Randy's Quest for 5/4/3/2

[Randy Scheingold]

12/28 – Week 82 – Day 1 (week 17 with Karl)

Squat 260x5x2 (see below)
Press 140x5x3 (see below)
Halting DL - 260x8
Chins - 8,8,8 (24 today, 46 remaining for week)

Notes:
1.Squats - difficult to get depth during warm ups...was still tight/sore from Monday's squats
2.Set 1 - 3 good reps, 1 parallel, 1 one inch high
3.Set 2 - worried about depth again (video below)
4.Both sets felt hard, but I think it was due to these being active recovery...i was clearly not recovered yet
6.Press - felt much much easier than 2 days ago. Maybe it was that the last press was after heavy squats and bench ID
7.- On one set, I felt the bar get out in front and the rep was much harder. Focused on keeping bar closer to my face and last rep was easier
9.chins - probably cut the last 2 reps short by a few inches
10.Haltings - No problem, but had to switch to mixed grip near the end

Set 2


Set 2 - I'm a bit worried about that with my long forearms, I'm barely getting below my chin on some reps. This got worse as I started to really tighten up and squeeze everything....

[Randy Scheingold]

I'm lax in getting my updates into my log here. Posting on SSOC takes priority, but I do want to keep this going for posterity sake. here goes...last few workouts in summary form:

12/31 – Week 82 – Day 2 (week 17 with Karl)

Squat 285x5x3 (depth barely legit on a few reps, but Karl passed them)
Press 140x5x5
CGBP 185x6x3
Chins - 8,8,6 (22 today, 46 done, 24 remaining for week)


1/2 – Week 82 – Day 3 (week 17 with Karl)

Squat 260x5x2 (good marks from Karl...just need to break knees & hips together)
DL - 325x5 (5lb shy of my 5 Rep max and these looked/felt easy!)
Chins - 2 (starting to get bad elbow pain, taking a break from chins for a bit)

1/6 – Week 83 – Day 1 (week 18 with Karl)

Press 155x5 (2.5lb shy of 5 Rep max. first 4 reps fine, last rep real grinder but I got it)see below)
Squat 290x5x3 (depth close again, but Karl passed it)
Bench - 175x5x3
no chins

1/8 – Week 83 – Day 2 (week 18 with Karl)

Squat 260x5x2 (close depth)
Press 145x5x3 (no problem)
Halting DL 265x8 (Karl thought these looked really good)
Chins - None, still taking a chins break
Note: Started to get sick...was really really sore before & after this. Turned out I had the flu. Cancelled a business trip and took an extra day off of the gym after this. I think that is why squats were not as deep...I was very sore/tight.

[Randy Scheingold]

1/11 – Week 83 – Day 3 (week 18 with Karl)

Squat 295x5x3
Bench 200x5x5
CGBP 185x5x3
Pull Ups - 3x5 - 15 total

BOOYAH! Sick, but still delivered! I took an extra day off as I started to feel crappy again last night. Slept in this AM and worked from home. But the flu has subsided and now its just a head cold. I felt MUCH better after my workout too. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Notes:
1. Squats - Reminder: It was about 2 months ago that I had my big fail at 295x5 (on the 2nd rep). Took weeks to get my confidence back.
2. Set 1 (video below) - 4 good reps, last rep high
3. Sets 2/3 - A few higher reps, but none as high as the bad one in set 1. I'd say they were borderline to depth, but probably legit. Definitely at least parallel.
4. 8 min rest between sets
5. Bench - No major problems. I went lower on my chest than you would like, but it helps my shoulder feel better
6. CGBP - Ditto
7. 5 min rest between all bench/cgbp sets
8. Pull ups - These were much harder than chin ups. I did 3 sets of 5 sporadically throughout my workout.

Also, I'm really learning how to put myself in the ZONE mentally before a heavy attempt. Brings back memories of high school football...where everything else goes dark and you only have one goal for the next 30 to 45 seconds. I love that feeling...feels more alive in those moments than I have for years..

Next Workout (Friday)
Light Squat 265x5x2
Supplemental Press - 147.5x5x3
DL - 330x5 (5 Rep PR Tie attempt)
Pull Ups - 3x5 again

Videos
Squat Set 1 - All good but last rep...not sure what happened there...but I knew it was high as soon as I started going up.


Bench - Side View


CGBP

[chromoly]

I'm lax in getting my updates into my log here. Posting on SSOC takes priority, but I do want to keep this going for posterity sake.

See, some of us here are not on SSOC and are curious about your progress

I hope you are going to recover from the flu soon!

[Randy Scheingold]

See, some of us here are not on SSOC and are curious about your progress

I hope you are going to recover from the flu soon!

I was wondering if anyone ever read this log! Thanks for the well wishes!

[Fino]

Some of us are in the SSOC and curious about your progress!

[Randy Scheingold]

1/13 – Week 84 – Day 1 (week 19 with Karl)

Squat - 265x5x2
DL 330x5 (5 Rep PR Tie!)
Pull Ups\Chin Ups - NADA

Notes:
1.Squats - Was sore coming in today, still a little sick. just a cold.
2.Squats looked\felt good lower body wide.
3.But elbows were on ABSOLUTE FIRE right from the start. I'm talking 10 min rest to deal with the pain....I think I have the bar too low & experimenting to fix it
4.DL - Was worried about my commitment given elbow pain, but things settled down by then (i took a long rest & some Tylenol)
5.No problem on DL actually. Last rep felt hard. And was fatigued by rep 3. But no real problems.

Side view...as I was sharing the stool that held my ipad with someone else

[Randy Scheingold]

1/15 – Week 84 – Day 2 (week 19 with Karl)

Bench 220x5
Press 147.5x5x3
Squat 300x5x2, 275x5

Notes:
1.Bench - Did this first. No real problems. Will probably start to get a lift off at my 225x5 set next time.
2.I think we are good for another 5lb jump on VD & ID
3.Press - These weren't easy. some decent layback too. Probably a little bit harder due to coming off of the 220x5 bench.
4.6 min rest between sets
5.This weight should work for next VD, just need to rest up between sets.
6.Squats - I put the bar higher on my back, that seemed to help a little bit. Arms still a little sore, but nothing like last time.
7.Couldn't quite get depth (maybe it was mental...) consistently
8.Form was way off...lifted head, knee slide, high.
9.As soon as I unracked the bar each set I felt a very tight pulling of my upper left back (lat). No pain, but definitely still fatigued from DL.

Bench


Press - Set 3 (most fatigued)


Squat Set 2 (set 1 was similar)


Reviewed with Karl. He is going to keep moving Press & Bench, but have me repeat 300x5x3 again after a light day.

[Randy Scheingold]

1/17 – Week 84 – Day 3 (week 19 with Karl)

Squat 270x5x2
Press 150x5x3
Halting DL - 270x8
Pull Ups - 3

In Dallas for work, worked out at Metroflex Plano

Notes:
Squats - Felt pretty hard, More so in my back then in my legs.
Set 1 - perfect depth (i think)
Set 2 - can't tell, need depth check (not high...but maybe parallel)
Tried to narrow grip a bit and keep a bit higher. Shoulders were aching after each set, but no elbow pain. I may have to pick between shoulder & elbows Neither feel perfect right now (2 hours later), but neither make me want to cry either.

Press - No microplates....the dude at the gym looked at me like I was a pussy for asking ....so I said fuck and did 150x5x3
Presses went surprisingly well. Layback not too bad on sets 1 & 2. Worse on set 3.
Focusing on keeping the bar close, staying tight, big breath, and getting back under it really helped. No major grinders.

Halting DL - These felt great. Was able to keep DOH for the entire set too.
Focused on slowing down between reps and resetting.
Felt a real stretch\fatigue in my back after these. Not painful really...more like I knew I was working my back.

Pull Ups - The bar at the top of the rack was way thicker than normal for me (not a "fat" bar though). I did 3 pull ups which felt very hard. Was worried I'd blow my was for everything else so called it at that. I think I could have grounded out a few more doubles and singles. But I was not going to get any sets of 5. We seem to be regressing here....lack of volume I'm sure

Videos
Set 1

[chromoly]

Press - No microplates....the dude at the gym looked at me like I was a pussy for asking ....so I said fuck and did 150x5x3

Yeah, don't you know only GIRLS microload their presses???

Just kidding. Good work. Training in a different gym is always a little stressful to me. I don't know where things are, I don't know the dumb policies that are ok to break or bend, I don't know if I'll find a competent spotter... Good for you on making it work.