stronger & leaner

[Kemo1990]

**** yea 10 lb pr on push press for 2 reps!!

nice job on the PR, i know my pushpress and mil press need to see some gains

update on weight loss:

aug 08 - 275
aug 17 - 265
aug 18 - 266
aug 20 - 267
aug 21 - 264
aug 22 - 262

should break into the 250's sometime this week or in the weekend. can't wait.

nice job bro, but why are you weighting yourself everyday?

[samsont]

nice job on the PR, i know my pushpress and mil press need to see some gains

nice job bro, but why are you weighting yourself everyday?

I dont always everyday, but pretty much. I dont fret day to day, but i like to know when im bloated or not, see the differences and know when to drop the cal's a bit. all I really care is about week to week.

for instances:
aug 08 - 275
aug 17 - 265
aug 18 - 266
aug 20 - 267
aug 21 - 264
aug 22 - 262
aug 23 - 259
aug 24 - 260
aug 27 - 263

4 lbs in the last week, after the initial water drop (aug 8 to 17, 10 lb loss). good progress at this point. should be in the high 250's next monday.

if my weight is dropping too fast, the weigh ins let me know.. I don't want to lose weight too fast. it's just a good indicator for me to bump cals up a few hundred or drop them if i'm bloated up or activity level is down.

[samsont]

Cycle 2 wave 1 3/5/1 Bench 3's

Bench
45 x 5
100 x 5
125 x 5
150 x 3
____________
175 x 3
200 x 3
225 x 3

245 x 1
245 x 1
250 x 1

Incline Bench
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
185 x 5

Seated DB OHP
40 x 6
45 x 6
45 x 6
50 x 6



done! I should Incline and DB press more often..

[samsont]

Cycle 2 Wave 1 3/5/1 squat 3's


hips were tight as **** today took forever to get warmed up. felt tight until weights got heavy. depth was okay. not great but not too high.

Back Squat
45 x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
140 x 3
__________________
160 x 3
185 x 3
205 x 3

215 x 1
225 x 1
235 x 1

Rackpulls
135 x 10
225 x 5
275 x 5

Single legged leg press
4 sets of 10


done!

feels kinda wierd benching more than my squat and almost overhead pressing more...

but its what I gotta do to get back.

[samsont]

Cycle 2 Wave 2 3/5/1 Press 5's

Cut is getting to me. Felt weak and tired today.

Press
45 x 5
70 x 5
95 x 5
105 x 3
____________
115 x 5
130 x 5
150 x 5

Incline bench
45 x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5
135 x 10

and thats all for today. shoulders were tore up

[samsont]

Extra workout

really didnt feel like deadlifting today but i had to go in and do something..

Ab crunch machine
5 sets of 20

Back extension machine
5 sets of 10

Preacher curl machine
3 sets of 10


Incline treadmill
30 minutes walking.

feels good. cut is going well I will post some weigh in numbers in a couple days.

[samsont]

cycle 2 wave 2 3/5/1 DL 5's


confession: my conventional deadlift is absolutely terrible. somehow i've managed to pull a 375 DL conv with minimal training, after hitting a 365 sumo months prior to it. after my hip injury that forced me to go conventional, I figured i'd stick with it anyways.

well, these few weeks of deadlifting for 3 or 5 reps every weeek has been hard as ****. my form sucks, my grip isn;t good past 3 reps on anything, every rep is a grinder even at 50-60% 1rm.

so I decided the awnser isnt switching to sumo, or rack pulls, or hamstring movements/back movements.. it's lower training max by 10-15% and fix the form, and deadlift more.

Training max: 305 (previously 350)

Deadlift
135 x 5
155 x 5
185 x 3
______________
205 x 5
230 x 5
260 x 5

185 x 3
185 x 3
185 x 3

done.. messed with stance every set, nothing feels comfortable. Well actually, wider stance does but that makes no sense right? wider stance/grip = bigger ROM = weaker?

[samsont]

Cycle 2 wave 2 3/5/1 Bench 5's

Pause bench
45 x 5
100 x 5
125 x 5
150 x 3
________________
165 x 5
190 x 5
215 x 5

185 x 3 x 8 sets


Every rep was paused. this was a great technique session. I just concentrated hard on tucking, staying tight, leg drive out of the bottom. Although I obviously don't need leg drive for these weights, I was extremely surprised how fast the 185 flew up with good leg drive vs without.

this is something I really have to work on when I start taking heavy singles.

[samsont]

Dear diary,



I can't sleep tonight because I'm too excited to squat tommorow.




on another note:

I've been doing low impact cardio: 7 miles incline walking, in a fasted state in the past few days, goal is to hit 14 miles or more a week. Should help with the fatloss. soon I'll start doing more higher impact stuff like sprints and jump but right now my joints will hate me.

[Filmbuff81]

The wider stance Deadlifts maybe feel more comfortable since you used to sumo? Not sure how wide you used to Deadlift, but you could experiment with a modified narrow stance sumo.

It's what I use for my working sets and I do my warmups and higher rep sets conventional to work on form.

[samsont]

The wider stance Deadlifts maybe feel more comfortable since you used to sumo? Not sure how wide you used to Deadlift, but you could experiment with a modified narrow stance sumo.

It's what I use for my working sets and I do my warmups and higher rep sets conventional to work on form.

yeah idk, I just got bad levers and need to lose weight and conventional might feel better. I have really short arms, like, literally my lockout is at my waist, just above crotch level.

i'll probably switch to sumo next cycle but i want to keep working on conventional.

[samsont]

Cycle 2 wave 2 3/5/1 Squat 5's

Felt good today, was excited to squat

Back squat
45 x 5 x 2
95 x 5
115 x 5
140 x 3
______________
150 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 10 - I just kept going :shrug:

225 x 3

Depth felt good once warmed up, was staying upright a lot better than usual.

Lower back was pumped like a mother****er after the 10 rep set.

Deviated from the plan and went high intensity on the 'light' week, but i felt good so it was a good opporunity to get good squatting in. This is all I did for the day, pretty tired as I couldnt sleep last night at all.

[samsont]

Cycle 2 Wave 3 3/5/1 Press 1's

Press
45 x 5
70 x 5
90 x 5
105 x 3
____________
135 x 5
150 x 3
165 x 1

175 x 1
180 x 1
185 x 2 push pressed

Low cable row
5 sets of 10

Incline walking
30~ minutes or so.




Two cycle reflection: my press has continued to get and feel stronger, technique has gotten extremely better than it was, set PR's front,rear delts have gotten bigger.

Squat has not got stronger but my flexibility is improving, becoming more confident with my hip.

Deadlift sucks, but I'm switching to sumo next cycle. Still, lowering my max and workin on technique was the right move.

Bench, I'm not sure yet. I have been for sure regaining my strenght I had before I took time off, but have yet to hit a max attempt. My reps have gotten better though. Add in the 190lb PR on press i'm certain i'll hit 290-305 bench soon.

[samsont]

walking log

sep 01 = 2.0 mi
sep 02 = 2.3 mi
sep 03 = 2.7 mi
sep 04 = 1.0 mi
sep 05 = 2.0 mi
sep 06 = 2.0 mi

Starting taking my cardio seriously, so i figured i'd update it. I'm not gonna make a post for every cardio or gpp session though.

Made this log with the goal of daily walking, usually on incline. I've done this before with extreme success. Lifts don't suffer, fat loss, better recovery etc. Aiming for 14 miles/week , or 2 mi/day average. Some days i'll go farther, some less but as long as i hit the weekly goal it's cool.


I'll update my weight on saturday, which will officially be my "month 1" weigh in.

[samsont]

Tommorow is hamstring domination. I'll be deadlifting and then afterwards completely destroying my hamstrings and glutes as well as I can. planning the destruction now. Should be rough walking around all weekend.

[samsont]

Cycle 2 wave 3 3/5/1 DL 1's


so..... I can't stick to the plan. But maybe that is a good thing.

I'm offically switching back to sumo. probably will go back to wide stance squats too, and start incorporating RDL's and good mornings as i feel all 4 lifts have great carryover for me.

anyways I worked up to a 1 rep max, mind you i havent pulled more than 225 sumo all year and I pulled 365 EASY in december before I tore my hip. 385 or 395 off 2" blocks.

Sumo Deadlift
135 x 5 x 2
185 x 3
___________________
230 x 5
260 x 3
290 x 1

310 x 1 - had MAYBE 10 more pounds in me but my right hamstring was laughing at me.


Conv. Rackpulls
135 x 5 x 2
185 x 10 x 2
205 x 10

these really got my glutes and spinal erectors going. It's funny how the idiots on misc/bb.com think rackpulls dont use legs/post.chain , most people rackpull so wrong that has no carryover to anything.



I'm super excited about training from here on out... I'm getting close to where I was at last december. Hopefully be hitting real PR's before the end of the year . I was at 1055 gym total last year, hoping to atleast match that or 1100.

[samsont]

month 1 weigh in


august 8th - 275

september 8th - 257

goal: 255

Eh, close enough. Good month lost 18 lbs and set some PR's on my overheadpress , started squatting again.

October 8th goal: 240

[Filmbuff81]

Seriously impressive weight loss while upping your strength!

[samsont]

Seriously impressive weight loss while upping your strength!

thanks man.


But I gotta be real about it. I set a rather lofty goal (20lb in month). But the first stage of this process my body will lose a lot of water/glycogen etc instead of being in a constantly bloated state. I'd like to think I had a good 8-12lbs of real weight loss with most of it being fat. I might of even gained some LBM....Can not be naive and believe this rate and gains will continue. It's gonna get harder, I have to get better. Thats why the next month goal is 15 lbs which is still a BIG goal. It's gonna get hard around 245~ i know it. After october i'll start aiming for 5-10lbs a month and hopefully preserve as much muscle as possible. Really believe i'm still at a stage where I can progress my lifts the entire time If i do it right, and slowly. It'll be awesome to be able to share/show off some impressive before/after photos in a few months. Progress photos have been good already but not worth posting yet. stay tuned!

[samsont]

cycle 2 wave 3 3/5/1 Bench 1's

left wrist has been killing me since yesterday, figured i'd go in and see how it went and if too painful i'd just call it a day and do it later in the week.

Bench
45 x 5
100 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 3 - all sets been really painful
________________________
190 x 5 - thought about going home before this set, but this one wasn't so bad
215 x 3 - no pain
240 x 3 no spotter, could have had 5+

255 x 3 PR - previous best triple was only 245

didnt feel like risking my wrist since I already set a PR, and i felt good

135 x 20

Low cable rows
5 sets of 10




Awesome session...

[xRequiem]

Awesome bench pr, adding 10lbs to your bench is a pretty big deal.

[samsont]

Awesome bench pr, adding 10lbs to your bench is a pretty big deal.

yeah man. thanks. I gotta say i feel like I'm in my groove as far as training, trusting my gut on decisions on what and when to do things, and following the 5/3/1 and 3/5/1 template, i should just keep blasting PR's for a long time hopefully. my pressing, overhead and bench is definately my strong point, just from the way i'm built (broad shoulders, short arms). Definately feel 300-305 by end of this year is definately attainable.


I will admit, i still miss the chains and bands and different movements of westside but I'm weak and this straight weight stuff is working. It's what I need. I almost went with a 5x5 linear program and I know that would of worked too. just gotta stick with whatever it is you're doing like your thread title says lol.

[samsont]

Extra workout


Back Extension machine
5 sets of 10

Ab crunch machine
5 sets of 10

Tricep extension machine
5 sets of 10

Bicep curl machine
2 sets of 10

Elliptical - moderate intensity
20 minutes

[samsont]

Cycle 2 Wave 3 3/5/1 SQ 1's

Back Squat
45 x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
140 x 3
______________
175 x 5
195 x 3
225 x 1

235 x 1
245 x 1
255 x 1

Rackpulls
185 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 3
245 x 3
265 x 3
285 x 3
315 x 3
365 x 2
225 x 6

Overhead Squat
45 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 5
75 x 5 almost fell on 3rd rep lol..
75 x 5

Leg press
4 sets of 8 2-3-4-5 plates per side

[samsont]

Cycle 2 Wave 4 3/5/1 Press Deload

Press
45 x 5
70 x 5
90 x 5
105 x 5

Push press
135 x 3
155 x 3
185 x 1

Facepulls
5 x 10

Machine press
5 x 10

Standing lat pulldown
5 x 10

Tricep pushdown
5 x 10


done! good light, flushing day with lot of pump. low rest time on all sets. maybe 30 sec tops.

[samsont]

Extra workout


Treadmill
~30 minutes walking

Tricep extension machine
5 x 10

Ab crunch machine
5 x 20

Assisted Chins
5 x 5

Bball Shootaround
45 minutes


as I left the gym my friend called me up to play pickup Bball.. I havent played all year.. since i'm 255-260ish I figured i'd give it a shot (i usually wont play 260+ because my knee and foot)

Half court pickup bball
1 extraordinarly long game to 16. lost but whatever. I did a lot better than I thought. wasn't too out of breathe and no ankle/shin problems but there was ZERO explosion or agility. just felt slow lol.

[samsont]

cycle 2 wave 4 3/5/1 Sumo DL Deload

body weight: 253

goal for september 22 is 253 so I may have to bump cal's up a bit for a couple days. I dont wanna lose weight too fast.


Played basketball for like 2 hours yesterday. Also had low carbs yesterday, I'm absolutely depeleted right now. Couldnt finish my workout.

Sumo Deadlift
135 x 5 x 2
155 x 5 x 2
185 x 5 x 2

RDL
135 x 10 x 4 sets


thats it.

[samsont]

Cycle 2 wave 4 3/5/1 Bench Deload

Everything was explosive today

Bench Press paused
45 x 10 x 2
100 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5

Pendlay Rows
135 x 3
155 x 3
185 x 3 this wasnt fast so i pyramid down
155 x 3
135 x 10

Machine Press
3 sets of 15

V Bar tricep Pushdown
100 rep set continuous

[samsont]

Extra workout

Kettlebell swings (hip hinge)
40lb kb x 10 reps x 10 sets 15 second rest

hammer curls superset with pushups
20lb db x 10 + 10 knucklepushups
20lb db x 10 + 10 knucklepushups
20lb db x 10 + 10 knucklepushups

Treadmill
3.5 mph walk x 30 minutes

[xRequiem]

I don't know how you can deload every month. Must be boring as hell.