Discordian in training (Log)

[discordian]

Exercise #19

Squat 72.5kg - It was hard, but I felt less impossible than before. I had some vague pain in my knee after 70kg sets, but that seemed to go away. If it comes back, I'll restart with a lower weight. Most likely due to not focusing last time.
Bench 52.5kg - This was bit hard. Problem with bench seems to be the suddenness I run out of juice. First four reps are easy and the the fifth almost doesn't budge. I'm happy to have safety bars in case it really doesn't move.
Rows 52.5kg - Still disliked these, but did them anyhow. I tried one set of cleans after those. They are fun, but I find it hard to evaluate wether I'm doing them right or not. Also, just the bar is harder than with bit of weight.
Dips 11-6-5(bw) - Hmm. Should I start putting weights to these?

I liked my workout. Biggest idiocy was leaving the rack too high with squats so now I have a sore neck by reaching to put the bar back. I'm slightly anxious to know if my knee starts acting up tomorrow. Hope not. I'm nearing my own weight in squats which makes my ego more stupid on the topic of deloading due form. There is a demon that makes me deload unnecessarily and the one that tries to get me to injure myself.

Well done! One of the many reasons the OHP is great is that it's always a pleasant surprise when you finish the 5x5: you think you won't be able to do it, but then after a bit of shaking and grunting you realize you've succeeded! Way to go, discordian.
And you must be doing something right if unloading the bar and showering are the most dangerous parts of your routine...

Thanks Mae! I like OHP. It will be hell next time, but still. Have to respect it. Hopefully the statement of the most dangerous parts of my routine are accurate


Disc.
.. Although, how do you actually deload on showering or unloading if they stall?

[javanek]

.. Although, how do you actually deload on showering or unloading if they stall?

Cut 10% off showering time and leave weights on the bar. This also helps to motivate the next lifter.

Numbers are looking good, man. I wouldn't sweat the knee pain on squats. You're probably right on just a bad rep tweaked it a bit. Make sure to add some extra calcium to your diet which will helps with joint pain.

Bench is just like that. Solid four and then gauge goes to zero on rep five sometimes. If this is happening more and more often I would back off adding weight till you get past the plateau. Not a deload or stall really, just hit it three times in a row before moving up with weight. If no improvement, then soft deload.

High five on the OHP last week! Always feels good to grunt out 5x5 tough ones on that lift. I'd venture to say that most everyone here takes a great deal of pride in their OHP. Since it does seem to be such a bugger. Mines still pretty light right now, so I'm not jumping up and down yet.

Great to see you had at least an A- day with the iron. Way to go!

[discordian]

Great to see you had at least an A- day with the iron. Way to go!

Thanks Javanek! It is surprising how much encouragement helps, even through internet.

Exercise #20 - Golly, did I do this many already?

Squats 75kg - I was about to say "no sweat", but plenty of sweat was involved.
Overhead press 42.5kg - Never thought this possible. I improved my form. Staggered stance, slightly bending back and moving under the bar when it passes my forehead. That helped to do the trick.
Deadlifts 110kg - After third rep I ran out of grip and switched to mixed grip. Bad idea since I've never done it before.
Pull/chin-ups(bw) 6(p)-4(c)-3(c) - I was really exhausted and just didn't muster the will.

So.. I think I need to deload a bit on the deads. I can't grip this much weight currently and mixed grip is pulling me crooked. Just need to practise a bit before moving up. (I still think deads are excellent exercise!) My knee did make itself known, so I think I have to watch it.

I feel thoroughly exhausted. Perhaps it is the general stress or the dark season or fact that I worked through weekend or that I need to return my phd today or that all my weights are higher than I've ever thought possible. I just don't have any energy to do nothing but gym,work and sleep. It actually shows even on pull-ups, since strengthwise I've proven that I can do more. I just didn't have enough will left to pull myself up.

Enough whining! I had quite excellent workout!

Disc.

.. What do you call a person who deloads on deadlifts first?

[javanek]

Enough whining! I had quite excellent workout!

Disc.

.. What do you call a person who deloads on deadlifts first?

Sounds like you got a bit on your plate, man. But tired at the end of a workout is good. Couple things I'm seeing though. On the OHP don't bend back too much. Bar should go straight up and down on arms only. Move your head and neck to avoid smashing nose with the bar, but back bend will wind up hurting you over the long haul. So keep it to a minimum.

On the deads I would suggest, since the weight is getting up there now, moving to the mixed grip for all sets and reps. Everyone I have seen uses this grip and it made a big difference for me once weight got above 90kg. Just make sure to alternate which hand is over and under each set. Builds grip strength more evenly. But I think by that change you'll see a vast improvement once weight gets up around 140kg.

Deload? I'd leave that as your call, but if it's to work on form, do it. Anything to improve technique on lifting is a positive. But I'd do some grip work as well to help out, which is probably the biggest part of the issue. Wrist curls or even those inexpensive grip trainers will help.

Not a shabby day at all, my friend. Good work!

[mae]

So.. I think I need to deload a bit on the deads. I can't grip this much weight currently and mixed grip is pulling me crooked. Just need to practise a bit before moving up. (I still think deads are excellent exercise!) My knee did make itself known, so I think I have to watch it.

Why deload so soon? You've proven you can do the deadlifts at 105, why not give it a couple more tries at 110? Though, if your knee is bothering you when you do them, that's a good reason to take some weight off and work on proper form.

I think the exhaustion will pass, and in the meantime, congrats on your excellent OHPs!

[discordian]

On the OHP don't bend back too much. Bar should go straight up and down on arms only. Move your head and neck to avoid smashing nose with the bar, but back bend will wind up hurting you over the long haul. So keep it to a minimum.

The difference to way I used to do it is that before I moved my head out of the way by pulling my neck back and now I tried to do the same by moving my torso. Should I do this? It is bit hard to estimate how much lean I have, so perhaps I'll need to amuse the other gymgoers by another camera session next time I do OHP. I'm not worried about spending time to tune my OHP since it is already higher than I'd hoped.

Why deload so soon? You've proven you can do the deadlifts at 105, why not give it a couple more tries at 110?

On the topic of dead deload: I did manage all the reps of the 110kg, but the problem was that I didn't know how to compensate for the mixed grip and it was twisting me to one side. So I want to try mixed grip atleast once or twice with smaller weight to get used to it. I have plenty of time to experiment and still get my 1.5bw dead way before christmas!

Thank you for your support guys and gals! It has an effect.

Disc.

.. On the topic of grip work, I saw a pretty strange manouver done by one guy. He was sitting on a bench and flipping a small rubbercoated ~20cm diameter 10kg plate with his fingers.

[discordian]

Exercise #21

Squats 77.5kg - Hard, hard and hard. But not interesting. I just cranked them.
Bench 55kg - Starting to really feel it. I lost count on the last set and did few extra just in case. Almost didn't manage to rack the bar
Rows 3x55kg - I think I'm getting these finally. I did only three sets on purpose..
Hang Cleans 5x3x30kg - ..because I've been having huge desire to learn powercleans. Tried to remember everything and it didn't go that bad. Once I hit the bar to my chest, but hey, it is first time I really try with any weight on the bar. Camera needed!
Dips(bw) 8-6-3 - Whats happening to my dips and pullups? They're going down!

I dropped fridays training, since I just was feeling so worn through and unmotivated. I also tweaked my back last time with the deadlifts (see above) so it was slightly hurting. Decided not to go and felt bad through the entire weekend for that decision. But honestly. I benefited from the rest. My thesis is now submitted and only one major work related hurdle is left for this year. Plus finding a new job.

Today I went on the afternoon shift and the gym was so full! People everywhere and I actually stood in queue for the stations. There were some positive redheaded sides to this issue, but I couldn't really focus on my training. Cleans were fun since I get really different sort of tired from doing those than, say squats. Feeling great!

Disc.

.. I saw really big guy OP:n less than me! I know it was his easy day, but still!

[mikedesc]

Hi Disc,

Nice numbers going there with the squat.
Don't beat yourself up about missing a session because you were injured. Wise move to give your back a rest if you get a tweak, better for you in the long run.
Good luck with the job hunt!

[ewerbos]

Thesis? Are you a graduate student, too? Master's, Ph.D.? I am in the process of writing my thesis, and also looking for a new job! Empathy!

Great squat, BTW, also, and great for trying the cleans. They are definitely my favorite exercise at this point; but my motive is to skip the rows, which you seem to still be doing!

[discordian]

Thesis? Are you a graduate student, too? Master's, Ph.D.? I am in the process of writing my thesis, and also looking for a new job! Empathy!

Ph.D. I'll get a funny hat in december if things go ok. Hopefully I'll get to stay in academia. You? (I'd guess Ph.D)

I kept half of the rows, since cleans are just technique until weights increase. If I get them correct, rows might eventually go away.

Disc.

[ewerbos]

Ph.D. also, in Physics (theoretical nuclear). Definitely not academia; I've realized I like what I'm doing, but not that much. I still love Physics, but not the research part of it. My funny hat will come in June.

What is your field?

[discordian]

Ph.D. also, in Physics (theoretical nuclear). Definitely not academia; I've realized I like what I'm doing, but not that much. I still love Physics, but not the research part of it. My funny hat will come in June.
What is your field?

Heh. Phycisists seem to make the best athletes at my uni. I'm studying evolutionary computation, which is rather easy field to graduate from. Sadly it's entirely in a rather sorry state of a non-reproductible empirism. There are nice results, but no one has any clue why.

Disc.

.. We're just really good at finding minima of functions.

[discordian]

Exercise #22 - First miss.

Squats 80kg - Cranked them. Feeling that I can't keep increasing much more and am suspicious of depth issues.
OHP 45kg 5-5-3-1-2 - My first real miss with anything. I think it is also somewhat a technique issue, since those reps that didn't budge felt funny to begin with.
Deadlift 90kg - Trials with mixed grip. I didn't think it is harder like that, but it is for me.
Pull/chinups(bw) 8(c)-5(p)-4(p) - Well, better than last time.

I had intended to bring a camera to check my form. The batteries were dead, so no video. I felt really really exhausted, like I hadn't recovered from the previous training at all. I don't know if it is the darkness or something else, but I really need to do something about it. Sleeping all your free time shouldn't be an option.

Disc.

.. Next time I get to try my BW at squats.

[discordian]

Exercise #22

Squats 5x5x82.5kg - My bodyweight! These are getting so hard that I have to take two breaths at a top with pause a bit between reps 3 and 4. I'm also wandering about depth. Camera on Monday, this time with loaded cells.

Bench 5x5x57.5kg - I'm reaching my limits! This was first bench that tried to seriously say "no way dude". I made it still, but am darn glad that the contraption is built in a way that it is impossible for me to get squished under the bar. One pro said that I had too narrow grip. I Better experiment with this. I remember a goal that I set for myself in last January, before hearing about SL5x5. That was to do 60kg bench. I had totally lost belief I can make it long time ago, but now it seems close. Like 2.5kg close.

Rows 3x5x57.5kg - Doable. I though the last rep was barely touching my shirt.

Hang Cleans 5x3x32.5kg - Gah! I don't know what stupidity caused be to do push press on top of every rep (*). It was tiring and fun, but not really conductive to learning cleans. Won't do that again! Otherwise, My goal was to take a few 'starting strength' cues with me and try to apply them. I actually touched my shirt and probably got my elbows up before this pushpress madness. Jumping felt awkward, so that will get the attention next time.

Dips - 8-6-5. These are still going nowhere. Too tired at this point.

This was my longest training ever, lasting almost one and half hours. Bit too much, right? Length is both heavy squats, rush-hour and increased number of sets due to cleans. After a while I'll probably put away the rows entirely if the cleans start going good.

I feel good. Beaten, right knee in bit pain, but feeling Good! You probably can't imagine it, but in this bout of depression and autophobia, these few hours after lifting are the truest solace.


Disc.

.. Worst way of holding up a squat station is not bicep curls. It involves three dudes and a rubber band.

[mikedesc]

Hi Disc,
Congratz on the bodyweight squats. Good work there!
And not too far away from your bench goal. I'm sure you'll manage that one very soon.