tdawg_33's Training Log

T

tdawg_33

New Member
Need a little critique on my current plan. Seems like I am experiencing strength gains in all areas but Squats. Deads are ok no probs yet. Hard for me to figure why I am feeling so weak on one exercise. Each Squat session has been a struggle. So i tested my 10rm at 275 prior to SD, and had diffuculty completing 8 reps today. I achieved all other 10 rm weights with remaining exercises. Anyway here is my alternating workout. Any ideas? As a side note I have been walking for 45 minutes in the evening with my wife and daughter nothing strenuous. Thanks all

Squats
Standing Leg Curl
Weighted Dips
Pullups
DB Press
Skullcrushers
Bar Curls
Calf Raises (on vertical leg press)
Weighted Crunches

Deadlifts
Bench Press
Pendlay Rows
DB Press
ALt. DB Curl
Overhead DB Ext.
Calf Raises (Leg Press)
Weighted Leg Lifts
 
My workout yesterday:

Squats 275 x 8 (Major Struggle)
Standing Leg Curl 35 x 10
Dips BW+45 x 10
Pullups BW (215) x 10
Seated Db Press 60's x 10
Ez bar Curls 95 x 10 (last one was cheated)
Skullcrushers 90 x 10
Calf Press (vertical leg press) 375 x 10
Weighted leg lifts +10 x 15 (2 sets)
Weighted Bosu Crunches +10 held behind head x 15 (2 sets)

Good workout considering I had about 5 hours sleep. Hit all of my goal weights other than squat. Was one of those times that Your running behind all day. Normally I would have done a second set of 5 with each exercise, but ran outta time! Now on to two weeks of 5's. Hoping to finally break a strength plateau that I have been at for some time. Till next time, good luck to all
 
tdawg_33 said:
Squats
Standing Leg Curl
Weighted Dips
Pullups
DB Press
Skullcrushers
Bar Curls
Calf Raises (on vertical leg press)
Weighted Crunches

Deadlifts
Bench Press
Pendlay Rows
DB Press
ALt. DB Curl
Overhead DB Ext.
Calf Raises (Leg Press)
Weighted Leg Lifts
Click to expand...
I think you do way too many exercises in my opinion, you should focus more on a few compound movements instead. Have you posted in the "Simplify and Win" thread? If not, I strongly suggest it because many of your exercises are unnecessary/tiresome. They might be hindering growth in the squat but just make sure you're eating above maintenance, sleeping and doing the exercises right so you can grow regardless. Good luck!
 
I haven't had a chance to check out that thread as of yet, but I will have to look it up. I guess it could be alot of things. I have a young daughter and sleep can be hard to come by sometimes lol, but I make fueling my body a top priority. I have gained about 7 lbs. so far sice starting the program. Not really trying to bulk per say but 7lbs is pretty good for me. Thanks for the advice. I guess Im afraid of not traininig arms and plus I enjoy it lol.

Today's Workout 3 sets each
Will Do Abs Later Felt Strong today after restful weekend. Finally it didnt feel like a cardio session during deadlifts. 15's and 10's are rough!

Deadlifts 300 x 5
Bench Press 195 x 5
Wide Chins BW +10 x5
DB Press 60's X 5
Calf Press 400 x 5
Alt DB Curl 45's X 5
Overhead Bar Ext 90 x 5
 
Yeah, I highly suggest you check out the thread. It's sticky-ed because numerous members have gained good solid help from advanced members that chip in to provide easy and productive exercises. Good luck man.
 
I appreciate the advice! I feel pretty drained today which is an indicator that I may be doing a tad much. I think i will immediately drop the arm work, which would leave me with 5 exercises. I think that is probably more reasonable considering I will be training to failure for 2 weeks later on.
 
Yeah, you should do chins though because they work arms and lats efficiently. Why are you going to be training to failure? You mean negatives?
 
During weeks 7 and 8. I was a little confused, I thought you were supposed to train with your 5 rm the last two weeks and add weight if you can. Is that the best way or should i do like a 3 rm cycle? Negatives are out cause I train alone. I know progressive load is the name of the game so I wondered what was the best strategy. I've heard drop stes too, but I think thats a bit much for me lol. Any advice?

Condensed Plan
Squat/Deadlift (Alternate)
Bench Press
Weighted Chins
Overhead Press
Calf Raises
 
You can't do drop sets w/o two guys either. I would just continue with 5RM but you shouldn't be going to failure, you're supposed to go at an intensity that will push you but you won't fail it.
 
That's true (at least not effectively). I have been so used to training to failure with past programs that sometimes its hard to turn that switch off lol. I will admit that using the hst principles is probably the best way to approach training I have come across. Would it be benficial to do a 5 cycle, then add 5% to the 5 rep max and do another 2 week progression with the weights being slightly more than the previous cycle? In theory it sounds good. I was gonna try that my next cycle with 10's then 5's. Also i kinda just want to really get in a groove and do the same exercises each workout so I was gonna drop calves (just do them on off days) and add in SLDL or Romaniam Deadlift. I just don't like to alternate exercises. It helps me focus to keep it the same. any thoughts?

Yesterdays Workout. Feel great! 3 sets each
Squat 245 x 5
Bench 165 x 5 (my 1st workout I did 195 which was the weight for the 5th workout...DOH!)
Pendlay Rows 155 x 5 (gonna drop and do Chins from now on as a matter of preference)
Push Press 120 x 5 (Only the 5th time I've ever done these...But I like 'em)
Calf Press 375 x 5 (Also did weights outta order on this) Gonna drop I think to add SLDL/Romanian DL
 
You could try the 5% increase, it's subtle and shouldn't make you go to failure. Just do normal dead lift, it's a mass gainer exercise but alternate it with squat because it does work the lower back heavily. I don't know if I mentioned but have you watched Mark Rippetoes videos on youtube and read his book called Starting Strength? If not, I would highly recommend doing so because you'll learn some stuff about exercises you never knew before and he teaches good form. Um, don't drop Rows... Continue doing them because they really help grow the back. You can still add chins if you want to do them.
 
I will make sure to check that out! Yeah I kinda new better than to drop deads, already feel like traps are smaller lol. There is no replacement for them. Yeah I guess thats the best way to go. I feel like I am in the groove now with squats. It was just a lack of focus on my part really. A couple times I made the mistake of not doing them first (Bad Idea). I have noticed with hst how much better my form is, not to say that it was bad before. You just learn alot about the lifts and begin to understand how to do them properly and efficiently to hit the target muscles. Thanks for the advice Seeker! My goal is to get these core lifts up to what I feel is a respectable level for 5rm. say 400 squat (currently 300 5rm) 250 bench (currently 210) 20 bw chins @ 215 lb (currently 11 i think) Push Press 185 (140 currently) Deadlift 450 (365 currently). I know it will take awhile, but I think this program will take me there.

Fridays Workout 3 sets each
Squat 260 x 5
Bench Press 175 x 5
Pullups BW x 5
Push Press 125 x 5
SLDL 185 x5 ( 2 sets taking it easy on these)

Todays Workout 3 sets each Felt Good. Feel Like I am in a groove. Can't wait till Wed.
Squat 275 x 5
Bench Press 185 x 5
Pullups BW + 10 x5
Push Press 130 x 5
SLDL 200 x 5 (again Took it easy )
 
As an update my weight is now 217 at 6' (previous high was 220 about a year ago). That is up from a starting weight of 209. I also noticed during the course of this program that I really didn't notice any hypertrophy to speak of during the 15's cycle but have seen a difference since entering into the heavier weights which is to be expected. I did not do any starting measurements but i can see a difference in my all the larger muscle groups especially traps (thank you deadlifts) I have cut out arm training ( actually a strength of mine)so I will see how that effects their size. I have decided to just go all in and not worry about gaining fat to try to pack on some real mass. In the past i would freak out if I couldn't see definition in my abs, but I want to try to take my strength to new heights. Friday is my 5rm workout so I am excited to see how that weight feels now. Its gonna be hard not to just try to crank out as many reps as I can to see how far I've come, but its a marathon not a race i guess...lol
 
Wednesdays Workout: Pretty satisfied overall with my progress so far.

Deadlift 345 x 4,4,3 ( I kinda took it easy cause i hadn't done deads for over a week and didn't want to push it)
Bench Press 195 x 5 then 225 x 1,1 (The 225 reps were just for confidence. I just wanted to see what it felt like. I actually think I can do 3 sets of 3)
Pullups BW +20 x 4 sets of 4
Push Press 135 x 4 sets of 4 Then 165 x 1 ( The 165 was heavy for me. This was kind of a heat check cause I felt in a groove)
 
Looking good T! I hear you about the abs in your previous post. I always felt that muscle definition was my strongest suit but it wasn’t until I got over the fear of putting on some fat that I really started to grow.

I also catch myself getting greedy toward the end of a cycle and want to start testing new 1RMs but in the long run you will benefit more from being patient.
 
tdawg_33 said:
As an update my weight is now 217 at 6' (previous high was 220 about a year ago). That is up from a starting weight of 209. I also noticed during the course of this program that I really didn't notice any hypertrophy to speak of during the 15's cycle but have seen a difference since entering into the heavier weights which is to be expected. I did not do any starting measurements but i can see a difference in my all the larger muscle groups especially traps (thank you deadlifts) I have cut out arm training ( actually a strength of mine)so I will see how that effects their size. I have decided to just go all in and not worry about gaining fat to try to pack on some real mass. In the past i would freak out if I couldn't see definition in my abs, but I want to try to take my strength to new heights. Friday is my 5rm workout so I am excited to see how that weight feels now. Its gonna be hard not to just try to crank out as many reps as I can to see how far I've come, but its a marathon not a race i guess...lol
Click to expand...

You got it. My best progress in years was when I just all-out bulked for like 6 months (maybe it was longer?) so I can definitely vouch for your thoughts on that subject. Cutting fat is easy, it just takes time, building muscle is what is hard. I'm glad to see you say it is a marathon and not a race - that is really the big revelation that most people need when it comes to training. I now look at things in a yearly basis - what am I going to accomplish this year? - and I do basically a yearly review of my progress and what I've been doing at the end of the year. So to see you going a somewhat similar way in your thoughts is great. I think you'll find a lot more success in your endeavors this way.
 
Thats great advice. My biggest problem with training has never been effort or consistancy, but rather focus. I have learned in a very short time on this program that having a plan and a goal to work towards means everything. I was always focused too much on trying "the best" or "newest" training program. When i stopped wandering and zeroed in on core lifts and the hst principles i suceeded. Now I must EAT, TRAIN, and GROW! Thanks all for the encouragement! Good luck all
 
Friday's workout 6th 5's workout. My goal was to get to 15 total reps without going to failure on any set. So far I am really Pleased with my progress so I am just gonna continue with these weights instead of deloading and starting the cycle over. Gonna hit calves and abs later

Squats 305 x 4,4,4,3 (I have never done this much before! Gonna stick with this weight next workout)
Bench 205 4 sets of 4 (Last rep was tough so repeat this weight and shoot for 3 sets of 5)
Pullups BW+30 4,3,3,3,2 (Felt heavy, each rep chin cleared bar)
Push Press 140 4 sets of 4 (I know I can add weight next workout)
 
Mondays workout Week 7 workout 1

Went pretty well considering I was up alot with my daughter through the night. I managed to add weight to each lift so I gotta be happy with that. I did notice while warming up on pullups that my right elbow (tendonitis) was aching so I quickly switched gears and found DB rows would work. Gonna add 10 lb to deads Fri. and add 5 lb to bench, but stay at 145 on press. It felt weak at the end.

Deadlift 355 x 4,4,4 Only gonna do 3 sets on deads in an effort to save my lower back a bit
Bench Press 210 4 sets of 4
DB Row 85 x 6, 95 x 6,6 ( powerblocks go to 85 so I had to loop my wrist straps over DB with a 5lb plate each side)
Push Press 145 x 4 sets of 4
 
I’m with you on the right elbow tendonitis and Chin Ups. At the end of my last cycle I really felt it when I was going above body weight. I also switched to DB Rows as my primary back exercise and it seems to be helping.

Are you sure your Power Blocks don’t go up to 95 lbs. mine do. The next jump would have been 135 I think, if I got the largest set of extensions. Maybe your set is different? My solution to this was to get a pair of Olympic DB handles. Now I can throw 2x50s on each side and I’m already up to 108 lbs. with plenty of room to spare. As far as I can tell each bar weighs 8 lbs. hence the odd weight of 108 lbs. They’re well worth the money if you plan to use DB exercises past what your Power Blocks can do. Heck, if I’d have known about them I never would have bought the 95 lbs. extension set and just used the Power Blocks for below 55 lbs.
 
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