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

[Introspective]

Thanks AB, Can i just ask do i really need the cottage cheese in the diet because i tasted it last night for the first time and i felt like i was gonna be sick is there anything i can replace it with ?

I also do chins on wednesdays after deadlift

 

[nelmsjer]

Pretty good plan. Once you get to 5x5, however, follow with 4x6, 5x6, 4x7, 5x7. After that, 3 sets of 8 will be all good.

 

[anotherbutters]

Thanks AB, Can i just ask do i really need the cottage cheese in the diet because i tasted it last night for the first time and i felt like i was gonna be sick is there anything i can replace it with ?

You don't need anything in particular. This isn't some magical diet, it's just what I eat. I'm sure if you look on the diet forum, you'll find ideas from what other people eat.

 

[Introspective]

Ok thanks.

 

[anotherbutters]

Week 2, Friday

Bodyweight: 82kg (180lb)

1. Squat (kg) - standard SF Friday
bar x 2 x 9 ......... warmup
40 x 9 ............... warmup
60 x 5 ............... up 10 (put wrong weight on by mistake and too lazy to remove)
60 x 5
65 x 5
70 x 5
80 x 5 ............... up 5, supposed to be a triple, but what the hell ..... (176lb)
70 x 8 ............... up 5 ... easy

2. Bench (kg) - 8 x 3
bar x 9 ............. warmup
42.5 x 3
45 x 3
48.5 x 3
52.5 x 3
56 x 3
61 x 3 .............. up 1
63.5 x 3 ........... up 1
67.5 x 3 ........... up 1.5 ............ (149lb)

3. Rows (kg) - 8 x 3
40 x 3
42.5 x 3
45 x 3 ............... every set up by 2.5
47.5 x 3
50 x 3
52.5 x 3
55 x 3
57.5 x 3 ........... up 2.5 ........... (127lb)

4. Ivanko Gripper (lb)
85 x 1 x 8 ........ warmup
101 x 1 x 3 ....... warmup
113 x 5 x 5


Comments

Squats were easier than last week, even though they were heavier, so I guess I'm getting back into it. Feels good! I can't wait to start really pushing these because I've never really pushed squats.

Bench was hard, but I'll carry on increasing it. The flat set of 8x3 on Monday is quite a bit lighter, so Fridays will become focused on putting everything into the one top set. I'm still 5kg below my old 5RM.

I stood on a few pieces of wood for rows, so I was about 1.5" higher, and I was still using plates that are smaller than the 20kg/45lb plates. I still had slack in my arms, even though my knees weren't bent as much as they could have been. I bumped the weight up by 2.5kg/5.5lbs today and they were reasonably hard, so I'll drop down to smaller increases from now on. I noticed quite a bit of body english, but it felt different than I used to feel because of the bent knees.

Maybe it's because you can use some leg drive with bent knees. I know you're not supposed to, but it's something that factors into the movement. That was never a possibility when I had virtually straight legs (knees just unlocked to avoid stressing the joint), so the body english used to be purely from staightening the back. I think... difficult to tell without a camera!

Grip work - same work as Monday. I'll increase these next week.

My bodyweight's up a little. I don't really mind whether it stays the same or goes up a bit at the moment. I'm definitely bulking in a few weeks time once my squat gets harder.

 

[anotherbutters]

Week 3, Monday

Bodyweight: 82.3kg (181lb) I've never weighed this much before - PR! lol

1. Squats (kg) (1x5)
bar x 2 x 9 ......... warmup
40 x 9 ............... warmup
60 x 5 ............... up 5
65 x 5 ............... up 5
70 x 5 ............... up 5
77 x 5 ............... up 5
80 x 5 ............... up 5 ............. (176lb) ........ cake

2. Bench (kg) (5x3)
bar x 9 ............. warmup
40 x 3 .............. warmup
55 x 2 .............. warmup
63.5 x 3 x 5 ...... up/down ........ (140lb)

3. Rows (kg) (5x3)
40 x 3 .............. warmup
45 x 2 .............. warmup
52.5 x 5 x 3 ...... up 2.5 ........... (110lb)

4. Ivanko Gripper (lb)
85 x 8 ........ warmup
101 x 3 ....... warmup
113 x 3 ....... warmup
119 x 5 x 5 ...... up 6lb


Comments

Squats, cake. As it should be at this weight.

I made all the bench sets the same weight for all 3x5, so some sets were higher than last week, some were lower. Slight pain from my left shoulder again - same as last week. Maybe I should throw in some windmills before I bench. I was concentrating on holding my elbows in with my lats, which made the weight seem easier. Form felt great today.

Rows were ok. I tried palms up for the last set, but it felt like I was rowing into the wrong place.

Gripper work, fine.

Not much to comment on today - just going through the motions.

 

[RipStone]

Nice workout and congrats on the PR(?)

 

[blut wump]

If you keep this up AB, I'll be able to hide behind you. You have cake on the mind and, I'd guess, on the stomach too.

 

[nelmsjer]

Week 3, Monday

Bodyweight: 82.3kg (181lb) I've never weighed this much before - PR! lol

Congrats! I hit a bodyweight PR today, too!

 

[anotherbutters]

I guess I'm inspired by what I read last week about bulking for a couple of years. With that in mind, I'm not overly bothered about my bf% now, although it makes sense not to let it get too out of hand. I keep telling myself a decent amount of muscle would distract the eye away from the stomach I'm on for a nice slow bulk, just under a pound a week, for a long, long time...

There's no reason why I can't be bigger than you BW. It'll just take a lot of time and a lot of dedication (and a lot more cake).