EliteRightist's workout journal

[EliteRightist]

This is my first journal on here and think this might help me to post my workouts on here after the start of my new routine. I just began a 5x5 routine on 3/11/05. My current prs are bench 225, squat 265, deadlift 315. My goals are bench 300, squat 350, deadlift 400. (Well actually is probably more reasonable with 305, 355, 405 on bench, squat, and deadlift respectively, but easier to base on percentages this way.)

[EliteRightist]

OK so here is my first workout day on 3/11/05. My routine is based on 50-90% of projected max for 5 sets of 5 reps. So for bench i would start with 150 for 5x5, but I decided that I could get this with not that much effort, so started at 55% at 165. Here's how it went:

Flat Bench Press
95x6, 135x6 warmup
165: 5 sets of 5: overall pretty easy, although I know next week will be much harder at 180. All lifts were made.

Incline Bench Press:
95x6 warmup
135: 3 sets of 5: I had never done incline bench with a barbell before so it was kind of awkward at first, but either way i managed to get all lifts.

Seated Shoulder Press:
95: 2 sets of 6, 1 set of 5: I was pretty tired by now since I'm not used to training shoulders with bench this way. Usually I could get more and I missed the last lift ending with only 5 on the last set.

Laterals:
Front(w/barbell): 30 2 sets of 10, 40 1 set of 8
Side(w/DBs): 15s 2 sets of 8
Rear(w/DBs): 15s 2 sets of 8
Hadn't done any of these in a while due to injury a while back and then different routine so didn't know what I could do. I was pretty happy with it anyways and probably do more weight next week.

[I-love-muscle]

nice first workout man, keep training and you'll get there in no time

[EliteRightist]

This is my workout on 3/12. Squat day. 50% would be 175, but since I didn't feel like getting the 10s when 25s were right next to me, I attempted 185 for 5x5.

Squats:
95x6, 135x6 warmup
185: 5 sets of 5: First 3 sets were not too hard. Last two sets, however, were very hard for me, since I'm not used to doing volume on squats, usually only singles or doubles. Very relieved when I got all sets (I survived lol). Squats are really not natural movement for me.

Shrugs:
135x10 warmup
225x10
315: 2 sets of 3 (Felt like trying to see how many I could get with 315, probably could have done a few more if grip didn't fail after 3rd lift - never use straps)
225x10
This was actually the best I have ever lifted on shrugs, so I was very happy with this. Usually I would get 225x8 and never tried 315 before, although 275x3-4.

Leg Press:
640x10, 820x10 Warmup
1000: 1 set of 10, 2 sets of 8
Pretty usual. I did alright. Of course not to failure though, since I don't have a spotter for this. Wish I could put more weight on the machine, but 1000 is the most at my gym.

[EliteRightist]

nice first workout man, keep training and you'll get there in no time
Thanks.

[GmoneyJakee]

nice workouts bro, impressive leg presses. nice lookin shrugs too

[Porky]

solid workouts man

nice benching

[EliteRightist]

nice workouts bro, impressive leg presses. nice lookin shrugs too

Thanks. Yeah leg presses are really easy for me, yet squats are the opposite don't understand that.

[EliteRightist]

solid workouts man

nice benching

Thanks. Yeah i guess so...will be nice eventually.lol

[Porky]

Thanks. Yeah leg presses are really easy for me, yet squats are the opposite don't understand that.

squats are a totally different thing.

big leg press wont mean a big squat
but a big squat will mean a decent leg press

[EliteRightist]

My workout from 3/14. Bench day.

Decline Bench:
95x10, 135x6, 185x6 warmup
225x2
185x8,7,6
I was trying to figure out what i could do, will probably do sets of 5x5 or maybe 3x3 or 3x8 on these i'm not sure yet. This was only second time i did decline bench.

Rack Lockouts:
255x1, 265x1(missed this), 245x1(missed this), 225x1
Ok this was really f*cked up. I don't know what happened. First one was easy then i just don't know.

SkullCrushers:
60x10, 70x6,5,4
This also sucked. Usually do 70x10.

Tricep Pressdowns:
Stack(150)x12,10,8,8
This was ok.

I think this was an off day, although decline bench was good. Maybe b/c i went to failure on decline bench sets so i could figure out how many i can do.

[raffiki]

Good workouts dude. Where are you getting your format from?

[EliteRightist]

Good workouts dude. Where are you getting your format from?
Based on 5x5 for big 3. I made up the rest of it.

[EliteRightist]

My workout on 3/15. Deadlift Day. 50%=200.

Deadlifts:
135x5,185x2 Warmup
200:5 sets of 5
Completed all reps. I've only done singles on deadlifts before, except for warmup, so this was definitely different. I was out of breath after every set, about 4-5 minute breaks in between each set. This is going to get hard soon.

DB Rows:
55sx10 warmup
70s:3 sets of 6
This was ok, probably use 80s instead next time though, just tired after the deadlifts.

T-Bar Rows:
90x6 warmup
115: 3 sets of 4
Haven't done these in a very long time so this was ok, but harder than what I thought.

Overall, this was pretty good. Anyone know what else I could do with deadlifts? I sometimes throw in sldl or rack pulls. Barbell Rows and Goodmornings I can't figure out, so I won't be doing those. Any other suggestions are appreciated.

[Cricket_Fire]

Looking good! 5x5 is an excellent training format (although it's only one I've really tried, I lvoe it lol). Keep it up!

[Porky]

solid workouts elite

i think you made a math mistake or a typo

at top it says 50%=200

in sig it says max = 315 315 x 0.5 = 157.5

[EliteRightist]

solid workouts elite

i think you made a math mistake or a typo

at top it says 50%=200

in sig it says max = 315 315 x 0.5 = 157.5

No it's 50%of goal weight, which is 400, not my max now.
All of the ones you see until end of 5x5 will be in terms of goal weight, not current max. Sorry for confusion.

[EliteRightist]

My workout on 3/16: Biceps and Forearms (Yeah I know but this is something I've always liked doing since I started weight training. This might look like bodybuilding stuff.lol)

Barbell Curls:
50x10, 80x6 warmup
100x2
After this I was going to do 3 sets of 90, but a friend of mine was at the gym asked me to spot for him and showed me a different kind of barbell curl. You sort of lean forward and bend your knees while you do them. I guess it's better for isolation, and negative parts are really slow.(My friend's a bodybuilder.)
So I did these (which I will call Leaning Barbell Curls (Have no idea what they are called))
45x12+1 Assist (Trying to learn form right)
65x8+1Assist,6+1 Assist, 5+1 Assist (We spotted for each other.)
These are alot harder than regular curls, but they were awesome. I'll definitely do them again.

Concentration Curls:
30s: 2 sets of 6, 1 set of 5
This was ok, but missed the last one.

Hammer Curls:
20s: 3 sets of 8
These are hammer curls sort of on an angle to in front of you. Also first time I did these, worked on form.

Lying DB Curls:
15s: 3 sets of 8
Also first time I tried these, so worked on form.

This was definitely an interesting workout. Never done anything like it before. I'll use more weight next week now that I got used to the form of these exercises.

[EliteRightist]

My workout 3/18: Bench Day 60%=180

Flat Bench Press:
180: 3 sets of 5, 1 set of 4+1 Assist, 1 set of 2+2 Assist
OK well it was easy in the beginning. Then it got really hard for the 4th and 5th sets. I have really bad endurance doing sets of low reps and low to moderate volume for so long.

Seated Shoulder Press:
95:1 set of 6, 3 sets of 4
This kind of sucks I was going to do 1 more set but damn my shoulders were killing me by now.

Incline DB Press:
55s: 5 sets of 6
I don't know how I finished this but somehow did. I was going to do laterals; I did 3 of the front laterals and I was like **** i'm f*cking shot. And I left. I was pissed off.

I really hope I can get my endurance up soon, this is really killing me. I'm still pissed off now so w/e. I hope someone can help me out.

[weak1]

It'll come over time, so don't worry too much. If it is really your stamina that is failing(which I'm not too sure about), then you can start doing some cardio to make up for it. But you should get used to it, because 5x5 isn't really a TON of volume, so it shouldn't take long to adjust. :)

[Porky]

too bad about that bad workout man.

just try and power through and get everything done.

i always find later im more mad at myself for not completing the workout

[EliteRightist]

It'll come over time, so don't worry too much. If it is really your stamina that is failing(which I'm not too sure about), then you can start doing some cardio to make up for it. But you should get used to it, because 5x5 isn't really a TON of volume, so it shouldn't take long to adjust. :)
I realize that, but it is to me right now.

[EliteRightist]

too bad about that bad workout man.

just try and power through and get everything done.

i always find later im more mad at myself for not completing the workout
Yeah I know. I am too. Oh well hopefully do better on my workout today.

[EliteRightist]

My workout 3/19: Squat Day

Squats:
95x6, 135x6, 185x3 Warmup
205: 1 set of 4, 1 set of 3
185: 2 sets of 5, 1 set of 2
135: 2 sets of 10
This is what I felt like doing. I dunno. I didn't remember what weight to do. Supposed to be either 195 or 210 for 5x5. But that's ok. I didn't get the 205 for 5 on any set, so dropped to 185. (Traded leg press for more sets of squats, since the leg press machine was being used almost the entire time I was there.)

Shrugs:
135x10, 225x10 warmup
315: 2 sets of 2, 1 set of 1
225: 2 sets of 10
Couldn't get a good grip on the 315, but this was good anyway.

[EliteRightist]

OK. I've been thinking about this 5x5 thing and I think I might want to try something a little different. I don't like that I can get the first few sets with little effort and still be able to lift more, but fail on the last one or two. Seems like I could put more effort in at the beginning to increase the workload. Otherwise, I don't think I'll get anywhere. I was thinking about taking like 185 on bench, 185 on squat, and 225 on deadlift and trying to get up to at least 10 reps on each of these, and getting at least 5 reps on the 5th set. When I drop below 5, i'll decrease the weight, to 135 or 185, for example, and try to get as many as I can with this until i can no longer get 5. And then maybe drop a third time to 95 or 135 and do a few more sets of 10. Altogether, at least 10 sets on bench, squat, and deadlift. I plan to do this for maybe about 4-5 weeks. Right now I could get about 7 reps of 185 on bench, 6 reps of 185 on squat, and not sure how many of 225 on deadlift, but at least 5. By doing so, many sets will be to failure, not sure if that would be good or not. But I think this will help for my endurance. Then I will lower the reps and volume somewhat with a heavier weight for a few more weeks then max. Would this be a good idea or not?

[EliteRightist]

I guess noone's going to answer me. Oh well that's ok. I'm doing this anyway.

[italianbencher]

I guess noone's going to answer me. Oh well that's ok. I'm doing this anyway.

Work on endurance benching.....

[EliteRightist]

Well here's how it went today: Bench Day

Decline Bench:
95x6, 135x6 warmup
185x8+1 assist,6+1 assist,5+1 assist,5,5
135x10,8,8,8,8

Total Weight=12,970lbs. (Never mind reading this it's here for me really. I'm testing something.)

Flat DB Press:
55sx5,5
50sx7,7,6,6,5

Total Weight=4,200lbs.

Skull Crushers:
60x7,7,7,6,5
50x8,8

Total Weight=2,720lbs.

This was actually a great workout...finally.

[B-Dog]

thx for the comment on my journal
great lifts man your making excelent progress, im interested to see what this total weight thing your puting down is all about
_____________________________________________
my journal "road to greatness" check it out somtime

[EliteRightist]

My workout 3/22: Deadlift Day

Deadlifts:
135x5, 185x3 Warmup
225x4,4,3
185x6,6,4,3
135x10,8,6

Total Weight=10460lbs.

Bentover DB Rows:
65sx6,6,6,6,6

Total Weight=3900lbs.

This was a good workout, although disappointed on the deadlifts. Oh well I'll do better next time. Damn 10 sets are hard. lol

[EliteRightist]

[QUOTE=EliteRightist]Well here's how it went today: Bench Day

Decline Bench:
95x6, 135x6 warmup
185x8+1 assist,6+1 assist,5+1 assist,5,5
135x10,8,8,8,8

Total Weight=12,970lbs. (Never mind reading this it's here for me really. I'm testing something.)

QUOTE]

Made a mistake here, meant:
Decline Bench:
95x6, 135x6 warmup
185x8+1 assist,6+1 assist,5+1 assist,5+1 assist,5
135x10,8,8,8,8

Total Weight=13,155lbs.

[EliteRightist]

My workout 3/23:Biceps and Forearms

Bentover Barbell Curls:
45x10 Warmup
65x6,6,6,4
55x6,5,5,5
45x8,7

Total Weight= 3710lbs.

Concentration Curls:
30sx3
25sx4,3
20sx4,4,4,4

Total Weight= 1170lbs.

Hammer Curls:
30sx4,4
25sx6,6,6

Total Weight= 1380lbs.

Lying DB Curls:
15sx9,9,9

Total Weight= 810lbs.

This was a good workout. Used lighter weights, but super slow speed, especially first two exercises.

[EliteRightist]

thx for the comment on my journal
great lifts man your making excelent progress, im interested to see what this total weight thing your puting down is all about
_____________________________________________
my journal "road to greatness" check it out somtime

Well what it's about is I'm comparing low volume and high volume training. First time I kept a journal, so in next few months I'll find out.

[EliteRightist]

My workout 3/25: Bench Day

Flat Bench:
95x6, 135x6 warmup
185x4,4,4,4,2
135x10,10,10,10,6

Total Weight=10920lbs.

Incline DB Press:
55sx7,7,7,6,5

Total Weight=3520lbs.

Seated Shoulder Press:
95x4,4,3
65x6,6

Total Weight=1825lbs.

I had no spotter, so I didn't do more reps on bench press. I wasn't happy about this. I did reps with slow negatives on the other two exercises.

[IronBender800]

Solid workouts man! 5x5 is a good program! Keep up the good work!

[Porky]

wow you can decline 12,970lbs?????? :D j/p lol


good workouts

[EliteRightist]

lol Porky thanks
IronBender-thanks. yeah I don't like 5x5 so I'm not doing it anymore. I'm trying somthing else.

I decided I really hate routines. I think I do better when I don't follow specific routines. I like just mixing stuff up and maxing when I feel like it and changing exercises every week for different assistance and stuff. And since I kind of mix bodybuilding stuff with powerlifting, I just like doing things different I guess. The last month just hasn't been that great for me and seems like I was doing so much better before.

[EliteRightist]

so here's my workout from 3/27:

Squats:
95x6, 135x6 warmup
185x5
225x2
205x5
185x5
135x10

Shrugs:
135x10 warmup
225x10
315x1,1,1,1 (Couldn't get good grip)
275x3
225x8

Leg Press:
640x10 warmup
1000x8,8,10

Good workout. I finally squated 225 for more than 1. Yeah I really suck at repping squats although I can get 265 for 1 also. LOL Just wasn't happy with grip on shrugs.

[Porky]

good skwats.

thats weird never got 225 more the once before today but squated 265 :)

get some chalk for them shrugies

[EliteRightist]

good skwats.

thats weird never got 225 more the once before today but squated 265 :)

get some chalk for them shrugies

Thanks porky. I can't use chalk though. They don't allow it at my gym. There's signs everywhere too, so can't say I didn't know.

[EliteRightist]

My workout 3/28:

Flat Bench Press:
95x10, 135x6 warmup
185x3
205x1
225x2 Assist (w/pause - Got stuck above halfway)
185x2
135x8

Incline DB Press:
65sx5,4,4,4

Skullcrushers:
50x10 warmup
70x6,4,5,5

Decline Bench Press:
135x6
185x1+1 Assist
135x9+1 Assist

Good workout. 225 should be no problem next time. I did it a month ago. Just haven't used over 185 for awhile. I don't know what I was thinking doing the decline bench at the end.LOL I was going to do close-grip bench instead. That's ok though - next time.

[Porky]

i think ud do better with

barx20
95x6
135x3
185x1 maybe 2
205x1
225x1

just an idea. i think ur doing to much with 185 and 135 and wearing urself out.

solid workout tho man

[raffiki]

I haven't looked at this journal in a while. You're doing good work. Are you still calculating tonage?

[EliteRightist]

I haven't looked at this journal in a while. You're doing good work. Are you still calculating tonage?

thanks-um not right now i decided to try my old way of training again. Maybe sometime in the future.

[EliteRightist]

i think ud do better with

barx20
95x6
135x3
185x1 maybe 2
205x1
225x1

just an idea. i think ur doing to much with 185 and 135 and wearing urself out.

solid workout tho man

maybe i'll try that next time. i'll be trying again this week just so i can get used to it again. thanks

[EliteRightist]

i'm going to start a new journal instead starting with this past monday's workout. This is just too confusing to understand with all the changes and stuff so if anyone replies reply to my new one instead. Oh yeah and porky meaning to give you reps but i have to "spread it around first". I hate that.