Yesterday

SQ 3x5 @ 245 LBS
BN 5x5 @ 250 LBS
ROW 5x5 @ 185 LBS

5x75s Planks

3/21/16

SQ 3x5 @ 255 LBS
OHP 5x5 @ 155 LBS
DL 1x5 @ 315 LBS

3x90s Planks

Impressive numbers AggieChem.

Just did workout 2 of week 11. Squatted 200 just fine and nailed 235 on deadlift. I'm feel like I'm really dialed in on the deadlift now after a couple of workouts of thinking I was hurting my back. My back has felt great the last couple of times I've deadlifted. My form feels really good. I feel like I'm not even close to maxxing out on that.

However, I had my first fail tonight on OHP at 120. Got 2 sets off and then failed pretty miserably on the 3rd set. Went down to 110 just so I could finish out my 5 sets.

I feel like I'm coming down with something so I debated working out tonight, but I did not want to miss a workout so I pushed through. I'm going to contribute that to my terrible OHP. I'll try 120 again on Thursday.

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Just did workout 2 of week 11. Squatted 200 just fine and nailed 235 on deadlift. I'm feel like I'm really dialed in on the deadlift now after a couple of workouts of thinking I was hurting my back. My back has felt great the last couple of times I've deadlifted. My form feels really good. I feel like I'm not even close to maxxing out on that.

However, I had my first fail tonight on OHP at 120. Got 2 sets off and then failed pretty miserably on the 3rd set. Went down to 110 just so I could finish out my 5 sets.

I feel like I'm coming down with something so I debated working out tonight, but I did not want to miss a workout so I pushed through. I'm going to contribute that to my terrible OHP. I'll try 120 again on Thursday.

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120 LBS is by no means easy on OHP, your doing fine!

Still going but I did come down with a mean upper respiratory infection this week. I still powered through the week 11 workouts on tuesday and thursday, but felt like I skimped on my squats especially just to get 5 sets done. I wasn't going all the way parallel. Anyway, I was so sick that I called into work on Friday and spent most of yesterday in my recliner. I was determined to work out anyway today so I went back to the start of week 10 instead of moving on to week 12. I'm going to do that this week to build my strength back up and refocus on my form.

I'll redo week 11 next week and then onto week 12 after that. I'm in no hurry.

Finished Week 11 on Friday.

I struggled through W10 on Squats. I was planning on a reset to focus on form after I hit 225 last Monday, but 1 rep at that weight and my body let me know it didn't want to do it. I reset to 180 and will re-work my way back up with a focus on form.

Started Week 12 this morning.

Finished week 7 for me on Saturday. I've had a few set backs on OHP and I was sick for about a week or so on week 5. I reset a little at that point on all my lifts and I'm entering week 8 with the following:

Squat - 165
Bench - 165
Row - 100
OHP - 80
Deadlift - 195

I felt really good last week and I'm hoping to carry that momentum into this week. My diet has been pretty solid here lately and my energy level is a lot better now.

I've set some targets that I'd like to get to by Memorial Day:

Squat - 225
Bench - 205
Row - 135
OHP - 105
Deadlift - 255

My S1/L5 Disc Degradation is flaring up. Skipped Friday and skipping squats today.

BN 5x5 255 LB
ROW 5x5 195 LB

Probably do some abs and throw the football around to make up for no squats.

Finished day 10 so week 4 day 1

Squat: 90
OHP: 65
Dead lift: 135

Not hard yet, OHP is going to get difficult soon though.

Bad day for OHP

Squat: 5x5 - 260 LBS
OHP: 5,4,4,4,2 - 160 LBS
DL: 1x5 - 335 LBS

Today was workout 10:
Squat 140lbs
OHP 65lbs
Deadlift 135lbs
Chinups 3x10 BW
Seated Calf Rasises 65lbs
Hanging Knee Raises 2x8 BW

Next workout:
Squat 145lbs
Bench Press 95lbs
Barbell Row 90lbs
Skullcrushers 2x8 45lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2x8 65lbs
Planks 3x50s

I am really enjoying this workout routine. My squat form has improved remarkably, which I am most excited about. Most of the workouts are still relatively light weight but I still feel like I am getting a workout. I am pleased with the results thus far and am highly motivated entering heavier sessions in the weeks to come.

I didn't post an update last week.

Tomorrow will be completion of Week 13 - and unfortunately, will by my first missed workout in that time.

I stalled on Wed. on the Bench @135lbs, so I've officially stalled at least once on every lift.

Currently @:

Squat - after my reset to 180 a few weeks back, I've worked back and will do 225 on my next workout
Bench - went 5/3/3 @ 135 on Wed. I think I did too many warm-ups and like to think I can do the 3X5 @135 next time
OH Press - still can't get past 90lbs, reset to 80lbs on Wed. and will continue working at it
Row - moved this to machine some time back and @ 105 lbs
DL - pulled 220lbs on Wed.

Back at it on Mon. next week!

End of week 13 for me. Here's what I ended up with for the week. No fails

205 squat
235 Deadlift
120 OHP
150 Bench press
160 Row

I went backwards and did the week 10 and 11 workouts over again on everything except for bench press and row. I kept going forward on those. This all helped me circle back around and finish off the 205 squat and 235 deadlift much better than the first attempts at it while I was sick a couple of weeks ago. Also, I did 5x5 120lb OHP this time with no fail. The first time I attempted that, I did like 5,2,2,0,0. So much better this time around.

`13 weeks or 39 workouts and I haven't missed one yet. I was a pretty lazy guy so this is a big accomplishment for me. I've lost 14lbs, but have also gained alot of muscle. Feel good.

Another thing I've been doing during this workout is adding chin-ups and pull-ups to the end of each workout to build more upper body strength. I do the pull-ups on one workout then chin-ups the next. I started out using an assistance band with 3 bands on it. I dropped a band after each month. At the start of April, I quit using the band altogether. I failed a couple of sets at first, but as of the last 2 workouts, I've done 5X5 pull-ups and chin-ups with no fails. Massive accomplishment for me. I've always wanted to be able to do these unassisted but never could accomplish even one.

OHP at 125 today didn't go to well. I went 5,5,5,4,2. Everything else went good.

Broke 100 on squat today
70 on OH press
115 on DL. Though nothing felt right about form so I am going to drop some weight and practice DL form.

I added chin-ups as an assistance exercise on Workout A. I just started doing weighted chin-ups so bought a belt over the weekend. I really like the chin-up and might add the pull-up on Workout B on my own, as well.

I'm thinking about doing a round of 20 rep squats after I reach 225lbs on my squats. Has anyone ever tried this? It's a 6 week program where you take the max that you can squat times and subtract by 90lbs. You subtract by 90 because it's 18 workouts and you want to subtract 5lbs. for each workout. In my case, I'd be starting out at 135lbs and just do one set of squats each workout at 20 reps. Then add 5 lbs. each workout until after 6 weeks, I should be able to do a set of 20 squats at 225lbs. Here's an article on it.....

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/irontamer5.htm

Week 14 in the books!

I missed Monday (after missing last Friday) so that makes only 2 missed workouts since I started this journey.

Pressing on.

My back still has me on the sidelines for 2 weeks running now....

I still mess around with this. I swear the OHP is the hardest for me. I just can't make progress in that.

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I still mess around with this. I swear the OHP is the hardest for me. I just can't make progress in that.

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My weakest movement.

My gym doesn't have fractional plates (and I'm too cheap to go buy some),so I'm stuck in a fail, de-load cycle.

I had a bad squatting night last night. I went for 220 and did 2 sets with some pretty sketchy form. Then I deloaded to 205 to try 3 more sets. On my first rep after the deload, my body said no. I stopped with squats there. Sucks because I want to get 225, but I'm hitting my limit right now. I did 5X5 of 215 on Tuesday, but my body doesn't want any part of 220. I'm thinking about deloading to 190 or so and working my way back up again.

I was thinking about doing that 20 rep squat workout, but I've reconsidered. I keep reading about how brutal those workouts can be. I don't want to burn myself out. Plus, I want to start running on my off days again.

OHP went pretty good though. I did 5X5 of 125lbs. I deadlifted 240. My original goal on deadlift was 250 so I'll be there soon.

Week 15 in the books.

Brucoh - I've had a couple of days like you discussed in your last post, including on squat on Monday where I had some severe knee pain and just couldn't go. A little less pain on Wed. and no pain this morning. Not sure what brought it on, but glad it's gone. I'm also dealing with some significant shoulder pain in my left shoulder but it hasn't slowed me down yet on anything.

Finally got the 90lbs up for 3/5 on Wed. after a long struggle - we'll sow how I do with 95 on Monday.

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Week 15 in the books.

Brucoh - I've had a couple of days like you discussed in your last post, including on squat on Monday where I had some severe knee pain and just couldn't go. A little less pain on Wed. and no pain this morning. Not sure what brought it on, but glad it's gone. I'm also dealing with some significant shoulder pain in my left shoulder but it hasn't slowed me down yet on anything.

Finally got the 90lbs up for 3/5 on Wed. after a long struggle - we'll sow how I do with 95 on Monday.

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Need to figure out the shoulder pain before it's too late... Take that from someone who just pushed through the pain.

After doing some research I'm thinking about switch to this plan or one like it. For those of y'all who have been following it, have you noticed any obvious size gains?

I did it for about 10 weeks. It's kind of slow starting off, but I did notice I was getting stronger, especially in the bench press, deadlift, and squat. The damn military press was always what I stalled on. I probably put on 3 pounds of muscle or so in that time.

It's a good work out, but is for go muscles, not show muscles, so just be aware of that.

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Week 15 in the books.

Brucoh - I've had a couple of days like you discussed in your last post, including on squat on Monday where I had some severe knee pain and just couldn't go. A little less pain on Wed. and no pain this morning. Not sure what brought it on, but glad it's gone. I'm also dealing with some significant shoulder pain in my left shoulder but it hasn't slowed me down yet on anything.

Finally got the 90lbs up for 3/5 on Wed. after a long struggle - we'll sow how I do with 95 on Monday.

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Yeah, last weekend my back was hurting from the crappy form squats I attempted at 220lbs so I went back to 175lbs last Sunday. Tuesday and Thursday I did 180 and 185. I'm just going to get back up to around 200 and hang there for a while. I was getting to where I was dreading attempting squats above 210lbs. I'm trying all I can do to not burn myself out or injure myself. I don't want to give myself any excuse to start skipping workouts. 15 weeks and I still haven't missed any. This is the longest I ever stuck with any exercise program as pathetic as that may sound.

I also started running again last Monday starting over on week 1 of couch to 5K. So I don't want to totally wear my legs out by continually trying to push my squat higher. One thing I have noticed though, running is much easier than the last time than when I tried to do couch to 5k in January. My housing addition is very hilly and it used to wear my legs out. After doing squats for almost 4 months now, the hills seem like no problem.

My upper body workouts have been going pretty good though. I did 5x5 of 165lb on bench press, 145lb on row and 125 on OHP. I just want to be able to do two 45lb plates on OHP so bad. I'm only 10lbs away, but that is a huge 10lbs. I've went back down to 215 on my deadlift this week since my back was a little sore. I'll work my way back up on that again.

It's also getting easier to bang out 5x5 on pull ups and chin ups. At the start of May, I'm going to go 5X6 on those and add another rep each month after that until I can ultimately do 5X10.

I've also added 3X10 dips to one workout and 3X20 shrugs to my other workout. It's taking me about an hour and a half to complete my workouts now with all this extra stuff.

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After doing some research I'm thinking about switch to this plan or one like it. For those of y'all who have been following it, have you noticed any obvious size gains?

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I'm getting some really good gains. Especially in my arms and back, but I am also doing pull ups and chin ups so I think that has a lot to do with it. My legs are getting pretty good muscle definition too. I'm really happy with the results I'm getting so far after almost 4 months. But, I was all soft and chunky when I began so anything was an improvement after all that.

I love the plan for it's simplicity. It's been the only weight lifting plan I've ever been motivated to stick to so I'm going to keep on with it.

Keep it up! That is awesome to hear!

I am 1 month in and can already tell a difference in myself. Weight dropped by 5 lbs (finally!). I could only do squats and bench today. My chest is sore something awful. No row for me.

After you Plateau, you change to 3x5. Give that a try for awhile. AND REPORT BACK!

http://stronglifts.com/what-to-do-after-12-weeks-of-stronglifts-5x5/

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Starting to wonder if I've hit a physiological max.

I've cycled through 5x5 three separate times over the last three years (~6 weeks per cycle) and have hit failure this time at a seemingly insurmountable weight.

Maybe it's diet (I may not eat enough protein), but 280 squat and 240 bench feel like my threshold. At 165-170lbs body weight I know there's strength I can still squeeze out, just can't seem to find the formula.

Those who've gone with resets, do you find it reinvigorating? What other routines have folks turned to when taking a break from 5x5?

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Need to build some muscle mass through hypertrophy work.

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Starting to wonder if I've hit a physiological max.

I've cycled through 5x5 three separate times over the last three years (~6 weeks per cycle) and have hit failure this time at a seemingly insurmountable weight.

Maybe it's diet (I may not eat enough protein), but 280 squat and 240 bench feel like my threshold. At 165-170lbs body weight I know there's strength I can still squeeze out, just can't seem to find the formula.

Those who've gone with resets, do you find it reinvigorating? What other routines have folks turned to when taking a break from 5x5?

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Eat. A lot.

Drop from 5x5 to 5x3 and continue progress. (Disclosure, I'm a Starting Strength guy, not Stronglifts).

Eat. A lot.

Increase rest period between sets.

Eat. A lot.

Microload your press if you can get small plates. 1-2 lb increments. Drop from 5x3 to 3x3.

Lastly...suck it up. It's heavy. It hurts. It makes you stronger. Part of the journey is pushing through what you think you cannot do.

I would also like to add that he should eat more.