Barry101's Training Log

[Barry101]

I'll need to look at this H. When I bench without a spot, I put the pins in the second to last notch and the bar is about an inch off my neck. But the idea of putting them in the lowest spot and elevating my body is a good one. I'll have a look around to what things I may stand on.

I squat and deadlift in a Pro Elite multi use rack like this;



It's shown w/the pins as low as they go. This only happened on rep 3 today. I've had several dead lifts where it did not occur at all. If I use 4X45lb plates, I can align the flats on the pairs in such a way that they are almost round (they're 12 sided). This may help. I did not do that today, I used a 45,35,25 on each side for 255lbs. I thought it would be easier to just to stack on 135, 205, 255 as I warmed up.

Iron Grips website says this flat sided feature keeps the weights from rolling...

[Barry101]

9/17

Squat
240 3X5 Starting to feel intense pressure everywhere, upper back, shoulders, abs, obliques, lower back and FEET! Really have to think about keeping EVERYTHING tight. My whole body was shaking by the third rep on the second set.

I need to work on some shoulder flexibility on off days as I am begining to allow my wrists to flex a little. I'd like to be able to get my hands in a little closer so I can keep my upper back tighter. Also noticed last workout I was beginning to lean my torso down a little at the bottom to get depth. I've been using the pins to judge whether I am low enough. This worked fine up to body weight, but is causing me to cheat just a little above parallel at higher weights. Solved that one today by moving the pins down a notch and watching my hips instead.

Bench
165 5X5 Broke the plateau. Not as hard as last attempt at 165. Need to find a way to keep my back pinched together better. I can feel it trying to slip apart on the last reps of the 4th and 5the sets, when it gets the hardest. That's the part of my form that caused me to fail at this weight previously. But not this time!

IR
10,10,9 Just missed touching the last one

Dips
8,7,5 I want 10,10,10 on this one badly, but will settle for 10 on the first set in the next three a workouts as a goal. The last rep on all three sets was super tough.

I'll do some ab work tonight. A little short on time. It was one of those rainy mornings, where you just want to stay in bed (and i did for a few minutes). Had to kick my ass outta bed, but I did it! Glad I did, the squat, bench and dips were all PR's!

[holvoetn]

Good job, especially after having been kicked out of bed by yourself

[bobu]

Thanks for checking in on my log. I've had a look at yours and it looks like you've come a long way in a short time. I found when I got in the 1-1 1/2x body weight range on squats I found myself not looking forward to my workouts because failures were a constant concern. That's when I started factoring in a scheduled deload. Every 8 weeks I would take a week off then deload 20%. Everything would be easy for awhile and then the last two weeks I would be going for new PRs. Even though it would be getting heavy again I knew in a couple of more weeks I would be able to deload. Progress might be slower but it is anyway as the weights get heavier. Now I look forward to each workout. I also schedule my workouts so it works out to 5 sessions every 2 weeks with some interval work in between. Of course I have a few years on you so I probably need more rest

[Barry101]

Good job, especially after having been kicked out of bed by yourself

The hardest part of the early AM workouts!

I found when I got in the 1-1 1/2x body weight range on squats I found myself not looking forward to my workouts because failures were a constant concern

It gets hard mentally and physically at this point. I try not to think about the weight and try to convince myself it's gonna feel "light" when I unrack. This helps most of the time. I've done 3X5 last couple of workouts on squats(all others 5X5). This helped mentally, timewise and with my deadlift, but I worry I may be short changing myself physically in the long run. I know there are no shortcuts...supposed to be hard!

[datafix]

Hi Barry -
Thanks for checking my tlog out. It is nice to find such a great like-minded community. It is really inspiring to see someone coming along so far, with clear dedication to hard work as you clearly have. I will be reading through your log, and might even have something useful to contribute, once I have some more weight under my belt!
-DF

[Barry101]

9/21

OUCH!
Squat
245 1,1 yow! that really hurt in my right hip/glute! This really set in on the second rep as I forced my knees out coming out of the hole. Felt fine during warmups. Did not try another set. Glad I didn't, as I sit here I am in alot of pain. Does not hurt at all when I stand. I'll do some roller/tennis ball work tonight to see if I can work it out. Almost feels like like the aftermath of a severe cramp though that's not what happened to me at all. This hip has been giving me problems for 5-6 years. Started off as a strained piriformis. If it keeps acting up I'll have to see a phys therapist.

Did finish upper body.

OHP
115 5,4,5,5,5 Did not rest enough for the second set. Amazing that 115 was the weight I tried and failed at least three deloads. I can now lift that with a great deal of effort and with decent form. I'm gonna be sore from this tomorrow!

DL
Tried some empty bar reps and felt the same pain that I felt squating. Did not do any with real weight. May try to add in after bench on Wed. We'll see how my hip is acting by then.

Chins
5,5,5 Will do some more GTG tonight. Like to get somewhere between 30-50 reps today.

Ab work tonight if my hip will allow.

Guess it's part of the program to strain something occassionally when the weight gets heavy. Especially a known weakness/old injury. Kinda sucks though as I was progressing well on my squat. Hopefully it will heal fast.

[holvoetn]

Guess it's part of the program to strain something occassionally when the weight gets heavy. Especially a known weakness/old injury. Kinda sucks though as I was progressing well on my squat. Hopefully it will heal fast.

Not really part of the program but deficiencies will get emphasized as the weight moves up.
Had the same thing happening to my right quad early this year. Was a left-over scar-tissue injury from over 10 years ago while I was still playing volleyball.

Bill Star rehab routine got me through but if your injury is really hip/joint related, I suggest to see the doc first before using the routine (basic concept: keep the injured area moving with substantially lower weights but increased reps)

[Barry101]

but if your injury is really hip/joint related,

I am sure it's not in the joint and that's a good thing. This goes from the middle of my glute up and around the side of my hip. Hurts a little in the hip flexor too. Similar pain to what kept me from reaching full depth early on. I thought I had resolved that but you are prolly correct about "new" things popping up at the higher weights.

I'll see what a day off with some stretching/roller work does. I'll ice/heat it tonight too (in between pullups). If it feels better I'll work with some lower weights for rest of the week's workouts and ease back into some heavier stuff next week to test it.

[Barry06GT]

.
Sorry to hear about your pains.

Mark Rippetoe has a good section in his book "Strong Enough?" that deals with training when you are older (not 18-35). He states something like "take a day/week/month" when you need or want it.

The way I see it, when you are 23 and rip a hamstring, it is painful, but you will recover. Do that at, say 52, and you might limp for the rest of your life.

Lift strong!
.

[bobu]

That's a bummer! You're right at least for me there have been set backs along the way. Just make sure it doesn't become a major problem, time is on your side. Hell you're only 52!

[Barry06GT]

That's a bummer! You're right at least for me there have been set backs along the way. Just make sure it doesn't become a major problem, time is on your side. Hell you're only 52!

.
Barry101 is only 47...still a spring chicken in powerlifting.
Its that other Barry who is an old 52.
.

[bobu]

Sorry Barry101, I didn't mean to make you old before your time.

[Barry101]

No worries. Easy to get Barry's mixed up! I sometimes forget who I am. GTG on pull ups tonite...still have close to 20 to go. Wish I was spring chicken...feel more like a hawg!

Hip flexor (I assume that's what it is by the way I feel today) is feeling better. I will try a light squat test in the AM...maybe 115lbs, we'll see how it feels to work up from empty bar. Need to loosen up a little bit at a time this week. Will not push it at all though!

I am def gonna hit bench (170lbs 5X5 will be a PR) and dips (I want 10 on set one!). If the lower body can't work I'll punish the upper! Also need to hit 10,10,10 at least on inv row!

[holvoetn]

Be careful with an injury, take your time.
Lower weights and increased reps are most recommended.