Unusual Circumstances...Will This Program Work?

[Tiburon]

Staten Island, but I go to school in Bay Ridge.

The Y is only $30/month and if you tell them you're broke they usually give you a discount
Membership |

Staten Island South Shore YMCA

[jfallon9]

Thanks for letting me know about that. I may be able to get a job over the holidays/get money for Christmas, and join up there. In the mean time though, I have a different question about milk. I am lactose intolerant, but I’ve had success with Lactaid pills in the recent past. The other day, I drank a quart of milk after taking 2 lactaid pills. Do you guys think I’d be good taking two pills (9000 FCC by the way) and upping milk intake to a half-gallon per day?

[jfallon9]

Well, today was a good day. I took a week off to eat and sleep properly (since my gym was closed over break), and I weighed in at 170. I worked up to an AMRAP set of 245 squats, got 8 reps. Then I did some back-off sets. If my calculator is right, this puts me at a three plate squat. I guess the week off helped.

[jfallon9]

Forgot to mention that these were free weight squats. Not smith squats.

[Tiburon]

I worked up to an AMRAP set of 245 squats, got 8 reps. .

Why?

[jfallon9]

Because I hadn't free-weight back squatted for a little over a month, and I wanted to see where I was at in terms of a decline in squat strength. I was originally going to go for AMRAP with 275, but I went with 245 because I thought my max was somewhere around 269. I read that strength drops around 5-10% in a month, and the last place I left off was 245 x 3 x 5 for squats.

[jfallon9]

Well, I realized it probably wasnt a smart idea to test strength this early in the game. I’m redoing SS with the equipment I have, twice a week, to help recovery (I don’t sleep a lot and am lactose intolerant—I’ve resorted to eating jars of reduced fat peanut butter and drinking a quart of milk a day so I don’t shit myself. I supplement with lactase, but it’s expensive.). I have what it takes. I figured out why I burned out after a month last time—I wasn’t eating enough. Now, up from a BW of 167 in December, I am 177 lbs. I look pretty much the same fat-wise, but I look fuller and stronger all around.

Unfortunately, I am going to have to use a Smith Machine for Squats. I refuse to Flat Bench on a Smith (hurt my shoulder last year doing it), so I am going to have to replace Bench with Incline Smith Bench. Presses and Deadlifts are fine, as are Power Cleans, because I have a barbell and some weight plates. Can you guys critique my squat form as well? This video was taken shortly before I burned out. It is my final set of 235 x 5.

YouTube

Now, my question is, since I’m only going to be lifting twice a week, will I be able to make larger jumps for a while in Squats and Deadlifts? And where should I restart, weightwise? I read somewhere that you should multiply your approximate 5RM by .8 and begin there. Any advice you guys have on this matter would be extremely appreciated. Thanks a lot.

[Greg Ruhl]

Have you offered to sweep, mop, clean the wipe boards, run the team twitter account, wash uniforms, etc etc? There are dozens of stories on these boards about guys getting creative in order to find access to a gym.

You are a student at the school and should have access to the facilities. They probably have the rule for safety reasons. Figure out a way to make it happen.

[Tiburon]

Unfortunately, I am going to have to use a Smith Machine for Squats. .

Dude you are seriously wasting your youth. Get to a real gym. Did you tell the Y you're a poor broke student? At our Y they let teens join for $10/month

[Tiburon]

Now, my question is, since I’m only going to be lifting twice a week, will I be able to make larger jumps for a while in Squats and Deadlifts? And where should I restart, weightwise? I read somewhere that you should multiply your approximate 5RM by .8 and begin there. Any advice you guys have on this matter would be extremely appreciated. Thanks a lot.

Have you even read the book?

It's threads like this that give millennials a bad name.