5 X 5
Alright this is where I need a few suggestions about what to do with my calves.
I really have small calves(just over 14 inches) for a 190lbs adult male. I think a major part of it is genetics, or maybe that’s just an excuse I have been using so I don’t have to spend developing it.
Anyone here who has been successful in developing stubborn calves, please share your experience. Or if you know of a good calves program that works, please let me know about it. Thanks a lot!
100 reps across however many sets you need. Slow negative. Add weight when you get the 100 reps.
Eerie.
You and I have nearly the same measurements. I’d be interested to know what your inseam measurement is cause you have damned long legs, which makes the squat problematic for us. You have bigger joints than me, so you can carry more muscle weight easier.
You’re gonna get damned strong on Madcow.
[quote]skidmark wrote:
100 reps across however many sets you need. Slow negative. Add weight when you get the 100 reps.[/quote]
Hey Skid…thanks for reaching out. I only have access to a seated calf raise machine and a calf extension machine(really don’t feel this) at my local gym. I can improvise with the leg press machine and smith machine as well.
Btw I have a powerrack at home with enough weight…so with this info what exercise selection would you
recommend…also frequency (1,2,3x per week)?
My Madcow volume/intensity will remain low/moderate for a couple more weeks so I can ramp things up for now.
I apologize for being a little narcissistic at the moment and only posting on my log. There are a bunch of guys including you, Hel, Steely that I have read over the last year and motivated by and meaning to reach out to.
Besides I am interested in that program that got you to 515 on the dead. Cheers!
[quote]skidmark wrote:
Eerie.
You and I have nearly the same measurements. I’d be interested to know what your inseam measurement is cause you have damned long legs, which makes the squat problematic for us. You have bigger joints than me, so you can carry more muscle weight easier.
You’re gonna get damned strong on Madcow.[/quote]
I have worn 34 X 32 pants forever. I believe my correct inseam in pant size to be 31 but they usually make them in even #s. For reference, I am 5’9".
I think my ‘damned long legs’ are actually an optical illusion. My guess is they appear that way because they are skinny and not proportional to my upper body. But what do I know, I remember reading you once saying you are an anatomy geek or something to that effect.
You look taller in the photo. I’m 6’ with a 34" inseam. 32 inch waist though I think it’s bigger now… Skinny-ass legs and a big butt. I think I have a photo in my profile at 10 lbs lighter.
Anyway - at your weight and height you should easily be stronger than me soon.
As far as the DL routine goes, I’ve mainly been doing elevated DL’s any where from 8" off the floor to just below my knees. Mid point is a weakness for me and working that weak point has had good results. I’m supplementing with sumo deads on alternate weeks, which is giving me good speed off the floor, so I can power through that weak point. Elevated deads are done 3x1-3 and the sumos are 8x3. A lot of heavy DB rowing has helped make the pull easier from the floor and the lockout a breeze.
okay this is really weird as it is about 4am in the morning but after spending the last 45 mins counting sheep, I figured I should just spend about half hour here, half hour reading my new Mark Rippetoe’s ‘Starting Strength’ book and hit the gym about 5:15am - my day is going to be long and unpredictable as it is and my workout didn’t have a time slot last night.
I suppose I could just workout at home this morning but I may disturb the missus and she wasn’t feeling too well last night, and my gym is only a mile away.
Speaking of my gym, it’s a basic ‘Fitness 19’. There are two things I like about it - the only squat rack is hardly ever taken, and the low fees. With all the registration and enrollment fees I paid in January, and the monthly fees of less than $25 I pay for both me the missus, we still average about $25 a month each this year. It gets better next year, the monthly fees for BOTH of us will run less than $25 next year, and there are no contracts.
So with this in mind I invested in a modest home gym earlier in the year and I am glad I did since prices have sort of gone crazy now.
I prefer working out in the gym for the most part - don’t like benching at home since no one is watching and the powerrack really never feels like a gym bench setup. Also I have always thought deadlifting at home gives me an undue advantage, which I didn’t want. My 45 lbs rubber encassed plate looked bigger than the one at the gym, so it feels like the pull height(from the ground to the bottom of the bar) is too high, and since I already have long arms, it doesn’t feel like I am truly pulling from a standard height.
Well last night I started reading the Starting Strength book and it mentioned on page 113 that the standard pull height is about 8.5 inches. I went to the basement and measured mine…surprise surprise…8 inches! My 45 plates diameter measured about 17.5 and the 35s measured 14 but they really look big to me, compared to the ones at the gym which I am going to measure this morning.
Home Gym…
Big plates???
looks like u have a great plan, well thought out. now all u gotta do is follow the rainbow to the pot of gold. good luck in the journey, it will be interesting to follow your progress.
Thanks wasBr0k3n. That’s the plan.
Just wanted to post my gym experience this morning. First this is what I did:
Squat Session # 2
Back Squat: 1 X 5 X 110, 135, 160, 160
Standing Press: 1 X 5 X 85, 100, 115, 130
Deadlift: 1 X 5 X 235, 275, 315, 355
Assistance:
Seated Calf Raise: 5 X 10 X 90, 4 X 8 X 90, 3 X 6 X 90
***100 total reps.
So I started out doing BW squats for warm ups and soon enough with the Back Squats which also seemed, for the most part, like a warm up. I remember thinking to myself that this Madcow 5 X 5 better start feeling like a training session or I may just toss it…
Then I changed weights on the rack to start the press. Easy enough for first two sets, no concern on the third @ 115 but I barely completed the rep #5 @ 130. Wait a minute, last thursday I got 5 @ 225 for bench, same for squat, 5 @ 140 for the press, 5 @ 375 for deads in that order on a day when I was anything but fresh.
So I moved to deads and started with 235 with clean grips. on any given day for the last 4 months, I always get 3-5 reps @ 315 before switching to mix grips, but I had to change to mix grips by the third rep @ 235. To cut the story short, my 5 @ 355 last set was tougher than the one I did last Thur at 375.
The only reason I can attribute this to is sleep. The past week, I have averaged less than 5 hours each night and was up before 3am this morning despite going to bed after 10pm last night. There is no reason I shouldn’t be getting 8 hours each night with my current schedule. I have always had trouble getting past 6 hours a night but the last week has been crazy, I am done once I get up to take a pee btw 2-3am.
Frustrating!
Never answered you on the calf thing. You can do them as often as you like. Calves recover quickly and can take a lot of work. The hundred rep scheme actually starts out at bodyweight. I like standing calf raises over seated, since that’s mostly how I use them in everyday life. Scraping the rack with the barbell while on a calf block of some sort is my favorite once I get into using weight.
The high reps are mostly just for size. Strength is done with low reps high weight for just a few sets.
Dunno if you’re taking zinc but it can make what sleep you do get deeper and more productive.
It’ll give you freaky vivid dreams too.
[quote]skidmark wrote:
Never answered you on the calf thing. You can do them as often as you like. Calves recover quickly and can take a lot of work. The hundred rep scheme actually starts out at bodyweight. I like standing calf raises over seated, since that’s mostly how I use them in everyday life. Scraping the rack with the barbell while on a calf block of some sort is my favorite once I get into using weight.
The high reps are mostly just for size. Strength is done with low reps high weight for just a few sets.
Dunno if you’re taking zinc but it can make what sleep you do get deeper and more productive.
It’ll give you freaky vivid dreams too.[/quote]
Thanks. Will improvise and give the standing raises a try.
ZMA is one of the few supplements I take, not regularly though and definitely not last night. I am downing them for the next 4 days for sure.
Squat Session #3
A1) Squat: 1 X 5 X 110, 135, 160, 185, 1 X 3 X 215, 1 X 8 X 160
A2) Bench: 1 X 5 X 110, 135, 160, 185, 1 X 3 X 215, 1 X 8 X 160
B) Seated Row: 1 X 5 X 70, 85, 100, 115, 1 X 3 X 135, 1 X 8 X 100
C1) EZ Bar Lying Tricep Extensions: 1 X 10 X 70 (wu), 3 X 8 X 80
C2) EZ Bar Bicep Curls: 1 X 10 X 70 (wu), 3 X 8 X 80
D1) Cable Kneeling Crunches: 4 X 12 X 67.5, 72.5, 77.5, 82.5
D2) Weighted Crunches: 4 X 12 X 25
D3) Planks: 4 X 60s, 60s, 45s, 45s
that smolov routine looks brutal - good luck. squat should improve by leaps and bounds.
[quote]wasBr0k3n wrote:
that smolov routine looks brutal - good luck. squat should improve by leaps and bounds.[/quote]
My squat is so weak that I need to do something ‘brutal’ about it. I am definitely (not) looking forward to it!
Squat Session #4:
A) Back Squat: 1 X 5 X 115lbs, 140, 165, 190, 215
B) Bench Press: 1 X 5 X 115lbs, 140, 165, 190, 215
C) Seated Row: 1 X 5 X 75lbs, 90, 105, 120, 135
D1) Cable Crunch: 1 X 12 X 72.5lbs, 77.5, 82.5, 1 X 10 X 87.5lbs, 92.5
D2) Pull-up: 2 X 5 X BW, 3 X 3 X BW
D3) Serratus Crunch: 3 X 12 X BW+20 lbs, 2 X 10 X BW+10lbs
D4) Chin-up: 1 X 5 X BW, 4 X 3 X BW
D5) Planks: 5 X 45s
**0-15s rest btw exercises, 60-120s rest btw sets for the D circuit
Weekly Scale Weight Check: 185.5lbs
Just found out I have been using the wrong poundage for my Seated Rows as I type this…oh well
Squat Session # 5
Back Squat: 1 X 5 X 115, 140, 165, 165
Standing Press: 1 X 5 X 95, 110, 120, 135
Deadlift: 1 X 5 X 135(wu), 225(wu), 245, 285, 325, 365