Another Single Factor 5x5 Journal

[Anthrax Invasion]

I suppose you could hold them for minutes at a time. It certainly couldn't hurt. I think everyone should be able to hold them all for 30 seconds minimum. Static ab work is underrated. Dynamic stuff is probably best with a medicine ball, especially in terms of the athlete. This is mainly an opinion based on readings and observations. In the end, it's just more details.

 

[young_squatter]

Week 14, Monday

Bodyweight: 80.5kg/177lb (target: 177lb)

To summarise the changes to my workouts, I'm switching to 3x3 on Monday's rows and 2x3 on deadlifts. Everything else remains the same.


1. Freeweight back squats (kg)
bar x 18 ........ warmup
40 x 9 ........... warmup
60 x 5
70 x 5
80 x 5
90 x 5 ........ should have been 92.5 but forgot
105 x 5 ....... up 2.5 ......... (231lb) ........ PR!

2. Bench (kg)
bar x 9 .......... warmup
30 x 9 ........... warmup
47.5 x 5
52.5 x 5
58.5 x 5
63.5 x 5
72.5 x 5 ......... up 1.5 ......... (160lb) ........ PR!

3. Row (kg) (switched to 3x3)
30 x 9 .......... warmup
40 x 3
50 x 3
57.5 x 3 ...... (current 5RM = 60/61)
57.5 x 3
57.5 x 3
50 x 8

4. Abs - planks
20 secs per side (right, front, left), total 2 min 54 secs


Comments

Squats - ooh, these were hard! I was stalling half way up on the top set and only just got the PR. I lent forward a bit and had to do a bit of a GM to finish it. Is that a natural reaction to recruit other muscles because I didn't intend it? I might add 2.5kg on Friday for the triple and if it's hard, drop back to 1kg on Monday just to keep the increases coming.

Bench - I found out today just how much air I can expell in one go. These were closer than close. The third rep on the final set wasn't going up, but I managed it and pulled two more reps out of the bag. Tada!

Rows - I switched to 3x3 today. Nothing much to report. I stood up a little bit, but it wasn't much. I'll increase this weight independently of Friday's workout, which I'll be keeping in the same format but dropping the weight back to 60kg.

Abs - planks again. Managed them for a bit longer today. They're a bit boring More of an exercise in endurance than strength. I intended doing a few more of them, but again, the thought of finishing the workout was much more appealing. Maybe I should do some crunches first and finish with planks.

Awesome workout man and journal, You made some awesome gains, this journal has expired me to start single factor. Keep up the good work man.

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

I think you mean inspired you, bro. It's all good.

 

[blut wump]

That's a great malapropism

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

I forgot to congratulate you, AB! Your results are awesome, and you're still fighting to milk more from the program. Very nice. Any plans of where to go when you stall? I'd be a bit hesitant to leap into Dual-Factor, only 'cause it doesn't really seem necessary until you reach a much more advanced level. There's a lot of "in-between" that seems missing.

Still, many fellow lifters here have done just fine using Dual-Factor, and I don't think they're elite level athletes.

 

[anotherbutters]

Thanks young_squatter, I'll remember one that for a while

I'm sure I could jump into the DF right now and make gains, but there seems to be a big void like you say in between SF and DF that I want to explore. There's lots of info on how to break through plateaus, but how to put that into a program is still a bit wooly for me.

What I have in mind is to keep the SF as the basis of my workouts, only deviating when I plateau. And then when I plateau on the other thing I'm trying, I'll return to SF. That's about as much of a plan as I have.

 

[young_squatter]

Thanks young_squatter, I'll remember one that for a while

I'm sure I could jump into the DF right now and make gains, but there seems to be a big void like you say in between SF and DF that I want to explore. There's lots of info on how to break through plateaus, but how to put that into a program is still a bit wooly for me.

What I have in mind is to keep the SF as the basis of my workouts, only deviating when I plateau. And then when I plateau on the other thing I'm trying, I'll return to SF. That's about as much of a plan as I have.

Sounds great man

 

[anotherbutters]

Week 14, Wednesday

Bodyweight: 80.5kg/177lb

It's getting worse!

1. Light freeweight back squats (kg)
bar x 18 ....... warmup
40 x 9 .......... warmup
60 x 5
70 x 5
80 x 5
80 x 5 ........... no change .......... (176lb)
(4 sets)

2. Deads (kg) switched to triples
50 x 9 .......... warmup
75 x 4
85 x 3
100 x 3 ........................... hook grip (new to this)
115 x 2 ........................... hook (ouch my thumbs)
130 x 3 .......... (286lb) ..... hook (wow)
130 x 3 ........................... mixed hook (for a laugh)
100 x 8 ........................... hook, solid

3. Military Press (kg)
bar x 9 ......... warmup
31 x 5
33.5 x 5
36 x 5
41 x 5
47.5 x 4 ........ no change ............... (105lb) ......... FAIL - annoyed!
50 x 1 .......................................... (110lb) ..... to cheer me up

4. Pullups tried for 8x3, strapless for first time
BW x 3 x 4
BW x 2 - tried 1" wider grip and could barely do 1 rep, switched back but failed 3rd rep
BW x 3 - form getting worse
BW x 2 - terrible, annoyed
Quit - didn't try 8th set.

Comments

Deads - I actually enjoyed deads today, for the first time in a long while. I noticed in Starting Strength that the hook grip is done with the middle finger over your thumbnail. Whenever I've tried it before, I must have only wrapped the index finger over and never found it secure. Wow, what a difference with the middle finger though! Grip at 100kg was solid. 115 was solid for the first two reps, then it opened up and I had to drop it quick before locking out on the first 130kg set. The weight felt ok, so I would have got it. Then tried mixed and hook for a laugh. Felt wierd, but reasonably solid. Hook grip was solid at 100kg for the 8 rep set - I didn't have to adjust my grip throughout the whole set. Downside is that my thumbs hurt as I type this, so I'll let you know what colour they are tomorrow

Military - I really expected to get this PR but I took a deep breath after the 3rd rep and it all fell apart. I was pretty annoyed at not getting it, so I tried and got a single at 50kg just to cheer me up.

Pullups - these felt solid to start with. I've been using straps up to now and tried without today - grip was solid, so I won't use the straps again. I tried a slightly wider grip on one set, each hand 1" further out and it made it a lot harder than I imagined. I completely messed up after that and threw in the towel early, becoming increasingly frustrated.


So, I'm stalled on military and pullups, and on Monday my bench PR was a miracle and the squat PR was very hard. I want to play a different game now

The idea of carrying on the ordinary SF 5x5 set/rep scheme for the lifts that haven't stalled is no longer an option because everything's stalled. I'm not sure what to try next, but I'm definitely going to deload. I've decided to do some light, high rep work next week, nowhere near failure and with low overall load. I need a break.

This was not an awesome workout

 

[young_squatter]

Week 14, Wednesday

Bodyweight: 80.5kg/177lb

It's getting worse!

1. Light freeweight back squats (kg)
bar x 18 ....... warmup
40 x 9 .......... warmup
60 x 5
70 x 5
80 x 5
80 x 5 ........... no change .......... (176lb)
(4 sets)

2. Deads (kg) switched to triples
50 x 9 .......... warmup
75 x 4
85 x 3
100 x 3 ........................... hook grip (new to this)
115 x 2 ........................... hook (ouch my thumbs)
130 x 3 .......... (286lb) ..... hook (wow)
130 x 3 ........................... mixed hook (for a laugh)
100 x 8 ........................... hook, solid

3. Military Press (kg)
bar x 9 ......... warmup
31 x 5
33.5 x 5
36 x 5
41 x 5
47.5 x 4 ........ no change ............... (105lb) ......... FAIL - annoyed!
50 x 1 .......................................... (110lb) ..... to cheer me up

4. Pullups tried for 8x3, strapless for first time
BW x 3 x 4
BW x 2 - tried 1" wider grip and could barely do 1 rep, switched back but failed 3rd rep
BW x 3 - form getting worse
BW x 2 - terrible, annoyed
Quit - didn't try 8th set.

Comments

Deads - I actually enjoyed deads today, for the first time in a long while. I noticed in Starting Strength that the hook grip is done with the middle finger over your thumbnail. Whenever I've tried it before, I must have only wrapped the index finger over and never found it secure. Wow, what a difference with the middle finger though! Grip at 100kg was solid. 115 was solid for the first two reps, then it opened up and I had to drop it quick before locking out on the first 130kg set. The weight felt ok, so I would have got it. Then tried mixed and hook for a laugh. Felt wierd, but reasonably solid. Hook grip was solid at 100kg for the 8 rep set - I didn't have to adjust my grip throughout the whole set. Downside is that my thumbs hurt as I type this, so I'll let you know what colour they are tomorrow

Military - I really expected to get this PR but I took a deep breath after the 3rd rep and it all fell apart. I was pretty annoyed at not getting it, so I tried and got a single at 50kg just to cheer me up.

Pullups - these felt solid to start with. I've been using straps up to now and tried without today - grip was solid, so I won't use the straps again. I tried a slightly wider grip on one set, each hand 1" further out and it made it a lot harder than I imagined. I completely messed up after that and threw in the towel early, becoming increasingly frustrated.


So, I'm stalled on military and pullups, and on Monday my bench PR was a miracle and the squat PR was very hard. I want to play a different game now

The idea of carrying on the ordinary SF 5x5 set/rep scheme for the lifts that haven't stalled is no longer an option because everything's stalled. I'm not sure what to try next, but I'm definitely going to deload. I've decided to do some light, high rep work next week, nowhere near failure and with low overall load. I need a break.

This was not an awesome workout

Good workout, you have some strong lifts there man.

Also you said you stalled on the military press, I recommend you back the weight up a bit like 10-20lbs then work your way back up and then make PR again. Mark Rippetoe actually told me to do this once I stall. But like you said maybe your ready for the deload and the next step of 5x5.

 

[anotherbutters]

Thanks.

I don't think you've noticed, but there's also a 'Post Reply' button that you can use that doesn't quote everything the previous person wrote. If everyone always quoted everyone else, the pages would be a pain in the ass to read through.

Hitting the 'Reply' button and quoting people is useful when you want to reply to part of a post in particular, but it gets annoying if you do it all the time.