BLUEBLAH's Training Log: Keep on keeping on

[markg]

Squat, deadlift, overhead press, barbell row, power clean > all 25kg including bar.

My 7 yr old daughter commented during my workout that she thought the garage was meant for the car - don't know where she got that strange idea from.

Does your daughter work for the NE Derbyshire planning dept?!

I have been trying to start a business involving the use of my garage for holding stock. Unfortunately there is a planning rule in place on our road which means the garage must be kept for the storage of a vehcile. How daft is that?

[BLUEBLAH]

Overhead Press, Power Clean > 5x5 25kg
Squat, Deadlift, Barbell Row > 5x5 30kg

[amaeland]

keep on keeping on

is push-ups a problem for you? They are handy when you can't bench. Might be a good idea to warm up doing them on the knees first, though, if your shoulder isn't too happy about pressing movements.

[BLUEBLAH]

Unfortunately there is a planning rule in place on our road which means the garage must be kept for the storage of a vehcile

I think I would be tempted to ignore such a stupid rule, Mark.

Good idea Amaeland, will be doing press ups, as well as pull ups, when I split the routine in a week or so.

OP 25kg all 5x5
Power Clean 26.25kg (I forgot the 1.25kg on one side and didn't even realise!)
Barbell Row 35kg
Squat 35kg
Deadlift 40kg

Feels good doing all this again and getting stronger!

[BLUEBLAH]

Still trying to take it easy for the first month as the weights edge up. All 5x5:
Squat 40kg
Deadlift 50kg
Barbell Row 37.5kg
Power Clean 27.5kg
As I was writing this, I realised I forgot the OP so went back out to the garage and did:
Overhead Press 22.5kg and a handstand against the wall (website called, from memory, beast skills? that shows body weight/gymnastics, which is quite good).

[BLUEBLAH]

All 5x5:
Squat 45kg
Deadlift 55kg
Barbell Row 37.5kg
Power Clean 30kg
Overhead Press 27.5kg

Had a bit of a eureka moment today with the squats. Read somewhere on the site about bouncing off the hip muscles, as opposed to the knees for example, at the bottom of the exercise. Fairly basic stuff I know, but I don't think I've been aware of keeping the hip muscles tight at the bottom.

Have been reading up on Mehdi's exercise instructions and realise I was doing the overhead press wrong. So I put my elbows forward (bit like a front squat) and got underneath the bar at the top: much better.

I also suspect that I was doing the bench press wrong previously by not making my forearms perpindicular to the floor.

Makes me wonder what else there is that is wrong. So I want to video myself and get some feedback on here, if I can get a grip on the technical side of doing that.

[markg]

Its amazing how you can think everything is fine, form wise, then suddenly realise something you can change to dramatically alter things for the better. Happens to me all the time mate. Glad you've found some new tricks to progress.

[BLUEBLAH]

Yes, I'm sure they are other things that are wrong, such as the height I set my hips at (say for the power clean or the deadlift) and how and when I use them. But I'm sure I will keep improving my knowledge and technique over time.

Good session today, all 5x5:

Squat 50kg
Deadlift 60kg
Barbell Row 40kg
Overhead Press 30kg
Power Clean 32.5kg

Going to split my routine into two from now on and add pull ups/chins and press ups. Need to gain some weight, I am only 11.6 stone (approx 74kg) atm. Want to get up to 13 stone fairly quickly. I'm drinking 2 pints a milk a day, will see whether I need to go up to 4 pints.

[BLUEBLAH]

Squat 55kg
Deadlift 65kg
Barbell Row 42.5kg
Overhead Press 32.5kg
Power Clean 35kg

Stuck with the single routine workout, as I thought "let's get those numbers as quick as poss". Good workout, shoulder still fine.

[BLUEBLAH]

Squat 60kg 5x5
Deadlift 1x60, 1x62.5, 1x65, 2x70kg
Overhead Press 35kg 5x5
Barbell Row 45kg 5x5
Power Clean 37.5kg 5x5

I'm definitely going to split the routine now I've got 2 plates on the squat. Really tried to keep my lower back tight on the deadlift. The overhead press felt very comfortable. Think I will fail first on the barbell row, as I haven't done this exercise before. But I'm not worried about failure, as it proves I''m pushing myself close to the brink, and so will be getting stronger. Tried to visualise my ribcage being wide open and sliding to the sides towards my back, with shoulder blades locked together. Power clean was a bit dodgy, it's hard to keep the technique tight when I'm throwing the weight around.

Going on gomad for a while to get my weight up a bit. Enjoyed the workout and the feeling of getting lean and strong.

[BLUEBLAH]

Squat 62.5kg 5x5
Deadlift 1x60, 1x65, 1x70, 2x75kg
Overhead Press 37.5kg 5x5
Press Ups 5x5

Good, good, good!

[Mouse]

Good to see you back at it Blue.
Take care of that shoulder.

[BLUEBLAH]

Cheers Mighty Mouse!

Strained my back (side muscle above my hip) on the 3rd set of squats in a workout on Sunday 8th Nov (maybe I didn't warm up enough?), so had to kick my heels for a week waiting for it to heal. Worked out today and it seemed fine.

Squat 1x20kg, 1x50kg, 5x60kg
Barbell Row 5x45kg
Power Clean 5x37.5kg
Pull Ups 5/4/3

Quite surprised with the pull ups, as I haven't done them since Feb. I guess it's because I'm still relatively light (about 11 stone 8 pounds).

[markg]

Hey blue, glad your back's better. Don't worry about me getting too far ahead. I was just racing back to my old weights after a break. I will be slowed down soon enough once I get to PR territory!

Your pullups are impressive.

[BLUEBLAH]

I'm not going to lie, it wasn't a great workout. I tried not to listen to this voice saying "you're too busy, you're too tired, you're too weak".

Squat 5x5 @ 62.5kg - Feels like I'm just pootling around with the squats, but I have to stay patient, they will get heavy soon enough.
Deadlift 1 @ 60kg, 1 @ 70kg, 3 @ 80kg - Good.
Overhead Press 5x5 @ 40kg - Heavy enough.
Press Ups 3x10.

This session took ages as I was feeling really lethargic, but I did it, and the next one will be better.