Another Single Factor 5x5 Journal

[blut wump]

It's great news that you have a solution for doing free weight squats.

When I switched away from the Smith machine to doing free squats it was a huge strain on my knees and thighs since the stabilizer muscles weren't up to the job. Take it steady but stick with it: it's worth the aggro.

 

[anotherbutters]

What would be a reasonable approach to this? I was thinking of starting low, bumping the weights up quickly to start with, then slowing down as I approach my current max. My current max is 93kg, so something like 60, 67.5, 75, 80, 85, then play it by ear. Or is that a bit too conservative? How about 60, 70, 80, 90?

 

[blut wump]

It doesn't seem too conservative for starters.

It'll mostly depend just on what state the muscles are in. Better to start easy and ramp up than to go crazy and have to take a month out when a knee goes. Slow and steady wins the race with weights. You could even start lighter and do a little extra volume to work initially on conditioning until you find out how you stand, if you'll forgive the mild humour.

 

[anotherbutters]

Duh, I hadn't even thought about altering volume - that's not a bad idea, thanks. I think I'll just play the next few weeks by ear rather than try to follow a preset target.

I could barely feel 40kg on my back yesterday, so I might do 5x5@50kg on Wednesday and see ... how I stand Take it from there.

 

[Jim Ouini]

How do the back squats feel out of the smith?

Congrats on your emancipation, reracking does sound like it's going to be a pain, though.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

Good to hear that you will be able to do free squats. Since you are new to free squats, start off very light and work your way up - the last thing you want is an injury.

Also, don't expect to be able to lift the same amount of weight you were lifting in the Smith machine.

 

[anotherbutters]

Week 5, Monday

1. Freeweight back squats (kg)
bar x 9 (warmup)
40 x 9 (warmup)
50 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5

2. Bench (kg)
30 x 9 (warmup)
40 x 5
45 x 5
50 x 5
55 x 5
63.5 x 2 (up 1kg) -------- failed

3. Row (kg)
28 x 5
33 x 5
38 x 5
45.5 x 5
54 x 5 (up 1) --------- PR!


Comments

I can still feel the effects of drinking on Saturday night. A pub near me had some excellent strong, cloudy cider on tap (real cider, not the fizzy stuff students drink) and since I hadn't seen my mate from Oz for a few months, we got a bit carried away. I know, stupid, but what's done is done and it doesn't happen often.

I'm still weak today from not eating much yesterday, so I decided to abandon the PR attempt on smith squats and jump into my freeweight squat 'conditioning.' I'd just read most of the squat chapter in the Starting Strength book, which helped quite a lot with foot position, driving up with the hips and pushing my elbows back to lock the bar in place. Good stuff.

5x5 at 50kg was way too easy. I wanted to increase the weight, but I also wanted to see whether I get any new aches at this weight first. My stance was wider than usual, so I probably wasn't using my adductors before. I also wanted to keep the weight down whilst I get used to trying to re-rack the bar.

I have to walk backwards slowly until my legs touch the end of the bench (without falling over backwards), straddle the bench and walk back a couple more feet, then sit down and back slightly so the bar hits the posts, then drop it a touch onto the hooks. I missed one of the hooks when I was warming up with the bar! I didn't bother with a spotter today, but I'll get someone when I start bumping the weight up. I might do 5x5 at this weight again on Wednesday, then maybe go to 55kg on Friday. I don't think the volume is an issue at this weight.

Jim, the squats themselves felt good. I think my hams are fairly flexible and I can't imagine getting any lower. Balance was good too. When I was squatting in the smith, I used to pretend in my head that they were free squats and try to get the balance right, even though I knew the smith maintained the position (if that makes any sense).

Bench was as expected. I knew I wouldn't get this weight (and I deserved not to). I had a different PT spot for me than usual and he was far too keen to get his hands on the bar, coming in earlier than I'd have liked. I actually did 5 reps, but he grabbed the bar on the 3rd one and helped from there on. Then he had the gall to tell me I could have done 6 or 7 reps! I won't be asking him again.

Rows were surprising. I managed a PR! I stood up a little, but not enough for me to discount them. Cool!

 

[anotherbutters]

Week 5, Wednesday

Bodyweight: 74kg

1. Free weight back squats (light day) (kg)
bar x 9 (warmup)
40 x 9 (warmup)
50 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5

2. Deads (kg)
60 x 9 (warmup)
75 x 5
85 x 5
95 x 5
110 x 5
125 x 5 (up 2.5) --------- PR!

3. Military Press (kg)
18 x 9 (warmup)
23 x 5
25.5 x 5
29 x 5
31.5 x 5
38 x 5 (up 1.5) ---------------- PR!

4. Pullups (kg)
-25 x 7 (assisted, warmup)
-20 x 5
-20 x 5
-15 x 5
-15 x 5
-10 x 5 (matches PR)

Comments

Holy crap! There was no stopping me today!

Light squats day today, so I just stuck with the 50kg I did on Monday as I haven't felt any soreness since I did them. I was tempted to try 1 set of 25 reps just to get them out of the way I'm going to go up to 55kg on Friday.

I nearly killed myself doing deads last week, but they went up well today so I added another 2.5kg to the top set for a new PR and got it. No straps either, woohoo! Mixed grip was just up to the job. Looking back on my notes, deads were hard in weeks 1 and 2, very hard in week 4, but manageable in weeks 3 and 5 (today). Week 4 was probably due to doing some gardening the night before, but I don't know about the first two weeks. I'd been deadlifting for 9 weeks in the dual factor 5x5 I ran before this, so they weren't new to me. I dunno, some days I guess they just go up!

I've been working out what my next milestones are. If I keep going up by 2.5kg, then in 5 weeks time I'll hit 300lb and in 6 weeks time, I'll have three 20kg plates on each side (which is all the 20kg plates my gym has). I guess the next milestone after that will be 150kg, twice my bodyweight (or maybe 160kg by then).

I changed my grip width on the military, so it's more like a press (which is described in Starting Strength). Slightly narrower. I think it made it easier, but then I took a big gulp of air after the 4th rep on the last set and nearly missed the final rep. I won't be doing that again!

I was still feeling strong today and matched my PR on the pullups. I don't think I could have gone down to 5kg assistance. Oh well.

This was an excellent workout. I'm really pleased with the results on deads after last week. Let's hope I can carry on improving.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Nice job bud! I was thinking "He's gettin' close to double bodyweight on deads" before you said it. I think all men love numbers/stats and milestones like that.

 

[blut wump]

Congrats and especially on the grip holding out. It's satisfying when your work is paying off.

I got a mail from the company selling "Starting Strength" this morning. They said that all shipments to the UK are currently delayed and that they are switching to a different carrier. They also said that if I haven't received my copy withing ten days that they'd send out a fresh one.