Road to novice

[adm]

Squat: 117kg (257lb)
Bench press: 69kg (151b) 3,2,2 failed
Deadlift: 0kg (0lb) pass

Squat was similar to the last time with that difference that this time it was 5x3 not 4x3. It was hard but I'm happy I was able to do it. Bench press was worse than the last time. Not sure if my back issue had anything to deal with that or not as it was painful only to get up from the bench not during sets. The next time I will go back to 67kg (147lb) and then try again. Deadlift still on hold .

[adm]

Squat: 119kg (261lb)
Press: 41kg (88lb) 5,5,4 failed
Deadlift: 0kg (0lb) pass

Before this session I had a ton of food, sleep and rest. Squat was a challenge but it was easier than the last time. Maybe the plates combination was effectively resulting in smaller increase or the recovery was better. Press was easy in case of first two reps of each set, later it was worse. I tried to rest about 7 minutes between sets and still failed the last rep in the last set. I will try one more time with the same weight as theoretically this is the best result so far. If it is not going to work, I will drop the weight again. Deadlift is still on hold. I got some anti-inflammatory pills from my doctor which help a bit so in some time I hope to get back to deadlift starting with some super small weights.

[adm]

Squat: 121kg (266lb)
Bench press: 69kg (151b)
Deadlift: 0kg (0lb) pass

Squat was felt very heavy. I struggled to keep the weight on my back. On one hand the bar seemed to be at the right position and I'm rather not using my hands to hold it but keeping the shoulders tight is not so easy any longer. Some of the reps were kind of good morning like. There is an area for improvement in the form. Before the last set I had a long break (10 minutes) as I was really unsure if I could do it. Eventually that last set was the best one, it felt lightest and the form was better. Maybe it was because of the rest time or maybe because of unusual effort to keep the form correct. I'm going to introduce light squat day soon. In case of bench press I decided to try that 69kg one more time and I made it. Not sure how it happened exactly, it felt really heavy but somehow I had enough energy to finish all the reps. Small improvement but I will take it. Deadlift is still on hold, I think my back is slowly getting better so I believe it is only matter of time before I will be deadlifing again.

[adm]

Squat: 123kg (270lb) 4,4,5 failed
Press: 41kg (88lb) 4,3,3 failed
Deadlift: 0kg (0lb) pass

In case of squat the first problem was related to keeping the bar on the back. When I unracked the bar it felt extremely heavy and it seems like keeping my shoulders tight during a whole set cost a lot of energy. It seemed to be an issue especially in case of the first set, later it was a bit easier however I spotted reps where my arm was slightly shaking on the way up due to keeping my elbows up. The more serious issue was lack of breath. My reps are not too fast and I take a very deep breath before each rep to keep my core tight. It is fine for 3 reps but then I feel out of breath and it seems to be difficult to rest at the top as like above standing with that bar is exhausting. In case of the first set I was not able to stand up in case of the last rep. In case of the second step I simply felt that I could not hold it any longer and decided to rack it before the last rep. Strategy for the last set was to perform reps more quickly and reduce depth of the breath before each rep. It kind of worked. I felt less comfortably and the squat depth was more parallel than below parallel. I performed one more set to test if this is going to work one more time and it did as I was able to perform 5 reps. Nice part of this squat session was such that I was able to keep work of my knees and hips roughly in sync which clearly allows to involve more muscle mass during each set. Generally the weight didn't feel absurdly heavy or anything like that so I'm quite positive for now. In case of press I should really say "no comment". I failed and it was 3rd failure with that weight in a row and it was worse than the last time. I decided to perform a set of 39kg to check what was going to happen and I managed to perform 5 reps (last one was difficult), then performed two more sets with 39kg and all worked. It seems like slightly less weight works even after work sets and that 41kg does not. Making jumps smaller than 1kg at this point seems to be a bit insane. I'm going to do 39kg the next time. I don't feel like 10% deload makes sense here but a little step back may be worth a try. In case of deadlift I'm going to do some super small weight next time with bigger number of reps and provided that nothing bad happens, slowly restore this lift.

[adm]

Squat: 123kg (270lb)
Bench press: 70kg (154b) 4,4,3 failed
Deadlift: 0kg (0lb) pass

I was trying to improve the grip during squats. I think the position on the back was slightly better and it was easier to hold the bar. On the way I managed to put some pressure on my wrist and elbow but it seems that nothing bad had happened. Some changes to the grip and general focus on the grip caused a slight deterioration of the form due to slightly different balance. In general it went not bad and even the depth was satisfying. In case of bench press I tried to add only 1kg and it still failed. Not much to say I'm out of ideas what is going on. I eat a lot and my weight goes up quickly but it still does not help. Deadlift stays on hold but I did 3 sets of 16 reps with 47kg. I would call it cardio. It was not painful which is good so maybe this is a way to slowly get back.

[BMW-Fahrer]

Dumb question - are you still pulling 15 reps together for the struggling sets? For example if you have done 4,4,3 in bench, do you make up those "missing" reps as singles shortly after the "main work set"?

Also, I'm not convinced that labeling "4,4,3" as "failed" is any good for the brain - you added weight and were brave enough to try it out -> there's a component of achievement still.

[adm]

Dumb question - are you still pulling 15 reps together for the struggling sets? For example if you have done 4,4,3 in bench, do you make up those "missing" reps as singles shortly after the "main work set"?

I have had not rule about this. Sometimes indeed I was adding a set or two to compensate the missed reps. Sometimes I was doing some sets with a lighter weight. Thanks for the suggestion I will make sure to always have the desired number of reps even if it means a few singles. I really appreciate this suggestion.

Also, I'm not convinced that labeling "4,4,3" as "failed" is any good for the brain - you added weight and were brave enough to try it out -> there's a component of achievement still.

This is really a marker that given weight needs repetition not much more. Of course missed reps are not building motivation and surly it is annoying to be stuck so quickly. However initial irritation goes away quickly and I try to analyze how to make it better and I'm looking forward a next workout to try again. After all I enjoy the process. I appreciate your support.

[adm]

Squat: 105kg (231lb) light
Press: 39kg (85lb)
Deadlift: 0kg (0lb) pass

Squat was the first light session. I used that opportunity to practice the grip a bit and it seems like more practice is needed especially that lighter weight was not causing much trouble to hold anyway. In case of press I decided to deload but to 39kg only, if this is not going to work the next time I will go with that 10%. Deadlift is still on hold, I will need to build it from the ground up anyway. I performed 3 sets of 14 reps with 52kg to at least practice the form a bit.

[adm]

Squat: 125kg (275lb)
Bench press: 70kg (154b)
Deadlift: 0kg (0lb) pass

Squat was tough and the depth seemed to be more parallel than below. Anyhow I'm quite happy with that. Before the bench I rested for 10-15 minutes after squats. It felt really heavy and the last rep in each set was a nightmare. Clearly the right arm is weaker and in case of the very last rep it straighten visibly later than the left arm. Deadlift sandpit this time was 3 sets 12 reps with 57kg. In case of one of the reps my ribs slightly hurt.

[adm]

Squat: 127kg (279lb)
Press: 40kg (88lb)
Deadlift: 0kg (0lb) pass

Generally I had runny nose but I was well-rested and had not time pressure. Squat looked similarly to the previous session. Neither the grip not breathing was a big issue, it was just heavy to stand up. Hard to say much about the press as this was the 3rd time I performed this weight. I would not call it easy, the last rep of the 3rd set was quite difficult. Deadlift traditionally only the 3 sandpit sets 10 reps with 57kg.