Jalapen0's SS Journal

[Jalapen0]

Wife told me yesterday that she noticed my calves getting bigger but that I look like I'm getting fat around my belly. Not sure what the significance is but thought I would note it.

[Jalapen0]

Squats 3x5x245 - Had problems from the start. Left wrist and shoulder hurting during warmups. I stopped and worked on figuring it out. I pointed my elbows at the floor and it stopped hurting. I was able to flex my back and keep the bar from digging in so I guess its ok. The 245 was hard but I think alot of it was worrying about my arm. I've got to get my shoulder stretched out. +5lbs nw.
Bench 3x5x160 - Went up np. Last rep had slow barspeed. +5lb nw.
Powercleans 3x5x95 - I figured out the rack. I needed to spread out my grip. I'm having trouble with the jump and extend part. It feels like I'm rowing the bar. I can't seem to explode the elbows up. It seems crazy but maybe I need to increase the weight to increase the inertia of the bar so I have something to get under. The bar went over my head several times. I don't know, it's just a thought. I guess I'm just totally messed up. It's definately a workout doing them.
Chins 3x5x(-45) - Hard but I was in a hurry so I didn't rest much after PC's. -5lbs nw.


Notes - I'm going to eat well this weekend for the 250lb squat and 320lb DL monday. 250lb squats is higher than what I've ever done before. Even highbar parallel. My legs are getting alot bigger. I see more development in my quads in the last 5 weeks than the 8 months before that. I'm having a problem with some of my pants already. Ugh, the wife will be real happy about me needing new clothes.

[misspelledgeoff]

Yup if the bar is going over your head you must be doing something right. I'd increase the weight. I think it will help your form.

[Jalapen0]

Thank you Geoff. I appreciate you reading my log and giving me advice. Should I just start jumping it 10 a workout or 5? I'm not sure. It feels hard but the bar is going at least to my nose and sometimes overhead most times.

Man, I'd love to get PC's to 135 so the pull from the floor would feel right but I don't want to bash my face in either.

[misspelledgeoff]

No problem man!

I might try adding 10 per workout until you get to 135 then switch to 5's. My experience with PC's is if you start adding too much weight too fast then form issues can creep in (at least that's what happened to me).

[Jalapen0]

That's what I'll do with PC's.

BW is now 222. Probably the heaviest I've ever been or damn close to it. Sure hope I'm not making myself fat (or fatter I probably should say)

[Jalapen0]

Squats 3x5x250 - PR. Left elbow hurts. It started getting sore again yesterday after moving some crap around for the wifey so I don't think it's a form issue. Last rep across all 3 sets was slow. +5lbs nw.
Press 3x5x110 - PR. Felt good. +5lbs nw.
Deadlift 1x5x320 - PR and personal goal of 3 plates met. Went up surpisingly easy. Probably because I was thinking about getting a video of it and not about how fukin heavy it is. So here it is, my first video. Looks like my upper back is rounding a bit. I am locking out at the top, it's just cut off the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCZcxsNgje0

Dips 3x5x(-40) - Pretty easy except the last couple. I could probably switch to BW anytime but I'll stay with the assit machine for now. +5lbs nw.

Notes: Tried to use my iPod today. It just got in the way. I'd really like to use it though. The music in the gym is lame about 75% of the time.

[Jalapen0]

Felt tight today. Even after stretching.

Squats 3x5x255 - PR. Maybe I'm just being a pussy but squats took me to the FUCKING GATES OF HELL and back today. Good God that shit was fukin heavy. Barely could unrack it. Every rep took everything I had. With the exception of a couple minor good mornings, I felt my form held though. I couldn't feel my legs on the last rep of the last set. The weight stopped going up about halfway for what seemed like an eternity. Suddenly I locked out though and racked it. I then about passed out. I fucking did it. I need to read up on how to proceed with weight from here. Probably +5lb nw though.

Then I got wicked left elbow pain that affected the rest of my workout. It's not an injury, it's a problem with how I'm doing squats that I can't figure out. Time to read the squat chapter again.

Bench 3x5x165 - PR. Hard. Got er done though. Several reps were slow from all 3 sets. +5lb nw
Power Cleans 3x5x105 - Wow, these went MUCH better than last time. Increasing weight seems to do the trick. Now I feel like I'm slamming my elbows forward. Elbow pain affected me a bit but not as much as I expected. I talked to a great big guy that squats like 500lbs for reps about my elbow and he suggested stretching my tricep and wrist. He thought it sounded like tennis elbow. It did seem to help and I stretched between sets. Going +10lbs nw for power cleans. Going +10 a workout until I get to 135, then +5 after that...as long as everything goes well.
Chins 3x5x(-40) - Not even one rep on last set so this is my first failure. I quit for the day and I'll keep the weight the same. I was gassed from Squats and Power Cleans. I still am while I type this actually (2 hours later)

I found that extra hot water in the shower saps about 95% of the pain from my elbow. So I feel alot better now. It was REALLY sore before that.

[Jalapen0]

Bad day at the gym.

Squats 3x5x225 - Reset due to left arm issues. Weight was easy. Dealing with my arm was not. I tried all sorts of different grips, widths, etc and it didn't matter. I am going to have to skip Squats monday and try to figure this out. I'm mostly sure this is due to shoulder flexibility issues. My left shoulder has had several minor injuries through the years. I've pulled my front deltoid several times in my football years and about 4 years ago, I had a minor rc tear. If I look straight at myself in a mirror, my shoulders are lopsided. And if I get under the bar for squats, my elbows are in different places and I cannot even them out. I will spend 30 minutes daily stretching my shoulders until Wednesday. Wed I will try some warmup squats and see how it feels. If I feel aching shoulder or elbow, I'm quiting for the day and will continue stretches until Friday. I am also considering a visit to the gym chiropractor.
Press 3x5x115 - PR. Last rep was very slow. Left arm pain didn't affect the lift. I can't wait to get this one up to a big wheel. I just think that looks badass when someone presses 135+. +5lbs nw
Deadlift - 1x3x335 - FAILED 4th rep. My head just wasn't into it at this point and I think that's where you lose out with Deadlifts. I know I can lift this weight. I was frustrated with my arm pain and I just couldn't stop being a pussy and overcome it. Deadlifts did not cause anymore pain though. I'll keep the same weight for next workout.
Dips - Skipped accessory due to DL failure and arm pain.

Notes - I am completely frustrated with my left arm issues. Furthermore, the pain is now radiating, causing pain in my pec, and around my shoulder blade/Lat. Today, hot water in the shower sapped about 80% of the pain away. It's actually pretty amazing and I think that really points to an exact cause of this but I'm not smart enough to figure it out. I've never had hot water take pain away like that, it literally takes like 2 minutes of hot water and it feels fine except some minor dull pain that isn't a big deal. I've read up on Sami's thread on elbow\arm pain during squats and it's very informative. I think I'll be reading up on it again.

[slowjoe]

Is this the "general headache around and above the elbow" issue?

If so, make sure you aren't taking any weight on the arm. I'm fighting with this also. My plan is to work on flexibility until my contact point with the bar is above the "3 oclock - 9 oclock" line. I realised that my palm was trying to support the weight, and as the weight increases, the bar bends.

If it's something else, I don't know the cause.