9/21 A
 

Bench once again needs to stay where it is, I really wish I knew why my bench has always been so horrible.. Squats were hard but manageable, I've hit the point where my progression has slowed but I'm still steady at 5lb. Bi curls = massive forearm pain, I have no idea what's causing it.

Squats: 220 (up 5)
Bench: 160 (keep)
Deadlift: 270
Dips: 50 (up 5)
Bi Curl: 80 (up maybe.. I'm going to try DBs and see if that fixes it)
Abs: 122.5

Eric- I tried the double-overhand grip today on the deads, did just fine. Thanks

what else do you do during the day...i used to get some harsh pain in my forearms....half of it was bowling...was learning a new release...and my forearm was angry....and then when i lifted it...it just made it worse...

Is the pain hanging around or going away afterwards? You've been steadily adding weight and it doesn't seem to affect you workouts so I assume it's not chronic. In any case I have a feeling it's at least somewhat intensity related. I see you added reps to the curls at least once but mostly you've been steadily increasing the weight. I think you should take a break from the curls, then switch to dbs like you said. But you should back off the weight to say, 30 pound dumbells and start increasing the reps and sets before adding weight. Even going up to 15 reps if you want. See if that helps.

But don't let curls get in the way of the routine. Definitely not worth it.

I also wonder if balance in the elbow flexing and extending plays any roll in this. I'll see if I can look into it.

The only other thing I do in the day that's real forearm related is pullups, 50 per day. That shouldn't do it though, I wouldn't think. The pain goes away immediately after I finish the actual lift, won't feel it at all unless I have the weight in my hands. I didn't add any reps, just been sticking with the 2x8's. It was there since the beginning, I've never been able to get rid of it. Wierd... DB time

maybe it's just one of your internet muscles...getting in the way :)

That's IT! Gah, they're so huge and obtrusive... why didn't I think of that?

9/24 B
 

My overheads suck. Still at 100, 2nd set was hard, bar speed was real slow at the end of the 3rd. I think I might have stalled, but it doesn't seem right that I would have stalled so early. Based on my progress throughout the journal, should I keep the weight again, try an increase, or drop it and reset?

On a lighter note, I finally put 2 45 plates on each side for my squat. I'm almost starting to feel like a man :biglaugh: Form really fell this time though, so I'll keep the weight next time.

Squat: 225 (keep)
Overhead: 100 (...) :arg:
Rows: 150 (good form now, inc. 5)
Pullups: 37.5 (inc 2.5)
Abs: 122.5 (keep)

Dropped the bi curls today to give my forearms a bit more time to heal up (they were hurting during pullups or when I put a lot of stress on them), going to try DBs Wednesday.

9/26 A
 

Squat form was *better* today, but still not good. Keeping 225 once more. Bench was wierd.. felt alright, but then I somehow just completely lost the last rep. I might have gotten distracted, not even sure. I got the bar back up and gave it a minute or two, did one more set of 4 (wouldn't have made the 5th). I'll try the 5lb increase next time, hopefully it'll work.

Squat: 225 (keep)
Bench: 160 (inc 5)
Deads: 280 (inc 10)
Dips: 55 (inc 2.5)
Abs: 122.5 (keep)
DB curls (2x12): 30

9/28 B
 

I think I may have stalled on squats, I've been at this weight all week and form is still not where it should be. Good news time- I thought I might have stalled on overheads as well, but today I was sick of failing at them (and pissed at my squats), so I said screw it and went up 5 lbs. I did alright, it was hard but I've had worse. No stall. Should I reset and drop the weight down 10lb on squats?

Squat: 225
Overheads: 105
Rows: 160
Abs: done
Pullups: 40

I didn't do any arm work today due to some bad pain in both arms. I get it every once in a while, wish I could figure it out but I'm going to take the rest of the day/weekend off of pullups and hope I heal up.



Weight today was 178.0. Coming up! I don't seem to be gaining much fat, I'd say that I'm just not eating enough but my weight as come up 4 lbs in 11 days. I guess ungodly cardio 6x/week helps:biglaugh:

It's one of those grey areas. Ten pounds wouldn't really be very much for a full-fledged back off. You'd want more like 20. BUT sounds like you're saying you haven't increased due to the feeling that form is bad so you havent actually started missing reps or anything....

Rip never says thing one about form following along with your "progression" but I'd say progression at the expense of proper form ain't progression as I'm sure you agree.

So the question is what is enought to get you going without needlessly disrupting things? I'm going to go with doing a real backoff because I doubt just dropping 10 will be enough. If you drop the weight by 10% (rounded down) you'd get 20 lbs. That would probably be the way to go and just bring it back up 5 pounds at a time. Hopefully that gets you going again.

Also, you you could also change one squat workout to higher reps with submax work. Meaning less maximal than the 3x5. It could still be somewhat challenging but not all out max efforts. In other words something like taking your 10 to 12 rep maximus but doing 2 or 3 sets of 8 with it. The advantage is working on form, getting more practice with a manageable weight.

It's going to be hard to progress in this super fast linear fashion with it feeling like you are always lifting the same though. I do want to point that out. As you load the bar, things change in terms of muscle firing and the relationship to lower and higher joints. So sometimes when we think our form is sucking it's really just the reality of putting so much more load on the bar so often. If you were to "measure" everything about a guy squatting a certain weight one time, and then a few days later him squatting 10 lbs more, the measurements would change if that makes sense to you. And there is not a damn thing he could do about it if he is to lift the weight.

A person can always do one or two light back off sets, even on SS. This can help you feel like you have reinforced your good habits under the bar.

Good job, btw.