asparagus Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 MadCow Week 3200, 200, 100 jump rope w/ 3x5 pullups Squat5x45 lbs5x1155x1655x205, slow descent w/ pause at bottom5x205, speed set 1 breath OHP5x755x1005x1205x140 Deadlift5x135 slow, hook5x205 hook5x265 hook5x325 over/under5x380 over/under, chalk Cleaned the bar for each set of OHP. I like cleans, even more so power cleans. Next go-round with 5/3/1 is going to have some power cleans in it! Need to work on my form a bit though, I'm sure. For whatever reason, didn't have a whole lot of confidence going into the heavy deadlift set. The first rep seemed really heavy to start with, but by the time I got to the top, I was kicking myself for being an idiot and banged out the rest of the set without issue. Hang holds have actually gotten a little better lately. I am easily able to do 60 seconds (at ~200 lbs clothed bodyweight at lifting time), whereas previously it was only on a good day I would get that high. On Monday I actually hit 70 seconds before the grip gave out. I think the farmer's walks I've been doing on Fridays have helped with the grip strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 I went back into my MadCow spreadsheet and had a look at the progression again. I decided to change to only 5 lbs increments on all the major lifts and 5 lbs per 2 weeks for OHP rather than 2.5% per week, as I think it may be a bit ambitious otherwise. I might be able to do it, but I'd rather take the progression a little more slowly and make sure my form doesn't break down trying to go too heavy too fast. As it was with the original 2.5% increments, the 12th-week goal for squats was 3x380lbs, and deadlifts was 3x470 lbs! Maybe I could do it, but I don't mind a slightly slower progression. With the revision, my new goals for the 12th week are squats 5x340/3x345 and deadlifts 5x420/3x425. My previous bests are: parallel squats 5x330 lbs (from last May) and deadlift 2x405 (December)/5x390 (May). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 MadCow Week 3 200, 200 jump rope w/ 2x5 pullups lower body mobility drills Squat5x45 lbs, slow5x1205x1655x2105x2553x3008(?)x210 Bench5x855x1155x1455x1803x2108(?)x145 BB Rows5x755x1005x1305x1553x1858x135 Farmer's walk, with dumbells50m x 80 lbs each hand45m x 802x35m x 85 Ran out of time so had to cut the grip work short. I started including hip/leg mobility drills into my warmups on Wednesday, continued today. Doing some of DeFranco's Agile 8, skipping the foam rolling for now. I'm not getting any muscle soreness or tightness, so I'm probably OK to skip the foam rolling as part of the warmup. I really just want to increase my hip mobility a bit, although I think it's pretty good already. Concentrated on keeping my knees pushed out a bit wider (to the correct position) on the heavier squat sets, as they tend to nudge in a bit coming up out of the hole, and I noticed the other day I wasn't paying as much attention to form as I used to. I'm pretty sure something helped, as my depth and hip drive was great today. I'll probably be a little sore in the groin tomorrow, but worth it! I think I actually did 9 reps instead of 8 on the final squat and bench sets, as I somewhat lost count in the middle, so I assumed I had done one less than the number I was thinking of as I counted out the set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Good training as usual man. Much on for the weekend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captfit Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 All the best for your new 12 week goals , once again i'd appreciate your advice earlier on sticking to the program and specially the reference to chewy's log , reading that really motivated me to carry on . Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 Thanks, guys! MadCow Week 4 200, 200, 10 jump rope w/ 3x5 pullups forgot to do mobility drills, was too eager to get into the squat rack Squats5x45 lbs slow5x1205x1655x2105x2555x300 Bench5x855x1155x1455x1805x210 BB Rows5x755x1005x1305x1555x185 The heavy set on squats was tougher than I thought it should be, had a bit of effort getting it up for the last few reps. Form was a bit wonky. I don't think my depth was as far as it should have been, but I was below parallel. Bench asked for a bit of leg drive on the last rep of the heavy set, which I obliged and finished. Rows went well. OK session, would have been great save for the last squat set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 MadCow Week 4200, 200, 100 jump rope w/ 3x5 pullups mobility drills Squats5x45 lbs slow5x1205x1655x210 slow w/ pause at bottom5x210 speed set 1 breath OHP5x805x1005x1254x145 +2 push-press slow negative Deadlift5x135 slow hook5x210 hook5x270 hook5x325 over/under5x385 over/under, chalk I've had a bit of discomfort (wouldn't call it pain, really) in my knees yesterday and today. I think it is from squatting on Monday, pushing my knees out a bit too far. I don't notice it when I'm walking around or even sitting, only sometimes when I'm standing still. Didn't feel it at all while lifting. Going to pay attention to it and be even more careful with my form for the next few sessions until I'm back into the proper groove. Everything went well today. Would have been nice to get 5x145 on OHP, but I'm fine with 4 reps. I'll get 5 next week. I've programmed a 5-lbs increase every two weeks on my current schedule, so I'm on track anyway. Deadlift was almost easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted February 9, 2013 Author Share Posted February 9, 2013 MadCow Week 4 200, 200, 100 jump rope w/ 3x5 pullups mobility drillsunloaded squatsbox jumps Squats5x50 lbs5x1105x1705x2155x2603x3058x215 Bench5x855x1205x1505x1853x215 PB8x150 BB Row5x755x1055x1355x1603x1908x135 Knees were feeling a little better yesterday and felt fine today - until I did some box jumps. Afterwards my knees were not feeling happy, but only when I was standing around, not while I was squatting. After moving on to the bench I didn't notice any pain or discomfort anymore. I'll see how I feel tomorrow. Squats are going well. I've adjusted my form so that I consistently get below parallel and have gotten used to it. The squats are slightly harder but I'm happy with the adjustment and will continue with this form. I had previously stated that I was going to stick to parallel squats while I was doing 5/3/1 last year, but I've pretty much figured out the form and am comfortable with it now. Bench and rows are also coming along nicely. I realized that the 5x210 lbs I hit on Monday is actually a PB for me on bench. I'm happy to see they are improving. When I hit 5x200 on the rows (with good form this time) that will be a PB for me there. I'm getting close to PBs in all the major lifts. 5x150 on OHP and 5x395 on Deadlift will both be PBs (coming up soon!), but I'm not sure where to call my PB on squats. I've done 5x330 lbs at parallel before back in May of 2012. Since I am now going full depth (or at least as far as I can go with my hams on my calves), I am going to call 5x315 a PB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 Came down with the flu this Sunday. Feeling OK today, other than a bit of a cough and some occasional sniffles. Well enough to go to the gym today, but as I'm still probably contagious and I don't want to extend my recovery time from illness I won't be lifting this week, no matter how good I feel on Friday. Dude - healthy vegan diet and I kicked the flu in 4 days. Bam! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Flu sucks, I train through colds but flu I reckon you're better to rest up and let it pass. Good call mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captfit Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Enjoy the break i am sure you will come back stronger . Take care with the flu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 Thanks guys. So last Friday I was feeling fine and couldn't keep myself out of the gym. I basically repeated what I had done the previous Friday. Even though I was feeling well, all the lifts were difficult. Dammit Jim, I'm a weightlifter, not a doctor! (That's actually phrased backwards from the Star Trek reference, but if you get it you get it either way) That was both bad and good. Bad because I ended up with a cold this weekend (which i am still on the tail end of). Good because it prepped me for lifting today, and today was a good workout. Today: MadCow Week 5 skipped warmup, but did mobility drills Squats:5x60 lbs5x1205x1705x2155x2605x305 Bench:5x855x1205x1505x1855x215 PB BB Rows:5x755x1055x1355x1605x190 Squats were tough, tougher than they should have been but probably due to my illness break last week and being a bit sick still today. My depth wasn't great on the first rep (still a bit below parallel though), but better for the last 4. I had a good spotter for bench, finally. I explained that I was going for 5 reps and that the last one was going to be an all-out effort, and only save me if I was going to crush my face. It looked like he had his fingers under the bar at the end of rep 5, but told me that he didn't have any lift on it at all. I'm happy with the PB on that one. Rows were tough and I ended up with a bit of hip drive to get it off the floor, but I was able to keep it to a bare minimum and still pull with my back for the reps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Congrats on the bench PB, that's excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 MadCow Week 5Quick bike and pullup warmupmobility drills Squat:5x135 lbs5x1755x215, slow negative, pause, explosive up5x215, speed set 1 breath OHP:5x805x1005x1255x145 Deadlift:5x135, hook grip, slow for form5x215, hook5x275, hook5x330, hook5x390, over/under, chalk Great workout today. Felt great after squats. Power rack was being used for squats after I was done with my set so I cleaned the bar for OHP sets. 125 lbs went up quickly for a set of 5, so I knew I could hit 5x145 today, which I did handily. Feeling good about myself I went into my deadlift sets and other than the first warmup set, the bar just flew up off the floor. The final heavy set was easy and quick, although it was more touch and go than I normally do. I just got into a zone and was amazed at how easy the pulls seemed so I raced through it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted February 25, 2013 Author Share Posted February 25, 2013 Didn't get the chance to log on Friday MadCow Week 5, Friday Feb 22 jump rope and pullups warmupforgot to do mobility drills Squat:10x50 lbs slow5x1255x1705x2155x2653x3108x215 Bench:5x905x1205x1555x1853x220 PB8x155 BB Row:5x805x1055x1355x1653x1958x135 Squats went well, good depth and form. Trucking right along with those and looking forward to personal bests a week from today. Bench was good also, happy with my progress. 5th PB in a row on bench. I should make my 5x220 on bench Monday and then I'll be going for a triple 225 on Friday. Finally going to hit 4 big plates for reps. Everything about this workout was good. Looking forward to big Monday in Week 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 MadCow Week 6 bike/jump rope/pullups warmupmobility drills Squats5x45 lbs slow5x1255x1705x2155x2655x310 Bench5x905x1205x1555x1854x220 PB BB Row5x805x1055x1355x1655x195 Sick with a cold today. Really annoying trying to lift with a cold but I didn't want to skip the day. Felt fine otherwise, but still a little off my game. Lost a couple lbs of BW since Friday as well. Lifts sucked today. Hit the squats but my depth was awful. Barely made parallel on them. I think it was my subconscious response to feeling shitty that I automatically stopped at where I felt safe from all my previous parallel squatting. Bench was going alright, but on the 185# set I wasn't feeling strong, and normally I can bang out that second to final set without pause. Had another decent spotter today, kept the hands completely off the bar until the 5th rep when I knew it wasn't going up and told him I needed the help. Still a personal best, though. I'll go for 4 reps of 220# on Friday and then try to hit 5x220# again next Monday. Rows were tough, but I got them. They were actually the easiest lift of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 Cold's gone. MadCow Week 6 jump rope and pullups warmupforgot to do mobility drills, dammit Squatthe only rack was in use and I wasn't able to work in, and all the bench press barbells were also in use used a fixed bar for 5x50 lbs slow squat warmups, then did a couple hack squat machine sets - 5x 4 plates, 5x 6 plates. OHP, cleaned from floor on each set5x855x1055x1305x150 PB Deadlift5x135, hook grip, slow for form5x215, hook5x275, hook5x335, hook5x395, switch, chalk, PB Pissed about missing mobility drills and not starting off with some good squats to get me in the mood. I would have had to wait about 20 minutes to get into the squat rack, so I had to deal with it. Form was terrible in the hack squat machine. I don't think that thing is meant for full depth squatting; at least I couldn't figure it out. I got pissed and moved onto OHP. At this point one of the benches opened up so I grabbed the bar. Cleaned all the sets from the floor. Surprised myself by completing 5x150 on my first go at it. My previous best was 4x150. I did have a bit of left-over momentum on the bar at the start of the first rep from the end of the clean movement, but it was minor. Actually, I think the last few weeks I've been cleaning the bar for OHP, and I think I like it. I'll probably keep doing so. Deadlifts went well as expected. I've been getting a bit more touch-n-go that I should on the heavy sets, so I made sure to slow down the bar at the bottom, let the slack out of the bar when the plates hit the floor, then pull again (the way I used to do it). It wasn't as easy as last week's more touch-n-go set, but still no trouble. I had a hankering to try it with hook grip, as my thumbs were feeling OK, but decided against it. My hook grip is starting to feel a bit better. At the rate I'm going, I'm going to hit most of my year-end (December 2013!) goals in about 2 months! Possibly also strict OHP 200 lbs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Deadlifts are definately better being done as single reps rather than 'touch & go' IMHO. That's one way to develop greater strength from the start of the pull, where you need to break the inertia. Good to hear your cold is gone. Much planned for the weekend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 Yeah, I know the way I should be doing them, but in the heat of the moment I sometimes forget what I should be doing and just zone in on getting all the reps as fast as I can. My Mom's in town for the weekend, so just family stuff for me this weekend. Will be taking Monday off of work for a nice long weekend though. It will mess with my lifting schedule a bit, but that doesn't bother me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Have a nice time with your Mum, sounds good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 (edited) MadCow Week 6 jump rope and pullups warmupgot distracted and forgot mobility drills AGAIN Squat8x45 lbs slow - took me a few extra reps to get the groove5x1255x1755x2205x2703x315 PB8x225 Bench5x905x1255x1605x1904x2208x160 BB Row5x805x1105x1405x1703x2009x140 - one extra for the hell of it EDIT - Forgot to record farmers walks. 4x33m, normal walking pace (for me), 100# db each hand. Good workout today - hit everything as planned. Form was good on the squats, got full depth. Thinking about taking next week as a deload week, do some light power cleans and such, then come back to the gym full force the following Monday. I'm taking Monday off of work, and possibly Friday as well, which would give me a max of 2 days in the gym this week (Tues/Thurs) and throw off my schedule. Probably better just to do a deload week, but I'll see how I feel come next Tuesday. Edited March 6, 2013 by asparagus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Wow, congrats on your PB. 3PPS for a triple, solid! How did they feel, you couldn't have got a 4th rep if you had someone stood shouting at you ?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted March 2, 2013 Author Share Posted March 2, 2013 I probably could have finished 5 reps with serious effort, but I'm happy to go for 5 the next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Thanks for the PM btw, appreciate that. Completely agree with everything you said MF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted March 6, 2013 Author Share Posted March 6, 2013 Today was not a deload day... MadCow Week 7 jump rope and pullupsmobility drills Squat8x45# slow for form5x1255x1755x2205x2705x315 PB Bench5x905x1205x1555x1855x220 PB BB Row5x805x1105x1405x1705x200 Looked back at my schedule and realized that I'm only 6 weeks in, and had a 1/2 week break when I was sick a couple weeks back, so I shouldn't need a deload just yet. I probably won't be able to hit the next 5 rep bench and row weights, but I might be able to power through the next 5 rep squat weight next Monday. I'll just shoot for 3 reps on bench and rows monday, then go for 4 on Friday, and finish with 5 reps on week 9 Monday. Squats were heavy today. Took max effort to get out 5 reps. Form was OK, I only got parallel, but my knees tracked out over my toes a bit so there was more ankle flex than usual and my hams hit my calves before I pushed back up. If my shins were more vertical then it would have been well past parallel, but my leverage today was a bit off. Happy to get bench finally. Looking forward to a triple 225# for my next set! Rows were tough, needed a bit of leg drive to finish the set. I'll see what happens next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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