Dream's...something or other log

28/4/14 - Start of Madcow

Since it's the start of Madcow, the program states to start with a deload that finishes after a four week period.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5

Lovely and easy. I started to notice a bit of fatigue on the last rep but it was solid. ATG with low-bar ftw :D

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
55kg x 5x5

Felt pretty good, 57.5kg 3x5 on Friday with 50kg 1x8 to make up the difference.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 5x5

Really easy. 42.5kg 5x5 on Friday because there aren't enough sets to do the 1x8.

Dips

BW x 10
BW x 8
BW x 6

AWESOME.

Hanging Knee Raises

BW x 12
BW x 12
BW x 12

Madcow mentions about doing core work (specifically sit-ups - No thanks) so I thought I'd add these in.

Rather happy with the session. I' looking forward to the deload being over to where how the program develops.
 
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I would have thought that but somehow it didn't, maybe I wasn't as low as I thought, but I was definitely past parallel. I guess it might be just because I'm short. I'm still trying to get used to wearing the high-heels by working out how far back I should actually be sitting.
 
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30/04/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

Nice and easy.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 2x5

I quite like having a mid week reload. I really focused on power and speed when coming back up.

OHP

Bar - lots
22.5kg x 5
25kg x 5
30kg x 5
35kg x 3x5

Nice and easy.

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
102.5kg x 3x5

Note to self: using a bar that can spin makes deadlifts far more difficult.

Chin-ups

BW x 8
BW x 7
BW x 5

Yay.

Farmer Walks - 20m

30kg x 2x1
50kg x 2x1
70kg x 2 x 3

These felt so much better than last time. I'll be trying 80kg next week.

Squats were lovely, albeit really light.
OHP was easy once the shoulders decided to function properly.
Deadlifts were more difficult than they should have been due to a spiny bar. I shall check the bar before I use it next time.
Farmers were great fun and felt so much better than last week. I shall up the weight and see what I can do.
 
mrthingyx said:
If the bar spins, then it is actually notionally better quality.

It is a characteristic of Olympic bars that the sleeves rotate to reduce the strain on a lifter's wrists... So it sounds like you will need to get used to it. :)
Click to expand...

Well if that's the case I'll just mtfu and get on with it. I feel almost ashamed that I've been almost attuned to using lower quality bars where I used to train.

TheyCallMeAndy said:
Goodluck, the progress is good!
Click to expand...

Thank you very much! I'll be keeping this log updated with everything I do. I'm looking forward to seeing how the new program pans out.
 
03/5/14 - Madcow - Saturday

Lack of power in certain areas but after the last few days that Ive had I'm rather pleased with the performance.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
92.5kg x 3
70kg x 8 - Rep PB!

Lost all power at the bottom of the rep for two reps at 92.5kg but looking at the recording the reps were solid and at proper depth so I'm pleased. Doing 1x8 too was rather nice.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
57.5kg x 3x5
45kg x 1x8

Nice and easy but I need to really focus on keeping the elbows in when pressing.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
42.5kg x 3x5
35kg x 1x8

Nice.

Weighted-Dips

BW+5kg x 8
BW+5kg x 5
BW+5kg x 5

These went a lot better than expected. It'll be a few weeks before I can up the weight though.

Yoke Walks - 20m

55kg x 2x3
75kg x 2x2
85kg x 2x2
100kg x 2x1

All was good but the last walk was hell. The frame somewhat swung for the first step or so which resulted in having to walk at a snail's pace. Really good fun though

Everything went really well.
Squats were more difficult than I expected. I lost a lot of tightness and power but the reps were good so Monday should be fine.
Bench was good too, nice and easy so up to 5x5 on Monday.
Rows were also good, a little slower than usual but I'm trying to put full emphasise on a rowing movement rather than just getting the weight off of the floor.
Yay for dips.
Yay for Yokes.
Yay.
 
12/5/14 - Monday - Madcow

It felt good being back into training after a week off due to work. I decided to restart Madcow since I was only a week in just to see if I had lost any strength or not. Squats were a tad slower but they felt more comfortable. Everything else was lovely.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5

These felt great today, I've been really focusing on bracing the core and extending with the hips properly.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
55kg x 5x5

Just need to keep focusing on keeping the elbows in when pressing.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5x5

I went for a little more power this time but still keeping the form as strict as possible.

Dips

BW x 8
BW x 8
BW x 7

I was trying to keep it within the 8 rep range. I was quite pleased that these hand't turned to pot as I had expected.

Hanging Knee Raises

BW x 12
BW x 12
BW x 12

Well it went a lot better than I expected. The squats didn't feel as powerful but they did feel a lot more stable and a lot more comfortable than usual.
Bench needed better use of lats to keep the elbows tight.
Rows were nice and powerful.
 
14/05/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

I love these deload days. But dear goodness my quads were fried and ruined during the deadlift.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 2x5

These were awesome.

OHP

Bar - lots
25kg x 5
30kg x 5
35kg x 5x5

Shoulders were a smidge tight but OHP was really easy.

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
102.5kg x 3x5

I found a texas power bar, my grip was significantly better but my hands were ripped to shreds.

Chin-ups

BW x 7
BW x 5
BW x 4

Not bad, it would have been nice if it was similar to the previous session.

Farmer Walks - 20m

30kg x 2x1
50kg x 2x3
70kg x 2 x 1

I could have done more but my hands were in so much pain so I just had to stop.

Squats were super powerful.
OHP was decent s next week should be easy with the upped weight.
Deadlifts were great, I still want to get back to using DOH rather than mixed at this weight but I'm sure it'll come.
 
mrthingyx said:
Hook grip is the answer to your question. ;)
Click to expand...

I'll give it a go.

I'm looking into getting some more power into the program, mainly to help with the deadlift, and the main moves I've come across are power cleans, power snatches and banded/chained deadlifts. Any suggestions on which may be more beneficial or beneficial at all?
 
16/5/14 - Madcow - Friday

Much better than I had expected after the week off.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
92.5kg x 3
70kg x 8

Nailed it. Form was spot on.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
57.5kg x 3x5
45kg x 1x8

These felt a tad more difficult than I had anticipated but no problems either.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
42.5kg x 3x5
35kg x 1x8

So, so, nothing special.

Weighted-Dips

BW+5kg x 8
BW+5kg x 6
BW+5kg x 5

A very slight improvement, ideally I'll get 8,8,8 before upping the weight.

Yoke Walks - 20m

55kg x 2x3
75kg x 2x2
85kg x 2x2
100kg x 2x1

These were slower than before but the last walk was a lot better than the previous session.

Squats were decent, I'm hoping that on Monday I have more power though.
Bench was ok but I need to stretch and roll the shoulders.
Rows were ok, a tad light atm but that will change quickly enough.
Yokes were slower than last time but the 100kg was greatly improved, both in speed and stability.
 
17.05.14 - Saturday - Off-Day

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
102.5kg x 2

Speed Deadlifts
80kg x 8x3

Kroc Rows

15kg x 25/25
15kg x 25/25
15kg x 25/25

Tyre flips

60kg - 20m
140kg x 2(flips)


Deadlifts were great. The 6th and 7th speed set was getting tiring but the last was great.
Kroc's were so,so. Lost a bit of lat strength from the looks of things from not training properly the past few weeks. I had to keep pausing throughout the sets, but I never let go of the weight.
Tyre flips at 60kg were so easy but the tyre was smaller than the others. The 140kg was absolutely brutal. I had never done this before so I was still learning the technique. Doing this at 69kg bodyweight probably didn't help either.
Fun times, I shall work on this next week and hopefully add a little extra too.
 
19/05/14 - Madcow - Monday

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
92.5kg x 5

Harder than I expected since I've done them before with relative ease but progress is progress.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
57.5kg x 5x5

Eeeeeaaasssssssyyyyyy

Rows (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
42.5kg x 5x5

Tastey. I'm getting a much better pull than I used to but I'm still trying to eliminate and hamstring activation.

Dips

BW x 8
BW x 8
BW x 8

BOOOYAHHH.

Hanging knee-raises

BW x 12
BW x 12
BW x 12

Easy.

Good session overall but I felt the squats should have had more power coming out of the hole.
Bench was good.
Rows were good.
Dips were awesome.
 
21/05/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

Squat

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 2x5

It felt like I was a tad forward but I was ensuring that my technique is the same as it has always been.

OHP

Bar x lots
25kg x 5
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5x5

First set wasn't brilliant but the rest were ok.

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 5
95kg x 5
105kg x 3x5

Not bad. I need to work a bit more on the initial drive.

Chin-ups

BW x 7
BW x 6
BW x 3

Bah...shoulders feel a bit tight and these were backed very closely to the deadlifts so I'm not too surprised.

Squats were ok.
OHP was ok.
Deadlifts were ok.
Ok.
 
24/05/14 - Madcow - Saturday

Squat

Bar x lots
55kg x 5
65kg x 5
75kg x 5
85kg x 5
95kg x 3
75kg x 8

Noice. Fatigue hit on the last set though.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
55kg x 5
60kg x 3x5
50kg x 8

Felt pretty good so hopefully Monday should be super easy.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 3x5
37.5kg x 8

I was trying to be a bit more dynamic on the working sets after doing some more reading into Pendlay's methods and how they should actually be done in this program and the more advanced version.

Dips

BW + 5kg x 8
BW + 5kg x 7
BW + 5kg x 6

A slight improvement, hopefully 8,8,8 will arrive soon enough.

I was pleased by the squats since the previous sessions haven't felt all that great but the weight is going up and the reps are solid.
Bench is still ok.
Rows had a bit too much hammy activation for some stupid reasons.
Dips are great.
I can't wait for this reload to be over. It's nice to be almost back to the same numbers that I was at before I started this deload though.
 
31/05/14 - Saturday - Off-Day

Finally getting things back in order since work and what not has calmed down.

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
102.5kg x 2

Nice and easy. Smidge tight to begin with.

Speed-Deadlifts

80kg x 8x3

I gave that bar so much love.

Reverse Hypers

3x15

I didn't know if I should have added weight to these but considering the problem that I have with my spine I didn't want to risk it.

Kroc Rows

15kg x 25/25
15kg x 25/25
15kg x 25/25

Maybe 2 more weeks before going up in weight.

Sled-dog push sprints (20m)

Sled x 2 x 3
Sled + 20kg x 2 x 2

My heart felt like it was going to burst out at the end of this.

Oh it feels good!
Deadlifts were nice and easy.
Reverse Hypers were interesting as I had never done them before. I might try adding weight next time, but I'll read into this first.
Rows were decent, it was nice working on the lats again.
Sled-dogs were good to begin with but I was dying once I had added 20kg to it.
 
GSVBagpuss said:
Nice squat numbers! Just whee I'd like to be. I'm the same place on bench and might be hitting a problem, but I think it's more technique than strength
Click to expand...

Cheers. Hopefully once the deload is over I should be making some nice progression again. I found that doing lat work (kroc-rows for me specifically) have really helped aid my bench, as well as lots of mobility work for the upper back and shoulders. If you're concerned that it's your technique holding you back, take a video and pop it on the forums for people to go over.
 
02/06/14 - Madcow - Monday

So after having pretty much all of last week off, I was hesitant whether or not to repeat the last successful week or to just pick up where I left off. I decided to mtfu and carry on where I was last.

Squats

Bar x lots
55kg x 5
65kg x 5
75kg x 5
85kg x 5
95kg x 5

Form was solid but damn it felt like I had sod all power coming up. Damn training inconsistency...

Bench
Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
60kg x 5x5

Easy but it felt like my elbows were flapping around on a rep or two.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x 5
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5x5

Seemed easy enough.

Dips

BW + 5kg x 8
BW + 5kg x 6
BW + 5kg x 5

Not too bad, not the same as it was last time though. I decided to start doing weighted dips on the Monday sessions since repeating 8,8,8 at bodyweight seemed pointless.

Hanging knee-raises

BW x 12
BW x 12
BW x 12

Not a bad session overall but I'm definitely noticing the inconsistency of training catching up with me. Hopefully there will be no more of that nonsense.

Squats need to be quicker out of the hole.
I need to make sure elbows are tucked in and the lats are doing their job when benching.
Rows are feeling nice and powerful, although for some reason having tight hips caused a bit of hammy activation. Form was spot on though.
 
04/06/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

It started off well but ended poorly. My lower back was incredibly tight, I managed to loosen it enough to squat but by the time I came to the deadlifts it was causing me all sorts of problems.

Squats

Bar x lots
55kg x 5
65kg x 5
75kg x 2x5

Pretty straight forward, nothing exciting.

OHP

Bar x lots
25kg x 5
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5

Easy.

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x f - wasn't expecting that
100kg x f - seriously, wtf.
100kg x 5
107.5kg x f - not again...
107.5kg x f - hmmmpphhhh
107.5kg x 5

Managed it in the end. My lower back was just far too tight and it was causing all sorts of problems.

Chin-ups

BW x 8
BW x 7
BW x 5

Well they started off well but the last set let me down.

Not a bad session but not great. I'll be working on mobility so I can hit 97.5kg on the squats.
I'm dropping the sets a week early to help save my joints for Friday's beatings.
Apparently my deadlifts are slow off the ground and I let the bar get away from me. Time to sort that out on my saturday sessions.
 
06/05/14 - Madcow - Friday

So it's progression day. Progression was made.

Squats

Bar x lots
55kg x 5
65kg x 5
75kg x 5
85kg x5
97.5kg x 3
75kg x 8

These took me by surprise. Considering that I did 95kg decently and I was feeling really good, they felt more challenging than the probably should have.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
55kg x 5
62.5kg x 3x5
50kg x 8

Easy enough still but I lost tension in my lats so I had my right elbow flap around on the last part of the press on a rep or two...

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
47.5kg x 5
40kg x 8

Still easy, but dam pulling the light weights hard enough to hit me in the stomach. Yay for no yanking though.

Dips

BW + 5kg x 8
BW + 5kg x 8
BW x 5kg x 7

Getting there.

Bro Curlz

Ez bar + 10kg x 3x8

Even though the squats were ok, I'm still disappointed. They should have felt a lot better than what they did. Monday will be a good chance to reevaluate them I guess.
Benching is still easy but I know I'm starting to taper off so it'll be nice to be on the program properly for the progression.
Rows are feeling rather good atm. Not much to say tbh.
Almost 8,8,8 with dips :D
 
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