Camel's Log

[Cameltowtruck]

Background
Male, 35 years
182 CM (6')
93 KG (205 lbs)
Body fat 13%
Bipolar disorder, otherwise in good health and never had any real injuries to speak of

PRs (After flogging SS advanced novice template for all its worth)
@body weight 97.5 KG (215 lbs)
Squat 200 KG (440 lbs)
Deadlift 240 KG (529 lbs)
Bench Press 125 KG (276 lbs)
Overhead Press 92.5 KG (205 lbs)
Power Clean 117.5 KG (259 lbs)

PR's above set roughly 2 years ago, since then I've mainly been bumping around as an advanced novice. My main issue with progression is I sometimes fall out of training for a few months, largely due to bipolar issues, but have been making renewed efforts lately to get my life straight and stable again.

Decided to switch to Texas method this week after deciding I was over-reaching.

Training logs details to follow soon...

[Cameltowtruck]

11-Jan-16 Volume Day
BW 93KG

SQ 5x5 160KG
5,5,5,5,5
4 min rests

OHP 5x5 73.5KG
5,4,4,4,3 (+5x1 singles on the min to make up volume)
Axle bar, 4 min rests
Started off too heavy!

Weighted chin-ups 5x5 +20KG
5,5,5,5,5
3.5 min rests

KB swings
28KG
10 rounds of 30 secs on / 30 secs rest

Good workout, bit ambitious on the press but otherwise did well


90 mins of table tennis in evening.

[Cameltowtruck]

12-Jan-2016
Felt really tired after lunch, did a bit of active recovery
C2 rower 4K in 15m20s
15 mins stretching and foam rolling
Oh... and 60 mins of table tennis in the evening.


13-Jan-2016 TM Light Day
FSQ 2x5 122.5KG
5,5
4 min rests
Not sure if this was too much...

BP 3x5 @ 90%, 90KG
5,5,5
Axle bar, 3 min rests. Easy!

Power Clean 5x3 102.5KG
...what the hell was I thinking!? Rookie error but we live and learn.
After first clean immediately decided to do 5x2
2 min rests
Next time will try 5x2 @90% on light day. Thinking of alternating with chin-ups on volume days each week. Or maybe alternate with deadlifts on intensity day

Lying Tricep Extensions 3x10 48KG
10,10,12, easy
3.5 mins rest

DBCurls 3x10 20KG
10,10,9
Using 50mm fat handles, 3.5 mins rest


60 mins of table tennis in the evening

[Cameltowtruck]

15-Jan-2016 TM Intensity day
BW 93.5KG

Have been eagerly awaiting this day!

SQ 1x5 172.5KG
Form seemed OK, new 5RM PR!

OHP 1x5
76KG
6 reps!

BP 1x5 110KG
Solid 5 reps, new 5RM PR!

DL 1x5 212.5KG
Pulled 5 grinders, form got a bit ugly on last rep. Still more than I have pulled in a good few months.
Haven't been pulling enough lately, but will be more from now on. Will keep same weight for next time see what form is like before progressing.

Chin-ups 1x5 +25KG
6 reps, new PR!

LTE 2x10 50.5KG
10, 11

DB Curls
Few sets of curls with various different fat grips for fun.

90 mins of table tennis in evening


Best training day I have had in months! Felt so good, weights felt light, finished session feeling really energized. Felt a bit tearful when squatting, a bipolar annoyance - also wondering if energy levels are coinciding with bipolar hypomania, Have been on new meds lately, might up dosage.

[ud2o]

90 mins of table tennis in evening.

Table tennis is awesome. Welcome to the forums.

[lou t]

welcome to the jungle

[Cameltowtruck]

Thanks guys!

And yes table tennis is awesome! I find it's good for active recovery and helps towards general conditioning.

17-Jan-2016
Active recovery, 1 hour cycle

[Cameltowtruck]

18-Jan-2016
TM Volume Day
BW 93.5KG

Squat 5x5 160KG
5,5,5,5,5
Dropped down to 150KG for the last two sets
4 min rests

Bench Press 5x5 102KG
5,5,5,5,5
Fat bar, 5 min rests

Chin-Ups 5x5 +21.25KG @114.75KG
5,5,5,5,5
3.5 min rests

Lying Tricep Extension 2x10 50.5KG
10,9
3.5 min rests


Bad day, turning up in itself was the biggest victory. Felt tired, depressed and weak, even though good recovery during the weekend. Doubled medication for bipolar as I don't think new stuff is having an effect yet based on past few days.

Lower back was toast after 3 sets of squats so dropped the weight down a bit for last 2 sets, am thinking this was due to over-reaching on the deadlift on Friday, as I hit 5x5x160KG last week no problem. Will peg back deadlift weight next time. Got good volume on the upper-body lifts without much struggle however so not all bad.

[Cameltowtruck]

19-Jan-2016
Active recovery
C2 Rower, 4000M in 15m33s, @ 1:55.8 avg/500
Few rounds of movements with an empty bar, dislocates, press ups and pull-ups. Foam rolling

Lower back still fatigued, stiffening up after being seated for a while. Need to keep it really light tomorrow.

[brkriete]

Impressive outcome from your novice / advanced novice LP. Good luck with your training!