Progress Log Madcow 5x5. I hope I don't annoy any1 by opening another 1 of these threads...

[36drew]

Nice journal and good plan of action. AND HOLY FONT BATMAN!! Hahaha. That caught me off guard but was pretty funny.

 

[blut wump]

Last monday weights were 180LBS for benches. I really think the long 2 hours badminton caused it. I felt pretty lethargic.

I'm not sure about my previous 5RM, but I think it's somewhere around 170LBS.
Yea, it was a terrible day actually. Insufficent food probabbly caused it.

I think i'll hold steady. Even if my spotter just used 2 fingers to help, even that's considered a failure??

Any touch at all is a failure. It means that you couldn't do the weight without help and that means that it was a shared lift which counts for nothing in the scheme of things.

The spotter is there just to help you not to get squished when you fail. If he has to help you with the weight then it's not your lift.

Quite often a spotter will give you a little finger help when all you really needed was to get angry with the bar. That extra straining you'll do to save a stalling lift will help with neural efficiency and make you stronger. It's up to you to know when to stop because you'll not make another rep. It's really not the same kind of straining as when you know there's someone available to help you when you, or, worse, they, decide it's too much. Start to think of the spotter as nothing more than a safety survival net and tell him to stand back and do every rep with just your own effort.

You're also cheating yourself out of the rush of making a lift that takes an age to close out because it's right on the cusp of your strength limits.

 

[blut wump]

Also, on weights progression: a ten pound jump in week four is pretty high. You want to be using ever bigger weights as soon as you possibly can but rushing too much to get there can be counter-productive. You want to be making steady progression and sometimes that has to be slow, steady progression.

Some guys here have one-pound and half-pound weights so that they can add just one or two pounds to the bar to beat a previous best. You're probably right about it's just being a bad day but once you're into new territory try to take it steadily with adding weights else you'll find that you just stall out and stop making progress.

Good luck with the rest of the week.

 

[kirks]

Week 4, Day 2 [Wednesday]

Squat
100x5
125x5
150x5
150x5

Deadlift[/B]
140x5
170x5
195x5
220x5


Incline Benchpress
120x5
145x5
170x5
195x5

I switched benchpress after deadlift, as I'm always very tired if I do benchpresses first. Overall, it all felt fine.

Squats was unusually easy.
Deadlifts was slightly more difficult than last week, where I put deadlifts first.
Benchpresses were moderate, and on the last set, 5th rep, I lowered it too fast and bounced it up. I did it again though.

Did 3 sets of abdominal excercises, and 3 sets of pull-ups. Felt pretty okay, just a bit lazy and tired when I got into the gym. Darned examinations....

Overall, I think it's getting better. =D Thx for the advice blut wump.I will keep em in mind....do keep watching on me and tell me if I go wrong somewhere.

 

[blut wump]

This is a good order to do the lifts. I usually do military press rather than incline bench and usually do it after deads. The midweek light squats can serve as a good warmup for the deads.

It's always good when someone says a lift was unusually easy. It means either you've gotten stronger or that something has clicked into place as regards better form and technique. Keep it up.

 

[kirks]

Week 4 Day 3 [Friday]
Squat
100x5
125x5
150x5
175x5
200x3
150x8 (painful, painful reps...)

Benchpress
95x5
120x5
140x5
165x5
190x3
140x8


Barbell Row
80x5
100x5
120x5
140x3
160x3
120x8

Bodyweight dips 3x12
Tricep extensions 44LBSx3x8
Bicep curls 60lbs x 3 x 8

"Back burn, back burn" That was really all taht was in my head when i did those rows. The squats were tiring, really tiring. Squats was pretty heavy as well, and benches were heavy, but it was all do'able. I think I will maintain this week, for next week. Been a bad week.

Since it was the last day for the campus gym (i use the university's gym), they had this "posing" thing. I might post pics if I can get some. =D
I look, really skinny.

 

[kirks]

I've been on a break.......I'm having exams and I don't really wanna risk my results due to tiredness or anything. So i'm giving myself a good 1 1/2 week break.
Anyway, I randomly went to a gym today, not my regular one and did squats,d'lifts and benches. Didn't feel too good. Anyway here's a video of my deadlift form,to check if it's all right
The weights are light, it wasn't really "training" or anything anyway...
just wanted to go to d gym a lil..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxMRDOFX5-s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2IvpBI3dhw

 

[xblitz44x]

Hey Kirks, good journal so far. It's nice to see that (for the most part), you're sticking to the important core lifts. What is your diet like? If you're going for strength or size you're going to have to eat. A lot. Especially when you're looking to make 5 lb jumps from week to week.

As far as your deadlift form goes:

1) Deadload the weight onto the floor between each rep. It helps to release your grip for just a second then pick the weight back up.

2) You don't have to exaggerate the end of the movement so much (where you bent yourself backward). Just a little pull at the top is pleanty.

 

[kirks]

oh!
okay, thank you. I thought deloading was meant as touching the floor and that's it. Okay, I'll get the grip off then in future. And aight, won't be pulling so hard at the top.
I was often worried if my back form was off or anything, I'm scared that may screw up my back. As far as eating goes, it's something like;

Meal 1:
10 scoops of oats, 2 slices of wholemeal bread with peanut butter, 5 eggs 2 whole. Sometimes my mom gets me ham or something.

Meal 2: Bread, leftover fish or chicken from last night's dinner.

Meal 3: Rice, chicken, beef.

Meal 4 (preworkout on workout days): Rice, beef.

Meal 5: More rice and chicken, fish, veggies, tuna. On workout days, beef steak and chicken chop.

Meal 6: Milk

I eat a lot of all these foods, it's like, I eat in large quantities. I just lack variety.

 

[xblitz44x]

well it sounds to me like your diet is pretty solid if your goal is strength and size. How much "rice, chicken, beef" is eventually going to be important but if you're making strength gains now I wouldn't even worry about it. Great job.