zep's intermediate log

[zepled37]

Hi all,

Going to give this a try. Maybe it will be useful for some and perhaps some of the readers will have some good input for me as well. I figure it would be helpful to first provide some background information for comparison purposes.

Stats:
33 years old, 5' 9", 200 pounds, about 16% body fat

Some recent lifting PR's:
Squats: 325x5x3sets, 365x3
Deadlifts: 365x5
Bench Press: 215x5x3sets
Press: 135x5, 155x3
Power Clean: 185x2 (haven't pushed these too much as I haven't done them much in the past)

Other background:
Have trained since a teenager, but wasted a lot of time on poor programs though I got to a reasonable level of strength, but did not have a good long term programming model to follow.
Did a USAPL federation powerlifting competition in 2001 with some borrowed gear and squatted 470, benched 265 (have benched the same without a shirt, but my bench is kind of weak), and deadlifted 505 (sumo style).
Had shoulder surgery for a torn labrum in 2001. I believe originally caused by playing football, but got worse with some heavy lifting. Have struggled some with shoulder pain ever since, but am cleared by doctors to do whatever I can.
This year I dropped almost 30 pounds (down to 177.5 in July) trying to get back in some semblance of shape after not being very consistent in exercise or diet for a long time. Since then, I've gained about 20 pounds back, but still in much better shape (about half muscle, half fat gain).

Goals:
Main objective is to gain strength, but I don't really want to gain much more fat so a combination of strength gain and a reasonable physique is my objective. To me a reasonable physique is one that fluctuates between 10-15% body fat so I'm at about the upper limit right now.

Strength goals for next year would be to squat and deadlift at least 405x5, bench press 245 x 5, press 175x5 and power clean 225x1. Would like to do all of the above a maximum body weight of 200 pounds. Will most likely also go on a fat loss diet for a while next year also and try to get leaner than I was last time.

Programming:
Right now I'm following a Texas Method routine and plan to do so for a while yet. I need to make a decision about going back on a fat loss diet for a while now or later as I've been on the fence and not committed to it yet. I will outline my routine later. I have ordered PPST2 so maybe that will give me some more ideas than the first edition and cause me to modify my program.

Up until about 5 weeks ago, I was following the advanced novice program as I was regaining strength I had before, but found myself not being able to recover (especially from the squats) and was working in more light days anyway so decided I should make the switch to intermediate programming.

Hopefully, the log will be helpful for me and you! Thanks for reading!

[zepled37]

Took a pretty big deload when starting the Texas Method so the weights are still below PR levels for the most part. Despite this, the weights felt heavier than expected on Saturday. I think because of a little less sleep during the week.

Squat:
Barx10x2
95x8
135x5x2
185x3
225x2
265x1
295x1
335x3 (alternating 3 reps and 5 reps on squat and deadlifts)

Press:
Barx8
75x5
95x3
115x1
135x5 PR (alternating press / bench press but sticking to 5 reps)

Deadlift:
135x5
185x3
225x3
275x1
335x3

Volume day tomorrow...

[zepled37]

Weights still below PR levels because of my very big reset which I did because I had been pushing pretty hard for a few months and I was looking at dropping a bit of a fat for a few weeks, but I haven't followed through on that so in retrospect I think I deloaded too much (been on TM for 5 weeks) But, the next couple weeks will start to get tougher.

Squats:
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
245x1
285x5x5sets

Took a little more rest this week, but still only needed 3 to 4 minutes to complete the sets fairly easily. Started at 245 and have been making 10lb jumps so far (my best 5x3sets is 325) so next week goes to 295.

Bench Press:
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3x2sets
165x2
195x5x5sets

Took some more rest here also, again about 3 to 4 minutes. Started this progression at 175 (best 5x3sets is 215) and so far have been jumping 10lbs each volume bench session. As I get closer to my previous best, I'll drop to 5 lb increases.

Power Cleans:
Barx5
95x3x2sets
135x2
135x1
155x1
175x3x5sets

Felt pretty good, but my technique is really just average on these. Would like to make it better. I feel like most of the time I'm just doing one long pull instead of a first and second pull. Probably go to 185 next week and then slow down the progression.

Abs: 10x3sets side bends

Ate a ton the last 4 days and gained 5 to 10 pounds...got to cut it back just a bit. I'd like to at least stay under 200 even if I don't go for the diet just yet. I can see that my volume workouts are going to get VERY LONG in a couple more weeks when the weight gets heavier. Took 2 hours tonight including my 15-20 minute warm-up so when I start resting 7+ minutes between sets I see 2.5 to 3 hours for this workout...

[zepled37]

One hour massage.

Works out pretty good, not like some massages I've had where they feel like they hardly touch you. Now I need to catch up on some sleep the next 4 days and go into next week really rested.

[zepled37]

Was supposed to have recovery day yesterday, but didn't make it. Tomorrow is intensity day, but I'm hoping having the light day today doesn't mess things up too much. I lightened up on a couple of things to try to make sure I have no ill effects from tomorrow's workout. I've gotten lots of sleep the last 2 days also so hopefully that will help.

Front Squat
Barx8x2sets
95x5
135x3
165x3x3sets (have done 195x3x3 before)

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x3
115x5x2sets

Round back good mornings
Barx10
95x10x3sets

Pull-ups
body weight x5x2sets (not to failure)

Tomorrow's intensity day should still be ok, but I think starting next week things will be getting a bit harder. Wish me luck!

[zepled37]

Felt pretty rested today so that was good, but to be expected since I got a lot of sleep and my weight was up to about 204. I know it's not kosher, but I'd like to stay under 200 right now if I can so I have to just cut back slightly. But in all honesty, I've eaten a lot of junk in the last week. No PR weights, but things are getting a little heavier now.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
265x1
295x1
315x5

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
165x2
195x1
215x5

Deadlifts
135x5
185x3
225x2
225x1
275x1
335x5

Still felt like I had a lot of energy at the end of the workout though it is catching up to me tonight and I'm starting to get a bit sore and tired.

Videos if anyone cares to take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2UiSeF6LrQ

[Webbie]

I'm no expert but all of those lifts looked solid to me. The Squats and DLs both looked light for you.

[zepled37]

Rode the stationary bike for an hour (gasp!) at pretty low intensity (maybe 60% HRmax) then did a couple of very, very light exercises to stretch out a bit because I was feeling pretty good and thought it might help.

This all took about 10 minutes:

Seated cable rows: 12x2sets
DB bench: 30lbsx10x2sets
Press: Barx10x2sets
Power snatch: barx5x2sets
Overhead squat: barx5x1set
DB shrugs: 30lbsx12x2sets
Cable curls 12x1set
Tricep pushdowns: 12x1set

Funny, could tell I'm in the "reduced performance" zone even though I felt good because I ached a bit doing these and I really couldn't imagine doing anything heavy yet.

In my defense, I was reading PPST2 while riding the bike...

[zepled37]

Yep, more light cardio (gasp! again!)...stationary bike for 45 minutes and then one very very light set of each of the following:

seated cable rows
dumbell bench press
overhead press
power snatch
overhead squat

That took about another 5 minutes.

Weight was back down to 199.5 this morning and I feel a little better, lost some bloat (about 5 or 6 pounds) from all the carbs for 5 days...Joints and body aches are less than they've been in a while. Not quite sure why, probably from having the 4 day weekend and getting more rest.

Looking forward to volume day tomorrow, well sort of...going to be a long workout.

[zepled37]

So, the workout didn't take as long as I thought it would today, about the same as last week, 2 hours including warm up. I think I went through the warm ups a bit quicker.

Squat
Barx10x20sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
255x1
295x5x5

I guess I should count this as a PR but seems a little silly since I've done 325x5x3sets, but this is a PR for 5x5. Took about 4 minutes rest except for the last 2 sets, took about 5-6 minutes.

Press
Barx10
75x5 (weird, this sort of felt heavy! I was worried)
95x3
115x5x5sets, went pretty easy

Power Clean
Barx5
95x3
135x1x2sets
155x1
185x3x5sets

Looking for advice on the cleans. Think I could go up in weight, but don't have a lot of confidence in my technique and am a little worried I might tweak a shoulder or something trying to muscle it up. Thinking either drop the weight and do more sets or maybe stay at this weight and do singles (also with more sets).

Side bends 10x3sets

Feel like I'm adapting to the extra volume of the 5x5's a bit. The squats weren't overly easy, but I don't feel as tired as I was earlier in the program and when I finished up doing 5x3sets with 325. Maybe my recovery is improving a bit.

[zepled37]

Videos of the last set of each exercise tonight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQLfxfUIJVI


First rep of this last set of power cleans might have been the best of all 15..

[zepled37]

Got a cold, don't feel too tired, just a stuffed up nose so I trained as normal. Hopefully it won't last long.

Front Squats (I like doing these for now versus lighter back squats.)
Barx8x2sets
95x5
135x3
175x3x3sets

Felt pretty easy, as they should. I did 195x3x3sets a while back. Will go up 10lbs next week.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
155x2
185x5x2sets

Second set felt kind of hard! Think it may be mostly from the power cleans on Monday as the presses on Monday ended up pretty easy.

Bent Over Good Mornings
Barx10
95x5
115x10x2sets

Think I'm going to drop these in favor of back extensions or reverse hypers. Just mentally (and maybe a bit physically) it would be nice to have a day without a bar on my back even if is fairly light today. I do think doing a bit of extra low back work is good for me though. I believe it is a weak point on my deadlifts.

Chin-ups
bodyweightx5x2sets (not to failure)

Might look at alternating chin-ups and power cleans on Mondays. I think I could benefit from doing more chins / pull-ups. But I've never pushed the cleans so could probably benefit from that as well. I guess that would mean to alternate deadlifts and cleans or chin-ups on Fridays, but I'd like to do deadlift every week for a while yet. So these are just some options to figure out.

Saturday intensity day might be a bit tougher this week. We'll see!

[zepled37]

Decent day yesterday.

Squat
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
275x1
315x1
355x3 (Did 365x3 a month and a half ago so not quite a PR, but felt good.)

Press
Barx10
75x5
95x3
115x1
145x5 PR

Maybe I should have just gone to 140 as 135x5 last time was a PR, but I've done 155x3 and felt pretty good. Should drop to 5 lb or less increment from here. Last rep only was a bit of a struggle.

Deadlifts
135x5
185x3
225x2
275x1
315x1
355x3

Deadlifts felt pretty good. Seems like something has been helping these quite a bit lately because before I had a lot of trouble doing these on the same day that I squatted heavy. For example, I've done 365x5 but couldn't do any reps with this one day. I think it's either the good mornings or the power cleans helping. Or just adapting to the increased volume.

[zepled37]

Still have a cold and didn't get much sleep Sunday night (5.5 hours), but I've been eating like crazy. I felt a little tired all day, but once I got to the gym things got better as I went along.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
225x1
275x1
305x5x5sets (PR for 5x5)

Felt tired on squats and hard to breathe a bit, but leg strength was very good. Think I took 6 minutes rest before the last set. Others were around 4-5 minutes. Feeling a little tight in the joints and muscles today so took one extra warm up at 225. Getting massage tomorrow so that should help.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
155x2
175x1
205x5x5sets (PR for 5x5)

Felt very strong on the bench today. Not sure what my body weight is right now, but it is up and I'm sure that is helping. Also feel that the presses really help my bench. Probably could have done 10 reps on the first set and I think I might have accidentally done 6 reps on set 4...If all goes well, will be going to 225x5 on Saturday. Don't think I've done that since about 13 years ago...

Power Cleans
Barx5
95x3
135x2
155x1
195x3x5sets (PR for 3x5sets. Actually I think the most I've ever tried for a single is 195.)

Ended up just sticking with the 5sets across this week. Probably got greedy with the 10 pound jump, but I got all sets and they were not too terribly hard, but I guess power cleans are not that way like a heavy slow lift anyway. Tried to focus on where my jump aiming point should be for the second pull and I think that helped a little bit on the early sets but not as much as I got fatigued. Still not sure what to do with these because it seems a little awkward to keep progressing with such a technique oriented lift when you know the technique breaks down a bit. I guess it's just a decision point on when it gets bad enough to reset and work back up.

Still very happy with how my body has adapted to the 5 set workload, don't feel as fatigued as when I was doing 325x5x3sets. That really wiped me out! Will be pretty happy when I move to 325 and beyond for 5x5. I know if I keep gaining weight, I can move up quite a bit, but I'm putting on a fair amount of fat now and need to dial back a bit. Still I'm thinking I should be able to get to 345 or 355 with 5x5. We'll see...should just make the goal to be 365x5x5 to get the 25 pounder on there....Would like to hit 225x5x5 on the bench and probably 135x5x5 on the press...all short term goals so hopefully more later next year...

[August West]

Tried to focus on where my jump aiming point should be for the second pull and I think that helped a little bit on the early sets but not as much as I got fatigued. Still not sure what to do with these because it seems a little awkward to keep progressing with such a technique oriented lift when you know the technique breaks down a bit.

I feel the same way about these. The timing can be real sharp on the early reps but it's hard to maintain quality through all five sets of three, sometimes it's like the aiming point gets harder to nail the more I think about it. That's a damn solid weight you're pulling there, it's gotta feel good to hit the ones that fall in the groove even when a few come out sideways.

[zepled37]

Thanks for the comments AW. Even on lighter weights, I don't really feel like I have a groove! So, they all feel a bit strange. I do think the aiming point idea helps and I'm going to reread the power clean section of SS this week for some more ideas.

Here are videos of each exercise from tonight. Shown is just the last set of each. (I know my elbows are low in the rack of the cleans...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyJfCbFiBpg

Oh, and I feel like my jump point is with the bar pretty much right at the knees. Not sure if this is too low or not, but it seemed a little better there and that's lower than I've tried to start the second pull before.

[misspelledgeoff]

great form. all the lifts looked really light for you. i am especially jealous of your powerclean. focker!

[zepled37]

Didn't feel too tired today and not too many aches and pains. I think mostly because I had a massage yesterday and got a nap in during the afternoon. Weights didn't feel too light though, could tell it was a recovery day...Should be in good shape by Saturday, but kind of would be nice to have an extra day off. Mostly a mental issue I think.

Front Squats
Barx8x2sets
95x5
135x3
155x1
185x3x3sets

Not too bad on the front squats. Not sure how heavy I can go on these because I don't quite have the flexibility to hold the rack comfortably. Probably go up next week to 195 though. Once I start having trouble, will probably switch to light back squats.


Presses
Barx8
75x5
95x3
125x5x2sets

These felt a bit heavy. No danger of not completing the reps, but probably should stay here for a while on recovery day. This is about 86% of my current 5RM (145) so it's probably a good weight for recovery day anyway.

45 degree back raises
bodyweight x20x2sets

Pull-ups
bodyweight x6x2sets (not to failure)

[Mr.City]

In PP2, Rip recommends light back squats over front squats, saying that they emphasis more hamstring work than front squat. Something to think about.

[zepled37]

Thanks. Yes, I have PPST2 (and 1st edition) and have recognized the change. I've also read a few posts here where he mentioned the change. I prefer the front squats for now just because I've basically never done them seriously and for a change of pace.

Thanks for reading and the advice!

[zepled37]

Thought somewhat seriously about upping the planned weight for the squat and maybe for the bench today, but decided to stay the course since things have been going well.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
265x1
295x1
335x5 PR

Weight was easy, but not as easy as expected. Difficult to warm up today. I actually probably should have done a more extensive warm up as I was kind of tight and achy.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
165x2
195x1
225x5 PR

This was slightly harder than expected also and not as easy as the squats. Will probably go for 230 next time. I have washers for fractional loading, but I travel a bit and that makes it impossible to use the exact same weights anyway. Will have to figure out what to do as I should soon switch to micro-loading on the press and bench press.

Deadlift
135x5
185x3
225x2
275x1
315x1
355x5

I've done 365x5 a couple months ago, but it was on a day of light squats. I'm actually pretty pleased with this because at that time when I tried to deadlift after heavier squats, I couldn't do near this much. If fact, I did 365 for a big fat zero back then after squats even though I did it for 5 on a different day!

Didn't feel too bad during the workout, but about 2 hours after I was feeling whooped! Still tired after another meal. Hopefully will be recovered for next week so I can make some new PR's.

Obligatory videos of today's top sets:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZn6kqXn5k4

[zepled37]

Rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes the last two days. Body weight was down to 203 this morning, probably should drop down to about 195 or so. Also did a few very light lifting exercises on Sunday.

Legs are still a little sore today, but hopefully tomorrow volume day works out okay...

[zepled37]

Well, wasn't looking forward to today's workout because I've been in a bad mood the last few days and my legs were still feeling tight. Not really sore I don't think, but just achy and tight. Took a little more warm-up and a few more sets of squats during the warm up, but it never really went away.

On the drive home this afternoon, I thought about pushing squats to tomorrow and just doing presses and cleans tonight, but opted against it. Once in the gym, I was thinking maybe I should drop to 3 reps for the 5 sets, but then decided I would try the first set with 5 reps and if it wasn't good, just call it a day on squats or only do 3 sets. Well, the first set didn't feel heavy, but I was still tight and my form was off a bit because of it. Couldn't keep as good chest elevation and back extension today because my hips and hamstrings were all f-ed up. In the end, I did all sets at 5 reps without too much physical strain from a strength standpoint.

Squat
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
225x1
275x1x2sets
315x5x5sets (PR for 5x5)

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x3
125x5x5sets (PR for 5x5)

Presses weren't too bad. Felt a little heavier than expected, but I rushed through the first 3 sets a bit with only about 3 minutes rest. Slowed it down for the last 2 sets, but still a little heavier than I thought it would be.

Power Cleans
Barx5
95x3
135x1
165x1x10sets
135x1x5sets

My tightness and other issues really showed up here as to be expected from a more technical lift. It just wasn't feeling right. I've been a bit on the fence about what to do here anyway because I don't feel great on my technique. Was tentatively planning to go to 200x3x5sets, but I ended up doing 15 sets of singles with about 1 minute or so between sets. On the bright side, I might have stumbled on an improvement in my technique. I think I was bending my arms just a little bit and it was causing the bar to not get as close to the body. Anyway, I really tried to consciously keep my arms straight and it seem to feel better so I might try some more singles or doubles next week and just work the weight back up a bit from there.

Hoping to make it through this weekend and the early part of next week and then I should be able to get more rest during the holiday weekend. Maybe some slight programming changes coming in January if needed, but we'll see how it goes for now, don't need to change yet.

[zepled37]

So, I had kind of a crappy workout Monday, haven't had too much sleep lately (7hours or so) have cut back a little on my eating (would like to drop about 5 pounds or so), drove 4 hours today was in a bad mood for a few days, rushed my warm up and ended up today with an awesome recovery day workout!

Recovery days are supposed to be easy, but sometimes they don't feel that way, but today everything felt light. Was a pleasant surprise.

Front Squats
Barx8x2sets
95x5
135x3
165x1
195x3x3sets

The way these felt today, I might as well go up 10 more pounds next week.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
165x2
185x5x2sets

(might go up another 5-10 pounds on these for light day)

Chin-ups
body weight x 6x2sets (not to failure)

considering sticking with 5 reps and adding a set, but probably not now...

45 degree back extensions
body weight x20x2sets

will add some weight on these next week

looking to hit 375x3 on both squats and deadlifts saturday and hopefully a 150x5 press...wasn't feeling too good about it, but after today I'm looking forward to it more.

[Cmanuel]

really strong squats with good form! looking very good in here, keep it up.

[zepled37]

Well, didn't feel too bad considering suboptimal recovery (sleep) and driving a lot this week. Workout started kind of bad, but all in all was ok. Was very tight so did a bit more warm ups and lots of warm up sets in the squat.

Squat
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
185x1
225x2
225x1
275x1x2sets
325x1
375x3 PR

I'm counting the 375 as I had plenty of strength...I'm trying to figure out how to get the video from my phone as I forgot my normal camera. I really should not lift at the gym I was at on Saturday. The god damn floor is not flat (is wavy or has chunks out or something) and on the first rep I got to the top and had to take a small step back to keep my balance. Then on the second rep, I fell completely back into the power rack supports but kept the weight on my back and stood up. Settled back in for the 3rd rep and leaned forward a bit more to make sure I didn't fall back again and got it ok. If I can get the video uploaded, you'll see a good example of the importance of a strong midsection which I believe I have...and it showed.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x3
125x1
150x5 PR

Presses felt pretty good. The last rep was tough. I did wear a belt for the last set, but I haven't normally been wearing one for presses.

Deadlifts
135x5
185x3
225x2
275x1
325x1
375x3 PR

Deadlifts felt heavy during warm ups and I was afraid the squats and presses had taken too much out of my back. I was still a bit pissed from the squat mishap and really wanted to PR the press and deads to make up for it. My back didn't let me down. The 375 felt heavier than anything I've attempted recently (and it is!), but my back has really gotten strong and my deadlift has been doing great lately. Would love to keep going to 405x3...could probably do it without squats on the same day, but doing it with squats would be awesome for now. Really hoping for 500+ deadlift next year...I did 505 sumo style in a meet back in 2001, but I'm sticking with conventional for general strength. No competition plans.

Still need to get back on track with recovery (sleep), but if I can make it through the early part of this week, I see lots of sleep in my future for the 4 day weekend...

[zepled37]

Press: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-0dpjXKa6s

Squat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_q02oWGeN0

I'm still pissed about squatting on that floor and getting screwed up!

Deadlift: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qf3BZCePGo

[zepled37]

Well, debated last week about deloading a bit even though I haven't stalled and was trying to get through today so I can rest up over the weekend. Probably could have pushed through today and got all the sets and reps in, but since my recovery ability isn't the best and I've been a little short of sleep and feeling tired and my past training experience has shown that if I don't deload every now and then, I just end up getting injured, I decided today was the day to deload.

Wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do. Thought maybe just do warm up sets on the squat and then the rest of the workout normal, but ended up just warming up normal and then doing only 1 set of 5 in the squat and bench press with the planned weight instead of 5 sets.

Squat
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
265x1
295x1
325x5x1set only

Felt pretty good, but my whole body is just tired so stopped after one set anyway.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
165x2
195x1
215x5x1set only

Power Clean
Barx5
95x3
135x2x5sets
165x1
195x1
205x1 PR
225x1 (missed twice)

Decided to mess around a bit on the cleans to see what I might be capable of. 205 was the most I've ever attempted and felt pretty good. The first attempt at 225 felt like I gave it a pretty good pull, but not enough. Maybe if I was proficient at a full squat clean, I could have gotten under it, but not a power clean.

I'm hoping that the rest of the week goes well and I will just go into intensity day on Saturday as planned and everything was normal. If I feel like I still need a break, I'll have to figure something out there also. I plan on just going back into the normal volume day next week with 325 for the squat and 215 for the bench.

[zepled37]

Pretty good day today, but hey, it's recovery day...supposed to be easy. Still felt a little bit of total body fatigue, but not much strength fatigue if that makes sense...could be because I've been eating a bunch of junk food as well as being a bit overextended on the training / recovery front. Still playing it by ear as far whether to back off or go as normal on intensity day on Saturday. Game day decision....

Front Squats
Barx8x2sets
95x5
135x3
175x1
205x3x3sets (PR...well, never tried to push these, but it's the most I've done. still not too hard)

Felt pretty good, but they should since I only did one set on volume day Tuesday...Not sure how much to push these since it is recovery day. I'm sure I could go up 10 lbs, but maybe wait to see how next week's volume day shakes out. I guess this is one advantage to sticking to back squats, just use 80% of your Monday weight and you have no worries.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x3
125x5x2sets

Someone using the rack (also for presses!) so just cleaned these first. No problems, but felt heavier than expected. Still a good weight for recovery day.

45 degree back extensions
+20lbs x 15x2sets

Held weight behind the neck and made it a bit harder. felt good. Maybe 25-30lbs and 10 reps next time

Pull-ups
body weight x6x2sets (not quite to failure)

Hanging leg raises - 3 sets

[zepled37]

Felt a little better today so went ahead with intensity day as pretty much planned.

Squat
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
185x1
225x2
275x1
315x1
355x5 PR

I've been wanting to test some heavier weights and debated about sticking with 3 reps here or going to 365 for the set of 5, but wasn't feeling it in the squat today. Set went ok, but a little disappointed because I thought it would feel lighter. I think maybe I should modify my squat programming a bit. Might drop to 3 sets of 5 on volume day for a couple weeks to see how that goes. Also have been debating about doing DE sets on intensity day instead for a bit of a break, but maybe that's a more dramatic programming change that can wait for now. Will keep other programming the same for now if I do this.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
165x2
195x1
230x5 PR

I believe this is an all-time PR for me. Up to this point I've mostly been regaining strength that I've had some time ago, but I don't think I've ever done this before. I know it's not great, but my bench has never been good and with shoulder problems and shoulder surgery a while back, I'm glad to break some new ground. I'm hoping the shoulders hold up and I can somehow make it to a 300+ bench press.

Deadlifts
135x5
185x3
225x2
275x1
325x1
385x5 PR

Was supposed to only go to 375 for 5 reps, but I couldn't resist going heavier and was only going to do 3 reps which still would have been a PR, but thought I had more in me so got the 5 reps at 385. Was pretty tough and took quite a bit out of me even though not quite a complete 5RM.

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUSwl-otY5s

[zepled37]

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
265x1
295x1
325x5x3sets

So, I'm going to at least tweak my squat programming if nothing else. Though I guess I really haven't stalled, squats seem like they've been stale last couple weeks, my knees have been a little sore (more so today) and I think I'm right on the border of recovery right now. Right now I'm hoping to get away with dropping to 3 sets of squats and changing the intensity workout to dynamic effort sets. Hopefully this will be enough to make my knees feel a little better and be a little better from a recovery standpoint. Ever since college, it seems like my training progress gets derailed by injuries and I really don't want that! Depending how it feels, I may take a week or two of deload on all lifts.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x3
115x1
135x5x5sets PR

Decided to take a 10 pound jump here still because I thought I could get it and frankly, didn't want to load the bar to 130 (25,10,5,2.5)...Actually went better than expected but did have to take a bit more rest than I've been on the press so far.

Power Cleans
Barx5
95x3
135x2
165x1
200x3x5sets PR

Wasn't sure how this would go, my back was feeling a little tired during warm-ups, but figured what the hell, might as well give it a shot. This also went better than expected, but again, took some more rest than I have so far on the cleans. This also is a bit surprising considering I only did 205 for a single last week and couldn't do 225, but I guess that's how the clean goes.

Overall, though I haven't stalled, I've felt a bit worn out physically and mentally the last couple weeks. Hopefully, tweaking the squat programming changes will be enough to keep it going, but I might go for a deload if it seems necessary. I started pretty light 10 weeks ago in my Texas Method programming, but even if I had a few lighter weeks then, I think the volume has caught up to me so will probably soon be time for deload. Not sure I would like to do it just for the squat, but we'll see.

[kittenSmash]

Good lifts. And I had to let you know that your screen name is badass. Hammer of the gods' man. I need to go blast some Zep now.

[zepled37]

Front Squats
Barx8x2sets
95x5
135x3
185x1
215x3x3sets (PR...but doesn't really matter, just light day)

Went up 10 pounds from last week, felt better than expected though I think I was pushing a bit more with the right leg to ease the pressure on my left knee a bit. Knee didn't feel too bad, but a bit bugged by it.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
165x2
195x5x2sets

Went up 10 pounds here from last week also on light day. Felt pretty good.

Back extensions
Body weight x15xsets

Different gym so didn't have 45 degree back extension that I've been doing, but doesn't matter much, just accessory stuff.

Chin-ups
Body weightx6x3sets (not too failure)

Chins felt really easy today for some reason so did an extra set.

[zepled37]

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
185x1
225x2x10sets

Thought this would be a good weight, but felt very, very slow on squats. Was actually surprised by how slow I felt. Either residual fatigue or just because it has been so long since I've done any speed work. I should probably drop to 185 to start with...

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x3
125x1
145x1
170x1x2sets (PR)

Since I've pretty much decided that I'm going to deload for a week or two and I just plain didn't feel like going for a 5RM pr, I decided to test a bit on a 1RM. 170 felt tough, but not all out, probably good for 5 more pounds. Prior to this, the heaviest I've ever done is 155x3, never tried singles on the press so I'm ok with this result. Really enjoying the overhead presses.

Deadlifts
135x5
185x3
225x1
275x1
315x1
365x1
405x1 (PR)

Originally had thought about going for 405x3reps, but deadlifts felt heavy warming up and was originally just going to do 365 for a second single, but I rested a long time (maybe 8 or 9 minutes) and said the hell with it, might as well go for just a single. It felt a bit heavy, but was glad I did it. Again must be some residual fatigue in the legs and back. Had a real tough deadlift PR last week with 385x5 so that and the squat fatigue I've been feeling had me worn out. Felt quite a bit of general stiffness today also that made things difficult.


Volleyball: Played for about 2.5 hours later in the day which wasn't the best idea, but have de-load coming up now...


Decided I'm going to de-load for 2 weeks and then tweak some programming and also drop some fat for about 8 weeks. I've gone back up to about 210. Though I've added about 10 pounds of muscle over the last 6 months, I've added about 10 pounds too much fat also because I started eating too much junk. (gained about 30 pounds total after a diet early last year). I estimate I'm right about 20% body fat which I just a tad too much. Would like to stay under 17% or so. Ideally stay at 10-15%, but that is a bit tougher for me.

Anyway, details on next programming phase to follow...

[zepled37]

I'm going to take a pretty big intensity drop for the early part of the week...my mind's not in it and my legs are tired and sore...

This is what I did today and what I'm thinking for the rest of the week. Modified Tuesday and Thursday workouts so I could just do them in the hotel this week instead of going to the local gym.

Monday
walk - 30 minutes
massage - 1 hour

Tuesday
Split squats - body weight x15x3sets
Push ups - 15x3sets
Seated cable rows - 15 x 3 sets
walk - 30 minutes

Wednesday
walk - 30 minutes

Thursday
Split squats - body weight x15x3sets
Push ups - 15x3sets
Seated cable rows 15x3sets
Cable curls! - 2 sets
Tricep Pushdowns! - 2 sets
walk - 30 minutes

Friday
walk - 30 minutes

Saturday
Squats up to 275x5
Bench Press up to 185x5
Press up to 95x5
Power Clean up to 135x3x3sets
walk - 30 minutes
massage - 1 hour

Sunday
walk - 30 minutes


Week 2 deload plan will be higher intensity but still pretty low volume. Will also try to work in some more mobility, stretching, and self massage these two weeks.

[zepled37]

So, started back today after basically a week off. Feeling a little more anxious to lift and felt like I had a little more spring in my squats today so hopefully I am fairly well recovered. Started slow though and I've cut back a bit on my eating so need to make sure I get more sleep than I was...

Changing programming a bit. Still going to follow Texas Method, but dropping squats to 3 sets and doing speed sets for squats on intensity days. Also dropping power cleans on Mondays for a while in favor of more chin/pull-ups and adding power snatches in on Wednesdays.

AM Body weight: 204.5

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
255x1
275x5x3sets

Squatted with 5lb plates under heels instead of just flat chucks. Ordered Rip's shoes, but got delayed so am going to try some Do-Wins. Hopefully it will feel ok. Should be here by Wednesday or so. My knee felt alright today. I think I was pushing my knees out too far and then they were not in line with my foot. I think the heel might ease some pressure on my hips too though I've never had trouble getting depth. Probably should start a bit higher on the squats, but leery of aggravating knee problems. Better to squat with this weight and no pain than make it worse and not be able to squat at all. Might even stick with this weight next week to make sure it feels good before working back up.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
155x2
185x1
205x5x3sets

Planning to do 5 sets as before, but felt a bit heavy today so just eased in with 3 sets for now.

45 degree back extensions
+20 x10x3sets

Chin-ups
BDWTx5x3sets - looking at adding weight and sticking with 5 reps.

Side Bends
10x3sets

Power Snatches
Barx5
65x2
85x1x2sets

Just did the snatches to get an idea on what weight I might need on recovery day. Not normally going to do them this day.

[zepled37]

Long last two days of work, but made it to the gym around 9pm. Fortunately, it was just recovery day.

AM weight: 204.5

Front Squat
Barx8x2sets
95x5
135x3
165x1
195x3x3sets

Felt pretty good, dropped back down from 215 before deload week. Also had a chance to try some weigtlifting shoes for the first time. Tried ordering the Rip's, but the didn't have any so sent me some Do-Wins to try. Didn't feel too bad, but I think the 1/2 inch heel would be better. Definitely could feel more stable compared to chuck's though. Moved through the sets pretty quick.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x3
115x5x2sets

Felt fine, only about 2 minutes rest or so between work sets.

Power Snatch
Barx5x2sets
65x3
75x2
85x2x5sets
95x1

First time doing snatches as an actual workout exercise. (As opposed to just fooling around or loosening up.) Pretty sure the 85 and 95 pounds are the most I've ever tried. Felt pretty easy. Will go up to 95 pounds for work sets next week. I don't have proper plates so am doing these off a box that puts the bar about 4 inches higher than it should be, but that's alright for now. With light weight at least these feel a little more natural to me than cleans. Looking forward to working up to 135 doing it from the ground up.

Abs
3 sets


Going for massage tonight.

[zepled37]

Ate a bit more last night and today since I was a feeling a bit skinnier ( I am trying to drop a few pounds) and thought maybe a slight refeed would be in order.

Squat
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x1
185x2x8sets
205x2x2sets

Speed sets for squat. Felt much better than before my deload when my legs were completely dead with no spring. I dropped to 185 based on my experience prior to deload, but that seemed a bit light today so I did the last 2 sets with 205. Probably go up to 205 on these next week.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
165x1
195x1
215x1
230x3

Sort of a PR...Recent PR at 3 reps, but did 230 for 5 reps before the deload so doesn't really count. Felt decent, could have done 5 reps again I believe. Will go to 235 next time.

Deadlift
135x5
185x3
225x2
275x1
325x1
385x3

Sort of a PR...Recent PR at 3 reps, but did 385 for 5 reps before the deload so doesn't really count. Even after deload week, deadlift feels a bit weak. Maybe that 385x5 set took more out of me than I thought. Either my deadlift is not recovering well now for some reason or the speed squats are taking more out of me than I realize. Had to use more back on these than normal. We'll stick with deadlifts for next week and go up to 390 or 395 depending how I feel, but if it keeps feeling weak, maybe I'll switch to every other week deadlifts. Didn't think I would have to do that yet as my deadlift was really progressing well for a while.

[zepled37]

It was 50+ degrees here yesterday so opted to do some walking / jogging outside for about 30 minutes. Should have stuck to the walking as I think it made my joints ache a bit even though it wasn't too intense. All in all though, the workout today was fine.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
265x1
295x5x3sets

Felt fine, weightlifting shoes feel pretty decent on squats even with .75" heel of Do-Win's. Think I'm just going to keep them since I need shoes and the new Rips are on back order and have some issues. Go up to either 305 or 315 next week. Knee is still ok, I think it will be fine with the deload and reduced volume and switching to speed sets on intensity day.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x3
115x1
135x5x3sets

Presses felt heavy today. Maybe should have started back with 125 as originally planned, but with alternating bench and presses, takes a while to get back up to new PR's. Not sure I like the WL shoes on these. Seemed to affect my balance. Also, maybe I'm wimping out, but I'm going to see if using only 3 sets on all exercises on volume day is enough to spur progress. I'm pretty sure it is right for my squat, but we'll see on the press and bench press.

45 degree back extensions
+30 x10x3sets - move up to 35 next week

Pull-ups
body weight x5x3sets

Felt pretty easy again except they bother my shoulder some. Will add 10 pounds next week.

Abs - 3 sets


Also, was looking at trying to drop some fat, but either I'm worn out some mentally or just can't do it right now. Now thinking I'll keep my calories up some through the end of February and then make the switch to drop some fat for a few months and just try to maintain strength as much as I can. Kind of hard to try to add strength and drop fat at the same time. Would have been better off dieting a couple months ago so I could keep them shorter (say 4 weeks) and not risk losing as much strength. We'll see.

[zepled37]

Traveled to New Orleans Monday and came back today, but went to the gym when I got home for my workout. Ate pretty well the last few days so was feeling full and bigger, but strength wasn't feeling all that great today. I'll chalk it up to being generally tired from the travel. Hips and legs were pretty tight today too.

Front Squats
Barx8x2sets
95x5
95x3
135x3
175x1
205x3x3sets

Felt a little heavier than expected, but didn't take much rest (2-3 minutes). Slight knee pain today. Also, not feeling so sure about the weightlifting shoes. Feels like it tires my low back out more using the shoes. Anyway, will probably try them for a bit more, but might switch back to flat shoes.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
165x1
195x5x2sets

Felt surprisingly heavy! Didn't really expect that.

Power snatch from blocks
Barx5x2sets
65x3
85x1
95x2x5sets
105x2

Form gelt really good on the light sets and then not as good. Overall, not overly difficult. Went through them quickly. Tried a set at 105 in preparation for next week's increase.

[zepled37]

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
95x5
135x5x2sets
185x3
185x1
205x2x10sets

Didn't feel all that fast on these. Seems strange as the weight should be really light. Not sure what the issue is. Legs felt pretty tight as evidenced by the extra warm ups. Will stick with this weight for a while probably. I don't know if I'm still overtrained a bit on the squats or if it's just from being tight or if I'm wimping out, but my squats have been feeling a little weak even after the deload.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x3
125x1
155x3

Tied my PR, but felt heavier than expected.

Deadlift
135x5
185x3
225x2
275x1
335x1
395x3

Wasn't sure how the deadlift would go today. Felt heavy last week and heavy on warm ups until I got to 335. 335 felt good so decided to jump to 10 pounds to 395. Was heavy, but not too bad. Would like to take one more 10 pound jump to 405 next week. My low back muscles were actually a little sore today for the first time in a long long time.

[zepled37]

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
135x3
135x3
185x3
225x2
275x1
305x5x3sets

Felt heavier than expected. Knees didn't feel too bad. Actually felt better after squats so I guess that's a good sign. Not sure why my squat still really feels kinda bad though. This should be a real easy weight especially for only 3 sets. Somehow I'm not quite recovering fully. I've gained about 5 pounds in the last week or 2 so don't think that is it. Sleep is not too bad, could be better, but not sure how much better I can make it right now. Maybe just the deadlifts taking more out of me than I thought or the deload on squats wasn't long enough. Only took about 5 minutes rest but that should be plenty at this weight. When doing 325 before, I took 7 or 8 minutes. Still maybe some mental also.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
165x2
195x1
215x5x3sets

Ties PR, but this felt heavier than expected also...hmm...

45 degree back extensions
+35 x10x3sets - might stick with this, kind of awkward holding dumbbell

chin-ups
+10 x5x3sets - a little tough on the last set

Abs


Still hoping to gain some strength for another 5 weeks on this program, but we'll see how it goes! Don't want to gain more than a couple more pounds of body weight though. As I said, that doesn't seem to be the factor I'm missing anyway. Main goal is to keep progressing on the deadlift and pressing movements. Squat should come around sometime even if not right now.

[zepled37]

Had an extra day rest before recovery day due to work schedules last week and coming up this week. Consequently, I am pushing back intensity day one day as well. Will have to figure out how to get it back on normal schedule at some point. The extra day rest shouldn't hurt any.

Didn't get to the gym until around 8pm or so so that made me feel a bit tired.

Front Squats
Barx8x2sets
95x5
95x3
135x3
185x1
205x3x3sets

Decided to stay at this weight again this week even though the front squats felt a little better this week than last.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x3
125x5x2sets

Felt kind of heavy again, but maybe I'm expecting too much. Pretty much all of the easy gains are gone I think as I've regained a lot of strength I had years ago. I did rest only about 3-4 minutes.

Power Snatches
Barx5x2sets
65x3
85x2
105x2x5sets
115x1

Snatches felt ok. On sets 2 and 3, I felt myself pressing the weight out a little bit. I think this was more from being tired and lazy so just focused a bit more and the last few sets were better. Not sure if I should go to 115 next week or not.

Here is video of the last set of 2 and the set with 115 if anyone has any advice on technique. As with cleans, I've learned them on my own and I've only done snatches (with any weight other than the bar for warm-ups sometimes) for the last 3 weeks. Also open to opinions on using the blocks versus doing them from the hang as I don't have bumpers available and am not ready to try 135 yet. I'm thinking from the hang might be better, but who knows? The blocks are a little high to get in the right starting position.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4FZPlcyN8A

Intensity day tomorrow...Hoping for a good day, been thinking about it all week...especially looking to hit 405x3 on the deadlift. I really should be deadlifting 500+ but I'm working on it...Bench increase from last week will play by ear depending how it feels tomorrow.

[zepled37]

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
205x1
205x2x10sets

Still felt a little slow on these?! Not too bad, but maybe I should drop down a bit. Think I'll post a video for opinions on if I have sufficient speed. Just seems slower than long time ago when I did box squats. Either because of no box or that I've only been doing these for a short time recently.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
175x2
205x1
235x3 PR

Would have liked to jump to 240, but that would be a bit greedy. This is still the most I've lifted on the bench in a long time so will just hold out for 240 next time. Felt a bit tough on the last rep.

Deadlift
135x3
185x2
225x1
295x1
355x1
405x3 PR

Got the 405x3 that I was hoping for all week! Didn't get too worked up, but a small bit of psychological arousal was present for this set. Actually felt less strain today in my low back than with 395 last week. Could feel it rounding though. Kinda pissed that I had the camera all set up and then forgot to turn it on when I was done chalking up. Not sure if I should risk another 10 pound jump next week or drop to 5 pounds. Too early to tell.

[zepled37]

Debated about pushing this back a day since I only got around 7 and 6.5 hours sleep the last two nights. There is no way that works for me when training this heavily. I think sleep is a bigger issue for me than eating. I need to get at least 8 hours all the time and hopefully more. Anyway, I'm already a day behind on the schedule so opted to push through it tonight.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
95x5
135x5
135x3
185x3
225x2
265x1
295x1
315x5x3sets

Squats felt easier than expected on the first set then got a bit harder. I think if I had my sleep, I would have breezed through them.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x3
125x1
140x5x3sets PR

Second set was pretty rough so I took more rest before the last set and it felt better. Really can't press in the do-wins...balance is way off, low back hurts and feels like crap. Probably shouldn't go up to 145 next time, but I might...depends. With more rest I can probably make it ok.

45 degree back extensions
+35 x10x3sets - stuck with same weight since I was tired. Good low back pump...

Pull-ups
+10x5x3sets - pretty tough, maybe because tired. Maybe I should have started with only +5

Abs
3 sets

Gearing up for intensity day again...two numbers in my mind this week...160 and 415...just need rest and I can get it.

[zepled37]

Got about 9 hours sleep last night so that was good, but weights felt heavy today.

Front Squat
Barx8x2sets
95x5
135x3
185x1
215x3x3sets

Pretty hard. Was going to stick with 205, but I've done that for 2 weeks in a row already and thought I should go up. Gets a bit uncomfortable holding the front squats, but will stick with them for a bit yet I think. Then maybe go to lunges actually...

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
165x2
195x5x2sets

Wow these were hard today! Guess my shoulders and upper back are really tired from last workout.

Power Snatch from hang
Barx5x2sets
65x3
85x2x5sets

Based on some feedback I decided to do these from the hang today instead of the box and lowered the weight to try to work on my form. Felt a little better on some reps, but still generally suck at them technique wise.

Went for massage right after my workout. We'll see how that works. Haven't done that before.

Need some rest the next two days.

[zepled37]

Wasn't sure what was in store for me today after about 3 hours of shoveling snow yesterday. I spaced it out and shoveled for only about an hour at a time and then took a break for a couple hours. I did end up sleeping for about 12 hours so I'm sure that helped.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
135x3
185x3
205x1
205x2x10sets

Still just felt so so on these I don't feel like I can handle two real heavy squat workouts, but don't feel like I'm getting out of these what I use to. I used to feel so fast on speed squats. Was a little tentative just because my back was tweaked a bit on one set of snatches last workout where I had some funky form. Anyway, as long as I can keep making progress on volume day and other lifts, I'm not too concerned.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x3
115x1
135x1
160x3 PR

Was pretty sure during the warm-ups that I was going to get this. Felt good. Last rep was a little bit of a grinder. Me vs snow round 1: I win.

Deadlift
135x3
185x2
225x1
295x1
355x1
415x3 PR

Debated about going to rack pulls today with all the shoveling and for something different, but figured I would try regular deads first and see how it goes. Didn't feel too tired so went for it. Was a bit concerned on the last set but probably mostly mental. Did feel some back rounding on this set. Me vs. snow round 2: I win again...
See link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1dyfJpCtZM

Feel like I have some decent adaptation going on right now. Deadlift still going up and not quite as tired after intensity day workouts. Reading about guys deadlifting 450-500+ pounds is kind of pissing me off. I should be able to deadlift 500+. Anyway try to keep going...

[zepled37]

Not sure what to call today. Training yesterday got derailed by the snow and I was already behind a day from my schedule so played it by ear today. In the end I guess it was a bit of a deload with some lower volume but reasonably high intensity. Suppose I'm going to workout Saturday and make the whole week a small deload and then get back on my normal schedule.

Squat
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
265x1
295x1
315x3x2sets

Felt pretty heavy even with an extra day of rest. Volume day plan was 325x5x3sets. Think it must be fatigue from the deadlifts that is slowing down squat progress. I'm going to switch deadlifts to every other week for a while and see how that goes before trying to alternate haltings and rack pulls.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
175x1
205x1
225x3x2sets

Also reasonably heavy, but not as bad as squats. Volume day plan was 220x5x3sets.

Chin-ups
Body weight x6x2sets

Push Press
Barx5
95x3
135x3
175x1 PR ;-)

Decided to throw these in for the hell of it. Never did them before (hence the PR...). Wanted to get just a bit heavier than what I have done for a single in the strict press. Felt pretty good even after benching and chins. At some point when press stalls, would like to work these in for a bit. Think I could do over 200 on these.

Play it be ear again on Saturday and then repeat this week correctly next week.

[zepled37]

So, didn't make it to the gym yesterday after all but got it in today. Felt tired as hell yesterday and today. Felt weak today. I guess overtraining hits me very quickly. Not quite sure how I can be setting PR's and feeling good a week ago and this week feeling so worn out and weak. Eating and rest were not bad. I chalk it up to the deadlifts. I've made some decent progress the last 4 weeks and it caught up to me I guess. Low back still tired today.

Part of warm-up:
45 degree back extensions
body weight x20x2sets - feeling lots of low back pump here, back still tired from last week.

standing cable abs x20x2sets

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
255x5x2sets

Even these felt heavy, bizarre.

Incline Bench Press (put this in for the hell of it)
Barx10x2sets
95x5
115x3
135x2
165x5x2sets

Somewhat heavy.

Seated cable rows (what the hell)
12x3sets

Cable Curls (yeah!)
15x1set

Tricep Pushdowns (yeah!)
15x1set

Got my arm training in for the first quarter of 2010...

Going to take a nap now and then I guess slight deload and work back up starting Tuesday. Also switch deadlifts to every other week. Hopefully things will keep moving.

[famendoza]

Hey zep,

Interesting you mention deads as a possible cause for why you're tired. My personal experience with deads was that after I was going for mid to high 300s, setting a rep pr (in this case 5 reps) would put me in a situation where I'd feel sluggish for about 2 weeks. The first time I experienced this I was not aware of the situation at hand - I had reached 345x5 around in March when I was doing a program similar to SS, and had planned to do 355 two workouts afterward. I had failed miserably, and subsequent attempts to pull it off within a week were met with failure. Ramping myself up, with deads every two weeks in Jun-July, I made it through 345x5 easy, 355x5 easy, and 365x5 hard but doable. The next two weeks squatting went up a bit, but deads went away. Ramped up again using the Madcow template (in my previously lost thread) and made it to 374x5 in late October, then attempted 383x5 and got only one rep the next week. Then a vacation came up and 325x5 a week later was wayyy harder than prior experience would describe to me and 335 was a non-starter.

The point of my above rambling is to let you know this happened even while gorging on Wendy's, BK, nacho platters, countless Thai and Chinese fast foods and liters of milk. Recovery and progress in my case may probably have been continued with a lighter increment (possibly 5lbs or less) but still did not explain the destructive path each deadlift PR would incur (e.g major drops after PR for a set of 5). It may also help to reduce the frequency of deadlifting, or to rethink your approach to the Texas program to help manage the stress the deads cause (smaller increments, different exercises, yada yada). Take this with a huge grain of salt, given that you're actually wayyy more experienced than I with your PL DL PRs, but I've put myself on 5/3/1 to see if it's a better way to structure the recovery for deadlifting for myself. I figure it prevents me from trying DL PRs that I'm just not ready for, and keeps me chugging along with prescribed 'progress' even if its slow. On the other hand, I could be shooting myself in the foot with it 5 months down the road (I'm including hill running in mine), and you'd do better to listen to other people, given that you're on the Texas method.

[zepled37]

Hey zep,

Interesting you mention deads as a possible cause for why you're tired. My personal experience with deads was that after I was going for mid to high 300s, setting a rep pr (in this case 5 reps) would put me in a situation where I'd feel sluggish for about 2 weeks. The first time I experienced this I was not aware of the situation at hand - I had reached 345x5 around in March when I was doing a program similar to SS, and had planned to do 355 two workouts afterward. I had failed miserably, and subsequent attempts to pull it off within a week were met with failure. Ramping myself up, with deads every two weeks in Jun-July, I made it through 345x5 easy, 355x5 easy, and 365x5 hard but doable. The next two weeks squatting went up a bit, but deads went away. Ramped up again using the Madcow template (in my previously lost thread) and made it to 374x5 in late October, then attempted 383x5 and got only one rep the next week. Then a vacation came up and 325x5 a week later was wayyy harder than prior experience would describe to me and 335 was a non-starter.

The point of my above rambling is to let you know this happened even while gorging on Wendy's, BK, nacho platters, countless Thai and Chinese fast foods and liters of milk. Recovery and progress in my case may probably have been continued with a lighter increment (possibly 5lbs or less) but still did not explain the destructive path each deadlift PR would incur (e.g major drops after PR for a set of 5). It may also help to reduce the frequency of deadlifting, or to rethink your approach to the Texas program to help manage the stress the deads cause (smaller increments, different exercises, yada yada). Take this with a huge grain of salt, given that you're actually wayyy more experienced than I with your PL DL PRs, but I've put myself on 5/3/1 to see if it's a better way to structure the recovery for deadlifting for myself. I figure it prevents me from trying DL PRs that I'm just not ready for, and keeps me chugging along with prescribed 'progress' even if its slow. On the other hand, I could be shooting myself in the foot with it 5 months down the road (I'm including hill running in mine), and you'd do better to listen to other people, given that you're on the Texas method.

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions. I may have been ramping up my deadlift too quickly because some time ago I knocked out 385x5 and could feel almost immediately a pretty significant fatigue. I reset and decided to switch to sets of 3 reps and have been taking 10 pound jumps each week. I've added about 30 pounds to my deadlift in a month or so. The strange thing is that I don't normally fail in workouts. Seems like I'm going along fine, setting PR's and then all of a sudden I hit a wall and feel like crap. I guess in some respects I'm being smart by not pushing it and realizing I'm overtrained before failing (I get injured easy I've learned.) So taking 10 pound jumps every week is probably too much even though I've been getting the reps.

The same as you, I don't think it is an eating issue for me. I'm already about 210 at 5'9" so I'm monitoring my intake, but not anything drastic and I don't really think the extra eating would help me much. I could use some more sleep, but get 7-8 hours most nights with more on the weekends (~10 plus 2 hours+ of naps). I don't really see a way to get much more sleep without quitting my job...and honestly, I think my training is already limiting some of my work performance. Doing good in my job, but could be doing more if training wasn't a priority for me.

One thing I've learned from PPST and wish I would have realized and truly learned long ago is to just make small changes to your program first. I've made some tweaks to TM programming already (down to 3 sets on volume days, and switch to speed sets for squats on intensity day) in the hopes that it would help me recover and allow my knee to heal up a bit (that part seems to have worked) but I still only managed 4 weeks until systemic recovery became a bit of an issue.

Next logical thing to me is deadlift changes as my pressing movements feel pretty good (especially since they have been notoriously weak for me), but my squat has not felt too good for a while even after the above mentioned changes. I was reading the haltings/rack pull thread closely, but seems like I can progress a bit further before doing that as I haven't really stalled on the movement, just outrun my recovery abilities. Also smaller increments don't really make sense to me if I can progress with larger ones.

Actually Rip answered a question about this in his Q&A called deadlift progression. Basically if you can progress every other week with 10 pound increments it is better to do that than progress 5 pounds every week because of the systemic fatigue that the deads produce. He answered this in response to a novice programming question, but also makes sense for intermediate. Same total increase, but less total work done and less impact on other movements (probably especially the squat).

So, I'm going to try every other week deadlifts for a while with a minor reset (maybe 385 or 395?) and stick to the 10 pound jumps. If I stall, will probably reset and switch to 5 pound jumps before going to haltings/rack pulls, but if it still seems like a recovery issue, I will look at changing exercises sooner. Not sure if it would make sense to deadlift once in three weeks but that could be an option with some lighter exercises in between.

I don't think I need any programming changes for the squat (other than what was already changed) or pressing movements so the deadlift changes are the main thing for now unless I wanted to completely move away from the texas method but even though it gets tiring as hell I don't think I need to do that yet. Pressing movements haven't really stalled out, just stopped when I hit this systemic fatigue wall...

If all the above fail, then I'll look at taking a bigger reset and start over. And if that doesn't work, then I'll probably look at switching to a Starr model or split routine! Thinking I have 6 months or more or TM still in me though.

Anyway, that was long! Sorry.

[zepled37]

OK, trying to reset and get things back in order. Today was a volume day. Overall, must have gotten more overtrained than expected somehow as today was a bit hard still and don't have a lot of motivation to go to the gym right now.

Did 3 sets of back extensions and 2 sets of abs as part of warm up. Legs pretty stiff.

Squat
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
245x1
275x5x3sets

Much heavier than it should be, but hopefully light enough to allow me to recoup and still maintain some strength. Feel like maybe I dropped off my heavy ab training too much and that might be hurting me in the squat, but everything feels like crap right now so hard to tell.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x3
165x2
195x1
215x5x3sets

Was orginally going to drop to 205 for this week, but I've already done 215 for 3 sets of 5 twice (at least) and have done it for 5 sets of 5. Was supposed to go to 220 last week when all hell broke loose. So, decided to just repeat again with 215. Was kind of heavy. Last set actually felt heavier than any other time I remember working with 215.

Chin-ups
Body weight 5repsx3sets

Got them, but felt crappy.



Got to hit recovery day tomorrow, but will be lighter than normal. Hopefully, I'll get through this slump quickly.

[zepled37]

So, apparently my little bout with what appears to be overtraining coincides with the worst couple weeks of work that I've had in quite a while. While some of the work stress and lack of sleep probably contributed to making the issue worse, I don't really think it caused the problem in the first place. Still a bit surprised at how quickly I seemed to get overtrained.

Anyway, ended up only training twice last week. Here is a workout I did on Saturday.

Front Squats
Barx8x2sets
95x5
135x3
155x1
185x3x3sets

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x3
125x5x2sets

Hang Power Snatch
Barx5
65x3
85x2x5sets

[zepled37]

So, still super busy at work this week. First workout was Friday. Still not quite sure what I'm going to do. Might try a Starr model for a while. I think TM is still ok for me, but I seem to have gotten really out of whack and need a more significant change mentally if nothing else.

I did this workout in circuit fashion with ramped sets.

Squat
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
175x5
215x5
245x5
275x5

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x5
155x5
175x5
195x5

Power Cleans
Barx5x2sets
95x3
135x5
145x5
155x5
165x5
175x5

Abs - sets

Everything still felt a little heavy which is crazy. Though the circuit approach and all sets of 5 might have affected things a bit. Still this should be easy weights. Also feel fatter and less muscular.

First time doing cleans in about 5 or 6 weeks. Think I'm going to ditch the snatches and go back to cleans. Seem to get more out of cleans. Maybe because my form sucks.

[zepled37]

So, tried a Starr type heavy day with ramped sets still. Might stick with this for a while, but haven't really set up the program completely. No circuit this time.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
175x5
215x5
255x5
295x5

Still a little heavy?! WTF. Maybe hard to compare given all sets of 5 and some shorter rest, but still, this should be easier.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x5
115x5
125x5
135x5

Felt better than expected. Two massages this week. They usually seem to help my presses and cleans. I think due to helping my traps and things move more normally.

Rack Pulls
Barx5
135x5
225x3
315x1
365x1
405x5

Don't think I'm necessarily at the point where I need to alternate rack pulls and haltings, but I'm going to for at least a mental break. These felt a little harder than expected, but not bad. Not as wiped out as after regular deadlifts.

I think I'll just try going up by 5 pounds a week on everything to be more conservative and keep to the ramped sets with a light, medium, heavy rotation. Heavy days on weekends work better for me.

Perhaps I should go think about this program some more.

[zepled37]

So, I'm just going to try this plan for now. Not sure how long I will run it. Depends if I make progress or not...

Seems like workload will be way down from what I was on before even though I'll be doing sets of 5 even for warm-ups so that should add to it some. If I don't make progress, will modify as needed. I'm guessing if I don't make progress on this, I will need to add additional work.

Light days seem like they will be really light except for cleans.

Tuesday - Medium
Thursday - Light
Saturday - Heavy


Medium Days
Squat 5x5 ramped to 90% of heavy day
Bench Press / Press 5x5 ramped to 90% of heavy day
Chin-ups / Pull-ups 5x3sets across

Light Days
Squat 5x5 ramped to 80% of heavy day
Press / Bench Press 5x5 ramped to 80% of heavy day
Power Clean 3x5sets ramped

Heavy Days
Squat 5x5 ramped to PR if possible
Bench Press / Press 5x5 ramped to PR if possible
Haltings / Rack Pulls 8x1set / 5x1set


Thoughts? Opinions?

[zepled37]

Today was not too bad. Workout didn't start until after 8pm so that sucked and was a little tired.

Warm up included a couple light sets of abs and 45 degree back extensions.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
175x5
205x5
235x5
265x5

Didn't feel too heavy, but still not very good! My squats are so shitty right now...not sure what else to do except work through it at this point. I do think I'm going to go back to the chuck's instead of the Rogue Do-Wins and see how that goes. I don't think the shoes are the main culprit and they felt ok when I started using them, but I'm not convinced they are best for me.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x5
155x5
175x5
195x5

Chin ups
Body weight x5x3sets

Side bends
1 set

[zepled37]

So, another just so-so workout. Hopefully, things are sorting themselves out.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
165x5
195x5
215x5
235x5

Went back to the converse shoes today. Threw my balance off a bit in the beginning as I have to lean forward more with those, but no real problems. Still didn't feel great, maybe I'm just wussing out on squats. Will have to push it.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x5

Felt a little heavy.

Power Cleans
Barx5
95x3
135x3
145x3
165x3
175x5
185x3

Not too bad. I think I'm pretty much giving up on figuring out the second pull without having a coach. If I get my deadlift way up (600?!), I have to believe I could clean 250 which would be decent to me.

Abs 2 sets

All in all, an ok day. Looking forward to how the heavy day feels. The programming overall definitely feels different than texas method even in the first week. Not sure how to describe it, but we'll see how it goes over the next few weeks.

[zepled37]

So so day again today.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
185x5
225x5
265x5
305x5

Still feel a little crappy on squats. Going to quit complaining and just push through and work hard on them. Stuck with the chuck's again and feel a bit more stretch in the hamstrings.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x5
155x5
175x5
195x5
215x5

Just so so, have done 230x5 back on TM when things were going well. Feeling a bit more "pump" in the chest from doing all 5's. Also may be because of a little less rest between sets.

Halting Deadlifts
135x5
185x3
225x1
275x8

Felt pretty easy, but I started fairly conservative on these. Will have to make sure I keep upper and lower back arched a little harder. Probably go to 295 next time. Lower back does finally feel a little bit more rested so that is good.

Abs 3 sets

Hopefully, things are looking up.

[zepled37]

Another so-so day...it's getting old...On a positive note, I did move through the workout pretty quickly (counting 20 minute warm-up, about 1 hour and 20 minutes) so perhaps that made it a little harder or I'm still just thinking too much about it.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
185x5
225x5
255x5
275x5

Still not in the groove on squats. Could be because my legs / hips get pretty stiff sometimes (like now). Could be because I'm trying to eat for maintenance and slightly below so shouldn't expect too much. Could be who the hell knows...I think I could do better on consistency and nutrient timing on the diet side that could still help even at maintenance level.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x5

Felt pretty decent. I did try to get a breath in at the top so I could use some more stretch reflex. Most of my presses start from a near stop at the bottom.

Pull-ups
body weight x 5 x 3 sets

A little heavy feeling.

Have to do light day tomorrow already to get back on normal schedule and due to travelling on Friday. Heavy day should be Saturday.

[zepled37]

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
165x5
195x5
225x5
245x5

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x5
155x5
165x5
175x5

I did the squats and bench presses in "circuit" fashion. No use complaining about the squats anymore, just need to figure it out. Bench felt decent for having back to back workouts.

Power Cleans
Barx5
95x3
135x3
155x3
165x3
175x3
190x3

Not that my technique is ever good, but cleans felt a little sloppy. The strength was decent considering I just added them back in. 195x3 should be no problem next week. Hopefully I can make it to 205x3 or beyond. I did 205x1 a while back when screwing around with singles, but missed 225.

Sleep during the week is a little better this week. Hopefully, I'll be well recovered for heavy day.

[zepled37]

Squats
Barx5x3sets
95x5x2sets
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x5
315x5

Squats still suck, blah, blah, blah...

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x5
115x5
125x5
140x5

Felt a little heavy.

Rack Pulls
Barx5
135x5
225x3
315x1
365x1
415x5

Different power rack today and I think it was just slightly lower than the one used a couple weeks ago. Was pretty tough.

[zepled37]

Actually felt a little better today. Had an extra day of rest so maybe that helped.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
185x5
225x5
255x5
285x5

Felt ok. I believe I need to make time to work on hip and hamstring mobility. I think in some ways it is holding back my squat and causes back and knee discomfort. I don't have a problem hitting depth, but it just alters my movement pattern. I'm thinking that I might go to only squatting twice a week (heavy and light days). Probably do lunges and back extensions on the mediume day. We'll see.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x5
155x5
175x5
195x5

Felt pretty good. Last set got a tad hard, but I was moving pretty quickly through the workout.

Chin ups
body weight x 5 x 3sets

Probably should have gone to six reps, as these actually felt better this week also.

Abs 3 sets



Overall, felt much better with my workout today. Hopefully, that is a good sign. No bashing, but I am starting a very low carb diet to lean out a bit so I don't have real high strength gain hopes until I come off that diet sometime in the summer. We'll see. Going to try to get light day in tomorrow to get back on track.

[zepled37]

Got light day in on Friday. Heavy day pushed to Sunday.

Driving back from 2 hours away where I work most weeks so was a bit tired and legs tight. I desperately need to do hip mobility drills every day.

Squat
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
165x5
195x5
225x5
255x5

So much for squats feeling better...maybe they felt better Tuesday because of eating more over the weekend. I'm sticking to the diet anyway as squats seem to be most affected by it. I'm going down to two squat days per week starting next week, Heavy and Light. Not even sure I'm going to get the heavy day squats this week the way this felt tonight. Maybe some sleep will help this weekend.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x5

Not bad, went quick. Hip tightness actually bothers me here too.

Power Cleans
Barx5
95x3
135x3
155x3
165x3
185x3
195x3

Had vague thoughts of trying a limit clean tonight, but the squat performance put a damper on that idea. Clean form felt a little better tonight except the set with 185 and all together these felt ok still. Will try 200 next week.

Abs 2 sets

[zepled37]

Weight was down to 205.5 this morning. Technically, I guess I'm supposed to wait two weeks on this diet before having a carb refeed meal, but thought since I dropped quite a bit the first week and had a heavy day of training today, I would go for it. Had about 150g of carbs with breakfast. No carbs until next week now...

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x5
325x5

Wasn't sure if I was going to go for the 325 today as I didn't feel very strong, but decided what the hell. I rested for a while and ground it out. This seemed to be almost my limit today. Definitely decided to go to 2 squat days per week. Today was the last straw...my squat is down about 10% as I've done 355x5 a few months ago at the same body weight.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x5
155x5
175x5
195x5
220x5

A near max today also. Really had to push on the last one. Bench is down maybe 5% as I've done 230x5 easier than this 220x5 today.

Halting Deadlifts
135x5
185x3
225x1
265x1
305x8

Was originally planning to go to 295, but felt pretty good on these so upped it to 305 at the last second. Technique felt a little better than last time also. I think taking a break from the full deadlifts and doing rack pulls and haltings is helping a bit. Makes me think something similar will help me with my squats and presses. Perhaps need to look at mixing up the exercises. Maybe push presses or inclines. Less sure on squats, lunges I suppose. First thing to try though is squatting twice a week. See how that helps then adjust from there.

[zepled37]

Felt pretty good yesterday. A little more tired today before the workout.

DB Lunges
Body weight x 8
+20's x 8
+30's x 8

Decided to go to this for now. I believe I need less volume on leg work anyway plus with the diet, it is probably good for me to go to 2 squat days per week for now. We'll see how it goes. These were all pretty light.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x5

Felt pretty good. Went through them quickly. Last set a little heavy.

Leg Extensions / Leg Curls
12 x 2sets

No laughing!!! Figured if they are in Starr's book, they can't be completely horrible...actually I like them just for prehab purposes. I don't really need or want any more leg size so hopefully this type of work won't add to that.

Pull-ups
body weight x 5 x 3 sets

Felt better on these this week.

[zepled37]

I really should try to make sure I get a day off in between sessions even if today was a light day. Also sucked because I worked 10 hours, drove home for 2 hours and then worked out.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
165x5
195x5
225x5
260x5

Squats sucked. Tired old story.

Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x5
155x5
165x5
175x5

Felt ok, shoulder a little sore / worn out / achy.

Power Cleans
Barx5
95x3
135x3
155x3
165x3
185x3
200x3

Didn't feel like as good of form as last week. The set with 200 was tough.

Full Squat Cleans
135x1x3sets
155x2x2sets

I've had the urge to try these for a couple weeks. It was fun, but tough at the end of the workout. Definitely feels like a completely different movement than just the power cleans. By the last set, it felt a little better. I'll probably pay for all this cleaning with sore traps and achy shoulders, but it was fun.

Not sure what heavy day will have in store. Planning to go to push press, not sure on weights in the squat or rack pull. Will play it by ear.

[zepled37]

Pretty tired this weekend. Got some reasonable sleep during the week and good sleep Friday and Saturday, but still need more.


Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
185x5
225x3
275x3
315x3
330x3

Was afraid of 330x5 so switched to sets of 3 and went for 330x3. Not sure if I'll stay with this rep scheme or not.

Push Press
Barx8 (regular press)
95x5 (regular press)
115x3
135x3
155x3
175x2x2sets

175 was heavier than expected. I had done some push presses a while back and worked up to 185 for a fairly easy single.

Rack Pulls
Barx5
135x5
225x3
315x1
365x1
420x5

Wasn't sure about these, decided to go for it, but during the set, I still wasn't sure I was going to get them. Pretty heavy.

[zepled37]

Think I ended up with all my protein and fat today, but didn't eat much until around lunchtime and then a big break in the afternoon until I ate also. My energy wasn't great, but my strength seemed reasonable. Working in some different exercises right now.

Lunges
body weight x 8
+20's x 8
+35's x 8

Seemed easier than last week for some reason.

Incline Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x5
115x5
135x5
145x5
155x5

Pretty easy

Leg Extensions / Leg Curls
12reps x 2sets

Pretty easy

Chin-ups
body weight x 6 x 3sets

Felt pretty good on these. A little irritation in the front of my left shoulder.

Dips
body weight x 5 x 3sets

Haven't done dips in probably at least 10 years due to shoulder pain and injuries. Going to try to work them in and see how it goes. Might do these in place of incline bench press if I can do them without pain and work them hard. To start with I'll probably keep the inclines pretty light and start slow with the dips and do both.

Incline sit ups
2 sets

Overall a decent workout after a 12 hour work day and being on a very low carb diet. Weight has stayed about 205 so far, but might be getting a tad leaner. I haven't been getting 30 minutes of walking in each day like I should. I feel like either the diet change or ramped sets all at 5 reps has helped me maintain or even add a little muscle size even though my strength is nearly plateaued.

[zepled37]

Felt decent today.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
165x5
195x5
225x5
255x5

Felt pretty easy as it should.

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x5

Pretty easy also.

Power cleans
Barx5
95x3
135x3
155x3
175x5
195x3
205x3 PR
225xmiss
225x1 PR

Wasn't to sure about these at first. Second set started feeling heavy. 205x1 was my best before and I missed 225. 225 miss today was better than before so tried again. Feels pretty good to hit a 225 clean.

[zepled37]

Didn't get heavy workout in this weekend. Played volleyball for 3 hours which isn't the best plan for my goals. Especially due to the impact it has on my shoulders and other joints, but it was fun.

Will do this heavy workout in Week 6.

[zepled37]

Poor sleep due to travelling and work the past 2 nights. Plus dealing with the after effects of volleyball on Saturday night. Considering that, the workout was not too bad. Leg work is kind of light on my medium day though so that helps. Shoulders bugged me a bit on pull-ups and dips. Hopefully massage later this week to help get things back in order a bit.

Walk - 30 minutes steady state

Lunges
body weight x8x2sets
+20'sx8
+40'sx8

Pretty easy. Might keep the weights light here and up the volume (additional sets).

Incline Bench Press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x5
145x5
155x5
160x5

Moderate. Go to 165 next time.

Leg Extensions / Leg Curls
12x2sets

Quick and easy.

Pull-ups
body weight x 6 x 3 sets

Felt it a bit in the shoulders at the very top of the movement. Actually felt pretty strong pulling from the bottom.

Dips
body weight x 5 x 3 sets

Feeling these in the shoulders more this week also. I'm sure from volleyball. Didn't increase the reps or sets as I'm not sure how much volume I can take, but more so that I'm going to ease into these because I haven't done them in forever and they are a little awkward on my shoulders. Thinking about running some programming at some point where I really up the volume on things like chinups/pullups, dips, and push ups to try to help my shoulder strength, because I generally feel weak on these movements. Not sure if this would help. Would probably have to still keep one day of heavy pressing in each week to maintain strength.

Need to work on getting 30 minutes of moderate walking in each day as my weight has not dropped any more yet. Still around 205 I believe. Supposed to go up to 60 minutes each day before lowering fat grams per day a bit. We'll see where I end up by the end of this week. Might drop fat a few grams per day anyway.

[zepled37]

Loaded up on sleep the last 2 nights (about 9 hours each) and worked from home trying to get recovered. Also had a massage yesterday and walked for 30 minutes yesterday and today. Weight this morning was down to 203.0, but that could have been because of the extra sleep I weighed myself later in the morning.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
165x5
195x5
225x5
255x5

Felt crappy. Must be from all the jumping at volleyball last Saturday or just from general fatigue from earlier in the week. Last weeks light squats felt pretty good.

Overhead Press
Barx8
75x5
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x5

Went through these pretty fast, but felt decent considering that. Shoulders still a little sore from volleyball. Probably should avoid doing that again though I only do it every couple months when visiting a friend.

Power Cleans
Barx5
95x3
135x3
155x1x5sets
155x1 clean and jerk PR
185x1 power clean
205x1 power clean

Felt like a slight deload week for cleans was in order after the PR last week and being a bit run down. Just did some singles with 155 and then tried a clean and jerk for probably the first time ever. Felt decent, my low back was a little wobbly like maybe it didn't get tight soon enough and the bar might have already been back on the decent before it got solid. Then finished up with two more power clean singles. 185 was pretty easy, but 205 was a little heavy. All were done with only about 45 seconds rest except the 185 clean so that could be why it was easier.

Also did 2 sets of abs and back extensions as part of the warm up.

Hoping intensity day goes well this week, especially squats. With my switching around exercises, I'm going to try 2 board bench presses for intensity day.

[zepled37]

Warm up including 30 minute walk and 2 sets of abs and back extensions.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x3
315x3x2sets

Someone please help my friggin' squats!!! Yeah, I'm not eating as much as I'm trying to lean out a bit, but I've only lost about 5 pounds in 3 weeks and still weight around 205. Seems reasonable, but my squat is way off and has felt awful since I ended my run with the Texas Method. I did 5x5 with the 315 I used today for 2 sets of 3...Is it possible that I have somehow not fully recovered my legs?? My other lifts are off a little bit, but not too bad.

2 board bench press
Barx10x2sets
95x8
115x5
135x5 add boards
175x5
205x3
225x3x2sets

OK. Not great.

Halting Deadlifts
135x5
185x3
225x1
275x1
315x8

Not bad.

Power Snatches
barx3
65x2
85x2
95x1
115x1x2sets
135x2 PR

Felt like doing these today. If nothing else, doing the olympic lifts that I've never really done before gives me a chance to set some kind of PR. These felt much better than when I tried snatches for a few weeks a couple months ago. Maybe just because I did them after the heavier haltings. I think the heaviest I've gone before is 115 or maybe 125. Will be interesting trying to do a full snatch with a heavy weight...135 is probably a good weight for me to try sets across with at some point. My second rep was a little bit pressed out, but I'll take the first.

[zepled37]

I did get some good advice and thoughts on the Programming board, especially from Isis, but am not going to switch around again yet. Will try a couple more weeks of other things, but it doesn't look like things are going well. Strength down today on overhead presses.

Some of it is due to the diet, but I've dropped weight before and actually gained strength. Of course that was almost 15 years ago. Strength levels are comparable to now, a tad stronger in squats then, but I was about 20 pounds lighter then. In any case, I think there are programming issues also because I shouldn't be losing this much strength already. Another option is to run a program similar to what I ran a long time ago where I probably made some of my best gains (at least after novice phase). It was basically an upper / lower split 4 days per week with a heavy / light variation.

Lunges
body weight x 8 x 2 sets
+20s x 8
+40s x 8
body weight x 8 x 2sets

Leg Ext / Leg Curls
12x2sets

Overhead Presses
(started out doing inclines then realized I needed to do presses today. Only did warm ups with the bar and then 95 pounds so jumped into presses at 95 pounds)
95x5
115x5
135x3
155x2 (missed 3rd)
155x2

I have done 155 for 5 reps before so this wasn't good.

Chin-ups
body weight x 7 x 3sets (might have only done 6 reps on first set...)

Pulling strength is staying pretty good and chins feel better I guess from some of the weight loss even though it is still small

Abs
3 sets of side bends

May go for light day tomorrow.

[zepled37]

Felt pretty good energy wise when heading to the gym today. Carried through to a decent workout, but just a light day. Worked out today because have dodgeball tournament on Saturday and will need to get heavy day in on Friday. Again, not the best for my goals, but how often does this really happen, not too much. Though twice recently.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
165x5
195x5
225x5
255x5

Felt pretty decent today especially considering I worked out yesterday. Rushed the warm up a little bit.

Bench Press
Barx10
95x8
115x5
135x5
155x5
165x5
175x5

Pretty easy as it should be.

Power Cleans
Barx5
95x3
135x3
155x3
175x3
195x3
205x3

205 was a little heavier than expected, but it does tie my 3RM PR so I guess this is to be expected. Didn't feel as good technique wise on these today. Lats were sore from chin ups yesterday so I'll take this today.

Jerk Supports
135x1
165x1
185x1

Never did these before, but had access to a high enough rack that I felt like doing something so...185 was slightly wobbly, but not bad. Should be able to do over 200 on these without too much trouble. I was not in an enclosed rack however, and this is bad news...on the first set, one side of the bar missed and I had to catch it and press it back up.

I walked 30 minutes before the workout.

[zepled37]

Started with 30 minute walk. Felt ok going into today. Wasn't planning a real tough heavy day today.

Rack Pulls
barx5
135x5
135x5
225x5
275x3
315x1
315x1
365x5

Forgot to put a belt on for the last set and I was already strapped to the bar so I just went without. No issues with that. Used a slightly lower pin position based on Rip's feedback so dropped the weight down. Was fairly easy. Also was curious about doing rack pulls first as a means of being more warmed up for squats. Figure this is not a good idea generally, but have some thoughts that part of my struggles with squats are due to mobility issues. Always feel much better at the end of the workouts.

Press
Barx5
95x5
Push Press
115x3
135x3
155x1
175x2
180x2

Felt decent. Protracted the shoulders a bit more to make sure the bar was sitting on my front delts more in order to get more of a push, but kind of strange to start that way and then have to switch the shoulders around a little bit. Anyway...may have some technique questions for folks here. I think deadlifts first helped here also by stretching out the traps and giving better mobility to the shoulders.

Squats
Barx10
95x8
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x3
315x3

Felt much more comfortable with the squats today. Could have done more reps or sets easily. I might try to deadlift first again next week. I think when pushing the weights harder on squats and deadlifts, this will be more of an issue doing deadlifts first. Going to ask Rip about how mobility issues can impact squat progress.

Played dodgeball on Saturday. My shoulders a little sore from throwing, but happy to say that whenever I tried to race up to the line to grab a ball I was able to beat the other guy there...Oh, weight was down to 201.0 Friday morning. Maybe slightly higher now.

[famendoza]

Hey zep,

You may have more luck getting your question answered at powerandbulk.com, or maybe even gustrength.com. Seems more of a trainee to trainee type conversation that would lead to some ideas about your warmup.

[Kincain]

Played dodgeball on Saturday. My shoulders a little sore from throwing, but happy to say that whenever I tried to race up to the line to grab a ball I was able to beat the other guy there...Oh, weight was down to 201.0 Friday morning. Maybe slightly higher now.


Hey I had an epihany this morning, power eminates from the hip, right? Ground up your strength from the hip area to throw the ball not your arms, imagine them as straps hanging from your body. Then it might not get sore the next time!
Just wanted to get it out there ;)

[zepled37]

Hey zep,

You may have more luck getting your question answered at powerandbulk.com, or maybe even gustrength.com. Seems more of a trainee to trainee type conversation that would lead to some ideas about your warmup.

Thanks for the input. Yeah, Rip kinda blew off my question, but oh well...I've enjoyed some of the threads from P&B. Just tough finding time to read everything!

[zepled37]

Worked out on Monday. Going off of memory here, but should be close to what I did.

Lunges
body weight x 8 x 3sets
20's x 8
40's x 8 x 2 sets

Leg Ext / Leg Curl
12x2sets

Incline Bench Press
Barx10
95x5
115x5
135x5
155x5
165x5

Pull-ups
bodyweight x7 , x6, x5

Felt ok today given the sore shoulder.

[zepled37]

Walked 30 minutes before workout and then walked / short light jog after workout.

Squat
Barx5x4sets
95x5x3sets
135x5
165x5
195x5
225x5
255x5

Spent a bit more time doing warm-ups, just with light weight. Also did some presses and power cleans with just the bar. Squat felt decent today. Not as loose as I would like to be when getting to heavier sets, but not too bad.

Press
Barx5
75x5
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x5

Felt better than the first few sets with bar before squats, but not feeling real strong here.

Full Squat Cleans
95x3
135x2x3sets

Clean and Jerk
135x1

Full Squat Cleans
165x2x2sets PR

Clean and Jerk
165x1 PR, but pressed it out a bit

Clean and Jerk
185x1 PR, better, but will have to get better (lower) at the split to jerk more weight

Felt pretty good doing the squat cleans and C&J's today. Wasn't feeling power cleans so did these. I could see some practice on these really helping out. Thinking I could get to at least 200 on the jerk (which will probably be the limiting part of the movement for me).

[famendoza]

With a 205x3 power clean you should be able to get a 225-235 C+J (full clean) no problem with practise. I don't even have a 205 power clean (highest is 185x1), and I managed to get it as a 205 C+J (pressed jerk but its still over my head). It really is just technique first - then practice. Also, overextending on the 2nd pull with the power clean was something I had to overcome in order to get the full squat clean - the reversal is key, secondary though to NOT overextending it thinking I'm gonna launch the bar to my head.

I'd try multiple singles instead of reps to get that technique work on, and then work up to reps. Of course, Charles Staley also has a thread dedicated to having newbies ask questions about Olympic lifts here that you may wanna ask a question on as well.

[zepled37]

With a 205x3 power clean you should be able to get a 225-235 C+J (full clean) no problem with practise. I don't even have a 205 power clean (highest is 185x1), and I managed to get it as a 205 C+J (pressed jerk but its still over my head). It really is just technique first - then practice. Also, overextending on the 2nd pull with the power clean was something I had to overcome in order to get the full squat clean - the reversal is key, secondary though to NOT overextending it thinking I'm gonna launch the bar to my head.

I'd try multiple singles instead of reps to get that technique work on, and then work up to reps. Of course, Charles Staley also has a thread dedicated to having newbies ask questions about Olympic lifts here that you may wanna ask a question on as well.


Thanks. I actually managed 225x1 on power cleans a few weeks ago so I think you're right, I should be able to at least full clean the same and probably more. Just a little leery of trying the full cleans too heavy without some more practice due to the different type of loading. Really would be nice to have some bumpers too as I get into heavier weights. I think it would be tough for me to jerk 225 though. That will take more work than the clean I believe. I'm probably going to try Justin's program (same as Kincain is doing) at some point this year. Curious how that will go with the O-lifts since I've never really done them until very recently.

[zepled37]

Since I've been screwing around a bit with my program and trying to drop a bit of fat, I figured I might as well see if I can do Justin's weightlifting and SS hybrid program. I need a little clearer direction in my training and maybe this will help provide that. On the other hand, the olympic lifts are pretty new to me so not sure how I will handle it, but it provides for making the workouts fun and different. The other option was to go back to the Texas Method, but I don't think I'm ready for that yet. Tentatively looking at competing in the weightlifting event at the Keystone Games on July 25th. I would probably shoot for competing in the 85kg class. No real thoughts on being competitive or hitting any particular numbers and I'm still not completely sold on competing, but probably should as the competition will help focus my efforts also.

Anyway, this program is a big experiment for me. I'm looking at still only working out 3 days per week instead of the 4 in the program so I will get some extra rest. I think I'll start with the strength lifts programmed as written, but may need to adjust. I started with the heavy snatch day since I did some heavyish cleans Thursday.

Warm-up:
walk - 40 minutes
45 degree back extensions 15x2sets
incline sit ups - 15x2sets
overhead squats barx5x2sets, 65x3x2sets, 85x3x2sets

Hang Power Snatch
Barx3
75x2

Hang Full Snatch
95x1, 105x1, 115xmiss, 115x1

Full Snatch
135xmiss, 135xmiss, 135x1 135x1

Did the sets from the hang because I don't have bumpers currently. This is a pain in the ass and I'll have to get some if I'm going to do this seriously. I did 135 for the first time a week or 2 ago so thought it might be a good weight for sets across on the heavy snatch day and then the bar is at a good height also, but it's probably really too heavy to start with given my inexperience with the movement. I'm afraid to miss the weight and also trying to figure out how to catch the bar in the bottom. The workout calls for 5 singles, but I figured since 135 is a bit of a challenge for me right now, this was good enough for today.

Hang Power Clean and Jerk
Barx3, 95x3

Clean and Jerk
135x1x10sets

These feel much better than the snatch and were pretty easy, but the clean portion is probably too easy as I don't feel like I really have to pull it properly to get under it. This will be challenged a little more on the heavy C&J day.

[Kincain]

Thanks. I actually managed 225x1 on power cleans a few weeks ago so I think you're right, I should be able to at least full clean the same and probably more. Just a little leery of trying the full cleans too heavy without some more practice due to the different type of loading. Really would be nice to have some bumpers too as I get into heavier weights. I think it would be tough for me to jerk 225 though. That will take more work than the clean I believe. I'm probably going to try Justin's program (same as Kincain is doing) at some point this year. Curious how that will go with the O-lifts since I've never really done them until very recently.

I was also able to power clean 100kg (220lbs), but regardless I need to get better at the jerk. No use in cleaning it if you can't jerk it :) I think being a bit conservative and getting grips to the technique will be better to learn at moderate weights than lift with faulty technique and have to lower it again to correct the technique.

[zepled37]

I was also able to power clean 100kg (220lbs), but regardless I need to get better at the jerk. No use in cleaning it if you can't jerk it :) I think being a bit conservative and getting grips to the technique will be better to learn at moderate weights than lift with faulty technique and have to lower it again to correct the technique.


yeah, have no idea what i could jerk. maybe i'll try some sometime from the rack. i've done 185 so i'm guessing around 200 is doable. i think my clean and jerk technique is sufficient for me now and will get better just with practice, not trying to be a complete expert, but holy shit are snatches hard to do. way more comfortable just power snatching than full snatching.

[zepled37]

Feeling a little looser in the legs and shoulders today. I think because of the C&J and snatches. Kind of scared how this whole thing is going to go...not sure my body will hold up to the movements. Guess I'll just be careful and slow and hopefully won't lose much strength while experimenting.

Warm-up:
walk - 40 minutes
45 degree back extensions - 2 sets
side bends - 2 sets

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5
185x3
225x2
255x1
275x5x3sets

Started pretty light here. They didn't feel overly light, but compared to last couple months I felt comfortable on them. I really seem to have lost some strength though. On the second set, my shoulder sort of cramped up and felt weird. Something loosened up and I felt it the rest of the workout which is a little scary for me because I have crappy shoulders. Can't imagine that I actually injured anything from this though.

Not sure if I'll do back squats 2x per week like the program or do one day of back squats and one day of front squats. Probably start with back squats 2x and work up 5 pounds per workout for a while and see how it goes.

Bench Press
Barx10
95x8
115x5
135x3
165x2
185x5x3sets

These felt way too heavy for the weight. Not sure if I'll be able to make progress or maintain strength with this level of volume.

Deadlifts
135x5
185x3
225x2
275x1
315x5

Started pretty light here also, but they felt reasonably easy. Wore the weightlifting shoes for these, but while I feel ok in squats wearing them, the deadlifts feel really crappy in them. It completely changes my start position. Don't feel so bad with the shoes doing cleans and snatches though.

Hang Power Snatches
barx3x2sets
65x2

Hang Full Snatches
65x1x6sets

Thought I could use some light practice on these. Full snatches are freakin' hard! I wonder if I should just work the power version for a while.

While training, I though about some pretty good general strength goals, but not sure I can make them except squat is easy and deadlift should be doable. Press might be doable also. Others pretty tough.
deadlift - 2.5x body weight
squat - 2x
bench press - 1.5x
clean & jerk - 1.5x
press - 1x
snatch - 1x

[Kincain]

yeah, have no idea what i could jerk. maybe i'll try some sometime from the rack. i've done 185 so i'm guessing around 200 is doable. i think my clean and jerk technique is sufficient for me now and will get better just with practice, not trying to be a complete expert, but holy shit are snatches hard to do. way more comfortable just power snatching than full snatching.

I had this with the power clean and full clean. I was able to power clean it but full cleaning it proved to be a whole other thing. I think this is something that one needs to get proficient with in order to get a full benefit from it. Be patienced with it, force yourself to full snatch it and eventually it will become second nature. That's why it very handy to have those 1x15 and 1x10 snatches and c&j's, you really get alot of practice from them.

[zepled37]

Wasn't feeling myself this week. Trouble concentrating, stressed, etc. Only had I think 4 meals on Wednesday and Thursday so that could have contributed. I chowed down Friday with some pop tarts, 3 musketeers, and a couple angus burgers from McDonalds. I feel like eating again today, but probably shouldn't. My weight was at 200.5 on Tuesday morning. This morning at 205 after breakfast.

Anyway, workout felt pretty decent. My shoulder still feels a little funky, but didn't really hurt doing anything today. Will probably hurt more on the strength lifts.

Warm up
walk 20 minutes
back extensions - 2 sets
side bends - 2 sets
front squats barx8x2sets, 95x5x2sets

Hang Power Clean and Jerks
Barx3x2sets
95x3x2sets
95x1
135x1x2sets
155x1

Was supposed to switch to full squat claans at 95x1 set, but forgot...

Clean and Jerks
175x1x3sets (also forgot to squat clean on one of these...)
185x1
195x1 PR

Didn't feel too bad. I imagine my clean form sucks somewhat, but I think I could jerk maybe another 10 pounds or so. See video of 155, 175,175, 185 and 195 sets. Feedback welcome:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp4BwFO8q7w

Hang Power Snatch
Barx2x2sets
65x1

Hang Snatch
65x1x5sets
75x1x5sets
85x1x5sets

Felt better on these today. I did move my grip in some. Not sure if that's why or just from the practice. No video on these yet. Rushed a bit through these so many sets only had 30-45 seconds rest instead of 1 minute.

[famendoza]

Dude what's with you? Reading this log, I get the impression you've been feeling like crap for so long. Why?

[zepled37]

Dude what's with you? Reading this log, I get the impression you've been feeling like crap for so long. Why?


Ha, good question...could be a combination of factors...

Definitely been more work and personal stress over the last few months. I'm away from home a fair amount even though it is only a few hours away and I think that causes some stress and tiredness.

I've lost 5-10 pounds and have been restricting calories somewhat so maybe that is part of it. Though for that amount of weight loss, doesn't seem like it should be too big of a deal. All these people say it's easy to lose fat...seem crazy to me.

Might be partly a head case and just causing myself more stress over not making enough progress.

In general, I feel like I'm more tired than I should be and need lots of sleep. I can sleep like probably 10 hours a night plus naps during the day if possible. This is an issue even when not trying to train hard. Been an issue for quite a while. Again, not sure if I'm just being a head case or not. Brought it up to doc, but no real resolution. Perhaps will go try to get it checked out again or I just need to focus more on sleep and recovery.

[famendoza]

http://powerandbulk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=646096#646096

Don't be offended, but could low test be at work here? I've pasted a thread of ppls anecdotal evidence that flagged low test.

[Kincain]

you were talking about yourself right? (sorry got you and famendoza mixed up) I suggest reread the chapter in PPST2 about overreaching and overtraining. And look if it applies to you.

[zepled37]

you were talking about yourself right? I suggest reread the chapter in PPST2 about overreaching and overtraining. And look if it applies to you.


Thanks. I'll reread it, but I don't think overtraining is the problem right now. I've cut back on training, workout weights are down, etc.

[zepled37]

http://powerandbulk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=646096#646096

Don't be offended, but could low test be at work here? I've pasted a thread of ppls anecdotal evidence that flagged low test.


No offence taken at all. Actually, about 2 years ago I did a fair amount of research on this and a lot of my symptoms seem to match up. I had a blood test done with my family doc and ended up in the normal range, but I was 31 at the time and was at the low end of normal for 30-39 year olds. Don't remember the exact numbers. Also, I think only free test was measured, not total (or vice versa). I'm thinking I'm going to get checked out again. Not sure my doc is all that great so might look for another one or just ask to go to an endocrinologist for better care.

FYI: A previous doc had my oxygen level checked during sleep because of my tiredness symptoms and that was normal.

[zepled37]

Same old shit...maybe too zealous with the olympic lifts as my shoulder is a real pain at the moment. Didn't feel anything get damaged or hurt during snatches or clean and jerks, but later when squatting of all things. Hoping it heals quickly. I'm sure nothing is torn bad, but not what I need these days. Enough complaining I suppose.

Squats
Barx10x2sets
95x8
135x5x2sets
185x3
225x2
255x1
280x5x3sets

Press
Barx8
75x5
95x3
115x1
125x5x3sets

Chin ups
body weight x 5 x 3sets

[zepled37]

A little rushed for time at the gym tonight so went quickly between all sets. Not really any much greater than 1 minute. Lightened the load on snatches quite a bit till I get better form. Plus my shoulder is funky right now. I think I can keep working through it as long as I don't do anything silly.

Overhead squats
Barx5x2sets
65x5x2sets

Hang Power Snatch
Barx3x2sets
65x2
75x1
85x1

Hang Snatch
65x2
75x1
85x1x4sets
95x1

Feeling better than before, but weight is still very light. Set with 95 felt best.

Hang Power Clean and Jerk
Barx3x2sets
95x2

Hang Clean and Jerk
95x1

Clean and Jerk
135x1x8sets

Cleans felt awful, but this is light. Ran out of time so missed last two sets.

May put this log on hiatus for a while until I figure some shit out and get back in a situation where I feel like I'm making some progress.

[Kincain]

I don't want to rude but aren't you doing a bit too much on the olympic lifts day? 6 different exercises is maybe a bit overzealous. If it is just warming up I can understand but keep in mind that you don't want to burn out before you do the olympic lifts. I'm not the one to speak because I don't have that much experience, so disregard my comment if necessary.

[zepled37]

I don't want to rude but aren't you doing a bit too much on the olympic lifts day? 6 different exercises is maybe a bit overzealous. If it is just warming up I can understand but keep in mind that you don't want to burn out before you do the olympic lifts. I'm not the one to speak because I don't have that much experience, so disregard my comment if necessary.


Hi...not rude at all. I appreciate everyone's feedback on the log. Provides some objective insight to have other take a look.

Anyway...I'm just being a bit anal about my nomenclature. It's really just part of the warm up for the main movements. Since I don't have bumpers to get to the right height, I do exercises from the hang and usually do a few "power" movements also as part of the warm up for normal clean and jerks and snatches (which are still "hang" with only 95 pounds).

Without doing any other exercise first (i.e. squats) and due to the fact that it takes me a while to warm up and because the weights are pretty light, I don't feel like I'm wearing myself out or going through too much of a warm up.

[Kincain]

Ok, I'm glad to hear that, was a bit worried :)

But I had the same problem that the height of the plates weren't according to proper height, so I bought some rubber tiles to get it up. The problem with me is I still can't drop the weights. The facility that I train only has iron weights and the weightroom is on the first floor, the floor it self has also rubber tiles but I can't drop it from overhead. I saw a vid of pyrros dimas catching the bar on his chest that was 170kg, it was probably 25% percent of what he's capable of, maybe it is not suitable to do for us, but hell, 170kg! (http://www.youtube.com/user/IronMindVideos#p/u/14/4N5HdkpFy2M)

So I really need to buy a olympic bar and bumper plates but wanting to have a proper one, that doesn't wear out in about a year, but it's a more a money problem. But probably the best advice I can give is try to construct the circumstances that you will be able to train. But I remember that you traveled, so maybe there are others that have experience with it that read your log.

[zepled37]

I did manage to get a workout in today.

Not going to post it, but stay tuned for what I believe will be an epic post of how I managed to lose about 10% of my strength over the last 4 months and hopefully how I'm going fix that problem. Have some more work to do to figure it all out.

[zepled37]

Still need to do more work to figure out my plan, but here's what I did this week. Pretty much a deload.

Monday
Squat - Barx10x2, 95x8, 135x5x2, 185x3, 225x2, 255x1, 275x1x4sets
Press - Barx8, 75x5, 95x3, 115x2, 135x1x4sets
Bent Rows - Barx8, 95x5, 135x3, 155x1x4sets

Saturday
Squat - Barx10x2, 95x8, 135x5x2, 185x3, 225x2, 255x1, 275x1x5sets
Press - Barx8, 75x5, 95x3, 115x2, 135x1x5sets
Bent Rows - Barx8, 95x5, 135x3, 155x1x5sets


Weights are pretty light, but don't feel overly strong. Squat felt much better on Saturday than on Monday so maybe some recovery has happened. I've also eaten more lately so that's probably part of it. Shoulder feels a little better Saturday than earlier in the week also. Still a little screwy.

Rested 2-3 minutes between sets on Monday, but only took about 1.5 minutes today since I felt better. I think the shorter rest today made me a little more fatigued than I expected.

I have some ideas of what to do from here, but not need to decide and commit.

[zepled37]

Haven't posted for a while but have been doing some training. I think I know what I'm going to do now and have been doing it for the past 2 weeks or so.

The short (?) history...was out of shape and not lifting regularly or intensely for quite a few years then in 2009, I lifted "bodybuilding style" and focused more on fat loss just because I needed a different goal to train for to not think about injuries, etc. I lost 30 pounds and about 10% body fat over 6 months. (see gay pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33725221@N03/ look on right side for comparisons) Then I got on the starting strength band wagon and followed that for about 2 months as I started eating more again. Went quickly through the novice program and then quickly through the advanced novice as I basically regained strength to a level that I had years ago (~8 years earlier?). From September through December I gained about 20 pounds back but was still in much better shape than before the diet and much stronger. I went on Texas Method for a while and made some slight "all-time" strength gains despite resetting to pretty light weights at first.

The beginning of trouble...One problem was that my diet went too much to shit. I got my protein, but pretty much started eating too much junk and too many carbs in general. Gained about another 10 pounds, but I think most of this was fat this time unlike the first 20 pounds. After about 10 weeks on Texas Method, I was feeling very tired and my knees were getting sore so though I didn't exactly stall, I deloaded and started messing with my program. At first I just modified the TM protocol with speed sets and fewer sets on the squat to try to recover better and let my knees heal up. This didn't seem to do the trick so I monkeyed around some more and went to a Starr model with ramped sets. Around this time I was restricting calories a little bit too, but not really committed to a diet yet. The combination of the Starr model program I followed (reduced volume) and the caloric restriction really negatively impacted my strength.

Since this wasn't working and my strength was in the toilet, I figured what the hell, let's try Justin's weightlifting program...I've never focused on the olympic lifts and just starting last fall was the first time I've even done power cleans regularly. Well, my strength was still not increasing, but it was kind of fun doing the lifts at least. Only problem was that I probably tried to go to heavy on the snatches or maybe both lifts too soon and ended up jacking up my shoulders. I was pretty sure no real injuries were there, I just have screwed up shoulders and snatches in general seem to aggravate them and especially when I've never done them and do 135 in the second workout. So, this program lasted about 3 or 4 weeks until I stopped because I figured my shoulders weren't taking to it very well. Shoulder is feeling better now.

Hindsight...Basically I realized what I should have done when I was running out of gas on the Texas Method the first time. I should have kept the volume in place (maybe even *added* a set) but dropped the weights back down and started working my way slowly back up again. Instead I wasted about 5 months screwing around getting fatter, losing some strength (10-15%), and even getting a minor shoulder injury after my shoulders had been doing pretty well for about a year. So, I'm going back to the Texas Method with some slight modifications based on what I think I need, what my goals are, etc. Here are some of KSC's thoughts he was kind enough to share with me on my dilemma: http://startingstrength.com/resources/forum/showthread.php?t=8331&page=76

In addition, here's what else I think I know about myself:


Pretty sure I need mobility work regularly to feel good and make progress on squats. If not, my hips get all jacked up and my squats suffer.
I think I'm close to if not 20% body fat and don't really want to gain much (if any) fat without a huge strength or LBM increase. But I don't think this is going to happen without anabolics.
I need to be careful about doing things that cause shoulder pain and stability issues to flair up.
I seem to be pretty injury prone in general, but especially if my strength increases rapidly and / or I'm on caloric deficits
Eating enough to recovery seems to make me fatter, but not eating enough causes me to lose strength
I need lots of sleep. It actually seems like too much, but I at least need to make it more of a priority.
I liked the very low carb diet I did for a few week, but I think it killed my strength.
I travel quite a bit for work and personal reasons so that makes diet/training/sleep more difficult
At this point, my goals are not competition related
3 days per week workouts are easier to fit in right now

The goals...Basically, my goal right now is to enjoy my training, stay healthy and drop some body fat. My plan is to be leaner than I was last year by the end of this year. I believe I have about 10 more pounds of muscle than then so this may only require 20 pounds of fat loss. Sorry for all the diet haters out there...I'm not old, but at 33 I don't need to be getting fatter. Really I need to keep my diet in check after this happens so I don't keep cycling through this too much. As I'm doing this, I'm basically going to just let my strength go to wherever it ends up. I'm obviously going to avoid doing things that are stupid and would cause me to lose huge amounts of strength and hope to maintain or even gain strength if possible, but my goal right now is physique related primarily and strength second. Whatever my body will support strength wise at the body fat level I want to achieve is where I'll end up. One possible strength goal is a body weight press. This might be achievable at the end of this.

The plan...

Weight training wise it is Texas Method with this basic protocol:


Volume Day - Squats 5x5, Bench / Press 5x5, Power Cleans 3x5, Abs
Recovery Day - Front Squats 3x3, Press / Bench 5x2, Pull-ups/Chin-ups 3sets
Intensity Day - Squats 1 x 5sets, Bench / Press 1x5sets, Deadlift 1x2/ Round back GM's 5x3sets


One thing I'm going to do is start extremely light. Some may think this is silly, but I seem to do best with slow and steady strength gains if it goes too fast I just get worn out and injured. Plus, I think this will allow me to recover and get used to the diet portion of things. I'm basically going to add 5 pounds per week even though I'm starting really light. I may drop to a 2.5 pound increase on bench / press very quickly. Regardless of the rate of increase, if I can keep adding weight at all, no matter how small, I will end up ahead. Even better if I do this and end up at a lighter body weight.

Diet wise I'm going back to the carb cycling diet exactly as I used last year which is this:


High carb days

Meal 1 - 50g C, 25g P
Meal 2 - 40g C, 25g P
Meal 3 - 50g C, 25g P (post workout meal)
Meal 4 - 40g C, 25g P
Meal 5 - 30g C, 25g P
Meal 6 - 30g C, 25g P
Meal 7 - veggies, 25gP

Medium carb days

Meal 1 - 30g C, 40g P
Meal 2 - 20g C, 40g P
Meal 3 - 30g C, 40g P (post workout meal)
Meal 4 - veggies, 40g P, 5g F
Meal 5 - same as 4
Meal 6 - 40g P, 3g fish oil

Low carb days

Meal 1 - 20g C, 40g P
Meal 2 - same as 1
Meal 3 - veggies, 40g P, 3g fish oil, 1 teaspoon peanut butter
Meal 4 - same as 3
Meal 5 - same as 4
Meal 6 - 40g P, 5g fish oil

1 high carb day per week on volume day. Other weight training days will be medium and off days will be low carb days.

For cardio I'm not planning on doing any high intensity intervals like I did before. I will just do low/medium intensity steady state (walking mostly) on possibly every day, but maybe not on high carb days. I'm going to start at 40 minutes per day and adjust based on weight / fat loss rate. I also want to do some mobility exercises as part of my warm-ups and after cardio.

I'm also going for a physical in a few weeks to get routine blood work done and I want to have T levels checked again. A couple years ago I was at the low end of normal and I seem to have quite a few symptoms (especially fatigue/tiredness and motivation issues) so want to get checked again. Even if this comes out relatively normal if I follow my plan very well, I'm thinking I will be fairly close to what is genetically possible for me at this age, body fat, weight, etc. so may consider testosterone supplementation in any case at that point. It seems like I should be able to gain more strength naturally, and perhaps if I would have done everything right when younger I would be further ahead than I am now, but gains are hard to come by. We'll cross this bridge when we come to it.

Can I do it?...This is the question...I think the plan will work for me if I follow it. It's just up to me to do it and stick to it. Hopefully, posting on this board again will help me hold myself accountable. Here's to getting in the best shape of my life by the end of the year!!!

[famendoza]

That is one complicated plan. You better be able to carry it out buddy!! And don't feel like you need to justify your plan to anybody here, check your results intermittently and at the end of the year, and if they're close to what you expected, then it was the right decision to go this path. Good luck budz.

[zepled37]

That is one complicated plan. You better be able to carry it out buddy!! And don't feel like you need to justify your plan to anybody here, check your results intermittently and at the end of the year, and if they're close to what you expected, then it was the right decision to go this path. Good luck budz.


Not too complicated...just made it long. Thanks for the support.

[zepled37]

This is what I did yesterday. Just going to list work set weights to keep it short. Normally I do quite a few light warm ups sets and some light back extensions and abs to warm up.

Squat - 240x5x5

Press - 100x5x5

Power Clean - 145x3x5

Abs - 3 sets


I was short on time so "supersetted" some of the squats and presses. Works ok for now, but don't want to make it a normal thing. Feeling a little sore today so I believe this workout is still giving me work with lower intensity.

Weight this morning was 201.0

[zepled37]

Tuesday - 40 minute walk
Wednesday - 40 minute walk

Yesterday's workout:

Front Squats - 150x3x3sets

Bench Press - 175x5x2sets

Chin-ups, band assisted - x10, x10, x8

Decided to try going with a band to get a few more reps on these. I started with the light band and didn't get a whole lot more than without any band. So I went to the average band this week and still didn't get too many more than with the light. I think it is mainly because of getting a lot more shoulder depression at the top of the movement. I like that a lot so will keep doing this plus the chin-up / pull-up is just an assistance exercise anyway.
Dips - body weight x3x2sets

These are generally tough on my shoulders so I'm just working in a few reps. Figure if I can get to the point of doing more of these it means two things for sure...I've gotten stronger and my shoulders are feeling good. Both good things so I'm just trying to work these in pretty slowly with low volume.

Abs - 3 sets

Thursday weight - 201.0

[zepled37]

Felt pretty good on this day last Friday.

Squats 290x1x5sets

Press 140x1x5sets

Bent over Good Mornings 135x5x3sets


Played some volleyball Saturday night and then filled in for a softball game on Sunday. That wore me out more than I would like and then got behind on sleep Monday night doing some work so volume day is not until tonight. Too bad, because as I said, I felt pretty good on the intensity day. Sucks walking such a narrow line between feeling good and being beat up and worn out.

[zepled37]

Squats - 245x5x5sets

Bench Press - 180x5x5sets

Felt a little weak on these either from the fact that I haven't lifted since last Friday or just that my shoulders were a little worn out from volleyball and softball over the weekend.
Power Cleans - 145x3x5sets

Whoops, looks like I was supposed to go to 150 this week. No big deal. On a positive note, the garage gym I go to now has a pair of 45 lb and 25 lb bumpers. Should be good enough for me as I can just add metal plates to get to whatever weight I need.
Abs - 3 sets

[zepled37]

Front Squats - 155x3x3sets

Press - 95x5x2sets

Chin-ups - 6x2sets

Dips - 3x2sets