5X5 Iron Blastin? Challenge: 4TH QTR ?08

[bb1968]

Originally Posted by beefyemt

Bobby, are we going to see some more PR's from your workout tomorrow? I will check in tomorrow night. Show us some big numbers!

Hoping to! We shall see in a couple of hours.

Originally Posted by jacked in MI

I got the motivation from you to move more iron with my deads

-Jeff

WAY TO GO JEFF!!!!! Looking like those dReadlifts are coming along nicely. Good form too!

[jacked in MI]

Originally Posted by bb1968

Hoping to! We shall see in a couple of hours.



WAY TO GO JEFF!!!!! Looking like those dReadlifts are coming along nicely. Good form too!

Thanks Bobby!

Smash some records later today then enjoy some food!

-Jeff

[bb1968]

Originally Posted by jacked in MI

Thanks Bobby!

Smash some records later today then enjoy some food!

-Jeff

No vids and no PR's today. Unfortunately the only thing I smashed today was a rib! On my top set of squats (315), on my 2nd rep, I felt a pop in the area of where my old rib injury was. I BARELY finished the other 3 reps. I tried my warm-ups on incline bench and could barely do 135 so I called it quits today. I am really hurting now. Thankfully I still have some percoset left from my neck surgery last year. I am having a hard time breathing. I believe I will be calling the doctor on Monday and going to have an xray done.

This is the story of my life. I start making excellent progress and BOOM, something happens and I get set back. I don't think I will push it anymore this year. If anything, I will try to at least get some lower weight higher rep workouts in if the rib isn't broken. If it is broken it will probably be at least 8 weeks before I lift again. We shall see what the xray shows, hopefully next week. I will keep you updated.

Hope you guys enjoy your turkey day feast and time spent with your family.

[beefyemt]

Originally Posted by bb1968

No vids and no PR's today. Unfortunately the only thing I smashed today was a rib! On my top set of squats (315), on my 2nd rep, I felt a pop in the area of where my old rib injury was. I BARELY finished the other 3 reps. I tried my warm-ups on incline bench and could barely do 135 so I called it quits today. I am really hurting now. Thankfully I still have some percoset left from my neck surgery last year. I am having a hard time breathing. I believe I will be calling the doctor on Monday and going to have an xray done.

This is the story of my life. I start making excellent progress and BOOM, something happens and I get set back. I don't think I will push it anymore this year. If anything, I will try to at least get some lower weight higher rep workouts in if the rib isn't broken. If it is broken it will probably be at least 8 weeks before I lift again. We shall see what the xray shows, hopefully next week. I will keep you updated.

Hope you guys enjoy your turkey day feast and time spent with your family.

NOOOOOO!
Dude. This is a big time bummer. I can't believe it. Get some rest and I hope it is not as bad as you think.
Let us know as soon as you find out something. I will pray for ya.
Sorry...

[jacked in MI]

Originally Posted by bb1968

No vids and no PR's today. Unfortunately the only thing I smashed today was a rib! On my top set of squats (315), on my 2nd rep, I felt a pop in the area of where my old rib injury was. I BARELY finished the other 3 reps. I tried my warm-ups on incline bench and could barely do 135 so I called it quits today. I am really hurting now. Thankfully I still have some percoset left from my neck surgery last year. I am having a hard time breathing. I believe I will be calling the doctor on Monday and going to have an xray done.

This is the story of my life. I start making excellent progress and BOOM, something happens and I get set back. I don't think I will push it anymore this year. If anything, I will try to at least get some lower weight higher rep workouts in if the rib isn't broken. If it is broken it will probably be at least 8 weeks before I lift again. We shall see what the xray shows, hopefully next week. I will keep you updated.

Hope you guys enjoy your turkey day feast and time spent with your family.

Bobby, my fingers are crossed that it is not anything that will put you out of commission

Visiting with the in-laws was nice but I had to fight off the turkey coma around 8PM so that we could drive home.

I hope that you are feeling better at the time you read this note.

Take care bro.

-Jeff

[bb1968]

Originally Posted by beefyemt

NOOOOOO!
Dude. This is a big time bummer. I can't believe it. Get some rest and I hope it is not as bad as you think.
Let us know as soon as you find out something. I will pray for ya.
Sorry...

Thanks bro! I can't believe it either. Your prayers are much appreciated and they must have been heard because it is 10:45 PM and I just got home from ice skating. Feeling pretty good now. Maybe it is the percoset. Time will tell.

Originally Posted by jacked in MI

Bobby, my fingers are crossed that it is not anything that will put you out of commission

Visiting with the in-laws was nice but I had to fight off the turkey coma around 8PM so that we could drive home.

I hope that you are feeling better at the time you read this note.

Take care bro.

-Jeff

Thanks my friend! I don't think it may be as bad as I originally thought. As I said above, I just got home from ice skating and I feel pretty good. Time will tell. Still going to the doc as soon as I can get in. I am hoping they are in the office tomorrow so I can schedule an appt for next week.

The L-Tryptophan in the turkey got ya huh? GOOD STUFF!!!! I over did it myself today. Had to go ice skating to work it off.

[jacked in MI]

Originally Posted by bb1968

Thanks bro! I can't believe it either. Your prayers are much appreciated and they must have been heard because it is 10:45 PM and I just got home from ice skating. Feeling pretty good now. Maybe it is the percoset. Time will tell.

Thanks my friend! I don't think it may be as bad as I originally thought. As I said above, I just got home from ice skating and I feel pretty good. Time will tell. Still going to the doc as soon as I can get in. I am hoping they are in the office tomorrow so I can schedule an appt for next week.

The L-Tryptophan in the turkey got ya huh? GOOD STUFF!!!! I over did it myself today. Had to go ice skating to work it off.

Cool, I hope the percoset really was not needed.

Keep us in the loop.

-Jeff

[bb1968]

Originally Posted by jacked in MI

Cool, I hope the percoset really was not needed.

Keep us in the loop.

-Jeff

The percoset was definitely needed. I woke up this morning and sneezed about 3 times in a row and it felt like a knife stabbing me in the area where the rib is injured. I took another perc and it has helped me make it through the day. I tried to call the docs offc today but apparently they were closed for the holiday. I will keep you guys posted.

I am still looking forward to your squat vid tomorrow so keep me posted.

[jacked in MI]

Originally Posted by bb1968

The percoset was definitely needed. I woke up this morning and sneezed about 3 times in a row and it felt like a knife stabbing me in the area where the rib is injured. I took another perc and it has helped me make it through the day. I tried to call the docs offc today but apparently they were closed for the holiday. I will keep you guys posted.

I am still looking forward to your squat vid tomorrow so keep me posted.

That suck bro

I know that you will be taking it easy until you can get into the doc.

Anyway, I recorded three squats today with my feet close together to focus on quad sweep.

225 for 10, 275 for 5, and 315 for 5.

Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW4mu_TjZSg

-Jeff

[bb1968]

Originally Posted by jacked in MI

That suck bro

I know that you will be taking it easy until you can get into the doc.

Anyway, I recorded three squats today with my feet close together to focus on quad sweep.

225 for 10, 275 for 5, and 315 for 5.

Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW4mu_TjZSg

-Jeff

I didn't have a sneezing episode this morning and I actually made it through the day w/o any pain meds. It may not be as bad as I thought. Will def. be calling the doc on Monday though.

The 225 and the first few reps of 275 had excellent depth but as you started to fatigue the depth got shallow. The 315 set never hit parallel as you can see by the angle of your quads and height of your glutes never dropping below your knees. I would suggest setting up a platform with stepper blocks or whatever so that you know when your butt touches it you have reached proper depth. This has helped me tremendously. However, the first time I attempted 315 with the box set up I failed after 4 reps.

Parallel is where the crease in the front of your hip is parallel with your knees. This will have your quad in position to be parallel to the floor. Of course, the deeper the better. Ass to ankles is what some will tell you is a "real" squat. There is a guy where I train that does overhead squats like the Snatch in Olympic lifts. Those guys practically sit on the floor at the bottom. I was telling him I got 330 for 5 last week going parallel and he said, "When are you going to do the other half of the squat?" LOL I am just trying to go by Powerlifting standards. If it isn't to parallel then it is not considered a good lift and you won't get the 3 white lights. Of course, parallel blows out ribs too

[jacked in MI]

Originally Posted by bb1968

I didn't have a sneezing episode this morning and I actually made it through the day w/o any pain meds. It may not be as bad as I thought. Will def. be calling the doc on Monday though.

The 225 and the first few reps of 275 had excellent depth but as you started to fatigue the depth got shallow. The 315 set never hit parallel as you can see by the angle of your quads and height of your glutes never dropping below your knees. I would suggest setting up a platform with stepper blocks or whatever so that you know when your butt touches it you have reached proper depth. This has helped me tremendously. However, the first time I attempted 315 with the box set up I failed after 4 reps.

Parallel is where the crease in the front of your hip is parallel with your knees. This will have your quad in position to be parallel to the floor. Of course, the deeper the better. Ass to ankles is what some will tell you is a "real" squat. There is a guy where I train that does overhead squats like the Snatch in Olympic lifts. Those guys practically sit on the floor at the bottom. I was telling him I got 330 for 5 last week going parallel and he said, "When are you going to do the other half of the squat?" LOL I am just trying to go by Powerlifting standards. If it isn't to parallel then it is not considered a good lift and you won't get the 3 white lights. Of course, parallel blows out ribs too

Cool, that no pain meds were required today. Are you seeing any brusing around the area? Hopefully, the doc will have some not so bad news for you.

About squatting, I think part of it is mental for me. Just having 315 resting on my back before squatting has my upper body under a good amount of stress/load.

I'll keep working at it but 315+ deep squats may not be in the cards for me and I know powerlifting certainly isn't.

-Jeff

[bb1968]

Originally Posted by jacked in MI

Cool, that no pain meds were required today. Are you seeing any brusing around the area? Hopefully, the doc will have some not so bad news for you.

About squatting, I think part of it is mental for me. Just having 315 resting on my back before squatting has my upper body under a good amount of stress/load.

I'll keep working at it but 315+ deep squats may not be in the cards for me and I know powerlifting certainly isn't.

-Jeff

No bruising at all. As a matter of fact, the pain has really subsided. I was at work today and did a pullup with no problem. Lifting d'bells for clients (up to 55lbers) wasn't any problem either. This is promising to say the least. Still calling the doc tomorrow.

I know that you can do 315+ deep squats. You have to work up to them. Your 225 squats were perfect. If you continue to work on going deep and start out at a lower top end weight you can definitely train your body to be able to handle the higher loads. Remember, crawl...walk....run. Leave the ego at the door and concentrate on form.

[jacked in MI]

Hey fellows, are you ready to pump some iron today?

I am really chomping at the bit to change up my training routine (calves are feeling neglected) but the end is in sight with our 5x5.

Have an excellent workout, gents!

-Jeff

[beefyemt]

I ended up lifting last night. I will be out of town all weekend so I am doing Mon., Wed. & Fri. this week again. Squats felt stront,225 top set. Bench was weak. Row were week due to back still out. This back will not heal until this program ends. In the workouts to come I may not try to up the weight much. I will focus on the current weight with more "quality" sets.

Tear it up tonight Jeff!

Bobby, what's the latest on the rib??

[jacked in MI]

Nothing exciting to post but I was successful on flat bench at hitting 255 on my last set for 5 with no assistance through the sticking point.

I held rows at 225 and squats at 275 to work on form.

-Jeff

[jacked in MI]

Hey Brook,

How were your lifts last night? I'll be hitting the gym later to see if I can improve on my dreadslifts

-Jeff

[beefyemt]

Originally Posted by jacked in MI

Hey Brook,

How were your lifts last night? I'll be hitting the gym later to see if I can improve on my dreadslifts

-Jeff

Well, my back is so much pain that I had to miss work today. It may be time to get out the Vagisil and call the 5x5 over for me. Will see how I feel after the weekend.

[jacked in MI]

Originally Posted by beefyemt

Well, my back is so much pain that I had to miss work today. It may be time to get out the Vagisil and call the 5x5 over for me. Will see how I feel after the weekend.

Dude, the health of your back is more important. Don't worry about the 5x5 or the Vagisil.

I tried 320 deads but I was not happy with my form so I dropped back to 315 for two sets of 5.

Have a pain-free weekend.

-Jeff

[dpaul4553]

I don't mean to but in here, but (haha) I had to see how your 5x5 routines are working for you all. Looks like for the most part it's going/went well - though I'm sorry to read about all the injuries and illness. Don't fool around with back pain!

Continued good luck guys - get some good rest and recovery time when this is all over. It's been interesting and educational to follow!

[bb1968]

Originally Posted by beefyemt

I ended up lifting last night. I will be out of town all weekend so I am doing Mon., Wed. & Fri. this week again. Squats felt stront,225 top set. Bench was weak. Row were week due to back still out. This back will not heal until this program ends. In the workouts to come I may not try to up the weight much. I will focus on the current weight with more "quality" sets.

Tear it up tonight Jeff!

Bobby, what's the latest on the rib??

The rib has dismissed me from completing the program. I guess we should have called this forum the "Geriatric 5 x 5 for broken down old farts" LOL. I am still not lifting at all.

[bb1968]

Originally Posted by beefyemt

Well, my back is so much pain that I had to miss work today. It may be time to get out the Vagisil and call the 5x5 over for me. Will see how I feel after the weekend.

How's the back doing now Brook? Looks like Jeff won this contest.

[beefyemt]

Originally Posted by bb1968

How's the back doing now Brook? Looks like Jeff won this contest.

Yup, Jeff wins!
How is the rib Bobby??
I am happy to say that my back feel good. The best it has felt since the begining of the program. I wish I would have taken a week off when I injured it the weekend before we started! I am not going to push the big weight but I am going to do some light, higher rep squats tonight to see how I respond.

[jacked in MI]

Originally Posted by bb1968

How's the back doing now Brook? Looks like Jeff won this contest.

Hey, just because I am injury free does not make me the winner of this contest!

I bet if we look at each one of your gains you both out did me. I stalled out pretty early is this challenge so my strength improvement is low.

Anyway, we all increased strength and that was the goal of this challenge.

So, let's sit back, relax, and enjoy a clean diet along with the Holidays before getting back into training hard at the start of the New Year!

-Jeff

[beefyemt]

Originally Posted by jacked in MI

Hey, just because I am injury free does not make me the winner of this contest!

I bet if we look at each one of your gains you both out did me. I stalled out pretty early is this challenge so my strength improvement is low.

Anyway, we all increased strength and that was the goal of this challenge.

So, let's sit back, relax, and enjoy a clean diet along with the Holidays before getting back into training hard at the start of the New Year!

-Jeff

I did have a lot of fun and had some pretty huge strength gains considering I was a personal records from week 1 on.

I did some higher rep leg work last night. The squats tweaked my back some. I'm guessing by next week I will be completely healed.

What are you guys going to do from here on out? Jeff, I assume you will finish out 5x5 as you stated.

[jacked in MI]

Originally Posted by beefyemt

I did have a lot of fun and had some pretty huge strength gains considering I was a personal records from week 1 on.

I did some higher rep leg work last night. The squats tweaked my back some. I'm guessing by next week I will be completely healed.

What are you guys going to do from here on out? Jeff, I assume you will finish out 5x5 as you stated.

I've decided to change up my training. For the three training days, I am going to break them down to focus on chest & tri's, back & bi's, and legs & shoulders.

I am going to keep doing the exercises from the 5x5 but during the specific muscle group training day.

I'm also cutting out carbs and kicking in the Cut Diet to see if I can finally achieve a lean and ripped physique for the Arnold. We shall see.

-Jeff

[beefyemt]

Originally Posted by jacked in MI

I've decided to change up my training. For the three training days, I am going to break them down to focus on chest & tri's, back & bi's, and legs & shoulders.

I am going to keep doing the exercises from the 5x5 but during the specific muscle group training day.

I'm also cutting out carbs and kicking in the Cut Diet to see if I can finally achieve a lean and ripped physique for the Arnold. We shall see.

-Jeff

Nice buddy. I am going to transition into my cutting phase this month and hit it come New Year. I am 26 pounds lighter than I was this time last year and have much more muscle mass.
What does your current diet look like?

[jacked in MI]

Originally Posted by beefyemt

Nice buddy. I am going to transition into my cutting phase this month and hit it come New Year. I am 26 pounds lighter than I was this time last year and have much more muscle mass.
What does your current diet look like?

Hey Brook,

Sorry about the delay in responding to your question.

I am currently following Cut Diet 2000 with good results to date. Once I plateau, I will drop to Cut Diet 1800 and then to 1500.

How are you doing post 5x5?

I feel great getting back to Chest & Tri's, Back & Bi's, and Leg & Shoulders training days.

-Jeff

[beefyemt]

Originally Posted by jacked in MI

Hey Brook,

Sorry about the delay in responding to your question.

I am currently following Cut Diet 2000 with good results to date. Once I plateau, I will drop to Cut Diet 1800 and then to 1500.

How are you doing post 5x5?

I feel great getting back to Chest & Tri's, Back & Bi's, and Leg & Shoulders training days.

-Jeff

Sounds good Jeff. I had some luck with that diet also. I will be hitting the CHA after the new year. My body responded well to that and helped me get to about 5% BF until I got off of that.

Workouts have been fun. Body is recovering well.

Glad to hear you are enjoying your workouts!

[jacked in MI]

Originally Posted by beefyemt

Sounds good Jeff. I had some luck with that diet also. I will be hitting the CHA after the new year. My body responded well to that and helped me get to about 5% BF until I got off of that.

Workouts have been fun. Body is recovering well.

Glad to hear you are enjoying your workouts!

Excellent!

I read over CHA and I think I'm going to change over to it. Carbs are not my friend!

-Jeff

[beefyemt]

Originally Posted by jacked in MI

Excellent!

I read over CHA and I think I'm going to change over to it. Carbs are not my friend!

-Jeff

It is much more simple and the one cheat meal per week has the same sort of effect as the carb up meal on the Cut Diet. I like it.