5x5 progression thread

[coyotekid84]

i used a belt today for the last two sets of deadlifting, i was wondering, should i be wearing a weight belt? Do i increase my shoulder press and dead every week ?
squat
140 5x5
140 5x5
140 5x5
140 5x5
140 5x5

dead lift
195x5
195x5
195x5
195x5
195x5
shoulder press
105x5
105x5
105x5
105x5
105x5

pull up- i didnt have a belt to attach weights so i just a dumbbell inbetween my feet i got frustrated on my 3 rd set and just did regular pull ups
10x5
10x5
10x5
bwx5
bwx5

 

[zedhed]

Good work bro, keep it up!

 

[Tblock1]

i used a belt today for the last two sets of deadlifting, i was wondering, should i be wearing a weight belt? Do i increase my shoulder press and dead every week ?
squat
140 5x5
140 5x5
140 5x5
140 5x5
140 5x5

dead lift
195x5
195x5
195x5
195x5
195x5
shoulder press
105x5
105x5
105x5
105x5
105x5

pull up- i didnt have a belt to attach weights so i just a dumbbell inbetween my feet i got frustrated on my 3 rd set and just did regular pull ups
10x5
10x5
10x5
bwx5
bwx5

Yeah you increase your shoulder press and dead every week, until you stall. On the belt thing I wouldn't wear one until you are pulling in the 400's. It's personal preference but my max is 445 and I only wear it on sets of 400 or higher. I do like wearing a belt though. A tip for the pullups: If you have a weight belt sit down on a bench, put the db behind you, and strap the belt around you and the db. Assuming the belt goes loose enough you should be able to fit it in there. Then pull away! I am able to fit 50 lb db's in there to do pullups with so a 10 lb db shouldn't be a problem

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

Ya, it's generally a good idea to hold off on belt use until you get into the 300's imo.

I could use a belt now for deads just because it improves intra-abdominal pressure. When I'm doing 5 or more reps on squats with 315 I'll probably start wearing a belt.

One thing to keep in mind is that the belt should only be used for your top set/sets. As you get stronger your non-belt sets will continue to go up and your core will get stronger so a belt is not necessarily a crutch when used properly.

 

[coyotekid84]

thanks guys, keep the answers coming.

 

[coyotekid84]

squat- i went up ten lbs today, need a form check i will be posting up a video shortly.
165x5
165x5
165x5
165x5
165x5


bench-
160x5
160x5
160x5
160x5
160x5

row-
135x5
135x5
135x5
135x5
135x5

 

[coyotekid84]

Work Out Stuff :: VID00006-20100904-0911.mp4 video by svtguy17 - Photobucket

 

[Tblock1]

I'm definitely no expert at squat form but they looked decent to me. Try not to lean forward so much though do you see how much your back is leaning forward that it too much

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

Tblock1, there is nothing wrong with his forward lean. That is about the perfect amount of lean with that type of squat. You cannot squat as upright as a powerlifter or olympic squatter when doing more of an athletic squat.

That said I think I can get you down abit lower in your squat. It's difficult because the camera angle is exactly to the side to give spot on advice, but from what I can see I think these few things will get you lower with slightly better form:

1. Heels shoulder width or an inch or 2 wider.

2. Make sure your toes are angled out a solid 30 degrees or so. Going flat footed in order to drop deep into the hole you have to have a minimum toe flare of around 30 degrees compared to some olympic squatters that can go deep with a little less toe flare because they are squatting with a raised heel.

3. Arch the upper back hard. Don't be so concerned with the lower back arch. When you drop into the hole your upper back should be arched and tight and the rest of your back should form a nice flat surface. It's almost impossible to drop into a legit atg squat with an exagerated low back arch. This advice came straight to me word of mouth from a very strong (+800lbs squats) national pl record holder so it's not just crap spewin out of my mouth.

4. When doing an athletic type squat you want to go straight down. Both the hips and knees break at the same time. This is actually proper body mechanics when dropping into a full squat. Purposely pushing your ass back in pretty much any squat other than a pl style wide stance squat actually throws off proper bottom position and can stress the knees. I know from recent experience and having to have a clinic from the same pl'er run on my squat form from all the shit I have read on the interwebs. Despite this guy being a powerlifter he knows how to squat period and advocates an actual athletic type stance for all squats for knee/back health and carryover. I've seen him do over 900lbs in a single ply suit below parallel with heels maybe 1-2" wider than shoulder width for reference.

So recap, tight upper back, go straight down, eyes forward, no need to exagerate the head position aka tilting chin up.

On your last difficult rep or 2 you can also focus on pushing the elbows forward and looking up to manually reinforce your form when the weight is trying to bend you over.

All said not bad though.

 

[coyotekid84]

squat-
165x5
165x5
165x5
165x5
165x5


bench- had a hard time with this, i managed to do all reps and all sets. Sure glad i'm going into the deload phase.
165x5
165x5
165x5
165x5
165x5

row-
100x5
110x5
120x5
130x5
140x5