Think less, eat more

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 54

SL5x5 Session 2, Workout B

Was very easy but glad it starts off light because I got some time to really assess my squat form and I was really disappointed. Still heaps of work to go with ankle and hip mobility. Yeah I got some really strange looks from people but oh well, will be better off for all this in few weeks time when I'm squatting and benching my old 1rms for working sets.

Duration : 1hr26mins

Workout

• Treadmill 10mins
• Bunch of mobility stuff
• Squats : 25kg 5x5
• OHP : 20kg 5x5
• Deadlifts 40kg 1x5
• Accessory work
  • Side delts machine 40lbs  3 setsx12 reps
  • Knee raises 2 setsx12 reps
  • DB Bicep curls 20lbs 2 setsx10reps
• Treadmill 10mins
• Some more mobility stuff

 

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 55

SL5x5 Session 3, Workout A

Heeeeaps of warmup and mobility work before the squat today and feeling I made awesome progress but as I sit here typing this can feel those hip flexors tightening right up again.. :/ Anyway squats were good today though I ended up doing heaps more than just 5 sets I'm sure it'll be OK since it was such light weight. Done couple lighter sets with heels on 10lb plates to 'feel' proper depth then was able to hit it without the plates, still very conciously have to work on driving the knees outwards without letting the toes point too far out simultaneously. Also switched from the high bar squat to low bar squats and found them to be much better for me to help keep the heels flat while going down deep. Going glutes to calves deep and holding it there using those light weights to help me stretch at same time. Really starting to appreciate that this program starts out with empty bar, heaps of time to focus on form and crap.

Duration: 1hr40mins

Workout

• Treadmill 10mins light jog 87cal 1.36km
• Ankle/hip mobility work
• Squats
  • lots of warmup stuff
  • 30kg 5x5
• Bench press
  • 20kg 2 sets of 5
  • 25kg 5x5
• Barbell Row
  • 30kg x5
  • 35kg 5x5
• Dips 5x5 supersetting with 5x5 pullups
• Seated calf raises supersetting with bodyweight standing calf raises
• Back extensions machine superset decline crunches
• 10min cooldown treadmill walk
• Lots more stretching

It's getting to a point now where I'm spending more time stretching than lifting lol.

[Pseudonym]

Wow, I just checked in here. Great log, Ron! So much detail - you're going to love reading this again 5 years down the track.

*good*

[Leeroid]

What were your old 1RMs mate?

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Wow, I just checked in here. Great log, Ron! So much detail - you're going to love reading this again 5 years down the track.

yeah thats the one, hopefully will become big & strong as hell and then i'll be trippin reading about all the BS i used to do/complain about years ago lol

What were your old 1RMs mate?

last time i tested would have been around dec last year they were not much better than what they are now lol, my dedication to progressive overload has been shocking... there were some shoulder pains too but no excuse mainly my work ethic was shit so i never progressed. looking forward to making your kind of 1st year progress now with a dedicated approach

old lifts (dec last year)

flat bench 60kgx1 with lots of shoulder pain

ohp cant say, used dbs because persistent shoulder problems

deadlift 140kg think i got up to 6 reps with that

rows 50kg for reps but form was pretty crap somewhere in between yates rows and just plain standing shrugs lol

squats i was constantly changing my form and rep ranges biggest legit one i ever done was only 90kg  and that was like a one off because my friend was there helping me with form  :|

[maccaz]

hey mate cool journal, im doing 5x5 too.

one thing iv noticed after a few weeks is my flexibility and squat form have improved heaps, just from squatting 3x a week, used to get parallel with plates under my heels, but now i can go atg with plates under heels, and well below parallel with feet flat which is a huge change for me.

 

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 56

SL5x5 Session 4, Workout B

Today was quick as in and out of gym within 40mins had some stuff to do lol. Made a pullup station thing with my dad this weekend just been priming/painting it today gonna be ready to go tomorrow :-D Got some resistance bands too just to help me stretch but also should be good to add in a bit of mobility/accessory work at home like rotator cuffs and rear delts, those small kind of things.

Duration : 40mins

Workout

• Eliptical carido machine 5mins
• Squats
  • 2 sets 5 x bar
  • 5 sets 5 x 35kg
• OHP
  • 2 sets 5 x bar
  • 5 sets 5 x 25kg
• Deadlift
  • 1 set 5 x 45kg
• Treadmill 5mins
• 5mins stretching

Not as much time stretching in gym.. just stretching heaps more at home now mornings & night times

 

hey mate cool journal, im doing 5x5 too.

one thing iv noticed after a few weeks is my flexibility and squat form have improved heaps, just from squatting 3x a week, used to get parallel with plates under my heels, but now i can go atg with plates under heels, and well below parallel with feet flat which is a huge change for me.

 

hey mate thanks and pretty much got the idea to go with 5x5 following reading your journal.

you are absolutely right! i was originally afraid the frequency of doing them would be damaging because of my poor form but it has only gotten better since doing then more and more.. also squats seem to be in my dreams now and everything lol.. both conciously and subconciously i'm looking to succeed with big weights & proper form this time around.

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Weigh-in : 61.4kg

Off day today, paints all dry and ready to go on the pullup station so jumped out and welcomed it with some random circuit stuff. recorded my current max of 15 pullups, gonna try make that 30+ within the next few months

 

Next up gotta try the muscle ups.. can do pullups and dips but haven't yet devloped the ability to combine them for muscle ups lol.

Gonna look around the garage see if I can find some stuff to make rings with, would be nice to have something like that then wouldn't need much else to have a cool circuit workout at home

 

 

[Pseudonym]

Nice pullup station! You and it remind me of those old wooden toys...

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Nice pullup station! You and it remind me of those old wooden toys...

 

LOL! I remember those, and there was like a massive real life version of it somewhere in that 'Big Fresh'(?) supermarket.. the home of the giant chicken

 

Day 57

SL5x5 Session 5, Workout A

Another good day of 5x5. Not much to say, had to use 10lb plates on the heels again today for whatever reason they just wouldn't let me get down low without the plates today. With the squats I'm practicing staying tight through the whole motion while weights are still light so it's slow down, hold for 5~10 seconds while holding my breath then up, releasing breath at the top. After the 5x5 squats were done just done some quick explosive ones bouncing off the calves at the bottom for 15 reps. I thought I'll drop the weight increments back down to the recommended 2.5kg a session from Friday instead of 5kg so I can keep progressing & practicing proper form longer before hitting up something heavy.

Duration: 1hr20mins

Workout

• Treadmill 10mins
• Stretching/exercise specific warmups
• Squat
  • 2 sets 5x bar
  • 5 sets 5x 40kg (5-10sec pauses)
  • 1 set 15x 40kg (explosive)
• Bench
  • 2 sets 5x bar
  • 5 sets 5x 30kg
• Rows
  • 5 sets 5x 40kg
• Rear delt flyes
• Side delts machine
• Face pulls
• 10mins stretching

 

 

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 58

SL5x5 Session 6, Workout B

Gonna switch to LBs from next workout because all the plates in Wolfs are in lbs and I have to do some math to figure out what it is in KGs which is pretty much just random estimates. Probably not good idea to try be doing maths when heads a bit FUBAR from the workout so just easier this way lol... need the accuracy especially for microloading with consistent progressive loading and all that

Duration : 1hr35mins

Workout

• Treadmill 10mins 1.2km
• Mobility stuff
• Squat
  • 2 sets 5xbar
  • 5 sets 5x42.5kg
• Overhead Press
  • 2 sets 5xbar
  • 5 sets 5x27.5kg
• Deadlift
  • 1 set 5x50kg
• Dips
  • 2 sets 5xbw
• Chin ups
  • 2 sets 8xbw
• Preacher curls with DB
  • 2x dropset 30lbs, 20lbs, 10lbs
• Skull crushers
  • 2sets 8x40lbs
• Back extensions
  • 2 sets 8xbw
  • 2 sets 8xbw+25lb plate
• Treadmill 10mins 1.1km
• 10mins stretching

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 59

SL5x5 Session 7, Workout A

3rd week of 5x5 going pretty good so far.. squats starting to get a bit more intense which is great. Last couple days done a bit of work on the home made olympic rings was pretty hardout, gonna take some time to get used to & for the stabilisiers to really catch up hope I can keep doing these in between 5x5. Switched to using lbs now since all the plates at the gym are in lbs and its just heaps easier for me this way with progressive microloading rather than trying to add up in the uneven kg numbers. Expecting to be too busy (people staying over) for gym for the rest of the week but gonna jump outside do some run/pullup/pushup/dip type circuit work to keep active.

Duration : 1hr7mins

Workout

• Treadmill 10mins 0.78km 41cal
• Squat
  • 2 sets 5x45lb
  • 1 set 5x65lbs
  • 5 sets 5x100lbs
• Bench
  • 2 sets 5x45lbs
  • 5 sets 5x70lbs
• Rows
  • 5 sets 5x95lbs
• 2mins cardio rower
• Stretching 10mins

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 60

SL5x5 Session 8, Workout B

Whoa, long time no see GymNation/working out at Gym..2 weeks off with Xmas/New Years stuff but back in to it today just continued on the program from where I left off, wasn't really heavy enough to have to deload before jumping in. Didn't do much moibility/stretching work in my time off luckily didn't seem to lose that much flexibility though fitness levels definately suffered - had to take 1min breaks between pretty much every set.

Duration : 1hr26mins

Workout

• Treadmill 10mins
• Dynamic stretches
• Squat
  • 2 sets 5x45lbs
  • 5 sets 5x105lbs
• Overhead Press
  • 2 sets 5x45lbs
  • 5 sets 5x65lbs
• Deadlift
  • 1 set 5x120lbs
• Side delts machine
  • 3 sets 12x32.5lbs
• Weighted pullups
  • 2 sets 5xbw+25lbs
• Rear delt flyes (cable machine)
  • 3 sets 8x50lbs
• Bicep curl superset Skullcrushers
  • 3 sets 5x40lbs
• Treadmill 10mins
• Stretching 5mins

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 61 (8th Jan 2014)

SL5x5 Session 9, Workout A

This is for last night. Went quite late to a gym first time in ages (9pm) prefer to sleep by 11 so was a fast one in gym just warmup, 5x5 workout, quick warmdown/stretches and was outta there. Was a bit annoying that the staff in there were bored or something and decided they'd come up to me and suggest I'll get nowhere doing what I'm doing and recommended that I do partial reps on bench and add in some cable work lol. Atleast one of them was nice who knew what 5x5 was intervened and left me to it in the end /rant

Duration : 58mins

Workout

• Treadmill 10mins
• Squat
  • 2 sets 5xbar
  • 2 sets 5x65lbs
  • 5 sets 5x110lbs
• Bench press
  • 2 sets 5xbar
  • 2 sets 5x65lbs
  • 5 sets 5x75lbs
• Barbell Row
  • 5 sets 5x100lbs
• Treadmill 5mins
• Stretching 5mins

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 62

SL5x5 Session 10, Workout B

Squats felt pretty good today much easier than usual. Too bad same cannot be said about the overhead press which was a real struggle.

Duration : 1hr6mins

Workout

• Treadmil 10mins
• Squat
  • 2 sets 5xbar
  • 1 set 5x65lbs
  • 1 set 5x85lbs
  • 5 sets 5x115lbs
• Overhead Press
  • 2 sets 5xbar
  • 5 sets 5x70lbs
• Deadlift
  • 1 set 5x130lbs
• Pullups 2x5 superset Leg raises 2x10
• Side Delts machine 40lbs 3x10
• Rear delt flyes cable machine 40lbs 3x10
• Stretching 10mins

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 63

SL5x5 Session11, Workout A

Mad hip flexor tightness from 4th set but luckily was able to complete these sets with not too much pain. Really, really need to work on stretching these more during the day. Was pretty cool though saw this big dude was repping 200kgs on squats then drop setting thought yep that'll be me some day

Duration : 57mins

• Treadmill 10mins
• Squat
  • 2 sets 5xbar
  • 2 sets 5x65lbs
  • 2 sets 5x95lbs
  • 5 sets 5x120lbs
• Bench Press
  • 1 set 5xbar
  • 1 set 5x65lbs
  • 5 sets 5x80lbs
• Barbell Row
  • 5 sets 5x105lbs

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 64 (for 15th Jan 2014)

SL5x5 Session 12, Workout B

I hate when this happens, used to be stuck in this kind of trap when I was starting out at gym - where I get used to making progress, consistently add in weights then somehow I find out my form sucks and I have to take weights away and start over never progressing as far as I had wished. Same damn thing happened yesterday, was angry as and a bit overly defensive when one of the gym staff pointed out I was doing it wrong but once he went away I thought about it and noted I have definately let my form slip. I have been going real deep (ass to calves) but these issues were pointed out which I need to work on:

• Have somehow started breaking at the knees again instead of at hips
• Knees tracking way past toes up frontwards - this and breaking at the knees would explain why my knees have started to get a lot more sensitive again despite not having done any runs in a while
• As I drop past parallel my back starts to creep forwards as if I'm doing a goodmorning. He explained to me that my shins should stay pretty much vertical and my back should be mostly upright. I thought he was full of crap then he demonstrated that it was all possible by doing it himself and holding the position as if it was nothing. I have much work to do!

Strategy going ahead:

I continued doing tonnes of sets with just 95lbs which is fairly light and practicing the right form and from now on I'll probably use the same weights for the next 2 sessions. Don't want to be stuck with the same low weight for ages but also don't want to drop right down to empty bar again as I might just end up losing interest in this program altogether.  Once my form is better again I'll start creeping weight up slower (just 2.5lbs per session instead of 5lbs) until I've really loaded that pattern into my muscle memory then hopefully go back to normal progress. In mean time continuing with lots of hip stretches and thinking might need to add in some low back stuff too in order to keep more upright.

Duration : ages

Workout

• Squats
  • bad form was pointed out
  • done heaps of sets with lighter weight (95lbs)
  • too many sets to count
• Overhead Press
  • 5 sets 5x70lbs
  • done it with 5lbs less than I should have used for this session because after all those squats (close to 15 sets or so) even pressing the bar was exhausting
• Deadlift
  • 1 Set 140lbs

[OnlyHuman]

There is no one "universally right" way to squat.

 

Plenty of oly-lifters let their knees go past the toes and they still squat big weights without their knees "blowing up". When having a body structure of long femur and short torso (relative to each other) might makes breaking with the knees (slightly before or at the same time) than the hips an advantege/prefered option in order to avoid lowerback rounding etc... 

People with short femur, long torso, good hip mobility will have an easy time squating upright with relativelly vertical shin placement. However we all have individual anatomical variences, mobility issues etc thus I think you should consider more than one "gold standard"...

 

Some videos for you to ponder over (either way I wish you all the best, good luck):

 

 

[Skeletor]

His videos are awesome and he can squat and dead a ton. Im sure he has one where he says you do actually imagine breaking at the knees first . His was the programme I used to get my bench up and is whst im still using for upper body. www.canditotraining.com. has a lot of squat tutorials.

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

There is no one "universally right" way to squat.

 

Plenty of oly-lifters let their knees go past the toes and they still squat big weights without their knees "blowing up". When having a body structure of long femur and short torso (relative to each other) might makes breaking with the knees (slightly before or at the same time) than the hips an advantege/prefered option in order to avoid lowerback rounding etc... 

People with short femur, long torso, good hip mobility will have an easy time squating upright with relativelly vertical shin placement. However we all have individual anatomical variences, mobility issues etc thus I think you should consider more than one "gold standard"...

 

Some videos for you to ponder over (either way I wish you all the best, good luck):

 

 

thanks man for the vids and comments, i was pretty depressed yesterday about all this but feeling better now that i have some advice up my sleeve. that first vid in particular really gave good info im gonna try involving the hips more..think i need to strengthen that muscle that lets me push legs outwards because when i go wider stance & toes pointing out as he suggests i have a tough time trying to get my knees to track with the ankles. that tip for keeping upper back tight also awesome, looking forward to implementing all this in tomorrows session

 

 

His videos are awesome and he can squat and dead a ton. Im sure he has one where he says you do actually imagine breaking at the knees first . His was the programme I used to get my bench up and is whst im still using for upper body. www.canditotraining.com. has a lot of squat tutorials.

cheers for the link, i see lots of videos there on the front page guess what im watching tonight /popcorn. downloaded his free programs gonna have a look at them and consider if i can implement them in future (not gonna program hop from 5x5 for now though as really determined to see it through for at least 12 weeks). 

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Tried out all those things today it was certainly a different sensation, felt quads were a bit more loaded but also felt a bit more pressure on my mid/low back with some wierd clicking around shoulder blades area. Used 10lbs plates under heels as it was the only way I could keep myself from resorting to the 'good morning bent over squat'. Stupid knees still feeling a bit sensitive but should be good again after weekend, I'll keep going with this weight (95lbs) for squats for probably 2 more sessions with focus strictly on the form. Right now I feel like I might be turning in to one of those idiots who never progresses because too much focus on form but will try to keep this period brief and move back to the progressive overloading from next week.

 

Something I also noticed was in my warmup sets where the weights are too low (empty bar, 65lbs etc.), I cannot keep proper form I seem to need some weight to help me keep balance I suppose this has something to do with maybe core stability?

Day 65

SL5x5 Session 13, Workout A + bunch of accessories

Weight : 61.5kg Haven't put on any weight over the xmas break period but have definately got a softer look lol body recomposition done wrong. Anyway getting back in to it now gonna start tracking cals for a bit again to make sure I'm on track.

Duration : 1hr35mins

Workout

• Treadmill 10mins 0.72km 46cal
• Squats
  • 2 sets 5xbar
  • 1 set 5x65lbs
  • 5 sets 5x95lbs
• Bench Press
  • 2 sets 5xbar
  • 1 set 5x65lbs
  • 5 sets 5x85lbs
• Barbell Row
  • 5 sets 5x110lbs
• Bunch of accessories (didn't log properly)
  • Facepulls, lat pulldowns, pullovers, skull crushers, rear delt flyes, machine crunches, back extension machine
• Treadmill 10min 1.30km 86cal

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 66 (for Monday 20th Jan)

SL5x5 Session 14, Workout B

Normally I'm used to avoiding the 4~6pm time at gym but went at exactly that time yesterday and it was really, reallly awesome. Such a strong vibe there from all the BBers perfect atmosphere for training. The sound was kind of like in those motivation videos on youtube with loud music in back but still can hear the big guy in the squat rack grinding out squat massive drop sets from 180 down to 100 then some other dudes doing crazy benching and his big mate yelling at him for more reps. Saw Jo Stewart was there too training with some massive dude and later there was this super wide freak came easily repped out 100kg shoulder presses right next to me while I was struggling with my 75lb ones lol!

Anyway for my log notes : Squats getting better and better, torso feeling stronger now and I think the squat itself feels easier now because I can breath better with the torso more upright as opposed to being almost horizontal the way it was before. Still using 10lb plates on heels, trying them like my training wheels will try lower them slowly along with ankle stretching so next week it'll be 5lbs for about a month then maybe 2.5lbs until eventually I won't need them.

Shoulder presses I really struggled with, am trying to use a narrowish grip (shoulder width) for maximum ROM but my left elbow kept clicking, was really painful. Next time I might have to take more of the grip I use on bench press.

For deadlifts I jumped the weight up a bit so instead of doing the planned 150lbs it was 185lbs which means by the 7th week of 5x5 (on 5th week now) it should start to get challenging again, moreso combined with the fact that they will come after 5 sets of squats which will be 30lbs heavier than they are now.

Duration : 1hr36mins

Workout

• Treadmill 10mins
• Squats
  • 1 set 5xbar
  • 1 set 5x65lbs
  • 1 set 5x85lbs
  • 1 set 5x95lbs
  • 5 sets 5x105lbs
• Overhead Press
  • 2 sets 5xbar
  • 1 set 5x65lbs
  • 5 sets 5x75lbs
• Deadlift
  • 1 set 5x135lbs
  • 1 set 5x185lbs
• Accessories
  • Bodyweight back extensions
  • Facepulls
  • Pulldowns
  • Calf raises
• Treadmill 20mins

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Sorted out spreadsheet to help me track this stuff better. Gonna keep logging on here too because it gives me more than just numbers but good to have it all on 1 page in spreadsheet

 

First 4 weeks of SL5x5 progress in KG and LBs nothing interesting at all but it's going in my log anyway just because I love2graph!

 

 

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 67

SL5x5 Session 15, Workout A

Things are feeling pretty good nowadays, I'm sure my form isn't quite right just yet but certainly getting there. Felt significant pump on the quads hams and glutes and my hips did not seize up like they had been in the past couple weeks which is a releif. 10lb plates under heels. Over to bench, I feel my form is getting quite a lot better there. Keeping the rear delts pinned to the bench is much easier now think I'm ready to perform the heavier sets which will be coming in a few weeks time.

Weight : 62.3kg

Duration : 1hr21mins

Workout

• Treadmill 10mins
• Squat
  • 1 set 5xbar
  • 1 set 5x65lbs
  • 1 set 5x85lbs
  • 1 set 5x95lbs
  • 5 sets 5x110lbs
• Bench Press
  • 1 set 5xbar
  • 1 set 5x 55lbs
  • 1 set 5x65lbs
  • 1 set 5x75lbs
  • 5 sets 5x85lbs
• Barbell Row
  • 5 sets 5x115lbs
• Accessories
  • Weighted Pullups
  • Ab crunches machine normal/side crunch variants
  • DB pullover
• Treadmill 10mins 105cals __ forgot to log distance
• 10mins stretching

[Skeletor]

Hey mate. Have you given weightlifting shoes a go? Like the adidas powerlift or the adipowers? I see you keep squatting with weights under your heels and wondered if it was because you are coming forward on to your toes?