jm1369’s BodyBlog

Well, I finally hit a road block yesterday. Was scheduled to do squats at 390 x 5. I got only 3 reps. I will repeat the week (squats only) next week. If no forward progress, I will back up 3 weeks and take another run at it.
Bench pressing got tough too. 285 x 5 was difficult. Plateau here soon too. The other lifts are getting heavy, but should not plateau for a couple weeks yet.
This is all ok. This is what is supposed to happen. Its all about forcing the body past its limits. I really am looking forward to using this new strength for some good mass gains post 5×5!
The weeks seem to really be flying by on the program. I`m in week 10 already! I have to start to figure out what is the best route to take for a post 5×5 mass gain program. Or some rest/recovery? Input Jeff?

Last friday my heavy triple on squats was 380. The first 2 reps seemed ok. But when I began to rise for the 3rd rep, I leaned ever so slightly forward. This caused me to have to fight leaning forward even more along with trying to complete the rep. I got the rep, but it had me fearing the plateau would come sooner than expected. After realizing it was the lean that caused the difficult rep, I concentrated on keeping that weight from drifting away. I got that 380 for 5 reps this morning. I do believe I am stronger in the legs than ever before. I am doing these reps without knee wraps. Whereas 16 years ago all my squating was done with wraps.
5×5 is progressing well. Some days "feel" heavier. Then the next workout feels great. It has me anxious to find my peak potential!

Went for a jog this morning. About 2 miles. Hate cardio, and did not want to do this one. But my daughter and I have an agreement to push each other into doing cardio when the other dont want to. So far its been working well. I do like having a jogging partner.
5×5 went well this week. Squats are getting heavy, 370 x 3. Was not an easy set. Bench press was 275 x 3, and that one felt good. Anxious to add more weight to this lift. Going to do calves, upper chest, and biceps later today.
Was going to add all inspirations at once, but that ended up not working so well. So I`ll get to them as I go. Have a few to add yet.

Weight is steady at 203, so that reading the other day was accurate. Good workout today. 360 x 5 reps deadlifting. New feature on bb.com. Insiping members. Gonna add a few that mean the most to me. But will wait till I have time to add them all at once.

Todays workout felt really good. It was a light day for squats, so I made sure I went ATG. Overhead pressing is not overly challenging, but getting heavier none the less. Deads went to 355 x 5.  I am still using the narrow stance. I am going to that milk out as much as I can. Then start using the sumo stance. I can do a little more weight sumo.
I have been weaning myself off knee wraps lately. I have always used them in heavy squating because of shaky knees. I started out wanting to see how far I could get in the program without them. What I have discovered is that the wraps were doing nothing to cure this problem. I was relying on them for stability. By not using them, my legs have been forced to develope their own stability. As a result, my knees dont "wander" anymore during heavy lifting. Also, My thighs are growing like never before! They now are well over 25 inches each! With 26 not too far off! (at this pace) I would likely use knee wraps again in powerlifting comps, if I were to ever participate in something like that. (which I would never rule out!)
Weight today was 202.