Hey, have you been working out?

[Jon Miller]

attempts:

6/4/3 chinups
4/4/4 lunges (29/29/29)
15/15/15 bench (29/29/29)
5/4/3 pullups
stomach - spine rotation
8/6/5 seated vertical press (16/16/16)

I haven't actually been that good at running this week. Two short duration(20 minutes) moderate paces, and one small set of high intensity. Some of it was that my food hurt a bit and I want to make sure I don't injure myself, I have only had my vibrams for 18 days.

If I drop a little, it hurts my feet. I think this means that the ball? of my feet need to get stronger.

JM

[Az]

8/8/8 lunges of 24kgs today for the first time.
6days a week gym ftw

Some people say that my mostly 5/5/5 workout with 90% 1RM is making me strong but I should go for 10/10/10/10 80% 1RM to bulk up. I haven't even decided if I want that yet, but does it work c/d?

[Al B. Sure!]

Back Squat: 3x5x235
Power Clean: 5x3x135
Press: 3x5x115

and did 6 sets of 11 chinups

As I approach 245lb on my squats, I always stall. Here's hoping I can continue adding weight to the bar with each workout

[Al B. Sure!]

8/8/8 lunges of 24kgs today for the first time.
6days a week gym ftw

Some people say that my mostly 5/5/5 workout with 90% 1RM is making me strong but I should go for 10/10/10/10 80% 1RM to bulk up. I haven't even decided if I want that yet, but does it work c/d?

Generally speaking, I've heard that sets of 1-3 are pure strength, 10+ are for hypertrophy (muscle mass), and in between (ie- set of 5, usually 3 sets of 5 like my routine) is a nice mix siding a little more on the strength side.

[Al B. Sure!]

Since you're doing lunges, I'll repeat this in case you missed it:

Unilateral vs. Bilateral

A common belief is that unilateral exercises activate more glute muscle. As I alluded to earlier, lunges might be the best exercise at making the glutes sore due to the extreme tension on the muscle in a deep-stretch position. But according to my experiments, bilateral movements activate more glute than unilateral movements.

This is seen across the board, from quad dominant movements (squats vs. lunges) to hip dominant movements (deadlifts vs. single leg RDL's) to bent knee hip dominant movements (hip thrusts vs. single leg hip thrusts).

This is due to the increased inherent stability involved in bilateral lifts. Single leg training definitely has its place due to balance, multiplanar stability, coordination, sport-specific training, and decreased spinal loading, but double leg training should always be prioritized regardless of the training goal.

[Al B. Sure!]

Back Squat 3x5x240
Bench Press: 3x5x175
Deadlift: 1x5x245

Also did 6 sets of 11 chinups.

I'm hitting that same wall I keep hitting at 240lbs for the squat... I got the reps in but some of them were like squat/good morning hybrids with my rear coming up faster than my upper-body which has to catch up into a good morning type of thing... that's not good. I don't know what it is but 240 keeps being a wall for me. I hope I can keep progressing and maintain some semblance of form.

[Az]

What I usually do in such a case is drop ~10-15 pounds of weight, and pay extra attention to movement.

And I know that squats are better. I am simply terrified of screwing my knees even more ( they are slightly ****ed - thanks army!)

[Al B. Sure!]

Squats: 2x5x245 1x4x245
Press: 3x5x120
Power Clean: 5x3x135

And did 5 sets of 12 chinups.

Yup... hit that brick wall at 245. Got two sets in but they were iffy without good form and a lot of squirming... but the last rep of the last set I had to bail. Sucks.

I've done this program 3 times now and every time, I hit 245 and can't continue.

[Jon Miller]

Switch programs?

I am at a hotel, not really doing workouts at the moment (also working (either at the restaurant/bar or meeting room) until midnight...).

JM

[Az]

Something has to change, Al. You two guys pointed out 2 possible ways to go:

Got two sets in but they were iffy without good form and a lot of squirming... but the last rep of the last set I had to bail. Sucks.

Do you watch your movement? Are you doing it just as it is supposed to? You could be cheating with other muscles. Drop some weight and pay extra attention.

Switch programs?

maybe a good way to go.

I am also going with the boring options:
What is your current diet and rest regimen?

[Al B. Sure!]

I did 3x5x245 and did them with what I felt was good form. Not much squirming this time. Maybe I just needed to stay at this weight a little while longer.

I am trying to get someone to videotape me doing a set though so I can see what's going on and ask online for form advice.

[Jon Miller]

First day back after my trip.

Attempts like usual.

Was a bit heavier than normal (86kg).

Pullups 5/4/3
Lunges (27/27/27) 4/4/4
Dumbbell Press (32/29/29/29) 0/15/12/7
Chinups 3/2/3
Spine Rotations
Vertical Press
Barbell Curl
Tricep Pulldown

Was a bit low, but then I haven't worked out for ~2 weeks. Still disappointed though, but not in the Tricep pulldowns surprisingly.

JM

[Al B. Sure!]

Back Squat 3x5x250 (yeah looks like I got over that hump. Hope I keep improving)
Bench Press: 3x5x175
Deadlift: 1x5x245 (awesome new bumper plates at my gym!)

I know I took a step back on the bench and deadlift because I haven't been doing them in over a week. Felt good though because they were very easy at those poundages. I think the last time I did bench, it was oddly hard. Hopefully I can get up to at least 200 before it gets tough.

[DriXnaK]

You can't bench your own body weight?

[Al B. Sure!]

You can't bench your own body weight?

I don't know. Probably. This is Rippetoe's Starting Strength so I have to start low and build up. Linear progression. The idea is to keep adding weight to the bar.

Also, I weighed only 170 back in March. I've gained a lot of weight in a short amount of time. Bodyweight is tricky for me because my strength hasn't caught up on everything, as you can see.