So, this week I’ve decided to test my lifts. I’m using the standards set here: http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1563264
as a gauge.
I’ve never been a big fan of the pity party, but still as a man I have a certain standard I like to hold myself to.
My 1RMs were:
Deadlift: 250
Standing barbell press: 115
Standing barbell curl: 105
Bench: 205
Squat: 235
Skull Crusher: 85x2reps
Pull ups: .75 (if that makes sense)
We’ve got a long road ahead, I fear.
I’m taking this routine from Modern Trends in Strength Training by Charles Poliquin.
This is his 4-5 percent method. Rep range is 4-6 at 80% of 1RM. Each subsequent training session involves a 5% increase in weight and a decrease of 1 rep.
Breakdown is as follows:
Day 1: Chest and Back
Day 2: Legs and abs
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Shoulders and Arms
Day 5: Off
Day 6: Start over with day 1.
Since I maxed out this week and was feeling pretty drained I stared out with day 4.
Barbell Shoulder Press: 5x6@95
Barbell Bicep Curl: 5x6@90
Lying Barbell Tricep Extension: 5x6@70
Good luck. Work on your pullups.
[quote]blazindave wrote:
Good luck. Work on your pullups.[/quote]
Thanks! I’m really starting to pay more attention to them.
Today was cardio day.
There’s a running trail down the road from where I live. It’s 1.8 miles around so it makes it easy to get a quick run in when the need arises.
Today I did two laps in a time of 39min 47sec.
I was not meant to be a runner. Ugh.
Thanks for the support, DB. Hopefully I’ll be busting out the three wheel squat reps like you do!
Today was Chest and Back day.
Bench Press
Set 1 6 165
Set 2 6 165
Set 3 6 165
Set 4 4 165
Set 5 7 165
Pull-up
Set 1 Neg BW
Set 2 Neg BW
I’ve never really focused on my back before and decided that I wanted to start doing pull-ups. As you can see I’m just doing negatives with my bodyweight. I plan to start adding in an extra set each workout and eventually I want to get a jump stretch band and start doing some full ones with a little bit of assistance.
Set 4 on Bench pissed me off a little bit as it was two reps shy of what I wanted to get so I dug down on the last set and gutted out an extra rep. Felt good.
27-Jan squat
Set 1 6 190
Set 2 6 190
Set 3 6 190
Set 4 6 190
Set 5 6 190
deadlift
Set 1 3 200
Set 2 6 190
Set 3 6 190
Set 4 6 190
Set 5 6 190
Doing squats and deads on the same day is umm… taxing. My squat workout was good. Hit all my reps at the desired weight. Deads, not so much. The plan was to get 5x6@200 pounds, but as we can see I had to drop down to 190.
Just got to keep on keeping on though.
Hey man keep lifting hard. Pound the weights and go heavier as often as possible and you’ll get strong fast.
Thanks, golferguy12. Appreciate the support!
Barbell Shoulder Press R
Set 1 5 100
Set 2 5 100
Set 3 5 100
Set 4 5 100
Set 5 5 100
Barbell Curl 5
Set 1 5 95
Set 2 5 95
Set 3 5 95
Set 4 5 95
Set 5 5 95
Skull Crusher
Set 1 5 75
Set 2 5 75
Set 3 5 75
Set 4 5 75
Set 5 5 75
Everything was fine today. Nice and heavy, but I got all the reps and all the sets in. Good stuff.
31-Jan Bench Press
Set 1 5 170
Set 2 5 170
Set 3 5 170
Set 4 5 170
Set 5 8 170
Pull-up
Set 1 Neg BW
Set 2 Neg BW
Good day today. Got some snow here in AR so I’m enjoying that. Bench was good. I was able to gut out three extra reps on my last set so I may need to do some adjusting and go heavier next time around. Which would be nice.
1-Feb Squat
Set 1 5 200
Set 2 5 200
Set 3 4 200
Set 4 4 200
Set 5 2 200
Deadlift
Set 1 5 205
Set 2 5 205
Set 3 5 205
Set 4 5 205
Set 5 5 205
Not, my best effort. About halfway through my squat session I got hit with a migrain. Sorry, but I’m not that tough. I lift at home so I ended up lying on the bed for about 3 hours until I felt good enough to get up. Took the girlfriend out for a walk and after dinner ended up doing deadlifts tonight around 9pm.
3-Feb Barbell Shoulder Press
Set 1 4 105
Set 2 4 105
Set 3 4 105
Set 4 4 105
Set 5 4 105
Barbell Curl
Set 1 4 100
Set 2 4 100
Set 3 4 100
Set 4 4 100
Set 5 4 100
Skull Crusher
Set 1 4 80
Set 2 4 80
Set 3 4 80
Set 4 4 80
Set 5 2 80
5-Feb
bench press
Set 1 4 185
Set 2 4 185
Set 3 4 185
Set 4 4 185
Set 5 4 185
Pull-up
Set 1 Neg BW
Set 2 Neg BW
6-Feb
Deadlift
Set 1 4 220
Set 2 4 220
Set 3 4 220
Set 4 4 220
Set 5 4 220