Anuj's Training Journal

[_Wolf_]

i have no idea why there is a difference.. the fucking windows claculator must have a problem... i double checked right now... i did 90 kg squats, which is 198 lbs... then included the weight of the rod which is 11 kgs (but i'm writing 10 for the sake of simplicity) and i use 10 and i get 220 lbs... but it doesnt really matter coz i like to refer to my weights in kgs... i'm only using lbs for the convenience of those who use lbs...

[EricT]

Look, the bottom line is are those numbers increasing? If you did hoist up 220 lbs in January and now, March, you're having trouble with around 151 for 3x5 (around 70 percent of January's max, I think), then I'd say, yes, you SHOULD be able to be adding more weight without any spotting as well. If you are not then there's probably a reason.

Whether your numbers for January are off here and there is not going to matter now. You intentially started at a low load. Your job is to increase what you are doing now.

And it's only been a few workouts. Give it some time.

And as far as these one rep max's, they are always changing. You can never know your maximal ability to the tee at any given time. But stop sweating it. What you did in January can't be anything more than a gauge for what you are doing now. I personally could care less, I mean, your not trying to take a trophy away from me or anything.

Perhaps you've had some setbacks. I'm sure things will look up. Just do what I said before and probably eat better.

I swear though, with all this talk about PR's it's become like the battle of the signatures around here .

P.S. Another thing that just occured to me is that you may not be warming up well enough.

[_Wolf_]

Originally Posted by Eric3237

P.S. Another thing that just occured to me is that you may not be warming up well enough.

genius... thats true... i hardly do ANY warm-ups... i think i'll start doing that soon...

Originally Posted by Eric3237

you SHOULD be able to be adding more weight without any spotting as well. If you are not then there's probably a reason.

yes, there is: the one mentioned above..!

u know whats wierd..? when i was on TBT, i could do 3 sets of 10 reps with 75 kgs, and now i'm struggling for 3 sets of 5 reps..! thats what i'm not able to understand...

but yeah: i'm going to increase my protein + carb intake and do more warm up sets..

thanks for the ideas sir

[EricT]

Something like this should be adequate for squats:

Weights in lbs (approximate)

65x10
65x8
90x4
115x2
125x1

Then your working sets. That's assuming your working sets are at 75 kgs or approximately 150 lbs.

Read the first page in 0311's "Warming UP Properly" sticky here to get an idea of how to perform these.

I'm not the king of warming up, so maybe someone can improve on that example, but I think it's pretty good for the fairly light weight you are working at.

[_Wolf_]

Day 11 of Mark Rippetoe's 3x5 Training
13tth March 2006
Monday
Workout B

Barbell Back A2G Squats [3x5] = 80 kgs

Military Press [3x5] = 40 kgs

Barbell Good Mornings [3x5] = 35 kgs

Barbell Back A2G Squats
Feeling very thrilled about that ... i've finally managed to lift more than my bodyweight...

Military Press
today was a killer... actually, i think its my personal record... i've never lifted that heavy before... i'm afraid though that i might be stuck on this weight for some time...

Barbell Good Mornings
i'm not very confident of this exercise and nor do i like it very much... i want to replace it with something... i just dont know what... i dont think i'll take heavier in this exercise even if i can coz i dont like it 1 bit...

Arms Workout
1.) Chin-Ups [1x5] = BW
2.) Preacher Curls [1x8] = 20 kgs
3.) Close Grip Bench Press [1x8] = 50 kgs

Abdominals Workout:

1.) Flat Sit-Ups 2x50
2.) Flat Crunches with feet straight above floor 2x25
3.) Flat Leg Raises 2x50

Overall Impression:

i'm happy

[_Wolf_]

ok... looks like my program has to be tweaked a little... here we go..

Originally Posted by young_squatter

Hey madcow, I just got off the telephone with mark rippetoe and this is the routine he told me to do.

Workout 1
Squat 3x5
Bench Press 3x5
Deadlift/ Power clean (Alternate every workout)
This has you deadlifting or cleaning every 5th workout
For the deadlift he said to pyrmaid to a top set of 5, and for power clean to do 5x3.

Workout 2
Squat 3x5
Military press 3x5
Hyperextensions 3x5
Chins 3x5

He told me to go heavy every workout, He said that I should try to increase my squat by 10lbs every workout and so should deadlift, also he said my other lifts should increase 1-3 lbs every workout. And for me not to settle a workout without increasing the weight every workout.

Also he told me pretty much to eat like it was going out of style, He told me that I had to drink 1 gallon of WHOLE MILK a day. He said I should gain like 3 lbs a week and this is why my lifts should fly up. He told me not to do any isolation arm work at all. Just do what he said and then get the hell out of the gym.
Then he said when my squat and other lifts start to plateu that I should drop the weight 20lbs then work my way back on and then start making 5 lb jumps on squats. He said this should work for about 1 Year.

i've been doing my research into performing cleans and i'm confident i'll be able to pull them off successfully tomorrow... see u then...

[_Wolf_]

Day 13 of Mark Rippetoe's 3x5 Training
15tth March 2006
Wednesday
Workout A

Barbell Back A2G Squats [3x5] = 80 kgs

Flat Barbell Bench Press [3x5] = 65 kgs

Power Cleans [5x3] = 25 kgs

Parallel Bar Dips [3x5] = Body Weight

Barbell Back A2G Squats
well, i kept the weight the same as planned... i'll probably keep it the same again on friday's workout and hopefull move onto 85 on sunday... as far as the lift goes, form was perfect and it was less stressful...

Bench Press
similar to squats, i'm gonna stick to this weight for 1-2 more sessions. Today was good... i needed a spotter only for the last set and that too only for the last rep... i'm making the barbell touch my chest and then push it up whereas a lot of ppl whom i know only bring it down to like 2" above chest level and then push it up... no wonder they go so heavy...

Power Cleans
well, its the first time i'm doing this exercise and i'm very happy... next workout i'll take 30 kgs... since i'm doing this progrma on an alternate day basis irrespective of the day, i'm gonna do deads only every 3rd workout.. not every alternate workout as instructed...

Parallel Bar Dips
was not an easy task at all... it was very difficult but i managed to pull it off with decent form - not the best, but DEFINITELY not the worst...

Biceps Workout
Preacher Curls [1x10] = 25 kgs

Abdominals Workout:

1.) Flat Sit-Ups 1x50
2.) Leg Raises with various ROMs 2x60
3.) Flat Crunches 2x25

Overall Impression:

my weight has increased from 78 kgs to 79 kgs...! i'm very happy...

[_Wolf_]

Day 15 of Mark Rippetoe's 3x5 Training
17tth March 2006
Friday
Workout B

Barbell Back A2G Squats [3x5] = 85 kgs

Military Press [3x5] = 40 kgs

Hyperextensions [3x10] = BW

Chin-Ups [3x5] = BW

Barbell Back A2G Squats
thats a new PR people ...! wow... the fascia stretches have helped me like none other... perfect A2G Squats, no compromise in form (i had an instructor watch me) with 85 kgs..! whoo hoo...!

Military Press
i took 45 kgs (thats a PR as well btw) for the first set thinking i'd be able to pull it off, but if was too heavy, so i went back to 40 for the last 2 sets....

Hyperextensions
well, its the first time i'm doing this exercise in a long long time... so i dint take too heavy weights... i did it free hand... i only increased the reps per set from 5 to 10...

Chin-Ups
was not an easy task at all... it was very difficult but i managed to pull it off with decent form - not the best, but DEFINITELY not the worst...

Triceps Workout
Underhand Incline Barbell Press [2x10] = 30 kgs
in case u dont know what this exercise is, click on: http://www.t-nation.com/img/photos/0...g/image001.png

Abdominals Workout:

i did do abs but its kinda complicated so until i find good diagrams my descriptions wont be of any help...

Overall Impression:

fucking good workout... i'm thrilled with the squat numbers...

[_Wolf_]

i was recalling all the programs i've done so far:

1.) Quattro Dynamo

2.) TBT

3.) OVT

4.) Mark Rippetoe's 3x5 Beginner

and it suddenly hit me...

the only 2 programs which have given me rapid results are OVT and Mark's....

i mean, today is like Day 16... and my weight has gone from 78 kgs to 80 kgs...

i'll be honest with u, and u might not believe me... a week ago, for some freakishly odd reason, my arms had shrunk from 14.5" to 14".... i know i never mentioned this because i knew it was only a phase... my arms are now 14.6"...

not only that, i have gained some beautiful definition on my chest + back...!

i think i've finally realized what 0311 and eric have been trying to tell me... its ok to look at different programs but not to fall in love with each and every fucking one of them... i mean, i've finally managed to "hypnotise" myself into believing that Mark's program is the best for me.... and trust me, i've finally managed to give my 100% into it... thats why i set a new PR... :cool:

ok.. i have to say 2 things:

1.) i'm gonna be doing this program till probably last week of april.. i have exams in may (IB) and i wont be able to workout till the 19th of may...

2.) on looking at my long term goals (which i did not have till a few minutes ago), i've realized that as a beginner... i should focus more on getting strong.. not on getting bigger / smaller... that will come and go.. but i need to boost my strength...

oh, and on looking an Mark's program, i NEED to involve PLYOMETRICS (read my post) on my training days and i'm also planning on involving the HANG SNATCH into my workouts...

chao

[_Wolf_]

Day 17 of Mark Rippetoe's 3x5 Training
19tth March 2006
Sunday
Workout A

Barbell Back A2G Squats [3x5] = 85 kgs

Barbell Bench Press [3x5] = 65 kgs

Deadlifts [1x5] = 120 kgs (PR!!!)

Parallel Bar Dips [3x5] = BW

Barbell Back A2G Squats
well, like i said, i'm gonna stick to one weight and stall it for some time... this was that time... so expect an increase next time...

Barbell Bench Press
this lift is frustrating the shit outta me..! ... i'm dumping flat barbell bench for flat dumbbell bench for some time... and if i get stuck with that, then i'll move onto incline....

Deadlift
new PR..! fucking amazing...! since i'm practically doing Workout A twice a week, i'm gonna be changing this exercise... what i mean is, instead of doing power cleans only, i'm gonna add snatch and hang... so, every third workout A, i'll do deadlidts... i think thats a good idea...

Parallel Bar Dips
just chilled on this one...

Biceps Workout
Preacher Curls [1x8] = 20 kgs

Abdominals Workout:

i did do abs but its kinda complicated so until i find good diagrams my descriptions wont be of any help...

Overall Impression:

1.) my weight has gone to 80 kgs now...!

2.) fucking good workout... i'm thrilled with the deadlift numbers...