I watched your most recent squat vids… and all I gotta say is good job. You have good form, even with just the bar (I struggle hitting depth without weight on the bar)
[quote]gabex wrote:
I watched your most recent squat vids… and all I gotta say is good job. You have good form, even with just the bar (I struggle hitting depth without weight on the bar)[/quote]
Thanks man, honestly my squat form is a work in progress. I am a recent convert to raw training thanks to the 5/3/1 program. For the past 4 years I have been using the box exclusively and then all my free squats were taken in either briefs or a suit.
It was a big wake up call to find out how little I could actually squat full range without the gear or the box. So I am slowly building back up.
Thanks for the comment man, its good to hear. I will be posting more videos this week since my deload is over and I will be hitting it hard again.
7-11-2009: Cardio
15 x 60 yard sprints
20 x Hill Runs
I have not been doing much cardio lately and I am going to be really feeling this tomorrow I think. Also, I am on a quest to find a bigger hill. The one I used today was really easy. There is a big one behind one of the local colleges that a lot of the kids use for sledding. I am going to check it out.
The plan is to add hill work in a minimum of 2 days a week. I am also going to try to increase my caloric intake so this does not hurt my lifts too much. We will see, it is a work in progress.
Good luck on your cardio. How did the weighted pull ups feel, any different muscle wise, etc? I have never tried them, but would like too.
I read in another log you are doing 3 days a week with 5-3-1. How are you setting the training days up each week?
[quote]whup wrote:
Good luck on your cardio. How did the weighted pull ups feel, any different muscle wise, etc? I have never tried them, but would like too.[/quote]
Thanks for the luck I might need it! I am really sore today. I am going to start out with just 1-2 days a week. I am going to try to do it on my lower body day or the day just after. I want to try and place it somewhere so it does not have a negative effect on my recovery.
As for the weighed pull-ups I felt my form start to break down with the really heavy sets. I don’t think I will be going up to 45lbs again soon. My goal will be 5x5 with +25lbs. I really like them so far. I think it will help develop my grip strength more as well.
[quote]jsrlifter wrote:
I read in another log you are doing 3 days a week with 5-3-1. How are you setting the training days up each week?[/quote]
Right now I am just lifting either Mon/Wed/Fri or Tues/Thurs/Sat whichever fits my schedule better. Like this week I need Friday off because I have plans so I am going Tues/Thurs/Sat. I feel like I get better recovery on the three day program and I need it right now since I am doing the Boring but Big template for accessory work and my volume is really high. On top of that I am adding in hill sprints which can be really taxing to the recovery as well.
Thanks for checking in on the log! I try to make it pretty thorough and I am glad people are checking it out.
You might this helpful in planning intense conditioning:
Seems we have some similair numbers, except your deadlift blows myn outta the water.
Keep it up.
[quote]jsrlifter wrote:
You might this helpful in planning intense conditioning:
http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.asp?qid=77481&tid=[/quote]
Thanks that was a huge help! I was thinking about putting them in after my lower body days because as much as that will suck since I will be sore it should not hurt my recovery too badly. I think I am just going to do some walking or the stationary bike on the days before my upper body workouts.
I copied that and saved it as a word document. Thanks again for the help! I appreciate it.
[quote]BlackLabel wrote:
Seems we have some similar numbers, except your deadlift blows myn outta the water.
Keep it up.[/quote]
Yeah I have been following your log as well and it seems pretty close. I am basically built to deadlift. I am only 5’4’’ and have relatively long arms. You can see in the videos that my range of motion on there is pretty short.
7-13-2009 5RM Bench
Bench Press:
Warm-ups: Dynamic Stretching and PVC Roller (I am too tough for foam lol)
45x12x2sets
95x5
135x5
155x2
190x5 (75%)
200x5 (80%)
215x11 (85%) PR!
Boring But Big Sets:
155x10
155x10
155x10
155x10
155x15 (I am going to be increasing this next week to 160. As long as I can keep getting more than 10 reps for the last set I will increase the weight on these)
DB Rows: (Got these on video as well!)
100x8
100x8
100x8 (This set I only get 7.5 with my left side due to a DB malfunction. See the video to find out what I am talking about)
100x8
100x8
Dips:
BWx12
BWx10
BWx10
I wanted to do 5 sets of dips, but I had to go and pick my sister up from work and by the time I got home I had cooled off and just said screw it. Tonight was a great workout as it stands.
A couple of notes about tonight:
-My rep PR for 7 reps is 210 and I was hoping to get 7+ tonight with 215. I could tell by how the bar was moving on my two sets at 75% and 80% that it was going to be a good night. That is a huge PR for me and hopefully a good sign that my bench is moving.
-The DB rows felt really good except for when the collars popped off and all the weights fell on my foot during the third set. I will be checking the collars between sets from now on.
-Also I try to get a good stretch at the bottom of the DB rows. I will be alternating the way I do these. It will either be heavy for multiple sets of moderate reps like tonight. Or heavy building up to one set of a ton of reps (Kroc Rows style). Notice I never do rows light. And neither should you!
-Lastly I feel like I am finally starting to get leg drive with the flat foot style of benching. I used to be up on my toes with my feet jacked way back and under the bench. I think the increased leg drive is partially responsible for the big PR tonight.
LINK TO THE VIDEO: - YouTube
So you do BBB and then additional work? (ie: Bench day, you did add’l dips) How’s that work for you?
I was considering adding some arm work in on the upper days next cycle… and I really feel like I should be doing rotator cuff/rear delt work (prone trap raises, face pulls, etc).
I don’t think I can really add much to the lower days. I am about to be limping for a few days, lol.
I find that the percentage is so low on the BBB sets that I can handle more work afterward. I don’t do anything really challenging as you could see they are just dips with my body weight, but it is extra volume and I consider it work for my lockout. I lift in my garage so my exercise choices are pretty limited. I do an extra body weight exercise on my lower body days as well but I usually just do 45 degree hypers with my body weight or very light added weight (25lbs or less). I think the extra volume is really helping me and I am only doing the 3 day per week version of the program so I have plenty of time for recovery. I will tell you this though, I am sore all the time! No lie.
Good job on the bench. That puts your est. max at 294 lbs
[quote]whup wrote:
Good job on the bench. That puts your est. max at 294 lbs[/quote]
Thanks whup! I put it into the formula the other day. I know Jim said that the formula loses accuracy as the reps increase, but I still feel good about this one. I am hoping to ride the momentum from this workout into next week.
7-20-2009 5RM Squat
Sorry for the big lapse of time since my last post. Things have been pretty crazy and I have not had much computer time. This is my squat workout that I hit on Monday. I will be doing Military Press tomorrow.
5RM Squats:
Warm-up: Dynamic mobility, PVC Roller and KB swings
45x10x2sets
135x8
185x3
225x1
270x5
290x5
310x8 PR!
It has been a while since I broke a PR in the squat. All the weight I lost was not helping the cause at all. I am now back up to 190 and only about 10lbs off of my all time heaviest body weight. About another month or so and I should be right back there again.
Instead of doing the higher volume work I usually do I decided to use about 75% of my max and hit some triples to work on my form.
275x3
275x3
275x3
275x3
275x4
I didn’t get the first of these sets on video. I could have sworn I hit record, but the video didn’t take.
At the end I super setted my elevated ab rollers (these are killer!) with the weighted 45 degree hypers. I am not a big fan of super setting as a whole and only use it when I am in a time crunch.
AB Wheel: ---------Super Set with------ Weighted Hypers
BWx10 ----------------------------------+20lbsx10
BWx10 ----------------------------------+20lbsx10
BWx10 ----------------------------------+20lbsx10
BWx10 ----------------------------------+20lbsx10
BWx10 ----------------------------------+20lbsx10
I am glad I did the form work on the squat although I am sure the extra work is going to tax my recovery a bit. I think I need to focus on sitting back more and really driving my elbows under the bar. Any other form advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!
LINK TO THE VIDEO: - YouTube
7-23-2009 5RM Military Press
Military Press:
Warm up: Light weights. No mobility/PVC work tonight I was running late.
45x20
45x10
95x3
115(75%)x5
120(80%)x5
130(85%)x12 HUGE PR!!!
Boring But Big sets: Military Press
95x10
95x8
95x8
95x8
95x10
Pull-ups:
+25lbsx5
+25lbsx5
+25lbsx5
BWx8
BWx6
This is the first time I have ever gone 3 for 3 breaking PRs on the 5RM week. I crushed all my old numbers and am really feeling great about my lifting. My goal for tonight was 9 reps with the 130. On July 2nd I only got 6 reps with 140, so this is a huge improvement to get 130x12! I have pushed my body weight back up into the 190’s and I am feeling great. I am much leaner than last time I was here and I am close to being stronger as well. My all time high is 200 (not too bad at 5’4’') and I plan to be back there by the fall and stronger than ever.
LINK TO THE VIDEO: - YouTube
I like the vids to go along with the log… I wish I had a cam/someone to take vids for me.
[quote]gabex wrote:
I like the vids to go along with the log… I wish I had a cam/someone to take vids for me.[/quote]
I am glad you like the videos. I shoot them mostly so I can see my form and pick out any areas where I need work. I used to lift with a group of guys, but since I moved I have just been lifting in the garage so my stereo and video camera have become my only training partners. I really think my form has improved since I started taping and watching the lifts.