GSP's Better late than never 3X5...

[GSP]

5/5 - Workout A

Squats (3X5) 175 PR
DB Bench (3X5) 72.5's PR
Pendlay rows (3X5) 150 PR

Friday Weigh in: 183.8 lbs.

Comments: Great workout today on all 3 lifts. Squats continue to go well. My wife taped the last 2 sets, and I have to say my form was pretty darn good

DB Bench reps are slow going up each rep, but I continue to be able to handle 5 lb. total increases (2.5 per DB) each workout.

Rows were the best session I've had on these. I could really feel my shoulders pulling together in the back on every rep.

I need to slow down the weight gain a bit. I'm eating mostly very good, but lot's. I'm positive there is muscle going on, I can see and feel it especially in my thighs. But I don't want to have to do a 3-4 week cut too early either, as I certainly can't afford a whole new work wardrobe. Still fitting into 33" jeans though, but a bit more snug. Think I'll cut milk out of my shakes, which should reduce about 300-400 Kcal per day.

Next week will be a challenge. I'm on the road all week for work, and will have to find gyms in the area as well as the spare time to get in my workouts.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Congrats on the PR's. It's nice you've got db's that go up in 2.5lb increments. A lot of the gym's I've been to only go up in 5lb increments, which makes it hard to keep it going.

My wife taped the last 2 sets, and I have to say my form was pretty darn good

Post 'em up

 

[GSP]

...It's nice you've got db's that go up in 2.5lb increments. A lot of the gym's I've been to only go up in 5lb increments, which makes it hard to keep it going.

Actually, my gym has the typical 5 lb. increments on their DB's. I rig them up with ankle weights that have .5 lb. increments on them, so it gives me a lot of options with how much weight I add.

I agree about the 5 lbs. jumps being tough. Obviously, I was able to make those jumps for the first couple workouts, but I would have already hit a sticking point with them I think If I only been able to make the jump in 5's.

 

[GSP]

5/8 - Workout A

Squat (3X5) 180 PR
Standing Press (3X5) 118 PR
Deadlift (1X5) 130

Comments: Dragged my sorry ass out of bed at 4:30 to make this one happen. I'll say this, I wouldn't wish the pain of early morning squats on my worst enemy, absolutely brutal! But still got another 5 lbs. on the bar so all is good.

Standing press was tough again but still got it done.

I broke my chain of Deadlift PR's through my own stupidity (wasn't the first time and won't be the last). I was in a hurry to get out of the gym by 6:00 am to get on site for work, so I didn't look at my training log. I ended up adding 5 lbs. to my Deadlifts from the week before last, instead of last Wed. Oh well. I'll get it on Friday. The Knurling on the bar at the gym I was at felt like it was etched in with a hack saw, I'm lucky to have any skin on my hands right now.

 

[Jim Ouini]

I know lots of people do it, but there's no way I could get up at 4:30 and lift, much less squat. Great work.

BTW, I know it's hard to say but how much in the tank do you feel you have on, say, your squat and deadlift?

 

[GSP]

Yeah, it's safe to say that 5:00 am PR attempts will not be a staple of my program going forward!

Like you said, it's tough to project where my sticking points are going to be. When I first started the program, I was hoping to take squats to 185-190 and Deadlifts to 250. Knock on wood in advance here, but I think if I play my cards right and everything falls into place, I'll be able to ride this out into the low 200's on squats and hopefully to 270 on deadlifts.

Starting this week, I'm only attempting 2 weekly PR's on squat (I may make Friday my light day just for this week since that will be another early a.m. workout and my Wed. session should be more normal hours). I'm also strongly considering reconfiguring the exercises to where I only perform Deadlifts on Wed. during the light squat day ala Starr's 5X5 (with a ramped set of 3 instead of a 1X5). My goal at this point is to hit 1 more squat PR this week, then 2 next week as well. At that point, I'll see if I can run a few more weeks at 1X PR's

 

[anotherbutters]

Sounds good to me. Congrats on the progress so far - it's going like clockwork!

 

[GSP]

5/11 - Workout A

Squats (3X5) 185 PR
DB Bench (3X5) 75's PR
Pendlay Rows (3X5) 153 PR

Comments: I hesitate to call any workout with 3 PR's crappy, but another odd-hour workout just isn't hacking it. I couldn't get away from a business dinner this evening until 8:30 central time, which is 9:30 my time. The squats were actually fantastic, I haven't had a 5 pound jump feel this easy since 165.

DB press was tough on the last set but I got it. I was starting to feel wiped at this point.

Rows sucked. The gym didn't have 35's, so I actually had a slightly smaller ROM with the 45's. The last rep I damn near failed on, I took a 3-4 second rest/pause between the 4th and 5th rep to get a good deep breath before the lift. I'm considering this an anomaly for now, as 150 was a good session for me at home last week.

Since I got a day off schedule this week, I'll do a Sat. session then get back on my MWF schedule next week.

 

[anotherbutters]

If you're in a different gym, there might well be more than 3lb difference in the weights due to manufacturing tolerances.

Congrats on the PRs! It's good to hear the squats are still going up nicely.

 

[GSP]

If you're in a different gym, there might well be more than 3lb difference in the weights due to manufacturing tolerances.

Congrats on the PRs! It's good to hear the squats are still going up nicely.

I thought of that. It was the same bar and 45's that I used on squat, maybe some of the smaller plates had some variation.