The weights are getting heavy and I love it. Feels awesome and I really do feel stronger already. That said I am getting to the point where I predict failed reps are not far.
I’m going through a break up and an entire lifetime of other bs packed into a few weeks and I’ve been very stressed out. It’s been really effecting my appetite and I’m struggling to not only cook food but eat it also. Anything beyond 2000 calories In a day I just have no appetite for but I am trying to overcome this. I have mass gainer coming in at like 1000 cals per 4 scoops which is convenient but still hard to put back most days.
So anyways I’m actually losing weight, which helps my appearance in my face greatly (helpful during break ups lol) but not so good for strength training.
This is my own suggestion from personal experience. You might find that if you sense you’re close to missing reps on any given lift, I’d actually take the next workout and approach it differently (but still keep intensity up). I love to do a high rep max day, something like aiming for a new rep max of 10 or 12 reps followed by a burnout set to help your endurance, form and mental strength. and a lot of focused, and specific assistance excercises for that movement. You might find that you come back the following workout smashing a new 5 Rep PR. It’s different for everyone though.
Also when I’m home I can link a video from George Leeman. He goes into pretty good detail about why he doesn’t prefer doing 5x5. It’s not to make you shy away from what you’re doing at all, but it would give you better understanding on why it becomes difficult to run a program like that and ways you can make it manageable as you progress in strength. Others have pointed out a lot of awesome programs and methods. I’m just giving my 2 cents. Keep grinding dude!
Hey thanks buddy I really appreciate that Insight!
I will try and look up that video on the 5x5 rep scheme as well. I definitely think a bit of Change in rep range could be good and I might be interested in a rountine that had 10x3 rep days and 5x5 days or something like that. Hoping I can squeeze another week at least out of what I’m doing and if I feel a failure is imminent I will definitely consider trying that
Damn I’m actually making some progress here and I’ve got proof now. It was heavy and I had a lot of rest between sets but I got ‘em in and honestly might even have a little bit of room to run yet, but I won’t get ahead of myself. This was a huge milestone that I’d had in my head and it’s kinda a huge line in my mind to cross over into someone who at least lifts abit.
Finding myself moving the bar lower on my traps as I squat heavier. Don’t think it’s an issue but it definitely helps to push more weight and I actually feel the squat more into my glutes that way at the bottom
Definitely not an issue. Low bar vs high bar is all about what works best for you, not “wrong” either way, and you can definitely succeed with either. Just depends what your goals are and how your body is built
Early morning workout today before I had to take off I wasn’t even able to do my rows but I knew that I wasn’t going to have time for a full workout. Just couldn’t miss another day it must have been 3 days since I was able to hit upper body last and I just wouldn’t miss another. No big deal I’ll catch up with those rows next day.
175 5x5 bench.
Felt strong and actually better then last week for some reason, feeling super confident in all of my lifts right now and I do think I’m going to stack some more weight on the bar yet. Using minimal ‘leg drive’ if you will on my bench thus far and I think it’s best to keep it this way untill it’s absolutely necessary but I don’t know really. I understand that in competition or something it’s just part of the form but for my purposes I’m not sure what’s best so I’m open to suggestions on that.
When I do stall out here in coming weeks do you think I should I test my 1rms and re access or should I just Deload and work up again until I sort of hit that really sticky point?
Row 170lbs 5x5 ( getting a little bit dirty on the form here, basically doing the old cheat by rocking my body up on the upward motion )
I’m going to take a video next time I row and see how drastic this cheating is because it can be hard to tell when you are giving it your all without seeing it in 3rd person.
Another workout I left just feeling like this is working. It’s really nice feeling when you can tell you are getting stronger practically every session
I have spent a lot of time going over a program to run affter I hit a wall on this 5x5 that I’m running currently. Bill starr, mad cow, 5/3/1 I’ve read over a lot of contenders and I don’t really want to run any of them.
When I stall, and it will be soon I imagine, I want to deload to the same wieght I started this at in all of my lifts and instead do 8 reps for 5 sets every workout, adding 5 lbs again per session.
I want to do this to bring up the volume and intensity while milking the LP that has worked so well for me.
So I’d start with benching 135 for 8 reps 5 sets rather then 5x5.
Orro that’s funny because that exact method was another one I heavily considered and would definitely be interested in running. I just don’t want to be impatient and throw away sure fire strength gains like on a tried and true program such as you’d find running 5/3/1 for example.
I’ll let others who have been in this game longer than I have chime in here, but your application to it will matter more than any reputable program. Do what excites and motivates you to get in and give 100%.
Okay so disclaimer: I’m kind of an asshole but I’ll try to be nice… don’t take my comments as insulting because they’re not intended to be.
Looking at your log, you have added 5lbs to your bench and squat consistently, so NO, you aren’t hitting a wall - you’re being impatient. I get it, but stop that shit, the impatient don’t win in this game.
On to your question…
Have you considered Phraks Greyskull LP? And why do you not want to run any other program? Beginner’s paralysis, perhaps?
Deloads are to prevent the systemic fatigue that coincides with beating the logbook or running LP programs. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think you are at a point where you need a deload, unless you feel systemically fatigued.
This is subpar for strength, but you can still do that if you wish. Your stated goal is to increase your total - so lets do that. I already mentioned i do not think you are stalling (evidenced by your near-linear progress) so i don’t think you NEED to change yet. BUT if you were to change programs, i would sincerely recommend something that undulates sets, reps, and %1RM used.
The only powerlifting template I’ve ever ran was 5/3/1 and i would recommend it, but again - you’ve got more runway to go with LP before changing training.
Would your working weight ‘reset’ work in combination with higher reps? Sure, but probably slower than incremental 1RM, 3RM and 5RM increases. 8-12-8 is prime for hypertrophy, but not strength.
I think the best path forward for you to meet your goal is to continue with LP until you actually stall for 2 consecutive training sessions. When that happens, you HAVE to change programs to something that changes up your sets and reps. Hell, you could do even a basic progression like 3x3, 3x4, 3x5, then increase training max (Last set each time should be AMRAP).
No, you aren’t an idiot, I think you’re just impatient. It’s not a terrible flaw, it’s just something you should work on controlling. Focus on the goal, you’ll get there.
