Thanks Eric, that's good news. I'm already getting psyched for Tuesday's workout. And using the weights from the ankle weights was a great idea for making one pounders.

I really appreciate you taking the time to comment on my workouts. You're very generous with the amount of time you spend sharing your wealth of knowledge with everyone here at Bodybuilding.net. I think I might need more of that knowledge soon when it's time for me to reset some lifts.

Thanks Again.

You're welcome. Helping others and seeing the results (or lack of results) from that, actually helps us extend our own knowledge base. That is why it is important for people to take part and give feedback.

Oh, good I'm glad the ankle weight thing worked out for you. Lots of people have stuff laying around they could put to good use if they just put their mind to it....but not everyone's a cheap mofo like me :)

BTW, if you do something like hanging leg raises, after working them up to a good amount, say 3x10 to 12, you could use the ankle weights to augment them.

BTW, I see where some of this "bar speed" stuff is coming from, i.e. the Rippletoe Faq. Well it sounds really complicated and fancy, lol.

So here is the bench example:

Bench:
135 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good)
140 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good)
145 x 5/5/5 (bar speed slow)
150 x 5/5/4 (bar speed slow)
155 x 5/5/4 (bar speed slow)
160 x 5/4/4 (bar speed very slow)
162.5 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good)
165 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good)
167.5 x 5/4/4 (bar speed slow)
170 x 5/4/3 (bar speed very slow)
170 x 5/4/3 (bar speed very slow)
170 x 4/4/4 - time for a reset

The ONLY factor is reps. The only variable is load.

If you miss the last rep like with the 150 lbs. then you carry the weight over until you get all the reps. I don't understand this example or why the weight is increased after missing the last rep. There is no time limit of this routine. You do slow and steady progression for as long as possible. In this example the load is increased three times without actually getting all 15 reps.

There is enough to worry about without recording you bar speed. Expecially since you can have a "very slow" day, and the bust it through the roof the next time. It's not a perfect world.

The way this example is laid out it manufactures a regression in performance which is going to lead to a reset that requires more of a drop in volume than it normally should.

The bar speed is just used to asses yourself not to decide when to reset. You only reset when you miss reps for two or three workouts in a row.

Bench:
135 x 5/5/5
140 x 5/5/5
145 x 5/5/5
150 x 5/5/4
150 x 5/5/5
160 x 5/5/4
162.5 x 5/5/5
165 x 5/5/5
167.5x 5/5/4
167.5x 5/5/5
170x 5/4/4
170x 5/4/4

So this is the kind of thing we are going for. The decision to micro load is based on the individuals assesment. Nobody's getting in a hurry here. Now this is assuming all sorts of things but you can see we've missed the last rep for two workouts in a row. All sorts of things can happen. There could have been a regression in perfromance with more missed reps, etc, so on. At this point, however, we can still try again for another workout if we want or we can back off with a simple 10% reduction in load. So I'll round the weight down to 15 lbs which should be fine.

155x5/5/5
160x5/5/5
165/5/5/5
170x5/5/5
172.5x5/5/5
175x5/5/5
ETC.

You're right, that's where I got the bar speed stuff from and that's the example that was confusing me. In the example, they eventually added twenty pounds to a weight they were having obvious trouble with. It appeared they worked through it, but stalled again quickly. Thanks for clarifying that.

I like the microloading theory. It allows you to progress, however slightly, where you otherwise may not have been able to progress at all. I also think because of my age (I'll be 50 in April), microloading will help because I'm likely not producing the quantity of hormones that the younger lifters do, thus building strength and muscle slower.

Yeah. I'm not sure exactly what kind of thinking went into all that. As you say, it stalled again quickly, and quite frankly I would expect it would stall sooner than 20 pounds. It seems to have the mindset of someone with a timeframe in mind. I.E. were doing this program for x number of weeks and trying to meet this certain goal. I don't know if that's really the case but this programs goes on indefinitely and there is no prearranged goal or time limit. But if you get in a hurry you basically eccelerate stall outs and you limit the ability to recover from those stall outs. I could go on and on in explaining the reasons but I'll keep it to "follow the simple rules of progression".

Microloading is a viable way to continure progression for anyone, not just us oldies. Anything that has you moving forward at the same volume is a good thing. Good job so far.

Tuesday 2/27/07

Squat -------------------- 3x5 200 lbs (YES!!!!)
Bench Press -------------- 3x5 195 lbs
Deadlift------------------- 1x5 240 lbs
Dips ---------------------- 2x8 with 30 lb weight

Notes:

Now that I'm not worrying about that bar speed stuff, I had a real good overall workout. I pushed out all my reps. They were hard as usual, but no failure reps.

This is my favorite workout...The "Deadlift Workout" on two days rest. Too bad it only happens every two weeks. The rest of the week usually gets harder for me and I'm really spent after Saturday's workout with the accessory exercises.

I plan to do 15 minutes HIIT on the ellipical tomorrow.

I'm making the big time...I dude asked me to spot his bench press tonight. He was pressing about 250 after a few pyramid sets. No one ever asks me to spot, probably afraid the balding guy with a gray gotee will drop the bar on them. :biglaugh:

I'm always waiting around for deadlift day too. But all the squatting is the best way to go at first and it's a necessary concession with this type of setup; or perhaps I should say it's a smart one anyway.

After this you can do a program that lets you deadlift once a week so that should be fun!

Thursday 3/01/07

Squat -------------------- 3x5 205 lbs
Military Press ------------- 3x5 125 lbs
Rows --------------------- 3x5 135 lbs
Chin-ups ----------------- 1x8 1x7

Everything was real hard. I've had a lot of hard workouts lately, been near my max for a while, but I'm determined to do my reps. I can't imagine doing 5x5s with a weight that is very challenging, but I'm sure I'll be able to handle it when it's time.

Big day coming up Saturday. The big three all 200 pounds or more for the first time. (SQ 210, BP 200, DL 245) I plan to not rush and maybe take a little extra time between squat sets.

You've got nothing to worry about. Once you get to your potential with this program you'll likely find a beginner/inermediate 5x5 easier. You certainly won't be doing 5x5 on a workout to workout basis since (theoretically) that would quickly overwhelm you. So you'll really only be "progressing" once a week instead of every workout like now. Plus you'll begin the program with intensity cycling and build up to challenging weights. It'll be a walk in the park for you for a while :) (most likely anyway).

Thanks for the vote of confidence Eric. This conversation remindes me that I gotta start researching the next level after the stalling and resetting.