Mike O's Training Log

[Mike O.]

I switched to intermediate programming for my squats a few weeks ago, after a best 3x5 at 280. I thought I’d be able to get further with linear progression since I’ve worked on low bar squats in the past, but that assumption has probably been my biggest mistake on the program so far. At 44 years old I probably should have introduced more recovery into my programming much sooner than I did. I've been a bit stubborn about this.

I haven’t posted here much so I’ll give some background info and notes on my efforts to do the program so far.

Background Info
I'm 44 y/o, 5'10.5, 196lbs. I started on SS in September 2009, hoping to rehab a nagging shoulder injury, which, while not serious enough to warrant surgery, had not responded very well to repeated attempts at traditional rehab. I was also hoping to address the results of my great couch-sitting, food-binging experiments of 2009, which were a raging success.

I had to start very light on all my lifts due to ROM issues in the shoulder, and also just because I was very weak. It took 2 months before I was able to do a single decent pullup. It has taken time, but the shoulder ROM has gradually improved and lifts steadily increased. With thorough warmup I can now hold the bar for squats in the low position without pain, with my right elbow only slightly lower than the left. When I started I could not hold the bar in the low position at all. Pressing and especially benching were painful at first but now are no problem.

My bodyweight held steady around 190 for the first couple months, as the weights were light. Then the bar started feeling heavy and slowing a lot so I gained 20 lbs or so from November to January. Most lifts progressed steadily, the bench and press via microloading after a period of larger increases. I reset my squats a couple times in the mid 200’s while trying to figure out how to manage my low back pain, which would flare up and force me to back off. I have since made some form corrections, and I hope with added recovery and continued effort to manage it this situation will improve. (I'm doing all the recommended things: chiropractor, massage, rolling, stretching, ice/heat. There is nothing wrong with my spine. This is a problem that has always presented when lifting, even in my 20's.)

In February I decided to make a correction and remove some unwanted body fat and did 6 weeks on RFL, dropping 17 lbs. After coming off the fat loss diet and maintaining around 193 for a few weeks I started setting PR's again. I’ve been slowly ramping up the calories to keep the lifts moving steadily and I’ve started gaining weight again, slowly. It seems like gaining about a pound a week or so will keep things moving along. I’d like to avoid a bunch of bulk/cut cycles if possible, but I also want my lifts to continue improving and my body composition to remain reasonable, so I’ll do what I have to.

[Mike O.]

I started counting calories back in the fall in an attempt to get my diet under control and learn a few things about nutrition. I might move away from counting eventually, but it’s easy now and I still find it useful.

Most of my calories are coming from chicken, egg whites, whole eggs, beef, tuna, milk, cottage cheese, cheese, avocados, oats, beans, rice, bread, fruit, vegetables, almonds, walnuts. I supplement with bacon cheeseburgers, pizza, thai food, pulled pork sandwiches, burritos and ice cream. Other supplements: whey, milk dairy isolate, creatine, 10g fish oil per day, multivitamin, vitamin C, and Zinc/Magnesium as a sleep aid.

Lifting days tend to be ~3800 calories (most of it PWO), 90-100g fat, 400-500g carbs, 260-280g protein. Rest days 3000-3200 calories, 120-130g fat, 230-260g carbs, 230-260g protein.

[Mike O.]

Age: 44
Height: 5' 10.5"
BW: 196 lbs
Squat: 255x5x5, 300x1, 280x5x3 (before TM)
Bench: 203.75x5x3 (1.25 lb increments)
Press: 138.75x5x3 (1.25 lb increments)
Deadlift: 315x3x2 (deloaded to 275x5 for now)
Power Clean: 155x3x5 (dropped from program temporarily to assist shoulder recovery)
Pullups: 8
Chinups: 9

[Mike O.]

I’ve recently tried to deadlift weekly and it doesn’t seem like my back can recover from that, so I might need to keep it at every other week. On the other hand, at the same time I was also trying to continue linear progression with my squats. Maybe with TM I’ll be able to deadlift once a week eventually.

This week I’ve added back extensions back into my routine, this time with bands to provide resistance (45 degree bench). I had stopped doing the back extensions for a while because I’d developed pain in the back of both of my knees, which I had attributed to the back extensions. But maybe I should attribute it to setting the pad too low – I raised it and it feels better, easier to keep the knees from being completely locked.

I haven’t been doing much ab assistance work, but lately I’m doing some a couple times a week to see what happens. Weighted situps hurt my lower back (a sign of weak abs, or a sign that I shouldn’t do weighted situps?). I’ve been using the ab wheel, on my knees so far. Doesn’t seem to bother my back, we’ll see what results I get from this.

My proposed schedule, until I get my low back issues under control:

Monday
Squat 5x5
Press / Bench 3x5 (linear progression, 1.25 lb increments)
Deadlift 1x5 / RDL 3x10
Ab wheel, 3x10

Wednesday
Light Squat (very light, 135x5x3 and that’s it)
Press / Bench 3x5
Pullups / Chinups

Friday
Squat 1x5
Press / Bench 3x5
Pullups / Chinups
Back Extension (45 degree, with bands)
Ab wheel, 3x10

20 minute full body warmup and rolling pre-workout.
20-30 minutes stretching and rolling post-workout.

[fnet]

Welcome Mike O. I'll be following your progress since we're about the same age. I'm always interested in how a fellow "mature lifter" deals with life's little aches and pains.

[Mike O.]

Thanks for the welcome fnet. Getting a massage 3-4 times a month has helped a lot. My neck, upper back and shoulders feel better than they have in years.

Today's workout:
Squat: 265x5x5
Press: 140x5x3 (got 5,4,4)
Pullups: 8,6,5 (bodyweight)
RDL: 135x10x3
Ab wheel: 3x10 kneeling (this is becoming easier)

This workout postponed from earlier in the week due to scheduling, a rarity. I've also not been sleeping well lately and feeling run down, so I'm sure the extra couple days' rest did me some good.

SQUATS went well. This was another 10 lb. jump, as I started TM with a reset. I figure I'm where I should be now so I'll do 5 lb. jumps from now on.

Resting 3.5 - 5 minutes between sets so far on volume days. I don't have a fixed rest time, just take what I need and make note of it. Quite tired on last set and slight form degradation as low back was starting to lose the battle with hamstrings, but not exactly grinders.

Still fiddling with my form a bit. Getting the feel of sitting back into the stretch at the bottom, trying to be calm and controlled and tight about it and then explode out of the hole. When I try to hit the bounce too hard I can get a little twisted. I've pretty much eliminated shooting back of the hips, at least at this weight, but it still happens once in a while.

PRESS: failed, got 5,4,4. I've been trying to use my hips more while keeping knees locked and glutes tight. I can push my hips back and get under the bar pretty well on warmups, but at my working weight I have a much harder time doing this. Today this resulted in less stability than my previous press workout. Squats took a lot out of me today though - last week I pressed on light day.

PULLUPS: Lost a rep on the third set since my last pullup session. But I've also gained a pound and was wearing heavier shoes today. :)

RDL felt good, I'll continue alternating these with deadlift for now and see what happens.

Low back not an issue during the workout, but it's a little achey and tired now.

[Mike O.]

Bodyweight: 197

Squat: 135x5x2, 185x5x2
Bench: 205x5x3 PR
Chinups: bw+15 4,5,3
Back Extensions: 3x12 with purple resistance band (45 degree bench)

Hamstrings are sore after volume workout and RDL a couple days ago, but after warmup the light squats felt good.

Bench felt strong, form felt solid, got 3x5 with a little to spare. Taking a slightly longer pause at lockout to make sure I get set, as bar path was poor from trying to hammer out the reps too quickly. The cue to push the bench away rather than push the bar up has really helped. Getting better at maintaining leg drive throughout entire set.

I just started weighted chins last week - 5 lbs. is too big a jump, need to repeat at this weight and take smaller jumps.

After slightly upping my calories the last couple weeks my bench is back to moving steadily, at 1.25 lb. increments. Hopefully I'll hit my press reps next workout. It seems that my press and bench both suffer a bit on squat volume day, not surprising I guess.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 285x5 PR
Press: 140x5x3 PR
Pullups: 8,6,5
Back extension: 20, 12 (no resistance)

Squats felt strong with decent rebound, though not quite as tight at bottom as I’d like. Cue reach back with hips more. Also need to work on neutral neck position as I feel like I’m losing hip drive halfway up, lifting my head even though my gaze stays on the ground.

Press was a repeat at 140, nailed it. Got under the bar better this time. Pulling the bar down as if I’m doing a pullup really helps, all 15 reps felt in the groove. Need to focus on squeezing chest up at the bottom.

Did pullups/chinups 3 times this week, too much. Going back to doing them every other workout.

[Mike O.]

Bodyweight: 198 lbs.
Squat: 270x5x5 PR
Bench: 206.25x5x3 PR
Deadlift: 280x5

Good recovery. Low back slowly feeling better, not a factor during workout. I’ve been stretching and rolling more frequently and more aggressively, especially on my rest days. Weekly massage also continues to help. Now that my upper back, neck and shoulders are feeling good we’re working more on my lower body. Knuckles and elbows in my IT bands and hamstrings is not fun, but I know it will help.

Weight shifted to my toes a couple times on the last set of squats but other than that they felt good, tight at the bottom with decent rebound. Kept chin tucked better than last time.

Faded quickly on last set of bench again – first 3 reps went right up with good bar speed, 4th rep surprisingly hard, 5th rep a grinder but locked it out. That’s an improvement over last time I benched on squat volume day and missed the last rep. Now that I’m getting better bar control I think I need to work on reducing the pause between reps without sacrificing control.

My deadlift sucks (my squats are not high). I’m working back from a reset (minor injury), and still trying to nail down my starting position. Lifted with my squat shoes today (hikers with raised heel) and my back was almost horizontal in my starting position. Probably better off deadlifting in flats. Might be standing too close to bar as well. Next time see if can get hips lower while keeping bar over midfoot. If not, deadlift in flats.

[ColoWayno]

Welcome to the boards. I'm just about your size, and 47. My lifts are also pretty close to yours.
I'm doing 5-3-1 at the moment, I've done both the novice program and the TM. I'm out of the country for a few months so I'm doing 5-3-1 to maintain. Once I get settled back home again I'll do something a little more aggressive for a bit when I can commit myself more to the whole diet, workout, recovery thing.
For now, less is more for me.

Good lifting!

[Mike O.]

Thanks Wayne. I see in your log that you describe yourself as a "recovered" runner. I've put in my share of miles over the years. I stopped after the first month of SS and now don't miss it. I'll probably add in some sprints later, and eventually maybe I'll feel like I have some agility again. But for now, trying to get strong.

[Mike O.]

Bodyweight: 199
Squat: 95x8x3
Press: 141.25x5x3 PR
Chinups (to failure): 9,7,7 = 23 reps
Back Extensions: 12,15,15 with purple resistance band (45 degree bench)

Poor sleep after volume day, better sleep last night.

Squats: Left inner thigh cramping painfully. It didn’t bother me yesterday. Full ROM on squats is difficult but I managed to loosen it up enough and did a bunch of slow reps with the empty bar and then with 95 lbs. Consider trying 4x5 on volume day to see if that’s still enough to drive progress.

Press: Did better at squeezing chest up at the bottom this time, resulting in better rebound effect and getting under the bar a little better. Keep focusing on this cue.

Chins: No increase in reps, though almost got 10 on first set. PR for 3 sets to failure is 24 reps.

[Mike O.]

Low back pain has continued to improve this week, especially in the past couple days.

I’ve been trying the tips in the link someone posted about “stretch lying” and sitting. I’ve spent about an hour the last couple evenings lying flat on the floor with knees up and the lower back in traction, following the instructions in the article. This is time I usually spend slouched on the couch, so the fact that I’m doing less of that probably helps as much as the rest my back gets from the gentle traction. Also using traction while sitting at the desk, as described in the article. I think this is helping, especially the lying. Also continuing with rolling, stretching, massage etc.

My cramping left adductor has calmed down and didn’t affect my workout today.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 290x5 (PR)
Bench: 207.5x5x3 (PR)
Barbell Row: 135x8x4

Squats: All reps were more or less grinders, but good depth. Then I did a couple more singles to work on form at this weight.

Form breakdown I notice at 5RM weights: I’m losing the neutral neck position right at the top as I start my descent, although eyes are on floor the entire rep. I have a harder time leaning forward, which also means a harder time shoving my hips back at the bottom. Maybe the slightly more upright position is just the way is with heavier weights. My knees were also sliding forward a touch at the bottom today.

I was hitting the rebound slower, focusing more on a controlled descent. After the DOMS and cramping I experienced from the last volume workout I think working on control made sense, being cautious. Wasn’t feeling the hip drive so well though: hips and knees shot back on rep 3 during the ascent, weight shifted to toes on rep 4. I think I wasn’t shoving my knees out as hard as I usually do.

Consider trying to cut it off just below parallel – I’m currently going well past that.

Bench: Felt heavy but 15 solid reps. Worked on reducing pause between reps while maintaining bar control. Keep working on this. Still pausing for a couple short breaths before the 5th rep though. I do this on the press also. Maybe I should try to power through all 5 reps?

Decent leg drive and pretty good bar control, but still room for improvement on both. Noticed in the past week that I have a tendency to set up slightly angled on the bench. Working to correct this.

First set harder than second and third – need more warmup?

Pulls: Did some rows, Pendlay style. Also practiced my deadlift starting position with some light singles @185lbs.

[Mike O.]

(title should read Squat Volume)

Squat: 275x5x5 PR
Press: 142.5x5,4,3
Pullups: 9,5,3
Back extension: 3x15 with purple resistance band

Nailed the squats, failed the press. Rushed the pull-ups because the gym was closing, but 9 is a PR. Squats took a lot out of me, and fatigue limited my press sets. Ate ~3000 calories the last 2 rest days, maybe should increase that for rest days. Sleep has been decent, lower back continues to improve. 2 rest days in a row seems like a lot now, I was chomping at the bit to get under the bar today.

It’s now obviously a pattern that I miss my press increase on squat volume day. This is not surprising. My press/bench ratio is around 2/3 (68%). Since I’m working them equally, this ratio probably won’t change much, which means missing about one increase out of three for the press if my bench is moving up consistently, which it has been.

I should probably try something different for press when it falls on squat volume day, maybe see if I can hit 5x3 with my scheduled weight increase, and then repeat the same weight at 3x5 on intensity day, and increase again for 3x5 the following week. I’d like to milk the linear progression as much as possible before moving other lifts to TM. The other obvious part of the solution is to eat more…

[Mike O.]

Squat: 185x5x3
Bench: 208.75x5x3 (PR)
RDL: 145x8x3

Took an extra rest day, my right glute/hip is cramping a bit. I’ve developed (or just recently noticed) an asymmetry in my squat which is apparent at heavy weights, but I also noticed it today on my light sets. I’m twisting to the right a bit on the ascent. This is probably the cause of my recent low back/glute/hip tightness, which is on the right side only. I’m guessing it’s due to my reduced ROM in my right shoulder. Need to figure out how to correct this.

Bench went up solidly today. A few reps were a bit too much toward my hips on the ascent, might need to adjust aiming point a bit and/or touch slightly higher on chest.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 295x5 (PR)
Press: 142.5x5x3 (PR)
Chins: bw+15x5x3 (PR)
Back Extension: green band 3x10
Ab Assistance: Ab wheel from knees 2x15, plank 60 seconds

Felt strong and well rested. I’m sure the extra rest day this week helped. Squats were not as hard as expected, considering this was a 5-rep PR. I widened my stance about an inch (though it could still be called shoulder width), which seemed to help with my asymmetry problem.

Texas Method really agrees with me, I feel like I’m settling into sustainable, slow steady progress. The only problem is that now I have 2 more rest days before I can lift again – damn rest days! Now I just need to fix my deadlift, and see if I can recover from weekly sessions instead of every other week.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 270x5x5
Bench: 210x5x3 (PR)
Deadlift: 255x5 (coming back from reset)

Good workout despite being a little light on calories and sleep the last couple days. I adjusted my squat down 5 lbs from last week to keep my 5x5 at 90% of my 5RM. Last few reps on bench were a little tougher than I’d like.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 185x5x2
Press: 143.75x5x3 (PR)
Chinups: bw+15x5x3
Back Extensions: 2x12 with green resistance band (45 degree bench)

Felt pretty well recovered from volume day, with minimal DOMS. Low back still a little tired but not painful. Decided to repeat chinup weight to get a stronger finish on last set – move up next time.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 300x5 (PR)
Bench: 211.25x5x3 (PR)
RDL: 155x8x3
Barbell Row: 135x8x3
Ab Assistance: Ab wheel from knees 3x15

Squats felt like a true 5RM. Form suffered a bit and I didn’t think I was going to finish the last rep. Felt well recovered and well rested, it was just heavy. Maybe dropping my 5x5 weight this week wasn’t the best idea, we’ll see. More likely I just need to eat more – my bodyweight has hovered at 199 for the past 2 weeks.

Right shoulder has been a bit painful this week, I can feel some inflammation in there. It bothered me a little on my bench sets but not enough to keep the bar from going up. Not sure what set it off this week, it has been feeling good for the past month or more. Beginning ibuprofen & icing routine. For now, deadlift with left hand supinated instead of right.

[ColoWayno]

I’ve been trying the tips in the link someone posted about “stretch lying” and sitting. I’ve spent about an hour the last couple evenings lying flat on the floor with knees up and the lower back in traction, following the instructions in the article. This is time I usually spend slouched on the couch, so the fact that I’m doing less of that probably helps as much as the rest my back gets from the gentle traction. Also using traction while sitting at the desk, as described in the article. I think this is helping, especially the lying. Also continuing with rolling, stretching, massage etc.

Really glad that's helping. I look at it a lot like you do, we're already doing just about everything we can with exercise to help our backs. I spend all of these hours sitting, standing, and lying so I might as well make the most of it in terms of recovery.

[Mike O.]

It's helped enough that I ordered the book, it just arrived today. I'm all for making progress while just lying around.

[Mike O.]

Bodyweight: 200 lbs.
Squat: 275x5x5
Press: 145x3x5 (PR)
Deadlift: 265x5

Decent workout, getting stronger.

On my squats I’m now keeping my eyes on the floor about a foot in front of my toes. This is helping to get rid of my sticking point about half way up. I’ve been losing hip drive at that point but today felt much better, as I’m getting better at keeping my head from coming up.

Today I did 5 sets of 3 on Press, since I’ve been failing regularly at 3 sets of 5 when press falls on squat volume day. 5x3 allowed me to get all 15 reps. I’ll repeat this same weight next press workout for 3x5. If this goes well then next press week I’ll try for a 2.5 lb gain.

Shoulder is a bit inflamed with a little dull pain through some ranges of motion (front lateral raise), but presses didn’t bother it. I’ll need to proceed carefully with bench this week.

Low back is feeling good. I’m bringing my deadlift back up slowly and not accepting any back rounding.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 185x5x2
Bench: 212.5x5x3 (PR)
Chinups: bwx3, bw+15x3x2
Back Extensions: 20 reps, no resistance
Hyperextensions: 3x12 with ankle weights (leaning over the arm of my couch).

Right shoulder still sore and somewhat inflamed, continuing ice/ibuprofen routine. Left shoulder joint has been a bit achey also the last couple days, as well as both arms at the elbow, and where the forearm connects to the humerus. Elbow pain could be from rebounding at the bottom of the press? I’ve been hitting the rebound harder lately with elbows forward. Or from the bicycling I’ve been doing more of lately. My squats don’t bother the elbows at all - thumb on top and wrists straight.

Warmed up carefully for bench press and it didn’t bother the shoulder. Bench went up solidly. Chinups felt terrible on the shoulder and elbows though, this impacted performance. I guess I should consider a deload week for my upper body lifts to let these aches heal up. We’ll see how the next pressing session goes.

[Mike O.]

Bodyweight: 202 lbs.
Squat: 305x5 (PR)
Press: 145x5x3 (PR)
RDL: 165x8x3
Barbell Row: 135x8x3

Shoulder still sore but gradually getting un-fucked, didn’t interfere with workout today. Squats felt better than last week, on track for 3 plates x5 in 2 weeks. Presses went up surprisingly well considering sore shoulder.

I’m sure my see-food diet at bbq’s over the weekend helped. Also finally got some proper lifting shoes. I’d been waiting for the Rogue .5” shoes to come in, since I didn’t think I needed more heel than that. I placed an order as soon as they were available, but about a week later was notified that my size was oversold. I ordered the Pendlay Do-Wins instead. They were on backorder so it took a couple weeks, but they finally arrived today. They feel great, and made a noticeable difference in my squats and presses today.

Adjustments:
Squats: Break at hips and knees at the same time, rather than with hips first. With the new shoes this makes more sense.
Presses: On rep 5 I’m bringing the bar forward around my face and not leaning back as much. Almost cost me the last rep on sets 2 and 3. Keep solid form on last rep.
Conditioning: Waist is growing after gaining on average about a pound a week for the last 2 months, but I don’t want to cut back on calories since I’m making steady progress. I’ll experiment with ways to add conditioning. Probably a running workout at the track the day after intensity day, and maybe some intervals on the rower on light squat day.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 280x5x5
Bench: 213.75x5x2 (skipped set 3 due to shoulder pain)
Deadlift: 275x5 (coming back from reset)

Benching today was probably dumb, but it felt ok at first. Shoulder pain flared up during third set so I quit. At least now I know I need to take a break and sort this out. Squats and deadlift went fine.

Here are some videos from today’s workout – comments and form corrections welcome and invited.

Looks like maybe my knees are not getting into position soon enough? I thought I had fixed that.
Squat 280x5x5 Sets 2-4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2ftD69fXpM)

I had to skip set 3 due to shoulder pain. Probably won't be benching for a while.
Bench 213.75x5x3 Sets 1 & 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMbC4b5wBH0)

I wasn’t able to film my deadlift work set this time. Not sure if this is even worth posting, these are just the last 2 warmup sets. Need a better camera position too.
Deadlift warmups (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_0N2lrcJ2A)

[Mike O.]

Squat: 185x5x3
Press: 40x20x3
T-bar rows 3x12

Right shoulder has been painful with limited range of motion since the last benching workout. Seems like an AC joint sprain. Trying to lift through the mild achiness the past workouts has been a mistake. The signs that I needed a reset and probably a change in programming to TM for bench and press were there but I ignored them. Hopefully now I know better.

Ice, rest, NSAIDS.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 310x5 (PR)
Press: 65 x 12, 12, 12, 8, 1 minute rest
RDL: 95x12x4, 1 min. rest
T-Bar rows, hammer curls

Squats are coming along. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to hold the bar for heavy squats but the shoulder felt fine in this position. Other than that I’m doing whatever else I can that doesn’t hurt the shoulder, and keeping it very light with higher reps.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 285x5x5 (PR)
Press: 65x12x4, 1 minute rest
Back Extensions, T-Bar rows

Squats went well, last couple sets were tough though. Still feeling effects of a hard bike ride a couple days ago. High rep presses burn like mad. Postponing deadlift until PR day to give my shoulder more time to recover before trying to hold a heavy bar.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 315x5 (PR)
Press: 75x12,12,12,9 (1 minute rest)
Deadlift: 285x5

It has taken almost 10 months, but I finally got 3 plates x5 today. Form degraded to a bit of GM on the last couple reps but not too bad.

I’ve moved deadlifts to PR day to see if I like it better this way instead of on volume day. So far I like it, I had more energy and low back wasn’t as fatigued. A few more weeks and I’ll be hitting deadlift PR’s again.

Shoulder is improving slowly, regaining ROM as inflammation goes down. Lots of icing and high rep stuff still.

Today’s deadlift work set: Deadlift 285x5 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UphAU_zPmQk)

[Mike O.]

Squat: 290x5x5 (PR)
Press: 85x5x5
Barbell Rows: 135x5x5

5x5 squats are getting tougher. Though I had some very poor sleep for 2 nights out of the last 3. Bodyweight is around 201, about the same as 3 weeks ago.

(I'm not going to bother posting my recovery workouts since the shoulder injury is preventing bench/press/chins from progressing right now.)

[Mike O.]

Squat: 320x3
Press: 75x12x4 (60 – 90 second rest)
RDL: 115x8x3

I’ve had a bad cycle, obviously not recovered. Poor sleep for multiple days, dejected attitude, inadequate eating, tight and achey lower back. Felt weak today in the gym, easily winded. I managed 3 ugly reps at 320, barely finishing the 3rd. I was tempted to go for a couple more singles so I could get 5 total reps, but decided against. Also decided not to deadlift today, but to wait until volume day and probably keep the deadlift there. It seems I didn’t recover fully after moving deadlifting to PR day last cycle.

Shoulder rehab is time consuming each day, but I’m seeing steady improvement in pain-free ROM. The whole situation is very frustrating though and I’m having a hard time staying focused on progressing my other lifts.

On the positive side, 320 is more than I’ve ever had on the bar, and I did manage 3 reps. So it’s still a PR of sorts, even though I was going for 5. I’m going to eat more food and repeat this cycle.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 290x5x3
Press: 125x5x3 (75x5, 85x5, 95x5, 105x5, 115x5, 125x5x3)
Deadlift: 295x5

Postponed this workout 2 days for a weekend hiking trip (well worth it). Repeated last week’s weight and dropped volume to 3 sets, since I didn’t exactly come back from the weekend well rested. I may keep the volume at 3x5 for now, since my weekends are a lot more active now that the sun has actually been visible.

Ramped up the presses to test the shoulder. It felt pretty good, so I think I’m back in business for presses at least. We’ll see how it feels tomorrow. Deadlifts are still feeling pretty easy at 295.

Overall I need to clarify my goals or I will be spinning my wheels soon. My skinny-guy mentality is kicking in - I’m becoming reluctant to continue gaining weight as I haven’t been able to do it without my waist growing.

[Mike O.]

7-22-10 Squat Intensity and Cleans
Squat: 315x5
Power Cleans: 135x3x5

Squats were a repeat of my last PR from 2 weeks ago. Felt a little more solid this time, though still pretty much like a 5-rep max. I’m adding cleans back into my program, they didn’t bother my shoulder at all. Followed lifting with Thursday night bike ride.

My conditioning sucks and I want to put more work into it. I’m going to experiment with a 4-day split for a while and see how I like it:

Monday / Thursday: Squat, Deadlift/Power Clean, running intervals and/or cycling
Tuesday / Friday: Press, Chins, Pushups or Dips (whatever my shoulder can handle)

7-23-10 Press, Chin
Press: 130x5x3
Chinups: lots of assisted reps, testing the shoulder

7-26-10 Squat, Deadlift
Squat: 295x5x3 (PR)
Deadlift: 305x5
Conditioning: 8x100 meters “sprints” (my top speed is more like a fast jog)
Bodyweight: 200

Felt weak and easily winded in the gym today. Not much of a surprise, with a 10-15% calorie deficit the last 2 days. Sleep is ok lately. Squats were tough, felt close to failure on the last set. Deadlift should probably proceed with 5 lb increments from here. I should also take a video next time to keep an eye on form as the weight increases.

[Mike O.]

Press: 135x5x3
Chinups: 5x5
Assisted dips, very light high rep cable and dumbbell stuff for shoulder

Presses are coming back fairly readily. If I can make 2.5 lb increments then I’ll be back where I was in 2 weeks. I was able to do chinups without pain for the first time. I don’t plan on benching for the foreseeable future so I need something to help my presses along. I’m starting to work on dips carefully with a lot of assistance to see if it aggravates my shoulder.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 300x5x3 (PR)
Power Clean: 135x3x5
Conditioning: short hill sprints x8

Felt good in the gym today, thanks to being better rested and better fed this week. Power cleans are feeling pretty good and I’m excited to have them back in my program. I'm taking it easy on weight for now to make sure I’m not overstressing my shoulder, but it seems to be doing well. No ill effects from the light dips I added last workout – they seem to have helped if anything, since the shoulder is feeling markedly better this week.

I’ll move my “volume” day to Thursday eventually if I stay on this split schedule, so I have an extra day to recover from it. But I suspect I have some linear progression left in my squats if I eat enough. If I feel well recovered by Monday I’ll try another week of 3x5 and see how it goes.

I was reviewing my training log and noticed that I have not made a PR on my deadlift since January (low back issues, resets etc). That’s lame. I plan on correcting this next deadlift session.

[Mike O.]

Press: 140x4,3,3,3,3 (Forgot 1.25 lb plates. Did triples since 5’s weren’t happening)
Chinups: 8,7,6 (to failure)
Assisted dips, high rep shoulder rehab stuff. Good, short workout.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 305x5x3 (PR)
Deadlift: 310x5 (PR)
Conditioning: short hill sprints x10

Squats were tough but I felt pretty strong today. Ate and slept well since last workout. Continue this.

Today’s deadlifts, a 5-rep PR at 310 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk3H60EO0Ws), a long time coming.

Setup on last rep looks a little rushed. Looks like I’m letting the bar twist a little, especially on the last rep. Need to use lats to control it better. Other than that these look pretty good to my eye. Comments on form welcome (as always) if I’m missing anything. I want to keep these as tight as possible as I progress.

[Mike O.]

8-3-10 Tuesday: Press, Chin-up
Press: 140x5x3
Chinups: bw 6,6,6,5,3 (was going for bwx5x6)
Assisted dips, back extensions 15x2, shoulder rehab stuff

Since I’m doing press and chins twice I week I find I want a little variety. With chins I’m trying sets across one workout and 3 sets to failure the next. I’m giving the shoulder more time to recover before loading the chinups. Presses are currently 5 sets of 3 one workout and 3 sets of 5 the next.

8-5-10 Thursday: Squat, Power Clean
Squat: 310x4 (Fail. Was planning 310x5x3), 225x5x2
Power Clean: 140x3x6

Not recovered. I’ve been eating well, but very poor sleep the last couple nights, just 3-4 hours each night. Had to dump the bar on the 5th rep of the first set of squats. Then did a couple back off sets at 225 and tried to shrug it off as a bad day.

Cleans were ok but technique needs work. Jump needs to be more explosive, hips extended a little more, foot stomp more pronounced and hips back more in the catch position.

I think my little experiment returning to linear progression on squats may be over. I’ll see how I feel on Monday. Left shin hurts from sprints, started with those too aggressively, so I’m laying off for now. I hope to get some sleep tonight so I can end the week on a good note with some successful presses tomorrow.

8-7-10 Saturday: Press, Chin-up
Press: 145x3x5
Chinups: 9,7,6 (to failure)
Dips: 3x12 (assistance: #8, gradually reducing)

Took an extra day’s rest to recover from sleep debt. Right shoulder was a little more painful today than it has been, probably because I did nothing at all for it yesterday. I need to move it a lot through full ROM, stretch, and ice every day, plus high rep rehab stuff 3 times a week. When I do this it improves. I also widened my press grip an inch or so today. I can’t keep my elbows in very well after getting under the bar, and the narrow grip puts me in a weak position for lockout.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 325x1 (PR), 335x0
Power Clean / Front Squat: 135x3x5

Felt like trying for a 1RM today on squats. Worked up to a single at 325, then tried 335 but wasn’t even close. 325 is the most I’ve ever had on the bar so I’m pretty happy with that in general. But I hit 315x5 four weeks ago, and 320x3 three weeks ago, so I don’t think I’ve made much progress in the past month.

This week I’m going back to TM style volume/intensity, but keeping the 4-day split, and trying to keep the bodyweight moving up.

[bamzi]

I just noticed in your deadlift video that you are setting up with your shoulders directly over the bar. It's only when the bar clears your knees that it swings back under your scapulas. Maybe your feet aren't midway under the bar?

I find it helpful for troubleshooting my own deadlift form to position the camera higher up so I can clearly see the bar/foot relationship.

I'm just pointing this out because it is something I have agonised over with my own form...

[Mike O.]

Thanks for your comments bamzi. I'd been wondering if my hips were a little too low, which I think would cause the problem you're pointing out. I sent it to Rip to see what he thinks.

[Mike O.]

Press: 142.5x5,4,3 (failed 3x5)
Chinups: 8,8,8 (sets across)
Dips 8,10,12 (assisted, #6)

Both shoulders a bit achey today, especially the right. Feeling the effects of yesterdays front squats (never done them before), had more trouble than normal controlling the presses while overhead. Also didn’t sleep so well last night. Pressing twice a week I’ll probably be better served using volume/intensity TM style programming, rather than trying to go heavy twice.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 295x5x3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ThuB8HNWek)
Deadlift: 315x5 (PR) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RprDAOriLj8)

I’ve widened my squat stance a bit since the last time I took a video. The slightly wider stance feels much better. I felt fatigued today because my recovery is not optimal lately, mainly due to other activities, so I did 3 sets of squats instead of the planned 4. Next week I’ll hit this same weight for 4x5.

I’m still struggling to find the groove on my deadlift. I stood a little closer to the bar today, resulting in hips a little higher, to see if this is an improvement over last week. But the video shows the bar moving away a bit as it comes off the ground, and the reps get sloppier toward the end of the set as fatigue sets in. Second rep looks the best I guess, the bar path is straight anyway. But I think I’m not keeping the bar close enough throughout the pull.

[Mike O.]

Press: 155x1 (PR), 145x3
Chinups: 9, 7, 6 (to failure)
Dips: 3x8 (assisted, #4)
Hyperextensions 12,12,20, shoulder rehab stuff

Press form is feeling a little shakey lately, though today was a 1RM attempt. I seem to be leaning from the mid-back instead of from the hips. Need to re-focus on locking the knees and glutes. No improvement on chinup numbers today, but I weighed in this morning at 5 lbs heavier than last time I did 3 x failure. My shoulder feels good enough to start weighting my chinups and doing my dips unassisted next time.

[Mike O.]

Squat: 225x5x3
Power Clean: 145x3x5, 135x1x6
Back Extensions 4x15, Reverse hypers 4x15

My recovery has been poor lately and program a bit unfocused, so I’m doing a deload this week and will start with 5x5 next week, still with a 4-day split. Cleans today kinda sucked. I’m jumping too soon and bending elbows when I shouldn’t. Once in a while I hit one that feels good and it's always because I've waited longer before the second pull. Maybe I need to practice from the top some more, with some clean pulls and hang cleans.

[Mike O.]

Press: 150x2 (PR, just missed 3rd rep)
Chinups: 9,7,7
Dips: bwx8x3
Shoulder stuff (lying side laterals 5#, external rotation 3# dumbbell), plank 60sec

[Mike O.]

Squat: 275x5 (deload)
Deadlift: 315x1, 335x1 (PR), 350x1 (PR)

I’ve never had more than 315 on the bar for deadlifts so I’m pretty happy with 350. Felt like I had more in the tank, so I’m not as far from 400 as I thought.

[Mike O.]

Here’s my program for the next 6-8 weeks or so. With deadlifts and squats I’m craving some variety from heavy 5’s. I’ll see how my deadlift progresses with 3’s for a while. Starting weights for squats will be about 75% 1RM for 5x5 and 90% 1RM for 1x5.

In addition I’ll continue with fasted walking first thing in the morning as many days per week as I can. I’ve been doing this for months already, though sporadically. I’ll also be experimenting with 10 or so minutes of intense conditioning after Friday’s workout, probably barbell complexes or intervals on the rower.

Monday
Press: 5x5
Weighted Chins: 3x3
Dips: 4 x failure
shoulder rehab stuff

Tuesday
Squat: 5x5
Power Clean: 5x3
Back Extensions: 3x20
Reverse Hypers: 3x20

Thursday
Press: 5x1 / 2RM / 3RM
Chinups: 3 x failure
Dips: 4 x failure
shoulder rehab stuff

Friday
Squat: 5x1
Deadlift: 1x3
RDL: 3x10
Reverse Hypers: 3x20

[Mike O.]

Monday
Press: 115x5x5 (very easy)
Chinups: bw+15x3x3 (increase next time 2.5 lbs)
Dips: 8,10,10
lying side laterals 5x15x2; face pulls 3x15

Tuesday
Squat: 245x5x5 (very easy)
Power Clean: 150x3x5 (form sucked, repeat at this weight)
Reverse Hyperextensions: 2x20 (ran out of time for back extensions)

Thursday
Press: bar x 10, 75x5, 95x3, 115x2, 135x2, 150x3 (PR)
Press Starts: 165x4, 175x3 (Tweaked my neck/left trap a little on these. Icing it.)
Chinups: 9,8,6
Dips: 10,8,8,5
Face pulls 3x15

Presses felt strong today. I started 5x5 this week pretty light, so I’m not sure if the progress was due to the 5x5 or further recovery from the deload. I’ll bump the 5x5 up 5 lbs next week and see what happens, then probably 2.5 lbs at a time after that.

Until this past week I’ve been pressing with a belt, but this week I eliminated it. Surprisingly it doesn’t seem to matter much.

I thought I had 10 chinups today but it continues to elude me. I paused at the bottom to breathe after 9 and it was all over.

Friday
Squat: bar x 10, 135x5, 185x3, 225x2, 255x1, 275x1, 295x1x5
Deadlift: 135x5, 195x3, 275x2, 325x3 (PR)
RDL: 135x8x3
Reverse Hyperextensions: 3x20

Some lingering soreness from Tuesday’s squats made for a slow warmup, but after that the 5 singles didn’t feel too heavy. Deadlifts went up well. I should be able to make another 10 lb jump next week. Neck feels fine after tweaking it and icing it yesterday.

[Mike O.]

Press: barx5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 115x2, 120x5x5 (easy, 2-3 min rest)
Chinups: 17.5x3x3
Dips: 4x10
Face pulls 3x15, lying side laterals 2x20

[Mike O.]

Squat: 255x5x5
Power Clean: 135x1x5, 145x1x2, 155x1x10
Back Extensions: 3x20
Reverse Hyperextensions: 2x20

I’ve been experiencing some minor tightness/cramping in low back/right hip area the past few days. This is usually the first symptom that I’m overdoing something. I suspect it’s due to several nights in a row of far too little sleep. I could also be overworking the low back with all the extensions, hypers and RDL lately. I’ll keep an eye on it.

Cleans felt a little better today but I’m still bending my elbows. But at least I’m no longer starting the second pull too soon. The squat weight is still pretty light, so I’ll be interested to see if any progress is evident in Friday’s lifts.

[Mike O.]

Press: barx5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 115x2, 135x1, 155x1, 155x0, 150x1, 1, 1
Chinups: 5x6
Dips: 10,11,10,9
Face pulls 3x15

155 was too much for 5 singles across. 150 would have been the right number. Still figuring out how to program this. Too lazy today to do chins to failure, did sets across for volume instead. Right shoulder has not been improving lately. It feels strong on presses and ok on chinups, but there is still some pain in certain positions. Should consider dropping dips for now.

[Mike O.]

9-3-10 Friday

Squat: barx5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x2, 265x1, 305x1x5 (singles)
Deadlift: 135x5, 195x3, 275x2, 335x3 (PR)
RDL: 135x10x3
Reverse Hyperextensions: 2x20

Squats felt good. I’m leaning forward and sitting back a little more at the bottom lately and so far this feels pretty good. I could be doing 1x5 at this weight, and wonder if I’d be better off doing that. But I’m working with the idea of “less is more” for now, so I’ll try to stick with singles for a while and see how it goes.

Deadlifts went up well, easily even. Need to keep working on keeping the bar close past the knee. I ditched the belt for deads today and it didn’t seem to hurt my lifting at all, and I felt like I had a better starting position.

[Mike O.]

9-6-10 Monday: Volume Press, Weighted Chinups
Press: barx5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 115x2, 125x5x5 (3 min rest, still pretty easy)
Chinups: 20x3x3
Pushups 3x15, face pulls 3x15

Dips are stressing my right shoulder uncomfortably but pushups don’t seem to, so I’ll work those for a while.

[Mike O.]

9-7-10 Tuesday: Volume Squat, Power Cleans
Squat: 265x5x4
Power Clean: 155 fail
Back extensions 2x20, reverse hypers 2x20

Poor sleep, feeling tired. Squats went ok, since they’re not heavy yet, but I had no gas for power cleans. Got a few good reps with my working weight, but couldn’t manage more than a single at a time, then I’d forget how to do them. Reduced the weight and still sucked. Just didn’t have it today. Even on a good day though I’m noticing that power cleans don’t work so well after volume squats.