Smash Fuarking Weight

[mjw8204]

Good lifts, CJ. Nice work on hitting your deadlift goal. I'm glad you don't seem to be too bummed out about press. Maybe just work on adding reps the next couple of sessions and see where that takes you.

[RipCJ]

Good lifts, CJ. Nice work on hitting your deadlift goal. I'm glad you don't seem to be too bummed out about press. Maybe just work on adding reps the next couple of sessions and see where that takes you.

Thanks, Matt. I wasn't bummed out because I knew beforehand I was going to miss them. I was extremely tired, and I even felt like I might not complete all my reps for squats. It was just a bad day in general. I'm hoping the gym will be empty when I go tonight.

[notAlter]

subbed
Congrats on the PR's, you seem to be stringing them for a few workouts now. I'm definitely interested in seeing how far this program takes your lifts especially with the micro loading.

[RipCJ]

SQUAT:
45 x 5
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 3
165 x 2
195 x 1
230 x 5
230 x 5
230 x 5

BENCH PRESS:
45 x 5
45 x 5
75 x 3
105 x 2
125 x 1
142.5 x 5
142.5 x 5
142.5 x 5

POWER CLEAN:
45 x 5
45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 2
105 x 1
120 x 3
120 x 3
120 x 3
120 x 3
120 x 3

WEIGH-IN:
160 lbs

COMMENTS:
That's more like it. I will keep the weight for power cleans the same next workout, since form was off. I'm considering when I should start to only clean once a week, and add chin ups. I may also start to add 2x5 light back squats on Thursday.

[JayZyzz]

SQUAT:
45 x 5
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 3
165 x 2
195 x 1
230 x 5
230 x 5
230 x 5

BENCH PRESS:
45 x 5
45 x 5
75 x 3
105 x 2
125 x 1
142.5 x 5
142.5 x 5
142.5 x 5

POWER CLEAN:
45 x 5
45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 2
105 x 1
120 x 3
120 x 3
120 x 3
120 x 3
120 x 3

WEIGH-IN:
160 lbs

COMMENTS:
That's more like it. I will keep the weight for power cleans the same next workout, since form was off. I'm considering when I should start to only clean once a week, and add chin ups. I may also start to add 2x5 light back squats on Thursday.

and the PRs keep coming man, excellent! have you thought of adding front squats once a week?

[BaFtub]

gjob on the skwats. seekin 315 soooon

[PokLim]

All aboard on the pr train!! CJ's been riding it recently.

Great job mane. This is excellent progress.

[no_one089]

Look @ all the blue!

Great job CJ, keep up the progress.

[RipCJ]

and the PRs keep coming man, excellent! have you thought of adding front squats once a week?

Thanks, Johnny. Earlier I said that I was thinking about adding 2x5 light back squats. I'm not sure when, though. I'd much rather do light back squats than front squats.

gjob on the skwats. seekin 315 soooon

Thanks, Brett. I just reached two plates. Three plates won't happen for a very, very long time.

All aboard on the pr train!! CJ's been riding it recently.

Great job mane. This is excellent progress.

Thanks, PokLim.

Look @ all the blue!

Great job CJ, keep up the progress.

Thanks, Brandon.

[bluedot]

Now that you've got your hands on PP you'll be very well suited to answer your own programming questions, but I'll offer bits of my own hard won wisdom until you digest the whole book. On the program you're running, the reason to go to light back squats (or front squats) is because the deadlift, and secondarily the squat, are getting too heavy and you can't recover. Heavy DL and heavy squat will muck with the rest of your program because they will hasten the accumulation of fatigue, and you won't be able to keep pace; your leg work begins to mess with your shoulders and so on. What you can do, thought, is to construct a very good program where you deadlift once, power clean once, and do chin/pull-ups once each week. So my advice is that IF you change your program, that's what you ought to do. It's very close to the original SS template and will keep you progressing on all of your lifts.

Another bit of advice that I learned the hard way is to make sure you ramp up the eating when the progression slows. It might sound gross but when I was hitting my highest squat weights I added two tablespoons of flax or olive oil to every shake I took. It's a very easy way to take in more calories without the effort required to eat that same amount in a solid food. Crunch the numbers for yourself; if you eat two or three shakes a day that's an extra 250-475 calories per day with no extra effort! Hopefully that helps you or someone else :-/

[mjw8204]

Great session, CJ. I'm very impressed with your effort.

I think you have a good enough handle on your training right now to make those changes you mentioned whenever you see fit.

[bango skank]

Blue looks good on you, CJ! Stellar work there!

[RipCJ]

Now that you've got your hands on PP you'll be very well suited to answer your own programming questions, but I'll offer bits of my own hard won wisdom until you digest the whole book. On the program you're running, the reason to go to light back squats (or front squats) is because the deadlift, and secondarily the squat, are getting too heavy and you can't recover. Heavy DL and heavy squat will muck with the rest of your program because they will hasten the accumulation of fatigue, and you won't be able to keep pace; your leg work begins to mess with your shoulders and so on. What you can do, thought, is to construct a very good program where you deadlift once, power clean once, and do chin/pull-ups once each week. So my advice is that IF you change your program, that's what you ought to do. It's very close to the original SS template and will keep you progressing on all of your lifts.

Another bit of advice that I learned the hard way is to make sure you ramp up the eating when the progression slows. It might sound gross but when I was hitting my highest squat weights I added two tablespoons of flax or olive oil to every shake I took. It's a very easy way to take in more calories without the effort required to eat that same amount in a solid food. Crunch the numbers for yourself; if you eat two or three shakes a day that's an extra 250-475 calories per day with no extra effort! Hopefully that helps you or someone else :-/

Great post, Patrick. I still haven't read any of PP yet, but I skimmed through to look at the pictures. I recall seeing many of them in the Texas Method thread, though. I'm sure the thread is no match for the book.

Great session, CJ. I'm very impressed with your effort.

I think you have a good enough handle on your training right now to make those changes you mentioned whenever you see fit.

Thanks, but I still have a question. Should power cleans go the day before or after deadlift? I was thinking before because my back might be too fried to do power cleans if I put them after.

Blue looks good on you, CJ! Stellar work there!

Thanks, Tim.

[mjw8204]

Thanks, but I still have a question. Should power cleans go the day before or after deadlift? I was thinking before because my back might be too fried to do power cleans if I put them after.

Yeah, doing them first in the week when you're fresh might work better.

Reading the Texas Method passage from PP will show you exactly what was wrong with the first part of the Texas Method thread on this forum.

[RipCJ]

SQUAT:
45 x 5
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 3
165 x 2
195 x 1
232.5 x 5
232.5 x 5
232.5 x 5

PRESS:
45 x 5
45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 2
102.5 x 4
102.5 x 4
102.5 x 3

POWER CLEAN:
45 x 5
45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 2
105 x 1
120 x 3
120 x 3
120 x 2

WEIGH-IN:
160 lbs

COMMENTS:
I wasn't focused at all during this workout. Squat form was off, but maybe because it was pretty heavy. Should I wait until I miss a squat rep before I add in 2x5 light back squats? I'm not sure if I should reset press, or give it one more try. I'll likely reset anyway, so I might as well save myself the time and do it now. Power clean form was way off, I found myself using my arms/hands to rack the bar. I stopped after I missed a rep. I will likely reset these.

[bango skank]

COMMENTS:
I wasn't focused at all during this workout. Squat form was off, but maybe because it was pretty heavy. Should I wait until I miss a squat rep before I add in 2x5 light back squats? I'm not sure if I should reset press, or give it one more try. I'll likely reset anyway, so I might as well save myself the time and do it now. Power clean form was way off, I found myself using my arms/hands to rack the bar. I stopped after I missed a rep. I will likely reset these.

You've shown really good judgment, CJ. I think you should go with your gut instinct on resetting Press and adding in a light day. Your call.

I admire your tenacity.

[mjw8204]

If you're still able to add weight to squats every session, you might as well keep doing it. See if you can eek out another week, and then maybe make the change in the next week or two.

Sounds like you already know what to do for press and power clean. If it were me, I might try to see if I can get five reps for at least the first set next time before resetting.

Either way, you're in the driver's seat here, and you've made some really good decisions thus far. I have no doubt you will be able to continue to manage your training successfully.

I've found that with power cleans, I tend to hit a wall out of nowhere. I can add weight for several sessions, and then the next increase is a total failure. I believe Rip mentions in his book (or maybe on Strength Mill?) that power cleans can be highly sensitive to weight increases.

[JayZyzz]

SQUAT:
45 x 5
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 3
165 x 2
195 x 1
232.5 x 5
232.5 x 5
232.5 x 5

PRESS:
45 x 5
45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 2
102.5 x 4
102.5 x 4
102.5 x 3

POWER CLEAN:
45 x 5
45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 2
105 x 1
120 x 3
120 x 3
120 x 2

WEIGH-IN:
160 lbs

COMMENTS:
I wasn't focused at all during this workout. Squat form was off, but maybe because it was pretty heavy. Should I wait until I miss a squat rep before I add in 2x5 light back squats? I'm not sure if I should reset press, or give it one more try. I'll likely reset anyway, so I might as well save myself the time and do it now. Power clean form was way off, I found myself using my arms/hands to rack the bar. I stopped after I missed a rep. I will likely reset these.

CJ, I think you should do what feels best to you. If you feel like squatting heavy 3 times a week is really starting to affect your other lifts, then it sounds like a good time to add the 2x5 "light" squats.

[RipCJ]

SQUAT:
45 x 5
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 3
165 x 2
185 x 5
185 x 5

BENCH PRESS:
45 x 5
45 x 5
75 x 3
105 x 2
125 x 1
145 x 5
145 x 5
145 x 5

DEADLIFT:
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
270 x 5

WEIGH-IN:
160 lbs

COMMENTS:
My last workout of 2008 went pretty well. I hit a new bench press PR, which was the most weight I've ever handled. Deadlift form was off for the last few reps, but I guess that comes with using maximum weights. My current deadlift PR's are 1x5x275 and 1x3x285, so I'll have a chance next week to match a PR.

[mjw8204]

Nice.

This is only the beginning.

[RipCJ]

SQUAT:
45 x 5
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 3
175 x 2
205 x 1
235 x 5
235 x 5
235 x 5

PRESS:
45 x 5
45 x 5
65 x 3
85 x 5
85 x 5
85 x 5

CHIN-UP:
B/W x 10
B/W x 6
B/W x 4

WEIGH-IN:
161 lbs

COMMENTS:
Squats took some real effort, I was close to failing on the last set. Press was somewhat heavy, just because I had zero energy left. Luckily I wasn't using any real weight for presses.

[JiP]

good job man

[mjw8204]

Nice work, CJ. I'm sure another 2.5 lb increase on squats next time will be doable.

[Kiknskreem]

Squats are getting up there man.

My vote is don't be afraid to cut it to twice a week sooner rather than later. I wish I'd have taken my foot off the gas a little more when I started, probably would have kept me away from some overuse injuries.

[bluedot]

Squats are getting up there man.

My vote is don't be afraid to cut it to twice a week sooner rather than later. I wish I'd have taken my foot off the gas a little more when I started, probably would have kept me away from some overuse injuries.

That's really good advice and for some reason I never think like that. Thanks.

[mjw8204]

Squats are getting up there man.

My vote is don't be afraid to cut it to twice a week sooner rather than later. I wish I'd have taken my foot off the gas a little more when I started, probably would have kept me away from some overuse injuries.

He already did, yo (at least for heavy days). Word up.

[Kiknskreem]

He already did, yo (at least for heavy days). Word up.

Jolly good.

[hickpuff]

Excellent progress man! I've just started my SS journal. Can't wait to see results like you have, keep it up!

[liftingbuddy1]

I'm really liking those Squat numbers, CJ. How was the depth on them?

Mike

[r_graz]

Those squat numbers are really moving, CJ. Good work.

I notice your body weight seems to stay around the same place, give or take. Are you intentionally leaving out the "add bodyweight" aspect of Starting Strength? Not that it's a criticism - personally I've been trying to get stronger while remaining roughly the same weight - just curious.

EDIT: Looking back at your first workout in this journal on Oct. 14th, I see you were at 148 lbs, so I guess you have gained a fair amount of weight. Maybe it's just the last few weeks I noticed it staying around the same place.