Quagmire911 Lifting Journal

[Fuglydude]

Ya, the narrower grip definitely takes some pressure of the shoulders. It should also help your weighted dips... Do you just do barbell bench or are you incorporating dumbells as well? I personally prefer dumbells as I have had rotator cuff issues in the past and dumbells make it easier for to stabilize than using the bar.

 

[Quagmire911]

I don't do a lot of DB benching, on occasion. I'm lazy with assistance, and haven't really used it as a main move. I've never had any problems with the barbell bench though.

Didn't bother going to the gym the other day, felt tired. Drank a lot last night so I am going tommorow instead of today.

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Friday

Good session today, here it is:

Db oh press 24x3 28x3 32kgx8- Felt strong here. I think this equals my PR.

Push press 60x1 70x1 80kgx1 (176lbs)- This equals my oh press PR. I could have done more, but I decided I'd wait till next time to push it further.

Chins Bwx5 +15kgx5 Bwx5- The 15kg set equals my PR.

Deadlifts 125x3 140x3 155kgx8 (341lbs)- I've done this for 10 before, but that was a very long set and was kind of rest paused. This set was done faster, but I reckon I'm around the level when I was when I did the 10 reps, maybe a bit better. My grip was slipping like the 10 rep set (sweat) and the reps were getting a lot harder, so I left it instead of burning out.

Bi curls 37.5kgx8 rest 20s x4
External rotations 14kgx8 rest 20s x6

Kneeling rolloutsx21 PR- I have no idea what happened here.
I think my previous best was 12 maybe. Regardless, these were a lot easier today, and I could have done more. I will need to add weight. I can't setup a ramp unfortunately. Hopefully I'll progress to standing rollouts soon.

Hip machines 70kg 2x15- Full stack. I think it is in kg, I hope it is. Getting much easier again. Need to just keep doing them, may as well add reps.

S.Bike 20 minutes HR 150- Decided I needed to do some cardio. Fitness is fine.

And that was all. Weight was 176lbs this morning and waist was 33.75". I did eat less yesterday, so I imagine it will be back to 178 by tommorow.

Pretty happy with how today went, felt strong across the board, same as on Monday. I'll look to PR next week, will see if the CNS holds up though.

That is all for this week, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Fuglydude]

Nice chins ... 341 x 10 is nutty... I can barely cork out 315 x 10. Why such high reps on deads? I've recently capped my deads at 6 reps as I'm trying to go as heavy as I can. I'll go higher reps once I start incorporating romanian DLs in, but w/ heavy pulls... count me out of high rep work! Don't you find higher rep deads, even w/ 70-80% of your 1 RM substantially fatigue your lower back?

 

[Quagmire911]

I didn't really have a set number of reps in mind, it just turned out to be a good day. I wanted at least 5, but felt I could do more. I'm following a kind of wave format, just ramping up the weights from week to week and resetting slightly higher. Pretty much 5/3/1, but I am being more mindful of performance on the day and trying not to kill myeslf every session. Wendler probably mentions off days in the book, but I don't have it.

In doing this, you prevent overtraining to some extent by regulating your sessions. Thibadeau talks about it, as does IA and others.

You should get 5/3/1, it is only $20 (US) on http://www.elitefts.com/.

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Today:

Bench 70x3 80x3 92.5kgx5 (204lbs)- Didn't have the fake rack setup so I left it there. I had a 6th, beyond that I don't know.

Squats 100x3 115x3 130kgx5 (286lbs)- Same as bench, had a 6th, don't know beyond it.

Skullcrushers Ez+20x8 +25kgx8 PR

Leg press 250kgx5 285kgx6 (627lbs) PR- This was finally just about maxed out for me. I maybe had another rep or two. Hard though.

DB fly press 12kg DBx8x8- For the pecs . Special exercise I saw Thibadeau recommend.

And that was it. I had to workout mid morning which is unusual for me. It didn't affect me last time I did it, but I only got 4 hours sleep. Still, not a bad day and I know I can't hit PR's on the main stuff every session.

That's it for today...

Quagmire

 

[Fuglydude]

I'm currently in the process of reading thru 5/3/1 ... definitely gonna incorporate some of the principles into my routine. Are you finding skull crushers helping your bench? I do lighter cable work and the occasional set of kickbacks as my tricep work. The weighted dips continue to be my primary tricep exercise.

 

[Quagmire911]

I've not been doing skullcrushers long enough to know to be honest. They did fry my tri's the first few weeks.

Tuesday

Cardio:

S.Bike 30 minutes- First 25min HR 150-155, last 5 min HR 135

An alright day cardio wise, not my best, but not bad. Weight was 177lbs this morning. Looking forward to deads, probably on Thursday...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Decent day today. Here it is:

Db oh press 28x3 30x3 36kgx3/4- Failed on the 4th rep with my left. Right is still ahead by a bit.

Push press 60x1 70x1 80kgx1- I actually did this after the chins cause the bar wasn't available. Felt a bit fatigued by the 80, so I left it there. I may actually do these before the db work, not sure yet.

Chins BWx5 +10kgx8 Bwx5- The +10x8 ties my PR.

Deadlifts 125x5 145x3 165kgx5 (363lbs) PR (straps)- Pretty happy with this, although I need to keep it going. I've been stuck in the 160's for reps for too long. I think I probably could have done it without the straps, but I didn't want to chance it. If I could get 374x5 next cycle, that would be great. Approaching 400+x5.

Bi curls 40kgx6 20-25sx2

External rotations 14kgx10 20-25sx6 PR

Standing rolloutx1- I finally managed to do a full standing rollout. It was an ugly rep, but I'll count it. Now I need to progress to reps. This is good news though, it should help the dead and squat.

Kneeling rolloutsx10

Hip machines 70kgx25- Was running out of time, just did one set and got out of there. Like I said last week, I think it is kg. Massive difference on a month ago, just need to keep doing them.

And that was it. Bw was 177lbs on Monday. Pretty happy with how today went. Pretty good to be hitting PR's having taken of 11 pounds of fat. I want to lose a couple more and then put on 10-20 pounds like I've said, but money is a big issue at the moment so the weight gain might have to wait a little while.

Added in a new supplement this week- vitamin d. There is a lot of talk about it in scientific circles at the moment. The main benefits for guy's like us is that your levels are heavily correlated with strength and tesosterone. I know for a fact that I will be deficient, especially living at this latitude. So I'm doing heavy dosing 10,000-20,000 iu per day for a month and then will taper too about 6000-7000 iu a day. If you read about it you will see a recommendation of about 5000iu, but that is an average. For guys that lift that are generally bigger, you will need more. There is a recommendation of about 35iu per pound of bw (Mercola). For me this is 180x35= 6300iu. Not 5000. Here is a Poliquin article on it:

http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=230

He is now putting it ahead of fish oil. Yes you can make it from the sun, but only some of the year depending on where you live. I think it is only 3-4 months a year where I live. Ever wondered why flu and cold numbers go way up in the winter?

Even if you are a skeptic, the stuff is dirt cheap. Better to get your levels normal and be on the safe side. It is actually not a vitamin , but a pre-hormone (steroid class).

So yes, I will be interested to see if this helps my strength out at all. I dread to think what level I am at, but I can't afford a blood test. I'm aiming for at least 60ng/ml though which Dr. Cannell at http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/ says takes roughly 1000iu per 30pounds of bw, so at least 6000iu for me.

Pretty interesting stuff. For those that get no sun and don't use tanning beds it is a must by the looks of thing. For those that get sun but use a lot of suncream, it is a must. Suncream reduces your ability to synthesize vitamin d by 95%+. Depending on latitude as well, you might need it even more.

So it should take a month or two to get to optimal levels. With the high doses I'm aiming to at least get out of deficieny levels in the first month, depending on where I'm at.

Anyway, that is all for today. Cardio tommorow...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Friday

Cardio:

S.Bike 10 minutes HR 145-150- This was hurting my quads so I switched.

Treadmill 20 minutes- First 15mins 6mph, last 5mins 5.5mph- This actually was perfect. I was pretty comfortable and I could tell me heart rate was where it should be. I reckon around 155.

That was it. I might deload next week, not sure yet.

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Feeling great. I think this vitamin d is having an effect. Feeling a lot less tired. Here it is:

Bench 62.5x5 72.5x5 80kgx13 (176lbs) PR?- I think this is a PR, although it might tie. Decent set.

Squats 87.5x5 100x5 115kgx13 (253lbs) PR- Pretty happy with this. I did want to try and get 20, but my heart wouldn't let me. My legs had at least 15, beyond that I can't say, but my conditioning just wasn't good enough to rest pause it with the bar on my back. I may try it IronAddict style where you rack the bar for 30 seconds or something and then go back into it, but that isn't a true set. I need to get fitter. I did drink a lot at the weekend, and I know this affects my fitness for a few days. Something to think about though. I'll set up the fake-rack next time as well and not be a puss*.

Skullcrushers Ez+20kg 3x10- Good.

Leg press 200x5 250x5 275kgx8 (605lbs) PR- Hard after the squats. I was getting funny looks on this one .

S.Bike 10 minutes HR 135-140- My heart rate was 130 just going onto the machine.

And that was it. I was pretty fuc*ed after the squats I have to say. After I did the leg press, I then got jelly legs. I felt a little sick for a while. It's about an hour later and I'm feeling fine again.

I'm now basing everything of off 5/3/1 again, I was training similarly to that anyway. I realize my expectations were to high last year. Progress is going to come in spurts, I can't put 5lbs on the bar every session. It will be better the more weight I gain though.

I'm half considering doing 1/2 gomad like Kerpal. I tolerate milk pretty well, and it is the cheapest option and the only I can afford at the moment. I'm wary of getting fat, and I think a full gallon of milk a day is just far too much. Looking it up just now I realize a gallon is actually around 4.5 litres, that is nuts. I'm going to start out on a litre or so a day and see how I get on. This still adds 600 calories or so extra a day, which is sensible I think.

That's it for today. Conditioning tommorow. Until then...

Quagmire

P.s- Weight 178.6lbs, waist 33.75-34".

 

[Fuglydude]

115 x 13??! Sick! I have to kick and scream to even get 10 at around that weight.

Are there any meats that are really cheap? I find pork ribs/ground beef are great cheap sources of meat that can help you add extra protein/calories w/o the draw backs of milk. Check out wholesale places. We have Costco here... I'm not sure if they're in the UK. They're great for high quality cheap bulk food... I get 10 lbs of pork ribs (about a weeks worth) for $20-25. So spend under $100 a month for a staple protein source.

Interesting about the vitamin D... keep us posted on how it goes.

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Cardio:

Treadmill 30 minutes- First 15 6mph, last 15 5.5mph- This wasn't too bad, but I'm sure it's s*** by running standards. I used to be able to go a lot faster for length. Oh well. My HR was in the 160's.

Feeling a little run down today. The only things I did differently yesterday were reasonably high rep squats, a big cup of coffee, and a lot of milk. I haven't deloaded properly since Christmas time and I thought about doing it this week, it could be time for that. I'll see how I feel tommorow.

Fugly, 13 was alright on the squat but I wanted more. I blame drinking, my heart just wasn't up to it during the set.

That is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Yeah you should have done 15 reps. haha just take a compliment Quag. Get 15 next time!

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Took the rest of the week off last week. Continuing deload:

Bench 60kg 2x5

Squats 85kg 2x5

Skullcrushers Ez+20kg 2x5

Leg press 200kg 2x5

Hip machines 70kg 2x5

Pec deck 40kg 2x10, 50kg 2x10- This is the only one I pushed at all. Haven't done this in years. Trying to give my pecs some work, bench doesn't do shi* for them. I'll expect my pecs to hurt tommorow and nothing else. Will need to watch though, this was a litte uncomfortable at the full range of motion. When I say hard, it was nothing like a heavy squat or deadlift so I'm not worried about cns impact.

S.Bike 20 minutes HR 130- Easy.

That was all. Everything was pretty easy except the pec deck like I said above. Left the gym feeling like I had hardly been at all.

Not sure whether I will re-commence heavy work later this week or extend the deload until next Monday. I started sleeping properly around friday/saturday.

That is all for today, might do some cardio tommorow.

Quagmire

 

[Fuglydude]

Do you find the deloading week is really important for recovery? With the 5/3/1 program, the training volume isn't super high, so I've kind of been questioning whether I should do a deloading week once I switch over to it.

 

[Cure]

Its depressing that your bench deload is virtually the same as my max

nevermind. I just gotta eat more!

Your log is awesome inspiration for me, keep it up!

edit-
reguarding GOMAD, a gallon is somthing like 3.4L.
Just buy a 4 pint (2.2L) of whole milk, or if thats to much calories/fat, go for semi skimmed - more protien as well!
Got an Iceland near you? they are doing 4 pints of milk for £1 at the moment!


Cure.

 

[Quagmire911]

You've read the book...Wendler has more experience than I.

Because I am working out 2 days a week, I don't do it every 4th week. This time I did two waves and deloaded on the 7th week.

When I drink more, I need to cut some volume/assistance and am more aware of having to deload.

He does say in the book to only deload when neccasary when on a two day. If I didn't feel the need I would do 3 waves and deload on week 10, but certainly not anymore than that. I have done this in the past.

It's not just a matter of whether you feel fine or not. General wear and tear, overall stress, it's good to have a little downtime once in a while.

Every 4th week may be excessive for some, but it obviously works for enough people that Wendler chose that to put in his book.

Experiment if you like, but some downtime once in a while is a good thing. DC has people go heavy for 6-8 weeks I beliveve and then take 10-14 days deload. IA has people max out on deload week, although he has stated this isn't ideal. There are more ways.

If you don't feel it neccasary, try two waves/6 weeks. Then you could see how you feel and try 9 weeks. But I wouldn't go past that.

It is a subject where I have seen a lot of different views.

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Cure- That was about my best when I started this log. Just got to keep up the hard work. Still room to improve for me!

I'm in two minds about the milk right now. I was thinking about gaining weight again, but now I don't know. I started out to get to 10% and I never quite managed it. I think I was coping out by thinking of weight gain. Now I want to get the last of the fat off. It is appalling to me that I ever got about 15%. I started out at 155ish at 10%.

I'm not as fit as I want to be yet either, and I used to be quite a bit fitter. All this talk of running and weight training not going together is an example. Well ok, but it isn't as black and white as that.

I guess I'm sick of all the arguments on stuff like that. At the end of the day, if it work's for you great. And there is only one way to find out.

Quagmire

Ps- I do accept that training for a marathon and aiming for a 600 pound deadlift are different. But a 20-30 minute jog? Really, you can't do that? It just seems like laziness to me. I think it will have stemmed from the fat powerlifter of old that was 300 pounds. I don't aspire to be that, so the advice doesn't apply to me in the same way. 30% at 300, or 10% at 180 are two different things entirley.

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Cardio:

Treadmill 30 minutes 6mph 3miles- This wasn't actually too bad. I'd actually say it was a productive session. I wasn't dead at the end, but felt like I had been worked in a good way. I could have kept going, but much longer would have started to be too much. HR ranged from 155-175. I could only get brief readings by putting my hands on the treadmill. I reckon it was in the 160's most of the time.

I'm actually pretty happy with this. Considering I've not properly ran in years it's ok. I now want to improve my speed. I won't go over 30 minutes, but I want to get faster.

I'm actually pretty interested in how far it can be taken. I won't take it too extremes yet, but once I get 3/4/5 I may experiment more.

I highly doubt that I am going to wither away or start losing strength either. I was actually back in the 180's for the first time this year I think. If I do start dropping weight like a stone, I can can the treadmill work. But I want to be fitter.

When I first gained like mad from 155 to 165 and was eating 2g/lb of protein, I was still playing football 45 minutes a week. I just don't think it will be a concern at my weight. All I can see is the benefit of getting fitter, and the better conditioning may actually aid the weight training.

I think as I say some of this stems from the bigger guys. But then I think of Jim Wendler at 230lbs doing hill sprints for 20-30 minutes. Granted it is different from steady state, but it isn't that different I don't think. Is this fear mostly bs?

Anyway enough ranting. I'll see what happens. I may go heavy on Thursday, not decided yet. Until then...

Quagmire

PS- Weight was 180.6lbs.