*** The 2019 Gym Rats Thread ***

decided to switch my program to 531 BBB, the BBB side of things has annihilated my legs been a while since I've had doms like these!

not sure whether to stick to 531 or do MADCOWs first, as i don't know if i'm done with newbie gains and 531 may be a bit slow progression

anyone have experience with 531 BB / MADCOW???
 
I planning to hit up some deadlifts after about 3 weeks (groin injury).

I've been thinking though. 5x5 and 3x8 kill me. The first 3 sets of 5 are fine but after that I feel like I'm putting too much strain on my back and my form may be wavering. Anything after the first set of 8 and I get the same thing.

Normally I warm up then 5x5 or 3x8 is the heaviest I can lift more or less, when I reach 5x5 or 3x8 I up the weight but progress has been slow. Is there anything I can do?

Is 3x5 okay or pointless? Should part of 5x5 be a warm up so maybe set 3 is my heaviest then back down?

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
Got back in to the gym last night 7 weeks post operation. Advised recovery time was no exercise at all for the first couple of weeks, light exercise after 4-6 weeks, full healing to take up to 3 months.

Squatted the bar for 4 warm up sets and then moved on to 40kg for a few sets. Taking things super easy. Everything felt good, moved on to do some BOR's with just the bar and something didn't feel right during my third set. Stopped instantly. Things felt reminiscent to how they did pre-op...not as acute of a pain sensation but as soon as I felt something I stopped.

Now concerned that the operation I had may well have fixed something, but didn't actually fix the problem source. Maybe as the fix that happened was near the surface that my problem persists from deeper inside....I get the feeling I may have another operation in my near future.

Here's hoping that I was just a little eager and another 4-6 weeks of healing time will be the answer.

Early 2019 outlook not as positive as it was, although my squat form looked tidy, and in flat shoes not my lifting shoes!
 
ShortWarning said:
Is 3x5 okay or pointless? Should part of 5x5 be a warm up so maybe set 3 is my heaviest then back down?

Any advice would be appreciated.
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You shouldn't be doing 5x5 for deadlifts if you are following stronglifts. The plan actually advises 1x5, many think this isn't enough and that 5 is to much so the happy medium is 3x5 for your working weight sets.
 
Yeah one set never feels enough when doing the 5x5 Stronglifts. I'm actually going to switch one of the squat days for deadlift completely in 2 weeks just to see how I get on. Want to start working on my grip more (which is failing hard on deadlifts in double overhand) and generally just enjoy the exercise a lot more.

Also found out I may have been doing squats wrong my whole life, watched Alan Thrall's video which was just a continuation of what Mark Rippetoe is saying in his videos. So exaggerating when I say wrong, but interesting points about torso and head positioning.
 
If you aren't already doing 3x5 on deadlifts then increase to that before changing the program and trying to deadlift every other workout.
 
I'm already on the 3x5, my body could do 5x5 relatively easily I reckon but last few reps on the third set are normally hanging by my fingertips as my grip is well behind.

Not sure if I'm being too stubborn with this grip thing and just do alternate mixed grip and try hook grip on last sets as I push for 5 sets.
 
garnett said:
I'd agree with your idea to pay for some coaching.

Im no expert, and I'm sure some will be along shortly to give better help, but, in my experience, what I perceive to be a similar lack of ankle mobility is one big contributor to me "butt winking" whenever I deadlift, and I definitely feel this is limiting my lifting, and intensifying stress on my back.

Ymmv, but, again, in my experience, there aren't many coaches that know what do about it though!

I'm contemplating switching partially to rack lifts, while working on mobility as much as possible. I'm just going to have a few weeks of attempting 200kg (2xbodyweight) and then I'm gonna reduce weight and come at it again.
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I can do rack pulls without an issue, was up to about 140kg just before Christmas. I would just stick with the trap bar, but it isn't a brilliant one and I can't load a massive weight on it.

Will try to get a video tomorrow morning.
 
davejh666 said:
Okay, so deadlift video from about 10 mins ago. 100 kg felt fine, any help?

https://youtu.be/qKKnDSBAnAU
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Interesting. You brace/pin your shoulders/upper back but completely forget about your lumbar region.

1) Learn to hip hinge.
2) Imagine pointing your bum at the ceiling and using your abz to pin them there.
3) Push your hips forward as you lift, because you're forcing all that lovely weight onto your lumbar.

You slacken off your bracing as the reps progress, but the upper bit is there - keey going!
 
Twas some kind of fresh hell in my gym last night. New faces everywhere with not a free bench to be seen... As cool as it is to see people making an effort, I really hope it calms down over the next few weeks.

With regards to routine, how do you guys break yours up? At the moment I'm there 6 times a week pairing muscle groups off (back & biceps, chest & triceps, legs & shoulders with each routine repeated twice a week). Do you guys find it more beneficial doing only one specific muscle group for one session?
 
DrToffnar said:
Twas some kind of fresh hell in my gym last night. New faces everywhere with not a free bench to be seen... As cool as it is to see people making an effort, I really hope it calms down over the next few weeks.

With regards to routine, how do you guys break yours up? At the moment I'm there 6 times a week pairing muscle groups off (back & biceps, chest & triceps, legs & shoulders with each routine repeated twice a week). Do you guys find it more beneficial doing only one specific muscle group for one session?
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I do Push/Pull/Legs at the moment, with some core and shoulder stability work mixed in regularly at random. Rest days are Wednesday and Saturdays, i tried 6 on one off and my body just couldn't take it.

Push day: Chest, Triceps and shoulders
Pull: Back, Biceps

No matter what split routine you choose, there will be a cross over if you go that many times a week, you just have to balance volume, intensity, rest and nutrition so your body can handle it.
 
Avenged7Fold said:
I do Push/Pull/Legs at the moment, with some core and shoulder stability work mixed in regularly at random. Rest days are Wednesday and Saturdays, i tried 6 on one off and my body just couldn't take it.

Push day: Chest, Triceps and shoulders
Pull: Back, Biceps

No matter what split routine you choose, there will be a cross over if you go that many times a week, you just have to balance volume, intensity, rest and nutrition so your body can handle it.
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Yeah to be honest I've been thinking about getting an extra rest day in as the crossovers do feel a little too frequent (though not necessarily taxing as I'm still not moving that much weight around). Even though I've been doing this for half a year now, I've still got that beginners mind-set that 'more is always better' which of course isn't necessarily the case. Feels as though I've found a nice nutritional balance atm. Seem to be gaining muscle in all the right places whilst loosing overall body fat. Not following a particular plan and haven't even calculated my macros as of yet, just feeling it out to see what works best overall.

Will give your spread a try for a few weeks and see how that goes, thanks :)
 
DrToffnar said:
Will give your spread a try for a few weeks and see how that goes, thanks :)
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Give it a go. I would recommend mixing up your starting compound exercises, as you might find things like overhead press very difficult after benching flat and incline or vice versa.


I've been going on and off for a couple of years not making any progress until start of last year where i decided to really go for it after a break up and so counted every calorie, made sure i hit macros, never missed a day and i just really enjoyed it. I still drink weekly but everything is worlds better and changes to my physique was more of a bonus since i actually came to love training.

Funnily enough it revived my passion for cooking too, as i never use to bother cooking anything complex or particularly nice for just myself but now i am back to cooking properly on a daily basis for the sake of my nutritional goals and personal enjoyment.
 
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