My BodyBlog

While working on the 5×5 training method for a few weeks last fall, I successfully did deadlifts at 269, 280 and 290 pounds.  I remember the workout where I did 290 was brutal, it took all I had in me to get it done and it left me exhausted and sore (and wanting more, of course!)  Overall I found 5×5 training the most challenging thing I’ve tried so far, and I made some mistakes in how I structured my training schedule.  I’ll be better prepared when I do another cycle of 5×5 training later on this year.  In the meantime though, I haven’t given up totally on 5×5 training.  I have been incorporating it a little into the compound exercise cycle that I’m doing for January and February.  On deadlift days I’ve tried 5×5 twice at 295 pounds, with little success.  Both times the workout got off to a bad start and for different reasons I just didn’t feel comfortable with it.  As I’ve come to appreciate with deadlifting, the mental focus and confidence has to be there along with the physical component.  In recent weeks on deadlift day I’ve deadlifted low weight/high reps, deadlift variations such as rack, sumo, romanian and stiff-leg deads, and I’ve done heavy lifts building up to a new personal best 415 single lift.  Some great workouts and lifting to be sure, but my failure to take the next step on the 5×5 has been nagging at me, almost taunting me!  Tonight, feeling well rested and having eaten a good pre-workout meal, I was ready to tackle it again.

I jumped rope 200 times to get the blood flowing, then did warm-up sets 135×10 and 225×6, felt good.  After the first set of 295×5, I just knew I had this in the bag!  Felt very strong, there was no doubt in my mind I was going to complete all 5 sets.  Before I knew it I was done, only had to pause a little before the final rep of the fourth and fifth sets.  Don’t get me wrong, the 5×5 wasn’t easy, but it was noticeably easier than I expected and easier than when I completed the 5×5 using 290 pounds a couple of months ago.  It is very satisfying to see the steady improvement and to know that I am still getting stronger.  Doing deadlifts tonight I didn’t make my shins bleed, but I came closer than ever before.  I scraped off skin and left red marks…I take this as a sign I’m lifting with good form!  I know I know, I should be wearing track pants or something, but I just don’t feel as comfortable as wearing shorts.  Maybe next time I will try to get used to track pants, because I have a lot of skin scraping in my future!  After deadlifts I did some hamstring curls and trap work, and did 300 more jump rope reps.  By that time legs were very tired.  I went home feeling great about my accomplishment, already thinking about my next workout.

Knowing I was going to the gym Friday night helped me get through three stressful days travelling for work while maintaining a positive frame of mind…thanks once again bodybuilding!

Working sets bench press program 205×5, 205×5, 220×2, 220×2, 225 to failure.  A good workout, I seemed to get stronger with each set.  When I started there were a few guys there who could spot me for the failure test, but by the time I was ready for it I was alone in the gym.  Can’t go to failure on the flat bench rack without a spotter, and since I could pass the test with only 2 reps and that wouldn’t be a problem, I decided just to do the 2 reps.  Just as I was getting ready to lift off I heard the door to the gym open and a couple of guys came in, one I knew could spot me.  He was more than willing to help, in fact he was a little too helpful for me, grabbing the bar as I was slowing down, but not failing on the third rep.  Oh well, nothing I can do about that.  We’ll call it a successful workout and move on from there.  Next workout will be exciting and challenging, it calls for me to bench more than I’ve ever tried before….

Later in the workout I saw a guy I’ve seen regularly and heard talking to others.  He’s in his early 50’s, started in the new year and is still at it, and I give him full credit for his commitment.  But seeing how he works out is driving me batty!  There is something wrong with his form on every exercise and he usually struggles with too much weight.  I’m afaid he’s going to give up in frustration or even worse, injure himself.  He sometimes works out with friends who don’t have the same issues but I’ve never noticed them trying to help him…maybe he’s one of those who doesn’t like being told what to do.  Last night he was doing all different exercises and body parts at random, he ended up at the seated cable row machine which was right next to where I was jumping rope.  On that exercise his whole upper body rocked back and forth, he wasn’t using his back muscles much at all….I couldn’t take it any more!  I asked him if he would mind if I gave him a tip, he said ’sure’ then I told him how to do the seated cable row with good form and why it would be more effective than the way he was doing it.  After, he asked me how long I’d been working out, and a couple of more questions.  Later, I heard him talking to someone else about food.  He made the comment that it doesn’t matter how much food or what you eat as long as you keep working out there is no doubt that you will get fit….!  I cringed at this, what a thing to think!  I held my tongue though, I didn’t want to give any more unsolicited advice, I don’t want to come across as preachy or a know-it-all.  Hopefully he will learn the truth about eating and fitness sooner rather than later, maybe if I keep chatting with him at the gym there will be an opportunity for me to share some of my knowledge and experience with him in a low-key way…

DOMS for me are always maximum 36 to 48 hours after the workout…last night I had a great leg workout, I can still feel something in my quads this morning…will I be able to walk tomorrow? LOL!  Here’s what I did.  Started the workout with 5 sets of pull ups (palms down) while I waited for the power rack.  I did 8,5(lost grip), 7, 7, and 7.  Good result considering I haven’t done many pull-ups lately due to resting upper body for the bench press program.

On squats I was in the mood for a high volume workout, so I decided to do 10×10, going up in weight.  I warmed up with 45×12, then started working sets at 135, continued with 145,155,165, 205 and finally 225.  So I only did 6 sets out of 10.  But I have a good reason!  I started doing jump rope sets after each pullup set, then kept going with it after every squat set.  I had virtually no rest between all of these sets.  Soon I was breathing heavily and sweating a lot.  In my squat sets I had to start rest/pause on the 165 set, normally I could breeze through a set of 10 at this weight.  After this set I knew my legs would not hold up for 10 sets thanks to all the jumping rope, but that’s fine, I can’t do everything.  I jacked up the weight for the last two sets and got through them with rest/pause.  I’m very happy with the squats because I had good form and went parallel or below on every rep.

Finished squats, I went right to the treadmill and did 12 minutes of HIIT.  I couldn’t sprint as fast as I usually do, the legs were a little rubbery!  The sweat was pouring off me by the time I got through this!  But I wasn’t finished yet…I counted my jump rope reps, and I was just over 800….decided to go for 1000!  So I took my rope over by the leg extension machine and did 2 drop sets and jumped rope.  The last drop set I did as many as I could, at the end I only had 20 pounds on the machine but the quads were burning like mad by this time, I had to close my eyes and give it everything I had to get through the last 5 reps.  And I did finish the 1000th jump rope rep!  After all this I had to hobble around for awhile and do some stretching before I felt like I could walk normally.

A guy I know in his 50’s who works out upper body all the time was watching me a little doing squats.  After a set he came up to me and commented that he’s never tried squats and wondered if he should.  I asked if he had any leg or back issues, he didn’t, so I encouraged him to give squats a try, start with the bar only and learn how to do them well.  I said that squats will help not only legs but also the core and stimulate overall muscle growth in the body.  I feel comfortable saying this not only because it’s what I’ve read, but I believe it’s happening to me. 

Amazing!  Sometime during the afternoon the wind must have changed direction because when I went out to start clearing the snow I saw that the driveway was almost bare!  So all I had to do was shovel the doorways and pathways and that took less than an hour.  Then it was off to the gym, feeling highly motivated to have a great workout.

Last bench press workout was not the greatest, for reasons stated in that post.  Wasn’t sure how today was going to go, I just know that upper body was well rested and felt good going in.  Working sets required: 220×3, 220×3, 235×1, 235×1, 260xNeg.  Results - Fantastic!  No real problem with any of these lifts, the 235’s were a little challenging but I got them up feeling like I could handle a few more pounds.  My chance to lift more will come soon.  The 260 negative was the most weight I’ve ever held up on the bar, it was just a negative, but it’s another step towards my goal this year of 315!

After bench press I did biceps, some rotator cuff work, and abs.  The only cardio at the gym today was a ten minute warm-up on the bike, I counted my snow shovelling time as my main cardio today.  Doing biceps I got a good pump going, doing a couple of burn-out sets at the end, giving it all that I had.  I had sweat running down my back, proves again that lifting can have a cardio component if you reach the right intensity level.  I also tried a new exercise for biceps.  I layed on my back in front of a cable stack, facing the cable and with my elbows on the floor by my side, I did curls with a bar.  This really hits the biceps in a different way and I found it good.

Travel for work this week and a tight deadline to deal with…don’t know how the gym will be fitting into all of this, but I’ll do my best and if I have to I’ll improvise with something at home.

It happens at least once every winter so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that we are having an intense winter storm today, and that storm is throwing off my plans for the day including my workout plans.  It’s just after 3 pm and the snowfall is ending, the big problem now is the high winds whipping around the powdery snow causing poor visibility at times.  The car is parked at the end of the driveway and from what I can see getting on the road won’t be too bad…but we’ll have to call our snow plough guy to clear the drifts from the rest of the driveway.  I’ll have an hour or two of shovelling to do to clear the doors and pathways…not too bad.  I just hope the blowing snow doesn’t fill them in again, that’s a pain.

I’ve had two full days off from lifting, much needed as it turns out.  I did a lot of reps deadlifting Thursday night, resulting in some of the worst (best!) DOMS in my back and hamstrings that I’ve ever had.  The back is fine today, but I can still feel a little soreness in the hamstrings.  My workout today is supposed to be the bench press program, rotator cuff, biceps, abs and cardio.  Will I make it to the gym?  I’m going outdoors now to size up the snow situation and start clearing it away…I’ll update later.