Another Single Factor 5x5 Journal

[anotherbutters]

I took a week off 4 weeks ago after kind of reaching a plateau, then hit the weights too hard and tweaked it a bit doing some squats. I'm not sure whether I twisted slightly or what. The chiro said my pelvis was slightly twisted and could have been like that for a long time. But that meant my spine wasn't transferring the weight evenly down to my legs. He's straightened me out and I feel great now, so I need to start ramping the weights up again. Thanks for asking.

I feel like starting a new journal. This one's feeling a bit stale and I'm sure nobody reads it any more because I've not done a decent workout in weeks.

 

[blut wump]

I know I gave up reading a couple of months back.

It's good to hear that the chiro is still earning his pay. You might want to consider turning off avatars at work. Some might be considered not work-safe.

 

[Cynical Simian]

I feel like starting a new journal. This one's feeling a bit stale and I'm sure nobody reads it any more because I've not done a decent workout in weeks.

How would your masses of loyal readers know you haven't been working out if they didn't read it?

You might want to wait until you're fully healed and know what you're going to be doing (since you were in a transition phase out of pure SF before this break) before starting a new journal...unless you want the title to be Another Chiropractic Journal.

 

[anotherbutters]

I know I gave up reading a couple of months back.

You might want to consider turning off avatars at work. Some might be considered not work-safe.

Good call, I didn't know you could do that, thanks. You've saved lots of embarassment for the girl sat next to me

How would your masses of loyal readers know you haven't been working out if they didn't read it?

I will continue, I was just testing the waters. I've been flooded with two replies and a k message so far But I'll continue anyway as I'm sure there are more people out there watching. It has been boring for a long while and I can't blame anyone for giving up on me. I would have done!

I was going to work out first thing this morning. I set my alarm clock early and forgot to turn it on Easy deadlifts waiting for me when I get home.

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

I sleep through my alarms all the time. I'll put the clock across my room and I'll wake up six hours late, to find my alarm off. How? I must sleep walk and turn it off. Either that, or my special Jedi training is really paying off.

I can't wait to get back into lifting. I keep pushing myself and practicing olylifts, but that's probably not a good idea with my back & job. Weighing the pros and cons, things will be worlds better in a few months. Then I can start hammering away again.

I want to run a smolov cycle in the future, I know that for sure.

 

[anotherbutters]

Week 20, Thursday (Wed's workout)

1. Front squats (kg)
bar x 9 x 2 sets ....... warmup
30 x 5 .................... warmup
35 x 5
35 x 5
40 x 5
40 x 5
40 x 5 .................. (88lb)

2. Deads (kg)
40 x 5 x 2 sets .......... SLDL warmup
50 x 5
55 x 5
60 x 5
70 x 5
80 x 5 .................. (166lb) ..... felt great!

3. Military Press (kg)
bar x 9 ............... warmup
25 x 5
30 x 5
35 x 5
37.5 x 5
40 x 5 ................ (88lb)

4. Pullups
BW x 2 x 5 sets .... only attempted 2 reps each (probably couldn't have done 3 anyway)

5. Chins - to get some volume in after pullups
BW x 2 x 2 sets ...... easy
BW x 3 x 3 sets ...... hard


Comments

I'm going to start doing front squats on Weds rather than light back squats. These were ok, but I did them in my bench/squat rack and the bar didn't feel as comfy coming from the rack vs cleaning it from the floor.

I tried some stiff leg deads to warm up, at least I think that's what they were. I can't really tell much of a difference between stiff leg, straight leg and Romanian. I kept my back arched and kept my legs stiff but not locked, sticking my arse out as the bar went down. So whatever that's called

For the actual deads, I couldn't resist throwing on a little weight. Everything felt fine, no twinges from my back at all, even when I twisted and prodded it, and it's ok now after the workout too. I also noticed I could pick up the 20kg/45lb plates without my back feeling strained. I always used to feel as though I was working my back just putting the plates on the bar before (embarassing as it sounds). I think that must have been because my back wasn't right. Oh, and I also managed all my sets with overhand grip, which is a first

Military felt heavy, but not PR heavy. PR weight is 46kg.

I've never been good at pullups and probably couldn't have got 3 reps if I tried, so I stuck to just 2 reps today. I still felt a bit chipper once I'd finished so I switched to close grip chins to get some volume in. I think last time I tried chins I didn't use a close grip and I found them just as hard as pullups. I used close grip today and they were so much easier, I went up to 3 reps for the last 3 sets, which is a bit of a result. I'll have sore bi's tomorrow after all this time off!

I'm happy with this workout because my back felt great. I'll see what I'm like in the morning. I think I'm fixed. Woohoo! About bloody time!

 

[Guinness5.0]

Interesting that we both find the rack better on front squats when cleaning the barbell into place. Anybody else experience this this?

 

[anotherbutters]

Week 21, Monday

Bodyweight: 81kg/178lb

1. Freeweight back squats (kg)
bar x 9 x 2 sets ... warmup
bar x 9 x 2 sets ... OH squat warmup - I forgot I was going to do this first!
30 x 5
40 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5 ................ (110lb) .......... just 50kg for today

2. Bench (kg)
bar x 9 .......... warmup
30 x 9 ........... warmup
40 x 5
45 x 5
50 x 5
55 x 5
62.5 x 5 ........... (138lb) ....... why did this feel heavy?

3. Powercleans (kg)
bar x 5 .......... warmup
25 x 5
30 x 5
35 x 5
40 x 5
45 x 5 ........... (99lb) ........ this felt heavy too!


Comments

My back's still not 100%, but it's close. I have another chiro session tonight.

I'm thinking of adding 10kg each time I squat, so 60kg on Wednesday, 70kg Friday, etc.

Bench felt heavy, which is silly. It's 10kg less than my PR! I'll try to add 2.5kg each week from now on until it gets tough, then use smaller increments.

Powercleans felt good. I concentrated on snapping my elbows under the bar for the first time and it made a big difference. The top set felt heavy and I thought it was a PR weight (not because it was particularly heavy, but because I haven't been doing them long). It's the same weight as I've done before for 2x5 though.

Overall, not much to report really. I'm sure today's bench and PCs felt a bit hard because I'm out of practice. Things ought to get better in a week or so. Today was my first morning workout, after getting up before 6am (I haven't done that in a long while). I'm going to start light cardio sessions on Tues and Thurs before work too and increase the intensity of those over time. I still want to cut down a bit of bodyfat, but I don't want to compromise that much on the strength gains, so I've cut down a bit on the calories and I'm adding cardio. Hopefully I can do a bit of a Guinness and recomp.

I missed Friday's workout because of a Christmas do. It was a choice between going home and working out or going out partying with a bunch of girls

 

[blut wump]

You didn't think to bring the girls home for some squats and powercleans?

I often find that a lift is unexpectedly heavy. Some days everything's heavy. So long as it goes up when I tell it to, I don't let it bother me. I usually just put it down to inadequate warmups but that doesn't always explain it.

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

I often find that a lift is unexpectedly heavy. Some days everything's heavy. So long as it goes up when I tell it to, I don't let it bother me. I usually just put it down to inadequate warmups but that doesn't always explain it.

Maybe you ought to make sure you didn't sprout a vagina, or blossom some ovaries, hm, Nancy?