Week 1 Day 3 - 8/24/11
Might have to extend this workout as I find the right weights.
Exercises for the day:
BB Military Press: 125x3x8
BB Box Squat: 155x8, 165x8, 175x8
Glute Ham Raise: Tried the machine version… ummm need to figure that out. So…
Leg Curls: 140x3x8
Seated Row: 175x3x8
Pull Ups: BWx4x5
Week 1 Day 5 - 8/26/11
Exercises for the day:
Deadlifts: 295x3, 300x3, 295x3
Pull Ups: BW+25 x3, BW+30 x3, BW+30 x3
Tricep Lockouts: 245x3, 265x3, 265x3
Lunges(DB): 45x3, 50x3, 60x3
Seated plate raise/seated lateral raise/ seated clean and press
Set 1 = 35x10/15x8/15x7
Set 2 = 35x9/15x7/15x6
Set 3 = 35x8/15x5/15x4
Checking out Stonglifts 5x5 for next workout, any comments on the progam? Will be rooting around in here for any comments. Thx in advance.
9/5/11 - My 5x5 Program
After fighting sometype of stomach virus last week I’m back at it. Took some time to look into 5x5 and decided to make my own program based of that and what has worked for me since I started working out.
Workout #1
Squat:
Warm-Ups
110x5
105x5
110x5
115x5
110x5
Bench:
130x5
125x5
130x5
135x5
130x5
Standing Calf Raise/Reverse Calf Raise (Super Set):
Warm-Ups
220x10/120x10
230x10/130x10
240x10/130x10
Dec Bench:
140x5
135x5
140x5
145x5
140x5
Barbell Row:
70x5
65x5
70x5
75x5
70x5
Chin-Ups:
BWx4x6
Tricep Push-Down:
57.5kgx8
65kgx8
65kgx8
65kgx8
I did a kind of 5 x 5 couple of years ago. I couldn’t quite get the weight progression going as cleanly as they suggest, my body seems to vary too much on strength from session to session. Still, made some gains.
9/7/11- My 5x5
cav - I’m kind of doing my own progression schedule. We’ll see how it goes. The weight started low I think which is throwing me off. But I’m going to stick with it… hopefully
Todays Exercises
Front Squat:
Warm-Ups
85x5
90x5
95x5
90x5
85x5
OH Press:
80x5
85x5
90x5
85x5
80x5
Inc Bench:
110x5
115x5
120x5
115x5
110x5
Deadlift:
Warm-Ups
175x5
195x5
175x5
Dumbell Shrugs:
85x6
90x6
85x6
90x6
85x6
Pull-Ups:
BWx6x4
The Shrugs and Pull-Ups I felt, the others not so much…
9/9/11 - My 5x5 Program
Workout #1
Squat:
Warm-Ups
135x5
130x5
135x5
140x5
135x5
Bench:
Warm-Ups
175x5
170x5
175x5
180x5
175x5
225x4
Standing Calf Raise/Reverse Calf Raise (Super Set):
Warm-Ups
220x10/130x10
230x10/130x10
240x10/130x10
Dec Bench:
185x5
180x5
185x5
190x5
185x5
Machine Row: (Plate weight on each side)
75x5
85x5
85x5
85x5
85x5
Chin-Ups:
BWx3x6
Althought I didnt get everything in, felt really good.
9/12/2011
Todays Exercises
Front Squat:
Warm-Ups
115x5
110x5
115x5
120x5
115x5
OH Press:
115x5
110x5
115x5
120x5
115x5
Inc Bench:
135x5
130x5
135x5
140x5
135x5
Pull-Ups:
BWx6x4
9/14/11 - My 5x5 Program
Workout #1
Squat:
Warm-Ups
145x5
140x5
145x5
150x5
145x5
Standing Calf Raise/Reverse Calf Raise (Super Set):
Warm-Ups
220x10/140x10
230x10/140x10
240x10/140x10
Bench:
Warm-Ups
185x5
180x5
185x5
190x5
185x5
225x5
Dec Bench:
195x5
190x5
195x5
200x5
195x5
Bent-Over Rows:
85x5
80x5
85x5
90x5
85x5
Chin-Ups:
BW+30x4x5
One Arm DB Tricep Extension:
30x8
30x8
30x8
35x6
Really good workout today!! Felt awesome, feels better and better
as the weights increase.
9/17/11
Todays Exercises
Front Squat:
Warm-Ups
120x5
115x5
120x5
125x5
120x5
OH Press:
120x5
115x5
120x5
125x5
120x5
Inc Bench:
140x5
135x5
140x5
135x5
140x5
Deadlift:
Warm-Ups
225x5
245x5
225x5
Dumbell Shrugs:
85x8
90x8
85x8
90x8
85x8
Pull-Ups:
BWx6x4
9/21/11 - My 5x5
Workout #1
Squat:
Warm-Ups
150x5
145x5
150x5
155x5
150x5
Bench:
190x5
185x5
190x5
195x5
190x5
225x5
235x3
Dec Bench:
200x5
195x5
200x5
205x5
200x5
Barbell Row:
90x5
85x5
90x5
95x5
90x5
Chin-Ups:
BW+35x5
BWx3x5
Tricep Push-Down:
65kgx8
65kgx8
65kgx8
65kgx8
[quote]MtnMuscle74 wrote:
Really good workout today!! Felt awesome, feels better and better
as the weights increase.[/quote]
good stuff 
9/26/11
Thx nlmain, appreciate that!!
So last week I was bad, missed workouts, no excuse. Please feel free to chime in and tell me to get off my lazy ass =)
Todays Exercises
Front Squat:
Warm-Ups
125x5
120x5
125x5
130x5
125x5
OH Press:
125x5
120x5
125x5
130x5
125x5
Inc Bench:
145x5
140x5
145x5
150x5
145x5
Deadlift:
Warm-Ups
235x5
255x5
235x5
Pull-Ups:
BWx6x4
Anyone have any tips for improving OH Press? Any supporting exercise to do to strengthen the shoulders, traps, etc? I can feel a stall coming with the current progression. Thx in advance.
Here’s stuff I’ve pillaged from an old article for you :
Strengthening Weak Points - Keith Wassung
One of the limiting factors in the overhead press is the strength and flexibility of the lower back and mid-section. Train your mid-section as hard as you train anything else. Mid-section weakness is very common among lifters. It is not that the mid-section is weak, but it is weak in comparison to other parts of the body that are worked in a progressive manner. If your goal is strength and power, then traditional abdominal isolation exercises, such as crunches and leg raises will only take you so far in your quest for optimal strength and development.
The purpose of the mid-section is primarily for stabilization and therefore this area needs to be worked in a static manner. Do as much of your mid-section training as you can while standing on your feet. Perform overhead lockouts, overhead shrugs and learn to do overhead squats. I like to elevate objects such as dumbbells or a keg over my head and then go for a walk around the neighborhood or up and down the stairs. I walk until I cannot keep the weight overhead, then I place it on the ground, rest for 20 seconds and then keep moving again. These types of exercises will build your mid-section and have a tremendous impact on your overall strength and physical preparedness.
If you have been working hard on basic exercises such as squats, dead lifts or rows, you have no doubt experienced either a stiff back or overworked lumbar muscles to the point where you cannot relax or tighten them completely. Your back can become as “stiff as a board” with the lumbar muscles so hard to the touch or so fatigued that they are like a steel spring that has been overstretched. It is essential to have the back properly stretched and warmed up prior to performing any type of overhead presses. Hanging from a chinning bar for a minute or two each day will decompress the lumbar spine and increase flexibility. I also like to do some hyperextensions and some very light bent leg dead lifts in order to prepare the lumbar spine for overhead presses.
Overload & Adjunct Exercises
Marathon runners traditionally trained by running in excess of one hundred miles each week always at or near marathon pace and speed. The legendary running coach, Arthur Lydiard of New Zealand was one of the first coaches who realized that long distance runners could improve their race times by performing sprint training in their workouts. He used to have his marathon runners compete in the sprint events at the club level. All of his runners hated sprinting but they all loved setting records and winning world and Olympic championships.
Coach Lydiard improved his runners performance by employing a form of overload. The first principle of weight training is overload. Overload refers to placing greater than usual demands on the muscle group being worked. In essence, to increase muscular performance, a muscle group must be worked harder than it usually works to complete everyday activities. As muscle strength and/or endurance increase, the amount of resistance or repetitions nec!
essary for overload must increase as well. The Overload Principle is a concept based on “overloading” the muscles by lifting more than it is use to doing.
The primary method of overload for the overhead press is the seated overhead press. This exercise will allow you to work the pressing muscles of the upper body, while minimizing the stress on the lower back. I have found that by alternating the standing press with the seated press, I can use heavier weight and train with a much greater frequency that if I were to only perform standing presses.
When performing the seated MAKE SURE that you do this with the back braced-do not do this movement sitting on the end of a flat bench or on a stool as this places a great deal of stress on the lumbar spine, which is what we are trying to avoid in the first place. The design of the seated press machine if very important.
You dont want the back of the unit to come up in higher than your shoulders-if it does, you cant get your head out of the way of the bar. You also want to be sure that you can brace your feet against something in order to drive the low back solidly against the backboard of the unit. If you do not have the ideal apparatus as your gym, then might have to mix and match some equipment pieces in order to achieve the desired effect. This is why you should always keep a roll of duct tape in your gym bag!
I also suggest doing the seated presses starting from the bottom position and not where someone hands it to you from the overhead position, and then you bring it down and back up-you want to mimic the mechanics of the standing overhead press as much as possible. For some variety, you can do a seated 80-degree incline press as a core exercise. This also takes the lower back out of it and really allows you to get used to lifting heavy weights overhead. I believe that if I had never done the seated presses and the 80-degree presses, I would have never exceeded 300lbs in the standing overhead press.
The next movement is a heavy push press done in the power rack. Use a weight that is roughly equivalent to your best single rep in the standing overhead press. You put the pins 4-5 inches below the starting position. squat down and get set with the bar, explode up elevate the bar to just over the top of your head, and then slowly count to 4 on the way down, set it on the pins, explode and repeat for 6 total reps-this is the most brutal thing I have ever done for the upper body-you will likely need a spotter (just to yell at you, rather than for safety reasons) and if you feel like or want to do a second set, then you did not use enough weight on your first set. This will do as much to improve your overhead strength capacity as anything I know.
If you need to improve the strength of your triceps then consider doing some overhead presses while using a narrow grip. I use the same grip that I would for a narrow grip bench press with the index fingers being on the smooth part of the bar and the middle finger on the knurling. You will find that your arms may prevent you from lowering the bar all the way down to the upper chest/shoulder region. Use whatever range of motion works for you. As an added twist, you can use this same grip to do overhead lockouts. Place the pins in the power rack so that the bar is even with the top of the head and then press the weight to lockout.
Barbell bent over rows are an excellent adjunct movement for the overhead press. It is safe to say that barbell rows are an excellent adjunct movement for just about every lift. Work this movement hard and don’t be surprised if you see increases in all of your lifts as well an increases in muscular development. One of the great aspects of the bent-over row is that there is a wide variety of techniques and variations to chose from which means that just about anyone can find a method of performing this movement regardless of their body structure. The important thing is to ensure that your technique is consistent so that increased poundage is the result of strength gains, not in favorable advantages in the biomechanics of the lift…
That is an outstanding amount of volume.
nlmain - Thats an awesome article. Thank you, really appreciate that!!
JoeGood - Thx man, appreciate the comment. Makes me want to do that much more!!
9/28/11 - My 5x5
Workout #1
Squat:
Warm-Ups
155x5
150x5
155x5
160x5
155x5
Bench:
195x5
190x5
195x5
200x5
195x5
225x5
Barbell Row:
95x5
90x5
95x5
100x5
95x5
Chin-Ups:
BWx4x6
Tricep Push-Down:
67.5kgx4x8
"The primary method of overload for the overhead press is the seated overhead press. This exercise will allow you to work the pressing muscles of the upper body, while minimizing the stress on the lower back. I have found that by alternating the standing press with the seated press, I can use heavier weight and train with a much greater frequency that if I were to only perform standing presses. "
well I’ll try that myself since I agree that progressing in the standing press does compress the spine specially the lumbar region, it has mine anyway. I wanted to press my own weight and the closet i came to it was pressing 170 at 177.5 or 178. I did more in a smith machine but its not the same at all. I did clean and press 167.5.
So if what this author says is true that gives me some hope, since every run up to pressing over 170 has its effects on my lumbar and hips.
One can go into the techniques in the standing press that do help. One is going a few degrees out of erect posture and into thoracic extension, which is fine as long as lumbar extension is avoided since it puts more stress on the lumbar discs. I am definitely going to check out the seated press driving my lumbar area into the back of the pad.