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

[Maks]

dunno if that helps ... i had problems with my shoulders while benching too. Not any more since i started to warm them up with 2 light sets (around 3 kg) of front raises/ lateral raises/ presses first. Makes it all smooth and comfy

 

[anotherbutters]

Week 3, Wednesday

Bodyweight: 82.3kg (181lb)

Front Squats (kg) (1x5)
bar x 2 x 9 ......... warmup
35 x 5
40 x 5
45 x 5
51 x 5 ........... up 1
57.5 x 5 ........ up 2.5 ............ (127lb)

Deadlift (kg) (1x5)
SLDL 40 x 9 ....... warmup
60 x 5
70 x 5
85 x 5
100 x 5 .......... up 5
115 x 5 .......... up 5 ....... 1 straight, 4 mixed ....... (253lb)

Military Press (kg) (5x3)
bar x 9 .............. warmup
30 x 3 ............... warmup
35 x 2 ............... warmup
41 x 5 x 3 .......... up 1 ......... (90lb)

4.Chins (8x3)
BW x 5 x 3
BW x 2
BW x 0 - left shoulder went weak. It didn't hurt, I just pulled wrong somehow.
PWO shake...
BW x 3 ........... revitalised
BW x 2


Comments

Workout time: 68 mins. Not too bad, including the chins.

Front squats were relatively easy. 1 plate each side next week...

My deadlift last week was actually 110kg, not 115 as I reported, so today was another 5kg increase. Straight grip was ok for the first rep, but I switched to mixed to remove any uncertainty. Grip was much better than last week. The actual deads were hard and my form was a bit off, but I think I might go for 120 next week, then 2.5kg increases thereafter.

Military press was hard, but not near failure.

Chins were pretty lousy, probably because I'm not doing them fresh. Most reps were pretty sloppy and not quite chin to the bar. I'll get better.

 

[RipStone]

4.Chins (8x3)
BW x 5 x 3
BW x 2
BW x 0 - left shoulder went weak. It didn't hurt, I just pulled wrong somehow.
PWO shake...
BW x 3 ........... revitalised
BW x 2

HAHA! You could probabaly say BW+5lbs cus I know after I drink my shake I got water swishing around my belly What's in that PWO shake BTW?

 

[Jim Ouini]

Looking good AB - just thinking out loud, I think your 5RMm dead is 290? So if you do 5lb increases every week we're looking at 10 wks to get there again?

I know you're being careful with the back, and this is repair and prepare, but I was just wondering about your timetable to hit your pre-injury level.

 

[blut wump]

AB, a quick question. I know you were taking Cillit Bang a while back. I had some CEE HCl arrive today in tablet form which I think tastes really quite pleasant

Anyway, do you recall how long it took to 'kick in'? Are you on CEE now?

Sorry, that's two questions.

I also got a Cap-M-Quick kit which I'll try to report back on in due course.

 

[anotherbutters]

HAHA! You could probabaly say BW+5lbs cus I know after I drink my shake I got water swishing around my belly What's in that PWO shake BTW?

Well, by the end of the workout I've usually drunk 2 litres (1/2 gallon) of water, so that definitely counts. PWO is the usual: whey and dextrose, nothing more.

Looking good AB - just thinking out loud, I think your 5RM dead is 290? So if you do 5lb increases every week we're looking at 10 wks to get there again?

I was going to add 5kg(11lb) next week, then 2.5kg(5.5lb) thereafter, so in pounds, next week will be 264, then 270, 275, 281, 286, 292. So I'd match my 5RM 6 weeks from now (journal week 9) and with a bit of luck get 3 plates 2 weeks later (3x20kg plates a side + 20kg bar = 140kg = 308lb: this old '20kg/44lb/45lb plates' chestnut).

For squats, I'm on 80kg and was going to add 5kg per week up to 100kg, then 2.5kg thereafter, which puts me at 105kg (my 5RM) 6 weeks from now too.

I agree, 10 weeks would be slacking. Even 6 sounds a lot when I write it out. At a push, I could cut a week out and make it 5.

I've just got back from the chiro after not seeing him for 2 weeks. He said my hip had regressed a little bit, but he'll see what it's like in another 2 weeks. I still feel a very miniscule twinge in my back when I step out of bed, but it's fine after 60 seconds and fine for the rest of the day. I mentioned it to him and he recommended several stretches to do before getting out of bed, so I'll give those a go. I'm also wearing the orthotics now (damned expensive, custom-made shoe inserts), which should stop the foot pronation and line up my ankles, legs hips, back, etc, correctly. I don't notice anything different to be honest, but I'm prepared to keep wearing them.

So, that said, I might as well stay as planned - 6 weeks to my 5RMs and see what my hips do in that time. What do you think?

I know you were taking Cillit Bang a while back. Anyway, do you recall how long it took to 'kick in'? Are you on CEE now?

To be honest, I never noticed anything different, apart from my fork being cleaner after I'd eaten my post workout meal. Joking aside, I really didn't notice much of an effect. I'm not using it at the moment because I have my breakfast within 15 mins of waking and I start my workout 15 mins later, so I no longer have a pre-workout shake, which is what I used to add it to. I guess I could take it neat. I've no idea how quickly it's supposed to 'kick in'. Do you think if I took it in the middle of my chins I should see a difference? I guess it's worth experimenting with as it's just sat on the shelf at the moment.

 

[blut wump]

It could be that you're a creatine non-responder. There's a lot of bunkum circulating with regard to creatine dosing times. The creatine sits in your system for a long time so it shouldn't really matter when you take it during the day. I think the idea of taking it 45-60 minutes before your workout is just to ensure that you're saturated during the workout. In your situation, I'd take it sometime after the workout and then again in the evening.

As I've mentioned before, I've taken creatine monohydrate on and off over the past couple of years. It usually feels active after about five days of loading. The CEE aparently doesn't require loading nor a dextrose transport. I took my first dose of CEE this evening and I'll see when/whether I feel a difference.

 

[anotherbutters]

I don't know about being a creatine non-responder. When I first saw my chiro, he said my left leg was nearly half an inch longer than my right because my hip was out of alignment. After he set it straight, he asked if I could tell the difference and I had to admit that I couldn't

I knew about the loading with mono, but I never really took it consistently, nor did I follow the loading guidelines. CEE sounds more user friendly with regards loading, but I probably just haven't taken it consistently for long enough either. I thought it was the kind of thing you could take and bang (cillit bang?), you can see the effects.

I'll start taking the CEE, just 1-2g per day in the mornings and see how next week's workouts go. Chins will be a good barometer. What are you trying, 1g twice a day?

 

[blut wump]

The CEE tablets I have are .5g each and I'll be taking 3 tabs twice a day for a 3g total. I might need to increase it due to my size but 3g per day split into two is the basic recommended dose.

When taking the monohydrate, I load with 20g for 5 days split into 4 then run maintenance at 5g per day split into two. On the monohydrate I don't start to notice a difference until near to the end of my loading phase. From what I've read, the CEE doesn't require loading which confounds me a little. I'lll see whether I get an energy and strength boost on Friday.

 

[Jim Ouini]

So, that said, I might as well stay as planned - 6 weeks to my 5RMs and see what my hips do in that time. What do you think?

6 weeks sounds good to me, especially with the bad back. I'm not a patient lifter is all, not used to the methodical SF progression