zen and the art of strength training

[kopp]

1st lift since vacation, only second lift in about 2 1/2 weeks

Deadlift DOH 3x5x225
Bench 3x5x155
Squat 3x5x155

People were using the squat racks at the beginning so I did the DL first. This was about the weight I expected to start back at, going to work up slowly. All the lifts felt strong, though my legs were uber-cramping at the end of the squats. Bar speed on all lifts was good and form was spot on. I enjoyed deadlifting first and may keep the 3x5 deadlift at the start of the workout for the next week or two before switching back to squats first and lowering the DL volume, aka normal SS program. Bodyweight is at 185, which is really surprising since i don't look very big and didn't eat a lot on vacation. Generally speaking a good first day back.

[kopp]

3 pm lift

Deadlift DOH 3x5x245--- last two reps of last set mixed grip
Press 3x5x105---because I haven't done this in so long I started a little lower
Squat 3x5x175---good, no cramping, quality bar speed, going to make a 10 pound jump wednesday and then slow it down to 5 pound jumps. I want to slow progress down sooner than I did my first time around so I can maintain good form when the weight gets heavier
Pullups--3x6

The stupid college won't let me lift there because I graduated over a year ago. I got a membership to the Gold's Gym near my house for the summer. It seemed fine, had some squat racks and pullup stations. My only gripe was that everyone seemed to leave weight on the bar, so the place was sort of a mess. It also had no dip station which was a bummer.

Rest of the week I am going to continue with this format of DL first for 3x5. Hoping to get up to 275 friday. Then next week switch and do the Squats at the beginning and only a single set of 5 at the end of each workout. I see myself being able to make 10+ pound DL jumps per workout for a while (up to 315 hopefully) until the weight starts getting real heavy.

[kopp]

Noon at Gold's

Deadlift 3x5x260---- about half and half mixed and DOH
Bench 1x5x160 3x5x165---misloaded the bar on the first set, ended up not mattering
Squat 3x5x185- good all around, may have been too low, back stayed tight and chest stayed up for all but a few of the reps.
Pullups 8 5 5---the eight was the best since restarting lifting in April. I think i could do 12-15 if I was fresh.

Quality workout. I wasn't too sore from monday, I am confident I will be able to finish out the week and then end my adventures in high volume Deadlifting. I have been eating enough I think, about 1/2 GOMAD and three large meals. Sleep has been 8+ hours a night. i should weigh myself friday.

[kopp]

noon at Gold's

Deadlift 3x5x275---All but first two were mixed grip. The cumulative stress of the past week has pretty thoroughly disrupted homeostasis.
Press 3x5x110--these were solid.

Unfortunately on my last rep I tweeked something in my neck which promptly ended the workout. it is feeling a little better with some stretching and I will take some ibuprofen. Depending on how it feels monday may be a light day, or I may just continue on as normal. I have been thinking and I am going to keep the deadlifts at the front of the workout. No particularly enlightened reason beyond I like doing them fresh and the squats at the end haven't been overly taxing...yet. Next week I am dropping Deadlifting volume down to 1x5 at the start of each workout.

Short term Goals by June 24:
Deadlift 1x5x315
Squat 3x5x215
Press 3x5x120
Bench 3x5x180

These are all assuming normal 5-10 pound progression with one bad day (possibly monday if I go light due to neck pain). I think this would be a good benchmark for progress toward my end of the summer goals outlined in the first post. I don't think I will be able to continue deadlifting every workout past this point, so I will reevaluate what to do with them and how to proceed once I get up above 315.

Current Bodyweight: 187

[kopp]

Deadlift 1x5x285---felt decently heavy. Still having minor neck pain. First two were DOH, last three were mixed grip
Bench 3x5x170---good, no issues here
Squat 3x5x195---right side was dipping a little lower than left. Good depth, felt very strong throughout
Chinups 3x3x25 2x5xBW---glad i did a few weighted pulls. These were all from a completely extended total deadhang. The weight was on a dip belt around the waist.

Today was a solid day. Should definitely reach or surpass the above stated goals of June 24.

BW 189 post workout
workout duration 55 minutes

[kopp]

Deadlift 1x5x295
Press 3x5x115
Squat 3x5x200
Weighted Pullups 5x2x25

Today's workout was brutal on my back. The deadlifting frequency needs to go down. I am going to take friday as a light day on the Deadlifts and squats. i should still reach my June 24 goals no problem. The squat form felt really good. Depth was solid, I kept my chest up and felt strong throughout the full range of motion. I was happily surprised by how strong the presses felt, I should get 3x5x120 on monday.


Lifting schedule after 6/24:
A Squat 3x5, Bench 3x5, Pullups
B Deadlift 1x5, press 3x5, Front Squat 3x5

Rationale:
1) I want to Deadlift and Squat on different days
2) I want to learn how to and develop my Front Squat in proportion to my back squat
3) I would like to occasionally incorporate speed deads, which will be good on weeks where I DL twice
4) I am not moving to the AMRAP scheme yet because I think I still have 25-30 pounds that I can put on all the lifts (maybe not presses) using a simple 3x5 scheme before first reset
5) I want to DL/Front squat/Back Squat in even amounts so that I don't create any muscle imbalances
6) I think i can keep this basic setup until the end of the summer, and then once reset move to AMRAP on last set until end of the year
7) The issue of recovery, which is the point of a reset, being at odds with AMRAP is pretty easily circumvented by a deload week

[kopp]

squat 3x5x205
Bench 2x5 1x7x175
Weighted pullups 25x 4 4 2 2 2---all of these were total deadhang completely extended

Woke up feeling great and decided to keep up progress with the squats instead of taking them light. On the first set I went way too deep, all the way to the ankles on all 5. I felt strong but wasn't able to keep my lower back tight through the full range of motion. I corrected this on the last two sets, going down slower and under control to a few inches below parallel and keeping the low back tight. Nonetheless, there is some low back discomfort beyond what is there normally. Not a big deal, especially since I have until monday to recover. The bench felt strong, and I decided since I have 72 hours of recovery to bust out a few more reps on the last set. Very happy with bench progress. Food and sleep has been spot on since wednesday. I am hoping for a big weekend of eating and sleeping and having next week be another solid week under the bar.

BW 190---goal weight for the summer is 205 before I modify my diet (no more milk). I am somehow not getting particularly fat, though I no longer have the slim 6 pack I had in April after 5 months in India. I may also need to buy all new jeans, I can barely sit in most of them. My girlfriend likes how big my ass is getting.

[Bronan the Barbarian]

Keep on rockin in the free world. All moved in in Atlanta. Gearing up for AT in a month. Woohoo!

[kopp]

Deadlift 1x5x305
Press 3x5x120 (goal for 6/24 met)
Squat 3x5x210
Pullups BWx10

Really good lift today. My back was irritated all weekend, probably as a result of all the time I spent on my feet at work. Drank 1 1/2 gallons of milk and ate the required amount since friday, and sleep was solid 7+ hours each night, with about 10 friday night. I did a warmup on the Rower and then some light stretching. Wasn't sure how the deadlifts were going to go because of tightness in the lower back but my Lower back felt more stable than normal, really solid all the way through the warmups. The presses were the best they have been since I started lifting again, I felt like I could have thrown the weight through the roof, even on the last set. Squats were tough, mostly because I was pretty tired by the time I got to them. The pullups were particularly significant because they were all from a full extension deadhang with a half second hang at the bottom. If I recall correctly the 8 I did on 6/8 were not fully extended at the bottom. Really happy with progress on these, especially considering how tired I was from the three barbell movements.

[kopp]

Deadlift 1x5x315 (Goal)
Bench 3x5x180 (Goal)
Squat 3x5x215 (Goal)
Weighted Pullups 15x1x35---on the minute

Today was almost a cardio session I was so worn out by the end. Took a solid 6-7 minutes of rest between my 2nd and 3rd sets on bench and squats, and about 15 minutes to warmup on the squats. Very happy that I got all my 6/24 goals today. Drank 96oz milk on monday, but hardly any yesterday. Got a great night of sleep last night. The pullups were not particularly hard on my biceps or forearms but felt brutal on my back, was exhausted by the end. I work 9 hour shifts at the restaurant tonight and tomorrow, my body is hurting just thinking about it.

Bought two pairs of jeans last night, my waist size has gone from a 32 to a 36. I am really enjoying carrying around the extra weight.
workout time 80 minutes