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MadCow Week 7

 

jump rope and pullups

mobility drills

 

Squat

5x45# slow for form

5x125

5x175

5x225 slow negative, explosive up

5x225 speed set

 

OHP

5x85

5x110

5x130

3x155 PB

2x155 push press, slow negative

 

Deadlift

5x135 hook, slow for form

5x220 hook

5x280 hook

5x340 hook

5x400 PB, switch, chalk

 

Terrible workout today. Had low energy, and actually started feeling hungry half way through it. I was so worn out after 3 presses at 150# that my form went to shit on the push presses. Similarly, my form was shit on deadlift, even though I managed the 5 reps. It was difficult, I was using my back too much, and my grip was shit, even with chalk (probably didn't use enough). Not even Misfits on full blast could help me stir up the energy for a good lift.

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Great job on all the PB's! I miss Madcow when I was still making a solid PR every week, haha.

Thanks

Terrible workout but you grinded out 2 PB's ?!

 

I need to start having some terrible workouts !!

Well, my strength was mostly where it should have been, so the PB's were expected. However, judging by my recent lifts, I should have hit 4 on the OHP, and the 5 reps for deadlift should have been managable without too much strain. The terrible part is how I felt during the lifts, lackluster and low energy, terrible form.

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Bleh - Going to be out of the gym for a week. The shitty workout I had on Thursday left me with an issue that I need to give a bit of time to resolve before I hit heavy squats and deadlifts again. I could probably lift as long as my form was super strict, but it's a chance that I don't want to take. Ate like shit over the weekend anyway, wouldn't be surprised if I dropped a few lbs as well. We'll see how it is on Friday and I might go in for a quick easy workout.

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What happens more often than not is that I don't eat enough over the weekend, especially on Saturdays after a heavy Friday workout. I might get half as much protein as I do on a weekday, and probably 2/3 as many calories. I don't have a set schedule for the weekends like I do during the week, so it is much harder to get my meals in. I have trouble eating enough unless I force myself to such as on my weekday schedule.

 

It's not the shitty eating over the weekend that is keeping me out of the gym. I have a temporary physical ailment that is not worth possibly aggravating by lifting heavy.

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I was feeling OK and needed to let off a bit of stress so I hit the gym today. I didn't go really heavy, but did enough so that it was a good effort. My heaviest sets were only at 75% of my 1RM. Paid attention to form. Only had about 40 minutes to lift, so had to keep it short.

 

Squat

5@45#

5@130

5@175

5@225

3x5@270

 

Bench

5@90

5@125

5@160

2x5@190

 

BB Row

5@80

5@115

5@145

2x5@175

 

I'll see how I feel over the weekend. I'm hoping that I'm good to go to jump back into heavy lifts next week. If so, I'll just repeat my week 7 schedule and go from there.

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Weekend was alright, training today was shit. Didn't get much sleep last night, not sure if that was why, but I couldn't hit any of my marks today. Also had some significant DOMS, probably due to the multiple sets at 75%, although I didn't think it would be enough work to warrant the level of soreness I felt.

 

MadCow Week 7 Repeat

 

jump rope and pullups, mobility drills

 

Squat

8x45#

5x125

5x175

5x220

5x270

1x315 (fail on 2nd rep)

3x315

 

Bench

5x90

5x120

5x155

5x185

3x220

 

BB Row

5x80

5x110

5x140

5x170

3x200

 

Didn't have the strength for it today. Energy was a bit low, but then once I got the bar moving on my heavy sets I just had trouble moving it. Came down a little too fast on the squats, leaned too far forward and couldn't regain my form, dumped the bar for the fail. I then decided I would get at least a triple, so I waited a minute and went back at it. My depth wasn't great (below parallel at least), and it was very hard to hit the triple, but at least I got it.

 

I hoped for better performance on the bench, but didn't have it. After I struggled with rep #3 and almost felt like I was going to pull a hamstring from how tight my legs were clenched, I racked it and called it done.

 

Didn't even bother thinking about more than a triple on rows.

 

Hopefully I'll lift better on Wednesday.

 

EDIT: Didn't really have much of an appetite after lifting today. I'm just now (1.5 hours later) sitting down to eat, and only because I know I need to, not because I'm hungry.

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Got in the gym today for my regular Wednesday session and felt great. Much better than Monday.

 

MadCow Week 7 Repeat

 

bike and pullups, mobility drills

 

Squat

8@45 #

5@125

5@175

5@225, slow negative, explosive up

5@225, speed set

 

OHP

5@85

5@110

5@130

4@155 PB - so close to finishing 5 reps!

1@155 push press and hold

 

Deadlift

5@135, slow for form, hook

5@225, hook

5@280, hook

5@340, hook

5@400, switch, chalk

 

All the lifts went off well. I was really shooting for 5 reps on the OHP but just barely didn't have it in me. I'll hit it next time. Deadlifts went well. I made sure to get a good pause at the bottom while keeping tension on the bar, and maintained good form for most of the set. Form broke down a little on the last rep, but I was still able to finish the set without much issue.

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Thanks, but I'm still not really satisfied with my progress. My weight is down a couple lbs, and I can't seem to find the appetite or will to eat more. I might have to resort to downing a protein powder shake at night for a couple weeks to see if that helps. Or maybe just realize that unless I am willing to put on a lot more weight, my progress is going to be pretty slow, and accept it.

 

MadCow Week 7 repeat

 

jump rope and pullups, mobility drills

 

Squat

5@45#

5@125

5@175

5@225

5@270

5@315, not deep enough, just to parallel

 

Bench

5@90

5@125

5@155

5@185

4@220

8@155

 

BB Rows

5@80

5@115

5@145

5@175

5@200, PB

 

Bar was a little low on squats, which threw my torso a bit further down and out and made it more difficult to get past parallel. Instead of fixing it, I just decided to go with it and finish the set at parallel so at least I would have the confidence boost. I may repeat the set again next time and go for good depth. Pissed about missing bench, I should have had it. I've already done 5 reps at 220#, 2+ weeks ago. Oh well, slow going. Went for it on rows and hit it. Happy about that at least.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Still around 198 # BW. Had a week+ off from the gym - busy workdays and then holidays to finish the week. Went in today for a "light" session just to get me back into it. Took roughly 10% off of the last heavy sets I've done for today. I've also got various muscle cramps from poor sleep positions and who knows what else over the past week, but I love how it all just disappears once I'm moving the bar. Of course it comes right back after the set, though...

 

Today

 

jump rope and pullups, mobility drills

 

Squats

5@45#

5@125

5@170

5@215

5@260

3x3@295

 

Bench

5@85

5@115

5@145

5@175

3x3@205

 

BB Row

5@75

5@105

5@125

5@155

3x3@185

 

Everything went fine. I choose the right reps/sets/weight, as the last rep on the last two sets of each lift were hard, but not extremely difficult.

 

Going to use the same idea for Wednesday and then get back into the MadCow program on Friday.

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More "light" work. Seriously sore from Monday, feels good.

 

jump rope and pullups, mobility drills

 

Squat

5@45#

5@125

5@175

5@225

5@225

 

OHP

5@80

5@100

5@120

3x3@140, +15 second static hold on last set

 

Deadlift

5@140 hook

5@225 hook

5@275 hook

5@325 hook

3x3@375 first two hook, last set switch, chalk

 

Good lifts today. Squats were all done normally, no special method such as I normally do on Wednesdays. OHP was cleaned from the floor for each set. I should have gone with 145#, as the 3x3 was easy with 140#. Deadlifts were good. On the second final weight set, I was losing strength in my grip and it made the pulls harder. I then switched to switch grip for the last set and had no problem. Maximum 2 minutes rest between heavy sets.

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Back into it.

 

MadCow (primer for Week

 

jump rope and pullups, mobility drills

 

Squat

5@45 #

5@125

5@175

5@225

5@270

3@310

8@225

 

Bench

5@90

5@120

5@155

5@185

3@220

8@155

 

BB Row

5@80

5@115

5@145

5@175

3@200

8@145

 

Squat set at 270# was feeling pretty heavy, so instead of going for 3@315#, I cut it back to 310 to give myself another week to build back up since I was having some trouble last time at 315. 310 was pretty tough, even for 3 reps. Not sure what's going on there. Bench was fine. Asked for a spotter, even though I didn't need one but wanted to be sure given how I felt on squats. Rows went fine as well. Good form, done as singles.

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The basic layout of Madcow is a 3-day/week split:

Monday:

5-rep squat

5-rep bench

5-rep BB row

Wednesday

light squats

5-rep OHP

5-rep deadlift

Friday

add 5 lbs to all Monday lifts

3-rep squat, 8-rep backoff lighter set

3-rep bench, "" ""

3-rep BB row, "" ""

 

This program is also called Bill Starr 5x5. This is where I found it:

http://stronglifts.com/madcow/5x5_Program/Linear_5x5.htm

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MadCow Week 8

 

jump rope and pullups, mobility drills

 

Squat

5@50 #

5@125

5@170

5@215

5@265

5@310

 

Bench

5@90

5@125

5@155

5@185

5@220 PB

 

BB Row

5@80

5@110

5@140

5@170

5@200

 

The first rep on squats wasn't too deep, just about parallel. I got pissed and made sure I dipped lower on the rest of them. The last one was rough, but I'm glad I did them properly. Finally hit 5x200# on bench! Stoked that I can now move on to having 2 big plates on each side. All in all a good workout today.

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MadCow Week 8

 

jump rope and pullups, mobility drills

 

Squats

2x5@45#

5@125

5@165

5@205, slow negative explosive up

5@205, speed set

 

OHP, sets cleaned from floor

5@85

5@110

5@130

5@155 PB

 

Deadlift

5@155, slow, hook

5@225, hook

5@285, hook

5@345, hook

5@405 PB, switch, chalk

 

Hit all my lifts, so it was a good day! Finally had it in me to finish the set of 5 OHP @ 155#. I've been struggling with that one for a few weeks now. Probably would have had faster progress if I pressed more frequently than once per week, but I'll think about that after this MadCow cycle is over. The final deadlift set was easier than I thought it would be. Form was good and I had no trouble finishing 5. The set wasn't done as singles, although there was a pause on the floor between reps. I didn't let tension off the bar though.

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MadCow End of Week 8

 

jump rope and pullups, mobility drills

 

Squat

5@45#

5@125

5@175

5@225

5@270

3@315

8@225

 

Bench

5@90

5@125

5@160

5@190

3@225 PB

8@160

 

BB Row

5@80

5@115

5@145

5@175

3@205 PB

8@145

 

Didn't sleep enough last night so was pretty tired going in to the gym today. Hit all my lifts though so I really can't complain. Depth was good on squats, one of the reps my torso came a bit too far forward and the bar was low enough to bang on one of the pins. It was at the very bottom of the lift so it didn't really affect me and I finished the set. Yesterday I had watched Dave Tate's bench press video, so I tried to incorporate some of his form fixes into my bench today. I'll link the video in the Powerlifting forum. Rows went well.

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Had to skip the gym on Monday, too busy at work - worked straight through lunch.

 

MadCow Week 9

 

jump rope and pullups, mobility drills

 

Squats

5@45#

5@125

5@165

5@205

5@205, slow negative, pause, explosive up

 

OHP

5@90

5@110

5@135

3@160 PB

x1 +1 push press, x3 push press @160

 

Deadlift

5@135 slow for form, hook

5@225 hook

5@285 hook

5@350 hook, had to reset grip on the last rep

5@410 PB, switch, chalk

 

Happy with my lifts today. I wasn't expecting more than 3 on the OHP, decided to fire off a few extra sets for more work on it. Tried to get 2 reps on the second set but stalled halfway up so brought it back and push-pressed it once. Did a final push-press set of 3 after only a minute rest, was beat after the third rep. Deadlift went well, good speed off the floor and good pauses on the floor between reps. Last rep of heavy set was a grinder, ended up a bit more stiff legged than I cared for but the weight still came up.

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MadCow end of Week 9

 

jump rope and pullups, mobility drills

 

Squats

5@45#, slow for form

5@125

5@175

5@220

5@270

2x3@315 PB for 2 sets of 3

8@225

 

Bench

5@90

5@125

5@160

5@190

2x3@225 PB for 2 sets of 3

8@160

 

BB Row

5@85

5@115

5@145

5@175

2x3@205 PB for 2 sets of 3

10@145 got carried away

 

Since I didn't get to lift on Monday, I just did 2 sets of triples at the weight I was using last Friday. All the lifts went well. I dare say I like a little more volume in my workout, not sure how effective it is at getting me strong enough to bump the weight up 5# though. Looking forward to trying these weights for 5 reps. I know I'll get the squats, bench and rows will be super tough.

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Family was visiting for the weekend. Was nice to have my brother's family down and all the kids playing together.

 

I'm thinking that I'm not going to finish the cycle of MadCow, as it is at the point where I cannot make weekly increases as programmed. I've got a good idea of what I want to do, so I'll probably come up with my own routine shortly, although it will probably be somewhat similar to some of the routines that I've been exposed to. The main lifts will stay the same, though. I think I'm going to toy around a bit with volume and intensity. Or maybe I'll just switch back to 5/3/1. Or I might just stick it out for 4 more weeks - I am still hitting PBs every week on every lift, even if I can't complete the sets of 5. Whatever, it's all still up in the air.

 

In other news, my bodyweight is up, I've been at or slightly above 200 for a few days now.

 

MadCow Week 9

 

jump rope and pullups, mobility drills

 

Squats

5@45#, slow for form

5@125

5@175

5@220

5@270

5@315

 

Bench

5@90

5@125

5@160

5@190

4@225 PB

 

BB Row

5@85

5@115

5@145

5@175

4@205 PB

 

OK session today. My eating was a bit off before lifting, started feeling hungry before I was scheduled to hit the gym, so had an apple and cliff bar and cup of coffee and waited 20 minutes before going in. Did well on the squats. Not as deep as I wanted, but still past parallel. Disappointed on the bench and rows. I was hoping the volume on Friday would have primed me for completion today, but it didn't happen. PBs on both, however, so no complaints really.

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