200, 300, 400, 500 - A quest for greatness

Press - 5/3/1

Press - barefoot

105 x 3 - no belt
120 x 3 - no belt
135 x 5 - belt

A bit grind for the 5th rep on the last set, but this is okay.

Chins

Me + 35 x 11, 9, 5.

Dips

Me + 35 x 11, 9, 5 (matched with chins and quasi supersetted).

Nautilus Nitro Compound Row

155 x 12, 8, 5.
 
Deadlift - 5/3/1

Deadlifts

Warmed all the way up to 345 x 6, belt + straps.

I've really tried to emphasize the chest up, arched back style ala Starting Strength as opposed to my own roundback-y inclinations. The major difference not being so much the hip position, but rather keeping the back firmly in extension.

Doing this, I am definitely noticeably weaker, but I'm hoping it pays off in the long run in terms of health/strength.

RDL/SLDL

I decided to do some stiff-legs today, though they were more RDL's. If there's a difference, I'd describe it in terms of thoracic extension - in an RDL, your thoracic spine is hard arched, whereas in an SLDL, it relaxes a little more towards something resembling "neutral," which generally allows you a little bit more ROM.

A set of 185 x 15, then a pretty tough set of 205 x 15, the latter of which ended a little more like an SLDL than an RDL.

Adduction Machine + Abs

105 x 10 with long pauses at the top, based on the idea of the whole muscle energy thing for straightening out one's pelvis.

Nautilus Nitro Abs - 95 x 15. Ab spasm afterwards...ouch.

Calf Raises - Nautilus Nitro Leg Press

290 x 15.
 
Bench - 5/3/1

Bench (first reps paused)

185 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 6

I've done this before, but it's still decent for me.

Lat Pulldowns

145 x 13, 7, 5.

Close Grip Bench

170 x 10, 8, 7.

Hammer Seated Shrugs

1 plate + 25 + 5 lbs per side for 10, 9, 6.
 
Squat - 5/3/1

Squats - oly shoes, belt on last set

225 x 5 - no belt, high bar
255 x 3 - no belt, low bar
285 x 3 - belt, low bar

This went alright, I suppose. Warming up in high bar, it reminded me that I really like doing high bar squats
sad.gif
Hmm.

Halting Squats (low bar)

175 x 11 - no shoes, no band (all time PR, technically)
175 x 9 - no shoes, band

Leg Extensions

105 x 10,10

Calf Raises

3 plates per side x 12, 6, 3.
 
Solid day.

Press - 5/3/1

Press - oly shoes

112.5 x 5 - no belt
127.5 x 3 - no belt
142.5 x 5 - belt, all time PR

I felt pretty strong in this today. Good stuff.

Seated Cable Rows

180 x 8,6,6.

Dips

Me + 55 x 11, 9.

Chins

Me + 45 x 9, 6, 5.
 
<div>
(mikeynov @ Apr. 20 2009,5:50)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">142.5 x 5 - belt, all time PR</div>
Congrats on the PR, Mike! Fantastic work today!
 
<div>
(_tim @ Apr. 21 2009,10:52)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"><div>
(mikeynov @ Apr. 20 2009,5:50)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">142.5 x 5 - belt, all time PR</div>
Congrats on the PR, Mike!  Fantastic work today!</div>
Thank you, sir
smile.gif
 
Good day.

Deadlift - 5/3/1

Deadlifts - flat shoes, belt on last set

Warmed up to 315 with a double overhand grip, a single of 335 with straps and no belt, then a set of 5 with 365, belted + straps.

I seemed to have a better groove today, I felt my quads working more.  I'm pleased to be at 365 x 5 in what feels like about as good of form as I've ever used at this weight.

RDL

2 sets of 225 x 10, no belt but strapped.

Calf Raises on Leg Press

3 plates + 5 lbs per side for 12, 4, 3 with short rests.

Inner + Outer Thigh

Outer - 155 x 12

Inner - 110 x 12 (emphasis on squeezing the pads together, the whole muscle energy thing to help realign my twisted pelvis or whatever).
 
Bench - 5/3/1

Bench - first reps paused

185 x 5
210 x 3
235 x 4.5 - dammit, could not lock the last fucker out. Even with a cute girl spotting me :-x

Pulldowns

155 x 10, 7, 3.

Close Grip Bench

185 x 9, 7, 4.

Shrugs in Standing Calf Raise

135 x 15
150 x 15
 
Deload week this week. I'm doing my usual thing of lifting a couple of days, keeping volume very low, but intensity reasonably high.

Usual rule of thumb is to warm up to a single with a ~5 RM in lower body lifts, and ~3 RM in upper body lifts. This on the main lifts.
 
Squats - 5/3/1

Squats - low bar, oly shoes

200 x 5 - band, no belt
230 x 5 - no band, no belt
260 x 7 - no band, belt (all time PR)

Last set was pretty GM-y for the last couple of reps, but I wanted a PR
tounge.gif
 Need to work more on hip drive.

Halting Squats

165 x 12
165 x 14.5 (done later, MUCH better hip drive, felt MUCH easier).

Seriously, the concept of hip drive which Rippetoe talks about so much helps enormously when it actually clicks properly.  Back held in extension, drive the *** straight up.  When I actually concentrated more on this the second set, I had a very strong contraction in the glutes out of the hole, and was noticeably stronger.

1-Leg Press

2 plates per side for a set of 10 per leg.

Calf Raises

3 plates per side x 12, 6, 5, 7 with short rests.
 
Nice PR, Mike! I hear you on the hip drive subject. It's amazing what a difference it makes when everything engages correctly.
 
Press - 5/3/1

Press - oly shoes

100 x 5
115 x 5
130 x 7 (all time PR)

I repeated the weight I did last cycle, as I was only able to get 6 reps with my designated &quot;5&quot; weight the first run through.

This time around, I got 7 reps, and the 7th wasn't THAT bad. I might have even had 8 reps, but wanted to end on a for sure rep, rather than a &quot;well maaaaaybe&quot; rep
tounge.gif


Double Cable Rows

Two independent handles...felt interesting.

70/side x 10.
60/side x 8, 7, 5.

Dips

Me + 45 x 13, 12, 5.

Chins

Me + 35 x 10, 8, 7, 5.
 
5/3/1 seems to be working some magic for you Mike. Nice results. I really hope I can get injury free soon and get back at it.
 
Deadlift - 5/3/1

Deadlifts - conventional

Today I tried doing the warmup sets of 5, I had been just going up in singles until the final work set.

250 x 5 - double overhand
290 x 5 - alternate grip
330 x 9 - straps + belt (all time PR)

Felt a little heavy today, but my top set performance was still pretty good.

SLDL

2 sets of 205 for 15 reps. Ouch.

Single Leg Press

Different leg press than last time, at a different gym, even. Easier on this one.

2 plates + 25 lbs per side for a set of 15, then 2 plates per side for a set of 15.

Calf Raises on Leg Press (same as Single Leg Press)

3 plates per side x 14, 7, 6, 3, and another 15 pulses at the bottom after the 3.
 
<div>
(Lol @ May 04 2009,8:27)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">5/3/1 seems to be working some magic for you Mike. Nice results. I really hope I can get injury free soon and get back at it.</div>
Have confidence, my friend, I honestly think you will be just fine. Call me crazy, but I don't think a hernia is that big of a deal after you've surgically dealt with it, tons of strength athletes have that happen.
 
I woke up today feeling a bit groggy with a sore throat. I was hoping it was just allergies, but my workout was also kind of mediocre. Here's to hoping I don't get full blown sick!

Bench - 5/3/1

Bench - first reps paused

162.5 x 5
187.5 x 5
212.5 x 8 (technically an all time PR, but I got 10 reps with 2.5 less lbs my last go around)

The last set in bench didn't feel awesome. For some reason my grip almost felt too wide, despite being in the &quot;usual&quot; place. I might do better a little narrower?

I also lost track of my rep count somewhere in the set, and it's possible this was actually 9 reps, but I erred on the conservative side.

Still, I was kind of hoping for a super duper PR with 10 reps. Oh well.

Lat Pulldowns

140 x 14, 9, 7.

Close Grip Bench (first reps of each mini-set paused, mostly)

170 x 11, 8, 6, 5.
 
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