Madcow 5x5, Time to Go Super Saiyan! *screams for 20 minutes*

Stats: 5'8", 160lb

Squat: 145lb x 5, 165lb x 5, 195lb x 3, 145lb x 8

Bench Press: 125lb x 5, 145lb x5, 165lb x 4, 125lb x 8

Pendlay Row: 120lb x 5, 140lb x 5, 160lb x 4 + 1 (after 10 second rest)

Dumbbell Curl: 40lb x 10

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Squat felt pretty good...confident I can push it to 200lb for 5 and hoping I can push past that this cycle. Bench, missed 1 rep (I don't know why I pushed to 5 for bench and row...today was supposed to be 3), because I had 165lb x 5 last week. I think I wasn't resting long enough because I was helping some newbie with his bench form and thus transitioning onto the bench pretty quickly. At least let's hope so. Might have bounced a bit last week.

Pendlay row went well. Still playing around on form with that.

Dumbbell Curls, could only do 1 set because I was almost out of time.
 
TangoDown said:
Totentanz said:
Personally, I think this sounds like an excellent idea.

I may be biased toward the deadlift, but I think that a big deadlift = a big dude
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Well as my weight rises, the weight I need to lift to double my body weight rises too.

I think I'm close to a 300lb deadlift, which puts me 20lb away from double body weight (currently 160lbish). If I hit 170lb, I'd have to hit a 340lb deadlift. This is if you're talking about a 1 rep max, of course.

But yeah, I don't think I'll be hitting 170lb until I'm notably stronger.
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Ah, ok, my mistake. I thought you meant your max deadlift was 235lb. That must have been for a set of 5? I still think you should get to a double-bodyweight deadlift before cutting. Then see how you feel about getting closer to a 2.5 x bw deadlift before cutting. :)
 
Stats: 5'8", 162lb

Squat (Light): 100lb x 5, 120lb x 5, 145lb x 5, 145lb x 5

Military Press (Strict): 70lb x 5, 85lb x 5, 100lb x 5, 120lb x 5 (3 reps strict, 2 reps push press).

Conventional Deadlift: 155lb x 5, 190lb x 5, 250lb x 5

E-Z Bar Curl Bar + 65lb x 8, Rest 10 seconds, Bar + 65lb x 1, Rest 10 seconds, Bar + 65lb x 1, Bar + 65lb x 6

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Squat felt normal.

Military press felt good. Confident I can get to 120lb x 5 or more within the next month or so.

Deadlift, I decided to not throw in the 220lb x 5 set I had planned before my work set. It actually felt better doing with a regular grip as opposed to a mixed grip. I still need somebody to check my form or film it. Grip wasn't so hot by the last rep, but I think that's due to sweat. I'm going to buy some chalk. I'll be the only one at the YMCA with it, and I bet most people will think I'm carrying around an ounce of cocaine, but whatever.

Curls...if my grip wasn't fatigued from deadlifting, I think I could have gotten 10 reps with some body english. I'm not mad though...bicep strength has definitely increased since last cycle.
 
Bought 1lb of chalk for like $10 on Amazon. inb4 I bring it to the gym and get yelled at. I have never seen anybody use chalk at my gym and I've been going there in some capacity for years.

Of course my school gym has no problem with chalk, but I don't deadlift there because I can only go 2 times a week :(. We'll see if I need to change my schedule around lol.
 
Stats: 5'8", 162lb

Squat: 145lb x 5, 170lb x 5, 205lb x 3 (PR + 10lb)

Bench Press: 125lb x 5, 145lb x 5, 160lb x 3

Pendlay Row: 120lb x 5, 140lb x 5, 165lb x 3 (PR + 5lb)

Dumbbell Bicep Curl: 45lb x 5, 45lb x 5
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Squat felt great. Big PR, and I'm happy. I'm confident I can get 5 reps with this weight. Hell, I might even be able to push past it.

Bench felt hard, so I didn't push for 170lb for 3. I guess it's time for a deload and hard thinking about switching back to dumbbells. Not a huge fan of barbell bench.

Row PR'd, though I used a bit of momentum. I'm willing to forgive it though because the Pendlay Row is an explosive movement.

Wish I could have done 3 sets of curls, but I ran out of time (in weight lifting class).
 
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Nice work on the Pendlay's, and you're correct; it's an explosive movement, if anything, I would say the movement is performed correctly with a slight movement from the pelvis.

Re: bench -try a low incline instead. 15-30 degrees above parallel. Anything over 30 degrees starts to become pure shoulders, but I think you'll find incline bench is wonderful if you're not a fan of the flat bench (I'm this way, know several others who are as well).
 
AlexAustralia said:
Nice work on the Pendlay's, and you're correct; it's an explosive movement, if anything, I would say the movement is performed correctly with a slight movement from the pelvis.

Re: bench -try a low incline instead. 15-30 degrees above parallel. Anything over 30 degrees starts to become pure shoulders, but I think you'll find incline bench is wonderful if you're not a fan of the flat bench (I'm this way, know several others who are as well).
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I don't care about the size of my chest as much as I do about the strength of my bench, as I'd like to compete in powerlifting one day when I'm decently strong by those standards.

Of course, I guess at this point with my bench, strengthening another movement wouldn't hurt. But I've always been partial to dumbbells. I might try a dumbbell/barbell split, whereas I do dumbbells on Monday and Barbel on Friday (the day I do 3 reps).

If that doesn't work, I guess I'll switch to incline. I don't think there's an incline bench with rack at my school gym, though there is one at the YMCA, which I go to for my light squat/deadlift/mil press day currently. Could always switch around the scheduling, I guess.
 
Stats: 5'8", 162lb

Squat: 150lb x5, 170lb x5, 210lb x 5 (PR + 5lb)

Bench Press: 125lb x 5, 140lb x 5, 165lb x 5

Pendlay Row: 125lb x 5, 165lb x 4 (PR + 1 rep)

Dumbbell Curl: 45lb x 5, 45lb x 5

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PNFing my hip flexors for the past couple of weeks must have done the trick, because my squat shot up (was 195lb x 5 about a month ago). Maybe my hip flexors were inhibited...but anyway, 210lb x 5 felt very hard on the last rep, but I think I may even be able to push higher than that. I didn't think I'd be this close to 225lb x 5 so soon.

Maybe I should PNF my chest/shoulders. Unfortunately, I don't know any way of doing that without a partner or a resistance band lol.

Anyway, bench, got 5 reps with 165lb, which ties my PR. I think it was because I focused on trying to get leg drive. I still have some more work to do. I'll see if I can hit 170lb for 3 next time around. I don't want to give up flat bench completely because I want to compete in powerlifting some day when I'm strong enough.

Row, I was rushing because I had less than 10 minutes left and still wanted to do some curls, so I didn't adequately warm up due to skipping the 145lb x 5 set that was in between the first set and work set. I think I could have hit 5 reps, but I think I would have had to have cheated. Plus, I didn't want to really push it.

Next session will be deadlift, and I'll be using chalk and seeing if I can't work on form. As I approach 225lb for 5 on squat, I see no reason why I shouldn't be hitting a 300lb+ rep max on the deadlift. I just hope the chalk makes me more confident in the lift in that my grip will adequately support the weight. Small hands ftl. :(
 
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Stats: 5'8", 161lb (I barely ate anything on Friday and went paint balling for hours so I'm guessing that's why I "lost" weight.)

Squat (Light): 100lb x 5, 125lb x 5, 150lb x 5, 150lb x 5

Military Press (Strict): 70lb x 5, 85lb x 5, 100lb x 5, 120lb x 2 (-1 strict rep from last week)

Deadlift: 160lb x 5, 190lb x 5, 255lb x 3 (switched to sumo) x 7 (PR + 5lb, 10 reps total, 5-15 seconds between reps), 300lb x 1 (PR + 30lb since last 1 rep max pull).

E-Z Bar Curls: Bar + 70lb x 6 (PR + 1-2 Reps), Bar + 70lb x 5
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Squat felt light and fast, but my knee felt a bit painful...felt like the quadriceps tendon was straining a bit...might have been due to all the crouching/squatting I was doing during 4 hours of paintball on Friday lol...we'll see how that feels on Tuesday.

Military press, I got 1 less rep than last week, and didn't attempt any push press reps.

Deadlift...tried 255lb conventional with a standard grip and couldn't get the weight off the ground, even with chalk. Switched to mixed and pulled it fairly easily, but seeing as my knees and feet don't naturally align, feet are pointed outward. Hence, I can't pull comfortably with my feet in a narrow stance without sacrificing coordination, I have to pull a bit wider, but that puts my grip into somewhat of a pseudo-clean grip, which I didn't like. So after rep 3, I switched to sumo and pulled 7 more reps with some slight rest-pause to reset my stance and grip. Decided to try for 300lb and actually got it, which I'm very happy about. Tried again and couldn't get it off the floor...chock that up to pulling 255lb 10 times rest pause and my grip, which was a bit fried at that point.

Chalk definitely helped (first time I used it), but I used way too much in the beginning and it went everywhere. My worst fear...luckily the trainer that came in to train someone else was really cool about it. Looked like I spilled an ounce of cocaine LOL.

Now, when I pulled 300lb, it actually didn't feel like I had to really fight the weight (though don't get me wrong, it was a hard pull). I think I might be able to pull more (maybe 315lb) IF my grip can suffice. Still wish it was stronger, but it's definitely stronger than it was last cycle. Just gonna have to keep working at it and maybe rethink doing some accessory grip training.

Curls felt good. Biceps are definitely stronger and larger than before.

Gonna try squatting 215lb x 5 and beyond this coming week, and maybe try benching 170lb x 5...then I'm probably going to deload.
 
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Re: deadlifts - I tend to feel that deadlifts are done best w/whatever stance is most 'natural'. That wouldn't necessarily hold true for squats, but for deads I would use whatever spacing comes naturally and only alter it if it proved to be a significant impediment to safe technique.

Re: chalk - it takes a bit of practice to not leave dope stains everywhere :p

Re: press - could just be a spacing issue. A cm here and there can make all the difference for a good/bad BB overhead form. Stick at it. If it's like that next time, do push-press for a few singles at the end so can get the heavier eccentric.
 
I enjoyed conventional, but I don't enjoy my arm position. I'm still playing around with it, but sumo actually felt a lot better than it used to. I think it's due to the fact that I'm lowering myself into the bar as opposed to how Rippetoe teaches it (grabbing the bar and then placing knees on bar and arching thoracic spine). Lowering myself seems to load the hamstrings and put me in a more vertical position, and my hips don't seem to raise during the movement as opposed to a bit of a raise like before, which is what I want.

Press very well might have been spacing. I use the same width I do with benching, which places my hands about 2 inches away from the inner ring.

And yeah, next time I'm only grabbing a smidget of chalk. Seriously man, it looked like I shot up Tony Montana's bedroom with all that white powder laying around. I cleaned up as much as I could, but I feel sorry for the janitor lol.
 
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Stats: 5'8", 161lb

Squat: 155lb x 5, 180lb x 5, 225lb x 3 (PR)

Bench Press: 120lb x 5, 145lb x 5, 170lb x 3

Pendlay Row: 120 x 5, 135lb x 5

Dumbbell Curl: 50lb x 2
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Wanted to see how many reps I could get with 225lb on squat since I'm deloading. Decided to do the set barefoot (as opposed to in my Nike Free 4.0 shoes). It was hard as hell, but managed 3 reps right at the cusp of failure. Didn't try for 4, but doubt I could have gotten it. Was hoping for 5, but this cycle was very successful for moving my squat up, so I'm not complaining.

On a completely different note, bench was lack luster. 3rd rep required a slight bit of help via spot - might have been more mental than anything.

If I don't hit 170lb x 5 next cycle, I'm dropping barbell bench in favor of dumbbell bench for the time being.

I was running out of time at this point, so I figured I might as well start the deload on rows early since I'd been utilizing 165lb for the past couple of weeks.

Got cocky with dumbbell curls and only eked out 2 reps of 50lb on each side.

Next session, I'm gonna go balls to the wall with deadlift and then Tuesday, I'll be starting a new cycle.
 
Don't feel like doing this in log form. 155 squat, 5 reps for 2 sets. Easy as this was light day. Military press, only did 100lb as I figure I'd start on the deload.

Sumo deadlift pulled a tripple with 235lb with ease. 260lb was somewhat hard. Couldn't budge 300lb off the floor. Pulled it last week. Don't know if it was form or nervous system. Pulled 275lb right after, and it was hard.

Time for deload I guess ;(.
 
Stats: 5'8", 161lb

Squat: 150lb x 5, 170lb x 5, 195lb x 5

Bench Press: 115lb x 5, 130lb x 5, 150lb x 5

Pendlay Row: 115lb x 5, 130lb x 5, 150lb x 5

Dumbell Bicep Curl: 30lb x 10
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Today marks the start of the new cycle. I moved all starting weights down 5lb as opposed to what they were on my spreadsheet because I've heard an optimal deload starts at about 90% of your 5 rep max.

Asked someone to check my arm position on the bottom part of the bench. My forearms were apparently bent inward, so I increased the width of the grip. I don't really know how to commit the exact grip width to memory. If I had a home bench press, I'd put tape on the bar. Anyway, bench felt alright. Still trying to figure out correct placement of the bar on the bottom position of the movement. Posted a separate thread on this: http://thinkmuscle.com/forum/showth...here-should-the-bar-touch&p=235765#post235765

Chest already feels like DOMS city though, which means I did something right - i.e. more involvement of the chest as opposed to the triceps.

Squat felt hard, which meant that deload was definitely necessary. Squatted shoeless again. Tried a marginally wider stance, as I PNF'd my hip flexors 3 times a week for a few weeks and I'm a lot more flexible.

Row felt the same.

Ran out of time because I was teaching my friend how to deadlift, so I only did 1 set of curls, which were obviously easy.

Here are my PR goals to meet or exceed in about 5-6 weeks:

Bench Press: 170lb x 5

Squat: 225lb x 5

Pendlay Row: 170lb x 5

E-Z Bar Curl: Bar + 65lb x 10

Military Press (Strict): 120lb x 5

Deadlift: Really up in the air...pulled 300lb sumo and then couldn't budge it off the floor the next week. I'd prefer to pull over 300lb. I figure if I can pull 300lb conventionally, I should be able to put up more than that via sumo. If any of you decently big pullers read this, will I gain any benefit in pulling conventionally only until I try to max out, or should I just stick with sumo?

Anyway, wish me luck folks :).
 
Stick with sumo, if that is your normal dead lift.

Bench so that when the bar hits your chest, the bar is just below nipples, forearms should be perpendicular to the floor straight up and down in the bottom position, this generally means a wider grip.
 
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