I'm not a freak of nature

[Chad Mynhier]

Squats: 260x5x3
Dips: 3x5
Deadlift: 325x3, 295x5
Barbell curls: 45x10x5 (rehab)

Squats:

IMG 1748 - YouTube
IMG 1749 - YouTube
IMG 1750 - YouTube

Really trying to shove my knees out here.

Dips:

IMG 1751 - YouTube
IMG 1752 - YouTube
http://youtu.be/TxNyTJNsHww?t=9s

These were my first real sets of dips. My fear was that I wouldn't go deep enough, but that doesn't seem to be a problem.

Deadlift:

325: http://youtu.be/nt7BspI6JwA?t=40s
295: http://youtu.be/891bVjRlkP8?t=23s

On rep 4 at 325, I tried but didn't think it was going to break off the floor. Looking at the video, it doesn't look like I tried that hard. Given that I was able to follow up with 295x5 5 minutes later, I probably should have tried harder. It probably would have helped if I had had someone there yelling at me.

And on further inspection, it looks like I have gaze issues I need to work on.

[Chad Mynhier]

Deadlifts: 50x50 (approx.)
Press: 50x20 (approx.)

I was away this weekend, so I didn't actually get a chance to workout. But I did help a friend (and a few others) unload and stack 200 bales of hay.

[Chad Mynhier]

Barbell curls: 45x10x10

Over the weekend, the insides of both elbows were sore for some reason. Maybe because I wasn't doing my rehab-ish stuff.

[Chad Mynhier]

Squats: 265x5x3
Bench: 185x5x3
Deadlift: 255x5x2

Squats:

IMG 1778 - YouTube
IMG 1779 - YouTube
IMG 1780 - YouTube

The first set isn't very good for depth. The second and third sets are better, although I feel that I'm still just a little bit high on some of them.

Deadlift:

IMG 1784 - YouTube
IMG 1785 - YouTube

I did a couple of light sets on deadlift today. I'm seeing Adam Skillin, SSC, on Saturday to work on deadlifts, among other things, so I didn't want to go heavy today.

[Chad Mynhier]

Squats: 270x5x3
Press: 110x5,5,4
Chins: 10x5

Squats:

IMG 1788 - YouTube
IMG 1790 - YouTube

(I lost the second video because I ran out of space on my phone. I deleted a bunch of crap, so I managed to get the rest of the videos.) These look okay to me. They're certainly not super deep. It looks like I'm juuuuuuust hitting parallel. (The last set looks better than the first.)

Press:

IMG 1792 - YouTube
IMG 1793 - YouTube
IMG 1794 - YouTube

As others have said, the press is a fickle mistress. 5/5/4 is a common result for me. I know there was a thread recently about how to handle this sort of thing. I can't remember if the solution was going to one set plus backoff sets or what. I'll need to look that up.

WRT the chins: my golf-elbow-type soreness has gone away for most of the day, but the soreness was definitely there during my first sets. It subsided a bit over the course of the sets, though.

[Chad Mynhier]

Squats: 275x5x3
Bench: 190x5,5,4
Deadlift 325x5

No videos, as I went to see Adam Skillin for some coaching today.

Notes: I need to get my knees forward sooner when squatting. I'm also letting my upper back relax just a little bit when I hit the bottom. I need to work on keeping my chest up all the way down.

On bench, I got the last rep almost all the way up, but never locked it out, so I'm not counting it. I also let that one slide a bit towards my face. I need to watch that. Adam gave me some programming suggestions to get some more progress out of my bench.

My deadlift form is pretty good, but I need to squeeze my hips ("fire my glutes") to make sure I'm locked out at the top. But I managed 325x5 _decisively_. (I'm tempted to sat it was easy, but it wasn't. But after my first rep, Adam made some comment that made me do the remaining reps aggressively, which helped a lot. I should be more aggressive when doing deadlifts -- not jerking the bar up, but committing to it and just doing it instead of being hesitant about it.)

[Chad Mynhier]

Squats: 280x5x3
Press: 115x3x4
Chins: 5x5 unweighted, 5x3 with 10 lbs

Squats:

IMG 1800 - YouTube
IMG 1801 - YouTube
IMG 1802 - YouTube

I think these still look okay. I could probably do with going a little bit lower, but I'm not unhappy with these. I'm trying to shove my knees out hard to avoid knee slide. I also need to work on keeping my upper back tight in the hole. Adam pointed out that I was relaxing just a little bit in the hole, which let the bar go just a little bit forward, which created a moment arm that made the squat harder than it needed to be.

Press:

IMG 1803 - YouTube
IMG 1804 - YouTube
http://youtu.be/oANB6z0CmdM?t=11s
https://youtu.be/WrNmZS1I8XM?t=15s

Given my problems with press, Adam suggested trying something different, cycling through rep ranges (5, 3, and 1) to push the weight up. Like this (starting with a 3):

115x3x4
120x1x8
110x5x5
117.5x3x4
122.5x1x8

and then adding 2.5 pounds to each cycle. It worked for this first workout. It was definitely a nice psychological boost. We'll see how it goes. Doing this every other workout, it would mean 2.5 pounds added every two weeks, or 1.25 pounds per week. It doesn't sound like much, but it's better than I've been averaging, what with all the setbacks. I'll be happy if I can make consistent progress.

[Mr. Bingley]

Adam is Da Man!

your depth is definitely getting better!

[Adam Skillin]

Adam is Da Man!

Nah, you guys are! Glad for and proud of whatever small part I can play in the awesome progress you both continue to make.

[Chad Mynhier]

Squats: 285x5,4,3
Bench: 190x5, 185x5x2
Deadlift: 335x5

Squats:

IMG 1811 - YouTube
IMG 1812 - YouTube
IMG 1813 - YouTube

This was intended to be 3x5, but I never came up out of the hole on the last rep of the second set. That's an interesting wobble on the first rep of the last set, too.

Bench:

IMG 1815 - YouTube
IMG 1816 - YouTube
http://youtu.be/UmiXHWqEH7A?t=21s

Adam suggested backoff sets here, given that I was having trouble on the last set. The backoff sets will stay at 185 up through 200 (2.5 lb increments), then stay at -15 lbs through 220, then -20 lbs from 225 on, etc.

Deadlift:

http://youtu.be/-DEfs7T0wiY?t=57s

"And the silverback emitted a mighty roar and beat his chest, signaling his victory over the bar, which lay lifeless on the ground, defeated."

So yeah, being aggressive with the bar instead of hesitant actually works. And Adam, if you read this, yeah, those are commie 35-lb plates on the bar. I don't have a third set of 45's yet, so I have to make do with what I have.