The only problem I feel that I'm going to have is the need to "create" a caloric deficit by doing more cardio, but at the same time, I worry about losing muscle(I always worry about losing muscle on a cut). Us tall guys have to fight for every ounce of muscle we get, and I hate to lose any of it.
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5x5 Deadlifts!
- Thread starter JustinRVA
- Start date
I also feel like I'm going to need to start tracking my diet again. It's the only way I can be hard on myself and stop eating the things I shouldn't be eating. I realized this yesterday when I was piling on my second plate of spaghetti.
Breakfast - Bowl of Oats, Cup of Greek Yogurt, Banana, 12 oz milk.
Lunch - 1 breast bbq chicken, 1 breast fried chicken(Leftover, shouldn't have eaten) 1&1/2 cup cooked potatoes, 1 cup broccoli
Dinner - 1&1/2 plates whole grain spaghetti with home made sauce and meatballs
Misc - 2 home made chocolate chip cookies, about palm sized, that I shouldn't have eaten.
Yesterday was very carby. Ideally, I shouldn't have had that amount of carbs for dinner, nor the cookies, but a lot of what my wife makes is pasta. She's from up north, and carbs are pretty much all they eat. We switched to whole grain pasta about a year ago because 1)she's diabetic and it's better for her, and 2)whole grain pasta is just better for you in general.
When I started lifting, I carried a small notebook around with me all day and wrote down every bit of food that I put in my mouth. Going back and reading it made me very hard on my self and that's what I need now.
Breakfast - Bowl of Oats, Cup of Greek Yogurt, Banana, 12 oz milk.
Lunch - 1 breast bbq chicken, 1 breast fried chicken(Leftover, shouldn't have eaten) 1&1/2 cup cooked potatoes, 1 cup broccoli
Dinner - 1&1/2 plates whole grain spaghetti with home made sauce and meatballs
Misc - 2 home made chocolate chip cookies, about palm sized, that I shouldn't have eaten.
Yesterday was very carby. Ideally, I shouldn't have had that amount of carbs for dinner, nor the cookies, but a lot of what my wife makes is pasta. She's from up north, and carbs are pretty much all they eat. We switched to whole grain pasta about a year ago because 1)she's diabetic and it's better for her, and 2)whole grain pasta is just better for you in general.
When I started lifting, I carried a small notebook around with me all day and wrote down every bit of food that I put in my mouth. Going back and reading it made me very hard on my self and that's what I need now.
I felt fantastic yesterday. I really wanted to push my squats to take advantage of that. I tried to keep yesterday a bit old school as well.
Squat - 135x3x8 - 235x5x5 - 275x3x5 - 300x1
Power Clean - 135x5x5
Overhead Press - 145x5x5
Hack Squat - 105x8 - 155x3x5 - 195x3x5
Overhead Press - 100x3x8
In retrospect, I should have done the cleans last, but hindsight is 20/20. I also didn't get as deep on my 300lb squat as I would have liked to, but that one was more or less for my mind. I did the hack squats on the Smith machine, which I was reluctant to do, but I can't do them with a regular barbell due to my height. I start out too deep and can't get momentum. I did the heavy set of Over Head Presses on the Smith as well. It was alright. It will have to do, as there is no vertical shoulder bench for a barbell at my gym.
I has to ask for a spot on my 300lb squat, and who would you think I asked? Creepy dude who I thought was watching me last week. I felt bad about thinking he was a douche, because he's really nice. He actually knows his stuff. I probably talked to him for about 15 minutes about squats, deads and cleans.
Squat - 135x3x8 - 235x5x5 - 275x3x5 - 300x1
Power Clean - 135x5x5
Overhead Press - 145x5x5
Hack Squat - 105x8 - 155x3x5 - 195x3x5
Overhead Press - 100x3x8
In retrospect, I should have done the cleans last, but hindsight is 20/20. I also didn't get as deep on my 300lb squat as I would have liked to, but that one was more or less for my mind. I did the hack squats on the Smith machine, which I was reluctant to do, but I can't do them with a regular barbell due to my height. I start out too deep and can't get momentum. I did the heavy set of Over Head Presses on the Smith as well. It was alright. It will have to do, as there is no vertical shoulder bench for a barbell at my gym.
I has to ask for a spot on my 300lb squat, and who would you think I asked? Creepy dude who I thought was watching me last week. I felt bad about thinking he was a douche, because he's really nice. He actually knows his stuff. I probably talked to him for about 15 minutes about squats, deads and cleans.
No coincidence that high starch intake preceded a good session. Complex carbs are great for training energy and I never understand why people don't eat proportionately more of them.
Not at all surpised about the guy you were talking about. I take it the conversation wasn't as I stated. Never know that may be a potential regular training partner, something I haven't had in years and miss badly.
Not at all surpised about the guy you were talking about. I take it the conversation wasn't as I stated. Never know that may be a potential regular training partner, something I haven't had in years and miss badly.
Banana and some peanuts haha. That seems to be my magic powder.
It would be nice to have somebody to give me a good spot on my incline bench. I'll see how he is as far as that stuff is concerned. He seems kind of like me in that when he's there, he's in his own zone and doesn't really want to waste time with chit-chat.
It would be nice to have somebody to give me a good spot on my incline bench. I'll see how he is as far as that stuff is concerned. He seems kind of like me in that when he's there, he's in his own zone and doesn't really want to waste time with chit-chat.
All barbell, all the time. What a back session..
Dead Lift Warm-up - 135x8
Sumo Dead Lift Warm-up - 135x8
Dead Lift - 245x3x3 - 275x2x2 - 300x1 - 300x1
Pendlay Row - 135x3x8 - 160x3x5 - 185x3x3
Barbell Row - 195x5x5
High Pull - 95x5x5
Barbell Curl - 95x5x5 - 105x3x3 - 115x2x2 - 65x30(Failure)
Can't say much about this one. I almost didn't go tonight because I got stuck at work 45 minutes over, but I went anyway, and I'm damn glad that I did. Those two 300lb deads felt great. I guess I said to hell with climbing slowly and went for it tonight. I'm not going to push it too far though.
Today's session was great.
Dead Lift Warm-up - 135x8
Sumo Dead Lift Warm-up - 135x8
Dead Lift - 245x3x3 - 275x2x2 - 300x1 - 300x1
Pendlay Row - 135x3x8 - 160x3x5 - 185x3x3
Barbell Row - 195x5x5
High Pull - 95x5x5
Barbell Curl - 95x5x5 - 105x3x3 - 115x2x2 - 65x30(Failure)
Can't say much about this one. I almost didn't go tonight because I got stuck at work 45 minutes over, but I went anyway, and I'm damn glad that I did. Those two 300lb deads felt great. I guess I said to hell with climbing slowly and went for it tonight. I'm not going to push it too far though.
Today's session was great.
Good stuff on the deads.
I have seen many pairs training who barely spoke and even a few who didn't like each other as people but trained in similar ways. Trained with one very similar guy myself very quiet when training then had a quick chat at the end and arranged the next day/time. Not social but still good training partner.
I have seen many pairs training who barely spoke and even a few who didn't like each other as people but trained in similar ways. Trained with one very similar guy myself very quiet when training then had a quick chat at the end and arranged the next day/time. Not social but still good training partner.
Stuck with upper chest yesterday...
Incline Bench Warmup - 135x8
Incline Bench - 155x5x5
Neck Press Warmup - 95x8
Neck Press - 135x5x5
Reverse Grip Bench - 95x3x8
Incline Dumb Bell Press - 110x5x5
Incline Dumb Bell Fly - 70x3x8
Decline Dumb Bell Tricep Extension - 70x3x8
Dumb Bell Tricep Kick Back - 35x3x8
Pec Deck - 160x3x8
Pec Deck - 210x25(Failure)
I did my dumb bell tricep extensions in a very different way. I laid on a decline bench and pulled the dumb bell over my face and basically did diamond pushups with the dumb bell. It would have been pretty terrible if I dropped it, as it would have landed directly on my face, but the burn in my arms was great by the third set. I almost didn't want to do the kick backs, but I went ahead and plowed through them anyway. I can feel the DOMS in my upper chest today and not so much in my lower, so I know I'm getting through to myself. The only think that I would change is having a spotter in my incline bench. Roll of shame doesn't work too well on an incline bench.
Incline Bench Warmup - 135x8
Incline Bench - 155x5x5
Neck Press Warmup - 95x8
Neck Press - 135x5x5
Reverse Grip Bench - 95x3x8
Incline Dumb Bell Press - 110x5x5
Incline Dumb Bell Fly - 70x3x8
Decline Dumb Bell Tricep Extension - 70x3x8
Dumb Bell Tricep Kick Back - 35x3x8
Pec Deck - 160x3x8
Pec Deck - 210x25(Failure)
I did my dumb bell tricep extensions in a very different way. I laid on a decline bench and pulled the dumb bell over my face and basically did diamond pushups with the dumb bell. It would have been pretty terrible if I dropped it, as it would have landed directly on my face, but the burn in my arms was great by the third set. I almost didn't want to do the kick backs, but I went ahead and plowed through them anyway. I can feel the DOMS in my upper chest today and not so much in my lower, so I know I'm getting through to myself. The only think that I would change is having a spotter in my incline bench. Roll of shame doesn't work too well on an incline bench.
The day of 225..
Dead Lift Warm Up - 135x8
Dead Lift - 225x5x5
Squat Warm Up - 135x8
Squat - 225x5x5
Sumo Dead Lift - 135x5x5
Power Clean - 135x5x5 (Pressed the last set. Should have pressed all of them)
Another day on just the straight bar. It felt good. I don't usually do deads on leg day, but since I'm not doing back until Friday, I figured a 225 set wouldn't hurt. I was surprised when 135 lbs tore into my ham strings on the sumo's. I'll be feeling those tomorrow. I need to do those more often. Need more rounded legs, and that's not going to happen doing conventional deads and nothing else, plus I tend to pull a hammy fairly easy if I'm playing sports, so this will help that. I love putting cleans back into my routine. I would love to press them, but I need to be 100% on chest day, which is on Wednesday.
Dead Lift Warm Up - 135x8
Dead Lift - 225x5x5
Squat Warm Up - 135x8
Squat - 225x5x5
Sumo Dead Lift - 135x5x5
Power Clean - 135x5x5 (Pressed the last set. Should have pressed all of them)
Another day on just the straight bar. It felt good. I don't usually do deads on leg day, but since I'm not doing back until Friday, I figured a 225 set wouldn't hurt. I was surprised when 135 lbs tore into my ham strings on the sumo's. I'll be feeling those tomorrow. I need to do those more often. Need more rounded legs, and that's not going to happen doing conventional deads and nothing else, plus I tend to pull a hammy fairly easy if I'm playing sports, so this will help that. I love putting cleans back into my routine. I would love to press them, but I need to be 100% on chest day, which is on Wednesday.
If getting ham issues on a regular basis I wouls say there is likely a mobility issue there. Best way I know to avoid these is keep them stretched out. Last thing you can feel like at the end of a workout is stretching but doing it does prevent injuries.
Probably akin to Grandma watch how you should be suckin on those eggs, but hey.
Probably akin to Grandma watch how you should be suckin on those eggs, but hey.
Over time you have lost mobility due to not stretching. Good news is you can get it back over time, same as most things.
Afraid so. Us old folk have to look after ourselves you know!
I stretch virtually every time I train, be it running or weights. It's just become part of my routine now. Only adds a few minutes and more than worth it for injury prevention.
When I was into adrenalin sports a friend told me the more irresponsible your lifestyle, the more responsible you have to be, at the time it was a talk about putting others at risk and potential for STDs but it appliies well to training too. I train at a level where injury is a hair away so have to be responsible enough to avoid it by any means I can, irresponsible training, responsible mobility, cardio etc.
When I was into adrenalin sports a friend told me the more irresponsible your lifestyle, the more responsible you have to be, at the time it was a talk about putting others at risk and potential for STDs but it appliies well to training too. I train at a level where injury is a hair away so have to be responsible enough to avoid it by any means I can, irresponsible training, responsible mobility, cardio etc.
Still focusing on upper chest.
Incline Bench Warm Up- 135x8
Incline Bench - 160x5x5
Reverse Grip Bench Warm Up - 105x8
Reverse Grip Bench - 115x5x5
Dumb Bell Incline Bench - 110x5x5
Dumb Bell Fly(Weight total of two dumb bells) - 80x3x8
Over Head Press - 80x3x8
Over Head Dumb Bell Tricep Extension - 70x3x8
Dumb Bell Kick Back - 40x3x8
Pec Deck - 210x20(Failure) - 210x15(Failure) - 210x12(Failure)
I did a few rounds of butterfly stretches before and after I lifted. I feel like it actually helped me get through my incline bench a little better. Felt there was more blood pumping when I started out. Anything I can do to consistently help myself keep moving up. I really want to get to 200 on my inclines, and if you gives you an idea of how I've never really put much focus on inclines, the 160 I did yesterday was the heaviest I've ever inclined. As long as I've been lifting, that's sad.
I really want to get my reverse grip bench up to 135, which would be great, because the 115 that I was doing yesterday was ripping me up. I read somewhere that incline bench only utilizes your upper chest something like 5% more than flat bench, which I don't believe, while reverse grip bench utilizes your upper chest 30% more than flat bench, which I completely believe. When that bar is at the bottom of my ribs on reverse grip, the only place I feel it is in my upper chest around my clavicle area and shoulders. This also makes me like reverse grip so much because it's almost impossible to engage your lats while lifting. When you're wearing down on a incline bench or flat bench, you tend to "cheat" your lats into it, but when I was wearing down on reverse grip yesterday, I felt no pressure at all in my back trying to help out.
On a side note, I'm not going to be able to do this "every other day" thing any more. I'm not going to be able to go at all this weekend, so I'm going in for back today when I leave work, and I'm just going to have to go back to a Mon/Wed/Fri routine again. Between family, errands and stuff around the house, I just don't have time to lift on the weekends, and I don't want to have to worry about it anymore. The week is for work, and the weekend is for everything else.
Incline Bench Warm Up- 135x8
Incline Bench - 160x5x5
Reverse Grip Bench Warm Up - 105x8
Reverse Grip Bench - 115x5x5
Dumb Bell Incline Bench - 110x5x5
Dumb Bell Fly(Weight total of two dumb bells) - 80x3x8
Over Head Press - 80x3x8
Over Head Dumb Bell Tricep Extension - 70x3x8
Dumb Bell Kick Back - 40x3x8
Pec Deck - 210x20(Failure) - 210x15(Failure) - 210x12(Failure)
I did a few rounds of butterfly stretches before and after I lifted. I feel like it actually helped me get through my incline bench a little better. Felt there was more blood pumping when I started out. Anything I can do to consistently help myself keep moving up. I really want to get to 200 on my inclines, and if you gives you an idea of how I've never really put much focus on inclines, the 160 I did yesterday was the heaviest I've ever inclined. As long as I've been lifting, that's sad.
I really want to get my reverse grip bench up to 135, which would be great, because the 115 that I was doing yesterday was ripping me up. I read somewhere that incline bench only utilizes your upper chest something like 5% more than flat bench, which I don't believe, while reverse grip bench utilizes your upper chest 30% more than flat bench, which I completely believe. When that bar is at the bottom of my ribs on reverse grip, the only place I feel it is in my upper chest around my clavicle area and shoulders. This also makes me like reverse grip so much because it's almost impossible to engage your lats while lifting. When you're wearing down on a incline bench or flat bench, you tend to "cheat" your lats into it, but when I was wearing down on reverse grip yesterday, I felt no pressure at all in my back trying to help out.
On a side note, I'm not going to be able to do this "every other day" thing any more. I'm not going to be able to go at all this weekend, so I'm going in for back today when I leave work, and I'm just going to have to go back to a Mon/Wed/Fri routine again. Between family, errands and stuff around the house, I just don't have time to lift on the weekends, and I don't want to have to worry about it anymore. The week is for work, and the weekend is for everything else.
There are always things more important than training and weekends is generally when they come to get you. 3 sessions a week can still be good if you give it hell, it's all I do on weights, would like more but family is prority 1 and that is fixed.
There are always things more important than training and weekends is generally when they come to get you. 3 sessions a week can still be good if you give it hell, it's all I do on weights, would like more but family is prority 1 and that is fixed.
Honestly, I've found on the days that I get up on a weekend day and go to the gym, my session is crap. I don't know if it's because I'm not fully awake(going), low on food or what, but my best sessions always come after leaving work. It's probably the pent up stress I get from sitting at my desk all day listening to everybody complain about anything and everything. But in the end, family always comes first, and If I need to end up doing a Mon/Thurs/Fri or some other combination of three days, then so be it. I'm counting the days until we move so I can have my own setup and not worry about leaving the house to lift.
The way I figure it, my routine will end up looking like this week, every week. Legs monday, with medium weight deads and heavy squats, chest Wednesday and back Friday with heavy deads. Doing the deads twice a week will satisfy my need to feel like I couldn't have done any more than I did.