el_varouza's training log

[eLvarouza]

Some updates:

1) Groin is healing up, but I'm going to take it slow on squats. I haven't given up on low bar. I'm going to start doing shoulder dislocations, as they seem to help. My left shoulder seems less mobile than my right one, and holding the bar with a narrow grip gives me a pretty decent stretch in the upper back. I'm also going to try pulling my elbows forward with my lats, as I've seen recommended, rather than shoving them backward to see if that helps. I think my shoulders were hyperextended before due to me raising my elbows too much, which put unnecessary strain on them.
2) Going to start training tomorrow and increasing weight linearly again. If I can't squat, I can at least bench press, press, power clean, and deadlift.
3) I just ordered Practical Programming for Strength Training and Strong Enough. I can't fucking wait for them to arrive; should be next week sometime.
4) I'm going to order chalk, which should help on the press, as my hands keep slipping and the bar keeps going towards my fingers.
5) Weighed myself the other day, I'm now 180lbs. Pretty sweet. I want to hit 185lbs by the end of this semester.
6) I'm going to do a few box squats tomorrow to make sure I'm not going too deep with low bar.

Goals for end of year, December 31st, 2008

1) Squat: 3x5x260lbs
2) Deadlift: 1x5x275lbs
3) Bench Press: 3x5x185lbs
4) Press: 3x5x125lbs
5) Power clean: 5x3x145lbs
6) Bodyweight: 187lbs/85kg

I think the press and power clean goals will be the hardest. Squats should be there provided I can stay uninjured, and that low bar works out.

[Tresbien]

Good to see that you haven't given up. I admire your dedication to the perfection of form, and the reasons behind the exercises we do. I would be surprised if you were majoring in anything but kinesiology.

Since the squats aren't kind to your body, and you know how to power clean, have you given front squats a serious try? Sure they are more quad dominant, but you would at least be working your lower body without straining your back(and potentially your groin) as much. You could even try sumo stance deadlifts to work your legs until you get your form on track with the squats.

You can probably find chalk at Sports Authority if you have one in your area.

[eLvarouza]

Thanks. I'm actually majoring in physics and math, but it's safe to say I have a keen interest in kinesiology . My school doesn't offer any classes related to that, so oh well.

If I can't do low bar I'll do high bar. Time will tell. I think I may have found out a reason low bar wasn't working, but who knows. It still felt agitating today. My elbows were too high previously which didn't help my shoulders. Also, I'm lacking some shoulder mobility, so I'm going to start doing shoulder dislocations. The groin is healing up and it felt fine today. I'm going to keep increasing weight until I get back to where I was, and the only problem I'm going to have is the low bar position on my left shoulder. I noticed my stance was insanely wide, which probably effected and exacerbated the groin issues. At least I can deadlift.

As for chalk I think I'm just going to order some from Wichita Falls Weightlifting. There are no Sports Authority stores around here. The problem is chalk from WFW is $9 and shipping is $10. I'll have to pick up some more chalk and some straps and wrist wraps to justify the shipping costs or something. My gym doesn't allow chalk but fuck them, I'll sneak some in. The bar slipping in my hands on the press is really damn annoying.

Oh and I can't do box squats because there's nothing at my gym to make a box out of. We have 1-2 aerobic steps, and then there are plates, and I don't feel like stacking 15 plates to make a box. I don't think I have a problem with depth though, so whatever.

Tuesday October 28th 2008

Squat: 10x45lbs, 10x65lbs, 10x85lbs
Bench press: 5/4/2x160lbs: set up was wrong on last set, kept hitting the stupid pins at the top. I'll redo it on Saturday.
Deadlift: 1x5x215lbs: think I'll increase by 5lbs next time. Lower back is definitely the limiting factor here; bastard doesn't want to stay in extension. Obviously results from having not trained deadlifts. We'll see what happens.

Thursday October 30th 2008

Squat: 10x45lbs, 10x85lbs, 10x115lbs
Press: 2/4/3x100lbs: form issues. Elbows not high enough; bar did not go up straight. Haven't done the press in awhile, so not unexpected. Will redo on Monday.
Power clean: 2/3/3x110lbs: form issues on first set (and all sets really). Ran out of time here, couldn't do five sets. Stupid. I hate running out of time. I'm not getting enough hip extension, and it's upsetting. Need to keep the back angle from opening too early. Other shit is going wrong too, but I'm not concerned, because form is improving.

[rere]

Some updates:

1) Groin is healing up, but I'm going to take it slow on squats. I haven't given up on low bar. I'm going to start doing shoulder dislocations, as they seem to help. My left shoulder seems less mobile than my right one, and holding the bar with a narrow grip gives me a pretty decent stretch in the upper back. I'm also going to try pulling my elbows forward with my lats, as I've seen recommended, rather than shoving them backward to see if that helps. I think my shoulders were hyperextended before due to me raising my elbows too much, which put unnecessary strain on them.
2) Going to start training tomorrow and increasing weight linearly again. If I can't squat, I can at least bench press, press, power clean, and deadlift.
3) I just ordered Practical Programming for Strength Training and Strong Enough. I can't fucking wait for them to arrive; should be next week sometime.
4) I'm going to order chalk, which should help on the press, as my hands keep slipping and the bar keeps going towards my fingers.
5) Weighed myself the other day, I'm now 180lbs. Pretty sweet. I want to hit 185lbs by the end of this semester.
6) I'm going to do a few box squats tomorrow to make sure I'm not going too deep with low bar.

Goals for end of year, December 31st, 2008

1) Squat: 3x5x260lbs
2) Deadlift: 1x5x275lbs
3) Bench Press: 3x5x185lbs
4) Press: 3x5x125lbs
5) Power clean: 5x3x145lbs
6) Bodyweight: 187lbs/85kg

I think the press and power clean goals will be the hardest. Squats should be there provided I can stay uninjured, and that low bar works out.

Good luck with the goals man.
That hip will heal well it's such a common injury on the squat, those deads amzingly help the healing process, see how it goes.

Peace

[eLvarouza]

Thanks for the encouragement Rere. I'm definitely confident in my goals.

I'm going to put this here, for the record:

I will not, ever, drink alcohol the night before a training day. Today the body was willing but the CNS was not.

Saturday November 1st 2008

Squat: 5x45lbs, 5x95lbs, 5x135lbs, 5x165lbs: groin is almost better. Still slight twinges, but it's nearly healed. Bar was slipping a bit with low bar, but it didn't seem to affect my shoulder. Time will tell. I'm trying now before the unrack to kind of shove my chest up and out in front of the bar, then come back under it with the tight back, which I've seen lifters like Andy Bolton and Kirk Karwoski do. Maybe it will help.
Bench press: 4/4/3x160lbs: fatigue and unreadiness of CNS really showed here. I couldn't concentrate on the lifts and didn't tax myself enoguh.
Deadlift: 1x5x220lbs: had to hurry again, back rounded on last rep. Again, this is due to CNS unreadiness and me hurrying. Will increase to two bills next time though.

[eLvarouza]

Wow I just realized a few hours ago that I can squat again, and I can deadlift, power clean, bench press, and press. Holy shit. You know what's holding me back now? Absolutely fucking nothing.

I can't wait for Monday to go hit the iron.

[rere]

Wow I just realized a few hours ago that I can squat again, and I can deadlift, power clean, bench press, and press. Holy shit. You know what's holding me back now? Absolutely fucking nothing.

I can't wait for Monday to go hit the iron.

That's the spirit

[eLvarouza]

Monday November 3rd 2008

Squat: 3x5x195lbs
Press: 4/4/3x100lbs: could be getting the numbers wrong. Form issues still. Upper back not tight enough.
Power clean: 5x3x115lbs: this was fun. I did all five sets in about 8 minutes because the gym was closing. My rest between the last three sets was literally just me getting a sip of water, then doing another set.

Wednesday November 5th 2008

Squat: 3x5x200lbs: might have figured out what has been wrong with my bar positioning finally, will update later if I'm correct
Bench press: 3/3/2x160lbs: reset time. Annoying. However, I think part of the problem comes from the stupid benches we have. The benches have no grip to them and my upper back keeps slipping on the stupid bench. I'm going to start chalking my upper back and the bench when my chalk arrives to fix this problem.
Deadlift: 1x5x225lbs: did this, plus warmup in about 6 minutes cause gym was closing. Fun times. Form felt good on all reps except #3.

My form on power cleans is getting really good, and they felt really strong on Monday. Friday should be fun. I can't wait to hit 135lbs for power cleans. My problem was a lack of hip extension during the jump caused by an incorrect starting position.

[Metalpetrucci88]

Hey man,

thanks for checking out my form videos, much appreciated. Great numbers on your lifts, hopefully one day I can get that strong.
I hear ya on the drinking man, it totally messes up lifting the next day, and it demotivates me because I can't get through the workout. Work first play later keep on busting barriers.
'

[grecowrestler14]

I see that you use mostly the 3x5 for most of your exercises. How does this differ from the 5x5? I sthere any negatives or positives when doing this method? For example: say I can squat 190 for 5x5. Then all of a sudden I want to try the 3x5 method for a couple of months. Am I using the same weight I did for 5x5 when I switch to 3x5 or do I go up 5-15lbs since I'm doing 2 less sets? Like would you be using more weight for this method or the same for the 5x5 method?

[eLvarouza]

Great numbers on your lifts, hopefully one day I can get that strong.

Thanks, I'm sure you'll get there. Just gotta keep on truckin'.

I hear ya on the drinking man, it totally messes up lifting the next day, and it demotivates me because I can't get through the workout. Work first play later keep on busting barriers.

For sure. It totally messes up everything...I might just drop it entirely. I could compromise and just not drink as much

I see that you use mostly the 3x5 for most of your exercises. How does this differ from the 5x5? I sthere any negatives or positives when doing this method? For example: say I can squat 190 for 5x5. Then all of a sudden I want to try the 3x5 method for a couple of months. Am I using the same weight I did for 5x5 when I switch to 3x5 or do I go up 5-15lbs since I'm doing 2 less sets? Like would you be using more weight for this method or the same for the 5x5 method?

There are a few reasons I'm doing 3x5 instead of stronglifts.

1) It's less time consuming, and I have very limited time as a college student
2) With 3x5 you don't stall as fast, at least in my experience
3) The program I'm doing is Rippetoe's Starting Strength novice program, and by doing this program I can ask him specific questions on his Q&A forum
4) I like power cleans

If you want to do the Starting Strength program I highly recommend you buy Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training. It will explain the program much better than I can, and it will explain proper form on all the basic barbell exercises in great detail, as well as provide good coaching cues for each lift. SS: BBT is pretty much an invaluable book. If you're interested in doing 3x5 just tell me here or in PM and I can explain more. I honestly don't know if it's "better" than stronglifts; the main reason I switched at first is because of the time factor. I have an opinion on it, but I don't want to get into a public debate or whatever over it.

Friday November 7th 2008

Squat: 3x5x205lbs: stupid elbows and shoulders were hurting, left arm was numb afterwards
Press: 4/4/3x100lbs: I'm not eating enough, and I started after my layoff at too high a weight. Also, I need to microload. Reset time either way.
Power clean: 3/3/3/3/2x120lbs: these felt weak. On the last two sets I had trouble just deadlifting the stupid thing to jumping height. I blame it on my 2hrs of sleep the night before. I'm unsure of whether or not to increase to 125lbs next time. I'll think about it and we'll see what happens. Maybe I'll do one rep of 120lbs on Wednesday and see how powerful that feels.

Monday November 10th 2008

Squat: 3x5x210lbs: no elbow/shoulder pain. Think I may have figured it out. We'll see. Definitely going to plow through the 225lbs barrier and beyond.
Bench press: 3x5x145lbs: going to break through the stupid 160lbs barrier this time. Need to eat a ton.
Deadlift: 1x5x230lbs: getting heavy. Double overhand grip is starting to slip. Chalk should be arriving this week (Tuesday supposedly); it will help immensely with everything.

I really need to find a way to eat more food. I barely have anything left in my meal plan from eating so much the first half of the semester, and I don't have money to throw around. I can't wait for Thanksgiving. Maybe I can store some leftovers in my tiny freezer.

[amaeland]

Thanks for reminding me that I need to order Starting Strength

Good lifts, so don't be so hard on yourself, mate. You're strong and getting stronger - keep up the good work! Of course your lifts will be compromised if you only get two hours of sleep. My lifts suck if I sleep less than 7 hours.

Oats mixed with nuts is a cheap solution for high-protein, high-calorie meals. But maybe they make you too full? I am having some trouble eating a lot myself.

[eLvarouza]

Thanks for reminding me that I need to order Starting Strength

Good lifts, so don't be so hard on yourself, mate. You're strong and getting stronger - keep up the good work! Of course your lifts will be compromised if you only get two hours of sleep. My lifts suck if I sleep less than 7 hours.

Oats mixed with nuts is a cheap solution for high-protein, high-calorie meals. But maybe they make you too full? I am having some trouble eating a lot myself.

Oh yea, you just reminded me I have oats. How do you eat oats and nuts? Just dump some in a bowl and put milk on it? What type of nuts do you use? Would peanuts work?

[eLvarouza]

Oh yea, I've also noticed that I've gained some fat around my midsection. However, the uppermost portion of my abs is starting to show. Go figure? I don't think I've ever seen my abs before. And I haven't done any crunches or whatever ... ever. Except for maybe 2 weeks of reverse crunches over the summer. Take that, situp/crunch maniacs!

[danmarmu]

elVarouza,

Great job getting back on the train. Glad to hear since I last posted that your form is doing much better.

Power on up there with the weights. If your shoulders and arms are hurting too much on the squats, try taking a little wider grip. Relieves the stress on the elbows.