just some journal

justsomebloke

Ok i have now started in Northwood Gym and have decided that now that I have access to some proper weight equipment it is probably best that I keep some sort of journal to help keep track of gains.

So bit of background so you know where I am coming from on this I am 5'10.5" and 83 kilos, BF around 15ish% For the last year I have been in DCU gym, the year before that I wasa travelling for a year and before that I was in DCU gym asweel. However While I was away they built a new gym in DCU however this is a bit **** as they have no free bars what so ever and dumbells that only went up to 25kg so as you can imagine it isn't exactly great for people who want to lift. However until around 5-6 months ago my main focus would of being on cardio as I was training to do some of the summber duatalons in Dublin cause as a form fat bitch I always wanted to prove that i could do something like that, I had actaully trained to do a proper triathlon in oz but I oculdn't actually find one to do. So I had got to the point where I was looking at roughly just over 3 hours for a duatalon and was roughly 2 months before the start of the season When I decided **** and changed focus and moved to doing weights as I was just bored of running and cycling for long periods that and I wasn't getting enough time to train.

So far the last 5-6 months I have being doing weights but without any bars and only have access to machines and at most 25kg dumbells and a smith machine (which I couldn't use as i didn't like any of the ROM in gave me and would of caused some injuries if i had used it) you are very limitied to what you can do and getting stronger. So hence the change in gym.

current 1RM's are a bit crap

bench 75kg
back squat 100kg
deadlift 130kg
front squat 85kg

ok point of note on the above apart from bench which I haven't done in around 2 and a half - 3 years previous all other 1RM's where on my first time trying the lifts which was last week.

So with that I have decided that for the next 6 weeks starting tonight I will be doing a 5x5 plan http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow1/5x5_Program/Linear_5x5.htm after that between holidays other commitents and then christmas gym time will be when ever I can find it and then after christmas I will go back to the 5x5

Cardio as ever will be mostly done with the 8-9km I walk to and from work and may be supplemented with 2 further gym days where I will focus on LIT

justsomebloke

So day1

bench

55*5, 57.5*5, 60*5, 62.5 *5, 65*5

back squat

80*5, 82.5*5, 85*5, 87.5*5, 90*5

barbell bent over row

30*5, 32.5*5, 37.5*5, 42.5*5, 45*5


thoughts

hmm I deviated slightly from the actual plan for my first time out and was ramping up will gaps less the minimum 10% to see how I would react to it, result by the time I got to the last set of squats I was really feeling it and the last 2 of the last set really where extremly hard so next time I will give a bigger gap between the weight ramps, otherwise I will be fecked by week 3. That and I really should of got a rough idea what my 1RM was with the barbell row, only realised when I was figuring out what weights I was going do that I had forgotten to get a 1RM reading for it last saturday

so other then that there is really nothing much to say as it was only day 1

justsomebloke

saturday (as usual all weights include weight of bar)


squats

82.5x5, 70x5, 77.5x5, 77.5x5


BB military press

35,x5 37.5x5, 40x5, 42.5x5


dead lift

87.5x1+80x4, 87.5x5, 95x5, 102.5x5, 110x5


thoughts

well once again i prove that I am a dumb ass. had settled on teh weights I was goign to do on squats on way to gym and while getting changed and going up to do wights I decided on weights for deadlift, however it seem cause i still had the deadlift weight in my mond I stacked to much on the first set of squats and squatted 80 instead of 62.7, d'oh (no wonder I thought it was harder then i expected while doing it Rolling Eyes ). So after that I continues on with the remain sets as normal however as I screwed up the weight on the first set this was harder then it should of been.

after that military press and as shoulders are a weak link for me that is why the weights are a bit crap, however as teh whole idea of the 5x5 programme is to get my basic weights up I am hoping this coems along over the period of it

Deadlift, ok you are probably wondering what was the story with the drop set in the first set, well what happened was on the middle day of the programme you are only meant to do 4 sets of each exercise and going to the gym one of my goals was to get 110x5 on the deadlift which would of meant getting 87.5 on the first set. However as soon as i lifted the first set I knew I wouldn't be able to make the increments that I wanted and wouldn't get the 110 so dropped back to 80 and settled for getting 102.5x5, set 3 was a bit shakey and hard and grip stenght seem to go a bit however I got though it and set 4 seemed a bit easier. After finishing the 4 set I should of technically finished however I really wanted the 110x5 and knew that if I pushed myself that I could get it, so feck it at that point I put on new born by muse to help get the adrenaline up to get me through the set and went for it and got it. Now in the big scheme of things 110x5 isn't a big weight but for me today that was my own personel battle that I wanted to get, and I got it. and in the end that is all we do each time er go into the gym we try and win our own personal wars and in future I know there will be times I lose those battles, but in the end I lift for days like today when I push myself to my limits and get that small victory.

justsomebloke

day 3,

squat

60x5, 75.5x5, 75x5, 82.5x5, 92.5x3, 75x8

Bench

47.5x5, 52.5x5, 57.5x5, 62.5x5, 67.5x3, 57.5x8

BB rows

37.5x5, 40x5, 42.5x5, 47.5x5, 52.5x3, 42.5x8

Supplemental work

BB curls 3x8 and decline skull crushers 3x8, 30 minutes LIT


Well mondays are the days where I up the weight so today was my first day upping the weights and it seemed fine. Bench was a bit hard but sure we will see on thursday when I try and hit 67.5 for 5 how I get on. the BB rows will probably take another slightly big jump next week as I find the weight I can use. Other then that not much to add

zappb

Congrats on upping the weights !!!

Be careful not to overtrain mind you (i always warn about that!!!)

We'll be watching

justsomebloke

monday.
55min walk to gym followed by 40 mins LIT.


thursday

squat
62.5x5, 70x5, 77.5x5, 85x5, 92.5x5

bench
47.5x5, 52.5x5, 57.5x5, 62.5x5, 67.5x5

Bent over row
32.5x5, 37.5x5, 42.5x5, 47.5x5, 52.5x5

Supplemental work

hyperextension 3x8
situps 3x8

Thoughts I hate thursdays pretty much sums it all up. There is nothing worse then finding the final set hard and knowing that come next monday I will be trying to up the weight and that hopefully come next thursday you are going to find the last set at least just as hard but properly harder, other then that the last sets of squats was hard, bench wasn't that bad and the bent over row is still a bit light on the final set so will be upping this a bit come monday

justsomebloke

Friday,

went to see leinster V Munster, excellent result. Then went to the pub had a few drinks and didn't get home till 2 and didn't get to eating anything between 5 last night till 9.30 this morning except a few chips at the match so arse.

Saturday

squats
62.5x5, 70x5, 77.5x5, 77.5x5

military press
37.5x5, 40x4, 42.5x5, 45x5

deadlift
85x5, 92.5x5, 100x5, 107.5x5, 115x4 then 3-4 second rest 115x1

supplemental work
situps 3x8


Thoughts

Fuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk, I am so pissed off that I couldn't push through and find it in me to finish the Last set off deadlifts without a quick break at the last rep, so next week I will be staying on the same weight, so depending on how much I want this I mighn't go next saturday to mickk's gym and might just go to my own to make sure I do it. Another then that as it was active recovery on the ol squats nothing much can be said about them and as per usual as my shoulders are probably my weakest link that is why the military press numbers are a bit small but I was quite happy myself about them So now roll on monday when I get to up the weights and I will see how I get on

justsomebloke

well saturday afternoon after the gym session I was just out of it I was so drained. tried to have a small nap didn't actaully fall asleep but it seemed to do the trick.

Sunday.
70 min LIT on cross trainer.
jaqussi, steam room and then 25 min walk home.

Monday
squat
62.5x5, 70x5, 77.5x5, 85x5, 95x3, 77.5x8

bench
47.5x5, 52.5x5, 57.5x5, 62.5x5, 70x3, 57.5x5

Bent over row
32.5x5, 42.5x5, 52.5x5, 57.5x5, 65x3, 52.5x8

supplementary work,
barbell curls and skull crushers.

thoughts,

well it is now the second monday so weights up again. squats as usual where hard, bench seemed fine and bent over rows went up a good bit. I will probably stay with this weight on the bent over rows next week as the last rep was quite hard so come thursday banging out 5 in a row many be a bit of a no go, but sure I wont know till then.
Other then that I am hoping that I can keep up some sort of gain on the lifts over the next 4 weeks as it will give me a good solid starting ground for what ever I do after christmas.

justsomebloke

thursday

squats
65x5, 72.5x5, 80x5, 87.5x5, 95x5

Bench
50x5, 55x5, 60x5, 65x5, 70x5

Bent over Row
45x5, 50x5, 55x5, 60x5, 65x5

supplementary work,
weighted situps 3x8, weight hypers 3x8

Thoughts

I still hate thursday as not only do you have to do your new top weight for 5 instead of 3 but you also have to up all your lifts prior to that, but hey if I wanted to do something easy I wouldn't be doing this in the first place. The whole point of this programme for me is to help me get to a point where I know week in week out I can give my all and actually know what he feels like to push your body to its limits and then the following week somehow top that performance again.

so squats the last set was hard and slow and I was wondering if I was going to get the full set and if I didn't I would be on the same weight again next week but as eamonn has told D and who in turn told us sometimes it is best to take it one rep at a time and that is what I did and I managed to finish it out.

Bench although hard wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be so it was all good and I got through the bent over rows aswell.

So with the with plan the incremental jumps are meant to be between 10-15% ramps in weights between each set however on all the lifts I am currently doing less then this so I might up the weight difference between sets for a week and see if I should actaully foloow the plan properly

justsomebloke

6pm friday to 3.30am saturday

drinking... no, drinking ALOT. didn't get to bed till 4.30ish Confused


Saturday.

front squats

60*5x4, 70*5

Shoulder stuff

arnold press 22ishx5x2

one arm dumbell thrusters

tried barbell thrusters

deadlift

60x5, 100x5, 120x5, 130x4, 150x0

over head squats with just bar and some with 25lb kettle bell

thoughts

not alot, the drinking from the night before meant that brain function was ket to a bare minium (in other words probably not that much difference to how I usually am), that I was still still piss drunk until around 15 minutes before the start of the session. I was training in Mickks gym with D, G, K, T and E. it was handy cause on the way into town, I was walking to help clear soem of the drink out of the system, but K was getting a taxi in and he happened to be passing so I got a lift in.

anyway I jsut wanted to do something different then back squats as it was an active recovery session so front squats it was. shoulder work sort of went out the window was just a mix match of some crap. Deadlift well after missing the 115x5 last week I sort of wanted to see if I could get 120 this week (we were using 20kg plate instead of the 15 I usually use so this meant it was slightly easier so I put the weight up) and got it which I was happy about, I then tried 130 which is my current 1RM and got in for 4. I tried 150 and got it around 3/4 of the way up but grip gave, probably coud of got it with strps and my mp3 player but hey I will get it soon enough so was jsut happy to know that I could possible get it.

I was the first finished so had been dressed and I while waiting for the others, so I got a bit bored and tried to do some overhead squats. I had tried them before without much success as I genereally couldn't get the balance write and probably needed to use plates under the feet however today I actaully got a few out (whiel wearing jeans which meant ROM wasn't great at some points), now I still missed some of them but I was really happy to get some so with a bit of practive I should be able to start putting them in my programme, so today wasn't the complete write off I thought it waas going to be and I was chuffed at getting the over head squats.

justsomebloke

squats
65x5, 72.5x5, 80x5, 87.5x5, 97.5x3, 80x8

Bench
50x5, 55x5, 60x5, 65x5, 72.5x3, 60x8

Bent over Row
45x5, 50x5, 55x5, 60x5, 67.5x3, 55x8

supplementary work
decline skull crusher, 2x8
preacher ez curls, 2x8
deadlift 80or90x3


Thoughts

another monday and another increase in weights. I have to say overall I am glad I am doing this programme as I feel that I am getting the most out of my "newbie" phase and it is bringing my levels up quickly to the levels I should be at on these lifts, hopefully I will be able to keep these gains going for the next couple of weeks until I go on holiday and take some time off from the gym. cause at least at that point I will have a proper idea of what I can actaully lift.
Other then that the squats where hard going near the end and the set of 3 so a bit slow going. Bench was ok nothing mayor bar resting periods where shorter then I would of liked (the only problem with the programme is that I have to bench on a monday, and as everyone know monday is international bench day so there where people waiting so I rushed it abit, but only cause I knew that I could get the next set on a shorter rest).
bent over row, ok so i said I wasn't going to up the weight on that, eh guessed I lied then. As per usual I let my body do the talking and it said it would hate me forever for upping the weights but wouldn't kill me, so I tried the higher weight. My hesitation about upping the weights on the BOW is more that I can be a bit shattered by the time it comes to it after putting a lot into heavy squats and bench so it generally ends up being me fighting the phyiscal tiredness as oppose to a weight I can't lift that stands between me and higher weights.
another then that I saw the first other people doign deadlift in the gym last night. 2 lads where doing it however there form was a bit off as they hunching over the bar as oppose to getting their ass down properly and arching their back slightly away from the bar, that and they where alos using a weightlifting belt so I just mentioned their form was slightly off and so just did 3 reps to give them a better idea(I don't think they took what I said on board but eh that is up to them) and as this was at the end as you can imagine my back was telling me to piss off and have a shower an go home at that point.

justsomebloke

Thursday

squats

60x5, 67.5x5, 75.5x5, 87.5x5, 97.5x5

bench

42.5x5, 50x5, 57.5x5, 65x5, 72.5x5

BOW

45x5, 50x5, 55x5, 60x5, 65x5


Thoughts

arse, I forgot to do a sheet with the lifts I was going to do written on it before hand.
Other then That I decided I was going to increase the gap between sets to allow more for the 10% min jump in ramps, so the gap between weights on squats went from 7.5 - 10 and bench went from 5 - 7.5. this seemed to be ok for squats and probably made the last set slightly easier to do, so this should make strecth out the period on which I can make gains on squats. However on bench I think the gap maybe a bit to much however I will keep this gap for monday and see how the gap feels when I have to increase the weights on my last set. after that I may go back to the 5kg difference for the last 2 weeks.

Other then that squats where hard but psycholology(sp) I think it was easier on me this week then last. bench on the other had was hard and this may hamper me in the last couple of weeks as I may have to maintain the weight on one of the weeks, this however was to be expected as you are only ment to increase the weights by 2.5% per week but as the smallest plates I can use are 1.25kg this has meant I have been going up by 2.5kg a week which is nearly a 3.5% increase per week so I knew that I would hit a plateau on it pretty quick).
BOW . Ye cause I forgot the sheet I forgot what weight I should have been doing and went for 65 instead of 67.5, I was wondering why it felt slightly easier then it should have so I will probably still up the weight on monday on it.

Other then that I cn't go to the gym on Monday evening which is a bit of a blow so I will probably try and get to the gym on monday morning, I would of maybe prefered to skip the saturday active recovery and brought the monday session a day forward but I probably won't be at full strenght on sunday morning so it will probably be best to just get up earlier)

justsomebloke

saturday.

front squats

60x5, 60x5, 60x5

overhead

20kg(i.e just the bar)x8, 20x8, 30x5, 40x2

military press

40x5, 42.5x5, 45x5

deadlift

some light stuff

thoughts
as I was going to be doing overhead squats I just did 3 light sets of front squats (that and saturday is light day for squats anyway). overhead squat seem to be coming on still need a bit more practice. I currently find the movement a bit odd as you are not keeping the bar directly over your head, as you would naturally try to do so, but instead it is slightly back so the only reason I only got 2 at 40 is that my arms where finding it a bit difficult to get used to this.
the militart press also suffered a bit due to the overhead squating.
Deadlift I went light for a couple of reasons, 1 I want to try and do a bit of form correction and 2 I think I maybe have been overtraining my ass, and I like having a fully working toushie. Ye between all the squats and then deadlifts my glutes where taking a bit of a hammering so I have decided for the next couple of weeks I am going to go easy on the deads so I can focus on squats
Other then that I had other things on my mind so didn't put my all into this session. Basically we were goign to see some actual show arpartments from our development so I was more a bit nervous of how these where going look which effected my lifting. they only had 1 and 2 beds on show but we managed to have a sneek look at one like ours and I have to say it looks quite nice with a big living area.


Sunday
2-3 hours LIT walking around town.

Monday

:eek: :eek: there is a pre 6 in the morning now. ye due to having stuff to do this evening today's session was an early morning one. So between not having slept properly in 2 days and this session being a lot earlier then I am use too, I wasn't expecting much.

squats.

60x5, 67.5x5, 77.5x5, 87.5x5, 100x3, 77.5x8

bench

42.5x5, 50x5, 57.5x5, 65x5, 75x3, 57.5x8

BOW

47.5x5, 52.5x5, 57.5x5, 62.5x5, 72.5x5, 57.5x8

supplementary work

delince skull crushers 3x8, ez bar preacher curls 3x8, dips 2x8

thoughts
today was one of those days where evening was pointing to being a long hard session however when I was in the gym everything just seemed to click and it turned into probably the easiet monday of the last month and the increased weights where no problem. Also because I was in the gym from jus after 6.30 this morning it was pretty empty which was handy as monday evening can be a bit **** due to it being so busy. I really wanted today to go well for a couple of personal reasons and it did so I was quite happy.
After this 5 minutes walk to bus got bus most of the way to work followed by a 15 minute walk, well this is how it should of gone however dublin bus being dublin bus I decided that instead of just waiting on a bus I decided that I would walk a bit of the way down as I would have enough time between bus stops that I wouldn't miss a bus. However I managed to walk from santry avenue down to drumcondra with out a bus coming so I got an hour of LIT in. ****ing CIE

justsomebloke

Thursday

Squat
60x5, 70x5, 80x5, 90x5, 100x5

bench
45x5, 52.5x5, 60x5, 67.5x5, 75x5

BOW
42.5, 50x5, 57.5, 65x5, 72.5x5

supplementary work
weighted hyper extension 3x8, weighted situps 3x8

Thoughts
Went out drinking on wednesday night and this seriously effected me today as by the time I got to the gym last night I jsut didn't have the energy and so the session was a serious let down. That and this week has just been a bad week overall, I don't know but for some reason this week I am just a bit of an emotional ****ing wreck and I just don't have the energy to do stuff, a good bit of this is due to the weather. Late autumn is always a bad time as all the ****ty rainy weather starts to take it's toll on me.

So other then that I got through the session but it was seriouslly laboured and though everything is technically a PB for reps the session itself I just wasn't happy with it especially with being the penultimate week of this programme. The thing I was probably most pissed off with is that I just couldn't motivate myself properly at all during the session and so everything was just long and drawn out and form suffered aswell.

justsomebloke

Saturday

front squat

60x5, 60x5, 60x5, 60x5

overhead squat with bar only

5x5

MP 40x5, DB thrusters 17.5kg DB's x8, MP 42.5x5, DB thrusters 20kg DB's x8, MP 45x5

Deadlift,

60x8, 100x12, 130x1


Thoughts
So so, nothing special. Again just practising form with the overhead squats with just the bar as I am still a bit unstable doing it but it seems to be getting better. Deadlift well today is the first day I have ever really done for then 5 reps in a set on it so I got to 12 at this point grip started to go a bit, so although nothing great it is a start


Monday

Squat
60x5, 70x5, 80x5, 90x5, 102.5x3, 80x8

bench
45x5, 52.5x5, 60x5, 67.5x5, 77.5x3, 60x8

BOW
42.5, 50x5, 57.5, 65x5, 77.5x3, 60x8

Supplementary work
Dips, preacher ez curl bar, decline skull crushers, BBcurls

Thought
I hate Emmet, Dips where so much easier when I only went to parallel but now that I am going further down they are so much harder (ye I know I am getting much better results from these but it was so much more of an ego boost when I wasa doing them with a 15kg weight). Other then that everything seemed to go well I also came to the conclusion that I shouldn't wear the nike air shock's on heavy squatting days as I think this may have played apart in finding last thursdays workout so hard, as the shock part of the back may actually work and compress which makes squatting that slight bit harder. So it was back to my kayano's for yesterday's session and the change in shoes seemed to help, so in future I may be a bit more careful with my shoe rotation scheme.
Other then that as I was a bit groggy on the way to the gym I bought some club energy (or what ever it is called) to use in the session and it seemed to do the trick and cemented the fact that I think RAM will be of benefit in my workouts, Other then that everything went well, ok bench was a bit difficult as per usual but eh, it is still coming along

justsomebloke

Thursday

Squat
62.5x5, 72.5x5, 82.5x5, 92.5x5, 102.5x5,

bench
47.5x5, 55x5, 62.5x5, 70x5, 77.5x3,

BOW
47.5, 55x5, 62.5x5, 70x5, 77.5x5,

Supplemental work
weighted hypers and crunches

Thoughts

Disappointment. Today was the first day of the last week and I really wanted to finish this programme on a high however I missed getting the last set of bench for 5. The squatting went fine however once I started benching everything just felt hard and I just didn't have the energy to get through, even the set of 70 was quite hard. So after the first 5 weeks it was just a bit disappointing to fail at the last hurdle. I really wanted today to go well and I made sure diet went well today, hell I even went out and bought RAM to help me get throught the workout, but when it came down to it, I just didn't have it in me to get it. I was really hopping to finish the programme with getting 80, which is pretty much BW, for reps however it seems it is not to be quite yet. After Bench BOW where hard as I just couldn't motivate myself fully to do them but I got them in the end.
Other then that I finally saw someone in Northwood doing some a2g squats today, now some of there form was a bit off and on some of them they where going just to parrallel, but I mentioned to them the fact that that isn't great for the ol knees and after that it was all a2g. Now they where only squatting 40kg but it was just really nice to see someone doing some decent lifting in the gym other then the usual upper body only exercises that most people do. But as I say it is not what you lift that impresses me it is the fact that you are lifting properly and pushing yourself that impresses me. So just in case that person happens to read this all I can say is thank you, as it was the only thing that helped motivate me in another wise crap session. Owe I did see one other person squat today but as per usual they where squating upto 110kg or something however they wheren't even getting near parralel.

justsomebloke

saturday,

again i seemed to be low on energy during the session so it may have been a case of overtraining setting in

highlights deadlift 140x1, and some suppersetting of military press and dumbell thrusters. can't remember numbers
thoughts

hmm although I upped my 1RM on deadlift to 140 I was kind of disappointed as I couldn't even move 150 off the ground, which I was able to do at the last mini meet, but eh as energy levels where down again during the session I didn't dwell on it, **** happens sometimes just just have to be ready to accept it and bounce back as soon as you can.


Monday.

Squat
62.5x5, 72.5x5, 82.5x5, 92.5x5, 105x3, 82.5x8

bench
47.5x5, 55x5, 62.5x5, 70x5, 77.5x5, 60ishx8

BOW
47.5, 55x5, 62.5x5, 70x5, 82.5x3, 60ishx8

supplemental work
dips, preacher curls with ez bar, decline skull crushers and BB curls

Thoughts

I haven't had serious DOMS in a while, which I put down to CEE, which I take some before and after my workout, yesterday I only took it after and my chest in in bits, ok truth be told even if i had the CEE before and after i think my chest would of been in bits from the combination of bench and dips.
Other the that squat seemed good although the last set was a bit slow I felt strong and probably could of gone slightly higher. Bench again wasn't the best ad was a bit ugly but I got through it and although I was only doing what should of been done on thursday I was still happy enough. BOW as this was the last thing on the programme and I felt I could do it I went up the extra 2.5 to 82.5 and I probably could of maybe gone higher so all good.

justsomebloke

saturday.

training with D, G'em, Kwalsh, trib, BP, and J. Due to how busy the gym was and the fact that that there was no set plan for what I was going to do this session was a bit all over the place. At the start of the session the squat rack was in use so I decided that I was going to do high volume very low weight death by squat veriations focusing on uni lateral work for the core. So this was a combination of one arm DB thrusters with 20kg, and one arm 25lb kettlebell overhead squats, and also squating with kettlebell held infront of me while trying to keep teh heavy end of the kettelbell parrallel with my arms. Then there was also one set or arm curls into a squat with roughly 22kg bar. So all in all my legs and core took a hammering from this which I was quite pleased. After this I was spotting BP who was doing 100kg front squats, After he was finished I took 20kg off the bar and did 1rep front squat for 80. As my previous 1RM 7-8 weeks ago was 75kg and I hadn't gone heavy on front squats since then I was quite pleased that I could get it straight off. After that the session was a bit all over teh place with some calf work and arm work (thanks BP for the spotting on the preacher curl, and helping push myself a lot more). after this mself and kwalsh did some squatting with kwalsh getting some very nice PB's for back squat, and I managed to get 80kg for 2 on front squat and 90 for one aswell, I failed on 95. So I was quited pleased with this as it was a 1RM gain of 15kg on front squat over the 7weeks.

So now I am off for 2 weeks holidays in malaysia and thailand and some training when ever I can, so talk to yous soon

justsomebloke

[blows cobwebs off journal]

anyway so I am now back from 2 weeks off in the sun, while away I was only arsed doing 1 full body workout in the hotel gym, hell I was on my holidays aswell I wanted to give my body some time off, Also there was a couple of days diving which probably gave my back some sort of workout.

Anyway my plan for the next while was basically just do some full body workouts till new years when I was going to start another round of a 5x5 programme but I have decided that I am going to start it a early and will start next thursday. I will have to take an easy week christmas week, but other the that I should be able to make it straight through so I might as well start it now. So cause of this, today's session as well as thursday and next mondays (due to a week end of heavy drinking this session probably won't happen though) are pretty much just random crap that I wan to do.

Tuesday,

DB thrusters (weights per dumbell)

17.5x8, 22.5x5, 27.5x3(PB)

one armed DB thrusters

30x4 each arm(PB)

DB thrusters

25x5

squats wheile holding a plate out strechted

10x7, 15x5, 10x8

standing dumbell press

15x8, 17.5x5, 15x5

Dips

BWx8, BWx5

preacher curls with ez bar

20x8, 25x6 and 4 partials, 20x6 and 3 partials

decline skull crushers

20x8, 20x8

BB curls

20(just bar)x8, 25x8, 30x4

cable pushdown

can't remember

ab crunch machine for the laugh while waiting on girlfriend


Thoughts
man I missed doing dumbell thrusters which are still my fav exercise. I finally got to go heavy on them aswell so got past my PB of 25 with ease but that was only because I haven't been doing them since switching gym. The reason for the single arm thruster was due to the fact I was a bit wrecked and actaully just couldn't lift 2 30kg DB's into position to do them :oops: But I was still happy enough getting 30 for reps. After this shoulders where a bit knackered so the standing DB presses where hard (that and my shoulder strenght sucks ass). However after this my shoulders where fried hence the poor display in dips. other then that is was just arms so same ol crap

justsomebloke

thursday

deadlift

60*5, 80*5, 100*5, 120*4, 140*1, 150*1 (PB)

seated row

8*30, 8*40, 8*50, 4*70, 8*30

incline db bench

8*20, 6*25, 8*22.5

BB row,

8*50, 8*50, 5*70, 8*50

standing cable flys

8*15, 8*20, 8*30

wide grip lat pull down

can't remember but not much

thoughts
today's was a bit ****, I just wasn't in the mood as I was soaked from the rain when I got to the gym. So today was a a back and chest day, however as you can see it was mostly just a back day.due to the rain I was in the best of moods, usually this one of been one of those days that i would of just headed home and gone feck it but now i am trying to knock that sort of thinking on the head, anyway after the deadlift I didn't realy have it in me to be bother so weights were down, that and the deadlift took quite a bit out of me. However I did enjoy doing a back day so after my next sets of 5x5 I will probably move to a 4 day split

justsomebloke

ok so I said i was going to start into a 5x5 programme however after having a look at the gym chrimbo timetable it is probably best that I do wth a 4 or 4 day split instead

Wenesday Back

hyperextension

BWx8, BW+15x8, BW+20x8

cable pulldowns

3x8 at different weights

deadlift

60x8, 80x8,

BOW

50x8, 70x8, 90x1, 50x8

seated row

various reps ranges again can't remember

Thoughts
Well This is the first time I have ever just done one body part in a session and kind of enjoyed it. I thought I would try hypers at the start of a session to see what it was like and straight afterwards knew that I shouldn't have done them first and my lower back was already toasty after them making the rest of the workout a bit of a fecker, especially deadlifts which I decided against going anyway high with.


Thursday

Chest

BB bench

50x8, 60x8, 70x7, 80x1, 85x1(PB)

decline bench on smith machine (plate weights only)

20x8, 30x8, 40x8, 50x4

incline bench

40x8, 50x8

cable crossover weight per stack

10x8, 12.5x8, 15x8

pec dec

1 dropset with 2 drops

Thoughts

Finally got BW on bench so I happy with that, other then that having done single body part sessions for the first time it is odd to have DOMS in both back and chest, but I am liking it for a change so I might keep with it for a couple of weeks after christmas. Oh the other reason for the split is as it is the christmas I might aswell do some sort of mini bulk so if I do do any over eating at least it won't be to bad
Wink

justsomebloke

saturday

up in micks today training with Dragan and Trib

Squats

60x8, 90x8, 110x1, 120x1(PB), 60x8

donkey calf raises

20x10, 40x8, 55x7, 70x4, 70x4

BB curls (non oly bar, weight of plate only)

10x8, 12.5x8, 15x6, 17.5x2, 10x8

ez-bar preacher curls
2 sets of 8
hammer curls
3 set of 8

thoughts

Well didn't get much done today however I was really only going to try and get the a PB on the squat. On the way to the gym I was hoping to get 115 however I got the 110, and said screw it and went for 120 (at this point I had both Trib and D spotting me so it was allguns blazing not to disappoint), now form wasn't the best but I will take it. Now my joy was short lived as trib then went on to squat more then me (the bastard) but I Will let him tell you about that. Other then that all I wanted to do was calf raises so I got them in aswell.
So overall I am quite happy about how the last week and a bit have gone as I was hoping to test my 1RM's on teh big 3 and managed to get them all in, and they have all managed to go up since I started in northwood just over 2 and a half months ago so I can't complain.

Other then that D the fecker is coming along great and if anything the fecker is now even more imposing then before as he is starting to lean out while still puttng more muscle around the shoulder arm area. But fair play to you man you look great and you are still going strong

justsomebloke

Monday 11th
shoulders

Tuesday 12th
chest & triceps

thursday 14th
back & biceps

friday 15th
legs

sunday 17th
shoulders

Thoughts
as it is the season for overeating I am using that fact to do a mini bulk and so the amount of sessions per week is also up to around 5 but this will come to a halt on wenesday, as my gym starts to close at 6 for the festive season :shock: , so I will be training in mickk's on thursday night from around 6ish (i.e. if anyone else is at a lose end come along).
So ye sorry for the lasck of journal entries but for soem reason I just am not pushed at the moment, This is probably due to the fact that nothing special is going on in the training as it is just training for a bit of bulk, and as before this I never did a body part split before the las week has pretty much just being about seeing how my body reacts to different stimuly. The weirdest thing is having a shoulders day as this is by far my weakest body part. However I have to say that I am loving the shoulders day as I have started to do 1 arm dumbell snatches and I have to say i quite like them so couple this with dumbell thrusters after and I am a happy camper. I am also a completly wrecked camper after them though :twisted: .
So other then that I am up around 12lbs since coming back from holiday, now I would love to say that it is all muscle but I would say that around 2-3lbs of it is probably fat, however that still gives me around 9lbs of lean mass gain though so overall the mini bulk seems to be having the desired results. i.e. damage limitation of my christmas eating habits.

justsomebloke

ok so it is now post christmas, and I think it is time I got back to the 5x5 and see where I can get with it this time. Anyway over christmas I kind of continued with the bulk aspect of it however the amount of training I got done was minimal. So since mid november when I came back I am up 14lbs. now I wish it was all muscle however I'd sday around 4lbs would probably be "excess" however still around 9-10lbs of lean mass isn't to bad for my first real bulk attempt.

Anyway so currently where do my lifts stand
bench 1RM 87.5Kg
squat 2RM 120Kg
Deadlift 1RM 150Kg

So as with the first time I did the 5x5 I will be basing it on this plan http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow1/table_of_contents_thread.htm howeverthis time I am goign to be doing an altered version of it. Basically I am going to be doign the big 3 as my base exercises, so instead of BOW I will be doing Deadlifts. Now some people will say that you shouldn't **** with the programme if you want to get the optimal results from the programme, however currently my optimal goals and those of the programme and different. One of my main goals is to get a more consitent deadlift. At the moment I probably only have deadlifted properly around 6-7 times, and in the other 5x5 programme my legs can't take a deadlift session on a saturday(day2) as they are pretty fried from the squatting on thursday(day1), and so knowing that I am squatting on the monday again I was not allowed put in a good effort into the deadlift. Other then that my main aim is to get a 100kg bench by mid to late april. Other then that my other aim is to squat lots and lots and lots of heavy stuff.
So as I saif the programme is going to be based on a squat, bench and dealift, for this though I am going to have to slightly alter the new programme is goign to llok something simialar to this

Day1 (thursdays)
Squat 5x5
Bench 5x5
Deadlift 5x5
Assistance: seated rows and situps.

Day2
Hypers
Barebell Rows
Dumbell thrusters
more shoulder work
assistance: ab work if I want to

Day3
Squat 4x5, 1x3, 1x8
Bench 4x5, 1x3, 1x8
Deadlift 4x5, 1x3, 1x8
assistance: arm stuff (mix of tate press, dips, BB curls and preacher curls)

Ok most of it is pretty straight forward but I will go through some of the logic behind my other changes (if anyone has any suggestions on things to change please fire away)
On Day1 I have altered the assistance lifts from hypers to seated rows, this is as I am doing dead's I don't need hypers aswell however due to the amount of bench I am doing I want some balance of pull work (as I will no longer being doing BOW on the same day) so have but in seated rows with strict form, basically a more isolated movement as at this point in the session as I am not looking for a big lift.

On Day2 I will be using dumbell thrusters as the active recovery on the legs instead of low weight squatsand hypers for active recovery for the lower back. I have also put in BOW again for a pull movement.

Day 3 has no real changes



so day 1 was last night so here are the number

squats 67.5x5, 77.5x5, 87.5x5, 97.5x5, 107.5x5
deadlift 70x5, 82.5x5, 95x5, 107.5x5, 120x5
bench 45x5, 52.5x5, 60x5, 67.5x5, 75x5
assistance: seated row 3*8

Thoughts started back at the squats at the same level I left off so happy enough. Bench I decide to drop back 2.5 from where I finished last time to break back into it as this was for me the hardest lift last time, Deads where grand
So overall nice start back now lets see where this programme takes me

justsomebloke

saturday

Dumbell thrusters
15x8, 20x8,22.5x6, 25x5, 27.5x5(PB for reps), 30x0, 17.5x8

hypers
BWx8x3

BOW
60x8, 70x8x2

seated dumbell press supersetted with rear lateral raises
can't remember


Sunday
50 minutes LIT

thoughts
My dumbell thrusters have gone way up since I lasted trained them properly which is quite odd as I haven't really done any decent shoulder work since starting in the new gym in sep but since then I have gone from doing 25kg dumbells for approx 3 reps to last week doing 30kg dumbells for 3 reps, but hey I am not going to complain (although I did get a one armed 30kg thruster a couple months back, though at the time I couldn't actually get the 30kg DB up properly to do them , but I doubt I would been able to do with both at the time), Other then that it was an easy enough session as I am looking for this to be mostly an active recovery session with just a blitz on shoulders.

justsomebloke

Monday

Squats

67.5x5, 77.5x5, 87.5x5, 97.5x5, 110x3, 87.5x8

Benh

45x5, 55x5, 60x5, 67.5x5, 77.5x3, 60x8

Deadlift

70x5, 82.5x5, 95x5, 107.5x5, 122.5x3, 90x8

arms
Dips, ezbar preacher, tate press, BB curls


Thoughts

The amount of people who joined the gym is unreal at the moment, so was waiting on everything and also was a lot quicker on stuff then I really should have but still got everything out, but trying to fit all the squats into 10 minutes was a bit taxing on the body. Other then that it was the first up the weights session so it is more a case of I will see how they are going in a few weeks time

justsomebloke

thanks Lads, oh and handley I don't actually mind the monday sessions as they are generally a hell of a lot easier then then the thursday ones

thursday

Squats

70x5, 80x5, 90x5, 100x5, 110x5

Deadlift

72.5x5, 85x5, 97.5x5, 110x5, 122.5x5

Bench

47.5x5, 55x5, 62.5x5, 70x5, 77.5x5

Supplemental
seated rows and some weight situps

Thoughts

as per usual thursday is a ****er, not only do you have to add additonal 2 reps to the last set (which is seriously hard) but you also have to increment all the weights beforehand as wll, so you are just that bit more tired yet have to do more work come the end of it :rolleyes: , seriously doing this programme for the first time has given me a reason to look forward to mondays, but as much as I like the glory day monday, when you get to up the weights, I know the workhorse thursday session is where the gains come from.
Other then that the last set of squats was a loooonnnnnngggggg set, but I got through it, also for the second time in a row on the thursday I had to switch bench and deadlift due to there being no free bench at the time. There is nothing worse then when finishing a hard as hell squat set to realise that you infact aren't going to get a slight let off and are in fact going to have to go straight into a deadlift set and so by the time you come to bench you are in bits.
However after all that roll on next week when I again up the weights and the week after that..... man I must really hate myself

justsomebloke

Saturday

Dumbell thrusters

12.5x8, 20x8, 22.5x8, 25x8(PB for reps), 27.5x3, 17.5x8

Hypers

3x8

BOW

50x8, 70x8, 70x8, 80x5

Seated DB press supersetted with rear delt raises
varying small weights

ab work


Sunday

50 minutes LIT


Thoughts finally got a full set of 8 out on the dumbell thrusters other then that I went with light weights on the seated DB press with 30 secs up 30 secs down for 2x2 suppersetted with the rear delt raises which where fun. So other then that nothing much to write home about

justsomebloke

squats

70*5, 80*5, 90*5, 100*5, 112.5*3, 90*8

Bench

47.5*5, 55*5, 62.5*5, 70*5, 80*3, 57.5*8

Deads

72.5*5, 85*5, 97.5*5, 110*5, 127.5*3, 100*8

supplemental work
dips, BB curls, tate press, ex curl preacher curls

Thoughts
man the gym does be extremly busy on a monday night, but by some miracle I only had to weight about 4 minutes to get a bench. Other then that it was a long session taking just over an 65 minutes but this was due to the fact of 1 waiting for the bench and 2 having someone working in with me aswell made it slightly slower then I hoped. Other then that nothing major. I jumped up 5kg on deads instead of 2.5 due to the fact that after the 122.5*5 last thursday I felt strong enough too.
So that is the first 2 weeks over now, it should be another 2 weeks or so before I can tell whether this programme suits me better then the original 5*5 programme I was doing before christmas but inital suggestions would be that I am better off on this one. For one I am getting to train what I want to, this is the first time I have done decent sets of reps on deads and I am feeling alot stronger for it. However the other advantage I am hoping to get from this modified programme is that from taking the deads from the middle day that I will hopefully will extend the time I can do on the programme without feeling that I am overtraining myself. On the last one by the end of week 4 I could feel it in the legs so I should be able to tell in 2 weeks time if this has helped elevate this, inital feeling is that it will.