Thank you very much, I’ll play with the grip width a little…
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Thank you for such an elaborate answer! Now when you pointed it out I can clearly see the movement of my glutes and hips during the lift… I’ll try to mitigate it tomorrow.
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No time on Friday, so the next training was today…
18. 12. 2022
Squats 5x5 97.5kg
Benchpress 5x5 70kg
Barbell rows 5x5 55kg
Hanging leg raises 3x8
Everything felt really easy, basically the most demanding are hanging leg raises 
As tomorrow is my “normal” training time, I’m curious how I’ll be doing after today…
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19. 12. 2022
Well, today’s training was exhausting as hell… After tomorrow’s one and with the fact I haven’t eaten anything except 200g of oatflakes during the day (bad planning on my side).
Squats 5x5 100kg
Overhead press 3x5 50kg 1x4 50kg 1x2 50kg
Deadlift 1x5 105kg
Hanging leg raises 3x8
Well, everything was kinda ok, but I felt really tired already during squats, accompanied by an intense hunger… The overhead press was much better with more solid base and wider grip for the first 3 sets, then my shoulders got completely exhausted and I wasn’t able to do full 2 sets… I’m getting really annoyed by this, as I don’t feel like this should be my limit - more likely I’m limiting myself with insufficient food and not enough regeneration this time.
I will post a video from my last set later today.
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Also, I’m thinking about starting Limber 11 on my off days, as I have serious problems to keep my legs straight during leg raises and overall I could use a better flexibility from my hips down.
Some good work going on in here, keep plugging away. Hanging leg raises are challenging, with or without nimble hips. I find working leg raises off the floor a good regression, easy to fit a couple of sets in around any mobility work.
I don’t know why you’re concerned about your shoulders being exhausted by the last 2 sets.
14.12.22 you posted this
19.12.22 you posted this
Dude, that is good progress. Next week you might be able to get 4x5 of 50kg. OHP does not progress like other lifts, it is notoriously slow. Constantly adding weight and reps on a 5x5 is no easy task but right now you are doing it. Doing it in spite of completely changing your grip width and form. Strength is a skill we get better at with practice and you’re still tuning things and making progress regardless. This is all completely normal.
Just wanted to quote this from last week’s posts as well. This happens sometimes because your CNS gets warmed up and your form improves over the course of the session. For a while I used to do 5-8 sets of singles with the OHP to help with my form. The first set would always feel the heaviest and often by the last few sets it would feel easy, honestly, like I took 5kg off the bar. It taught me the dependence on smoothness and consistency in the movement. Keep grinding, you’re doing fine.
Thank you very much! I’m definitely gonna try that…
Thank you very much, man! I was expecting my OHP to progress a little faster, similarly to the other lifts, but that’s probably it for some time… Still, yeah, it’s progressing somehow, so it’s OK 
2. 1. 2023
Ok, training after Christmas break. I came late to the gym, so I had only like 40mins to do everything and I felt tired all the time Aside from that it was pretty good, everything seemed under control.
Squats 5x5 102.5kg
Benchpress 5x5 72.5kg
Barbell rows 5x5 57.5kg
No abs work today, due to the time limitation…
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4. 1. 2023
Fucking upper back pain (between scapulas), no idea why, so no training… Literally lying in the evening and being very careful the next one, then it became ok.
7. 1. 2023
Squats 5x5 105kg
Overhead press 3x5 1x4 1x5 50kg
Deadlift 1x5 110kg
Again, everything was ok, albeit feeling really heavy this time, except for OHP. Strangely, I believe, I’d make all the sets, if I didn’t put my hands too wide on the bar in the 4th set, but I’m not entirely sure.
I have to watch my OHP form, as I suspect myself from cheating the range when going down (i.e. maybe going down only under my chin, but not to the shoulders).
12. 1. 2023
Ok, the first training including benchpress after Christmas…
Squats 5x5 107.5kg
Benchpress 4x5 1x4 75kg
Barbell rows 5x5 60kg
Today I felt really tired, which might be caused by me only eating one time today and having a small snack (oatfleaks) before the gym.
Other than that, I’m kinda discouraged by benchpress, where it felt terribly heavy and the last set I couldn’t fully do. Here I expected having problems much later, as it seems, that guys around 180lbs are pushing over 100kg (220lbs) with no problems… Will try the same weight next time and we’ll see, but I’m kinda scared, that I’ll be plateauing around 80kg (178lbs). Maybe I just have unrealistic expectations, who knows…
That said, my current bodyweight is 90kg, probably I just got fat after Christmas
And while I was sitting a lot during holidays, my legs are kinda stiff now - I’ll employ Limber 11 on my rest days to improve my mobility.
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Also, I’d like to try taking creatine and I bought two doses of KRE-ALKALYN, but I’m not sure if I’m supposed to start it now, before improving my food significantly. What do you think?
On Saturday I was traveling the whole day, so I did the next training today…
16. 1. 2023
Squats 5x5 110kg
Overhead press 4x5 1x3 50kg
Deadlift 1x5 115kg
Well, squats were cool, deadlift also (while I have to use mixed grip from now on), but the overhead press is NOT progressing at all.
It’s becoming really frustrating for me, so I’m gonna try deload by 10%, as described here. Also, I’m maybe gonna get some smaller plates to be able to increment the lifted weight more often, if the problem persists. I’m also thinking about doing larger pauses between sets, as now they’re 2-3 mins.
Also, taking 5g of Kre-alkalyn per day now, so we’ll see its effect soon, hopefully…
2 Likes
Also, points to improve:
- Technique on overhead-press → I’m going to post videos from after my main training every time, until it’s OK
- Food → I put on some weight now, when I’m not under such pressure, but it could be much better if I ate more than like 3 times a day…
- Plates → I’ll buy 0.5kg and 1kg plates to be able to microload on OHP and benchpress
- Add abs after every training → I’ll add abs into the mix again, I need to go earlier to the gym, not 60mins before closing like I’m doing recently
- Arm day → I’ll do arm day on Saturday (like this), as my arms are visually severely lacking volume and I feel they’re beginning to be the limiting factor of my strength progress.
- Grip → I feel, that my grip is terrible, starting to be problematic both on my deadlift and chin-ups. So, I’ll try to employ this deadlift strategy to improve on it.
- Bad mobility → I’m gonna do Limber 11 every day in the evening, as my legs are extremely stiff after Christmas. Also, thinking about putting Upper 6 in the beginning of my trainings later…
- Sleep → I’d like to sleep more and much earlier - now I’m used to sleep like 4am to 12pm (yes, I can do this due to my job), but it’s not really ok, as a) sometimes I don’t have so much time and b) I’m wasting most of the day this way.
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18. 1. 2023
Well, today’s training was quite strange - not enough time (again) and mostly I was feeling really bad, cold with running nose and sore throat. I’ve probably caught something yesterday. At least, no sneezing and coughing, yet 
That said, I was not only cold, but terribly tired even before I got to the gym.
Squats 5x5 112.5kg
Benchpress 5x4 75kg 1x4 75kg
Barbell rows 5x5 62.5kg
Considering my squats, I was doing larger pauses around 5-6 mins, but I was feeling ok and I got to my PR - not that the weight is something special, but I’ve never tried such a weight even once, not talking about a whole set
Benchpress is plateauing again - here I feel, that it might be psychological already, similarly to OHP, as I’m ok with the first 4 sets and then I’m unable to do literally the last rep… Or maybe I’m just fucking weak
Barbell rows are getting heavier, I feel I’ll need a technique check both on BP and BR soon…
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Well, for the last two weeks, I’m basically non-stop ill, with every few days being able to go to my office and getting fever like two or three days later…
Hopefully this will end soon enough not to be forced to start all over again
get well soon. best wishes.
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Ok, I’m back… No great success story or anything else like that - I changed my job, country and got tired of looking bad, so I’m trying to lift again
I started in the summer, doing Mehdi’s Stronglifts 5x5 again, due to its simplicity and the fact, that I know almost nothing about strength training.
Currently, I’m dealing with several things at once, mostly the problems with my current job, as due to management lies I moved to another country for something completely different than promised and I’ll have to undergo the same process again, once I get a better position elsewhere…
Long story short, with my job and almost no time being my biggest problems now, I’m trying to do some lifting with the simple goal of getting as big as possible in the long-term and simply looking better (not necessarily ripped) ASAP
I’m going for the strength routine improved with a little of accessory lifts, cardio (as I’m medicated with high blood pressure and also it seems, that I’d profit from somewhat reduced bodyfat) and mobility.
The skeleton of my training (no warmups, I’m doing these according to Stronglifts Android App recommendations):
General warm-up:
5-7mins of treadmill
Training A:
- Squats 5x5
- Benchpress 5x5
- Pendlay Rows 5x5
- Triceps Dips 3x10
- Skullcrushers 2x8
Training B:
- Squats 5x5
- Overhead press 5x5
- Deadlift 1x5
- Pull-ups 3x10
- Biceps curls 3x8
Training C:
- Incline benchpress 5x5
- Pull-ups 3x10
- Dead hangs
- Whatever else - need to work on this one more…
Training A and B will be rotated on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, i.e. every week one of them will be twice. Training C will be always on Saturday, if I have time. Also, I’d like to employ some isometric holds for squats and benchpress.
Cardio:
- LISS 30mins+
Cardio will be on off-days, i.e. Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
Mobility:
Mobility is my hands down least favorite part of my workout, albeit necessary. Here I trust Joe DeFranco immensely, so I’m gonna do two of his mobility routines with the plan of doing one of them on every day, preferably switching between these two on daily basis.
For food, it’s a completely different chapter… Since the summer I was trying to get to some regime, which was regularly interrupted by being sick because of stress or having too little time to cook. Now it’s not really better and I consider this part to be the biggest and scariest problem of the all for now.
For my current stats:
- Bodyweight: 87kg
- Chest (inhaled + flexed lats): 119cm
- Right arm circumference (flexed): 39.5cm
- Left arm circumference (flexed): 39cm
- Right leg circumference (flexed): 63.5cm
- Left leg circumference (flexed): 63cm
- Waist (exhaled, no sucking in, flexed): 99.5cm
All-time training maxes - right before the last deload (1 set of 5 repetitions):
- Squats: 113kg
- Benchpress: 75kg
- Deadlift: 125kg
- Overhead press: 47.5kg
- Pendlay rows: 67.5kg
As usually, for the last two weeks I had almost no time to go anywhere and missed several trainings. Because of that, I had to deload by 20% according to Mehdi, so here I am now, with my last two trainings. To be more positive - I’ll add a little more and I’m a princess 
8. 12. 2023
Training A
- Squats 2x5 20kg 1x5 40kg 1x5 60kg 1x3 80kg 5x5 90kg
- Benchpress 2x5 20kg 1x5 40kg 1x3 50kg 5x5 60kg
- Pendlay row 1x5 40kg 5x5 55kg
- Triceps Dips 3x10 (+ 2.5kg)
- Skullcrushers 1x5 15kg 2x8 20kg
As we can see, not only the weights are terribly low after deload, but chin-ups seem still very difficult, so I’ll try to put them on my accessory day with Training C to improve on them. Another two things I’ll gladly improve on is my upper chest and always weak-looking arms.
9. 12. 2023
Training C
- Incline benchpress on multipress 5x5 60kg
- Incline dumbell flyes
- Low-to-high cable crossover
- Chin-ups
- Dead hangs
Forgot weights, as I didn’t have a special category for this training in my app… Also, on this training I’d like to aim specifically on my weaknesses, i.e. I’d like to change it rather often in contrast to A and B.
11. 12. 2023
Training B
- Squats 2x5 20kg 1x5 40kg 1x5 60kg 1x3 80kg 5x5 92.5kg
- Overhead Press 2x5 20kg 1x3 30kg 5x5 40kg
- Deadlift 1x5 60kg 1x5 80kg 1x3 90kg 1x5 100kg
- Chin-ups 2, 2, 1 + negatives up to 5 every set
- Barbell Curl 1x5 15kg 2x8 20kg
15. 12. 2023
Training A
- Squats
2x5 20kg 1x5 40kg 1x5 60kg 1x3 80kg
3xISO standup holds
150kg 5x5 95kg - Benchpress 2x5 20kg 1x5 40kg 1x3 50kg 5x5 65kg
- Barbell Row 1x5 40kg 5x5 60kg
- Triceps Dips 3x10 (+5kg)
- Skullcrushers 1x5 15kg 2x8 25kg
Overall, I really liked stand-up isometric holds, as my squats were feeling much lighter afterwards. Also, I need to work on my cardio, as after the few missed session I still feel terribly gassed during squats. Also, I need to eat more, as I slept most of the day after basically day+night shift and ate literally nothing before today’s training.
All the food today: KFC wings + potato dollar chips…
Aside from EVERYTHING, I think, that my current problems are:
- FOOD
- Upper chest - looks really super underdeveloped and weird
- Arms - even when kickboxing and doing judo, my arms looked strangely weak for the most of my life
And my current goals (not so long-term) would be:
- Lean up a little
- Get to solid 90kg
- 100kg benchpress (5 reps)
- 140kg squat (5 reps)
- 180kg deadlift (5 reps)
Finally, I’d like to thank @TrainForPain , @cyclonengineer , @simo74 , @QuadQueen , @s.gentz , @jskrabac , @LoRez and @silvieillesova for support in the topic Body Composition Not Changing after Several Months? and overall, as without you I wouldn’t probably continue anytime soon…
7 Likes
16. 12. 2023
Training C
- Incline benchpress 2x5 20kg 1x5 40kg 5x5 60kg
- Dumbell flys 5x8 12.5kg
- Chin-ups 2,2,1 (every set + isometrics/negatives up to 5)
- Dead hangs 3x20s
Lighter training very later in the evening - incline presses and dumbell flys felt somewhat painful, probably due to triceps dips from the day before. Otherwise it was OK, weights aren’t near my previous maxima, so they feel light overall…
For chin-ups it’s somewhat different, as I’m not really improving from these number. I’ll probably have to do few sets of really isometric dead hangs and pure negatives up to 10 in more sets, too… Now I’m holding in a position for a moment, go little lower, hold again, etc. It feels good, but maybe it’s not the way. And if it is, I need more sets, definitely.
Finally, no biceps curls, as the gym was closing and I had no time to do them…
Overall, it still seems, that upper chest and biceps are somewhat lacking (also visually) compared to literally everything else and they’re really hard to strenghten. Especially biceps - with triceps there aren’t such problems yet.
17. 12. 2023
Cardio - 30 mins LISS on treadmill.
Feeling kinda tiring for the first 15 mins, worse afterwards - I had a stupid idea to do it without shoes and I have blisters on both feet. We’ll see, if I’m gonna be able to squat tomorrow or not.