Repair and prepare - my journal on the road back to 5x5

[Cynical Simian]

While I agree that your strength does seem to be returning nicely, the chins might not be the best measure of it. It seems a bit like saying "my squat went through the roof ever since I began to stop above parallel". All of the descriptions of chin/pull-ups I've seen recommend full extension, but obviously if you're consistent, make progress, and get stronger as a result with the new form that's what matters. It just seems like the form tweak opens up more of a possibility for "cheating" and potentially makes comparison or judgment of real progress more difficult (a la back position on rows).

That sounded a lot more like a rant than I wanted it to, but hopefully the part about consistency conveys that it was just intended as a helpful observation/caution.

 

[anotherbutters]

I agree, that's why I mentioned the form changes. I know I can't compare workouts before and after the changes. However, my bench form is the same and I've increased this faster than I expected. I wondered about a 1kg increase today, but went for 2.5kg instead. Good old muscle memory! It's a shame I can't trick it into thinking I used to be a lean 230

 

[anotherbutters]

Week 5, Sunday


1. Hypers
1.5kg x 3 x 15 reps ......... (3lb)

2. Reverse hypers
2kg x 3 x 15 ............ (4lb)

3. Core work
Curlups: 6 x 12 secs
Planks & side-bridges: 6 x 12 secs each side
Bird-dogs: 1kg/2lb each ankle, something like 12 x 12 secs, then stopped out of boredom


Comments

I bought some chains for a better micro-loading solution today, so I can now go up by an honest 1kg at every increment. The actual weight of the small plates I've been using varies quite a lot from the weight stamped on them, so sometimes I've had to make a bigger jump than I'd have liked. Each section of chain is about 20" long and weighs 0.5kg/1lb. I can also use them for ankle/wrist weights!

So I did very goth-like bird-dogs, with metal chains around my ankles, but I still didn't feel any real strain from them. Curlups, planks and side-bridges were pretty intense. I carried on with bird-dogs, thinking I'd go to failure, but I got bored after about a dozen sets. I'll add more weight tomorrow.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Must be nice to workout at home. I'm at the limit of my public goofballery b/t my near complete lack of eye contact w/ the other people at the gym, pacing, changing shoes for different lifts, taping my lifts on occasion, and lip-syncing heavy metal b/t sets. Wrapping chains around myself is a step I'm just not prepared to take.

 

[Island Son]

i found adding weights to the pullups (after I reached 5x5) had more effect on my strength than adding extra reps

 

[anotherbutters]

Another day, another workout...

Week 6, Monday

Bodyweight: 83kg (183lb)


1. Hip squats (kg)
pffft! I don't know why I bother listing these, because I can't do them yet.

2. Bench (kg)
warmup: bar x 9, 40 x 5, 50 x 3, 60 x 2
70 x 3 ......... up 1.5
70 x 3 ......... up 1.5
70 x 3 ......... up 1.5
70 x 3 ......... up 1.5
70 x 3 ......... up 1.5 ........... (154lb) ....... seemed easier than last week

3. Supported rows (kg)
warmup: 40 x 5, 50 x 2
60 x 3 .......... up 5
60 x 3 .......... up 5
60 x 3 .......... up 5
60 x 3 .......... up 5
60 x 3 .......... up 5 ........... (132lb)

4. Ivanko gripper (lb)
warmup: 87 x 8, 113 x 3, 119 x 3
130 x 5 x 7 ...... same weight, up 2 reps to 7 reps, hard

5. Core work
Curlups, planks & side-bridges, bird-dogs (2kg/ankle): 6 x 12 secs each


Comments

No, I definitely think I'm getting stronger! Last Monday, I found 68.5 x 5 x 3 reps hard and wrote that I probably couldn't have done 70kg. Today, I felt like I could've done 70 x 5 x 4 reps.

I'm still settling into underhand rows, hence the big increase today. I think there's still some slack to take up.

When I said I bought some chains for micro-loading yesterday, I actually only have 2kg worth, not 4kg, because the store ran out of chain. I'll get some more asap. But in the mean time, I had to use a combination of chains around my ankles and my old small 1.25kg plates hanging from my shoelaces on the bird-dogs. I'm so glad I work out at home! I had a result though - I felt a tiny bit of hamstring involvement, so I'm going to have to see how much strain my shoelaces can take

I tried some hack squats before the workout, just with 1 plate, but found them awkward. The bar was too far forward, so I had to pull it up and lower it down my calves. I wouldn't like to have to lower a heavy weight quickly with my calves in the way. I this normal? I didn't feel like I could have leant back any more.

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

How do you like the feel of underhand rows?

You could do your supported rows with dumbbells while lying, using a neutral (palms facing) grip to get the best of both worlds (supinated & pronated).

 

[anotherbutters]

Underhand feels better because I can shift more weight and it feels a lot more natural. The problem with supported rows is that there's a bench in between the bar and myself, so I don't get a full ROM. Dumbbells would fix that, but I don't have any. I'll go back to unsupported rows as soon as I can, so it's not a big issue.

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

Gonna stick with supinated from now on, I take it?

Supposedly you lose some mid-back involvement with an underhand grip, but I can't imagine it's anything significant.

 

[anotherbutters]

I'll stick with it for now, yes. I've never really felt rows in my back, but it's obviously involved. I'm using a lot more biceps now though.