Here's my Korte

[blut wump]

Take a look around. You were booted out of '40+ yr old guys' club somewhere through the second run of the 5x5. You're just a weight lifter now.

Maybe it'd be worth getting some elastic knee braces and also time to practice minor variations on foot placement unless you're confident that you've been through that long ago. I see something about hardly bothering to warm up which might have contributed.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Touche', Sir Wump. Albeit a 'gay' weightlifter according to this guy at my gym.

BTW, the same guy asked me what was up with them later on, I guess it was really bothering him. I told him I was working off %'s - and to be honest what with bar/plate/collar variation at a commercial gym, if not homosexual it's probably at least metrosexual - and briefly explained what I was doing. Of course his first response was 'you bench 3 x week?' to which I replied 'And squat and dead'. Predictably, the dreaded 'overtraining' discussion came up and I just let it die with a 'you could definitely be right'.

Anyway, as far as ATF foot placement I'm going to widen just a bit which should allow me to sit back a little better. This is starting to sound familiar

 

[blut wump]

I saw that conversation coming. The guys at my gym settle on agreeing that I'm crazy for not wearing a belt and avert their eyes to my actual workout. I avoid any verbal response when someone comments that we seem to do legs on the same day.

Well, I just went onto Ironmind to look up knee braces and have managed to ring up over $160 so far. It looks like they don't sell knee supports, though, so I guess that's another metro accessory and you'll just have to strengthen your knees.

 

[Jim Ouini]

$160? You got off easy.

I have a neoprene sleeve just to keep the creaky knees warm. I don't really like it though since it doesn't match my shorts very well.

I guess I could buy some new shorts.

 

[Guinness5.0]

I have a neoprene sleeve just to keep the creaky knees warm. I don't really like it though since it doesn't match my shorts very well.

I guess I could buy some new shorts.

Don't stop til you're FAB-U-LOUS

 

[Jim Ouini]

Week 1 Day 3

Not as sore as Wed so went into today's workout with a clear mind. Rode the bike for 5 minutes, did some foam rolling and active stretching and went at it.


Squat
Bar x 2 x 10
135 x 5
155 x 3
183 x 8 x 5

Ok I *think* I've settled on a stance About shoulder width and feet out about 30. Also I made a concerted effort to sit back like I was box squatting. This called for a little more hip flexion than I'm used to but I think it worked, I had no knee pain throughout and although my butt could be lower, my hams are touching calves so what the hell. Easiest day squatting so far.

Bench
Bar x 3 x 10 (W-S-N)
135 x 3 x 3 (W-S-N)
171 x 7 x 6 (N-S-W-N-S-W-N)

Nothing to report.

Dead
135 x 5 (RDL)
225 x 3
275 x 1
290 x 6 x 5

Used my new technique where I bend my knees a little more. I like it, I think it's a little more oly style from watching some vids.

Week 1 thoughts: I'm ready for a weekend of deloading Looking ahead to next week I go up ~6lbs on squat and bench and 10lbs on dead. I'm hoping I really don't notice the weight increases and it'll pretty much feel just like this week.

Don't stop til you're FAB-U-LOUS

I looked like friggin David Beckham out there in the weight room

 

[blut wump]

One example he gives for hitting a Bench grip harder is to alternate it with the other two, eg. N-S-N-W-N-S-N. If S is your best grip position then switch the S and W to make the whole lot harder.

Were the deads all raw or strapped?

Congrats on your first week.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Hm I may have to try that alternating weakest grip. I have a feeling the weight will catch up to me soon, though. Play it by ear.

I'm doing deads with straps It's quite strange when my grip starts to feel weak I feel like the bar gets in front of me and my lower back does something weird, and when that happens I tend to shut it down, mentally.

I'm going to bring some chalk in next week and see how that works. Also pulling conventional style, for the record.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Week 2 Day 1

Felt pretty good over the weekend. Not overly sore anywhere and the knees felt great.

Squat
Bar x 2 x 10
135 x 5
165 x 2
190 x 8 x 5

Ditched the microplates for now - too much hassle carrying them around and in retrospect they ARE a bit on the metro side And at these intensities I doubt it makes that much difference so I rounded up.

Bench
Bar x 3 x 10 (W-S-N)
135 x 3 x 3 (W-S-N)
180 x 3 x 5, 180 x 4 x 6 (N-S-W-N-S-W-N)

Forgot I was doing 6 reps my first 3 sets, too many people talking to me and I got distracted. Wednesday I may do 8 sets to make up for it.

Dead
135 x 5 (RDL)
185 x 3
225 x 2
275 x 1
300 x 6 x 5

Pretty easy, mostly working on my form, although I was a bit knackered at around the 4th set. As odd as it may sound I think the oly shoes are actually helping me with my dead form, as I can really feel myself pushing through the heels a little longer. Or it could just be a coincidence since I'm not going heavy enough to break form...

Overall a good start to the 2nd week. On a side note I weighed myself yesterday and came in at 200 even. So up about 5lbs since I started increasing my cals about a week ago.

 

[blut wump]

You never mentioned what happened to your prospective workout partner. Did he finally decide that the Korte was too much?

You seem to be cruising into this week. Do you think you're starting to acclimatize to the volume?