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Thread: r_graz Tries Not to Get Crushed

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    167

    Default r_graz Tries Not to Get Crushed

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
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    Gotta name a journal something, right?

    I've been running journals at bb.com for about a year and half now, but like the look of this place better. I know the kind of poundages getting moved around in this journal won't draw people in like flies , but I'm pretty confident that any input I manage to get here will be quality

    I'm currently in my 6th week of a 4 day (M-T-Th-Fri) upper/lower split, divided up as Upper Strength, Lower Squat, Upper Hypertrophy, Lower Deadlift. I try to do cardio on at least 2 of the off days. In the past year and half I ran the Starr SF 5x5 for 16 weeks, did a not-so-successful HST run, a Starting Strength run after a January illness-related layoff, and a Texas Method based routine prior to the upper/lower. I'm a purely recreational lifter, attempting to get stronger and bigger (mainly in that order). I'm 42 and my goal is to try to get a little stronger and a little bigger every year from here on out.

    The body stats:
    42 y/o
    5'7"
    160 lbs
    BF% - low teens (estimate)
    Currently eating around maintenance, coming off of a cut I did to ditch some of the fat I gained from a dumbass newb-bulk (went from around 180 to 160)

    Current 3RM lifts (these are low-ball, haven't done a real test):
    Squat - 275 x 3
    Bench - 215 x 3
    Row - 180 x 3
    Dead - 305 x 3
    OH Press - 140 x 3
    Wish I could tell you those were in kilos

    Workout currently organized like this. All 3x3 sets are done as 90%/100%/95%, followed by a higher-rep backoff set.

    Monday - Upper Strength
    Flat Bench Variant - 3 x 3, 1 x 10-12
    Pendlay Rows - 3 x 5, 1 x 10-12
    OH Press - 3 x 3, 1 x 10-12
    Chinups/ CG Pulldowns - 3 x 6, 1 x 10-12
    Tri Extension - 3 x 6-10
    BB Curl - 3 x 6-10

    Tuesday - Lower Squat
    Squats - 3x3, 1 X 10-12
    RDL - 3 x 6-8
    (Ghetto) GHR - 3 x 8-10
    Weighted Hypers - 3 x 8-10
    Ab work

    Thursday - Upper Hypertrophy
    Incline DB Bench - 4 x 8
    Row Variant (Cable, Chest-Supported) - 4 x 8
    DB Seated Press - 3 x 8-10
    Dips or CGBP - 4 x 6-8
    Pullups/WG Pulldowns - 3 x 8-10
    HG DB Curls - 3 x 8-10
    DB Lat Raise: 3 x 8-10

    Friday - Lower Deadlift
    Deadlifts - 3 x 3, 1 x 10
    OH Squats - 3 x 8
    Power Shrugs - 3 x 8, 1 x 10-12
    (Ghetto) GHR - 3 x 8
    Ab work

    FWIW, the lift that's currently frustrating me is my squat. For as long as I've been squatting (OK, only a year and half...), I've been doing kind of a medium-stance squat, below parallel. But I've been making little progress in the lift for a long time - best 5 rep set I did was 265, and I've been stuck in that general neighborhood for months. I obviously want to get the lift over 300 (and eventually have 3 plates on there), but right now that 25 lbs might as well be 250 lbs. Trying to decide if there are some particular weak points I can bring up, or if changing the squat variant I'm using will help.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    167

    Default 8/7/07 - Upper/Lower Split - Week 6

    LOWER - SQUAT

    Squat
    250 x 3
    275 x 3
    260 x 3
    210 x 10

    RDL
    245 x 7
    245 x 7
    245 x 6
    185 x 12

    GHR (pushup assist)
    10
    10
    10

    45 Degree Hyper
    45 x 10
    45 x 10

    Hanging Leg Raises
    8
    8
    8

    Decline Crunch (30 seconds btwn sets)
    12
    12
    12


    NOTES:

    Went for broke and bumped it up 10 lbs to 275 for squats. Got it, but can't say I was thrilled with the form. Hips definitely coming up first, and torso lagging behind. Not quite a GM, but I hate to think of what my back would have gone through if it weren't for the belt. I did the 250x3 unbelted, and the 275 and 260 belted. Can't say I was satisfied with any of the 3 rep sets.

    I still get psyched-out by having that much weight on my shoulders (yeah I know, it's not very much weight ). Makes it hard to take in good air, and I always feel a little panicky for some reason. I have to come up with a new strategy for squats. Either a big deload (again ), or maybe a Max-Stim approach where I can really just concentrate on one rep at a time. I should also give some serious thought to the stance that's best for me. I've always ended up with kind of a medium stance by default, but I really have to experiment a bit.

    RDL's were tough. Last week I had the rack to do them in, so I could take the bar off the rack for each set. This time I only had the floor, so each set began with a full deadlift. Makes it a little harder. I punished myself for my substandard performance with a 12 rep set at the end

    Everything else was ok.
    <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    200

    Default

    Hey Ron, I may follow your journal here to cut down on the number of journals to keep up with on BB.com (the number is growing huge). That is, unless you prefer I use your BB.com journal to help keep it afloat.

    Your choice. BTW, since I'm a mod for this section I reserve the right to delete your journal at any time without warning, and also to edit parts of your workout to reflect my own idea of what your workout should have looked like.



  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Misanthrope View Post
    Hey Ron, I may follow your journal here to cut down on the number of journals to keep up with on BB.com (the number is growing huge). That is, unless you prefer I use your BB.com journal to help keep it afloat.
    Nah, my bb.com journal is a sinking ship. Actually, it left the dock sitting pretty low in the water to begin with Ditch it and follow here, I'll probably close that one down soon anyway.

    Your choice. BTW, since I'm a mod for this section I reserve the right to delete your journal at any time without warning, and also to edit parts of your workout to reflect my own idea of what your workout should have looked like.
    You take requests? Change that squat workout to read "275 rawked!" Coulda' tossed another plate on there no prob!"

    If only...

  5. #5
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    Default 8/9/07 - Upper/Lower Split - Week 6

    UPPER - HYPERTROPHY

    Incline DB Bench (~30 degree incline)
    60 x 8
    60 x 8
    60 x 8
    60 x 7
    45 x 10

    Cable Row
    135 x 8
    135 x 8
    135 x 8
    135 x 8

    Seated DB Press
    45 x 10
    45 x 10
    45 x 8

    Wide-Grip Pulldowns
    130 x 9
    130 x 9
    130 x 9

    Single Arm DB Tri Extensions
    25 x 8
    25 x 8
    25 x 7

    DB Hammer Curls
    30 x 10
    30 x 10
    30 x 10

    DB Lateral Raise
    20 x 8
    20 x 8
    20 x 8

    NOTES:

    Add 3 reps to the DB inclines today. Getting back into the groove of those. When I can get to 4 x 8, I'll bump up the weight.

    Added the seated DB press. Haven't done those in a while, so I picked a fairly easy weight to start with. I'll do the 45's again next week and hopefully bump it up the following week.

    Left out the CGBP, since adding the seated press gave me 2 compound db pressing movements for this workout. Honestly after those my tri's felt like they had done quite a bit of work. So I settled for doing some unilateral tri iso's at the end. My right tricep is a weak link, it's both smaller and weaker than my left, and I think it's a drag on my BB work. I'm hoping that these DB exercises will help even things out. I'll probably move the lateral raises to the end of Friday's deadlift workout, since all of the above took too much time today.

    Everything else is feeling pretty good, a good workout all in all.
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  6. #6
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    I won't have much to say about your workout, since I'm not advanced enough to understand it, but I can always give the typical "great workout!" post.

    EDIT: Great workout!

  7. #7
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    Default

    Nice job on the incline DB. Good volume there.

    You should give single arm cable rows a try.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheStender View Post
    I won't have much to say about your workout, since I'm not advanced enough to understand it, but I can always give the typical "great workout!" post.

    EDIT: Great workout!
    Thanks. I don't really understand it either

    Quote Originally Posted by Misanthrope View Post
    Nice job on the incline DB. Good volume there.

    You should give single arm cable rows a try.
    The unilateral cable setup is only a few feet from the bilateral one, so it seems likely I'll work my way over there I am enjoying the cable rows ATM though, I've done nothing but Pendlays for close to a year now.

  9. #9
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    Jul 2007
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    I'm like Matt, with too many journal subs, though pretty much every one that I've subbed to is worth following if one had the time. In here, the journals are still few enough that I don't need subs yet to keep up.

    Anyway, glad to see you starting one here, Ron. No suggestions about the squats ATM, as I was up most of the night with a work issue, and only now am I really waking up.

  10. #10
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    Jul 2007
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    starting strength coach development program
    How often do you change things around with your squatting work?

    Kyle

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