Great work IW keep it up mate :)

Thanks man! The encouragement from you guys keeps me motivated. The PRs help too! lol

IronWorker

i would not worry about the accessories man...the main thing is the important lifts are gettin their due :)

Wednesday June 18th/2008

My quads and glutes were still a little sore today but I decided to hit the gym anyways. This higher volume stuff seems to leave me a little sore even with a day of rest.

Weight: 182lbs ... Whoa... well I hope this is because of the massive amount of food I had today. I think I just need to shed a few pounds if you know what I mean...Thats like 4.5lbs in a week btw.

Deads
-60kg x 5
-80kg x 3
-100kg x 2
-120kg x 1
-130kg 5x5 (volume PR)

Grip still sucked. I think I messed up my back though. I can tell you how it happened too. On the last rep of the 4th set I was feeling like I was getting close to the limit. I glanced over to check my form...BIG MISTAKE! Never turn your head while pulling alot of weight. I think it pretty much unlocked my nice arch I had going and really strained my back. I finished the last set despite the discomfort...not sure if that was smart or not...

Front Squats
bar x 5
95lbs x 5
This is all I did. Just wanted to stretch my back out.


BB Military Press
- 45lbs x 4
- 75lbs x 2
- 95lbs x 1
- 115lbs 5x5

The last rep was a slow grinder but I pushed it out. I think its time for the 3x3 now.

Hanging Leg Raises
bw x 10,10,8

Haven't done these properly for a long time. I've regressed quite a bit.

Pallof Press
40lbs 3x10

Went light and easy on the back.

Diet

Diet consisted of way too much Subway and other things of that nature. I had like 18in of sub today plus a steak and alot of oatmeal. I think thats why I'm so heavy today.

Thougths

Well I hope I didn't hurt my back too bad. I was doing so good without hurting it lately too... gah. Well I'm going to stretch it out really good and see what happens. Might have to take an extra day or so off.

IronWorker

Hope the back pulls up alright for ya mate.I agree never check your form in a mirror from the side!! Video it and check it after you lift. :) Nice 5x5 BTW

Thanks man. Its a little sore today but I think maybe if I let it rest for an extra day it could be alright. I'll let ya know.

IronWorker

your deadlifts are fucking amazing.....5x5 with 286 lbs....!!! wow...

I was pretty impressed with myself as well. In the last little while they've really started improving by leaps and bounds. I'm going to switch over to 3x3 now and continue to progress 5kg each week.

Now this is a warning to myself and everyone else: Don't turn your head when deadlifting! I learned this the hard way, it allows your back to lose its arch and you get a nasty strain. I think I'll be ok fairly soon but I probably got lucky. Take my mistake and learn from it.

IronWorker

Well its supposed to be workout day again but I'm still pretty tight back there. I think I'll leave it alone for another day or so. Just to be safe. Also, I really don't want this to cause me to fail my squat set. Shooting for 225lbs 5x5 this time round so should be a pretty good lift. Gotta be on top of my game.

IronWorker

good stuff, dude :)

yeah i've done that too. very silly mistake. i hope the strain/stress goes away. good luck.

225 lbs for 5x5 sounds good. good luck on that. i'm surprised at your squat vs. deadlift ratio....you're a strong deadlifter.

rest up IW ... and strech that back ... congrats on the PR btw. and i know this is a few posts ago

I wouldnt worry about that 4.5lbs too much, it would be very very hard to put on 4.5lbs of fat in a weeks time, most likely its a flucutation in water in your body. I can go up or down 5-6lbs in a 2 day span from water alone, so dont beat yourself up over it.

Shit happens to me fairly frequently so don't beat yourself up about it. :)

Thanks for lookin out for me guys. Have a great weekend.

IronWorker

You too IW and congrats on the new rank.

Woohoo! Didn't even notice! I guess that means I'm hardcore now. lol

IronWorker

Sunday June 22/2008

Another hungover workout day...it showed.

Squats
- bar x 5
- 135lbs x 5
- 185lbs x 3
- 205lbs x 1
- 225lbs 5x5

Done and done. Pretty much sucked the life outta me though.

Bench
- bar x 6
-135lbs x 4
-165lbs x 2
-185lbs x 1
-200lbs 4x5,1x4

Well I couldn't do it today. I think on a regular non hungover day I will try it again and I'm pretty sure I should have it. After this point in the workout I pretty much had zero energy. 5x5's are tough on a guy.

BB P.Rows
-bar x 6
-30kg x 5
-40kg x 3
-50kg x 2
-60kg x 1
-72.5kg 3x5

So tired!

Dips

Couldn't do dips today...energy crisis/my shoulder was really sore from sleeping on a couch.

Pull ups
bw x 4,5,4,3

Bring on the suck.

Diet

I'm going to stop commenting on my diet until I get back on track with my eating. So, just assume it to be "not so good."


Thougths

I managed to push out squats which I am happy about but my energy levels plummeted thereafter. Oh wells.

IronWorker

Best thing you can do on a hang over day is just rest and have some Taco Bell:biglaugh:

have you considered counseling for your alcoholism??

:)

Um...alcoholism doesn't exist among college students. It's a condition that only exists beyond the college years. Drinking is part of college. :beerchug:

i think he graduated though :)

Lol, its just on weekends...does that still count?

Oh. I think I remember him graduating since you mentioned it. In that case, check out this helpful website:

http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/

Whoa whoa whoa guys. I graduated like a month ago and its summer time, give me a break.

:biglaugh: Yes sir.

haha...just pullin your lariat mister :)

Tuesday June 24th/2008

Well we were supposed to rest another day before today but I'm leaving this weekend so I wanted to get in that other workout on thursday... well I proved it once again that 1 day of rest is not enough for me anymore.

Squats
- bar x 5
- 135lbs x 5
- 185lbs x 3
- 205lbs x 1
- 230lbs 3x5,1x3

Glutes and quads were hurting way too bad to finish this. Damnit.

Bench
- bar x 6
-135lbs x 5
-165lbs x 2
-185bs x 1
-200lbs 5x5 (PR)

Well I finished it this time and I'm not sure how because my chest was still sore as shit. It made for some interesting form thats for sure. I seemed to be compensating by bringing the bar higher on my chest which absolutely destroyed my shoulders and MP was a goner after that.


BB M. Press
- bar x 5
- 85lbs x 3
- 105lbs x 1
- 120lbs x 1

There was just no way in hell this was going to happen after bench. I was supposed to do a 3x3 today... Weak sauce.


Hanging Leg Raises
2x10, 1x8

Obliques - Pallof Press

45lbs 3x10


Thougths

Well I was pretty upset with today. It didn't really surprise me but of course my workout partner smashes through his weights regardless. I just seem to need alot more rest then he does. Very frustrating.

IronWorker

Damn nice 5x5 again IW, MP is way hard after heavy benching.

Don't be too upset , you still hit a PR :)

Ya I know, the PR is great but its hard not to compare myself to my workout partner and wonder what is the difference between us? He may just be genetically better at healing?

IronWorker

Thursday June 25th/2008

Weight(From last time...forgot to post): 179lbs... thats better.

Deads
-60kg x 5
-80kg x 3
-100kg x 2
-120kg x 1
-135kg 3x3

Well we went down to 3x3 to keep things progressing. I also tried doing deads without gloves. You can definately get a better grip since you can wrap farther around. It did hurt the callaces pretty bad though. The pull itself seemed pretty good though.

Front Squats
bar x 5
95lbs x 5
115lbs x 3
135lbs 3x5

I did this and did some power cleans in between with the bar just for fun and little extra sweat. Felt good. I have to go real wide to get good depth though. You really feel the wide stance in the hips.


BB P. Rows
- bar x 5
- 30kg x 5
- 40kg x 3
- 50kg x 2
- 60kg x 1
- 75kg 3x5

Well this was pretty much the upper limit for me but its heavier then I've ever pulled before so thats nice. I think I'll switch back to higher volume now.

Pull-ups
bw+25lbs x 3,3,2
bw x 6

Had a good strong pulling day.

Dips
bw x 5
bw+10lbs x 10
bw+20lbs x 10
bw+35lbs x 10
bw +45lbs x 8

Very strong dips day. Woot, finish hard before a sweet weekend.



Thougths

Workout felt good today. I'm happy with the weights I moved today. Put me in a good mood.

IronWorker

good stuff man.

good shit i.dub. and remember. dont weight your success against anybody elses. you are you and they are them. it may not even be genetics. you and him arent together 24/7 so it may not even be genetics. he can just be doing something you arent or whatever. just keep at it my man and you will progress.

when you try to catch up to other people, you somtimes tend to lose focus of the goal at hand. you will be aight

Thanks for the wise words monsta and thanks for stoppin by pity.

IronWorker

Wednesday July 2/2008

Well I was camping on the long weekend so my nutrition was shitty for 4 days.

Squats
- bar x 5
- 135lbs x 5
- 175lbs x 3
- 195lbs x 2
- 215lbs x 1
- 230lbs 3x5,1x1

Once again poor nutrition/rest coming into it blocked my way on this one. It was like hitting a brick wall on the 4th set. Very frustrated.

Bench
- bar x 6
-135lbs x 4
-165lbs x 2
-185lbs x 1
-205lbs 3x3

The 3x3 itself felt good. I tried one set after that and got shutdown hard. My energy level seemed to maintain for about 15mins per muscle group then it was hard downhill after that.

BB P.Rows
-bar x 6
-30kg x 5
-40kg x 3
-50kg 4x8

Well it was time to reset these so its back down to higher volume.

Hanging Leg Raises
bw 3x10

I think I'm going to try to go to 3x11 next then 3x12 etc.

Pallof Press
skipped

cable machines were all busy so we just left this one for today. Had some painting to get done tonight anyways.


Thougths

Well now I'm not sure if I should just give up on squatting 230 5x5 and switch down to 3x3. It seems like I should have that weight without too much trouble but it evades me every time. I guess in the end it shouldn't matter too much.

IronWorker

Well due to a series of events including me getting sick for a few days with some type of food poisoning/flu-like thing, I haven't been able to work out. I am feeling better now and will probably be back at it tomorrow.

IronWorker

glad to hear you are back at it

Thanks monsta, I'm going to go and do some deads today I think. I hope it goes well.

IronWorker

If you bring it down to a 3x3 (from a 3x5) then you're cheating progression in a way. You should almost start off at 240 or 250lbs for the 3x3.

My 2 cents would be to just keep plugging away at that 230. Do as many sets as you can and then maybe you have to do 225 for the last set, not really a big deal. Then for the next week, go for 235x5, 230x5, 225x5. You've still progressed on your squats and the overall work done is the same as 230x3x5 even though the last set is 225. Maybe do something like that for a couple weeks (235x5, 235x5, 225x5 the following week) and then go back to 230x3x5 for straight sets. It's much easier to slap on 5lbs to one set (especially the 1st one) rather than 3. I'd wager that if you do this sort of scheme you'll be able to slay 230 for straight sets without a problem.

glad your feeling better IW. I hope dl's go well for you

Kane: Thanks for the tips. I was actually supposed to be going from 5x5 to 3x3 but the 5x5 just turned into a 3x5 by ways of being not able to finish. I like it that way because you pick up your progressions again and it gets you going mentally again. You also get a slight break from easing off on the volume while not being too high on the intensity yet. So, you get back in the game mentally and your body heals up a bit as you progress in weight to where you should be at with your 3x3. Or at least that was my though process.

Personally, it really bugs me to just keep banging away at the same weight time after time. I know its all in my head but having that progression each time is what keeps me coming back.

Hrdgain: Thanks for the kind words.

IronWorker