Bluestreaks Training Log

[Beppe]

Are you going to keep going up? I'm debating whether or not to deload. I have to say the higher weights are not that bad but the weight is exhausting me and my form is starting to slip. Today my knee started to buckle twice. They're mildly sore at the moment (wish I had a foam roller right now!).

I don't know. I think I'll keep adding weight anyway until I reach 1.5xBW. After all I have deloaded a couple of times but only for technique/vacation, never stalled on back/box squats. So the goal remains the same. If they become too taxing, I'll think about switching to 3x5, anyway I'd like to do this thing after or very close to 1.5xBW. How much time are you resting between sets? You may use a tennis ball until you have a roller. Are you sleeping enough?

[bluestreak]

On Friday, 24 Oct I had a fun day. I decided I'd see how strong my regular squat was. It's been a while since I tried to set a PR. I managed to do 1x130 kg!!! My previous PR on a regular squat was 112.5 kg

I felt I could have done more but I got distracted helping show someone how to do real squats (he was struggling to them in the smith machine).

It was a long weekend so I took the whole time off.

Tuesday, 28 Oct 08

Box Squats
3/3/0 @ 112.5 kg
* These felt near impossible so I deloaded
2/2 @ 100 kg
* For some reason, these two were killer. I think I just didn't get enough sleep last night

Overhead was a write-off, didn't even bother with deadlifts. Was running out of time - a very common problem. Overall, just a bad workout.


I feel it's one of those moments where I need to review where I am, decide on where I'm going (i.e. come up with short term goals that help me reach my long term goals, etc).

[bluestreak]

I forgot to mention something significant!

When I was on the milk, I got up to 100.7 and over 15% BF. Once off GOMAD, I quickly dropped back down in weight and hovered around 97-98 kg for a long time, with varying amounts of BF.

Now I'm back at 100 kg but at 11% BF. Must be all the heavy box squats!

[Beppe]

I forgot to mention something significant!

When I was on the milk, I got up to 100.7 and over 15% BF. Once off GOMAD, I quickly dropped back down in weight and hovered around 97-98 kg for a long time, with varying amounts of BF.

Now I'm back at 100 kg but at 11% BF. Must be all the heavy box squats!

That's really great! You must be very satisfied with this result. Nice stuff also the 130kg squat, I'm surious to know what would you have lift if not interrupted! I'll find a moment to test also my 1RM, maybe saturday. Keep the excellent work

[bluestreak]

That's really great! You must be very satisfied with this result. Nice stuff also the 130kg squat, I'm surious to know what would you have lift if not interrupted! I'll find a moment to test also my 1RM, maybe saturday. Keep the excellent work

Thanks Beppe I'm pretty sure I could have done 140 kg. I was just amazed by my form - it felt so good! Camera confirmed this as well.

I was interrupted because I got to talking to someone on the smith machine, next to my rack. He had the same plates as me (80 kg worth - no warm up) but was struggling and it looked rather dangerous. I offered to let him use my rack between sets, then we got to talking and turns out he didn't know what he was doing. I showed him how to do a proper squat and gave him the link to the site, where he could find more info.

Point is: it was a 20 minute distraction but a worthwhile one.

[bluestreak]

Thursday, 30 Oct 08 - 7 am

Box Squat
2x5 @ 20 kg
1x5 @ 40 kg
1x5 @ 60 kg
5x5 @ 80 kg
* Not that hard. Several reasons I'm doing this:
(1) I can focus on form again. It's been getting sloppy, wanted to take time to review it
(2) It gives me time/energy to spend on the other exercises. The box squats are so hard/heavy that I have virtually no time to do anything else, which has been depressing me recently.

Overhead Press
2x5 @ 20 kg
1x5 @ 30 kg
5x5 @ 40 kg
* I've had a sore left shoulder for a while now - this is exactly the exercise I needed to do! Felt great and the weight wasn't that bad. Next time I'm doing 42.5, aiming for a new PR.

Deadlift
2x5 @ 60 kg
1x5 @ 80 kg
1x5 @ 100 kg
1x5 @ 120 kg
* Hell yeah!!!!!
* My shins are all torn up - my battle scars!!!
* I got one of the personal trainers, that I trust, to watch my form. I started out great but would never quite drop back back to my starting position. Also, my back was NOT rounded today - hooray! That's why I re-did this weight; last time it was rounded like hell.

That being said, I need to get some chalk!

What a great workout! It's always interesting how I go from having an absolutely horrendous workout to a fantastic one!

[Beppe]

Glad to see you had a satisfying workout! You are doing a very good thing also helping others; "when one teaches, two learn".
Are you lifting without chalk? Get some, it's way more comfortable. I agree with you on the deloads to improve form. I'm going to do with deadlifts what you are doing on squats. One year from now, a small step back (or more) will mean nothing compared to the injury-free progress.

[bluestreak]

Glad to see you had a satisfying workout! You are doing a very good thing also helping others; "when one teaches, two learn".
Are you lifting without chalk? Get some, it's way more comfortable. I agree with you on the deloads to improve form. I'm going to do with deadlifts what you are doing on squats. One year from now, a small step back (or more) will mean nothing compared to the injury-free progress.

I really enjoy helping others - I want to see more people squatting. I also want more training partners! One thing this guy mentioned was that he's been watching me for a while, which I found interesting.

I just ordered my chalk. I could have used some in my deads today. I could handle the weight, it just wanted to keep slipping out of my hand.

Agree with you on the deloads - best to leave the ego at the door! I have to say I found it immensely useful having someone to train with today. Video is good but it's not the same as having someone there walking around me, providing feedback as I lift.

[KIB]

Great stuff, Bluestreak, especially with the OHP. That lift has the sweetest victories.
I've got the chalk left over from my rock climbing days, but I've been really loving the rubber pads I cut from a bicycle inner tube.
They're just slightly wider than my hands and they wrap around the bar perfectly. The grip is amazing (once you've cleaned off the white stuff inside) and they were free from a local bike shop (old, punctured inner tubes). They are much more forgiving on your hands and there's no chalk mess in the gym for people to complain about.

Good for you for helping that guy ditch the Smith machine. Every time I do that at our gym I realize that there will now be one more person waiting to use our single squat rack...

[Metalpetrucci88]

I wish more people would take the time and realize that weights on the bar don't mean much if they're done improperly. It's good that you are one of those few people that would walk up and help out a struggling squatter such as myself
Good form = bigger muscles man!

Let me know how well the chalk works, I've been curious to buy some for a long time, and now that I won't get yelled at for deadlifting or blasting heavy metal I might as well get dirty and use some chalk too!

Very interested to see how the journey continues sir keep up the awesome work.

[bluestreak]

Saturday, 31 Oct 08 - 7 am
This was a wierd workout. I started out by having a great breakfast - no worries about being hungry. Then I hit the gym...

Box Squats
(all the regular warm up)
5x5 @ 82.5 kg
* No dramas here but felt a harder then normal, as if I was doing 100 kg a while back. I really focused on my form (which I was really pleased with), so maybe that had something to do with it.

Bench
2x5 @ 20 kg
1x5 @ 40 kg
1x5 @ 50 kg <- this felt hard
2/2/0/-/- @ 60 kg <- WTF?
* When I was lifting, my left bicep, near my elbow, was twitching. It felt so weird. Keep in mind my left elbow/shoulder is the one I have problems with.

Deloaded to 55 kg, only managed 2/2/0/-/-

Clean
2/2/0/-/- @ 40 kg
* This felt really weird as well in my shoulder, arm. Hard to explain but it's like my shoulders weren't even or symmetrical.

I packaged it in at this point. Made me realize I need to work on my shoulder issue so I read up, prepared a plan for tomorrow.

I think my problem might have something to do with a deadlift I was doing 2 weeks ago. As I was lifting, I felt a distinct pull in my left trap (between shoulder blade and back). Maybe that has something to do with it? Or maybe I've just been sleeping funny on it.

Sunday, 02 Nov 08
Foam rolling - took my time on this
Mobility exercises - also took my time on this
I also did a few extra exercises for shoulders

At this point all I was going to do was some face pulls and OH with the bar but... the squat rack was beckoning... I... couldn't... resist.... so I decided to have some fun and test my PR again with some regular squats. I wanted to see if I could hit 140 kg. Here's how I went:
2x5 @ 20 kg
1x5 @ 40 kg
1x5 @ 60 kg <- get's annoying, changing plates...
1x4 @ 80 kg
1x3 @ 100 kg
1x2 @ 120 kg
0x1 @ 140 kg <- couldn't get it up, had to put it down

KIB - thanks for that tip about putting the bar down safely. To be honest, I've never had to do it before and I'm glad I got to practice it.

Then I did some OH with the bar, then some face-pulls. Shoulder is feeling better.

[bluestreak]

I've got the chalk left over from my rock climbing days, but I've been really loving the rubber pads I cut from a bicycle inner tube.
They're just slightly wider than my hands and they wrap around the bar perfectly. The grip is amazing (once you've cleaned off the white stuff inside) and they were free from a local bike shop (old, punctured inner tubes). They are much more forgiving on your hands and there's no chalk mess in the gym for people to complain about.

That is bloody brilliant. I'll have to try that. I've never seen anyone use caulk... then again, my gym is also the type where I never have to wait for the squat rack.

I've ordered my caulk. I hope to have it tomorrow! I look forward to having it on Wednesday, when I deadlift (KIB - I have my eye on 140 kg!)

It's good that you are one of those few people that would walk up and help out a struggling squatter such as myself

In life, few people ever ask for help. It's a big thing to admit, to yourself, that you need it and it's another thing to listen to that feedback (which can be painful to the ego). But great things are seldom accomplished completely by ones self.

Let me know how well the chalk works, I've been curious to buy some for a long time, and now that I won't get yelled at for deadlifting or blasting heavy metal I might as well get dirty and use some chalk too!

Get it! I've used it once and it made a big difference. I will probably only use it in my bigger lifts or near the end of my sets, when the hands start getting sweaty. Must be nice, being able to blast the music and play whatever you want.

Very interested to see how the journey continues sir keep up the awesome work.

Cheers bro

[eLvarouza]

Bluestreak where did you order chalk from? Do you remember the cost and the shipping? I've been needing some badly but haven't been able to find a good location. Wichita Falls Weightlifting club has 1lb for $9 but the shipping is like $10, and I'm not sure if I want to order other stuff with my cart just to negate the effects of shipping.

Hopefully I won't get yelled at in my uni gym for using chalk, which is apparently against the rules

[KIB]

(KIB - I have my eye on 140 kg!)

Noted
I'm up for the same weight on Wed. Meet you back here to post results.

@eLv: Look around Google for "rock climbing chalk", which is the same thing and has, I think, more suppliers and variety. Here's a great page with a lot of info, including chalk alternatives. I still use my rock-climbing chalk bag at the gym. There's a big hunk of chalk in there (like a chalk ball) that I can rub on my hands over the garbage bin for minimum mess. But I haven't used it much since I made those rubber grips.

[bluestreak]

Bluestreak where did you order chalk from?

I got mine from Get Strength, a local New Zealand company. They ship overseas. Cost me $22 NZD with shipping, which is like $12 USD. Might be a few extra dollars to ship to you.

I was reading up on the climbing chalk - looks like that would have done the trick and I could have got it from a local store!

Hopefully I won't get yelled at in my uni gym for using chalk, which is apparently against the rules

Easier to beg for forgiveness then to ask for permission

Monday, 03 Nov 08

I'm tired today. Was up late last night.

Box Squats
2x5 @ 20 kg
1x5 @ 40 kg
1x5 @ 60 kg
1x4 @ 80 kg
5/5/5/5/2 @ 85 kg
* Lower back was sore, which is why I stopped. This is really odd... I haven't had a sore lower back in ages.

Bench Press
2x5 @ 20 kg
1x5 @ 30 kg
1x5 @ 40 kg
5x5 @ 50 kg
* I was reading up on the finer points on the bench, in starting strength. Was happy to work on form, especially with the shoulder. 50 kg felt a bit harder then it should, probably because of fatigue.

Hanging Cleans
One of the personal cleaners was pickup up weights people left on the equipment. Problem is, he'd frequently come close to the bar (despite there being only, like, 5 people in the entire gym). I didn't want to accidentally hit him so sometimes I'd stop, which really threw me off.
1x5 @ 40 kg
5/5/3/2/- @ 55 kg
* I can do the weight. Aside from that guy getting in the way, my elbow was starting to act up.

Another crap workout. Tonight I'll make sure to get plenty of sleep.