Lazarus's Long Log

[Lazarus]

Squats
1x5 135 lb
5x5 200 lb Getting close to the 5x5 bodyweight squat

Bench
2x5 95 lb
5x5 140 lb Focused on keeping the wrists straight, I think I'd been doing them with about a 20 degree angle before. Felt much stronger.

Power Cleans 3x3 135 lb
Dips 4/4/3
Reverse Crunches 3x12

The squats had been getting harder in the past few weeks, but my renewed dedication to eating big and focusing on form has made the bar feel progressively lighter the last 2 workouts.

[Lazarus]

Squats 5x5 205 lb
OHP 5x5 95 lb
DL 2x5 225 lb Set a new record for bloodshed as a result of DL'ing, large scabs on both knees.
Pullups 4/4/3 unweighted
One-leg Prone Bridges 2x40 seconds

Getting a little clicking noise in my right knee at the bottom of the squats, I think the increasing weight is pushing my knees inward a bit. I'm not sure how serious that is, I'll see if I can eliminate it soon with attention to technique. I remember one of Rip's videos where he was emphasizing pushing the knees outwards at the bottom, but at lower weights it was easy to keep them out.

[Lazarus]

Squat: 1x10 135 lb
Power Clean 3x3 135 lb
Squat: 5x5 210 lb
Bench: 5x5 145 lb
Dips: 4/3/3
Reverse Crunches: 3x12

[Lazarus]

Came down with a nasty flu Wednesday morning, haven't left my apartment since. At first I was angry at going backwards on my training progress instead of going forwards, which was a good thing in a way since it was better to feel angry than just feel sick and miserable. Now, though, I'm more curious to see how the first few days back will be. I've lost about 5 pounds already, which seems extreme for only 4 days, I suppose it must be water weight but I'm drinking water constantly, and eating more carbs than usual, while exercising less(zero) . Total calorie intake is way down, though. I'm sure when I can make it back to the gym again, this will help me appreciate it more.

[Lazarus]

First workout in 7 days, due to swine flu.

Felt a bit weaker, but I managed to finish everything, and even improved on pullups, due to the loss of 6 lbs over the past week.


Squats 5x5 215 lb
OHP 5x5 100 lb
Rack Pulls 1x5 235 lb Doing Rack Pulls while I work on hips/hamstrings to allow better form on Deadlifts. I was stubborn about this, b/c I'm already doing high-bar squats due to hip and shoulder inflexibility, but I've finally given in.
Pullups 5/4/4 unweighted
One-leg Prone Bridges 2x40 seconds

[Lazarus]

Squat: 1x8 135 lb
Squat: 5x5 220 lb looking forward to 2 big wheels ^_^
Bench: 150 lb 5/5/4/3/3 My form felt perfect, but I think I may have just been feeling tired.
Power Clean 3x3 135 lb
Dips: 5/4/4
Reverse Crunches: 3x12

[pagangoddess]

Nice job on your squats. Like you said . . . 2 big wheels.

[dsc]

Good to hear your over the swine flu Lazarus - that must have been nasty.

Great work on the squats - you'll be at two big wheels in no time. I've had same thing happen with knees turning in as the weight went up. What help keep knees in-line was focusing my weight on the outer part of my heels on the press up and opening my inner thighs /groin on the press up out of the hole .

Good steady progress on your bench press. Keep it coming!

[Lazarus]

Thanks for the thoughts DSC and PG

I enjoy the pressing exercises a lot, but I'm a bit frustrated in that they seem to be lagging behind, according to the exrx.net strength norms. I've had enough shoulder pain already this year to give me some patience, though, which is atypical for me.

[Lazarus]

Today's Workout:

Squats 5x5 225 lb Whoot 2 big wheels
OHP 105 lb: 5,5,4,2,2
DL 2x5 225 lb Decided to go back to these, after trying rack pulls last time. I maintain proper form on the way up, I just have problems maintaining curvature when I set the weights back down Perhaps I should emphasize bending my knees more on the way down?

Pullups 5/5/4 unweighted
One-leg Prone Bridges 2x40 seconds

New goals: 315 lb squat, 225 lb bench. My next goal will be to start to add in all of the Oly lifts, but I want to reach these first, as a strength foundation.

[dsc]

Two big wheels - awesome!


Deadlifts - What helped me on the way back down with the bar was to start the movement down by shoving my butt/hips back while keeping my back /lower back tight, and lowering the bar to below my knees before letting my knees bend - basically the opposite sequence of lifting the bar up.

[Lazarus]

Monday's workout:

Squat: 1x5 135 lb
Squat: 5x5 230 lb
Bench: 150 lb 4/5/3/2/2 2nd failure, but since I failed worse than last time I'm just going to deload.
Power Clean 3x3 135 lb
Dips: 6/5/4
Reverse Crunches: 3x12



Thanks for the suggestion, DSC-- I'll let you know if it works for me on Wednesday.

[Lazarus]

Squats 5x5 235 lb
OHP 80 lb: 5x5

Doing a big deload on the press and bench, focusing on bar speed like a dynamic effort day until they get heavy again.

DL 2x5 225 lb

I tried DSC's suggestion on the first set, couldn't get my back straight enough to seem ok to me. Switched to sumo deads for the second set, with my long torso that seems to be easier anthropometrically. I think I'm settled on sumo deads for the time being, I'll still work towards better hip mobility though. It would sure be nice to get my DL heavier than my squat again, especially since I'm doing Oly squats Actually, though, I'm fairly confident I could pull 315 for 5, just paranoid about my form.

Pullups 6/5/5 unweighted
One-leg Prone Bridges 2x40 seconds each leg

[Lazarus]

Squat: 1x8 135 lb
Squat: 5x5 240 lb

Bench: 125 lb 5x5 Focusing on bar speed and form, read Dave Tate's "12 step program for increasing your bench" this morning. The main cue that I thought I might have been missing was to keep my elbows tucked, although a month ago I suspect I would have been violating all 12 steps.

Power Clean 3x3 140 lb
Dips: 5/5/5
Reverse Crunches: 3x12

[dsc]

Lazarus, thanks for your post. The link you left behind is tremendously helpful. I'm going to rehab according to that advice. Second day after it happened and it's feeling better - mostly the left quad feels tight rather than having a dull ache.

Re: your question:
.."What's up with Canadian weights being 5 lbs heavier than US weights, but your Olympic bar being 25 lbs lighter? It leaves me confused. Or do you not have an Olympic bar? My admittedly limited understanding is that squatting without rotating collars is unsafe... "

I use a standard bar (20lb/9kg) not an Olympic bar (45lb/20kg). My weight increments are: 2.5lb, 5lb, 10lb, 25lb, 50lb. The bar is 7 feet long and has a sort of ring or flange incorporated into the Bar that keeps weight in right position on either end of the bar and I use a collar with a sort of screw-down mechanism to hold the weight in place. A standard bar and the weight increments I use isn't something uniquely Canadian - - like hockey or maple syrup - ha, ha. It's just the sort of bar and weight that I had hanging around and so it's what i use. Olympic bars and standard weight plates are readily available in all stores that sell weight training equipment. I didn't realize that using a standard bar could be unsafe - - I might think about changing over