Dream's...something or other log

01/09/2014 - Madcow - Monday

Best session in a long time. Testing out knee sleeves too, definitely a worthwhile purchase.

Squats

Bar x some
55kg x 5
67.5kg x 5
80kg x 5
95kg x 5
107.5kg x 5 - felt epic

Felt relatively easy if I'm honest with decent form too. Hopefully I'll make it to 115kg (hopefully higher) before I have to reset again.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
47.5kg x 5
55kg x 5
62.5kg x 5x5

Everything seems to be going into place nicely as it should. 62.5kg x 5x5 felt considerably easier than when I did 62.5 x 5 a few weeks ago.

BOR (Pendlay)

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

Good form, relatively easy. Nice to feel it in my back/lats as I should rather than having the power transferring to the shoulders.

Back Extensions

BW + 20kg x 12
BW + 20kg x 12

Went up from 15kg and it was a fair bit harder. However, I'm too short to hold a 20kg plate and get full ROM so I'll try to use a barbell instead. At least this will allow me to gradually load it as well.

Really happy with that session.
Squats were spot on so I'm hoping for at least another 5kg before it gets tricky.
Bench felt dramatically better than when I did it just a few weeks ago so I'm hoping this is a sign that the program is working.
Rows were decent but a smidge tricky since I'm back to using weight < 60kg and not having bumper plates.
 
03/09/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

Started off good, ended badly.

Squats

Bar x lots
55kg x 5
67.5kg x 5
80kg x 2x5 (Paused 2 count)

Decent.

Bench (Paused 2-3 count)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 3x6 (Paused 3 count)

Easy enough.

Deadlifts

Bar x some
60kg x 5
82.5kg x 5
97.5kg x 5
115kg x 5
130kg x f,f,f,f

I got the bar moving sightly but I was lacking some form of drive. Maybe the weight is just too heavy atm, maybe the setup/technique is off.

Rather frustrated since I missed 130kg again but I'm also now about 3-4kg lighter than what I was when I first pulled it a few weeks ago. Time to simply deload and ramp back up. I'll take it from 120kg and work back up.
 
mrthingyx said:
Building up to a maximal lift with high percentage multiples is going to fatigue you badly for the top singles.

Next time, build with mutiples at 60/70kg and then singles up to your max, and don't knock out too many singles at 10kg increments...
Click to expand...

I've been following what the program says, but I think I'm getting to a stage where it's no longer feasible. The intention is to have 3 warmup sets x 5 reps and 1 work set x 5 reps. Since I'm also pulling on a Saturday now however, the volume that I may have lost from going for triples, doubles or singles will be made up on the Saturday instead. So I think I'll give your suggestion a shot ;) (as always).
 
08/09/14 - Madcow - Monday

Since I've been away since Friday (and still am) I missed Friday/Saturday and only had time fro a very quick session today.

Squats

Bar x some
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80gkg x 5
95kg x 5
105kg x 5

Easy enough. Mobility is lacking atm since I'm away but I'll be sorting that once I'm home.
 
11/09/14 - Madcow - Wednesday (Thursday)

I full session for once, this is a rare occurrence at the moment.

Squats

Bar x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 2x5 (2 second pause)

Easy enough. Hips opened up wonderfully and had some awesome adductor work going on.

Bench (2-3 count pause)

Bar x some
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 3x6 (Paused)

Did not feel super awesome to begin with but still relatively straight forward.

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
85kg x 5
105kg x 5
120kg x 5

At first it didn't budge so I reset and made sure I gave it some serious leg drive to 'push myself away from the ground' and it shot up.

Everything was lovely. Posterior chain worked nicely. Hopefully getting 130kg deadlift will be easy enough in the near future. As I'll start reducing the reps on the warm-up sets as the work sets get higher.
 
22/09/14 - Madcow - Monday

Finally back into it! Holy hell I've lost a lot of squatting strength. 3 weeks of very little training, food and sleep has not resulted well for me. Hopefully after a week or 2 of everything being the way it should, fingers crossed I'll be back to where I left off.

Squats

Bar x some
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 5 - Last two reps were really tough

Warmups were fine but the working set wasn't. Lack of sleep and having eaten nothing all day was probably the result of this.

Bench

Bar x some
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
50kg x 5
55kg x 5x5

Started off terrible but the work sets were brilliant.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x some
30kg x 5
35kg x5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 5

Decent.

Back Extensions

BW + Bar x 12
BW + Bar x 12

First few reps were really dodgy as I had never done these with a barbell before. It worked. It was nice.

Not a bad sessions, rather pleased with it in all honesty, but the the squats annoyed me. More food, more sleep and hopefully everything goes back to the way it was.
 
28/09/14 - Off-day - Sunday

Made the most of getting whatever time I could to train so focused on dynamic deadlifts and OHP just so I had done Squat, Bench, Deadlift and OHP this week.

Dynamic-Effort Deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 8x3

Snatch-Grip Deadlifts

60kg x some(4-6?) - Finding grip width by trying to get the bar to meet the hip crease.
60kg x 6
60kg x 6
70kg x 6

They got easier each set. I'm not entirely sure if that was the correct method to determine grip width but it worked for today.

OHP

Bar x 5
25kg x 3
30kg x 3
35kg x 3
25kg x 3x8

It's been too long since I've done this.

Chin-ups

BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5

Not bad.

Decent session to get back into things without ruining tomorrow's session.
 
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31/09/14 - Madcow - Monday (Tuesday)

Hamstrings are still absolutely ruined from the Saturday session and it had a major impact on my squats regardless of the amount of stretching and mobility I focused on.

Squats

Bar x some
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 2
90kg x 3x5

I did 90kg 3x5 due to feeling my strength had gone and not noticing quite how tender my hamstrings were until after I had finished. I'll work on 3x5 for two weeks just to get my squats back to 100kg and then swap back to true Madcow.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
47.5kg x 5
55kg x 5x5

Easy.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x some
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 3x5

Felt good. Trying 3x5 on these for a while too.

Back Extension

BW + Bar x 12
BW + Bar x 9 (Hamstrings were shot)

Done. Fuming about the squats but never mind. Everything else was ok.
 
01/10/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

Had to kind of go with the flow since it was the weightlifting club induction night, so just squats and deadlifts tonight.

Squats

Bar x lotsxlots
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
100kg x 1 - Solid form
80kg x 5

Maybe I haven't lost as much strength as I thought. Everything felt strong and comfortable tonight. I even got complimented on my form - happy days!

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
115kg x 5

Nice and easy. A smidge of additional time between reps to properly reset and what not but they flew up.

Tonight has put me in a much more positive state of mind about the direction of my training. Clearly lots of sleep, food and stretching/mobility is turning things around.
I'm keeping the squats to an SS style 3x5 until I hit 100kg on the squats again and then I'll dive straight back into Madcow.
 
03/10/14 - Madcow - Friday

3/4 sessions so far! This has not happened in a while!

Squats

Bar x lots
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
80kg x 3
92.5kg x 3x5

Felt awesome, as if there was nothing on my back. Solid form too. 95kg on Monday.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
62.5kg x 5
45kg x 8

Not as amazing as I would have liked but I'm sure after a bit more consistent training things will fall back to where they were.

OHP

Bar x 5
25kg x 3
30kg x 3
35kg x 5
25kg x 8x3 - Focused on being dynamic.

I seem to respond well to volume for OHP, the movement felt a lot better once I started the dynamic sets. Onto 37.5kg next Friday.

BroCurlz

EZ + 15kg x 3x8

Tricep Pushdowns

47.5kg x 3x8

And finished. Everything was lovely. Shame about everything being light but that'll change soon enough.
 
mrthingyx said:
I am assuming "dynamic" is the use of "bounce?"

Also, shoulders - if healthy - are good candidates for volume training because they aren't huge muscle groups, and also the bedding in of a good pattern through loadsa reps can actually help a fair bit, too. A lot of stalling happens because people only do shoulders (or overhead pressing, rather) once a week which limits development (you wouldn't expect squats to improve very quickly witj only one session a week, would you?) so moar volume the better. :)

Good work on the squats. :)
Click to expand...

Not quite bounce, more pause than a bounce but not to the extent of of it being fully paused at the bottom either. My focus was just to move the bar as quick as possible once it was back in the starting position. I've added in the volume since I am only pressing once a week and focusing more on the powerlifts. So far, it seems to be working, even though I've reached these numbers many months ago. However, there has been a noticeable difference since I started again properly since last week.

The squats are coming along nicely. A friend of mine mentioned my breathing pattern (or rather focusing on keeping my core braced throughout the entire movement) and sure enough once I paid attention to it, things slotted into place nicely. By which I mean I found it a lot easier to keep my chest up in the hole and have my knees thrown out too.
 
4/10/14 - Off-Day - Saturday

Pull light and quick, check.

Dynamic-Effort deadlifts

60kg x 5
70kg x 5
85kg x 6x2

Snatch-Grip Deadlift

60kg x some (finding grip)
60kg x 4
70kg x 4
85kg x 3

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
55kg x 3
45kg x 8

Easy enough. No 1.25kg plates to go for 52.5kg so had to jump to 55kg.

Chin-Ups

BW x 8
BW x 8
BW x 5

Better than last week.

Rather happy with that sessions.
Deadlifts were decent in terms of pulling speed ad lockout.
Snatch-grip stuff is awesome.
Rows were decent. Of my sessions are going to carry on in the same manner, I'll be dropping the krocs and doing pendlays since the strength and conditioning room does not have dumbbells.
 
06/10/14 - Madcow - Monday

Ah things are turning around!

Squats

Bar x lots
50kg x 3
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
82.5kg x3
95kg x 3x5

Lovely jubbly. 100kg x 5 should easily be back there now but I'm just going to carry on with 3x5 for a short while with the midweek deload as usual.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
57.5kg x 5x5

Slightly wider grip than usual, but felt perfectly natural, not as strong but a lot more chest involvement. Form was decent but not as powerful as it has been.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
50kg x 3
55kg x 3x5

Not bad at all. Keep chest up a tad more but otherwise pretty decent.

Back Extensions

BW + Bar x 12
BW + Bar x 12

Really felt it in the glutes and lower back this week. One more week with just the bar and then I'll start adding weight.

Happy with that. Squats are up. Bench is a tad weaker but a lot more comfortable. Rows are coming along nicely too.
 
8/10/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

Deadlift strength is coming back finally! Skipped to 120kg instead of 117.5kg because we have no 1.25kg plates for some stupid reason. So I've bought some to solve this issue for later sessions.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 3x5

Knees were giving me jip so I've adopted a narrower stance to compensate. Seems to be working nicely since my mobility has improved a lot and no longer require a wide stance with flat shoes.

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 5

Easy enough. Form felt solid and strong so that's always an up side.

Bench (Paused)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
50kg x 3x6 (3 count pause)

skipped 47.5kg since no 1.25kg plates but these were solid and relatively easy so I'm somewhat pleased I managed to bypass a week.

Planks

45 sec x 3

Laying leg raises

3x12
 
booyaka said:
Nice work - I think I'm going to add a few planks/leg raises into the end of my stronglift program as well.
Click to expand...

I've neglected core work for too long as I should be getting all the work from squats and deadlifts but since I'm not lifting what I could atm the core just isn't getting hit enough. I think I'll be doing planks/leg raises on deadlift days and ab rollouts (maybe using a barbell) possibly something along the lines of medicine ball carries/yoke walks.
 
13/10/14 - Madcow - Monday

Only enough time to squat, so I did squats.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 3
60kg x 3
72.5kg x 3
85kg x 3
97.5kg x 3x5
102.5kg x 1 - belt on to get used to it
110kg x 1 - belt

Everything was super easy. 100kg x 3x5 on Friday, 105kg and 115kg.
 
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14/10/14 - Madcow - Monday pt.2 (Tuesday)

Bench and rows.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 3
52.5kg x 5
60kg x 5x5 - first set or two weren't great but go better
67.5kg x 1 - Boom
72.5kg x ~1 spotter came in early, not properly counting it.

Doing singles after a 5x5 session was not the smartest move so I'll shift the singles to the friday sessions.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x some
30kg x 3
37.5kg x 3
45kg x 3
50kg x 2
55kg x 5 - went up but wasn't too comfortable
50kg x 2x5 - Destroyed these

Rather happy with that. Hopefully I'll get a consistent week of training in and see things go up from then.

Sled dogs (40m)

Sled x 1
Sled + 5kg x 1
Sled + 10kg x 1
Sled + 15kg x 1
Sled + 10kg x 1
Sled + 5kg x 1
Sled x 1

Dead.

Cardio? I know. But should be a nice way to guarantee that I get back to the 66kg for November.
I seem to have lost a fair bit of bench strength but hopefully after more consistent training that should be fine again.
Row are rows.
Cardio - yuk.
 
15/10/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

Not a bad session at all.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
80kg x 2x5

Hips super tight, little bit more forward than usual but didn't cause any problems. Focused on being quick rather than pausing today.

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
90kg x 3
110kg x 2
125kg x 5
130kg x 1 - belt on, bw pr!

Working set was easy enough but I'm struggling in between sets atm.
Pleased 130kg went up, hopefully 140kg will be there within a few weeks. 135kg in 2-3 weeks time. No more singles for now.

Bench(paused)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 2
55kg x 2x6 (3 count pause)
55kg x 4 (3 count pause) - Had maybe 20 second rest so I missed last 2 reps
55kg x 6 (3 count pause) - awesome.

And that's that done.
Pleased that the 130kg went up, especially after doing 125kg x 5. Looking back, I should have attempted 137.5kg apparently x 1 but I can squeeze that in next time.
 
17/10/14 - Madcow - Friday

Well this went well.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
100kg x 3x5

These felt awesome. Hopefully I'll get another 2 weeks of 3x5 before having to switch it up.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
67.5kg x 3 - Yays, last rep felt weak but it went up ok.
50kg x 8

Felt a lot more comfortable tonight and rather pleased about getting 67.5kg x 3. Hopefully 70kg will be there next Friday.

OHP

Bar x some
25kg x 3
32.5kg x 3
40kg x 3 - yays
30kg x 3x8

Pretty straight forward. Still easing back into OHP since I keep having inconsistency with my friday sessions. The volume seems to be working well considering it's once a week.

Dips

BW x 8
BW x 8
BW x 8

I was extremely hesitant about doing these since I was worried about damaging the shoulder again. I kept it light and simple and shall keep it this way for quite a while.

Rather happy with tonight. Seems like everything is heading in the right direction.
 
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