Icecreamfitness 5x5 Log

[Kscof]

Hey everyone. Today I decided I'll go ahead and start recording my workouts onto a thread so that other people can gauge in on my progress.

I've lifted consistently for about two years now, in which the first year I went from 140 lbs to 160, maxing out at a 190 bench, 265 squat and 365 deadlift. The six months after that I cut down to 150 and pretty much dicked around with lifting routines. In the past six months I've hovered between 150-155, reached the 365 deadlift mark at 152lbs, and then lost a month or so due to college graduation and moving to a new city.

For the past month, I had been doing madcows 5x5 while focusing on doing high bar atg squats (before I always squatted low bar). This last wednesday I realized my initial progress was stalling, and that my strength and size overall just wasn't high enough to warrant a fancy program like 5/3/1 or the ramping sets of madcows. I've never touched the 225/315/405 realm, and I want to be able to step on stage as a natural bodybuilder when I'm 25. I feel both of those will be aided by following a much higher volume, squat-heavy routine.

On off days I do mobility work, with a focus on trigger point work with a lacrosse ball (around my scapula is really tight usually).

Weight today: 154
Macros: 50-75g fat, 200g minimum protein, 400g minimum carbs

Last workout:

Workout A, Friday, 6/21/2013

Squat: 165 5x5 (On last set, setting my stance slightly wider seemed to help my joint health, will do so from now on)

Bench: 135 (5,5,5,5,4) (The last set got me because I wasn't used to this level of volume quite yet. Regardless, I'll repeat 135 on wednesday)

Row: 135 5x5

Shrug: 155 8x3

Skullcrusher: Ez + 20lbs, 12x3 (Will bring rep range down to 8 as the weight gets heavy enough)

Curls: 25 lb dumbells, 8x3

Hypers: 25lb plate 10x3

Cable crunch: 100lbs 10x3

[Kscof]

Weight today: 153


Workout B, Monday, 6/24/2013

Squat: 170 5x5 (Static stretching my calves and tibialis anterior helped immensely)

Deadlift: 275 5x1 (Felt very strong, but will only add 5 lbs next time)

Press: 80 5x5

Row: 115 5x5

CGBP: 95 8x3

Incline Curls: 25 lb dumbells, 8x3 (Far better stretch and burn than standing curls, will do chins instead on workout A)

Cable crunch: 110lbs 10x3

Overall I'm pleased with my results, and I'm getting more used to this drastically higher volume. Took about 2 hours total for mobility + lifts.

[Kscof]

Weight today: 153

Workout A, Wednesday, 6/26/2013

Squat: 175 5x5 (Felt almost no joint issues, burn directly in quads)

Bench: 135 5x5

Row: 140 5x5 (****ty first set, tightened abs on others to reduce my body rearing back.)

Shrug: 155 8x3 (Forgot to add 10lbs today lol, first two sets had lame form, third felt good.)

Skullcrusher: Ez + 30lbs, 8x3 (Felt a good mind muscle connection.)

Chins: 5,5,5,5,4 (Will increase reps until I can do 10x5, then I'll reduce it to 8x3 with weight.)

Hypers: 35lb plate 8x3

Cable crunch: 120lbs 10x3

Everything felt pretty solid. I recorded the second or third set of every exercise I did and will upload a youtube vid a little later today (gotta edit first).

EDIT: Here's mah vid.

[Kscof]

Weight today: 153


Workout B, Friday, 6/28/2013

Squat: 180 5x5 (Right knee is starting to feel ****ty, I think it's due to not putting enough emphasis on my knees going out)

Deadlift: 280 5x1

Press: 85 5x5

Row: 120 5x5

CGBP: 100 8x3

Incline Curls: 20 lb dumbells, 10x3 (grabbed the wrong dumbbells, damn it.)

Cable crunch: 130lbs 10x3

Right knee is starting to feel really bad, I need to start taking fish oil and work on pushing my knees out more on my squatting.

[Kscof]

Weight today: slightly under 154

Workout A, Monday, 7/1/2013

Squat: 185 5x5

Bench: 140 5x5

Row: 145 5x5

Shrug: 165 8x3

Skullcrusher: Ez + 40lbs, 8x3 (Closer grip led to better stretch in tricep, my left (smaller) arm felt it like nothing else)

Chins: 5x5 (Will increase reps until I can do 10x5, then I'll reduce it to 8x3 with weight.)

Hypers: 45lb plate 8x3 (Idk if I should move on to good mornings yet, will increase reps to 10, 12, 15)

Cable crunch: 140lbs 10x3 (damn weight stack almost picked me up off the ground lol)

SO! Had a nice workout in the evening today. Started incorporating massive amounts of static stretching (following, among other things, the 'starting stretching' routine here http://phraktured.net/starting-stretching.html) which in turn lead to certain exercises being easier, and others tougher. Namely, my squat and bench felt a hell of a lot more controlled, and my row was tougher. I imagine the row performance was due to the more optimized torso positioning during squats, as I felt a hell of a burn in my low trap area from my squats that lasted until my last bench press set. I have a feeling I'll be smashing some plateaus once my body adjusts to its drastically increasing flexibility. Chins were much much easier to do, and I have a feeling I'll be hitting my 10x5 goal pretty soon.

Other than that, I'll probably start including some HIIT sessions on the elliptical starting tomorrow, as I want my conditioning and metabolism up. That way, I can get my workouts done quicker, and I can keep this weight gain under control.

[Kscof]

Weight today: 152, been dropping some royalty-tier deuces

June 2nd: 10 rounds of HIIT on elliptical, 15 seconds on 45 seconds off

Workout B, Wednesday, 7/3/2013



Squat: 190 5x5

Deadlift: 285 5x1

Press: 90 5x5

Row: 125 5x5

CGBP: 105 8x3

Incline Curls: 25 lb dumbells, 8, 7, 7 (increased ROM due to shoulder flexibility made these tough lol)

Cable crunch: Some weight, 15x3 (usual spot was occupied, just found a decent weight on a stack on the other side of the gym)

Did some good work today, squats are feeling stronger and stronger now. Deadlifts taxed the life out of my left hamstring and calves, which I assume is due to the increased flexibility. OHP was TOUGH, I grinded out the last two reps on the last two sets. Cable crunch being done somewhere where I couldn't perch my feet against anything ended up being a blessing in disguise, as I felt the strain in my abs way more with what was probably way less weight.

[Kscof]

Weight today: No idea

Workout A, Monday, 7/8/2013

Squat: 195 5x5

Bench: 145 5x5

Row: 150 5, 5, 5, 3, 4

Shrug: 170 8x3

Skullcrusher: Ez + 45lbs, 8x3

Chins: 6, 6, 6, 6, 5

Hypers: 45lb plate 10, 10, 8

Cable crunch: Didn't do, nothing left in the tank

Well, the increased flexibility continues to alter how this workout feels on my body. Squat felt good, and bench press I ended up widening my grip and tucking my legs in more (more powerlifting style) since I do CGBP on workout B, and it felt good. Rows were absolutely awful, didn't feel anything out of them and had terrible range of motion. I remember 145 being pretty lousy as well, and my conclusion is that my technique is slightly off and I'm fatigued from my corrected squat form. Due to that, I'll deload it to 135 my next Workout A, and go back to 115 on Workout B.

Shrugs are feeling alright, but they probably need another 25-35 lbs added before I really feel them. Skullcrushers were shaky but manageable, some guy decided to hop on the incline bench right next to the bench I was on and our bars collided mid-rep, leading to all our plates falling all over the place lol. I'm lucky the plates fell in front of and behind my gym bag, otherwise all my **** would have been destroyed. Chins are feeling good, hypers were absolutely wrecking my hamstrings, and I was dragging my feet by the time crunches came around. I imagine my training stamina will be back by next workout, as taking friday off (gym closed) combined with 4th of July partying did me in.

[Kscof]

Weight today: 152

Workout B, Wednesday, 7/10/2013


Squat: 200 5x5

Deadlift: 290 5x1

Press: 50 5x5 (trying to re-evaluate form)

Row: 115 5x5 (lowered as part of deload)

CGBP: 105 8x3

Incline Curls: 25 lb dumbells, 6, 6, 3

Cable crunch: 130 8x3 (didn't brace feet against foundation of machine today)

Hanging leg raises, 90 degrees: 5x3

Wow, was just not feeling it at all today. Squats were tough due to lack of the proper amount of active recovery the day before. Deadlifts were shaky but solid. My attempts to re-evaluate my press made me feel like I was just dicking around, and I really need to get that **** figured out before next monday. Did my rows today by having the bar set on a squat rack, and using a platform to elevate myself so the bar was knee level. Focused on rowing the bar back, and felt a nice pump and contraction in my mid back and lats. Incline curls were just absolutely awful, but I blame that on being worn out from the deadlifts, and I really should have just swallowed my pride and picked up 20s or 15s. I tried throwing in some leg raises at the end, but in retrospect I should have just did higher reps on the cable crunches. Overall a lousy workout.

[Kscof]

Workout A, Friday, 7/12/2013

Squat: 205 5x5

Bench: 150 (5, 5, 5, 3) 135 (5)

Row: 135 (5, 5, 5, 5) 145 (5)

Shrugs: 115 (12, 12, 12)

Skullcrusher: +30lbs (10, 10, 8)

Chins: 8, 6, 5, 5, 5

Hypers: +25 lbs (12, 12, 10)

Cable crunch: 120 (12, 12, 12)

Did some things differently today to have a successful workout. During my squats I just let myself get pissed off, and it let me tear through every set. For my rows, I looked up a dorian yates demonstration of the row, and experimented with that form, and I found it hit my back pretty well, and I'll stick to a more upright position as I add weight.

Overall, on all my accessory work I focused on trying to find a weight that I can feel like I'm controlling the weight instead of the weight controlling me. For shrugs I found that dropping the weight way down and letting my body lean forward slightly let me hit the traps better, and with skull crushers I emulated a decline skull crusher by keeping the bar slightly back and not completely locking out each rep. Lead to less joint strain and more muscle strain. Small tweaks like that here and there for all my exercises made me feel like I was actually sculpting a physique, despite dropping the weight. Squat and bench are still getting better, so I'm cool with the accessory deloads.

[Kscof]

Stopped icecreamfitness 5x5 for now, was ****ing up my hip flexors due to how I squatted somehow. Decided to go on a mini cut, and lost enough fat to notice how hips and scapula moved whenever I did overhead movements. End result is fixing postural issues that were deeply rooted into me from day one, and now I'm finally making some gains.



Deadliftin 335 for 5, will go for 8 next week.