Sculelos Madcow 5x5 Journal

[Sculelos]

Workout #14 5-22-08 W5D2

Got in the gym and managed to pull off two PR's. Quite happy with the results and hope they continue. Also I've been working out with a guy who has a camera so we are gonna take some videos of our lifts. If I can find a way to post them online I have the full intentions of putting some videos of my lifts up so you guys can check out my form on my heavy lifts.

Now to the workout details...

Weight: 228lbs

Squat: Easy

45 x 5
85 x 5
125 x 5
125 x 5

Military Press: Somewhat difficult

45 x 5
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 5*PR

Deadlift: Heavy but definitely manageable

135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
265 x 6*PR

Overall a great workout, hope my next one is just as good!

 

[Sculelos]

Workout #15 5-29-08 W5D3

Finally the end of week 5 has come, I know I exactly haven't been keeping a strict workout schedule and I need to fix that but the extra recovery time is really helping my progress so I'm not sure if it's such a bad thing that I only hit the gym twice per week on average for the last two months...

Either way I got 3 pr's today! Squat, Bench and Barbell Rows I'm sure I can now do at a little higher weight then before. Now the details below...

Weight: 227lbs

Squats: A little harder then normal

45 x 5
115 x 5
165 x 5
215 x 3*PR
135 x 8

Bench: About normal difficulty

50 x 5
90 x 5
125 x 5
160 x 3*PR
100 x 8

Barbell Rows: Very heavy but it still wasn't too hard bringing them up.

140 x 5
140 x 5
180 x 5
215 x 4*PR (Got a bit carried away)

This was probably my best workout yet and I should be back in the gym again on monday.

 

[tehkevroy]

Workout #15 5-29-08 W5D3

Finally the end of week 5 has come, I know I exactly haven't been keeping a strict workout schedule and I need to fix that but the extra recovery time is really helping my progress so I'm not sure if it's such a bad thing that I only hit the gym twice per week on average for the last two months...

Either way I got 3 pr's today! Squat, Bench and Barbell Rows I'm sure I can now do at a little higher weight then before. Now the details below...

Weight: 227lbs

Squats: A little harder then normal

45 x 5
115 x 5
165 x 5
215 x 3*PR
135 x 8

Bench: About normal difficulty

50 x 5
90 x 5
125 x 5
160 x 3*PR
100 x 8

Barbell Rows: Very heavy but it still wasn't too hard bringing them up.

140 x 5
140 x 5
180 x 5
215 x 4*PR (Got a bit carried away)

This was probably my best workout yet and I should be back in the gym again on monday.

bro when i did 5x5 madcow they were no normal difficulty it was all hard...

 

[Sculelos]

bro when i did 5x5 madcow they were no normal difficulty it was all hard...

Difficulty is all about perception I guess. Normal difficulty still is demanding on my body however it's not super difficult to actually perform.

 

[Sculelos]

Workout #16 6-5-08 W6D1

3 More Pr's, I was absent for longer then planned but I got a killer workout in today. Nothing was too difficult although Rows where pretty taxing. I'm also looking a lot leaner then I was a few months ago but still weigh the same!

Also I still find it a bit strange that I can row what I can squat...

Weight: 227lbs

Squats: About Normal

45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
175 x 5
215 x 5*PR

Bench: About Normal

50 x 5
80 x 5
105 x 5
130 x 5
160 x 5*PR

Barbell Rows: A bit harder then normal

140 x 5
140 x 5
140 x 5
175 x 5
220 x 5*PR

 

[neuro-]

Workout #16 6-5-08 W6D1
Also I still find it a bit strange that I can row what I can squat...

ever try pendlay rows? recruits a lot more lats and you wont be doing anywhere near your squat if you're sticking to 90 degrees. check out this thread that madcow posted in about how he intended rows to be done in his 5x5.

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/weight-training-weight-lifting/bb-rows-madcow-366601.html

 

[Sculelos]

ever try pendlay rows? recruits a lot more lats and you wont be doing anywhere near your squat if you're sticking to 90 degrees. check out this thread that madcow posted in about how he intended rows to be done in his 5x5.

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/weight-training-weight-lifting/bb-rows-madcow-366601.html

I'm already very close to 90 degrees, and all I do is just bring the top part of my arm to where it's parellel to my back then I set the barbell on the floor and do it again. The excercise just isn't difficult at all for me unless I use high weights. If anything I think I should just focus on decreasing my rep deload time with high weights. Since I set the Barbell on the ground after each rep I've taken as much as 10 seconds to do another rep on extremely taxing sets.

 

[Azinine]

all I do is just bring the top part of my arm to where it's parellel to my back

Does the bar touch your stomach? It's supposed to.

From the man himself: http://stronglifts.com/how-to-perform-the-pendlay-row-with-correct-technique/

 

[ceo]

Sculelos! Kickin ass man! Good to see you gettin all those PR's! You took a little time off and came back stronger than ever! Nice job bro. You gonna hit 250 by the end of the year?

 

[Sculelos]

Does the bar touch your stomach? It's supposed to.

From the man himself: http://stronglifts.com/how-to-perform-the-pendlay-row-with-correct-technique/

Not quite, I usually stop about 1-2 inches from my stomach but thats due to lack of flexibility. I usually do rows like this...

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/BBBentOverRow.html

...however I'm thinking that going back to Pendley style rows will hit my upper back harder and that would probably benefit me so I'll try going back to Pendley Rows. I actually have switched back and forth between the two styles of row a decent amount thinking both where about equal but I'll go back to Pendley Rows next time as I think the extra lat recruitment could be beneficial. I however have done Pendley Rows at 200lbs so I don't think it will be a huge drop in weight, we will see though.

Sculelos! Kickin ass man! Good to see you gettin all those PR's! You took a little time off and came back stronger than ever! Nice job bro. You gonna hit 250 by the end of the year?

Yeah, definitely came back stronger. Anyway I very well may hit around 250-255lbs by the years end. I've already leaned out and am at 227lbs right now so I just gotta bulk now.

Either way thanks for the advice guys. I know there are things that I occasionally overlook that people bring up but that's why I post here after all.