Pre-juice 5x5: Darkness on the Horizon

[Cynical Simian]

These places do have their economics in place. For every gargantuan, ravenous lifter there are a couple of dozen secretaries who feel bloated at half an egg-white and a leaf of lettuce not to mention the vegetarians who were outvoted.

Yeah, I know...the comment was in jest. They wouldn't stay in business long or be so prevalent if they didn't have an appropriate pricing structure. It's likely just a product of paranoid buffet managers, but back in the heyday of the Atkins diet and its ilk stories occasionally showed up in the papers here about low-carbers being refused additional servings of meat.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Week 5 -- MONDAY

Had a great 'refeed' weekend. Waistline measurement barely budged despite my best efforts to epitomize gastronomic gluttony.

Squat 5x5: warmup to 315
-Making two changes at once is rough. I used my oly shoes for the first time today. I'm very happy with them but it'll take a bit of getting used to. Also, keeping my lower back in the proper postion is becoming natural rapidly, but again, it's new to me so it's gonna take some time. It seems like the use of Oly shoes places a lot of stress on the lower quads and low back, but maybe the back thing is just b/c I'm so used to relaxing in the hole. Like others have mentioned, it felt as though I was attached to the floor in these shoes.

Bench 1x5: 135x12, windmills, 185x5, 225x5, 255x5, 280x5, 305x5 (PR)
-Man it feels good to get a PR. Ten pounds better than the last one, which was too long ago.

BB row 1x5: 135x5, 185x5, 205x5, 225x5, 255x5
-I had a MASSIVE low back pump midway through these. It bordered on being dibilatating. I'm surprised at how pronounced it was given my relatively low dosage. It lasted a good twenty minutes after I finished my last set.
EDIT: I suppose I can officially call these 'Pendlay rows' as I finally fully deweight all of 'em, make a point to accelerate 'em throughout the concentric, and attempt to arch my upper back at the top.

CGBP: 225x8x2, 255x10
-Shoulders felt fine after 2 set of 225, so I just kinda went nuts w/ 255. I'm very pleased with my accessory stuff thus far, even though it's kinda all over the place. Whatever.

Hammer curls: 55'sx8x3

Coc #1: 5 triples/hand, two 30 second static holds per hand.
-Def. was stronger today. I bet I was giving some folks a chuckle during my static holds - I was squirming quite a bit and making hilarious faces trying to last half a minute (kinda like sex )

I may drop powercleans, at least temporarily. Since I'm using my low back so much more on deads and squats it just isn't a good idea IMO to bombard it with another low back killer. If things catch up rapidly I'll add 'em back in. Or maybe I'll warm up with 'em for deads. They'd probably be a better warmup than a buncha pansy pullin' w/ 225 anyway.

Oh and I may have located a nice, cheap digital camera w/ video clip capabilities. The long awaited vids ( ) may be forthcoming....

 

[SgtSlaughter]

great journal bro... keep up the good work!

- SGT

 

[Madcow2]

Oh and I may have located a nice, cheap digital camera w/ video clip capabilities. The long awaited vids ( ) may be forthcoming....

This is a really great site for tech deals and they always have something for digicams (usually a coupon or code combo'ed with some other discount so prices can be fairly low to rediculously low depending on what's there at any point in time). I know they have a big digicam thing with Dell that I read earlier if I'm remembering that correctly, just scroll downward. http://www.techbargains.com/

 

[Guinness5.0]

Week 5 -- TUESDAY

Good day. Dropping cleans was a good idea. My back feels worked but not beat.

Front squat: warmups, 225x4x3, 255x4x3
-After last week's heavy front squat session, I had some swelling and pain in my left knee (the one I hurt in high school). I decided to take it a little slower today. I coulda done 255 for all 6 sets but I think it was wise to chill a bit. I'm being careful to pause at the bottom and my knee is back to normal.

Push press: 135x5, 145x4, 155x4, 165x4, 185x4, 195x5 (PR)
-I did 5 reps on the last one b/c my previous 5rm was 185, so I figured 'what the hell, a PR sounds fun'. Then I held it at lockout for 3-4 seconds just to be sure I really like these a lot. Question: The 'dip' to get these started should be minimal, right? I just barely bend my knees, then 'pop' forcefully and lock it out hard at the top.

Pullups 5x5: BW
-At some point I promise I'll add weight to these. I did 'em with an explosive concentric and a slow eccentric just to make 'em a bit tougher.

Decline situps: BWx15, x12, x12
-These kick my ass. I've got DOMS from the top to the bottom of my abs

Weight's up to 250 even as of this morning. It's a big friggin' jump. I suppose I'm gaining b/c of my refeed weekend. The nice thing is that the belly's the same. Hopefully I've set myself up for another round of lost inches on the gut.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Push press: 135x5, 145x4, 155x4, 165x4, 185x4, 195x5 (PR)
I did 5 reps on the last one b/c my previous 5rm was 185, so I figured 'what the hell, a PR sounds fun'. Then I held it at lockout for 3-4 seconds just to be sure

Did you look around the gym nodding your head vigorously as you held the weight overhead? That's the way to do it

Nice lifts BTW. I assume rack is feeling comfy on your fronts.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Did you look around the gym nodding your head vigorously as you held the weight overhead? That's the way to do it

Nice lifts BTW. I assume rack is feeling comfy on your fronts.

Well there are some freaks at this gym. My lifts ain't SHIT compared to some of these juice monkeys While I was push-pressing, some guy had every plate you could fit on the leg press, plus a pair of 100 lb'ers on top and was going knees to chest. Never seen him squat though.....

And the rack's good I guess. It's pretty much entirely on my delts/wind pipe( ) but I have trouble keeping my elbows high. I think I may have a bit of a forward lean, but I'm not sure - maybe that's just the way fronts are supposed to feel. Hopefully I'll get my camera tonight so I can get some good feedback..

 

[enigma4dub]

I seem to have trouble in the rack with my front squats too.
cant seem to be able to make a decision with crossing my arms or using the hook grip (i think thats what you call it).with the cross grip, balance seems to be an issue and with my palms facing up, the bones in my hand hurt not to mention racking it and keeping my elbows up.

 

[Jim Ouini]

And the rack's good I guess. It's pretty much entirely on my delts/wind pipe( ) but I have trouble keeping my elbows high. I think I may have a bit of a forward lean, but I'm not sure - maybe that's just the way fronts are supposed to feel. Hopefully I'll get my camera tonight so I can get some good feedback..

Fronts musta felt wonderful in oly shoes, I imagine. At least I like 'em.

 

[Guinness5.0]

I got my camera and took a test vid but putfile seems to time out every time I try to upload it. Is there another site I could use? It's mpeg BTW so I don't see WTF the problem could be