Return to single factor 5x5-My journal

[asdfzxcv]

Hello all

I have decided to return to the single factor 5x5 program after a 6 week HST attempt.HST was ok but it didnt focus on what I wanted to improve,my strength.My last 15 week run of sf 5x5 was quite good,getting me 20-40lb increases on most of my lifts and 100lb on my deadlift.I am currently about 190lb at 6'4 which I am hoping to increase,here are my current crappy lifts in pounds.

Olympic Squats 265x5
Deadlifts 325x5
bench 165x5
rows 160x5
push press 140x5

As you can see there is lots of room for improvement here and I hope to improve my strength even more then last time.However last time I got a bit lazy with diet/cardio and got a bit chubbier then I would have liked,so this time I will eat much cleaner and do alot more cardio even though I am trying to gain weight.I will try to limit weight gain to 1lb a week.My cardio will probably be just an hour of slow paced walking every morning so it doesnt place too much strain on my legs which will be squatting 3x a week

In terms of the program I will keep it the same as the standard template,which means I will swap the push presses for strict standing military presses this time around.I plan to ramp up over the next 4 weeks to the current aforementioned maxes.

 

[Introspective]

Good luck!! I will be following your progress

 

[s8nlilhlpr]

Man your lifts are really close to mine, I wanna see how much the 5x5 adds for you! Good luck, give it hell!

 

[Cynical Simian]

Sounds good. Sorry the HST/cutting thing wasn't particularly enjoyable, but it seems like you learned quite a bit and are applying it here, especially regarding diet and cardio.

Looking forward to the journal; I'll be following it just like the last one.

 

[Cynical Simian]

One other thing: you might want to consider taking some pictures now (and maybe once a week/month thereafter). Even if you don't want to post them here, they're useful for personal reference. A bodyfat caliper, if you don't already have one, might be another good tool.

 

[asdfzxcv]

Thanks for the support guys, I will definately give it my best effort.One thing I have been thinking about is exchanging the rows for power cleans.The power cleans are a more effective overall exercise imo and I am not that fond of rows.I will probably stick with deads on wednesday although high pulls might be more compatible with the power cleans as they are a similiar kind of pull.

 

[BiggT]

High pulls do work well with cleans, maybe clean twice a week and clean pull once.....or the clean pulls can work well with deads, both as a warm-up or even if you don't like deadlifts every week, they alternate in and out well with deads.

6' 4" at 190 is a TON of potential. Once you start filling out those long levers, your jaw will hit the floor when you see how your squats and presses skyrocket.

 

[asdfzxcv]

High pulls do work well with cleans, maybe clean twice a week and clean pull once.....or the clean pulls can work well with deads, both as a warm-up or even if you don't like deadlifts every week, they alternate in and out well with deads.

6' 4" at 190 is a TON of potential. Once you start filling out those long levers, your jaw will hit the floor when you see how your squats and presses skyrocket.

I think If I do go with the power cleans/pulls I will start fairly modestly as I need to get the technique right.Its a shame that there are no olympic lifting coaches in my area,but I suppose I could tape myself doing them and get experienced people on various forums to review my form.I actually prefer olympic lifting to powerlifting,but the learning curve makes it difficult to get really good without a coach.

In regards to my height/potential I do indeed have a lot of filling out to do.I think I will need to hit 230-240lb just to look like I workout and 260-280lb to look MASSIVE,but that doesnt bother me as it will come with enough eating and lifting.

 

[carlsuen]

good luck to you asdfzxcv.. you'll love the power cleans.. as i have gained alot from them.. i feel so solid after every clean session.. hehe..

i have recently taken a vid of myself deadlifting, squatting, and power cleaning.. sorry to hijack your post asdfzxcv.. but could anyone tell me where to post up the vids and some of my pics?

 

[asdfzxcv]

Week 1 17/4/06 bodyweight 191lb

Squats
5x135
5x155
5x185
5x205
5x225
Went very easy on the squats today as it is the first week and I am being conservative with the poundages as I have lost a fair bit of fat recently.All the sets were quite easy and completed without any hassle.Will try to ramp up to my records at 10lb a week,then 5lb after I slow down.

Bench
5x95
5x115
5x125
5x135
5x150
As with the squats the bench presses were very easy and well within my means.Will ramp these up 5lb a week for as long as possible.

Cleans
5x95
5x105
5x115
5x125
5x135
These are a lot of fun to do,I like them alot.The first 4 sets I did from the hang and focused on the second pull portion of the exercise.The final set was from the floor for every rep.They were supposed to be power cleans but I think I am starting to get the knack of catching the bar in a much lower position like a full clean so I just went with that.Every time I done cleans in the past I was always nervous of getting under the bar but today it just clicked.I think I could have done much more today but I will add 5lb a week and see how it goes.

Summary
Quite a good overall workout today,the addition of cleans made it interesting.I think they will be much more effective then the rows.I hope to ramp up the weights faster this time and I will hopefully be eating enough to accomodate a rapid strength increase in all my lifts as I am sick of being weak.I have even contemplated the old ''gallon of milk'' a day as it has a lot of calories and would add a lot of muscle whilst doing a program like this.It is time to stop pissing around and get seriously strong.

 

[asdfzxcv]

i have recently taken a vid of myself deadlifting, squatting, and power cleaning.. sorry to hijack your post asdfzxcv.. but could anyone tell me where to post up the vids and some of my pics?

I am wondering the same thing myself as I would like to take some footage of myself lifting and have people critique my form.

 

[nelmsjer]

www.youtube.com or www.putfile.com will do the trick for hosting vids.

Great to see you're doing cleans!

 

[Protobuilder]

Good luck, bro! You sound like you've got some training knowledge under your belt, so this'll be a fun journal to watch. I like the fact that you're working cleans in the 5x5. Most, including myself, jsut go w/ the rows. I'll be interested to see how they work out for you. They are a fun lift. I ran SF 5x5 for about 15 weeks, took too long of a break and lost some strength, and now I'm basically running the DF 5x5 (didn't start out that way, but it sort of morphed back into it, LoL). I wanted to try clean pulls as well but just opted for regular deadlifting. Anyway. Good luck here, bro.

 

[Guinness5.0]

It is time to stop pissing around and get seriously strong.

Great minds think alike

 

[anotherbutters]

Great minds think alike

But for most of us, it's just coincidence

 

[asdfzxcv]

Wednesday 19/4/06 week 1 bodyweight 192lb

Squats
135x5
155x5
185x5
185x5
Very easy,as it should be at this stage.

Overhead press
65x5
75x5
85x5
95x5
Too easy,I will up the weight to 100lb next week.

Clean pull
135x5
145x5
155x5
165x5
First time doing these,I am not sure if I am doing them right.I seem to come off the floor alot more then just doing power cleans.I am keeping my arms as relaxed as possible whilst pulling so I can focus on shrugging up the bar.I will film myself doing a few sets later and post it up.

 

[asdfzxcv]

I recorded myself doing some cleans,but when I put them up for hosting the framerate sucks for some unknown reason and I need someone to film it from a better angle.

It is virtually unwatchable as the framerate makes my cleans look 1000x worse ,but nevertheless for those brave enough to try
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGgawsDcW9I

 

[djeclipse]

Is the original video that bad or is it that site that doesn;t allow a higher frame rate?

maybe try www.putfile.com

it's hard to see any form as the vid goes instantly from hanging to full pull.

Love the dog though, he was like "WTF are you doing",lol.

 

[Guinness5.0]

To me (and PLEASE somone else jump in if I'm wrong about this) it looks like your shoulders are too far forward when you catch it. IMHO you should be a lot more upright, with you ass between your legs rather than your ass way out behind you. Look at Oly lifters at the bottom of a C&J - that's how you oughtta look too.

 

[Introspective]

It's hard to pick out anything from that, like eclipse said, it goes pretty much from hang to pull. Try get a better camera, steal 1 if you have to, just don't get caught.

 

[anotherbutters]

Ditto, I thought you were leaning forward a lot in the catch. You seem to have your elbows up nice and high and got a good foot stomp on your last rep though

Have you ever had to dump the bar? Just wondering how fast that dog of yours can run.

 

[asdfzxcv]

It's hard to pick out anything from that, like eclipse said, it goes pretty much from hang to pull. Try get a better camera, steal 1 if you have to, just don't get caught.

Camera is fine,the website hosting it made the framerate go to shit not the camera.

 

[asdfzxcv]

Have you ever had to dump the bar? Just wondering how fast that dog of yours can run.

Haha that dog doesnt give a shit what I do,which is why most times when I lift I lock it up.Trust me,there is nothing worse then holding a 300lb deadlift at lockout whilst the dog comes running up wanting to play.

 

[anotherbutters]

Try putfile.com.

lol at deadlifting with your dog.

 

[asdfzxcv]

Try putfile.com.

lol at deadlifting with your dog.

Tried it,doesnt seem to work at all
http://www.putfile.com/asdfzxcv

 

[anotherbutters]

You managed it, just. Here's a direct link to the file:

http://uploadfile.putfile.com/videos/10817140233.3gp

Right click and save as <something>.mpg, then you ought to be able to play it back, although it's without sound. The framerate's ok now. You can even see the dog roll over backwards as its head follows the bar up on the 2nd rep .

Now that we can see it, I think you definitely need to get the bar closer to you. That's why it ends up too far out at the top. In Starting Strength, he says to try to touch your thighs on the way up. If you start to do that, the bar ought to be a lot closer to you at the top. Also, it doesn't look like you're doing much of a second pull, forcing your hips forward, shrugging and pulling back with your shoulders. Probably because the bar's too far away from you.

 

[asdfzxcv]

You managed it, just. Here's a direct link to the file:

http://uploadfile.putfile.com/videos/10817140233.3gp

Right click and save as <something>.mpg, then you ought to be able to play it back, although it's without sound. The framerate's ok now. You can even see the dog roll over backwards as its head follows the bar up on the 2nd rep .

Now that we can see it, I think you definitely need to get the bar closer to you. That's why it ends up too far out at the top. In Starting Strength, he says to try to touch your thighs on the way up. If you start to do that, the bar ought to be a lot closer to you at the top. Also, it doesn't look like you're doing much of a second pull, forcing your hips forward, shrugging and pulling back with your shoulders. Probably because the bar's too far away from you.

Good feedback anotherbutters,I will definately work on those points you mentioned.With the touching of the thighs it seems really awkward after the bar clears the knees but I will focus on that over the next few weeks.

 

[silver_shadow]

ROFL @ the dog

 

[anotherbutters]

Didn't you order a copy of Starting Strength a while ago? I highly recommend it for stuff like this.

 

[Jim Ouini]

My dog would definitely run away from home if she saw my power clean

 

[carlsuen]

ok sorry for the gay moment here.. but your dog is soooo cute!! i wish i could lift at home and see the reaction on my golden retriever and my great dane.. they'd scramble away in shock!! haha!!

but back to your form, i never did jumps on my cleans.. are we supposed to be jumping so much? anyways i'll try jumping tomorrow..

again.. nice dog.. hehe..

 

[asdfzxcv]

ok sorry for the gay moment here.. but your dog is soooo cute!! i wish i could lift at home and see the reaction on my golden retriever and my great dane.. they'd scramble away in shock!! haha!!

but back to your form, i never did jumps on my cleans.. are we supposed to be jumping so much? anyways i'll try jumping tomorrow..

again.. nice dog.. hehe..

In regards to my form on cleans I dont intend to jump it just happens as I pull,Some people do it some dont.I tried pulling the bar closer to my body but it feels so damn awkward pulling that way,but I will work on it.

Damn everyone seems to like my dog lol,it is lovable but it can be annoying sometimes lol.Nothing like getting yourself amped up for a max set of deads then as you approach the bar ready to rip the bar off the floor the dog comes between you and the bar,looks up with a cute face and instantly kills your lifting motivation LOL.

 

[asdfzxcv]

I let this slip as I have been busy with school work so I will post both fridays and yesterdays session.

Friday 21/4/06 week 1 bodyweight 193lb?

Squats
135x5
155x5
185x5
205x5
235x3
185x8back off
Squats still feel very easy at this stage,I hope I can exceed my old PR of 265x5 in due time.I am going to see if I can squeeze a few more weeks of 10lb a week.

Bench
95x5
115x5
125x5
135x5
155x3
125x8back off
Again quite easy,not much to be said here.

Power cleans(from the hang)
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x5
140x3
Still getting the feel of these,although they seem to feel a bit easier then the other days I did them.Form still needs work but I will pay close attention to it over the coming weeks and try to get it up to scratch.Definately like these better then the rows.

 

[asdfzxcv]

Monday 24/4/06 week 2 bodyweight 194lb?

Squats
135x5
155x5
185x5
205x5
235x5
No comment here,just another step towards my next set of PR's .

Bench
95x5
115x5
125x5
135x5
155x5
A little more challenging then expected for some reason.It wasnt exceedingly difficult but it required a fair bit of effort on the last 2 reps.I want to really increase my bench this time around as it is quite poor at this stage.

Power cleans(from the hang)
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x5
140x5
Up 5lb from last week,still very easy.I dont know how the heck people get the bar close to their body during the second pull,for me it just feels so weird.I think I need to have a more upright stance towards the end.

Comments
Seem to be settling back into the 5x5 routine quite well,I think this run may go quite well.I have been eating a fair bit lately,most of it being clean food. The difference this time around is I am doing cardio 3-4times a week which should slow down any potential fat gains and help with insulin sensitivity/nutrient partitioning.

 

[asdfzxcv]

Been forgeting to update this due to recent influences on my personal life,will try to stay on track more.I am caught at somewhat of a crossroad in regards to body composition.I am down to about 16-17% bodyfat at 190 and want to continue down lower but it is becoming increasingly clear that I have fuck all muscle on my frame and I am already feeling somewhat scrawny.In essence I am ''skinny-fat'',overfat with little muscle.Should I continue reducing my bodyfat down lower or do a slow bulk to get some muscle back.In any case I will continue to do cardio 3-4times a week in addition to 5x5 lifting.

 

[Cynical Simian]

If you'd feel comfortable doing it, posting some pictures might help.

What are you basing your bodyfat numbers on? You looked pretty lean in the video you posted earlier (which I guess doesn't preclude being skinny-fat, but whatever...). If you used to be heavier then lost weight, some of that could just be loose skin rather than fat. And if that's the case, cutting probably would be counterproductive; filling out your frame with a bulk would be the way to go.

My tentative advice is to try a bulk with cardio and a clean diet and see how it goes.

 

[asdfzxcv]

If you'd feel comfortable doing it, posting some pictures might help.

What are you basing your bodyfat numbers on? You looked pretty lean in the video you posted earlier (which I guess doesn't preclude being skinny-fat, but whatever...). If you used to be heavier then lost weight, some of that could just be loose skin rather than fat. And if that's the case, cutting probably would be counterproductive; filling out your frame with a bulk would be the way to go.

My tentative advice is to try a bulk with cardio and a clean diet and see how it goes.

I used to be around 270-280lb at god knows what bodyfat when I was 15-16 and I have slowly lost it over the past few years.My arms+legs are fairly lean but my waist is still fairly large,around 36'' if I measure at the navel and around 37'' at the the very widest part of my belly below the navel.My waist used to be around 50'' so I guess it is something of an improvement.I dont want to be ultra lean I just dont want to be fat again.If I could sit around 15% I would be thrilled as I have no desire for abs,just to be damn strong.

I have noticed that cardio is very important for me to burn the fat in addition to good diet.It really helps increase my poor insulin sensitivity/nutrient partitioning which is still a legacy of my fatter days but thankfully is receding with time.I just doing 15-20mins of light running/jogging on the off days but I hope to work my way up to several hiit cardio sessions a week over the next few months.

 

[asdfzxcv]

I havent been updating this journal recently as not much has been going on.I have spent the last 2 weeks working on my clean/power clean form.It is still far from perfect but I am keeping the bar closer to my body now and focusing on a second pull which was an issue that got pointed out in my last vid.I think it is good enough enough to use for my 5x5 now and I will tweak it further as I go along.

I have re-introduced GPP lifting back into my routine.It is now interval based,which 20 seconds of activity with 10 second rests.I only use an olympic bar to minimise CNS fatigue but it gets very exhausting as I do 8 intervals each of back squats,military press,rows and bench.It is done twice a week in conjunction with 2 20min moderate running seesions(not sprinting).

I will keep this updated much more often from now on.

 

[djeclipse]

keep us updated.

 

[asdfzxcv]

Friday 19/5/06 week 1 bodyweight 192lb

Squats
155x5
185x5
205x5
225x5
235x3
185x8back off
Took it easy on the squats today as I wasnt feeling all that good today.I am going to get back to PR's in 3-4weeks

Bench
95x5
115x5
125x5
135x5
155x3
135x8backoff(Yes I know it is heavy for a backoff set but I couldnt be bothered changing all the plates so I just did 135 instead)
Too easy,Will ramp this over the next few weeks too.

Hang cleans
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x5
140x3
Form is getting much better on these over the past few weeks I think.I am keeping the bar closer to my body and catching it in a more upright position.Still got a while till I hit my limit on these as I managed a 175lb hang clean for several singles the other day.Tried 185 a few days ago too,but it wasnt going anywhere fast .

Dips
bwx8
bwx6
bwx5
Chucked these in at the end of the workout.When I get 10 for all sets I will add weight.

I restarted my 5x5 run this week as I was working my clean form for a while.I am attempting to increase my bodyweight to about 215-220lb by christmas,which is roughly a pound a week.But this time around my diet is staying clean with some cardio on the off days as mentioned in my previous post.Cutting reduced my bf% down a bit but I bailed towards the end when I realised there was no muscle there.I have promised myself I wont cut till I hit these goals
225x5bench
315x5squat
205x5hang clean

 

[Cynical Simian]

Good to see you back on track and setting some solid goals.

Since this a bit of a restart within the journal, good luck again!

 

[kingclown]

I do honestly want to say ive been lurking on EF for a long time prolly like a year and i never really visited this forum or even posted. But this thread is badass and i can relate to it a lot so i actually signed up to be plat lol! but seriously keep the updates coming as well as any problems or things you would do differently!

 

[asdfzxcv]

Glad to have you drop by kingclown

Monday 22/5/06 bodyweight 195lb

Squats
155x5
185x5
205x5
225x5
235x5
Pretty easy,focused on keeping my knees outwards as I came out of the bottow position.I will go for 245 this friday.

Bench
95x5
115x5
125x5
135x5
155x5
Bit trickier then anticipated,but still doable.I will try for 160x3 on friday.

Hang clean
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x5
140x5
Good cleans today,felt pretty snappy and fast overall.I am starting to get used to keeping the bar closer to my body.The only problem is I think that 5 reps may be a bit too exhausting for a technical lift such as this.I am thinking if I should just split the last set of 5 into 5 singles.

Decent workout today,strength levels seem to be coming back pretty fast.Bumped up the calories to about 3500 which should add about a lb a week at this stage of the game.I have added a few pounds of water weight,but thats to be expected.Hopefully a sustained increase in cals over a few months will help my strength levels too.

Also I am wondering if I should do my GPP lifting on my off days or do it later in the day after my main workouts?

 

[anotherbutters]

That's good news on the cleans. I've found more sets of triples easier.

I haven't done many GPP workouts yet, but I've found them better to do on the off days to more evenly spread the load throughout the week.

 

[asdfzxcv]

Tuesday 23/5/06

Woke up feeling sore in the legs,mostly in the glutes+hamstrings.Probably due to focusing on using those muscles whilst squatting yesterday.

Cardio/GPP
20min jog
I like doing this as it seems to make me feel better afterwards and helps reduce DOMS.Doesnt seem to trash my legs too much either which lets me recover between workouts.

Interval lifts using the bar(1 interval=20 seconds activity/10 seconds rest)
Back squats-8 intervals
Rows-8 intevals
military press-4 intervals
Didnt finish all of the intervals,mostly due to fatigue from yesterday.I might just use the time allocated for these to practise my clean form with light weights instead.

 

[carlsuen]

regarding your cleans.. i actually agree with u.. doing 5 reps on the last heavy set is just exhausting.. thus effecting the form on the last 2 reps.. maybe it would be possible to split them up in to 2x3?

 

[asdfzxcv]

regarding your cleans.. i actually agree with u.. doing 5 reps on the last heavy set is just exhausting.. thus effecting the form on the last 2 reps.. maybe it would be possible to split them up in to 2x3?

I think as long as you did 5 total reps with the weight it wouldnt really matter,just get them all in to keep the volume the same.I am going to just go by feel and see how much energy I have left whilst performing the top set.Olympic lifts are not really ment to be done for reps due to exhaustion as you mentioned.

 

[asdfzxcv]

Wednesday 24/5/06 bodyweight 195lb

Chins
6xbw
5xbw
5xbw
Chins were decent today,I will keep at bodyweight until I can do 8reps for 3sets.

Squats
135x5
185x5
205x5(3second pause at the bottom)
205x5(3second pause at the bottom)
Wanted to make these a bit more challenging so I decided to pause on my calves for a few seconds,which made the reps much harder.Will keep this weight for next week.

Military press
65x5
75x5
95x5
110x5
I think this is equal to my all time heaviest strict press,I have to check.It was difficult but I think I can get 115 next week.

High pull
135x5
145x5
155x5
165x5
Felt much snappier today,manage to pull it to about the bottom of my chest.I am going to keep the poundages just a bit ahead of my cleans.

 

[carlsuen]

sorry.. GPP means?

 

[asdfzxcv]

sorry.. GPP means?

General Physical Preparedness

Basically it is a broad term used to describe the general fitness/work ability of an individual.This link gives a good explaination
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=461794

 

[carlsuen]

k thx..

 

[asdfzxcv]

Friday 27/5/06 bodyweight 195lb

Squats
155x5
185x5
205x5
225x5
245x3
205x8backoff
Pretty easy,the backoff set was the hardest part IMO.I dont think I will have a problem with getting 5 reps on monday.

Bench
95x5
115x5
125x5
135x5
160x3
135x8Backoff
Bench was actually fairly difficult today,the top set was quite tough.Hopefully I will get all 5 reps on monday.

Cleans
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x5
145x3
I was a little bit dissapointed with my cleans today.Everything was going great for the first four sets but on the last set my form sucked.On lighter weights I seem to be able to pull myself under the bar and catch it low,but as the weight gets heavier I get nervous and revert to power cleaning it.From now on I am going to focus on dropping under the bar and catching it low.I am not going to increase the weight on these until I can perform a full clean with consistent form and pull myself under the bar fast.I am also practising dropping under a empty bar with no pull,just a drop and quick rack of the elbows into the clean position.

Dips
Bwx9(almost 10)
Bwx7
Bwx6