24/04/15: Week 2, Day 5
Deadlift
3x 70kg
3x 72.5kg
3x 75kg
3x 70kg
3x 72.5kg
3x 75kg
All good.
[quote]Norn Iron wrote:
That’s the end of my first week on the One Lift A Day program, so here are my thoughts so far.
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I love the simplicity of the program. Get out to the garage, hit one lift with intensity and that’s it.
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Only doing one lift per workout gives me the opportunity to really focus on form and go hard without worrying about leaving enough energy for other lifts.
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I liked the wave pattern where you ramp up to that workouts max weight on set 4 and again on set 7.
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Some days it seemed a little bit easy compared to spending 45-60mins on three lifts as I had been on SL5x5. It didn’t feel too easy the following day though!
Looking forward to a couple of days recovery over the weekend and getting stuck into 6x3 on week two.[/quote]
Will be watching to see how this goes for you further down the line. I’m a big Dan John fan too and love his simplistic approach, but when I’ve tried to pare things down to the bare minimum in the past, the big 5, squat, dead, press, bench, chins etc, I inevitably start picking up little niggles. Mainly shoulder trouble. I think I need more exercises from different angles to keep myself balanced and my joints healthy. Personally I would always throw in a direct ham exercise and facepulls.
Thanks FB. When I did SL5x5 my shoulder was the first thing to give me trouble. I’m taking it easier on OHP than other lifts, but I’m hoping I can make progress without any injuries on this program. Fingers crossed.
27/04/15: Week 3, Day 1
Squat
5x 65kg
3x 67.5kg
2x 70kg
This week (5/3/2) is about testing progress and figuring out what weights to start with on the next cycle. To be honest, I think I could have gone a bit heavier on the 2RM tonight. Definitely 72.5kg and maybe even 75kg.
28/04/15: Week 3, Day 2
Bench
5x 50kg
3x 52.5kg
2x 55kg
Probably could have done one more rep at 55kg, but not sure I could have done any with 57.5kg (my smallest plates are 1.25kg so I have to go in 2.5kg increases). Felt good tonight.
29/04/15: Week 3, Day 3
BOR
5x 55kg
3x 57.5kg
2x 60kg
Possibly could have gone a little bit heavier on the 2RM, but not much.
30/04/15: Week 3, Day 4
OHP
5x 30kg
3x 32.5kg
2x 35kg
Now I’ve improved my form on OHP, I’m really beginning to enjoy this lift. There’s just something cool about getting the weight up above your head. Can’t wait to start getting the numbers up.
01/05/15: Week 3, Day 5
Deadlift
5x 75kg
3x 77.5kg
2x 80kg
This is effectively the end of the first cycle as Dan John recommends taking next week off as a rest week. Not sure I will though. Maybe I haven’t hit it as hard as I should have, but I don’t feel I need a whole weeks rest. I’ll take the weekend off and see what happens on Monday.
I’ve worked through about 20 different programs over the last few years (just changing things up with diff exercises, rep ranges weights etc). One thing a lot of them have in common is a de-load or rest week. This doesn’t mean necessarily doing nothing. EX Weiden 5/3/1 program recommends going to 40-50% of your current 1RM and increasing the reps to 5 on the reset week. The idea being to give your nervous system a mental break from pushing max weight. It’s surprisingly effective, you don’t even realize the impact of the heavy weights until you come back fresh and hit hard after the rest. Another example is Gethin who does Active Rest by engaging in alternate cardio activity on days off.
Hope the shoulder stretches have helped stay away from nagging pains on OHP. Looks like your weight is moving up.
[quote]dhoke231 wrote: It’s surprisingly effective, you don’t even realize the impact of the heavy weights until you come back fresh and hit hard after the rest. [quote]
Thanks for posting this. I get what you’re saying and I know that Dan John programmed in a rest week for a good reason, but I really didn’t feel that I needed it (I could of course be proved wrong soon!). Maybe I didn’t calculate my maxes properly at the beginning and it’s taken the first cycle to figure that out. That said, after last night’s workout (see below) I can definitely see taking the rest week at the end of this cycle.
04/05/15: Week 1, Day 1 (2nd cycle)
Squat
5x 65kg
5x 67.5kg
5x 70kg
5x 72.5kg
5x 67.5kg
5x 70kg
5x 72.5kg
72.5kg is a full 12.5kg heavier than the max weight I used on Week 1 of the first cycle - and it felt really heavy. Managed to complete all reps, but today my quads, hammies, glutes and even my calves are feeling pretty beat up. That was tough (but in a good way). Roll on bench press tonight!
05/05/15: Week 1, Day 2 (2nd cycle)
Bench
5x 47.5kg
5x 50kg
5x 52.5kg
5x 55kg
5x 50kg
5x 52.5kg
5x 55kg
Tough, but all felt good tonight. Not much else to say.
06/05/15: Week 1, Day 3 (2nd cycle)
BOR
5x 52.5kg
5x 55kg
5x 45kg
5x 47.5kg
5x 50kg
5x 52.5kg
5x 55kg
Wanted to work up to 60kg tonight, but could feel my form slipping on the second set. Decided to lose a battle to win the war and dropped off 10kg before working back up to 55kg. 55kg felt much better second time round.
07/05/15: Week 1, Day 4 (2nd cycle)
OHP
5x 27.5kg
5x 30kg
5x 32.5kg
5x 35kg
5x 30kg
1x 32.5kg
0x 35kg
After hitting 5x 35kg on set four, my left shoulder started complaining hard and I couldn’t make it past 1 rep in set six. Shoulder went very weak and had a sharp pain right through the front of it. Pain went away again quickly after workout though. Don’t know what’s up with it.
Bought two tricep bars yesterday to use for farmers walks. They work pretty well for me. I don’t have long legs, so there’s enough room to walk without hitting the plates off my thighs. I had tried doing farmers with two 25 litre drums filled with water, but the handles are quite narrow and dig into your hands and fingers hard. The tricep bars are much better.
Just grab one of the long sides and go. Don’t know yet exactly where the farmers will fit into the program. I’ll either add another day and do them on Saturdays or replace BOR on Wednesdays.
08/05/15: Week 1, Day 5 (2nd cycle)
DL
5x 72.5kg
5x 75kg
5x 77.5kg
5x 80kg
5x 75kg
5x 77.5kg
5x 80kg
Max tonight was 10kg heavier than in week 1 of the 1st cycle, so pretty happy with that. Going to rest over the weekend and get stuck into heavier 6x3 next week.
Norn Iron, I like the farmers handles you improvised. And I’m looking forward to seeing your results after following this workout for a while.
[quote]NHLFTR wrote:
Norn Iron, I like the farmers handles you improvised. And I’m looking forward to seeing your results after following this workout for a while.[/quote]
Thanks NHLFTR. I took the new handles for a few test runs today. I’m pretty sure my neighbours think I’m quite mad!
11/05/15: Week 2, Day 1 (2nd cycle)
Squat
3x 70kg
3x 72.5kg
3x 75kg
3x 70kg
3x 72.5kg
3x 75kg
All going according to plan. Felt pretty good last night.
[quote]Norn Iron wrote:
[quote]NHLFTR wrote:
Norn Iron, I like the farmers handles you improvised. And I’m looking forward to seeing your results after following this workout for a while.[/quote]
Thanks NHLFTR. I took the new handles for a few test runs today. I’m pretty sure my neighbours think I’m quite mad![/quote]
You get used to the neighbors looking at you weird. I have a big tire, stones, sledge hammers, sleds, prowler, outside pull-up bar, etc. so my neighbors and by-passers definitely think I’m a little off.