working on a new routine

[Andalite]

lol yeah.. The reason my last warmup set has been 185 is because in other lifts, when i go too heavy on warmups (take bench for example) i find it harder to hit my set reps... For deadlifts i actually thought about doing 225 as a warmup last time but since even 135 double over works my grip, i figured that 225 would work it as well. Maybe i'll do that x2 or 3 before i try 250 next time.

sounds great!

Grip Training would definitely be a good idea. I was thinking of doing some static holds with the BB and maybe some farmers walks if there is any room to do them.

farmers walks are awesome. you should definitely do them.

As far as form goes, I think i have the form down pretty damn good for my lifts. There are some guys who are really experienced whom i have befriended over the past few months, and they tell me that my form looks real good. The only comment i've ever recieved with a negative connotation was that i was going too far on squats, which i take in a good way. Maybe one time when I have a friend go with me, I will ask him to video my lifts; gym has still been packed with new years fags though so once they clear out it should be easier.

Yeah record your lifts man...don't feel shy or weird or anything. I've been recording my training since I was lifting 135 lbs...I've never cared what people think. In this digital day and age I think reviewing our lifts via digital camera is one of the best things to do.

My warmup for squat is usually 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 155x3, 175x1... working sets.

Thats fine. As you get stronger your warm-up sets will evolve. To put that into numbers, when I was Deadlifting in the 300s, here's my warm up:
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
255 x 3
315 x 3
345 << -- work sets

Last workout,
135 x 7
245 x 7
295 x 7
345 x 5
385 x 3
425 x 5 << -- work set

Also, you're just starting out (relatively) so you might need more or less warm-ups depending the workout, etc...so be open to that. In the sense: sometimes you may need an extra warm-up set and sometimes you might not. So be conscious of that.

 

[ExtraMile]

These aren't my methods because we're not discussing methods here. There is no program or golden set-rep scheme which I am prescribing.

Now, if you're asking me if my ideas will help you progress, then fuck yeah. These ideas could help anyone.

I said your methods because they are the methods or ideas that you use yourself

No, I was asking if for someone like me who is still progressing using the single set they would work any better? You said some people can progress up to x amount of weight with one set, so are you saying until that point you should do so, and get as high as you can with one set? Or are you saying from step 1 the mutliple set approach is better? Basically, would I benefit form doing it? Or would the progress be the same as I am experiencing now and I should wait until I stall to swap to multiple sets?

yes you could say I am SaiBoTs apprentice

 

[Andalite]

No, I was asking if for someone like me who is still progressing using the single set they would work any better? You said some people can progress up to x amount of weight with one set, so are you saying until that point you should do so, and get as high as you can with one set? Or are you saying from step 1 the mutliple set approach is better? Basically, would I benefit form doing it? Or would the progress be the same as I am experiencing now and I should wait until I stall to swap to multiple sets?

Multiple sets will be better than single sets for anyone especially someone like you coming back from any injury. Single sets are useless unless you are simply counting your heaviest set as a single set and discarding all sets lighter than that.

 

[oso0960]

I agree. You just gotta remember that more sets = more chance to overtrain especially with deadlifts.

 

[Andalite]

I agree. You just gotta remember that more sets = more chance to overtrain especially with deadlifts.

Exactly. Which is why each workout has to be analyzed and looked at individually.

 

[SaiBoT]

The method I told Extramile to do got me to a 475lbs deadlift and squat, it worked so far for me but it's not working anymore for my deadlift though. On EM's case and his injury it was a matter of bad form, I'm his mentor but i can't be there for him at the gym, as he is in the UK and me in the USA. For his recovery I suggested multiple sets with the same weight because it's what works best. What Andalite said is right, multiple sets is a great method for strength training as it obey to the Repeated Effort law, but has Charles Poliquin said "a method is only as good as the time it takes your body to get used to it" which is why i understand Andalite analyzes his workouts individually.

Now the only reason i don't fill ExtraMile's mind with info, info and more info is because that's a double edge knife, i'd rather teach him commitment, focus and consistency, there's alot a things he and most noobs (not saying that EM is a noob) around here don't need to know, because that would lead to confusion and aimlessness, basically what i'm trying to say is that I want him to spend his energy at the gym getting results than spending his time gathering a whole bunch of stuff and being worried all the time, K.I.S.S. sounds a bit harsh but it explains it all.

 

[Andalite]

Dude, thats fine. I wasn't making any suggestions to EM..I was making them to Josh as this is his journal and EM asked me his question out here. I know you've taken him under your wing which is why I don't make any suggestions.

Also, KISS isn't the best way according to me....Like I said: you must analyze workouts individually in perspective of the overall picture. Which is why saying "multiple sets" means absolutely nothing. All it means is that you have more than 1 work set. Thats as ambiguous as it saying "eat more; you'll grow". There are countless other factors such as sets, reps, load, intensity, density, rest intervals, etc which all factor in which I have not commented on.

I understand what you mean about being able to mentor someone from 1000 miles away...I suffer from the same problem with people whom I guide. That is why I always insist that if they want my true suggestions, they should record all their lifts and any others I specify because without these recordings, all we're doing is going by their words and we all know how difficult it is for us to perfectly critique ourselves.

 

[SaiBoT]

Dude, thats fine. I wasn't making any suggestions to EM..I was making them to Josh as this is his journal and EM asked me his question out here. I know you've taken him under your wing which is why I don't make any suggestions.

Also, KISS isn't the best way according to me....Like I said: you must analyze workouts individually in perspective of the overall picture. Which is why saying "multiple sets" means absolutely nothing. All it means is that you have more than 1 work set. Thats as ambiguous as it saying "eat more; you'll grow". There are countless other factors such as sets, reps, load, intensity, density, rest intervals, etc which all factor in which I have not commented on.

I understand what you mean about being able to mentor someone from 1000 miles away...I suffer from the same problem with people whom I guide. That is why I always insist that if they want my true suggestions, they should record all their lifts and any others I specify because without these recordings, all we're doing is going by their words and we all know how difficult it is for us to perfectly critique ourselves.

I meant KISS regarding giving away info that's why i separated my post in 2.

I assumed that when i associated the multiples sets with the repeated effort law you would understand my point... after all your workouts are based upon it.

 

[Andalite]

I meant KISS regarding giving away info that's why i separated my post in 2.

Oh my bad. I agree with you. Sometimes knowing less is better than getting caught up in the details...like Chad Waterbury. He always has great ideas but he gets so caught up in the nitty gritty details he loses track of the big picture.

 

[SaiBoT]

Oh my bad. I agree with you. Sometimes knowing less is better than getting caught up in the details...like Chad Waterbury. He always has great ideas but he gets so caught up in the nitty gritty details he loses track of the big picture.

Exactly, I'm guilty of that sometimes (many times), but as i grow older things are getting better . I like Waterbury articles, once i tried a wave loading protocol for increasing bench pressing strength, too bad i didn't have the tools for microloading @ the time. But i'll give it a go once i stall on Kelly Bagget's protocl.