Numbers Are Pretty (Rob's Battle Log)

[Rob__]

Front Squat

2x5x45

   5x65

   5x80

   5x90

   5x105

 

Overhead Press

   5x73

   5x83

   5x93

   5x103

 

3x10x63 <~~ These were not quite as insignificant as they were this week. I also feel as though I was hanging out at the top of the press for like 20 minutes a rep, so that could impact things...

 

No Deadlifts. Sad face.

 

Wow. That's it folks. I already did my PLP today, so there's no accessory work. I keep forgetting to save it on Wednesdays.

[Rob__]

You're head wasn't there? Tired?? How're they feeling overall?

 

I was tired. I felt slow. It was one of those days where I just could not get my head in the game. At all. I felt as though if I kept going, I'd injure myself, and I was using weights I was using the week before. It was a brutal workout.

[goodwince]

I was tired. I felt slow. It was one of those days where I just could not get my head in the game. At all. I felt as though if I kept going, I'd injure myself, and I was using weights I was using the week before. It was a brutal workout.

We all have those days brother. And honestly it just means you need to take your head out of the game. Nothing wrong with taking a break as long as we come back!  

[Rob__]

Friday, March 8, 2013 - New PR Day? Reload Week 2? Bothish?

 

The Main Lifts

 

Squats

3x5x45

   5x160

   5x190

   5x220

   5x250

   3x285 <~~ 3RM PR. Ugly, but a PR.

   8x220

 

These felt like Monday is going to go terribly. It's also been an entire week since I've squatted and I've run ~9mi this week. And I've been sick. And I've said this before and it's never happened. So we'll see what Monday's like.

 

Bench Press

   5x90

   5x105

   5x120

   5x135

   3x155 <~~ 3RM PR

   8x120 <~~

 

My bench feels unlocked these days. I feel like I can PR my 5RM on Monday here. And the next few weeks.

 

And then there was other things I was going to do, but my mom came down at this point, we started arguing, and I lost the urge to go back to lifting.

[goodwince]

And then there was other things I was going to do, but my mom came down at this point, we started arguing, and I lost the urge to go back to lifting.

 

Hah. Use that as fuel! No really... but it's harder to do than to say. As my mother and I arguing is quite the drainage. Now it doesn't bother me as much.. because well.. we argue always. Except now she argues and I just let it slide away from me. Tough to do, but I had to make a choice! 

 

If you can just imagine yourself lifting. Picture it. It helps you regain some of that composure.

[Rob__]

Lol it was one of those LOOOONG arguments. So even though I got heated up, I was totally cooled down. I didn't want to warm up again just to do barbell rows and curls...

 

Also, I'm changing my workout program. It's Monday and I don't feel like squatting. So I should probably reduce the load on my legs with the running... I'm working on a 5/3/1 template that I'll be initiating later today once I get the mechanics of the program sorted out. It'll allow me to do multiple things:

 

1) Squat and run at the same time without ruining my legs.

2) Spread the O-lifts throughout the week

3) Test things out in cycles without having weeks of no new PRs. The slow month long reload for the 5x5 makes dicking around with the template complicated.

4) Focus on only one major lift daily so I can strength++ each lift individually.

 

I like the Starr 5x5's progression, but when I'm running, all that squatting is killer. I only did one set of back squats last week, and I still don't feel like I'm recovered enough from last week to make my 5x5 today...

 

I'm going to orient my main lifts across the week like this:

 

Monday - OHP

Wednesday - Squats

Friday - Bench

Sunday - Dead lift

 

Which is just 5/3/1 the Squats and Dead lift days reversed. Saturday is a long run, and I feel as though deads would go better on a Sunday than Squats would. I still have to sort out my accessory programming.

[Rob__]

Since 5/3/1 is based off 90%, I figure I'd post this here since the numbers will be attainable at those reps because I can already lift those a minimum of the specified number of times.

 

 

Some Notes

• Under week 3, that should say 1+
• Under Friday, Dumbbell Press should say Dumbbell Bench.
• Yay for PRs e'eryday!
• Creatine loading begins today! 5 days @ 5g 4xdaily

[Rob__]

Monday March 11, 2013 - Overhead Press, BBB Template

 

 

<.<

[Rob__]

So I'm thinking of making a change to my routine. I'm sort of optimizing it for the ability to run. I didn't take the running days into consideration properly when I built the routine.

 

I think this'll work better:

 

[goodwince]

Do deadlifts/squats kill you too much to do a run on the same day? I was just thinking about this as form of recovery. However, switching over from Starr.. you might be better suited and easily recover. I think running will be fine on this template it took me a couple of months to actually get to weights that were hard enough with 5/3/1 to slow my recovery after my peak wave. Which is why I was running two in a row of the peak wave. I am still getting there, but it's hard to get that 1RM calculation correctly. 

 

As the running comes easier you'll probably be better off for strength too. Although your runs are excellent in length for just starting back, your body is still learning how to recover first.

[Rob__]

My rationale for the split is for freshness of limbs. In the beginning, it won't be too difficult because the mileage isn't very significant (yep... 5-7 mile runs are insignificant). In the beginning some of the runs will be easy and will assist in recovery, but I'm also doing speedwork and hills. Any runs that include speedwork or hill play is too much of a workout to be considered recovery. Also, once we get over 10 miles, the mileage will start to be getting significant as well and probably will be too challenging to be considered recovery.

 

That said, I'm doing my thursday run after squatting. Lol.

[goodwince]

Haha. I understand. How many long runs do you plan to do per week? I only did one long one when I was training. The hills/sprints/speedwork will be killers!! 

 

Keep that food up!

[Rob__]

It'll be one long run, two short runs every week. The short runs will have extra work tacked on so I can run 3 times a week instead of 4 times a week. So I'll do a tempo run, then the next short run hills, then the next short run no additional work, etc...

 

_______________________________________

 

Today's lifts: Tuesday, March 12, 2013

 

[goodwince]

Nice job on the PR! 

[Rob__]

Thanks! Before I get down and dirty with the weights, I use goal seek to determine my effective PR reps for the bottom set this way I set a minimum required work load.. It's worked so far... lol

 

Today's lifts: Bench Day!

 

\

[Rob__]

[BopGun]

hey Rob! First time I've ventured in here. Just read the whole thing, and it looks like you're doing a great job. You're stronger than I am by a pretty sizable margin, and I weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 55-60 pounds more than you do.

 

And fwiw, I will not soon be able to forget the car ride home from the wedding that you told quite a few of us about in chat. Yeesh!

[Rob__]

Heh. Thanks! I've practiced hard to get where I am I was most definitely not this strong at this point last year.

 

Speaking of practice... here's another workout for you lot to examine:

 

 

My snatch is most definitely feeling a lot better these days. I only bailed out of that one rep and it was the only one that felt shaky and I know full well that I half-assed the hip extension on the way up. It sort of disproves my theory from last week that I was using more shoulder than hip in my snatch...

 

I regret not going for 8. In hindsight, I think I actually could have set that new PR today :/

[goodwince]

I regret not going for 8. In hindsight, I think I actually could have set that new PR today :/

Next time!

[Rob__]

10 fucking days.

 

It's been 10 fucking days since I've had a workout to post in here. I've been super sick though and haven't done any. So there's that. Yesterday and today I did workouts though, so I'm going to post those here in a second... once I write them down >.>

[Rob__]

So, I've been recovering from being sick. I definitely am not sick anymore, but there's been that whole lingering blah. Yesterday I decided I just needed to squat the fuck up. I decided I was going to repeat last week's workout weights since I didn't really complete any workouts last week. I sort of modified the assistance exercises because I didn't feel as though I could do my usual workouts smashed together. Too many things, not enough energy, kind of deal so I did all the important things.

 

And I decided right from the beginning that it wasn't going to be a PR sort of session, so I was going to be slow and methodical and focus on the maintenance of perfect form. I didn't step into the gym with the intention of grinding out reps. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The Workouts

 

Yesterday

 

 

and then today

 

[goodwince]

You'll get back to it. Just like me. I took a little break on my diet as I needed to evaluate things.

[weirdquark]

DB bench press has this amazing thing where the line between a bunch of reps and not being able to get up one is very thin -- I've been doing that with incline bench after moving the weight up where I can get five or six reps at one weight and then when I try to add even 2.5 pounds I can't get it up at all, or I can just barely get it up once and then can continue for up to five reps rather than struggling to get it up for three or something -- it's getting it up that first time that matters and doesn't follow the progression that I expect. OHP doesn't work like that -- that one I add weight and can only get it up for a few reps and work my way up to five, but bench is all or nothing.

[Rob__]

You'll get back to it. Just like me. I took a little break on my diet as I needed to evaluate things.

 

DUDE! You just vanished...

 

DB bench press has this amazing thing where the line between a bunch of reps and not being able to get up one is very thin -- I've been doing that with incline bench after moving the weight up where I can get five or six reps at one weight and then when I try to add even 2.5 pounds I can't get it up at all, or I can just barely get it up once and then can continue for up to five reps rather than struggling to get it up for three or something -- it's getting it up that first time that matters and doesn't follow the progression that I expect. OHP doesn't work like that -- that one I add weight and can only get it up for a few reps and work my way up to five, but bench is all or nothing.

 

Yeah, both my bench and my OHP suffer from the smallest incremental plate being much too much of a jump to successfully push it up. The dumbbell makes that small jump even more significant making it twice as hard vs. the small jump with a barbell.

[Rob__]

Monday April 1st - Snatch Day.... Or is that Squat Day?

 

 

I had a serious case of snatcharounditis today. 11 seemed completely perfect as the number of sets to complete. Especially since I was only throwing up 8 singles for my work sets... I tried 115 twice. it didn't go up either time. 5 lbs seems insignificant, but it's enough to prevent me from generating enough force to snatch it up...