Buddhas Enlightening 5x5 Log

[buddhabuilder]

Now I remember why I worked in social services before being a stay at home Dad for the past 3 years. First day on the job, I sat in a chair listening to people talk while eating 2 pounds of steak with 16 oz. of potatoes. I was served lunch including fresh fruit, and had all the bottled water I could drink.

Hey callmejay, I reviewed videos of the pendlay row and compared it to my form. I noticed on the video with Pendlay himself, the demonstrator did not touch the bar to his upper abs, which I was shooting for. Then on Mehdi's 5x5 video he recommends letting your upper body stay around 30 degrees above parallel to the floor. Both videos show a pause after the bar lands back on the floor, which I was also not doing. These 3 tweaks make the exercise alot easier, and I am raising the weight back up to match my bench quickly.

I'm actually going to have some spending money again. I may become disoriented....

 

[buddhabuilder]

Well, it looks like 12 weeks have made their way by as I struggled and persevered on my SL 5x5 quest. A big break through came when I dropped my squat down from 290 to 260 lbs. I did this because I was unable to get myself to go down deep enough for full form, and it was hurting to try to push myself further. With the lighter weight, and continued research of good form videos, I realized that the reason I was having trouble going down was because I was keeping my knees in, which made everything tighter, especially my lower back. So, by letting my knees go out as I lower my weight it is a much more natural motion, and I have found what "exploding out of the hole" means. I had been so controlled in coming down that it was like doing a double squat every rep. Anyway, current weights;
Squat - 285
OHP - 145
DL - 325
Bench - 245
Row - 225

Maintaining my 4500 calorie diet, but seem stuck around 240 pounds. I will get my first Real paycheck on the 20th, so I can increase my calories at that time. Ready to really start lifting!