Mini Forklift Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Did well on the squats. Not as deep as I wanted, but still past parallel.That's still great, I always aim to break parallel. If I don't then I don't even really like counting the rep, how OCD is that? LOL Good session though, bodyweight seems pretty good. 200 is solid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted April 24, 2013 Author Share Posted April 24, 2013 MadCow Week 9 jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Squats5@45#, slow for form5@1355@1855@205, slow negative, pause, explosive up5@205, speed set OHP5@905@1105@1355@160 PB (sort of) Deadlift5@160, slow for form5@225, hook5@285, hook5@350, hook for 2, reset, hook for 2, reset, switch for last rep3,3,1@415, switch, chalk Today was OK. Ate a bit late, then got caught up in things and didn't get to the gym until 3 hours after eating. Had a cliff bar and a couple small apples before lifting, but energy wasn't really there. Felt good on the OHP warmups, but the final set felt heavy. Gave the tiniest bump on reps 4 and 5 to get the bar off the chest, but the rest of the press was all proper. Going to up the weight for next time, but I'm not going for 5 reps, as I know I won't get it. Deadlift was similar. 350# felt heavy today; I knew I wouldn't get 5 on the 415 so I instead decided to try for 2x3, x2, x1. On the third set I got one up and was done. Back was feeling a bit tight so I called it a day. I'm going to mess around for the next few weeks, following the basic template of MadCow but switching up sets and reps and aiming for 5 rep progression every two weeks instead of every week. At this point the only lift I can still progress on weekly is squats, so I may keep that one as is for the next 4 weeks. One possibility is to go for multiple sets of 3 reps of each new weight, then the following week go for a set of 5. Or I may jump up 10# to the new weight, do 2x2 or 2x3 at that weight, then drop back 5# for a set of 5 the following week. I'll figure it out as I go, probably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted April 26, 2013 Author Share Posted April 26, 2013 MadCow End of Real Week 9 jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Squats5@45# slow for form5@1255@1755@2255@2703@320 PB8@225 Bench5@455@905@1255@1605@1905@225 PBBB Row5@455@855@1155@1455@1755@205 PB Today was for the cows. Read an article on T-Nation right before lifting about eating organ meat, in particular beef liver and it just made me mad for some reason. I swore to the cows that I would make all my lifts today, and I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegan_rossco Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 I used to frequently get pissed off with stuff like that mate :/ I go out of my way now to avoid mainstream fitness articles and magazines.Anywho! Your training is looking solid man how are things your side of the water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 Things are alright over here, other than this country being populated by a plethora of idiots. Religious anti-science zealots consistently serving in our congressional science committee, racist assholes serving in government and the people that elect and re-elect them, etc. I'm going to stop there for risk of putting myself in a bad mood. Getting stronger, slowly but surely. At the rate I'm going, I'll hit my year end goals by mid-summer. I can't wait until I can press my own bodyweight! I've modified the MadCow program a bit to slow down the progression, as the only one I'm still hitting every week is squats, and I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep that up. MadCow Mod Week 10 jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Squats5@45#5@1305@1755@2255@2705@320 PB Bench5@455@905@1255@1605@1953@230 PB8@160 BB Row5@455@855@1155@1455@1803@210 PB8@145 Everything went well today. Hit all my lifts as planned. Nothing really to note. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 MadCow Mod Week 10 jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Squats5@45# slow for form5@1255@1755@225 slow negative, pause, explosive up5@225 speed set OHP5@455@905@1155@1402x3@165 PB Deadlift5@165 hook, slow for form5@230 hook5@290 hook5@355 hook, chalk5@415 PB, switch, chalk Felt strong going in today. I was really looking forward to the OHP, and was not disappointed in my performance. The second set was pretty tough, had to give it a little chest bump to get started. One of these days I need to learn how to power clean properly so I can test how much I can clean and jerk. Given the last two deadlift workouts I had grip issues at 350#, I decided to use chalk with it. No problems this time! The final lift was great, came up easy and the lockouts weren't too rough. After that final set I had a hankerin' to go for some heavy singles and definitely had the strength and energy to do so, but had to get back to work. I noticed I've been looking a little soft lately, so the few lbs I've put on over the past few weeks has definitely included a fair bit of fat. The scale at the gym said 207.2#, which is the heaviest I've ever weighed at workout time. However, I haven't had a BM yet today, which usually happens earlier in the day, so that's a few extra lbs there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted May 3, 2013 Author Share Posted May 3, 2013 MadCow Mod End of Week 10 jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Squats5@45#5@1305@1805@2305@2753@325 PB8@230 Bench5@455@1255@1605@1954@230 PB8@160 BB Row5@455@855@1155@1455@1805@210 PB I could have finished the set of heavy squats, felt good today. Form was a little off because I took an extended break before the set to talk to someone at the gym. By the third rep I was back in the groove. Decided that instead of the 4 reps I planned to do on my heavy bench and rows, I'd see how I felt after 4 and go for the fifth. I went for 5 on the bench but stalled half-way up, rows I made it with a little leg drive. At this rate, my bench will increase 5 lbs every 1.5 weeks for now. In 1.5 weeks I'll also be matching my previous best squat set at 5x330#, although this time to full depth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted May 6, 2013 Author Share Posted May 6, 2013 MadCow Mod Week 11 jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Squats5@45#5@1305@1805@2305@2755@325 PB Bench5@455@905@1255@1605@1954@230 failed on 5th rep2@230 BB Row5@455@855@1205@1505@1853@215 PB8@150 Was feeling good going into the heavy set of squats. First rep was to parallel, fixed that and got proper depth for the rest. Disappointed on bench - failed at the same spot as Friday, halfway up the 5th rep. Row was heavy, barely got the three. I guess I was a bit ahead of myself thinking my bench was going to go up every 1.5 weeks. Slower progress, but I guess that's the way it will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted May 8, 2013 Author Share Posted May 8, 2013 MadCow Mod Week 11 jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Squats5@45#5@1255@1752x5@225 slow negative, pause, explosive up OHP5@455@905@1155@1453@1655@165 push press Deadlift5@135, 1" deficit, hook5@225, 1" deficit, hook5@295, hook5@355, hook, chalk3@420 PB, switch, chalk1@420, switch, chalk Shitty workout today. Didn't feel strong on any of the lifts. Those 2 sets of pause squats were rough and probably sapped a fair bit of strength, given how I already felt. I usually do one set of pause squats and the other as a speed set on Wednesdays, but felt like changing it up a little. Also tried throwing in some deficit deadlifts as warmups. I'm pretty sure those two changes contributed to lackluster performance on my final deadlift sets - I was going for 2x3. I was shooting for a set of 5 on OHP, but would have been happy with 4. Once I got the third rep up I knew it was over. I couldn't even push press a 4th. Maybe it's time for a deload week? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted May 11, 2013 Author Share Posted May 11, 2013 MadCow Mod End of Week 11 jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Squats5@45#5@1355@1805@2305@2803@330 PB8@230 Bench5@455@905@1255@1605@2003@235 PB8@165 BB Row5@455@855@1205@1505@1854@215 PB8@150 Had a shitting week of lifting so far, so I wanted to go out on a good note and decided to change up my bench goal. Still went for a PB, but instead of 5@230#, switched it to 3@235#. Hit all of my goals today. Still feel strong on squats, I hope it keeps up for a while. I think I need to get my leg strength up a little more to help out on my deadlifts. My form on those has gone to shit on the heavy lifts - my hips shoot up too fast and I pull too much of it with my back. My back is super strong and I have no problem with it, but I bet I would pull much better with stronger legs. Once I finish this MadCow cycle, I'll probably switch back to 5/3/1 and program in some good assistance lifts to help out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted May 14, 2013 Author Share Posted May 14, 2013 I didn't really feel like lifting today. Didn't feel strong either. I decided to do a volume day instead of trying to hit bests on my lifts, since I didn't feel confident. jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Squats5@45#5@1355@1855@2355x4@285 Bench5@455@855@1255@1655x4@195 BB Row5@455@855@1255@1555x4@185 The bar felt heavy on all the reps, but I was able to do the work. As I mentioned previously, I've put on a little extra fat (some in the gut - my pants are tighter). I think I will suspend my "just eat more" protocol and cut out the late meal I've been having. For the past few weeks I've been consistently eating a late meal, usually within an hour of going to bed. Great for bulking, but I don't really want to bulk - I'm looking for slow lean mass gain. That is what was previously going on, I guess I just got a little impatient that I was stuck at 198# for months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted May 16, 2013 Author Share Posted May 16, 2013 Forgot to post yesterday. Pretty much felt the same as Monday - not really into it and didn't feel like going to the gym. Changed the workout to a "volume" day similar to Monday Wednesday 5/15/13 jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Squat5@45#5@1355@1852x5@225 OHP5@455@855@1155x4@145 Deadlift5@145 hook5@235 hook5@295 hook5x4@355 switch Was able to make it through all the sets without trouble. The multiple deadlifts sets really wore me out. I expected to have a sore lower back today after this workout yesterday, but I feel fine. I'll see how I feel on Friday, if I am ready to go back into my MadCow Mod or if I'm going to take a third deload day and then come back on Monday for big weights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted May 17, 2013 Author Share Posted May 17, 2013 Felt good today. A B-complex vitamin pill this morning certainly helped. Back into it. jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Squats5@45#5@1355@1855@2355@2853@340 PB8@235 Bench5@455@955@1305@1655@2053@240 PB8@165 BB Row5@455@905@1205@1555@1853@220 PB8@155then some mucking about with BB rows on the new pivot plate I recommended for my gym to purchase. It was an easy sell, given all the holes in corners from dudes jamming bars into them. Lots of good lifts today. Instead of going for all x5 sets on the big weights that I was programmed to do, I upped the weight by 10# on squats and bench and 5# on rows and went for triples. 205# seemed heavy on bench so I was unsure about the heavy triple. Went for it anyway and I'm glad I did, it was hard but I put it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted May 21, 2013 Author Share Posted May 21, 2013 MadCow Mod Week 11 jump rope and pullups, mobility work Squatbunch@45#5@1305@1805@2305@2805@335 PB Benchbunch@455@905@1255@1605@1955@230 BB Row5@455@855@1205@1505@1853@2152@215 Was a bit off schedule and went to the gym later than usual, 2.5 hours after eating as opposed to 1.5-2 hours as normal. Felt a bit off. Depth wasn't as good as I'd have liked on the squats, but all were below parallel (barely). Felt my form break down a bit. Had a spotter for my heavy set on bench, I could feel him pulling on the bar near the top of the last two reps, so I'm not sure how I want to call it. I probably could have finished it on my own with a bit of leg drive. Lately, however, I haven't been feeling the connection to my legs to use leg drive on the heavy bench. Not sure where it went. Pissed about missing the rows so poorly, but this workout ran way too long (1.75 hours) and I was probably out of fuel by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted May 22, 2013 Author Share Posted May 22, 2013 I just looked at my lifting plan and realized why squatting 335# for 5 gave me trouble on Monday - I was only supposed to lift 330#. Oh well. MadCow Mod Week 12 jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Squat5@45#5@1355@1852x5@225 OHP5@455@905@1155@1405@165 PB Deadlift5@165 hook5@230 hook5@295 hook5@355 switch, chalk5@420 PB switch, chalk Hit some big numbers today. I watched the EliteFTS.com "So you think you can squat" series yesterday and thought I'd mess around with my light squats today to try to notice some of the weak spots that were mentioned in the videos. First thing I did was switch the pins so that I was facing away from the mirror. This is the first time I squatted without looking into a mirror. A world of difference! Holy Crap! I've been using the mirror to check my form as I squat all this time, and I think what happened is that I lost the connection to feeling what my body is doing. I couldn't see how my knees tracked, how low I got, if the bar was centered on my back, if I kept my chest up, etc. I'll have to do it again and video it from multiple angles so that I can see how bad it really is. Happy about the OHP. I gave it a little bump to get the bar started on the first rep, and then instinctively bumped it again on the last rep, which was a grinder. I probably could have hit that last rep strictly, but for whatever reason my body decided to bump it. The last two reps on the deadlift set were touch and go. Not really much of a pause, but no bounce. I don't think I was ready to lift that 5th rep today. My form broke down and I pulled a lot with my back, which I could feel the strain in. Afterwards my mid back was really tight. I stretched it out pretty well, but I'll probably be sore as hell tonight/tomorrow. On a side note, I started adding chopped parsley (frozen fresh) to my 3 large midday meals, and it has really cut down on my gas. Dorot (http://www.mydorot.com/) makes little cube trays of various herbs. Really handy for cooking. I use the garlic ones too with my lunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted May 24, 2013 Author Share Posted May 24, 2013 MadCow Mod end of Week 12 jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Squats5@45#5@1405@1905@2405@2953@3408@225 Bench5@455@955@1305@1605@2002@235, rack for 15 seconds, 1@235 Dumbbell Row, each side5@455@605@805@955@11015@80 My mid-lower back is still super sore from Deadlifts on Wednesday, which made it pretty hard on my top lifts today. I should have hit the squats pretty easily, but I could barely get parallel on the third rep, and had to take a few seconds breather before it. Bench was a similar issue. My back wasn't supporting the weight like on the squats, but I could feel it when I tried to hold my arch tight and it made a difference. My core was just weak sauce today. Given the state of my back I did Dumbbell rows instead of Barbell rows today, just halving the weight I normally do for each set. 110# is the largest Dumbbell my gym has, so in the future I'll have to do 1-arm Barbell rows. I'll have to do some Physics to figure out what the moment arm is using the barbell so that I can match it up to my normal rows. I recall reading somewhere that they are better for back development than the bent-over two-hand row I'm currently doing anyway. The gym is closed on Monday so my next lift will be on Wednesday. That gives my back plenty of time to recuperate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 MadCow Mod Week 13 jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Squats5@45#5@1355@1852x5@235 OHP5@455@955@1205@1452@170 +1 push press8@115 Deadlift5@135 hook5@235 hook5@300 hook5@360 hook, chalk3@425 switch, chalk Weight was a # lower than usual today. Didn't eat well over the weekend. Form was a bit loose on the squats. Thought I could hit x3 on the OHP final, but no strength for it. Tried to push press a 4th rep but failed. My goal on Deadlift was x3, which I hit. Started on #4 but it wasn't happening today. Happy about having a solid hook grip on 360# though. I think I will switch to 5/3/1 again on Monday. My workouts are getting too long, ~1.5 hours now. I really need to keep them around 1 hour. Also, my progress is slowing down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegan_rossco Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 I'm always impressed when I read your log dude just a quick question, do you ever use a belt? I just ordered one but now I'm not sure I need it ahha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted June 3, 2013 Author Share Posted June 3, 2013 Thanks mate! I have never used a belt for lifting. I like the idea of knowing exactly how much I can move without assistance (chalk doesn't count as assistance to me). It just means my core needs to be that much stronger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted June 3, 2013 Author Share Posted June 3, 2013 5/3/1 Theoretical 1RMs:OHP - 185#Deadlift - 485#Bench - 260#Squat - 385# Starting targets at 90% of 1RMOHP - 165#Deadlift - 435#Bench - 235#Squat - 345# 5/3/1 Cycle 1 Week 1 jump rope, pullups, shoulder dislocations, squat-2-stands OHP5@65#5@805@955@1105@1255@145 Pullups - 5x5 @ BW (200#) wide gripSquats - 5@135, 10@145, 10@155, 10@165, 10@175, 10@185Shrugs - 5@135, 5@155, 5@205, 2x5@225 all hook grip I might have been able to grind out 1 more rep on the OHP, but I wasn't feeling strong on it today so I left it at 5. At least I hit the minimum goal. The pullups were harder than I wanted them to be. This time around, I'm going to start loading them, as opposed to just going for reps at BW. The squats wore me out. I had the strength to do the reps, but I started to fatigue. Shrugs were fine - could have done 5x5@225. All the assistance work was done with 1 minute breaks between sets, stretched to 1.5 minutes for the last two pullup and squat sets. Kept a decent heart rate throughout the assistance, 130-140 BMP. Total workout ran a few minutes over 1 hour, with warmup and stretching, so this is a better fit with my schedule. Happy about that as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 5/3/1 Cycle 1 Week 1 jump rope and pullups, mobility drills Deadlift5@175# hook5@215 hook5@260 hook5@285 hook5@330 hook8@370 switch, chalk Hip thrust - 2x5@135, 5@155, 5@175, 5@195Hanging leg raise, feet to the bar - 2Hanging knee raise, knees to face - 3x3, x2Back raise - 5x10@BW Today went well. Energy was good, mood was good. I feel like I should have hit one more rep on the deadlift final, but I'm happy with what I did. Hip thrust was interesting, definitely felt the glute activation while squeezing at the top. Feet-to-the-bar leg raises are tough! I've done the 90° hanging leg raises before, but this was a whole other type of hard. Couldn't even get one on the second set so I switched to knee raises of the same sort, still tough! Back raise was easy, as expected. I can definitely load that one. Kept rest on all assistance at 1 minute between sets. After the volume sets of squats on Monday, I realized that I am definitely quad dominant. I'm going to add a bunch of posterior chain work as assistance on Deadlift and Squat days, hopefully to get my hams and glutes back in the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 DOMS, DOMS DOMS DOMS DOMS, let me feel those DOMS... (sing that to the beat of a certain SisQo song) 5/3/1 Cycle 1 Week 1 jump rope, pullups, shoulder dislocations Bench5@95#5@1205@1405@1555@1809@200 DB Rows - 5x10@80#Dips - 10,10,8,8,6@BW (~200#)Incline 45° DB Press - 4x5,9@45# Static full body stretching My upper arms are dead now. Happy about my lifts today, good mood and energy. I probably should have gone a little lighter on the rows. I was also shooting for 5x10 on the dips, but it wasn't going to happen. I programmed 60# for the incline press, but after one rep my arms told me I was a dumbass so I lowered the weight. Gave some kids some deadlift pointers, their form was terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegan_rossco Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Thanks mate! I have never used a belt for lifting. I like the idea of knowing exactly how much I can move without assistance (chalk doesn't count as assistance to me). It just means my core needs to be that much stronger! Fair enough man Doms! How can you be happy about doms you mentalcase! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share Posted June 7, 2013 Not really happy about them, just felt like logging them considering it's been a long time since I've had DOMS this severe. 5/3/1 Cycle 1 Week 1 jump rope, pullups, shoulder dislocations, squat-2-stands, rollover v-sits, fire hydrants, mountain climbers, groiners (that's my standard mobility work each time) Squats5@45#5@1355@1705@2005@2255@2607@295 Good morning - 5x10@135#Hanging leg raise, feet to bar - 2Hanging knee raise, knees to face then extending legs and slow negative - 2Hanging leg raise, feet almost to bar - 2 Planned on GHRs as well today, but skipped them due to time. I was shooting for 8 reps on the squat, with a possible grinder of a 9th, but my legs were still sore from earlier in the week, which caused me to fail at the bottom of the 8th rep. I'll probably have to lighten most of my accessory work. I don't want the soreness from it to hinder my main lifts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asparagus Posted June 11, 2013 Author Share Posted June 11, 2013 FOOD POST, MF style... Last Friday was the wife's birthday, so she wanted to go out to dinner and dancing (and drinking). A guy we know from the LA club scene runs a vegan restaurant up in Hollywood, so we decided to finally make it out there for dinner.http://www.yelp.com/biz/doomies-home-cookin-hollywoodhttp://www.foodspotting.com/places/126143-doomie-s-home-cookin-We've been there for cakes before (we're also friends with the professional baker/pastry chef who designed their dessert offerings - he's far from vegan but all the desserts he made for Doomie's are). What we ate:Vegan Fried Chickenhttp://s3.amazonaws.com/foodspotting-ec2/reviews/2937381/thumb_600.jpg?1356999626?1370908931The chicken actually had a fake skin on it and the drumstick shaped one had a wooden dowel rod in it! The potatoes and biscuit were OK, but the chicken with a bit of gravy was great. Vegan Western Burgerhttp://cooljaxfernandez.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/image_42.jpeg?w=222&h=300Onion rings, fake bacon (the best I've ever had), BBQ sauce and melty/drippy vegan cheese on top of a patty. The fries were way too salty for me, but the burger was great. Seriously, this shit is vegan and so well mimics the real thing that it's creepy. The vegan creme brulee is crazy, you can tell that it's not made with dairy creme, but the texture is so close and it's damn tasty. The chocolate cake is super rich and will kick your ass. Those are the one's we've tried, but we've heard that all the deserts are pretty awesome. Take that, MF! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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