Homemade Power Rack and stornglifts 5x5

[Zero_Degreez]

Squats 102.5kg 3R

I good morning'd the 2nd and 3rd rep so even though I new I could go ass to grass 5 times I also new I was in danger of f***ing up my back so I called it quits.

Looking HEAVY!! Very impressive, good work! I certainly agree it's best to be safe than sorry!!!

[scotthm2]

So today was meant to be a rest day but I had to move up my workout day as I am going away this weekend.

Squats 92.5kg 5x5



Bench 47kg 5,4,5
Damn that middle set. The last set felt so easy I thought about going for another set and discounting the middle one but then I thought 'don't mess with the program'.
I love my new set up!



Pendlay Row 52.5kg 3x5
I videod from a different view in the hopes that the previous view made it appear that my lower back wasn't arched. Unfortunately this view shows lower back rounding as well. I'm honestly not sure what to do. It's as arched a I can get it!



Tricep Dips to finish.

[tina722]

Nice squats - lookin' strong.

For pendlay - I started bringing my hips low, more to a deadlift angle to get my back to arch. I also have to pull my abs in quite a bit, and usually completely reset each rep. I think it's a combination of big erectors and bad hip/hamstring flexibility. I think yours look okay, there is a bit of rounding though, where are you feeling the movement? Can you get totally flat back with no weight or very little weight?

[scotthm2]

Nice squats - lookin' strong.

For pendlay - I started bringing my hips low, more to a deadlift angle to get my back to arch. I also have to pull my abs in quite a bit, and usually completely reset each rep. I think it's a combination of big erectors and bad hip/hamstring flexibility. I think yours look okay, there is a bit of rounding though, where are you feeling the movement? Can you get totally flat back with no weight or very little weight?

I switched to sumo deadlift stance because Denver and upper body length made it extremely difficult for me to get my hips low enough for conventional deads :-(
I will try and video with no weight and see how I can get my back to comply. Thanks for advice!
Oh and I am feeling it mostly between my shoulder blades and rear delts...?

[scotthm2]

Light squats 75kg 2x5

OHP 31kg 5,4,4

Argh! So close! Honestly I can't wait to start bulking purely to see this lift go up.



Deadlift 115kg 1x6

I accidentally did 6 reps. How do you loose count after only 5 reps??



I am away on a girly booze weekend. I can't drink on the antidepressants I am on so it will be a little awkward I imagine but I gota just bite the bullet.

[tina722]

Shoulder blades and rear delts are exactly where I feel them. every. single. time. I can't believe how sore I still get after 5-6weeks of consistently doing them.

Have fun this weekend - should be nice to get away.

[scotthm2]

Just did a cardio session. I am sort of running out of days in the week! At the moment I have had to cut back cardio to one day a week. Next month I am going to be really busy with cricket so I am thinking about having to switch to working out (weights) only twice a week :-(

[scotthm2]

Okay so I am helping out some of my team mates with their program's. I decided to workout in one of there gyms with them. It...was....a.....terrible....idea!
The 'squat Racks' had spotter bars that wernt adjustable. Which is prob fine for the 6ft guys who squat but for me it meant I could jut about get parallel. Essentially I ended up doing 1x5 paused squats at 102.5kg. I should have just stopped. I am lucky I didn't snap some s**t up.

Squat 102.5kg



I should keep this video as an example of what not to do!

Bench 47kg 4,3,3
Rest periods all messed up as teaching shoulder press inbetween sets. Seriously think I didn't do bench until about 20 mins after my squats! Prob not a bit of my preworkout still in my system!

Row 55kg 3x5
I'd say another 20-25 mins between my bench and this exercise! Was getting cold.
All in all not a very productive workout or fun experience but what can you do?

Now all I need I do is decided whether to count those squats or not... The form is terrible!

[scotthm2]

Just cardio day today.
The diet is really getting to me these last 2 days. I have been craving chocolate like a mad thing! I have worked in a chocolate bar into my macros tomorrow in the hopes that it will stop the cravings. Hope it doesn't have the opposite effect!

[scotthm2]

Oh dear. So I videod my squats from a different angle...not good! Not good at all! I see a deload for form in the near future. By the 5th set I was like f this I can't keep my chest up and therefore stop my bum rising before everything else so let's call it a day on squats.

Squat 95kg 4x5


OHP 31kg 3x5
Finally! Funny how all you need is that little bit of the extra motivation comibg from knowing that failure means deloading.



Yes I know they arnt strict but I don't care tbh. Just wanna lift heavy even if that means a bit of help from my legs.

Deadlift 117.5kg 1x5
Pretty happy with these. Honestly this went up easier than 115kg did.
Apologies for the absolutely horrendous camera angle...

[Zero_Degreez]

50 Cent, I'm liking the choice of music.

[scotthm2]

So after my lat squat session I decided to video these as well to check form. Seems okay at this weight. It will always look like I amnt quite squatting right because of my torso to limb ratio. My chest rises at the same time as my hips tho. My next set was even better when I really concentrated.

Squats 75kg 2x5



I am going to use tomorrow I find the wight at which my squat form starts to break down.

Bench 47kg 3x5
BOOM! 3rd times a charm. Considering last time I only managed a couple of reps each set I am over the moon about this! I narrowed my grip width and really felt like I could generate a lot more power out of the bottom.



Row 57.5kg 4,4,2
Yeh, I started rounding my back at this weight.



My weight increases today for the first time during my cut. I have had a couple of days in a row where I saw no scale movement but never an increase. I'm not to bothered though because I am starting to see some definition in the upper ab region.

[Swampduck]

So after my lat squat session I decided to video these as well to check form. Seems okay at this weight. It will always look like I amnt quite squatting right because of my torso to limb ratio. My chest rises at the same time as my hips tho. My next set was even better when I really concentrated.

Squats 75kg 2x5



I am going to use tomorrow I find the wight at which my squat form starts to break down.

Bench 47kg 3x5
BOOM! 3rd times a charm. Considering last time I only managed a couple of reps each set I am over the moon about this! I narrowed my grip width and really felt like I could generate a lot more power out of the bottom.



Row 57.5kg 4,4,2
Yeh, I started rounding my back at this weight.



My weight increases today for the first time during my cut. I have had a couple of days in a row where I saw no scale movement but never an increase. I'm not to bothered though because I am starting to see some definition in the upper ab region.

try box squatting to practice keep your back up more...
I struggled when starting out but am free squatting the numbers in my sig now.

[scotthm2]

try box squatting to practice keep your back up more...
I struggled when starting out but am free squatting the numbers in my sig now.

Hey,
Thanks swampduck. Good idea. I was box squatting a long time ago right at the very beginning really but then stopped when I was hapoy with my squat form and I started SL's. obviously my form has broken down along the way. I wish I had caught it sooner!

[thehobbes]

Bench looks good, congrats on that getting much easier for you! Cool stuff about narrowing the grip, I notice lots of people bench really wide over here (tons wider than I go) not sure what's up with that. Good depth on squats, looks like if you get that chest up it'll be looking great on overall form.

[scotthm2]

Bench looks good, congrats on that getting much easier for you! Cool stuff about narrowing the grip, I notice lots of people bench really wide over here (tons wider than I go) not sure what's up with that. Good depth on squats, looks like if you get that chest up it'll be looking great on overall form.

How wide is your grip? Ur pretty much my benching idol!!
Reason why I took a wider grip was I thought the bar had less distance to travel and it would make it easier. Or rather the bar had less distance to travel before you were usin your chest muscles...idk!!

[thehobbes]

How wide is your grip? Ur pretty much my benching idol!!
Reason why I took a wider grip was I thought the bar had less distance to travel and it would make it easier. Or rather the bar had less distance to travel before you were usin your chest muscles...idk!!

LOL thanks Scottish-ham! My pinkie fingers are like 2" inside the rings on a bb. I bench slightly narrower than your average person, just trying to avoid beating the hell out of my shoulders since I do use a fair amount of wt on that lift. Going really wide will rampage your shoulder joints, nah doesn't make it easier but I see your logic. Kinda like really wide grip pullups are very challenging, with a lot of upper body lifts like that I find the more centered you are the easier it is, for me anyways. Good job though, you're really finding your sweet spot for your pressing.

[scotthm2]

Haha so after not being able to do 95kg with correct form I thought 'what the hell, I'll go for 105kg anyway'. Smart right?!

Squat 105kg 1x ... ehhhhh...cough
So I deloaded and then increased weight until form started breaking down. This happened with 92.5kg. I reckon 90kg went up well. What do you guys think?

Squat 90kg


I am going to hit the gym 2m and do some box squats.

OHP 32kg 3x5
Narrowed my grip on this one after it being such a successful technique on my bench and what do you know? 32 went up easier than 31!
Maybe I should change the name of this exercise from overhead press to push press though. I mean lets be honest here.



Deadlift 120kg 1x3 very bad reps!!



Grrr...120kg...y u no like me?!

Chins

[scotthm2]

Squats 82.5kg 5x5
Did the first set unbelted just for the crack. It felt good! Started looking up when coming out of the hole to try and keep my chest up. I saw matt ogus doing it...



Bench 48kg 4,4,4
So close on all of these. Felt good though. I was really in a good groove. Loving my set up and new grip width. Everything felt really tight and happy with my bar speed.



Rows 57.5kg 3x5
These are fast becoming my least favourite exercise ever... :-(
Maybe it's just because thy are at the end of my workout and I am so tired and cranky by then but I just hate doing them! I don't know if there is an alternative I can sub in?



Tricep Dips
Hanging Leg Raises: with my knees bent. Does anyone know a good way to progress into a full hanging leg raise?

[scotthm2]

Hurt my wrist somehow in my match lat night. Only noticed it on the way home. I was hoping it would be gone by the time i woke up this morning but no such luck :-( strapped it up tightly and manage to workout without it effecting me too much.

Light Squats 65kg 2x5

OHP 33kg 3x5
Finally getting Ito the groove with this exercise.



Deadlift 120kg 1
Okay I am going to have to do something about my deadlifts. They just going up past 120kg. Any suggestions to get over this plateau?

[tina722]

how close do you want to stick to the original program? For rows - I think powercleans are an acceptable substitute.

The other thing to consider, would be a different rep range (especially triples, which seem to be easier to keep form and still hit heavy weight), or different form/styles of the lift (eg. strict rows, deficit deadlifts, snatch deads, speed deads). This could be just temporary to give you a little break from hitting the same lifts or it could be more permanent.

Other than that, I'm not sure? I'm really impressed with how hard you work, though.

[thehobbes]

Re rows: why don't you just do bent over bb rows? You'll have to lower the weight some but it is a great back exercise for strength, you can always go even lighter on them and make sure you do them nice and slow with a pause at the top. Those pendlay rows look like they'd piss off my lower back.

How's your wrist doing? I hurt mine doing nothing in specific a while ago, felt really bad at the time, but suspiciously healed in like 2 days lol. I get things like that sometimes, it's the weirdest thing. Hopefully yours is all good now.

[scotthm2]

So I am off stims for a week. Tht means no preworkout :-(
Had two very long matches at the weekend. I did a lot in both so am very tired this morning. My leg especially feel like led. Needless to say I didn't have a very successful squat session!

Squats 92.5kg 3Reps

Bench 48kg 5,4,4
So close!



Pendlay Row 60kg 4,4,2
I raised the bar off the floor to help with my form issues. Seemed to work but I think I am going to deload this exercise again and work back up as still am not happy with my technique.

[scotthm2]

Gave up trying to sleep around 6AM and decided to just get up and hit the gym.

Squats 5x5 82.5kg
I decided to do these unbelted md unstrapped. Felt great, hard, but great.



OHP 34kg 4,2,
Below is the video of my first set.



Deadlift 120kg
Following some advice from Tina above I was shooting or 1x3 instead of 1x5 here. Yeh...couldn't get it off the floor. Will be deloading.

[scotthm2]

Okay so long time since I've posted in here. Change my workouts a lot since my last post. We have a strength and conditioning coach with the team so have been following a new program that is sports specific. He said I was strong enough but needed to work on power. Some recent lifts:
Power clean: 55kg 1x2
Hang Squat Clean 53kg 5x2
Front squat 80kg 1x3
Power jerk 54kg 1x2
Push Press 45kg 1x5
Bench 56kg 1x3 60kg 1x1
Not supposed to be benching but I miss it so sneak it in every now and then.

[thehobbes]

Hey good to see you back! Holy crap strong front squat and power clean.