Getting Massive

5s DAY 1
I had to use a different gym today because i had to move house.

IncBenchDB 34*5, 40*5, 40*5, 40*5 - was supposed to do 42s, only went up to 40KG dumbbells. stupid gym.
legCurl 35*5, 65*5, 65*5, 65*5 - easy
Chins A15*5, BW*5, BW*5, BW*5 -easy
CalfRaise 90*10, 130*5, 130*5, 130*5- good, did on lying leg press
ShldrPrsDB 20*5, 28*5, 28*5, 28*5 - easy
Abs -
Squats 60*5, 75*5, 75*5, 75*5 - easy
DBCurls 18*5, 18*5, 18*5 - easy
Skulls 50*5, 50*5, 50*5 - hard. should have warmed up first!

all in all, not a bad start to the 5s - especially with the added distraction of moving house. one thing to note - lifting heavy stuff when moving house caused my lower back to really burn and cramp up. is it due to all the squatting and deadlifting?
 
5s DAY 2
had to use a different gym again today, bit disruptive because they dont have all the equipment but i made do

LegPress didnt have one so i didnt do it
Dips BW*7, BW10*5, BW10*5, BW10*5 - easy
RowsDB 28*5, 36*5, 36*5, 36*5 - good
MilPress 30*5, 45*5, 45*5, 45*5 - easy
CalfRaise 80*10, 140*5, 140*5, 140*5 - good, much prefer lying LP for these
Abs - didnt bother
Deads 60*5, 100*5, 100*5, 100*5 - easy, felt good
Skulls 30*5, 50*5, 50*5, 50*5 - really hard even with warmup
DBCurls 18*5, 18*5, 18*5 - easy

pretty good workout even with the disruptions. feel like i'm getting stronger, although it could be due to doing 5s now instead of 10s. should have zigzagged more on the skulls. oh well they're only isos.
 
yeah it's pretty ****. thats virgin active for you (thanks Mr Branson!). they dont have 45 leg press, only lying machine LP. plus they dont have a chinup bar and the dumbbells only go to 40KGs. it's a bit of a girl's gym, no wonder no one goes there. its just convenient for me if i'm not at work because i get free membership through my missus and i can walk there in 10 minutes. my regular gym has everything i need. can't wait to get back there on Friday!
 
5s DAY 3
back to my old gym finally!

IncBenchDB 32*5, 44*5, 44*5, 44*5 - felt good - was worried about the weight but it was fine.
legCurl 45*5, 70*5, 70*5, 70*5 - good
Chins A19*5, BW+5*5, BW+5*5, BW+5*5 -good
CalfRaise 105*5, 150*5, 150*5, 150*5- good, lying leg press again
ShldrPrsDB 30*5, 30*5, 30*5 - good
Abs -
Squats 60*5, 85*5, 85*5, 85*5 - easy - finally trained my legs to do proper squats!
DBCurls 20*5, 20*5, 20*5 - easy
Skulls 52.5*5, 52.5*5, 52.5*5 - hard. didnt think i'd get them all out. i think this is a PB.

really good sesh today. everything felt good. i could feel the weight but got the reps out no trouble (except skulls). even though my squats are insanely light, it finally feels good to be able to get right down and back up without worrying. next week should be interesting, can't wait!
 
Nice to see you are still going. I've had too much to do lately so I haven't had time to visit the forum as frequently as I like.
 
5s DAY 4
LegPress 140*5, 240*5, 240*5, 240*5 - getting pretty heavy now
Dips BW*5, BW15*5, BW15*5, BW15*5 - good
RowsDB 30*5, 38*5, 38*5, 38*5 - good
MilPress 30*5, 50*5, 50*5, 50*5 - good
CalfRaise 90*10, 160*5, 160*5, 160*5 - good
Abs - didnt bother
DBCurls 20*5, 20*5, 20*5 - good
Skulls 30*5, 55*5, 55*4 - too heavy - had to stop, elbow getting sore
Deads 60*5, 110*5, 110*5, 110*5 - good

another good one. i'm primed for the heavy weights. going to drop skulls though.
 
5s DAY 5
forgot my logbook so hopefully i can remember it all

IncBenchDB 30*5, 38*5, 46*5, 46*5, 46*5 - hard. did an extra warmup because its getting bloody cold here!
legCurl - machine was broken so i skipped it
Chins BW*5, BW+10*5, BW+10*5, BW+10*5 - good. thought it would be hard but turned out fine. biceps got a good pump after.
CalfRaise 105*5, 170*5, 170*5, 170*5 - hard
ShldrPrsDB 26*5, 32*5, 32*5, 32*5 - hard
Abs - f*&k em
Squats 60*5, 95*5, 95*5, 95*5 - good.

good hard sesh, really felt the weight but got the reps out no problem. elbows are starting to ache a bit, so i skipped the isos. it's getting pretty chilly here in London so i'm doing a couple of extra warmup sets, seems to help.
 
OzMullet said:
legCurl - machine was broken so i skipped it
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Hey OM - Check out stiff legged deadlifts and Romanian deadlifts. You use much lighter weights for the movement, they blitz your hams like no other, and you only need a bar to do 'em. If nothing else, that would give you an alternative if the leg curl remains on the disabled list.
 
_tim said:
Hey OM - Check out stiff legged deadlifts and Romanian deadlifts. You use much lighter weights for the movement, they blitz your hams like no other, and you only need a bar to do 'em. If nothing else, that would give you an alternative if the leg curl remains on the disabled list.
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I 2nd that.

I'm alternating leg curls and stiff-leg DLs. I have to go lighter than I am capable on SLDLs for decent recovery - I usually don't feel like I've wrecked my hams after a couple of sets of SLDLs until 24 hrs later... They are deceptive like that.
 
I agree. I prefer romanians, there is a slight difference between the two. However, I wouldn't add it in at this point. You are almost at the end of your cycle... just do it the last week before SD, test it out to get a rough idea of your RMs, then add it in next cycle. Remember, you should make large strength gains when you first start doing romanians due to neural adaptations, so that cycle will mostly be learning to do them right, though it will still work well for your muscles too of course. However, the cycle after that, the romanians will be more effective now that your neural adaptations are mostly out of the way and any increases in strength at that point will be largely due to muscular adaptations.

Moral - definitely consider them.
 
thanks tot, i definitely will.

5s DAY 6
LegPress 100*5, 140*5, 260*5, 260*5, 260*5 - hard
Dips BW, BW20*5, BW20*5, BW20*5 - hard
RowsDB 32*5, 40*5, 40*5, 40*5 - hard
MilPress 20*5, 40*5, 55*5, 55*5, 55*5 - v. hard, just got the last rep
CalfRaise 100*10, 180*5, 180*5, 180*5 - v.hard
Deads 60*5, 100*5, 120*5, 120*5, 120*5 - hard

so i finished another 2 weeks! at maxes now, they were hard, but i managed them all. so i have 2 more weeks of maxes. is it ok to go heavier next week? i'm guessing it won't hurt. the exercises where i wrote 'hard' i feel i can go heavier. the v.hard exercises are my max i think. also should i do a light set of 15s immediately after? what does this do again? flush the muscles or something?

i'll try and get some measurements to see how i'm going, but if they are anything like my new belly i'm doing pretty good i rekon
 
OzMullet said:
so i have 2 more weeks of maxes. is it ok to go heavier next week? i'm guessing it won't hurt.
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It is nearly always okay to go heavier each workout. Progressive load is a key principle. I try to add 5 lbs to upper body exercises each time, and 10 lbs to lower body exercises. You might be able to add more.

But yeah, it'll hurt...
 
yeah thats what i thought. i dont know about adding much more to what i'm doing though. all my weights are in KGs not lbs. plus i do dumbbells for bench and rows, not bars. i think i'll just keep adding a bit each time to the ones i think i can until i reach my new maxes. i actually think i've got another 10KGs in me for deads and squats though. hoping to do 50KG dumbbells for bench too. next cycle i'll switch to bars for bench and rows, only problem is there's only one bench at my gym. not too worried about PBs though, i just want to put on more muscle and hopefully thats what i've been doing.
 
You should definitely push each session for new 5 RMs. One week of going to failure quite a bit won't hurt and could actually be beneficial as long as you only do it for a week or so. Then use those new numbers for the next cycle. If you are going to switch to a BB for bench or rows, just remember that there will be a learning period while you redevelop neural coordination for those movements so testing your RMs on them now might not be totally accurate. Unless you have a driving need to switch them, I would recommend just sticking with the movements you are accustomed to. I hate DBs and would recommend BBs instead but I know several people who prefer DBs for bench and rows and they are doing just fine. It's up to you. I would switch and start cultivating progress with the BBs, just be sure you aren't switching exercises every cycle or anything... it's best to find the ones that work best for you and stick with them so you can better gauge your progress. Remember - a stronger muscle is a bigger muscle.
 
OzMullet said:
i dont know about adding much more to what i'm doing though. all my weights are in KGs not lbs. plus i do dumbbells for bench and rows, not bars.
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Yes, I am aware your weights are in KGs. My point was progressing the weight. I can get away with a 5 or 10 lb addition because I am in a much lower weight class.

Have you seen the weighted wrist cuffs that add a KG or so? I used to use those to increment the weight when I was working out with DBs.
 
ok TR i see your point, sorry mate. thanks guys - exactly the advice i need. its been so long since i've gone to failure - almost forgot what its like!
 
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