vids ( :rolleyes: ) may be forthcoming....
 
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Guinness5.0 said:
Oh and I may have located a nice, cheap digital camera w/ video clip capabilities. The long awaited vids ( :rolleyes: ) may be forthcoming....
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This is a really great site for tech deals and they always have something for digicams (usually a coupon or code combo'ed with some other discount so prices can be fairly low to rediculously low depending on what's there at any point in time). I know they have a big digicam thing with Dell that I read earlier if I'm remembering that correctly, just scroll downward. http://www.techbargains.com/
 
Week 5 -- TUESDAY

Good day. Dropping cleans was a good idea. My back feels worked but not beat.

Front squat: warmups, 225x4x3, 255x4x3
-After last week's heavy front squat session, I had some swelling and pain in my left knee (the one I hurt in high school). I decided to take it a little slower today. I coulda done 255 for all 6 sets but I think it was wise to chill a bit. I'm being careful to pause at the bottom and my knee is back to normal.

Push press: 135x5, 145x4, 155x4, 165x4, 185x4, 195x5 (PR)
-I did 5 reps on the last one b/c my previous 5rm was 185, so I figured 'what the hell, a PR sounds fun'. Then I held it at lockout for 3-4 seconds just to be sure :D I really like these a lot. Question: The 'dip' to get these started should be minimal, right? I just barely bend my knees, then 'pop' forcefully and lock it out hard at the top.

Pullups 5x5: BW
-At some point I promise I'll add weight to these. I did 'em with an explosive concentric and a slow eccentric just to make 'em a bit tougher.

Decline situps: BWx15, x12, x12
-These kick my ass. I've got DOMS from the top to the bottom of my abs

Weight's up to 250 even as of this morning. It's a big friggin' jump. I suppose I'm gaining b/c of my refeed weekend. The nice thing is that the belly's the same. Hopefully I've set myself up for another round of lost inches on the gut.
 
Guinness5.0 said:
Push press: 135x5, 145x4, 155x4, 165x4, 185x4, 195x5 (PR)
I did 5 reps on the last one b/c my previous 5rm was 185, so I figured 'what the hell, a PR sounds fun'. Then I held it at lockout for 3-4 seconds just to be sure
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Did you look around the gym nodding your head vigorously as you held the weight overhead? That's the way to do it :p

Nice lifts BTW. I assume rack is feeling comfy on your fronts.
 
Jim Ouini said:
Did you look around the gym nodding your head vigorously as you held the weight overhead? That's the way to do it :p

Nice lifts BTW. I assume rack is feeling comfy on your fronts.
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Well there are some freaks at this gym. My lifts ain't SHIT compared to some of these juice monkeys :) While I was push-pressing, some guy had every plate you could fit on the leg press, plus a pair of 100 lb'ers on top and was going knees to chest. Never seen him squat though.....

And the rack's good I guess. It's pretty much entirely on my delts/wind pipe( :rolleyes: ) but I have trouble keeping my elbows high. I think I may have a bit of a forward lean, but I'm not sure - maybe that's just the way fronts are supposed to feel. Hopefully I'll get my camera tonight so I can get some good feedback..
 
I seem to have trouble in the rack with my front squats too.
cant seem to be able to make a decision with crossing my arms or using the hook grip (i think thats what you call it).with the cross grip, balance seems to be an issue and with my palms facing up, the bones in my hand hurt :rolleyes: not to mention racking it and keeping my elbows up.
 
Guinness5.0 said:
And the rack's good I guess. It's pretty much entirely on my delts/wind pipe( :rolleyes: ) but I have trouble keeping my elbows high. I think I may have a bit of a forward lean, but I'm not sure - maybe that's just the way fronts are supposed to feel. Hopefully I'll get my camera tonight so I can get some good feedback..
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Fronts musta felt wonderful in oly shoes, I imagine. At least I like 'em.
 
I got my camera and took a test vid but putfile seems to time out every time I try to upload it. Is there another site I could use? It's mpeg BTW so I don't see WTF the problem could be :confused:
 
Week 5 -- THURSDAY

I got two vids to upload eventually. Holy shit - the camera wolfs down batteries! I'll go broke(r) if I don't get some rechargables.

Deadlift : 235x8x2, 285x3, 325x5x2, 375x3, 395x3(got a vid), 415x3x2, 415xfail (got a vid :rolleyes: )
-Getting better on the new form and feeling stronger. I'm still kinda slow off the floor but it's coming around. I'll post more comments once I upload the vid.

Bench 5x5: warmup to 285 (PR)
- I did 6 reps on the last set just for grins. No spotter - never a doubt. Next week: 295, maybe 300.

Pendlay rows 5x5 : warmup to 265 (PR)
-the last rep of the last two sets were very tough. I sucked a bunch of air onto my belly from the very first rep and I think it helped a lot.

CGBP: 225x8, 265x8x2
-last rep was tough

BB curls: 105x8x3

Well the PR train is picking up steam. I have to drag myself outta the gym - I wanna stay all day :D
 
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Guinness5.0 said:
Week 5 -- THURSDAY

I got two vids to upload eventually. Holy shit - the camera wolfs down batteries! I'll go broke(r) if I don't get some rechargables.

Deadlift : 235x8x2, 285x3, 325x5x2, 375x3, 395x3(got a vid), 415x3x2, 415xfail (got a vid :rolleyes: )
-Getting better on the new form and feeling stronger. I'm still kinda slow off the floor but it's coming around. I'll post more comments once I upload the vid.

Bench 5x5: warmup to 285 (PR)
- I did 6 reps on the last set just for grins. No spotter - never a doubt. Next week: 295, maybe 300.

Pendlay rows 5x5 : warmup to 265 (PR)
-the last rep of the last two sets were very tough. I sucked a bunch of air onto my belly from the very first rep and I think it helped a lot.

CGBP: 225x8, 265x8x2
-last rep was tough

BB curls: 105x8x3

Well the PR train is picking up steam. I have to drag myself outta the gym - I wanna stay all day :D
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Hey KID!! very nice..was wondering how it was going for you...you know me..I tend to live in anabolics but strolled down here to see whats crackin...How is your body comp changing?? Have you posted any pics yet?
 
OK I got the triple of 395 up, but it's an mpeg file so it'll take a minute or two to load. I seem to have reverted to my old habits on these - not nearly the 'hip-centered' initiation I'm going for.

http://media.putfile.com/HPIM00245291

I think you gotta copy it and put it in your browser. MC2, biggt, etc, I'm looking for feedback. Am I right in thnking that I'm not using my hips enough? TIA
 
enigma4dub said:
the clip seems to be cut short. its only 3 seconds.
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it's working for me... did you give it a couple minutes to load? Damn mpegs seem to take a while (I'm not real computer literate jsut yet :p)
 
looks like there could be more hip drive, but what do i know? easier said than done. p.s. i think ill make a vid soon so i can get some feedback as well.
 
Looks pretty good to me. From your description I thought you were locking out your legs too fast and hips were shooting up or something.

Weight looked easy. Maybe it'd be easier to critique your miss ;)

BTW, looking monstrous G5.0.
 
OK putfile seems to be working now. Here's the 395x3 clip w/ the 415xfail at the end:

http://media.putfile.com/DL415xfail_0001

Somewhat amusing story: the batteries on my cam died afeter the triple w/ 395, so I did two triples w/ 415, then borrowed the remote to one of the TVs in the gym and swapped batteries to get my second clip. Maybe the miss was instant karma :FRlol:
 
435x3 last week of my first 5x5. I did 405x3 my last week of HST w/ no straps (and after having done the rest of the workout first). But I'm trying to get away from the mixed grip - anything that may hurt my back is something I'm trying to avoid.
 
So what happened, you did 3 sets of 2 reps @ 415, then tried for a 4th and missed?

I don't see any glaring problems with your form, even on your miss. Also, that's kind of how my 500 attempt looked, got it almost to my knees but my back wasn't as straight as yours so I bailed out. That's when I decided to do some RDL's this training cycle.
 
Jim:
When I write "415x3x2" It means I did 415 for three reps, twice. Kinda screwy I guess but to me it makes the most sense. So, I did two triples w/ 415, and bombed the next set right away.

One thing worth mentioning - before my 'form tweak' I NEVER missed a rep if I got it as high as the one I missed in the vid (and yeah I know, it still wasn't that high). I'd literally get the rep, or not even pull it two inches. FWIW I think I coulda done another set, but I just didn't explode off the floor and had to bail.
 
Oh you're using the Russian sets and reps convention :p

Guinness5.0 said:
One thing worth mentioning - before my 'form tweak' I NEVER missed a rep if I got it as high as the one I missed in the vid (and yeah I know, it still wasn't that high). I'd literally get the rep, or not even pull it two inches. FWIW I think I coulda done another set, but I just didn't explode off the floor and had to bail.
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I have a friend who tried 435 and got it about that high with rounded back and he just 'grinded' it up, in fact I think he quadrupal pulled it lol. But I've seen this guy do SLDL with 365 that makes me cringe.

Anyway, I figure it'll all pay off in the long run. EDIT: Pay off for you I mean, not my friend :)
 
Week 6 -- MONDAY

Good day.

Squat 5x5: warmup to 335x5
- http://media.putfile.com/ATF325x5
I know it says 325x5 on the vid title, but it's 3 plates and tens, so I'm a dumbass :). It seems I still round a tad in the hole, but it's better than before (based on feel). Is this something that still needs work or is some 'de-arching' acceptable? BTW sets got easier through the workout. Still feeling it out I guess (the shoes and new technique).
EDIT: I paused the vid at the bottom of one of my reps and I'm wondering if the bar is too far over my feet as well. Shouldn't it be centered over my heels?

Bench 1x5: 135x12, windmills, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x7 (Big fat mega PR), 365x0 (but close)
-Wow is all I can say. After 5 w/ 315 I felt like I'd be cheating myself if I stopped. I must admit to being a little bouncey on the last two, and my butt came off the bench by a shade on the last one, but still, I'm thrilled.

Pendlay rows 1x5 185x5, 225x5, 245x5, 265x5, 285x5(PR)
-Very hard. I'm gonna spread the sets out a bit more next time. Used a little body english on the last set. I'll have to vid these to see just how much, but I'm confident that it's not too bad.

Hammer curls 50'sx8, 60'sx8, x7 (per arm :p)

CoC#1 3 sets of 5/hand
-I barely got any reps fully closed w/ my left hand. I'm dissapointed by how slowly these are improving. But my forearms are quite a bit bigger :confused:
 
Some people use different browsers and/or have different plugins/associations for playing back video. They don't always work, which is why some people report that it's only 3 seconds long.

BW, I was busy uploading another video - I was comparing G5 with our old friend max, who put up 338 in this clip: http://x300.putfile.com/videos/c8-15220515016.wmv

I think your form's better G5 :) Seriously, I don't know enough to say whether that amount of rounding is too much, but it doesn't look like much to me. Either way, the little assistance you're taking is proving quite impressive!

EDIT: on looking at it again, it's more than I thought, but I still can't say whether that's a bad thing. Dammit, I can't believe you're getting us all to watch your ass so closely.
 
Another great workout, obviously...not sure what else to say except keep posting videos until you/the gym's TVs run out of batteries.

I see the slight rounding you're referring to, but I'll leave it to others with more experience/knowledge to tell you whether it's a problem since I'm still working on my own squat. One thing: I was wondering about your foot/bar placement since they're not easily determined from the video. It looks like you're closer to Oly-style than the lower/wider placement that Rippetoe describes in SS (I've found that the former feels more natural and is better for back position).

AB, I don't think it's even a contest. My first thought when I opened the video was "he's not going to go ATG even if he wants to with the safety bars that high."
 
Cynical Simian said:
One thing: I was wondering about your foot/bar placement since they're not easily determined from the video. It looks like you're closer to Oly-style than the lower/wider placement that Rippetoe describes in SS (I've found that the former feels more natural and is better for back position).
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Feet are a shade wider than shoulder, and the bar is at mid-trap.

AB, I don't think it's even a contest. My first thought when I opened the video was "he's not going to go ATG even if he wants to with the safety bars that high."
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The bars are set one higher than I used to set them - at this height I'd hit the bars with my old form. That's as deep as I can go without totally losing my arch - and I'm still wondering whether more changes are in order.

EDIT: well it appears to me that this guy loses a bit of arch as well. Whatta y'all think? It seems to me that the bar is more over his heels than it is on my squat though:
http://www.uwlax.edu/strengthcenter/videos/exercisevideos/High Bar Back Squat.mpg
 
I think your knees move forwards a lot more when you're in the hole than his. Do you need to sit back more? As far as I can tell, his back stays pretty much at the same angle for the whole lift, whereas yours goes more vertical in the hole as you roll under a bit. It looks like you've got the bar more forward than he has - more over your toes, but it's difficult to tell because the camera angles are different. Where do you feel the centre of gravity on your feet - more to the back, front or evenly distributed?
 
Def. over my toes. I was thinking that sitting back more would probably take care of both problems.... I'll play with it next time.
 
Well, you definitely have that little rump curl in the hole. Have you tried holding the bar lower on your back? I think you're also going down rather than back. This is to be expected with a narrow stance but you could try to stick your butt out as you get lower. I can't think of anything else to add.
 
Guinness5.0 said:
The bars are set one higher than I used to set them - at this height I'd hit the bars with my old form. That's as deep as I can go without totally losing my arch - and I'm still wondering whether more changes are in order.
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Sorry about being nonspecific. I was agreeing with AB that your form was better and referring to the other video. Your depth looked good.
 
I think your form looks great, definitely low enough and I'm impressed with how high you keep your chest. Although from that angle I couldn't tell if it was 225 or 325 like you claim :p

I see the slight rounding but I personally wouldn't get my panties in a bunch about it. I agree with BW you could push your hips back a tad, that might give you a little more of a forward lean - now that I think of it, it might help with the rounding. Just thinking out loud since I'm still tweaking my form here and there.
 
I just took a look at Max's attempt. He doesn't even make parallel. It's almost a half squat. I'd expect more weight from him.

I just took a look at the vid from uwlax. He doesn't have the rump curl but he does have a much bigger rump for ballast.

Do you do hamstring stretches?
 
Week 6 -- TUESDAY

OK day. Nothing special really.

Front squat: warmup to 265x4x6(PR I guess - mostly 'cause they're still new)
-Set 3: http://media.putfile.com/FSquat265x4

-I thought I went deeper. I dunno - I feel like a complete newb asking so many form q's but do these look good? It feels like I'm a lot deeper than it looks on video.

Push press: warmup, 155x4x2, 175x4x2, 195x4, 205x4(PR)
-Didn't have the same 'snap' as last week. Couldn't hold the lockout on my last set. I imagine yesterday's bench session had something to do with this, so I'm not too upset.

Pullups: BWx6x5
-Hey, it's finally more than 5x5

CGBP: 225x8, 265x8, 275x8
-last rep of last set was tough

Blut Wump said:
Do you do hamstring stretches?
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I'm off and on with 'em. One odd thing - when I stretch one ham at a time (like when one leg is out straight and the other bent, so that one foot is at the the knee of the straight leg) I'm pretty flexible. But when I try both legs straight out, I can barely even lean forward - i don't quite know what to make of that. Same thing when I stand and stretch - legs wide, stretching to a side is fine, but down the middle is very limited :confused:
 
Wow, you're nearly breaking parallel ;) Looks good to me.

I thought about getting a camera for when I start the new journal. It's seems to be proving useful for you.

I've had a really tight right hamstring for a long while. Like it used to hurt just standing up and walking. I've no idea how it got that bad. Anyway, I've been doing lots of stretching by lying on my back, cradling my hands round my calf, keeping my knee straight and pulling towards me. Then I push hard with my hammies against my hands, relax, then pull my leg even closer to me - repeat about 3 times. I've been doing that several times a day for a few days and the results are incredible. And I can now touch the floor with my palms :p

EDIT: It looks a bit high.
 
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I'm not sure whether AB is being sarcastic. It looks a little high to me too.

I do most of my hamstring stretches by resting my heel or ankle on something around waist height and leaning forward. If you ease off after a few seconds you can usually put even more tension on the hammy. I hold it for around 30s.
 
I think you go lower on your backsquat than your front squat.

I like to pause and really settle into the hole on my fronts. Not sure they do a whole lot but for some reason it feels natural (although as I get close to my max the pause is more of a bounce ;) )

Otherwise they look great to me, totally solid. Seriously G5.0 you're making it look too easy, like 135.
 
Jim Ouini said:
I think you go lower on your backsquat than your front squat.

I like to pause and really settle into the hole on my fronts. Not sure they do a whole lot but for some reason it feels natural (although as I get close to my max the pause is more of a bounce ;) )

Otherwise they look great to me, totally solid. Seriously G5.0 you're making it look too easy, like 135.
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Like I said, I really thought I was going deep as hell. It felt deep. What can I say - the camera is paying off. I'll play with my form on saturday with some light fronts and see if it's realistic to go deeper.
 
Guinness5.0 said:
Like I said, I really thought I was going deep as hell. It felt deep
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I hear quarter squatters say that all the time :p

Kidding aside, I think it's deep enough, personally. I was just surprised since you were ATF on your backsquat. It's just the opposite for me, I can get lower on my front than I can on my backsquat.

Again, I wouldn't go a' changing just for that extra inch or two (or 6 :p )
 
When I first started from squats I couldnt get right in the hole because of a weak core. It was hard to keep balance and it felt like i was gonna tip over when I went lower than parrellel. Im not saying you have a week core or anything, its just something to consider.

Nice lifts BTW, Im kinda jealous.
 
Week 6 -- THURSDAY

Frustrating day, but I think I learned something....

Deadlifts warmups, 325x3, 375x2, 415x2, 445x1 (technically a PR but I've tripled w/ 435, so this isn't something to get excited about), 465xfail, 465xfail, 425xfail
-I think I'm going about this the wrong way - my thinking was that since I'm 'training' myself to DL differently than before, I should work in a 'nueral' rep range. But it's not as though the CNS takes a vacation during sets of 5 :p. For the first attempt with 465 I tried to be fast/explosive but all I did was stick, then shoot my hips up. Next attempt was better but I'm just not strong/coordinated enough yet. Next time I'm gonna back the weights down for a reasonable 5x5 session and drill in the new form that way. Once it's second nature and I can pull fast/hard and not break form, I'll get heavier with 'em.

Bench 5x5 warmups, 295(PR)
-I was hoping to hit 3 plates today, but when I got to 275 on warmups, I knew that 295 was about all I'd have. I did 6 reps on the last set :)

Pendlay rows 5x5 warmups, 275(PR)
-Brutal. Form was tight for the most part but only b/c I rest-paused the last rep on my last three sets.

Hammer curls 55'sx8, 60'sx6x2

Grip work CoC #1: five closes per hand, 3 sets
-these are getting frustrating. No discernable progress whatsoever.
 
Guinness5.0 said:
Week 6 -- THURSDAY

Frustrating day

Deadlifts warmups, 325x3, 375x2, 415x2, 445x1 (technically a PR but I've tripled w/ 435, so this isn't something to get excited about), 465xfail, 465xfail, 425xfail
Bench 5x5 warmups, 295(PR)
Pendlay rows 5x5 warmups, 275(PR)
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A bit of assistance really seems to have altered what constitutes a frustrating day. Congrats on the PRs. :)

Dropping the weight on deads seems like a good call. Given the progress thus far, you could probably keep getting PRs while learning/perfecting your new technique, but you'll probably make better overall progress on both fronts with this plan.
 
Cynical Simian said:
A bit of assistance really seems to have altered what constitutes a frustrating day.
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I am obsessed with gettng my deadlift above 500. It's funny, but my bench is shooting up and I'm pretty blase about it. I'd be thrilled if my bench eeked up slowly while my dead/squat soared. Guess I'm getting old :)

EDIT: Another reason it was frustrating was that the 20 pound jump from 445 to 465 may have well been 200 pounds by the feel of it - 445 was tough but I was damn near 100% sure that 465 was going up.
 
Excellent job! Damn, your bench IS getting strong. I really need to start benching more; I can't let you catch up . . . This is good! You are doing a great job. This is starting to motivate me. (And it's my progress that's really important :p not yours). Also, your tempo on your squats and your form is really tight. I admire your squat smoothness. My squat has a heavy special olympics flavor, or as my son puts it, "I think your being attacked by squat goblins."

Do you have any deadlift videos? Maybe we could check them out. I'd like to see it or direct me upwards if I missed a recent clip now that you're getting so strong.
 
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Thanks for the link.

You know, G5. The thing I see is that you are using your lower back mostly. You aren't really recruiting your hamstrings or hip extensors. This is fine. And you can certainly do this. But you could put put up a hundred pounds more if you use your hammies. This would be a powerlifter style dead lift and not the more conventional dead you are doing. Basically, you pull back, leveraging your body against the bar. So it's like you are going to fall straight back on your ass. But the weight's so heavy you don't fall back, the compromise path is up instead.

Take my advice for what it's worth. My dead is my best thing at 505. My squat is 405 and my bench is 335. So you totally are my same strength except I seem to deadlift well naturally. Your body isn't really built well for deads, but you look like a tank and can certainly improve. Go to the powerlifter subforum for even more expert advice. I would post there too and get tips. You are right on the cusp.

Great thread and great job!
 
Wow, you do keep a detailed record. I thought you were kidding, lol. This is awesome and a good way for others to learn. I read all 8 pages. It's amazing to see all the progress you are making. Your dead numbers are getting up there. Awesome brother, keep the fire going!
 
majutsu said:
Thanks for the link.

You know, G5. The thing I see is that you are using your lower back mostly. You aren't really recruiting your hamstrings or hip extensors.
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I totally agree with you on this. My back is always toasted after dl's but my legs feel fine, which is normal to some degree I suppose but the few times I've recruitedd hams/hips I've definitely noticed a difference. I'm still tweaking my form, which is pretty dumb given that I'm on a cycle. But hey, nobody's perfect :) I'll try the 'leaning back' feeling. You're not the first person to mention that as a reference. And I agree that there's no reason other than technique that my dead shouldn't be quite a bit stronger.

c3bodybuilding said:
This is awesome and a good way for others to learn.
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I hope other people can get something out of it. I read my past logs occasionally and being detailed is very helpful in remembering nuances and seemingly minor stuff that ends up making a difference. And thanks for the kind words.

BTW I’m switching to daily injections - same dose, just half as much, twice as often. I’ve been reading that tren ace. is best when shot ED. We’ll see if it helps…
 
I just took another look at the 325x5 squatting video from the 2nd. It's amazing that over the past year we've come to a state where we could consider criticizing your form on that squat. As madcow noticed, your heel raises on a couple of the reps but I can no longer see any rump curl. A year ago I'd have viewed anyone squatting like that as being a bit "out there" and now we take it for granted. I'm not sure what my point is. Thanks, again, to madcow, I guess. ;)

I think my deadlift is very similar in form to yours and I feel it a lot in my lower back. I try to get my shoulders behind the bar but whenever I fail to think about it they slip over or in front of the bar. I must take some vids.
 
Well we have higher standards for G5.0 :Chef:

Also, from your other thread:

Madcow2 said:
Just use the mental key of keeping the weight back and driving off the heel (up not forward). As the bar moves up the weight should become more normally distributed over the entire foot but the heel should never come up and even at the top the weight should be center or just slightly ahead.
Click to expand...

I think this will help me, I may be try staying on my heels too long on the way up and I that's where my sticking point is. I mean, quads get you from parallel to lockout, right? So it's better if the weight is distributed more evenly at this point, not so much on my heels.
 
It was 335 BTW, but after today, I really don't care.....

Week 6 -- SATURDAY

Well I finally went in for my fourth day workout (remember, I had intended on doing M/T/Th/Sa but the last three weeks I haven't gone in a Saturday. Glad I finally did :D

Squat warmups, 315x5, 335x3, 355x3, 375x3, 405x1, 405x4(PR)
-Hells fuggin' yeah! Stayihg back on my heels was the difference, no doubt about it! No vid though, got caught up in how well things were going and just forgot to film it. Today was supposed to be a form tweak session but I was damn comfortable with it by my second or third warmup, so I just kept putting more and more weight on until I realized that 4 plates was gonna happen. I did the single without a spot and got semi-stuck but powered it out. I must have a HUGE strength impbalance b/t my hams and quads, b/c after the sticking point I FLEW the fuck up - jostled the bar quite a bit at the top :). I figured I might be able to do more if I had a spotter, so I grabbed a buddy and had him spot me. My other buddy, the guy who pointed out my hip shift initially (remember, the vid I posted was after fixing it quite a bit - it was def. worse before) was also watching. He said they looked a ton better. He tries to talk me into not going as deep so I can put more weight on, but I don't wanna. For reference, I've done a triple w/ 405, but I was wearing wraps and a belt, so this is pretty damn good progress IMO. I can tell that performing squats this way recruited my hamstrings quite a bit more. Perhaps over the years I've taught myself to circumvent my hams in squats/deads and now that I'm changing my form I hope to make some big fuggin' jumps in the future.

Standing OHP warmup to 185x5x2(PR), 185x3
-Took a long time squatting so I had to rush these.

Pullups BWx5x3
-Rushed


Awesome day. Thanks to all who helped in my other thread, esp. MC2. ALL the fucking difference.
 
Hopefully I don't jinx you but when you make a change like that it generally is hard at first but the body adapts (as does the nervous system to coordinating the changed movement) so I'm thinking you'll have at least some modest momentum over the next few weeks in the lift aside from anything else. Just so you know, I almost didn't catch the heel. I had to watch several times to make absolutely sure it wasn't just your ankle making the shoe flex and that your heel was actually rising due to weight distribution being forward. Not to pat myself on the back but to let you know it wasn't obvious or clear. Try to get yourself from different angles too. Back, front, sides, 45 degrees to one side of forward. Not all at once or to post but you can tell a lot from different angles (almost make sure your shot includes the feet - from behind or unobscured side is best for that).
 
Congrats, G5. You've definitely gone up a level. Doing them without belt and wraps is huge and presumably without the equipment you went lower.

Sorry about the lost 10lbs in my last post but I was just reading from the title of the vid "1-2-06 Squat 325x5 Fifth set".
 
BW - just bustin' your balls - shoulda put a smilie in there :)

Week 7 -- MONDAY

Abbreviated workout. I had a ton of stuff to do in the a.m before work and barely squeezed in what I was able to do.

Squat warmups to 365x5x2(PR), 355x4,
-My hams/ass were too beat up from Saturday. I was starting to rock forward on my toes again due obviously to fatigue in those areas, so I called it quits. I imagine that my ham/glute strength is gonna jump rapidly, so I should be able to hit squats hard for both sessions without issue.

Bench 1x5 135x12, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3, 335x4(PR), 225x18
-Well I got a little greedy, but still - I'm very pleased with this. And the 18 repper was just to see how many I could do - my spotter said that I couldn't get 20, but then he backtracked and said he didn't think I could do 17. So I did 18 :D

That was all I had time for. I'm going to switch back to M/W/F workouts, with front squats on weds. It's just too much to hit squats heavy saturday, then with volume on monday.
 
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Guinness5.0 said:
BW - just bustin' your balls - shoulda put a smilie in there :)

Week 7 -- MONDAY

Abbreviated workout. I had a ton of stuff to do in the a.m before work and barely squeezed in what I was able to do.

Squat warmups to 365x5x2(PR), 355x4,
-My hams/ass were too beat up from Saturday. I was starting to rock forward on my toes again due obviously to fatigue in those areas, so I called it quits. I imagine that my ham/glute strength is gonna jump rapidly, so I should be able to hit squats hard for both sessions without issue.

Bench 1x5 135x12, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3, 335x4(PR), 225x18
-Well I got a little greedy, but still - I'm very pleased with this. And the 18 repper was just to see how many I could do - my spotter said that I couldn't get 20, but then he backtracked and said he didn't think I could do 17. So I did 18 :D

That was all I had time for. I'm going to switch back to M/W/F workouts, with front squats on weds. It's just too much to hit squats heavy saturday, then with volume on monday.
Click to expand...

I don't think I want to lift with you anymore. I'll be over in the aerobics area taking a body pump class or pilates or something.
 
Week 7 -- WEDNESDAY

Front squat 5x5 warmups, 225
-So I lightened up a lot and went deep as I possibly could - I think my ass literally touched my ankles. It was pretty tough - coulda done more weight but I'll be patient and get 'em right. Besides, these aren't a huge priority for me. For now my posterior chain is my limiter.

Push press warmups, 155x4, 175x4x2, 195x4, 205x4, 225x2
-Dammit. This and the last push-press session have kinda sucked. Not snappy like at first. When I got 195x5 two weeks ago the bar rocketed up and locked out solid, but today even the lower weights on the way up just felt sluggish. Maybe making leaps and bounds on bench is costing me OHP poundage, which would suck b/c I'd rather be throwing up two wheels on OHP than three wheels on bench.

Deadlift 5x5 warmups, 375
-OK I took my own advice and stepped down the intensity a bit to get my form right. Basically, every set felt different. I'm happy to report that I was engaging my hamstrings to a much greater extent than previously (thanks Majutsu for the "falling back" tip :)) So hopefully I'll be stronger with my better habits next week. I may only bump it up ten pounds - it'll depend on how I feel during the warmups.

Pullups 6x5 BW

RDL barx8, 95x8, 135 for lots of sets just to feel it out with some resistance, 185x5x2, 225x5x2
-Basically just doing these to improve hamstring flexibilty and to get a feel for how hams should pull during conventional deads. Also, when I start Westside I'd like these to be comfy for me so I can do 'em heavy from the start. I feel like I've drilled in some bad habits on squats/deads by allowing myslef to work 'around' my hams rather than 'with' them. These were quite light actually (which was a surprise) and I noticed that I could get lower with just about each successive set.

CGBP 225x8, 275x8, 295x5, 315x5(PR)
-Pretty happy with this one. I may have been able to get a sixth, but I wanna shoot for 315 for 5x5 on Friday, so I figured why push it?

Standing DB curls 60'sx7, x5

All in all a good day. It would have been great if I had waited til I learned to deadlift correctly (or at least better than I was) before the cycle, but I won't let it bother me. Maybe I'll be able to keep putting weight on the bar once the gear is done. That'd help avoid any potential let-down from coming off.
 
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THere's practically nobody there when I lift. Besides, there are some monsters at this gym - the only thing people notice (or at least comment to me about) is my squat depth.

OK there were a couple dudes looking when I close-gripped three plates. But there's no ass at this gym - ass is MUCH better motivation than two skinny twenty-something dudes looking at me between curl supersets :rolleyes:
 
i think the best motivation is just knowing people are looking at you...
 
Guinness5.0 said:
THere's practically nobody there when I lift. Besides, there are some monsters at this gym - the only thing people notice (or at least comment to me about) is my squat depth.

OK there were a couple dudes looking when I close-gripped three plates. But there's no ass at this gym - ass is MUCH better motivation than two skinny twenty-something dudes looking at me between curl supersets :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Haha.

BTW, how low is the bar on your RDL's, just curious about your flexibility. I can only get the bar below my knees before I can't get my hips back anymore.

Also, I never thought of RDL's for increasing my flexibility - I've thought of them as a glute, lower back and hammie strengthener, not lengthener. Well that's what I've been using them for.
 
I get the bar to a couple inches below my knees, which surprised me a bit.

On an unrelated note, I went to the school I'm about to attend (Northern Illinois University) and the weight room SUCKS! I'm gonna lift there tomorrow after I register and see if I feel differently.
 
Phaded said:
you dont really need shit besides a squat rack puss :)
Click to expand...
See, that's not the problem. The weight room is small. The school is big (25,000 enrolled). I guaran-fucking-promise I'll have to ask someone to do their curls outside of the power rack every time I go in there. Plus the freeweights and machines are in different rooms, which means no girls to ogle between sets (though I'm getting used to that thanks to the gym I'm at now).

And on the school's website they say there's a 'powerlifting room' which I was very excited to check out. It was a HUGE letdown. It had a bench, squat rack, power rack and a bunch of Hammer Strength stuff :rolleyes:

Looks like I'll be an early a.m. lifter for sure.
 
Guinness5.0 said:
On an unrelated note, I went to the school I'm about to attend (Northern Illinois University) and the weight room SUCKS! I'm gonna lift there tomorrow after I register and see if I feel differently.
Click to expand...

The once-mentioned "return to higher education"...I'd been wondering what was happening with this. What sort of program are you entering?

If the weight room's patrons are anything like the gym itself, you'll probably feel/look like one of those questionably aged Little League World Series players. Try not to scare the curlers too much on your first day. :)
 
Cynical Simian said:
The once-mentioned "return to higher education"...I'd been wondering what was happening with this. What sort of program are you entering?

If the weight room's patrons are anything like the gym itself, you'll probably feel/look like one of those questionably aged Little League World Series players. Try not to scare the curlers too much on your first day. :)
Click to expand...
LOL bud. But I don't look like a creepy old man just yet. I'm starting to act like one though...especially with the test in me. I catch myself staring and not caring quite often these days :p

I'll be a finance major. Another irritation from today was how differently the various core requirements are set up - I had nearly all of my non-major classes done at my old school, but here I have to take a bunch of useless bullshit classes b/c I have more than enough credit hours in some areas and not enough in others. It's gonna add at least another full semester to this.

EDIT: THe school I was at before (SOuthern Illinois University) had a bad ass weight room - it was enormous. Lotsa juicers too. I ran my first cycle down there and realized that LOTS of the regulars were using too.
 
Week 7 -- MONDAY

Worked out at school. It was pretty empty.

Squat 1x5:warmups, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 365x5, 405x1, then 315x5
-I dunno... there are a lot of reasons I only did one w/ 405. First, I'm used to squatting in front of a mirror (which I know is less than ideal but I'm VERY accustomed to it) and this place doesn't have mirrors in front of the power rack. Second, my hams are still beat from my new squat form and the RDL's from wednesday. On top of that, i didn't feel confident in any of the people around to spot me. I got a little stuck at the bottom but got the rep fine, but I was just too scared to attempt another, though I sat there with the bar on my back after the one rep thinking about it for like 10-20 seconds. Just for the sake of volume I stripped a plate real quick and did 5 fast 'speed' reps w/ 315. Four plates for five should be a gimme by next week I think.

Bench 5x5:warmups, 315(PR)
-Nice 20 pound PR. The only 'grinders' were the final reps on the last 2 sets.

Pendlay rows 5x5 : warmups, 285(PR), then 225x10
-I did the back off b/c I just can't pull my shoulder blades back nice and tight w/ this much weight. It felt good to pinch 'em together hard on the backoff set.

No fluff today. Life's gonna be crazy for a while b/t full time school and full time work. My last two days of getting loose ends tied up and working have me waking at 5 a.m and getting back home at about 9 p.m.
 
Sounds like things are still going great G5.0, and it doesn't sound like there are any signs of overreaching yet either. How come you wanted spotters for squats when you're in the power rack?

How long are you going to be doing the full time school and work combination?

Are JS and Pendlay rows pretty much the same thing? One of the links you provided went to TotalElite, where they were talking about JS rows, with passing reference to Pendlay rows. I think the pictures were of Pendlay rows. I've always had my back parallel to the floor, but my legs have been straight, knees just unlocked, so I've been in a much weaker position for doing these and using a much bigger ROM.
 
anotherbutters said:
Sounds like things are still going great G5.0, and it doesn't sound like there are any signs of overreaching yet either. How come you wanted spotters for squats when you're in the power rack?
Click to expand...
At a guess I'd say I've got another two weeks or so at this pace - I am starting to feel more and more fatigue as the weeks go, but nothing to cause me to slow down yet. And I've never dumped a heavy squat before, so I'm not to comfy with the idea of not having some help if I were to get stuck. Probably a mental thing more than anything else. Plus, when someone's spotting I always manage to get more than otherwise.
How long are you going to be doing the full time school and work combination?
Click to expand...
The job I have currently is a temp job but it pays well so I really don't want to quit it. It wraps up in a few weks, so I won't be too deep in the semester trying to burn the candle at both ends. THen I'll get an easy job.

Are JS and Pendlay rows pretty much the same thing?
Click to expand...
Not sure. I do mine with my knees bent a fair amount. My erecrors are shot after these. Yesterday I was thinking that my 5x5 row was only 90 pounds less than my 5x5 dead, so I think my dl weakness has got to be my hams/hips.
 
anotherbutters said:
Are JS and Pendlay rows pretty much the same thing?
Click to expand...

Yes. (Believe me, I spent a bunch of time wandering around Meso and any boards to which google searches for those words led me.) They're both terms for rows with a wide grip, the back at parallel, minimal hip angle change during a fast pull, deweighting between reps, and an attempt to "squeeze the shoulders". As far as legs, JS said that the degree of bend is determined by individual flexibility/proportions and the ability to drop the shoulders. In other words, whatever allows you to do the rest of the stuff listed.

I think this thread or parts of it are already linked to or quoted in madcow's 5x5 documentation:
http://forum.mesomorphosis.com/showthread.php?t=134232600
 
your doing 285 on madcow rows thats some fucking weight man.. my god.. i bet little kids piss their pants and run to the bathroom when they see you doing that shit..
 
Week 8 -- MONDAY

Squat 5x5: warmups, 365(PR)
-These were very tough. Ham/glute strength is still definitely lagging. I'm still getting used to sitting back more, so my form wavered a bit from set to set.

Bench 1x5: 135x12, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3, 335x4
-Arg. Same deal as last week except even tougher. I suppose it has to do with the fatty PR from Friday, so I'm not gonna call it overreaching just yet.

Pendlay rows 1x5: 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 295x4.8
-Just barely missed the last one - couldn't quite pull it all the way. I think these are causing me some low back strain, so I may need to make an adjustment or cycle them out for a bit once this run is over. I have a vid of the set w/225, and I'll post it tomorrow. I'm tired and I gotta wake up at 5a.m. tomorrow for the first day of classes :)
 
Wow brother, AWESOME progress! I love reading your journal. I still haven't updated mine as I've been very busy, but I promise to start doing so very soon. I keep detailed written logs, and I will transfer it all onto here one day soon. :)

Oh and good luck with classes!
 
Week 8 -- THURSDAY

This has been the craziest week of my life. On tuesday morning I woke up an NIU student w/ a job, and by the next day I was a student at a different school and unemployed. I won't bore you all w/ the details but needless to say I've been a bit frazzled. Thankfully I got a long-term job today and I have almost the exact same classes at a community college that I had at University, but I can pay out of pocket for 'em. In the long run I think I'm in a better situation. Anywho........

I've decided to space my workouts further apart. I feel like I'm at the cusp of overreaching and I've got about 2.5 weeks worth of pins left. I don't think I should deload entirely at this point - I think stretching things out will give me a couple more solid shots at hitting PRs and will allow me to recover from overreaching while I still have some 'help' in my system. Then on to WSB. So thurs. was a quasi-deload session. Sort of. Whatever :)

Deadlift 3x3 warmup to 415
-The form tweaks continue. I tried to think of 'squatting the bar off the floor' and it seemed to help. My hips were lower than normal and I could feel my glutes/quads much more than usual. I also made a concerted effort to pull lots of air into my belly for each rep (taking my time to breathe and reset EVERYTHING as though each rep was the first rep) and my back felt/feels better than usual.

Push press warmups to 225 for two triples (PR)
-My snap was back today. It seems a poor benching performance is followed by a good push press session and vice versa. The last rep of each triple was brutal - first set my core didn't want to hold, second set I stayed tight but fought like a MOFO to get full lockout.

Pullups BWx6x3
-Deload emphasis (this was three sets of six reps for those of you who don't follow my screwball style of exercise documentation :p)

CGBP warmup to 315x5x2(PR)
-Very last rep was a grinder.

Standing DB curls 60'sx6, x5

CoC #1 3 sets of 5 closes/hand
-My left hand STILL can't quite close all of 'em yet. VERY close, but not quite touching.

So here's what the next couple weeks will look like:
M
Squat 1x5
Bench 5x5
Row 5x5

Th
Dead (sets/reps TBD)
Push press (pobably work up to two triples again)
Pullups (same)
and probably arm stuff

M
Squat 5x5
Bench 1x5
Row 1x5

Th (or maybe weds)
Dead
Push press
Pullups
arms

I'll finish up the gear while deloading, then transition to WSB. I may not do the last workout heavy - it'll depend on how fatigued I feel. But I'd like to hit deads again while on, even though they really haven't gone up at all thanks to all the 'relearning' I'm doing. Fucking deadlift is my white whale ( <---Moby Dick reference). Hopefully I'm on the right track this time. Plus I'm really optimistic that WSB and speed work are gonna be a godsend. We'll see...
 
I hope everything is working out ok for you. What happened, if you don't mind me asking that is. I've recently run into some troubles myself (read the bodybuilding & the law section if curious), and I know how that can mess with your training/mind. Just keep at it, your progress has been amazing!
 
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