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anotherbutters
New member
So here it is. Another comeback by yours truly. Earlier this year, I had lots of issues with my hamstring that turned out to be sciatica caused by one of my glutes being knotted up. A good massage finally sorted that out. I've also had a sharp pain in my lower back, which stopped any overhead pressing, but some simple core work seems to be sorting that out too. I'm finally, after what seems like forever, able to start working out again. Woohoo!
My plan is to follow something similar to the single factor 5x5 in terms of exercise selection and 3 day per week workouts, but playing the weights by ear. Sometimes I'll increase the weight and work up to a new top set of 5. Sometimes I'll take the last weight used and do more sets - 3x5 or 5x5. Either way, each workout is supposed to be harder than the last in some way.
I've been 186lb at my heaviest, but after a couple of months off, I let myself drop down to around 175lb. I started working out again 7 weeks ago and I've held myself at 172-174lb. I'm doing a lot more cardio this time, and it's not easy cardio either. I can't help but push myself to the max. However, it really seems to have helped with the weights so far. I want to hold my current weight for a while longer and get my bodyfat down, then I'll start a slow bulk.
Over the past 7 weeks, my bodycomp has changed a lot. I'm down about 3.5" at my fattest point (around the belly button, from 39.5" to just under 36"), yet I'm the same weight. Oh, and I'm a year older - I just turned 35
Here's what I've done so far, up to today. I've only listed the top sets. All weights in kg. Format is weight x sets x reps (or weight x reps).
Week 0 (25 Oct)
Joined a gym near work, so I can workout in my lunch break rather than at home. This has really helped a lot.
Wed (bodyweight: 174lb)
Squats: 60x3x5
Bench: 60x3 (too heavy) 50x2x5
Deads: 80x2x5
My first workout in 2 months. I tried to do 3x5 of each, but squats killed me, benching just one plate was too heavy and I couldn't stomach a 3rd set of deads - what a total disaster. Walking became painful and slow for the following 4 days because of the squats - my knees wouldn't support me and I even had to hold the hand rail on stairs! That had to be rock bottom.
Week 1
Mon
Squats: 60x5x5 (better)
Bench: 55x5 (too heavy) 52.5x5 (too heavy) 50x5 - crap
Deads: 90x5
Tue
Cardio - some rowing. Can't remember details, but not hard.
Wed
Front squats: 55x5
Deads: 95x5
OHP: 30x3x5 (couldn't keep abs tight; some back pain)
Thu
Cardio - some running. Can't remember details, but not hard.
Fri
Squats: 70x5 (and 60x8 backoff)
Bench: 55x3 (and 50x8 backoff)
Rows: 47.5x5 (and 40x8 backoff)
Week 2
Mon
Squats: 77.5x5
Bench: 57.5x5
Rows: 47.5x5 (repeated Friday's)
Tue
Cardio - stationary bike. Can't remember details, but some constant rate work. Not too hard.
Wed
Front squats: 60x5
Deads: 100x5
OHP: 32.5x5
Thu
Cardio - stationary bike. Can't remember details. By this point, I knew I preferred the bike to running or rowing. Playtime over.
Fri
Squats: 80x5x5 (hard, but not in doubt)
Bench: 60x3 (and 50x8 backoff)
Rows: 47.5x3x5 (same weight, 2 more sets)
Week 3
Mon
Squats: 85x5
Bench: 60x5
Rows: 50x3x5
Tue
Cardio - interval training on the stationary bike's hill setting, building up to 100% of the chosen level twice within 30 mins.
30 mins @ level 14 (of 25). Heart rate peaked and pegged at 183 bpm during the hardest part (I assume 183 is my max HR). Absolute killer.
Wed
Front squats: 65x5
Deads: 105x5
OHP: 32.5x4 (couldn't keep abs tight - some back pain)
Fri
Squats: 85x5x5 (hard, just about ok)
Bench: 62.5x3 (and 55x8 backoff)
Rows: 50x3x5
Week 4
Mon
Squats: 90x5 (hard)
Bench: 60x5x5 (hard)
Rows: 52.5x3x5
Tue
Cardio - interval training on the stationary bike's hill setting.
25 mins @ level 12 (of 25). I wanted a moderate workout, but this was far too easy and ended up being a waste of time. I just couldn't get the bike to do what I wanted.
Wed
Front squats: 70x5 (or maybe 75x5, can't remember)
Deads: 112.5x5
No OHP
Thu
Cardio - interval training on the stationary bike's hill setting.
30 mins @ level 14 (of 25). Same workout as last Tues, but this time, heart rate peaked at 178 bpm (down 5). Easier.
Fri
Skipped for some reason.
Week 5
I had this crazy idea of doing the 3 peaks on the coming weekend (climbing the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales), so I thought I'd do lots of cardio on Mon-Wed and take Thu and Fri off. I basically messed up the whole week and didn't do the climbing in the end because of the weather.
Mon (bodyweight: 173lb)
Squats: 90x5x5 (hard, but not in doubt)
Bench: 62.5x5 (ok)
Rows: 52.5x5x5
In the evening: 30 min run on treadmill's hill setting (level 9 of 20). Killer.
Tue
Cardio - interval training on the stationary bike's hill setting.
30 mins @ level 15 (of 25). Up a level. Killer.
Wed
Too knackered to workout.
Fri - thought about doing cleans rather than rows
Cleans: 60x3 (not done for ages, but my form was surprisingly good)
Squats: 90x1 (failure - arse!)
Bench: 64x5 (and 60x8 backoff)
I worked out at home and squats felt a lot harder. I think it's because the safety bars are too high and they're really small compared to the gym, so I have more to think about. I was also knackered because I did cleans first.
Week 6
Mon (bodyweight: 171lb)
Cleans: 62x3x3
Squats: 80x3x5 (not too bad)
Bench: 64x5 64x5 (too heavy) 60x5
Another workout at home - squatting was hard again, compared to the gym and I had to drop a lot of weight. Bench was harder than expected too.
Tue
Cardio - interval training on the stationary bike's hill setting.
30 mins @ level 16 (of 25). Up another level. Brutal. My hardest cardio workout ever. Felt like throwing up for 2 hours after. Don't know my heart rate, but it would have been pegged at the max for at least 30 seconds at the hardest part. Legs like jelly after!
Wed
Front squats: 77.5x5 (pretty hard)
Deads: 120x5
No OHP
My legs were still tired from the cardio the day before, but I managed to match my front squat PR!
Fri
Skipped for some reason.
Week 7 (11 Dec)
Mon (bodyweight: 173lb)
Cleans: 62.5x3x3
Squats: 90x5x5 (hard, just about ok)
Bench: 65x5 (hard)
I'm starting to get my squat weight back again, even though I'm doing cleans first.
Tue
Cardio - interval training on the stationary bike's hill setting.
30 mins @ level 16 (of 25). Same workout as last Thurs. Not quite as brutal. Mere agony this time.
In the evening:
OHP: 37.5x5 (worked up in 2.5kg increments)
I'd been doing random ab work over the previous 2 weeks and this was the first time I'd managed to keep my core tight to stop my back from arching during OHP. Absolutely fantastic news, because I've not been able to do this for months. I just need to keep up the ab work (which I loathe).
Wed
Front squats: 80x5 (hard, but... PR!)
Deads: 122.5x5 (just about ok. hook / mixed grip with chalk)
Fri
Cleans: 65x2x3
Squats: 95x3x5 (was going to do 1 set, but they were easier than expected)
Bench: 67.5x5 (60x10 backoff) - both sets easier than expected
Only one week left before Christmas, so I set myself a mini goal of a 100kg x 5 squat next Friday. I thought 95kg was going to be hard today, but I felt stronger than expected and probably could've done 100!
---------
So there it is. I've not stuck as rigidly to a set plan as I have before, but I much prefer working out like this. There's the odd missed workout and my diet and sleep hasn't always been good, but it doesn't seem to have held me back so far. I'm still about 5-15kg below my PRs, but I'm really pleased with my progress so far. The cardio really seems to be helping, even though I'm pushing that really hard too.
The bodycomp changes over the past 7 weeks have been quite surprising (no pics). I just might be getting the hang of this working out lark
I'll probably make this my journal now. The plan for the next 6 months is to maintain bodyweight for a while to get my fat down, then slowly bulk. I want a 3 plate squat by the summer (my old 5RM was 105kg).
My plan is to follow something similar to the single factor 5x5 in terms of exercise selection and 3 day per week workouts, but playing the weights by ear. Sometimes I'll increase the weight and work up to a new top set of 5. Sometimes I'll take the last weight used and do more sets - 3x5 or 5x5. Either way, each workout is supposed to be harder than the last in some way.
I've been 186lb at my heaviest, but after a couple of months off, I let myself drop down to around 175lb. I started working out again 7 weeks ago and I've held myself at 172-174lb. I'm doing a lot more cardio this time, and it's not easy cardio either. I can't help but push myself to the max. However, it really seems to have helped with the weights so far. I want to hold my current weight for a while longer and get my bodyfat down, then I'll start a slow bulk.
Over the past 7 weeks, my bodycomp has changed a lot. I'm down about 3.5" at my fattest point (around the belly button, from 39.5" to just under 36"), yet I'm the same weight. Oh, and I'm a year older - I just turned 35
Here's what I've done so far, up to today. I've only listed the top sets. All weights in kg. Format is weight x sets x reps (or weight x reps).
Week 0 (25 Oct)
Joined a gym near work, so I can workout in my lunch break rather than at home. This has really helped a lot.
Wed (bodyweight: 174lb)
Squats: 60x3x5
Bench: 60x3 (too heavy) 50x2x5
Deads: 80x2x5
My first workout in 2 months. I tried to do 3x5 of each, but squats killed me, benching just one plate was too heavy and I couldn't stomach a 3rd set of deads - what a total disaster. Walking became painful and slow for the following 4 days because of the squats - my knees wouldn't support me and I even had to hold the hand rail on stairs! That had to be rock bottom.
Week 1
Mon
Squats: 60x5x5 (better)
Bench: 55x5 (too heavy) 52.5x5 (too heavy) 50x5 - crap
Deads: 90x5
Tue
Cardio - some rowing. Can't remember details, but not hard.
Wed
Front squats: 55x5
Deads: 95x5
OHP: 30x3x5 (couldn't keep abs tight; some back pain)
Thu
Cardio - some running. Can't remember details, but not hard.
Fri
Squats: 70x5 (and 60x8 backoff)
Bench: 55x3 (and 50x8 backoff)
Rows: 47.5x5 (and 40x8 backoff)
Week 2
Mon
Squats: 77.5x5
Bench: 57.5x5
Rows: 47.5x5 (repeated Friday's)
Tue
Cardio - stationary bike. Can't remember details, but some constant rate work. Not too hard.
Wed
Front squats: 60x5
Deads: 100x5
OHP: 32.5x5
Thu
Cardio - stationary bike. Can't remember details. By this point, I knew I preferred the bike to running or rowing. Playtime over.
Fri
Squats: 80x5x5 (hard, but not in doubt)
Bench: 60x3 (and 50x8 backoff)
Rows: 47.5x3x5 (same weight, 2 more sets)
Week 3
Mon
Squats: 85x5
Bench: 60x5
Rows: 50x3x5
Tue
Cardio - interval training on the stationary bike's hill setting, building up to 100% of the chosen level twice within 30 mins.
30 mins @ level 14 (of 25). Heart rate peaked and pegged at 183 bpm during the hardest part (I assume 183 is my max HR). Absolute killer.
Wed
Front squats: 65x5
Deads: 105x5
OHP: 32.5x4 (couldn't keep abs tight - some back pain)
Fri
Squats: 85x5x5 (hard, just about ok)
Bench: 62.5x3 (and 55x8 backoff)
Rows: 50x3x5
Week 4
Mon
Squats: 90x5 (hard)
Bench: 60x5x5 (hard)
Rows: 52.5x3x5
Tue
Cardio - interval training on the stationary bike's hill setting.
25 mins @ level 12 (of 25). I wanted a moderate workout, but this was far too easy and ended up being a waste of time. I just couldn't get the bike to do what I wanted.
Wed
Front squats: 70x5 (or maybe 75x5, can't remember)
Deads: 112.5x5
No OHP
Thu
Cardio - interval training on the stationary bike's hill setting.
30 mins @ level 14 (of 25). Same workout as last Tues, but this time, heart rate peaked at 178 bpm (down 5). Easier.
Fri
Skipped for some reason.
Week 5
I had this crazy idea of doing the 3 peaks on the coming weekend (climbing the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales), so I thought I'd do lots of cardio on Mon-Wed and take Thu and Fri off. I basically messed up the whole week and didn't do the climbing in the end because of the weather.
Mon (bodyweight: 173lb)
Squats: 90x5x5 (hard, but not in doubt)
Bench: 62.5x5 (ok)
Rows: 52.5x5x5
In the evening: 30 min run on treadmill's hill setting (level 9 of 20). Killer.
Tue
Cardio - interval training on the stationary bike's hill setting.
30 mins @ level 15 (of 25). Up a level. Killer.
Wed
Too knackered to workout.
Fri - thought about doing cleans rather than rows
Cleans: 60x3 (not done for ages, but my form was surprisingly good)
Squats: 90x1 (failure - arse!)
Bench: 64x5 (and 60x8 backoff)
I worked out at home and squats felt a lot harder. I think it's because the safety bars are too high and they're really small compared to the gym, so I have more to think about. I was also knackered because I did cleans first.
Week 6
Mon (bodyweight: 171lb)
Cleans: 62x3x3
Squats: 80x3x5 (not too bad)
Bench: 64x5 64x5 (too heavy) 60x5
Another workout at home - squatting was hard again, compared to the gym and I had to drop a lot of weight. Bench was harder than expected too.
Tue
Cardio - interval training on the stationary bike's hill setting.
30 mins @ level 16 (of 25). Up another level. Brutal. My hardest cardio workout ever. Felt like throwing up for 2 hours after. Don't know my heart rate, but it would have been pegged at the max for at least 30 seconds at the hardest part. Legs like jelly after!
Wed
Front squats: 77.5x5 (pretty hard)
Deads: 120x5
No OHP
My legs were still tired from the cardio the day before, but I managed to match my front squat PR!
Fri
Skipped for some reason.
Week 7 (11 Dec)
Mon (bodyweight: 173lb)
Cleans: 62.5x3x3
Squats: 90x5x5 (hard, just about ok)
Bench: 65x5 (hard)
I'm starting to get my squat weight back again, even though I'm doing cleans first.
Tue
Cardio - interval training on the stationary bike's hill setting.
30 mins @ level 16 (of 25). Same workout as last Thurs. Not quite as brutal. Mere agony this time.
In the evening:
OHP: 37.5x5 (worked up in 2.5kg increments)
I'd been doing random ab work over the previous 2 weeks and this was the first time I'd managed to keep my core tight to stop my back from arching during OHP. Absolutely fantastic news, because I've not been able to do this for months. I just need to keep up the ab work (which I loathe).
Wed
Front squats: 80x5 (hard, but... PR!)
Deads: 122.5x5 (just about ok. hook / mixed grip with chalk)
Fri
Cleans: 65x2x3
Squats: 95x3x5 (was going to do 1 set, but they were easier than expected)
Bench: 67.5x5 (60x10 backoff) - both sets easier than expected
Only one week left before Christmas, so I set myself a mini goal of a 100kg x 5 squat next Friday. I thought 95kg was going to be hard today, but I felt stronger than expected and probably could've done 100!
---------
So there it is. I've not stuck as rigidly to a set plan as I have before, but I much prefer working out like this. There's the odd missed workout and my diet and sleep hasn't always been good, but it doesn't seem to have held me back so far. I'm still about 5-15kg below my PRs, but I'm really pleased with my progress so far. The cardio really seems to be helping, even though I'm pushing that really hard too.
The bodycomp changes over the past 7 weeks have been quite surprising (no pics). I just might be getting the hang of this working out lark
I'll probably make this my journal now. The plan for the next 6 months is to maintain bodyweight for a while to get my fat down, then slowly bulk. I want a 3 plate squat by the summer (my old 5RM was 105kg).
I dunno if you knew, 'cause the last time we spoke was ages ago, but I got myself a reverse hyper. That, alone has done wonders for my back. I love the pump my lower back gets when I use it.
