Rusty Shackleford's training journal

[john917v]

Hey, all, here is my training journal starting 8-13-08

Note: I did the exercises in the order they are listed (BP first, then deads, etc) with 3 minutes between each work set.

Bench press
95 lbs X 10
135 lbs X 6
195 lbs X 5, 5 sets

Deads
65 Lbs X 10
135 lbs X 8
245 lbs X 5, 5 sets.

JS Rows
135 lbs x 5, 5 sets

Squats
135 x 3 (weird number, I know)
225 lbs X 5, 5 sets


Today's WO will be the same, but with standing shoulder presses combined in place of the rows. Same for Mondays, except slightly higher on all, and with Chinups in place as an accessory.

[Pitysister]

Originally Posted by john917v

Note: I did the exercises in the order they are listed (BP first, then deads, etc) with 3 minutes between each work set.

i'm so glad you did them in that order...otherwise my ocd would have gone nuts

took you long enough to start a journal.

[john917v]

And, I even punctuated in your preferred style! Haha. Yeah, I had been wanting to. So, I did.

[Cradler]

Ha, soon enough you won't be catching up to me at all... quite the reverse. Looks good, man. I just wish I could start a journal now, ha!

Best of luck John, this should be interesting.

[john917v]

Thanks, pal. Same to you!

[iron_worker]

I would take a look at your warmups.

I would suggest something more like this...

Use an example working weight of 225lbs:

bar 2x5
135lbs x 5
165lbs x 3
185lbs x 2
205lbs x 1
225lbs 5x5

I think you'll find you have alot more energy left when you get to your work sets.

Everything else looks great. You doing Starting Strength then?

IronWorker

[Cradler]

^^Looks like a modified SS. 5x5 instead of 3x5, emphasizing deads over squats, rows instead of cleans, etc.

So (I didn't notice this before) you're benching, squatting, and deadlifting 5x5s every workout? Do you have a light day in there at all? I mean, I don't know that you need one, it just seems like an awful lot to recover from day after day.

[iron_worker]

This is true but I say stick with it as long as you can handle it but also realize there will come a point where you will need to drop one of those exercises because you're lower back (likely) will be the first to give way.

IronWorker

[Kane]

Doing the big 3 for a 5x5 3 times a week is not a good idea. You may be able to sustain it for a very short term but not very long. You have to think about how much intensity you can safely generate on those deads and squats. IMO it should go squats or deads first in the lineup, they're are the most taxing and are the ones most likely to injure you while in a fatigued state.

If you want to do the big 3 every workout then I would suggest varying the intensity or volume. Something like this:

Mon
Deads 1x5 (Still 5 sets of 5 except the 5th set is the heaviest, hence 1x5 rather than 5x5)
Squats 5x5 or 3x5 (lighter weight)
Bench 5x5

Wed
Squats 1x5
Deads 5x5
Bench 5x5 or 3x5 (lighter weight)

Fri
Bench 1x5
Deads 5x5 or 3x5 (Lighter weight)
Squats 5x5

I still don't like this setup but at least now you've got a heavy 1x5, a 5x5, and a light 5x5 for each of the big three. With the 1x5 taking priority on each day, deads and squats taking priority in the week.

5x5 is not a magic number, it's a balance between strength and hypertrophy. Don't feel like you are bound to that number when it comes to compound exercises. There's nothing wrong with doing a rep/set range of 3x3, 5x3, 3x8, or AxB, so long as you use them for the proper purpose.

[john917v]

I beat my previous PR on deads of 385 with 400 yesterday. I was (and am) pretty psyched. The rest of the results will be posted up tonight or tomorrow.