RipStone's 5x5-GFH journal

[RipStone]

Monday, Week 8

(all loads in pounds)

squats:
-barx warmup
-135x5
-155x5
-185x3
-225x2
-240x5(took cynical simian's advice and did a few more warm-up reps, but still kept the volume lower in order to concentrate more on the max set, etc Today I really focused on keeping my body tight throughout the entire lift. This thought helped a lot. Pretty good squat workout today. I am still kinda tight in my hips/hip flexors though.)

bench press:
-95x5
-140x5
-162x5
-172x5
-190x5(Very good set. The 4th rep went up kinda slow and I wasnt sure I was gonna get the 5th rep. I kinda paused at the top after finishing the 4th rep and contemplated not going for the 5th rep, but I pushed through and to my surprise the 5th rep went up easier than the 4th. )----> PR!

BB rows:
-70x5
-95x5
-115x5
-130x5
-147x5(really feeling this in my lats today.)---->PR!

weighted hypers:
60x12
60x10
60x8(went back to hypers today. I am gonna stick with these for now on cus when I was doing them I wasnt having any problems with squats! Dont know if there is any correlation between not doing hypers and my squat woes, but why risk it?).


Abs;
-weighted full sit-ups: 65x10, 65x11(nice, slow negatives with these)

-twishting-standing cable crunches: 45x8*x2(* 8 reps to each side)

Comments: Good workout today. Would have been a great workout if I could have set a squat PR, but I just have to realize that I have to take a step back in order to take a step foward with squats. Also, what made this just a good workout was...

WARNING; RANT...

-there seems to be a two viruses spreading in my gym. i belive the scientifc names are curlio-insquat-rackitis and leavito-platetonic-onbarosis. There are 4 squat racks in my gym and I go to do rows today after bench press(which is in another room). Not only are there 2 of the squat racks being used for curls, but the other 2 racks have the plates left on them. GRRRRRR!

-the trainers in my gym are morons. while i am doing rows(yes, the rack wasnt being used after all) this trainer is having his client do machine rows. now you have to picture the set up in my gym. the squat rack in on the wall where a mirror is and like 4-5 feet behind the rack is the machine row that the trainer/client were using. so essentially, the rack and row machine share the same small mirror. ok, so the trainer is standing on top of the machine right behind me and wont move when i go to do rows. i felt like he was right on top of me and it was really annoying. and the worst part is that the trainer had his newbie client doing 1 armed machine rows with uber amounts of drop sets.

-there are these two guys that have been training at my gym latley. the good: they are doing front squats and BB rows. the bad; the are going like 1/3 of the way down on front squats and all the weight is on their toes AND when they do BB rows they standing more vertical then they are parallel to the ground. i really want to say something, but i wont.

rant over. yes, i feel better now. btw, i know i shouldnt let this get in my way of training, but today these 3 things added up and got to me.

 

[Guinness5.0]

---->PR!

Glad to see that PRs are becoming the norm

WARNING; RANT...

Get used to that at Xsport - lots of trainers who mean well but don't know shit. THere are some good ones (at least at the one I worked at) but most are 18-21 and don't even look like they train - just kinda fit and have good attitudes .

You listen to music when you lift, right? It's just me and the weights when SOAD, Tool, Pantera, or Slipknot is pounding in my ear. The idiots only appear between sets (rather than during) this way .

 

[young_squatter]

Awesome workout rip, great job on all those PR.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Hey Ripstone here's an article I found to be a good read, especially since you mentioned tight hip flexors, hip break etc. May or may not find it helpful

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459517

As far as your rant, I can empathize since I lift at Bally's - one time I was getting under the bar to squat and unfortunately for me I didn't realize it was time for the cleaning crew and some woman pushes the vacuum right into the powerack and hits my heel with it. And then she looked at me like I was getting in her way

And not to go off on PT's again, but there's one in particular here who had his client doing the strip sets on the BB row machine telling him 'you have to tear that shit up every workout' and advised a woman asking how to 'define her triceps' to 'blast it from every angle'

 

[RipStone]

g5.0- I like to see PRs too, hehe. At xsport it seems like they go through trainers like I go through bottles of water, ha. There have been only 2-3 constant PTs there since the year I have been going there. I do listen to music, but when they dude is physically getting in your way its sort of hard to ignore.

YS- thanks man. You had a solid workout today too.

Jim0- I'll take a look at that t-nation article. Thank you. Its good to know I am not the only one who gets PO'd at the lack of gym etiqutte(sp?).

 

[anotherbutters]

It's just me and the weights when SOAD, Tool, Pantera, or Slipknot is pounding in my ear.

Unless your hottie is in the gym

Jim, I thought you were about to say she put that vacuum somewhere else...

Congrats on the PRs RipStone. Never give up on your bench. I was amazed several times at being able to finish all 5 reps after barely being able to complete the 2nd.

 

[RipStone]

Unless your hottie is in the gym

Jim, I thought you were about to say she put that vacuum somewhere else...

Congrats on the PRs RipStone. Never give up on your bench. I was amazed several times at being able to finish all 5 reps after barely being able to complete the 2nd.

I should put a pic of a hottie in my workout log for insipiration, hehe

Yea bro, I was reallyu surprised how the 4th rep was hard as hell and the 5th rep went up like warm butta on a biscut. I dont ask for a spot so I gotta make sure those reps get up though.

 

[anotherbutters]

If you don't have a rack to bench in or a bench with spotter bars, you'll need a spot for when it starts getting really tough. But then comes the frustration of them touching the bar whilst you're still alive/conscious.

 

[RipStone]

If you don't have a rack to bench in or a bench with spotter bars, you'll need a spot for when it starts getting really tough. But then comes the frustration of them touching the bar whilst you're still alive/conscious.

They have power racks at my gym so I might use those to bench press in. Or I could break down and ask one of the bicep curlers for a spot after the do their 43rd drop set. But, like you said, its a pain in the ass when they start touching the ba, etc

 

[djeclipse]

They have power racks at my gym so I might use those to bench press in. Or I could break down and ask one of the bicep curlers for a spot after the do their 43rd drop set. But, like you said, its a pain in the ass when they start touching the ba, etc

That reminds me of this one guy at my gum. he asks me for a spot on incline dumbell press, which is fine becasue that first one is always a PIA. He grabs 100's and says he wants to get 4. I help him up with the first one to a starting posation above the head. He does one rep and I can see there's no way this guy is getting 4, the second rep I give him a little spot, just helping enough to get him through the rep (I figure this is the last one). He starts a third rep and half way up he asks for more of a spot! now I'm pretty much curling this weight for the guy and I figure ok, this has to be it, but no he wants a 4th rep! This one I am straining to help this guy lift this weight.

I couldn't believe this guy made me do actual curls to help him get in his reps. I felt like telling him to drop the weight 40lbs so he can get in actual reps on his own. I think this is what a lot of people think is the way to spot someone (or be spotted). All the time I see people literally lifting the bar for their "partner", while the guy doing the bench press isn't even going through the full range of motion.

I personally get so pissed when someone even touches that bar before I ask for it.

Sorry for the rant.

When I get stuck with the bar on my chest I role it down to my stomach and do a sit up (all in one motion), then stand and put the bar on the floor. Back when I used to work out I've done this with up to 200lbs. It is an option...