Road to novice

[adm]

Squat: 129kg (283lb) 5,5,4 failed
Bench press: 78kg (171lb) 5,5,2 failed
Deadlift: 115kg (253lb) 3 failed

[adm]

Squat: 129kg (283lb)
Press: 48kg (105lb)
Deadlift: 115kg (246lb)

This was most likely the best attempt for 129kg. First two sets looked fine, the one was not too bad however I think it should be better. Press was somehow successful, I must admit I'm a bit surprised it worked but, hey I'm not going to complain. Deadlift... this time 5 reps, first two were quite good, the last two were really poor... so fun continues. Nothing awesome but comparing to the previous session this one was good.

[adm]

Squat: 129kg (283lb)
Bench press: 78kg (171lb) 4,4,4,4 failed
Deadlift: 115kg (253lb) 2 failed

Squat was worse than previously, the depth didn't look like below parallel to me. Bench simply didn't work today, each time 4th rep was super heavy and the 5th one was failing at the bottom. I'm out of comments for deadlift, it seems pointless. My back was fine during the first rep, during the second one it rounded on the way up. For the third one it rounded before the bar left the floor and lower back pain told me to stop there. Apparently recently only weight on the scale goes up.

[adm]

Squat: 131kg (288lb)
Press: 49kg (105lb) 4,3,4,4 failed
Deadlift: 115kg (253lb)

Squat could be better but the depth good, in case of a few reps probably it was too deep. Back position could be better especially in case of further reps. Press was no go today. Honestly I did not expect it to be any different. My left shoulder seems to hurt in some positions but it was not an issue here (the pain was appearing only overhead when I could lock the weight). The second set was clearly a technical mistake, the bar path of that 3rd rep was poor end apparently drained the rest of the energy for the set. I think that this time recovery was not an issue at all here. In case of deadlift I made another attempt to the belt and this time it was not very bad. Still my back position was clearly worse than in case of "beltless" variant but I felt a bit less uncomfortable than before and felt relatively strong. In general I consider this session as good.

[Bill Anders]

Don't beat yourself up on that Press. You're right where everyone gets to sooner rather than later, as the Press, for a few different reasons, is the first lift to get you to failures. In other words, you're right where you need to be and you did the right thing with your 4,3,4,4 to get your 15.

Watch Nick's Press and Bench Press Programming - Getting and Staying Unstuck video. It's well worth your time.

So add 1kg to the bar for your next press session, and try for 5s. If they don't happen, press as many as possible each set, continuing until you get your 15. Just like you did with your 4,3,4,4, which was exactly what you were supposed to do. Then add 1kg on the next press session, and continue.

Keep at it!

[adm]

Hi Bill,

Thanks a lot for your suggestion, I've seen the Nick's video and I've seen a couple of guys here following the advice with good results. I'm sure I will follow the same protocol but just not yet. I think that I'm still able to go a few kilograms up with 5s which I prefer as it mentally is easier to be considered as a progress. When I fail 3 times in a row, I will not deload as my current press/bench like Nick has suggested is too light to have problems with recovery (if you consider how heavy I am those numbers are really low), instead I will follow protocol for 15 reps and adding weight each session regardless of hitting 5 or not a couple times and then try again fives where I initially failed. Just to be able comparing apples to apples. I have no doubts that Nick's suggestion is what is going to work best but here I need a bit of time to, at least, make sure I'm wrong. If this is not going to work I will follow the advice as is.

I really appreciate your support and once again, thank you.

[adm]

Squat: 133kg (292lb)
Bench press: 78kg (171lb)
Deadlift: 117kg (257lb)

This session was a bit unusual. Yesterday I felt really badly and exhausted but today was quite the opposite. Squat was not perfect in any manner, some of the reps were two deep, and some a bit too shallow but generally it looked fine. I tried knee selves this time to keep the knees warm. Maybe those made reps slightly easier but no knee pain at all. We will see how it goes over the time but for now I'm happy. In case of the bench press I decided to try a bit wider grip. Usually my elbow angle is more acute when this time it was the right angle. It felt a bit oddly to grip the bar so widely and I didn't feel too comfortable. Interestingly it seems to be a good step as my pecks stretched at the bottom making the way up easier. Not sure if the fact that I performed all the reps was result of how well I felt or the change of technique, but it worked. Deadlift was belted again, still the back position is not how it should be but I believe I will get there. One interesting modification this time was: a bit bigger distance between shins and the bar than one inch. I found a suggestion that taller people may need a bit more space. I think this might have been a good decision as it was a bit easier to set the position. Furthermore I actually measured my foot and found that middle of it actually is a bit further from the shin. Obviously I'm happy with this session results.

[adm]

Squat: 135kg (297lb)
Press: 48kg (105lb)
Deadlift: 119kg (261lb)

In case of squat the first set looked quite well, the other two were worse but no drama. I wish the reps were more consistent but it is not too bad either. Press seems to be complete mistake, I thought I tried 48 last time and repeated it but it was 49kg... drat it. Deadlift, rounded back on the way up. Initial setup was quite good in case of a few reps but when the bar was leaving the flow the magic was gone. I think I will deload again and try to fix it somehow, not sure how yet. The good part was such that the weight was heavy but not so absurdly like a few session ago.

[adm]

Squat: 137kg (301lb)
Bench press: 79kg (173lb)
Deadlift: 107kg (235lb)

Not a great amount of energy this time. Squat was tough, especially the last set. The depth seemed to be rather fine across the sets. I needed a couple of breaths before the last two reps in the 2nd and 3rd set. Back should be more rigid in case of a few reps but effectively it was not bad. Bench press was not very bad, I continued with wider grip and it seems to help. Clearly happy here. In case of deadlift on Monday I managed somehow to pulled my right lat probably against a floating rib during deadlift. It was not too bad however it seems like I made it a bit worse on Wednesday as today during the day the pain was a annoying me a bit. I think that a bit of rest should be enough and I wanted to practice a bit with lower weight anyway. My form looked clearly better than in case of heavier weight but still not good enough. Generally session was positive.

[adm]

Squat: 139kg (305lb)
Press: 49kg (107lb) 4,4,5,4 failed
Deadlift: 117kg (257lb)

Squat was tough, after the 4th rep of the 2nd set I saw spots in front of my eyes. The last set was better. I used the correct weight for press this time and well it didn't work. Possibly my right back/ribs pain affected it slightly - it was really bad during the warmup sets, it was better during working sets. First of all bar path was poor, especially in case of the first two sets. I'm looking for a good breathing pattern, it seems to be rather difficult to breathe at the bottom (which seems to be recommended) when it seems to be easier to breathe at the top. I have no mobility to rest the bar on my chest so bottom position is really exhausting. It is kind of frustrating as the first rep of each set is easy but each subsequent rep is simply draining energy quickly. Furthermore the hip bounce does not seem to work consistently (I cannot find the moment when I should press, sometimes it looks like I'm pressing when the bar goes down). It was still a good fun and another attempt will be on Friday. If it won't go then I will try this 15 reps total approach. Deadlift yeah ... the plan was to try 109 and concentrate on technique (and let my back/ribs time to heal). A bit of experimenting happened here, it seems like keeping the bar a bit further from shins seems to allow lowering my hips a bit more, providing more space for my back to get straight. I have long legs and relatively long torso so it is quite difficult for me to get the proper position. I have issues with my spine in sacrum area so I'm very careful here as well. Anyhow results of the experiment have been rather positive. My back still rounded a bit but less than before, it also felt better (safer?). I decided to try 117kg and it worked. The position was similar to the one with 109kg. A lot work needed if this is going to go any further. Overall I'm satisfied with the session. Squat scary but the result makes me happy, press was at least funny and I didn't hurt myself any worse during deadlift so always a good thing.