Dream's...something or other log

11/06/14 - Madcow - Monday (Wednesday)

After having a few more days off than intended, I was able to carry on from where I left off and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

Squats

Bar x lots
55kg x 5
65kg x 5
75kg x 5
85kg x 5
90kg x 2 - This really helped
97.5kg x 5

Nailed it. Deload over, time for progression.

Bench

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

Time for 65kg!

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
47.5kg x 3x5

Bring on 50kg

Dips

BW + 5kg x 7 (Should have been 8 but I slipped forward on the last rep)
BW x 5kg x 7
BW x 5kg x 7

Yay for 7 reps...

Reverse Hypers

BW x 15
BW + 10kg x 15
BW + 10kg x 15

Hanging Knee-raises

BW x 12
BW x 12
BW x 12

Feeling awesome after that, especially since my confidence took a knock the last time I did 97.5kg on the squats.
Ready for progression tbh.
Turns out I should be doing Hyper Extensions on Monday's but I've substituted them for Reverse Hypers due to my back.
 
12/06/14 - Madcow - Wednesday (Thursday)

I don't usually do back to back sessions anymore (other than my off-days) but since I'm busy for the rest of the week, today was the only day that I could train. So I dropped the squats and focused on OHP and Deadlifts. It worked well.

OHP

Bar x lots
25kg x 5
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
42.5kg x 5

Starting to get tricker again.

Deadlifts

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 5
110kg x 5
120kg x 1

I revised the form a bit and it worked really well. Everything felt really comfortable.

Chin-ups

BW x 8
BW x 7
BW x 5

No improvement.

Bro Curlz

Ez + 10kg x 8
Ez + 10kg x 8
Ez + 10kg x 8

I added these in since I wouldn't be able to do them on my typical Friday session. I feel that I have neglected this exercise too much.

Well I'm happy with that.
OHP is getting tricky but it was only the last rep that was troublesome.
Deadlifts felt great and I'm happy I pulled 120kg since I haven't gone higher than 110kg in months.
Chins - meh.
 
16/06/14 - Madcow - Monday (Friday)

Well that felt awesome.

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 3 - Boom!
80kg x 8

These felt great, so much easier than my 95kg/97.5kg sets on previous Friday sessions.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
55kg x 5
60kg x 5
65kg x 3 - Awesome
55kg x 8 - Super easy

A lot easier than I expected but I know it'll become hell again pretty soon.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 3 - So much power
40kg x 8

A lot less hamstring activation this time round.

Dips

BW + 5kg x 8
BW + 5kg x 8
BW + 5kg x 5 + (1) - Just could not squeeze out another set of 8.

Bro Curlz

Ez + 10kg x 8
Ez + 10kg x 8
Ez + 10kg x 8

Really easy. Time to add more weight.

I'm really happy with the session tonight and it's put me in a positive mindset for the weekend.
I need to keep the chest up a smidge more on the squats, but this didn't impact the working sets at all.
More lat squeeziness no whilst benching.
Keep tighter throughout the entire movement on the row rather than just the pull.
 
18/06/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

Nice deload day as per usual. I had a bit of bother with the OHP but that was to be expected. I carried on progressing with the deadlifts as normal as I didn't think they would impact this weekend.

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 2x5

Easy.


OHP

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5 - Surprisingly easy
45kg x 3

I just didn't have enough in me for 5 reps so I might follow a similar pattern of progression as the squats, 3 reps one week, 5 reps the next.

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
112.5kg x5

A tad tight so getting into position was a bit more difficult. Having people walk directly in front of me though was extremely off-putting and caused one rep to be a smudge high.

Chin-ups

BW x 8
BW x 7
BW x 6

Not bad, not brilliant.

Bro Curlz (Preacher Curlz)

Ez + 10kg x 8
Ez + 10kg x 8
Ez + 10kg x 8

Added in since I won't have my usual friday session.

Overall not too bad.
My knee was a smidge clicky on the squats so maybe I just need to warm up more.
OHP Still happy with 3 reps, annoying that I've stalled already though.
Even if I was a smidge high on a rep on the deadlifts, all the reps were comfortable so I'd like to see what it would be like at the next weight in the proper positioning.
 
23/06/14 - Madcow - Monday

Back into training after the Strongman meet at the weekend. it's clear to say that I'm terrible at Strongman events but it was great fun and lovely meeting everyone!

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 1(+3) - Apparently they were ever so slightly above parallel. I'm having none of that nonsense!
100kg x 5 - Impressive how annoyance and frustration can benefit a lift.

The second set was easier than the first but fatigue kicked in on the last rep.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
60kg x 5
65kg x 5

Much awesome. These felt great and almost easier than my warmups.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 5

Easy peasy.

Dips

BW + 5kg x 8
BW + 5kg x 8
BW + 5kg x 8
BW + 10kg x 6 - I was not expecting that

Hells yeah, nailed it. Up to 7.5kg on Friday.

SDL

60kg x 2x8

Well these were interesting.

I was fuming about the squats at the time but that got cleared up with the retry set.
Benching was great, much, much easier than I had anticipated.
BOR's are definitely getting better.
Dips - yay
SDL - I'll need to do these a few times. I added these in since I needed a hamstring/lowerback exercise developer.
 
25/06/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

Holy hell my hamstrings were still tight from SDL's on Monday (felt sooooo good though) so I wasn't sure what to expect. It made very little difference other than on a warmup set on deadlifts.

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 2x5

Starting to get quicker and more powerful out of the hole.

OHP

Bar x lots
25kg x 5
32.5kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5 - Boom!

Last rep slowed down but it did not stop so the rep was good (just!).

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
115kg x (1) + 5 - PB!

First rep was apparently a smidge high and I was determined that I was going to get 5 solid reps, so I did.

Chin-ups

BW x 8
BW x 5
BW x 3

Lawd dat fatigue kicking in.

All in all I'm rather happy with that session, progress all round with the exception of chin-ups.
Squats still need to be quicker but that seems to be coming.
OHP is OHP.... more stretching and mobility should go in my favor.
Deadlifts - awesomes, 117.5kg should be a doddle.
 
27/06/14 - Madcow - Friday


Gains have been made.

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
102.5kg x 3 - awesomes
80kg x 8

Form was solid but these were tough at working weight.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
47.5kg x 5
55kg x 5
60kg x 5
67.5kg x 3 - Easy!
55kg x 8 - Really easy!

These felt great, I have a feeling that within a few weeks these will become hell again.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
52.5kg x 3 - So much power
40kg x 8

Tore the working set off the floor. I could really do with bumper plates for the height as I can't reset every rep to the floor with the smaller plates.

Dips

BW + 7.5kg x 8
BW + 7.5kg x 8
BW + 7.5kg x 8

I was not expecting that straight away but onto 10kg I go.

Bro Curlz

Ez + 12.5kg x 8
Ez + 12.5kg x 8
Ez + 12.5kg x 8

Just too easy.

Tricep Pushdowns

18.75kg x 3x8

Everything is feeling really good right now. Extra food and cycling carbs/fats seem to be helping.
Squats were awesome but tough. The way things have been going though should lead to some nice progression.
Benching felt great but I know it'll become challenging quick enough.
BOR's, moar weight please.
Dips - Awesome
Bro Curlz - More weight
Tricep Pushdowns - More weight
 
Last edited:
mrthingyx said:
For BORs, stick them up on plates...?

So lie a 20kg plate on the ground, working bar goes on top, and rep from there?
Click to expand...

They don't have standard iron plates and as a result every plate has a variation of holes and grooves of some description which causes the bar and plates to land awkwardly every rep. It's then a pain trying to reset as the plates get stuck in the grooves and what not. I'll just suck it up until I hit 60kg.
 
30/06/14 - Madcow - Monday

Not bad, not bad at all.

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
102.5kg x 5 - Yay

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
47.5kg x 5
55kg x 5
60kg x 5
67.5kg x 5

Last rep was ropey since there were funkiness with my left shoulder going on.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35lg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
52.5kg x 5

Easy.

Dips

BW + 10kg x 8
BW + 10kg x 8
BW + 10kg x 8

Back Extensions

BW x 8
BW x 8

Yay for PB's. I'm looking forward to Friday as it shouldn't be too difficult based on today's performance.
 
02/07/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

Everything seems to be coming along nicely.

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 2x5

Easy peasy, decent amount of speed and power too.

OHP

Bar x lots
25kg x 5
32.5kg x 5
40kg x 5
47.5kg x 4+1

Pleased that I got 4 reps but shall retake weight next week.

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
85kg x 5
105kg x 5
117.5kg x 5

Nice and easy but still need to pull from a lower position.

Chin-ups

BW x 8
BW x 7
BW x 6

Stupid right bicep pump from mixed grip on the deadlifts kind of ruined these for me.

Rather pleased with how things went.
Shame about the OHP but I'm used to it being funny so I should get it next week.
Deadlifts felt surprisingly easy, and even with pulling slightly higher than I should there is no strain at all in my back so it wasn't enough to compromise the form thankfully.
 
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04/07/14 - Madcow - Friday

No dippy belt, no weighted dips :(

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
92.5kg x 5 - really comfortable
105kg x 3 - Nice, my face was total recalling on the last rep
80kg x 8 - easy

Not too bad tbh, 105kg x 5 might be interesting on Monday but with lots of sleep and food I should be fine.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 3 - Nice
50kg x 8

Every rep felt pretty comfortable so Monday should be straight forward.

BOR (Pendlay's)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 5
55kg x 3
45kg x 8

Lovely.

Dips

BW x 8
BW x 8
BW x 8

Too easy.

Bro Curlz

Ez + 17.5kg x 8
Ez + 17.5kg x 6+2
Ez + 15kg x 6+2

Maybe a tad too heavy but at the same time I was in a hurry and the breaks were incredibly short in comparison to what I usually have.

Tricep Pushdowns

21.25kg x 8
21.25kg x 8
18.75kg x 8

I think the first sets were just a smidge too heavy so I'll try the lighter weight for another week or two first before moving up.

All in all I'm happy with the session.
I still need to work on keeping my chest up coming out of the hole on the squat.
Bench needs to be tighter but otherwise pretty good.
Rows are rows.
 
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05/07/14 - Off-day - Saturday

Well after only having 3-4 hours sleep and little food I wasn't expecting much but I was surprised.

Speed Deadlifts

60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 8x3

90 sec rests in between working sets. these felt good so hopefully next week when the weight is higher but the volume is lower I should start seeing some improvements.

SDL

50kg x 10
60kg x 10
70kg x 10

Decided to use straps to see how much of a difference it makes on the last two sets, turned out it made them so much easier.

Kroc Rows

16kg x 25/25
16kg x 25/25
16kg x 25/25

I have missed doing these.

Chin-ups

BW + 5kg x 6
BW + 5kg x 4
BW + 5kg x 2

These felt awesome but rather tough since I'm only used to body weight reps and struggle to get 8,8,8 too.
 
07/07/14 - Madcow - Monday

So,so.

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
92.5kg x 5
105kg x 5 - Well that was tricky

Last rep or two were tricky but the form was still there. I'm blaming not being able to stretch properly over the weekend and not being able to get the diet where it should have been.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5 - PB!

The last rep was a grind but it went up nonetheless.

BOR (Pendlay)

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

Yays. used a slightly narrower grip to target the lats more.

Dips

BW + 12.5kg x 8
BW + 12.5kg x 8
BW + 12.5kg x 8

Well that was a surprise. Onto 15kg next time.

Back Extensions

BW x 12
BW x 12
BW x 12
BW + 5kg x 12

I was scared of these at first but now they're awesome. I shall be doing weighted hypers from now on but only do 2 sets.

Squat form was brilliant but the power coming out of the hole wasn't what it should have been so 107.5kg x 5 (next Monday) will be interesting. I think 107.5kg x 3 should be ok though.
I have a feeling bench will stall relatively soon, maybe another 5kg at the most if I'm being realistic about things.
Rows are still rows, but should become interesting within the next 2 weeks.
I'm going to only increase the weight on the dips by 1.25kg after I progress at 15kg.
Hypers were lovely but I shall use weight from now on but keep the sets to 2 as the program prescribes.
 
09/09/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

Quite pleased with that.

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 2x5

My left knee was giving me jip, time for some tlc for Friday.

OHP ss/w Band pull apart

Bar x lots
25kg x 5
32.5kg x 5
40kg x 5
47.5kg x 4+1

I'm blaming my center back being tight as hell by restricting proper movement. More tlc needed.

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
85kg x 5
105kg x 5 - Hook grip instead of mixed, loved it.
120kg x 5 - Booom!

Well it's nice to know I should destroy my last 1rm of 125kg.

Chin-ups

BW x 8
BW x 8
BW x 8

Time to do weighted!

Need to work on a bit of mobility for the squats to make sure my knee is functioning properly.
OHP felt good tbh but I blame my back being tight to make me miss the last rep. It felt like I had the strength.
Deads were great.
Chins were brilliant for once, i think maybe super setting the OHP with band pulls may helped get things into correct positions. Weighted chins will be interesting.
 
11/07/14 - Madcow - Friday

Curious as to how much longer this type of progression will carry on.

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
92.5kg x 5
107.5kg x 3 - Boom!
80kg x 8 - Felt strong.

Considering I'm feeling horrific today, not bad.

Bench

Bar x lots
35kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
60kg x 5
72.5kg x 3 - Boom!
52.5kg x 8

I think dynamic work needs to be done here tbh. I might look into adding dynamic sets at the end of this.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
57.5kg x 3
45kg x 8

60kg should be nice.

Chin-ups

BW + 15kg x 6
BW + 15kg x 5
BW + 15kg x 5

These were a lot tougher than previous weights so I shall redo this.

Bro Curlz

Ez + 15kg x 8
Ez + 15kg x 8
Ez + 15kg x 8

Tricep Pushdowns

18.75kg x 8
18.75kg x 8
21.25kg x 8
21.25kg x 8

Changed the handles and slight form correction at the end, it felt so much better than using rope handles

Squats are getting challenging but I'm hoping that since I was feeling dreadful today that Monday goes well.
Benching isn't feeling like it was a short while back. I think dynamic work might be needed. I also need to go over my setup, muscle activation and what not.
Rows are rows.
 
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12/07/14 - Off-day - Saturday

I love my off day training. Feels awesome.

Dynamic Deadlifs

60kg x 5
75kg x 5
87.5kg x 5x2

More weight needed but these were lovely and super fast. About 60-90sec rest between sets

SDL

60kg x 8
70kg x 8
80kg x 6

I love these, lots of hamstring and glute activation going on.

Kroc Rows

16kg x 25/25
16kg x 25/25
16kg x 25/25

Only the last set either side were broken so maybe 1 more week at this weight before going up.

Pull-ups

BW x 4
BW x 3
BW x 3

I was tiring hard at this point but goodness I suck at these. I think it also identified that more shoulder mobility work is needed.
 
15/07/14 - Madcow - Tuesday (Monday)

Terrible, absolutely terrible.

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
92.5kg x 5
107.5kg x 5 - ugly

A couple of the reps were close to being good mornings. I'm putting it down to poor sleep and diet the past few days. I'll go to 110kg on Friday, belt up and if it's still rubbish then I'll deload.

Bench

Bar x lots
35kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
60kg x 5
72.5kg x 3+2
50kg x 3x3 - Just needed to do something...

Albeit a fail, still a lot stronger than Friday. I'm convinced it's more of a technique issue more than anything so mobility, stretching and refining form is on the to-do list


BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
57.5kg x 5

Easy enough, 60kg should be fun.

Dips

BW + 15kg x 5
BW + 10kg x 8
BW + 5kg x 8

I shall do ramped sets from now on but reverse the order, starting light and ending heavy rather than how I did it tonight.

Back extensions

BW + 5kg x 12
BW + 5kg x 12
BW + 5kg x 12

Easy enough, I might try 10kg next week and see how I get on.

Hasn't left me in the best of moods but I'm hoping it's just been a bad day and nothing more.
 
mrthingyx said:
It probably felt like a good morning... because it's a low bar squat. ;) :D

Realistically,belting up won't help you here (it might, from a psychological perspective) as you'll just have extra bracing in the belted position. You need to make sure your posterior chain is working to keep you in the right position (i.e. glutes, hamstrings) as well as quads to synergise...

Yeah.

I wrote synergise.

In a lifting forum.

You like that?

I bet you do. :D

In addition, you should NOT be using a belt to account for failure like this, particularly if you have pre-existing back problems (it will mask the problem and - potentially - build you up for a catastrophic break of form, rather than just a little "ouchy").
Click to expand...

Oooh synergise, you know I like that ;)

The only reasons for me saying to use a belt is because I've done this weight before with a belt and it was fine. And I had done 107.5kg x 3 on Friday and that was pretty solid too.

The eccentric part of the squat was strong and with good form, chest up, weight on heels, sitting back nicely and so on. It was only after raising up a bit that the form slipped. Any thoughts on the what could be causing the issue?
 
mrthingyx said:
You may have let your back soften a little, but I suspect it's more of a pattern issue at heavy weight: I notice it particularly when I forget to stabilise my hips properly.

The issue with a belt is you should NOT use it to correct an issue, but to improve an existing good movement. By the sound of it, your movement isn't quite right at these weights, so using a belt would just trap you in a world where you're reliant on a crutch rather than fixing the issue.
Click to expand...

How do you mean to let the back soften a little?
I'm going to work on stretching out and mobility as I feel that could have been an issue yesterday, the only chance I had was immediately before training since the last session.
From a little bit of reading many articles/forums seem to point the issue to an strength imbalance from the quads. If this is true would you suggest trying high-bar squatting or even front squatting on my Wednesday sessions when my squats are 'deloading'?
 
16/07/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

I worked out why my squats were bad yesterday...the universe allowed me to progress on OHP amd DL today instead.

OHP

Bar x lots
25kg x 5
32.5kg x 5
40kg x 5
47.5kg x 5 - Boooooooom

So much better than I thought it would be and I even potentially had another in me.

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
85kg x 5
105kg x 5 - All feeling heavier than usual and slower too.
122.5kg x 5

Glutes are really starting to get involved as the weight is getting heavier. I'd love to get to at least 130kg x 5 before having to deload.

Chin-Ups

BW + 5kg x 7
BW + 5kg x 7
BW + 5kg x 3

The was a bit rushed in terms of rest times but I was still pleased with the overall outcome.

OHP felt decent so I'll keep up with the mobility work and hopefully 50kg should go well.
Deadlifts were decent but they are getting tougher so I'll have to wait and see later down the line how it all goes.
Rather happy with this.
 
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