Krazy's Attempt At Being Swole While Being Natty!

[Artemis00]

Subbed.

And nice when you put thought to paper (or computer screen in this case) and sort of figure out what steps you are taking next.

Looking forward to seeing how things go and that is great about the forearm. Hate forearm injuries.

[IronKrazy]

Holy chit man, that is some serious weight you're lifting.

Did your micro plates arrive yet?

Thanks man. It is for me considering what 95lbs felt like after a 5x5 session a while back. Though it's really not as what I'm using is warm up weight for many and to think what 255lbs feels like to me on my back and the fight I put in to get through it, I can't imagine double that or more and doing 3x3 or 3x5 with it. That is amazing strength man, I can't imagine what it feels like to squat that kind of weight for reps. But I'm trying bro! We all are for sure! Also yes they're here and are very nice.

Subbed.

And nice when you put thought to paper (or computer screen in this case) and sort of figure out what steps you are taking next.

Looking forward to seeing how things go and that is great about the forearm. Hate forearm injuries.

Well my life is complete. A wild HBB appears and posted in my lifting thread.

Yeah I have text documents galore in a folder of different things. I'm very methodical even when I shouldn't be I'm sure. And yes I have a small flare up of tendonitis from overuse at work. It's back a little tonight but I plan to get my bench session in.

Thanks for checkin in!

[IronKrazy]

Wednesday - Bench - 3x3

Warm Up - 50% - 60% - 70%

1RM = 230lbs - 90% = 205lbs - 90% = 185lbs

*135lbs x 10*

Started new warm up % and done using the 1RM weight. Not the first subtraction of 90%. Will be for all lifts from now on.

Ok. This was the most hardcore bench session I have done in my life. It was literally right at the perfect weight to fight through the last 2 reps of each set AND get to the lockout position. Although, I think 3x3 for bench is becoming too much for my joints. I'm a bit sore from this session and I feel it more in my joints and tendons than I do my muscles. A lot of it has to do with work as well. Things are getting heavier and bigger, it's taking more of a toll on my arms, more to the point my flexor muscles/grip muscles and I highly doubt more sessions or even frequency at this % and set/rep scheme will yield any more positive results. This % and scheme is more suited for lifts like the squat and deadlift that utilize bigger muscles and especially joints and tendons. With that said, it felt AWESOME to bench 185lbs 3x3!!! I can't believe the session I had tonight. I just hope it was for the good and doesn't result in anything bad.

I'm going to see how I feel come next week, which because of how it went tonight I would be using the micro plates, but I have a feeling I'm either going to change to 3x5 or 3x6 and with a different % obviously. Benching that 135lbs 1x10 was such a relief so I have a feeling making gains with 65-75% will be just as satisfying. I also have DOMS like a muthafuka in my quads from that squat session on Monday. Not sure what to say the cause of that is but if I keep getting it I'll know it's because of the lack of frequency.

I knew at some point 3x3 @ 90% was going to become very brutal and it's showing it's ugly face right now. Anyway, deadlift Friday night.

OUT!

[IronKrazy]

Friday - Deadlift - 3x3

Warm Up - 50% - 60% - 70%

1RM = 380lbs - 90% = 340lbs - 90% = 310lbs

Got it done and.... it was AWESOME!!

I was able to double overhand the first 2 reps of the first 2 sets and then mixed for everything else. I feared dropping the weight in the house. Would NOT be good.

I ALSO paused at the top with it for at least 5 seconds at the end of EVERY set!

315lbs double overhand for a couple reps or more next week? We shall see.

OUT for the weekend!

[IronKrazy]

Monday - Squat - 3x3

Warm Up - 50% - 60% - 70%

1RM = 320lbs - 90% = 290lbs - 90% = 260lbs = 2x3 Done Just At Parallel Or Above.

Well it happened. I finally failed at a lift. I don't know why but I did not feel ready or as strong as I was for 255lbs. I basically laid around and chilled with this girl during the weekend so my mind and body was pretty much junk lol. I got 2x3 of 260lbs in and not as well as I would have liked. I good morning'd the chit out of a couple reps and I was hovering around or above parallel. So I'm not sure what to attribute this to. Frequency, set/rep scheme or what. I've been eating like a mofo so I can't imagine that being an issue too much.

I guess I'll go through the process I laid out a few posts back. And then probably switch up to a different set/rep scheme. I have a feeling it's frequency but there's not too much I can do about that.

Anyway. Out till bench on Wed.

[Artemis00]

Sorry to hear about the failed squats...but damn, doing really well with bench and dead lifts.

How are the arms/shoulders feeling after bench? Gonna be ready for Wednesday?

[IronKrazy]

Sorry to hear about the failed squats...but damn, doing really well with bench and dead lifts.

How are the arms/shoulders feeling after bench? Gonna be ready for Wednesday?

Hiya Artemis thanks for checking up on me. Yeah my forearm arm and body in general needed a break from lifting. I wasn't recovering properly week to week here and my body (joints and tendons) needed a break. In fact I'm taking this week off too. Just going to spend time with this girl and her kid and take a break mentally and physically from things.

I was at a point there where my joints and tendons were taking the load and not my muscles so I need to change it up now. Also I diagnosed my forearm pain. I have cubital tunnel syndrome. It's from repetitive use of my right arm at work. It's not severe but the symptoms are there. I'm hoping nothing serious comes from it.

Anyway thanks for the compliment on my lifts. I'm quite proud of being able to put up that weight for a 3x3. Would have been nice to try 190lbs but it's cool. No need to overdo it. So I'm going to back down the % and go with 3x6 or 3x8 to work the muscles a bit more, for more of a pump and to go lighter for a while.

Back when I'm back! Keep makin them gainz!

[IronKrazy]

Back when I'm back! Keep makin them gainz!

And so a month later, I'm back at it. And it feels amazing to get a hold on the bar again. Here is a quick update and thoughts on 3x3 and going for strength as fast as possible...

I'm still battling the numbness in my pinky finger and the tip of my ring finger on my right arm BUT the forearm pain is gone and nothing like it was weeks ago. The other day while working I almost felt 100% and got this EXTREME urge to get back under the bar and figured I'd do it at the start of this week. The numbness may be something I deal with for a while or even life BUT there is no pain so as long as I take caution as to how I use my arm at work and watch for discomfort during lifting I think I'll be ok. It certainly didn't hinder me today getting back at it.

As for 3x3. That was INCREDIBLY brutal on the body and CNS. While it's a legit way to get strong and to save time by cutting down on work put in it is extremely taxing. I couldn't be prouder of myself for getting to 260lbs on the squat with it and even a possible 190lbs 3x3 for bench. Though I can tell it wasn't working or stressing my muscles as much as I would like, along with mostly using my tendons and bones to move the weight when I got near my max. I can also tell my stamina and cardio are in a very severe condition which I hope 3x6 will help with along with a bit of jogging and light running. Today I started back up with 3x6 on the S/B @ 65% of my 1RM that I guessed at and did 1x10 of deadlifts @ 65%. Just going to add small increments of weight this time and not worry about the %. I just started with 65% as it's a good % for this rep range and I wanted to start light. It felt really good to work a bit more and burn out my muscles rather than just trying to use 100% force to move the weight. So I'm going to stick to this for a while and see how I feel. So with that I'll post my session for today and my plans for the routine. Feels good to be back but one thing is for sure, you deflate fast if you don't keep up with lifting LOL!

Starting With 65% Of 1RM
Going Back To High Bar With A Wide Stance Or Also Called Hybrid Squat
SQUAT/BENCH - 3x6
DEADLIFT - 1x10
Adding Small Increments Of Weight Each Week
Trying For 2x A Week With S/B/D
Also Plan To Start Jogging/Running At Least 1x A Week If I Can.

S - 230lbs 1RM - 3x6 @ 65% = 150lbs
B - 210lbs 1RM - 3x6 @ 65% = 135lbs
D - 345lbs 1RM - 1x10 @ 65% = 225lbs

Squat felt good. Even for being away from it for a month I tried 225lbs for a 1RM and did it quite easily after warming up. So I just rounded it to 230lbs to start with. I am weaker obviously but I still feel solid in my core and felt confident with 2 plates on my back. I hope to see nice gains of strength, stamina and mass with 3x6 after a while and I hope I don't burn out my body and CNS like I did with 3x3.

Bench went very well considering how my arm was for a while there. I feel no pain or impinging feeling and repped out 135lbs 3x6 nicely. I could have went more but that's needless to say. Feels good to be back at it with bench as it's my favorite lift.

Deadlifts with 225lbs felt pretty light lol but that's ok. I want some reps in with this lift, along with the others and will gladly take my time with this and the others this time.

So ok, no more rambling on. I'm back in the game and will update through the weeks.

OUT!

[Artemis00]

Glad to see you are back and that the forearm has recovered with the break. Give you massive props for being able to stay away in the name of recovery...you are a stronger man that me.

Smart move to not push it too much with the bench. Always better to be safe and lift then have to take more time off a favorite lift for recovery.

[IronKrazy]

Hi Enchanting Dark Lordette HBB!

Thanks! Well yeah things went ok with this session last week but a couple things; I had DOMS like a mo-fo lol obviously from being away for a month AND doing 6 reps a set as to only 3. Also, I did 3 sets of curls with a standard curl bar @ 15lbs with a 10lb plate on each side and did 15 reps each set. Yeah that was not a good idea lol. My lower biceps and upper forearms, especially my right, were DESTROYED lmao! I thought I had brought back that nagging pain from that last injury but no, thankfully it was just doms from the curls lol.

Needless to say by Thurs I still wasn't healed and then the weekend came and I decided to enjoy another weekend with this girl. BUT I can't keep blowing this off. I miss it and I miss doing so well with it. I am wasting an incredible amount of time. So I think I'm going to take a break from staying there so much during the week and focus on this again.

Session tonight and will update later.

[IronKrazy]

Squat -
3x6 @ 151.25lbs
3x6 @ 152.50lbs

Bench -
3x6 @ 137.50lbs

Deadlift -
1x10 @ 230lbs

Real quick. I was not into this tonight. I think back a month ago and how fired up and solid I felt when attempting those amounts to now and I feel so defeated. Damn. A month away, being extremely lazy with a girl all weekend for a month or more and not having my diet at least 50% on point destroyed my gains and will power....lol.

Squats. Don't ask. My mind is everywhere right now. I'm going to slowly progress in weight and decided to use my micro's tonight. Going 2.5lbs total for squat and bench and 5lbs for deads. Thing is, I loaded 1.25lb more on one side and not the other and realized it near the end so I finished that and did 3 more sets of 6 with the proper weight. Just so much on my mind, catching up with stuff, etc etc. But I got it done. Speed was really good on the way up though. Fine session overall.

Bench. I got it done. Not sure where I'm at mentally with it but just going to keep going.

Deads. Heavy, but that's because I had no drive tonight.

So that's it. I don't know how people do it, especially with multiple kids and a huge amount of tasks everyday. I mire you all.

Out till Thursday I guess.

[grouchyjarhead]

Considering your situation I really think you should look into Tactical Barbell's new floating Operator template.

It's based on nine sessions which gives you the flexibility to fit them in where you can. Bench, squat, and weighted pull-ups (substituted for deadlifts every third workout) would be really close to what you're doing right now and it would give you a marked progression.

[IronKrazy]

Thanks Grouchy. I think because I've been enjoying myself a bit too much I've lost sight of my "training" and don't have that fire right now. I actually downloaded the Kindle app again and went through TB II and I see the fighter template with maybe a day of jogging or running would be good. I like the weekly increase of the % and rep and set scheme changes. I really do need to work on my cardio for sure.

I actually just pre-ordered TB III. It's up for $2.99 until May 27th. I'll have it in my Kindle by the 26th.

I can't believe I did so well with "my own" 3x3 program there but I think I should have done a reset near the end there. Before I attempted 260lbs on the squat. I was just WIPED the hell out man.

I'm not giving up, no way. I'm just going through some changes in life that have been set aside far too long and have diverted my attention from lifting but I need to get back to it. Maybe I'll finish out this week with my 3x6 session and start next Monday using something from TB II or possibly TB III.

Thanks for the post GJ.

[Artemis00]

That is the issue with lifting...trying to fit in a work / life / lifting balance. It isn't easy to do especially if you are with someone that doesn't workout.

Damn, the DOMS must be brutal. I think that is one of the big reasons I hate taking any time away from the gym. Depending on the amount of time off and the body part...the DOMS can be pretty bad. Glad it was only the DOMS and not an injury resurfacing but I'm a little jealous...Bicep DOMS...I haven't had that in years. Probably cause I never miss my biceps workout...got to build the guns. LOL

Don't let the lifts get in your head too much. You were only out a month. You didn't do as much damage as you think you did. Most of it is mental and waking up those muscles again. Keep at it and give it a month...you'll be back to where you left off. Muscle memory is a beautiful thing. And since you were eating bad...you didn't do as much damage as if you weren't eating at all during that time, so you probably didn't catabolize those muscles...they are just a little rusty.

[IronKrazy]

Thanks for that uplifting post Artemis. The DOMS was brutal for sure. It almost felt like tendonitis lol but it has gone away completely. Both in my arms and legs. Even after 6 sets of 6 of about 150lbs on the squat I don't feel anything near what I felt last week LOL. I actually feel more of the deadlifts than the squats right now.

And yes I've heard of muscle memory and hope it comes back to my muscles quick. It would be SICK to get to 180lbs - 190lbs 3x6! We shall see.

And you're right I actually was eating decently. She cooks like crazy so I was getting the calories, not too much but I feel like the meals she made and the portions I ate were right on par with maintenance or just above.

I'm actually feeling pretty good and feeling tight, thick and solid again lol! Bottom line is I get as strong as I can with what I have available to me and be glad I have made and was able to make any gainz at all. All I have to do is think back to how heavy 135lbs felt to me and that should be motivation enough!

[Artemis00]

Well about 5 years ago, I went thru a very bad breakup that resulted in 2 very horrible months where I was so depressed that I completely lost my appetite. I've never experienced that before...not being able to eat cause of lack of appetite. Fortunately it didn't effect my ability to drink Mt Dew, so for those two months I lived off of about 700-800 calories of Mt Dew every day. Not the best fuel to retain muscle. I was losing weight quickly and had to stopped working out cause at that point I realized I was barely taking in enough calories to survive...doing any activity that would burn more calories wasn't in my best interest. After those two months, I got my appetite back and got back into lifting regular. Was pretty disheartening to see how weak my lifts were compared to before the break up. But it only took 2 months to get back to where I was before and start hitting new PRs. Given you were only away for a month and you were eating during that time frame...I can't imagine it would take you that long.

DOMS can be so quirky at times. There have been times where I manage to get DOMS in a muscle that I've never gotten DOMS with and I wonder did I strain something. I think for me, abs and legs are the areas I hate getting DOMS. Sucks when every time you cough, laugh or sneeze it hurts. LOL.

Glad you are feeling good and tight. And you are absolutely right. Every so often, I'll go back to my old journals and look at the weight I was lifting when I first struggled. To think that at some point that weight was heavy to me...feels great to see the progress.

[IronKrazy]

I'm sorry to hear that a seemingly incredible woman went through such a painful time in her life. Your effort to be healthy and fit and doing so with such creative ways is awesome. I hope whoever grabbed you up this time sees how special you are and appreciates it. I'm glad you fought through the sadness of losing a strong connection with someone. It's one of the most heart wrenching things I have had to go through as well. Besides life at the time, it's taken me a number of years to come out of my "own world" and to take the blinders off because of the feeling of knowing I will never share another moment with her in this life time. Now that I'm living life I see I have missed out on a good bit of it. I let myself go as well getting to 249lbs at one time and with little to no muscle. A few years ago I could barely do 20 BW squats without feeling a burn and breathing hard. Though I dropped around 76lbs or so and my lowest was about 173lbs at one point. I did it in 8 months and averaged about 2.5lbs a week. And now a few weeks ago I was attempting 260lbs 3x3 on the squat. INSANE lol!

Anyway lol, as Arnold would say "Stop Whining!"

So I tested my absolute max bench tonight and close to my max deadlift. I don't want to max out with that kind of weight. That's not needed. I also have an idea of what my squat would be too if I really fought through the sticking point. So I guess I'll just chalk up tonight as a max testing night and start fresh on Monday. Even though I didn't do multiple reps I did get some warm up reps in and some max effort work so I did do something tonight which should carry over to Monday.

I guess I'm going to go with Grouchy's idea of using a template from Tactical Barbell. The only thing is, while I'll be using the Fighter template, it may end up being a mix of the Operator and Fighter. Fighter is two days and Operator is three but I'll be using the %'s, sets and reps from the Fighter template. Right now Monday and Thursday is perfect BUT I may at times feel like getting a Saturday in. Otherwise I'm going to stick to the %'s, sets and reps for the Fighter template, run it for 6 weeks, add weight to my maxes and start it for another 6 weeks. Only thing is I'm not sure what cluster of lifts I want to run for 6 weeks. I can do as many as I want granted I have the time and can recover. Though I'm only interested in the Big 3 along with an accessory lift like the one arm rows which I think was a big factor in my benching. I can do bench/deadlift, squat/bench, squat/bench/deadlift or even run something like deadlift/bench/one arm rows for six weeks. The deadlift NO DOUBT would have major carry over to my squat and I freakin love doing it, not to mention bench. So I have some thinkin to do.

My max bench only dropped 15lbs. I did 200lbs at one point a little while back and fought through the sticking point of 185lbs tonight. So I'm still "there".

As for my squat and deadlift. I easily did 300lbs x2 on the deadlift after some decent warming up, so I know 330lbs is obtainable. And considering the attempt at 225lbs when coming back I feel 235lbs maybe 240lbs would be about right I suppose. So I start with 75% of those 1RM's on Monday and will post the routine and results when I get done.

OUT!

[grouchyjarhead]

The floating template under Operator would be a good idea I think. You could roll with bench/squat/row then every third day deadlift instead of row. Pretty simple and effective.

[Artemis00]

I'm sorry to hear that a seemingly incredible woman went through such a painful time in her life. Your effort to be healthy and fit and doing so with such creative ways is awesome. I hope whoever grabbed you up this time sees how special you are and appreciates it. I'm glad you fought through the sadness of losing a strong connection with someone. It's one of the most heart wrenching things I have had to go through as well. Besides life at the time, it's taken me a number of years to come out of my "own world" and to take the blinders off because of the feeling of knowing I will never share another moment with her in this life time. Now that I'm living life I see I have missed out on a good bit of it. I let myself go as well getting to 249lbs at one time and with little to no muscle. A few years ago I could barely do 20 BW squats without feeling a burn and breathing hard. Though I dropped around 76lbs or so and my lowest was about 173lbs at one point. I did it in 8 months and averaged about 2.5lbs a week. And now a few weeks ago I was attempting 260lbs 3x3 on the squat. INSANE lol!

Anyway lol, as Arnold would say "Stop Whining!" !

Thanks...I will say, I'm far better off now than I was back then....so it is all good. And hey, only way to get stronger is to go thru some pain, persevere and learn from it.

Damn, impressive weight loss in that amount of time. Nice job staying focused with that.

And it is always excellent to take a step back and put things into perspective. I know that feeling very well. I was that way with push ups. Before I started lifting, I couldn't believe how weak I was. Couldn't even do one solid push up. Six years later and now they take barely any effort. It has gotten so easy that when I see other women struggling with them, I find it difficult to relate...but that helps me realize how far I've come cause that used to be me.

Looking forward to seeing your progress on this program

[IronKrazy]

lol...... you all are going to abandon thread after I post this and all I can say is sorry for jumping around. Though I like what I've come up with.

First off thanks Artemis for the positive comments about everything here and to Grouchy for always sticking around even when I don't take his advice. I understand if you guys or anyone else lurking unsubs from here but I think I've hit on something fun and TBH it's a bit like your Powerbuilding routine Grouch. While writing it out and planning it I got that fire back like I had when I was doing 3x3. Tonight's first session felt awesome!

That said and the more I thought about it I just don't like the progression of Tactical Barbell. The actual prescribed block is 12 WEEKS and to retest your 1RM at the end. He says I can do 6 but at that rate I would only add weight every month and a half! That started to bore me before I even started lifting tonight so I did a quick search online of minimalist training, came across some stuff and came up with a plan. So to keep it short I'm just going to post up what I came up with and what I did tonight to start it off. I started tonight as I had today off of work but my original plan is to do it on Monday and Thursday and then some light cardio on Saturday. As always I will update when and why it changed.

2 DAY STRENGTH ROUTINE

Low Bar Position For Squat
5lbs On Bench - 10lbs On Squat/Deadlift Each Week For the First Set Of 5
Add 20lbs For The Next 3 Sets
AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) On Last Set Of Squats/Bench Leaving At Least 1 Rep On The Table
5x2 For Deadlifts To Keep Load High And Volume Low
Reset Weight If At Least 3 Reps Are Not Completed On AMRAP Set After 2 Attempts For Squat And Bench / Reset Weight For Deadlifts If Last Set Or 2nd To Last Are Failed After Two Attempts
One Arm Rows AMRAP x 2 If I Feel Up To It

MONDAY - SQUAT/BENCH
THURSDAY - BENCH/DEADLIFT
SATURDAY - LIGHT JOG/RUN
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Squat - 110lbs x 5 - 130lbs x 5 - 150lbs x 5 - 170lbs x AMRAP = 4

Bench - 100lbs x 5 - 120lbs x 5 - 140lbs x 5 - 160lbs x AMRAP = 3

Squat felt really, really great. I felt a lot tighter and stronger than I thought I would. Speed was fantastic as well. Nice boost to my confidence with the squat getting back to it here.

Bench went quite well. Although the 160lbs was a touch heavy at the end. Pretty sure I could have gotten 4 reps but I'm not doing that. I hope another session of the same weight will feel even better. If I have to reset early then so be it. I'll see what happens at the end of this week or start of next.

So yeah that's it. As with Grouchy's program, you add weight each set and then do an AMRAP set. Though I have it at the end, not for the first set. It's actually really straight forward and I already can't wait till Thursday gets here! Feels great to know I am going to try to progress ASAP and not wait 6-12 weeks and also test myself near the end of my session with an AMRAP set and with decent weight. So thanks for checking it out, comment if you feel, come find me to beat sense into me lol what ever. Till Thursday....

OUT!

[IronKrazy]

Bench - 100lbs x 5 - 120lbs x 5 - 140lbs x 5 - 160lbs x AMRAP = 5

Deadlift - 185lbs x 2 - 205lbs x 2 - 225lbs x 2 - 245lbs x 2 - 265lbs x 2

Day 2 done!

Bench actually went better than I thought it would considering how heavy my day was. Could have got 6 maybe even 7 but obviously not going to.

Deadlift felt awesome lol. All sets done double overhand and no sign of grip going yet. Just awesome.

Going to pound some protons and eat some foodz. Have a good weekend all!

OUT!

[Artemis00]

Great job on the workout and like the idea of really simplifying the workout. Only thing I would warn about is just be careful when it comes to muscle imbalances. Never hurts to throw in a few good sets of face pulls to open up those shoulders. Can't tell you how many people I see that would drastically benefit from that simple exercise.

And don't know why you think anyone would bail from your log cause of your program change. Hell, I wouldn't even know what to call the program I'm running other than "Art's do what she feels like and work it around Pole classes" program. LOL.

[IronKrazy]

Haha thanks Artemis! But I know some hardcore lifters have skimmed through my rambling here and lack of progress and said this kid's feckin around. I'm truly not but considering how long it's been since I started I should be higher with my numbers. Though life takes different roads and I'm doing what I can to keep myself in the game and enjoy the roads it's taking me down.

Anyway, yes you're right. I do need to counter all the pressing. To compensate for not having the proper equipment for face pulls, I will add in push pressing and I WILL do my one arm rows each week. Which I did today and feel great. I figure I'll have a push/press/pull on Mon with the pull being the one arm rows. And then I'll have a press/press/pull with the push press and deadlift for a pull on Thurs. I think however at some point because I don't have a cable machine I will order some bands and do face pulls or band pull aparts at some point. After a bit of reading I think push pressing will be a great addition along with the one arm rows isolating my lats most of all. Which will help a lot with my benching.

So here is my update and what I'm thinking of adjusting....

On Saturday I did a 10 minute walk and then about a 10 minute run. My lungs and legs were not used to that lol but I felt great once I chilled out for a bit! I can't wait to get at it some more!

Today -

Squat - 120lbs x 5 - 140lbs x 5 - 160lbs x 5 - 180lbs x AMRAP = 5

Bench - 105lbs x 5 - 125lbs x 5 - 145lbs x 5 - 165lbs x AMRAP = 5

OAR's - 45lbs x 2 AMRAP = 1x12 - 1x12

I'm thinking the extra set or "4th" set which is the AMRAP should be my 3rd set. So basically I'll do my 3x5 but then do AMRAP on the 3rd set instead of the 4th. I feel like I'm burning out just a tick too early and could get more with the heavier weight early on. I think next week I'll do it like this...

Squat - 150lbs x 5 - 170lbs x 5 - 190lbs x AMRAP =

And do the same for the other lifts as well but keeping everything else the same. I know that with 4 sets, even with light weight at the beginning I will be moving a touch more weight but something just doesn't feel right at the moment so I'm going to try the 3x5+ and see how it feels and if I feel any different after my heaviest set.

Also for the push press I plan to the same scheme 3x5+.

So I guess that's it. Time is flying and I need to gtfo of here! Can't wait to get back near 200lbs on the squat!

OUT!

[Artemis00]

LOL. When you've been around some REAL hardcore lifters...these guys online are laughable. Especially with how they critique everyone's routine cause it isn't exactly like theirs. Even had one guy tell me that I should listen to his advice regarding power lifting and ignore the owner of a powerlifting gym I used to go to cause that owner doesn't know what he is talking about even though he has benched and squatted over 1000 lbs (and that is for each lift...not a total). Some of the best advice I got was from that owner which included not neglecting face pulls to avoid imbalances. And damn, that is what is most important and something I think is lost with so many lifters...especially those "hardcore" lifters...enjoyment. And not enjoying it because you are hitting PRs...but because you actually enjoy the activity.

Bands are a great idea and will do an excellent job of recreating face pulls. Also you can do some body weight rows which I find are excellent at targeting some of those back muscles that can get neglected...plus since they are body weight...more focus can be put on getting a good contraction rather than moving more weight.



Great workout and nice observation regarding the 4th set. Definitely don't want to burn out if that is the important set. Interested to hear how it feels when you adjust that next week.

[IronKrazy]

lol thanks Artemis you're a sweetheart!

Bench - 125lbs x 5 - 145lbs x 5 - 165lbs x AMRAP = 5

Deadlift - 195lbs x 2 - 215lbs x 2 - 235lbs x 2 - 255lbs x 2 - 275lbs x 2

Push Press - 95lbs x 5 - 115lbs x 5 - 135lbs x AMRAP = 3

Ok real quick. I went ahead an switched up to the 3x5+. I'm thinking the real light, first set of 5 did nothing on bench and that this setup now is the real working weight for me as it unfolded just how it did Monday. I can't believe I only got 5 on the last set but I DID get my 5 reps in. If I fail 170lbs for both sessions next week, which would be less than 5 reps, I'll reset the weight and bring it up again. I have this feeling that I need to be benching 3x's a week. I felt very ready Wed night to lift again but chose to wait to lift tonight like I originally had planned. I felt pumped an ready on Wed but tonight I felt deflated. I also lifted quite a lot of heavy stuff today so that probably wore me and my arms out a bit more than I wanted for tonight.

The deadlift went flawless. 275lbs felt heavy but in a real good way lol. Double over still as well. Bustin into the 300's in a couple weeks!

The push press. I COULD NOT WAIT to get home to do this lift. Although I think I need to watch some more video on form and practice a bit more. And also drop the weight down lol but I wanted to feel that feel of pressing 1 plate over my dome haha!

The push press is really fun. I felt it especially in my core and of course my legs and arms as well. It's a keeper for sure.

So I guess that's it. Might have forgot something. I think I'll try and shoot for 3x's a week next week and try and get the OAR's and push press in 2x's a week instead of once. Like squat, bench, OAR's Mon, Bench, OAR's and push press Wed night, and then bench, deadlift and push press Fri? I dunno. We'll see.

Outta time! Later Art's and all!

[IronKrazy]

Squat - 150lbs x 5 - 170lbs x 5 - 190lbs x AMRAP = 6

Bench - 130lbs x 5 - 150lbs x 5 - 170lbs x AMRAP = 4

OAR's - 55lbs x 2 AMRAP = 1x12 - 1x12

So just as I suspected I failed to get 5 reps on the 3rd set for bench. I felt like I had about 6 reps in me but the juice ran thin near the 3rd rep lol. Maybe the whole "AMRAP" thing isn't logical at this weight? At least for me anyway. Or maybe I shouldn't have it at the end but for the first set of 5? But then I wouldn't be able to get some decent work in with the heaviest weight. I guess I'll just shoot for 3x5 for now on and just as it was, if I don't get the 5th rep twice in one week I'll drop 10lbs off the first set of 5 and work my way back up starting the following week. All in all not bad but not great.

Squat went very well actually. I felt very strong with the 190lbs x 6. I could have got 7 and probably squeezed out 8 but as with bench, I think I'll just stay with the 3x5 and end it there.

I think I'll go up by 10lbs on the OAR's. These felt great and I did it with very minimal rest.

Also I think I'm going to do OAR's and the push press on Wed, with the weight lowered lol and do the rest on Fri.

I hope to get 5 reps of 170 this Fri and even progress next week.

Out till Wednesday!

[IronKrazy]

Bench - 130lbs x 5 - 150lbs x 5 - 170lbs x AMRAP = 4 / *135lbs 1x10*

Deadlift - 215lbs x 2 - 235lbs x 2 - 255lbs x 2 - 275lbs x 2 - 295lbs x 2

Push Press - 75lbs x 5 - 85lbs x 5 - 95lbs x 5

So yeah. Failed bench for the 2nd time. For some reason my left arm is just not feeling it. I can't believe I was doing 185lbs 3x3 a while back and now with this setup I can barely do 170lbs 1x4. Although I am moving more weight during these bench sessions so it may be taxing me a bit early by time I get to 170lbs. Also, maybe it's just not a good setup for bench. Maybe I'm not doing any good by going from 130lbs to 170lbs and I think it's affecting me gaining my strength again. I did however do 135lbs x 10 right after and that felt good. I'm also trying to find my hand position again. I like the feeling of having my ring finger and even middle finger on the ring on the CAP OB-86B. This week of work was brutal as well. Two days in a row of extreme heat and working in it really drained me and I feel it. Especially when I headed into deadlifts.

I also know that I haven't been eating like I was when I was doing the 3x3. It got really expensive trying to pound down as many calories as possible all day. I guess I just have to try and make the gains I can while cutting back on spending for a bit.

With my mind all over the place and basically out of it because of the heat the past couple days I dun goofed on where I needed to start and jumped ahead on the deadlifts. Not a big deal as I felt just fine doing them so I think and will make sure to keep it correct for next time, I will add 10lbs and break into the 300's next week! All sets done with double over hand as well.

The push press is just going to end up where it ends up. I'm not too focused on that so I'll just roll along with that lift. The 95lbs x 5 felt good though and I know I could have done more.

I think I'm going to evaluate my benching and change it up. My body felt ready to hit 5 reps today and I just can't believe I gassed out at 4 reps again.

Have a good weekend. Out.

[Artemis00]

Bench can be so fickle especially with trying to figure out how to warm up the best. I know for me...mental big jumps mess with me...but small increments physically exhaust me. So I have to try to find some balance. Can't say that I've done a good job with that and my strains have been very uncoorperative with bench these last few months. But keep at it...it eventually has to go up. And so many variables can affect it from day to day.

[IronKrazy]

What up what up! Been a bit since I posted but I think I needed a break from it. I was putting so much priority and pressure on my self to keep updating this thread with my progress or lack of and needed to step away. What I didn't step away from was the weights. Although I have been messing with different rep and set schemes. Needless to say I won't post all of it since June but I will post a few notables.

1.) I have a total of 335lbs in weight (bar included) and I am now deadlifting that for reps!! Feels fukin awesome! Although it is a bit too taxing so I've backed down a little to get a little more volume work with deadlifts.

2.) I squatted 300lbs x 1 on August 1! I was working my way up to do my set and decided to keep going since I felt so damn good. I did 285 for 1 and then said FUK IT and rounded it off! I think 315lbs is right around the corner for me. I think a goal of 315lbs x 5 would be great to hit!

3.) My bench. It's not going anywhere. I think if I warmed up the right way I could hit 202lbs maybe 205lbs but as of now I'm just not gaining any ground on the low reps of bench. The scheme I settled on today felt great though. I feel my endurance with reps of 6 and lower are getting better but I'm just not moving toward that 225lbs x 1! FML!

4.) I kind of messed with the Boring But Big 3 Month challenge for a couple weeks lol. That 5x10 absolutey destroys me quads lol! 145lbs 5x10 is insane so I think for my volume day on Thursday I'm going to back it down to 3x10. I just can't recover from that kind of volume. I can do it but I can't recover!

Anyway. Here is what I did tonight. It's basically 5/3/1 but the differences are, I do it in reverse and like a reverse pyramid scheme. So I warm up to my heaviest do 1+ and then continue with 3+ and 5+. With my deadlift I want to stay intense with it but keep the volume low for each set. I also know 335lbs - 87.5% is 293lbs but to keep with the scheme of the % range I rounded it to 300lbs lol. Hope to keep making progress, especially with my bench at some point but to be as strong as I am now compared to when I first started this thread and with how life is right now.... I'll take it!

Hope life has been treating you all well! Out!

SQUAT -

300lb 1RM - 87.5% = 260lbs

260lbs x 1+ = 3
230lbs x 3+ = 4
210lbs x 5+ = 7
------------------------------------
BENCH -

205lb 1RM - 87.5% = 180lbs

180lbs x 1+ = 2
160lbs x 3+ = 7
140lbs x 5+ = 9
------------------------------------
DEADLIFT -

335lbs (TAW) - 87.5% = 300lbs

300lbs 4 x 2 / 1 x 5
------------------------------------
CURLS

45lbs 1 x 10 - 50lbs 2 x 10

[IronKrazy]

S - 225 5x5
B - 160 5x5
D - 315 1x5

Did this for the hell of it tonight. Haven't done a 5x5 in months and wanted to see where I am with it. Not bad I guess. Especially with a sore left arm. Tricep/Elbow area. Bench was rough but I got through it. I think I just over did it with curls. I don't know why I chase the pump for that lift. What ever. Hope I can get rid of most or all of it and pick back up by Mon or Tues.

Out.