Recreational Lifting with Misanthrope

[Dave(DBD)]

Everyone's form is garbage the first few times you try. You shouldn't let that keep you from doing them.

Agreed. When in doubt, get a copy of starting strength. It does an awesome job going through the details.

btw, nice squat progress Matt

[Misanthrope]

Recovery Session

Front Squat
3x3
145 lbs

Notes: Very good. Was able to hit a good depth. I'm 10 lbs away from my tested 3RM, so hopefully we'll see some PRs pretty soon.

Press
5x5
105 lbs

Notes: Got it this time. You might recall that I couldn't lock out the final rep last week. I got it without much of a fight this time. Increase 2.5 for next week.

Chin-ups (neutral grip)
3 sets: 8-6-6 reps
BW+15 lbs

Notes: Felt stronger than last time. I'm going to try to keep the volume as even as possible for a while, so look for increases across sets rather than an all-out effort on the first set.

Dips
3x9
Bodyweight

Notes: These were done in alternating sets with chins since I use the same station for both. I decided to move dips to this session. Hopefully it will not affect my decline PR attempt on Saturday.

Accessory
45 degree extensions
EZ-bar curls

Notes: Got the guns nice and pumped. I've decided to stop worrying about reps on curls and just go by feel. I get too caught up in whether or not I've added a rep from last time, and I ignore how my biceps actually feel.

Comments
Really good workout. Everything felt good and it gave me a good "cool-off" from Tuesday's volume session. Looking forward to cranking out some PRs on Saturday.

[r_graz]

You've made incredible progress on dips, Matt. Esp. considering there was a time when you were convinced you simply couldn't do them at all.

[Misanthrope]

Intensity Session

Squat
1x5
255 lbs (PR)

Notes: None.

Decline Bench Press
3x3
185.5 - 202.5 (PR) - 190.5

Notes: None.

Deadlift
1x2 (Actual attempt: 1x3 - fail)
330 lbs

Notes: I was way too distracted to be doing this today. I don't think strength was the problem. My mind was light years from the gym. More comments below.

Comments
I was dealing with some personal stuff and it really distracted me this morning. Without going into too much detail, my girlfriend has had a life-long medical situation that has come and gone throughout her life thus far. Yesterday, it reared its ugly head, and she's been having a really rough weekend. I wasn't even going to go to the gym today, but she insisted. Needless to say, my thoughts weren't on the task at hand; they were with her. By the time I got to my triple attempt for deadlift, I couldn't concentrate. I felt weak and my form was slop. I'm not too concerned about it at the moment.

I can be excited about the other PRs later. Right now my mind is in another place.

[Misanthrope]

Volume Session

Squat
5x5
240 lbs

Notes: Better than anticipated following a layoff. Basically picked up where I left off. I may or may not have done six sets instead of five, lol. I might have lost track after my third set. Either way, the last set was a bitch. Increase 2.5 lbs next week.

Decline Bench Press
3x8
155 lbs

Notes: Meh. These were okay. I had planned on doing flat DB bench, but all of the benches were in use and I didn't want to wait.

Power Clean
6x3
110 lbs

Notes: Started off rough, but got better with each set. Does anyone else experience this with power cleans? I probably need to do a more thorough warm-up now that the weight is increasing.

Comments
All things considered, it was a decent session having come back from a week away from the gym. With all the stress and lack of eating/sleeping from earlier in the week, I wasn't expecting much today. However, I was able to get some good meals in and some good nights of sleep the last couple of days, so I felt better. This workout lasted fairly long because I gave myself plenty of rest between sets. That's part of the reason I thought it would be good to have this session on Saturday. I can take my time.

Did you guys read Rippetoe's comments about decline bench in the new edition of SS? To say he isn't a fan is an understatement, lol. He certainly has his opinions.

[r_graz]

Started off rough, but got better with each set. Does anyone else experience this with power cleans?

Yes, absolutely. After warmups (triples and doubles of increasing weight), I find that each working set goes a little better than the previous one.

The way I see it, there's an awful lot going on in a clean, and you can't really think about more than a couple of them as you do each one. So by the time you get to the end, you've more or less dialed in everything, so even if you're a bit fatigued at that point, the reps are better.

I'm guessing that this becomes less and less the case as you get more experience with the exercise.

Of course my theory might be total sh!t , but at any rate I do experience what you describe.

[Dave(DBD)]

Did you guys read Rippetoe's comments about decline bench in the new edition of SS? To say he isn't a fan is an understatement, lol. He certainly has his opinions.

I haven't got my copy yet but I'm pretty sure I knew that anyways. I'll be interested to see exactly why. Rippetoe's certainly knows his subject well however it really is up to you how you apply his input. His methods may be a very effecient way of developing strength but if you're just a recreational lifter then you're primary goal is probably personal satisfaction followed by strength.

The way I see it, there's an awful lot going on in a clean, and you can't really think about more than a couple of them as you do each one. So by the time you get to the end, you've more or less dialed in everything, so even if you're a bit fatigued at that point, the reps are better.
.

I agree. Within a set I seem to correct from the last rep more and more each time. Unless its a harsh PR attempt, that doesnt always seem to happen

[Misanthrope]

Recovery Session

Front Squat
3x3
150 lbs

Notes: These were good. I think I still have a good run of progression left before I stall. My previous tested 3RM was 155 (though I could have done more), so if I hit all my sets next week it will be a volume PR.

Press
3x5
107.5 lbs

Notes: I had hoped for at least one more week of 5x5, but after barely locking out the last rep on my third set, I decided to keep it at three. I'm going to push as far as I can with 3x5. My main interest is to see how much my 5RM has improved using strict form. If I have to scale it down to a couple of weeks of 1x5 to still add weight, I'll do that. I reeeaaaalllly do NOT want to reset for a while.

Chin-ups (neutral grip)
3 sets: 8-7-7 reps
BW+15 lbs

Notes: Meh.

Dips
3 sets: 10-10-6 reps
Bodyweight

Notes: Meh.

Accessory
45 degree extensions

Comments
Very blah session. A little too blah for my liking. Aside from front squats, which went well, there wasn't too much to be impressed with today. I didn't eat well yesterday, and I got up much earlier than usual today, so I'm sure that factored in. I also still had horrible DOMS from Saturday. Meh. They can't all be stellar, I guess.

Intensity session is Wednesday. Hopefully I'll feel up for getting some extra arm work in at the end. Been neglecting that lately.

[t-p-c]

Nice dips Matt. What is your plan with these? Get to bwx10x3 and then add weight?

[Misanthrope]

Nice dips Matt. What is your plan with these? Get to bwx10x3 and then add weight?

Either that or shoot even higher for bodyweight reps. They're still a work in progress for me.