Monday
Squat
5 x 45
5 x 135
3 x 165
5 x 205 (x5)
Weight is starting to feel heavy now that it's more than I weigh, felt good though.

Bench Press
5 x 45
5 x 95
5 x 145 (x4)
4 x 145
Felt weak going into this, not sure why.

Barbell Row
5 x 105
5 x 105
5 x 105
Can definitely do more weight.

Going with Rippetoe's program it looks like?

For the most part. It's taken a while to get to this much (and I know I can't lift a lot of weight because I'm a pussy), but it's been good to see on paper.

I'm doing some other isolated workouts on Tuesday & Thursday.

Its what I started with and I felt like a super pussy when I started likewise...imagine not being able to lift hardly any weight and being huge...

But I reccomend cardio even if its just like biking for 5-10mins after lifting and it is always good to see on paper...I started a legit journal for lifting when I started my 5/3/1 program

Keep up the good work m8

Link to some reading about 5/3/1?

Whats your email?

But I would stick with ripp or something similar thats a linear progression type thing until you cant make any more gains and then do 5/3/1

*editx2*
http://www.desolatecarnage.net/smoked/531 Manual.pdf

This post has been edited by smoked on Tue - Apr 27 2010 - 06:48:41

Nice, stay /w 5x5 before you do the 531...5x5 is a lot more aggressive which is good

I find it's incredibly linear. Just increase the weight each week until you can't do it.

At least that's my approach with it.

Wednesday
Squat
5 x 45
5 x 135
3 x 165
5 x 205 (x5)
Felt a little heavier than on Monday.

Press
5 x 45
5 x 115 (x4)
Felt super weak here, not sure if the week off hurt or not. This is the first time I have completely failed on getting at least a few reps on the last set.

Deadlift
5 x 135
5 x 225 (x3)
5 x 225
Had to stop in set 2 because of my hands slipping, figured out that I might have them too far apart on the bar, set 3 went much smoother. Feel like I can do more on this easily.

Overall, I think that my poor nutrition and lack of rest is contributing to weak lifts, more than my psychological feelings of being a "pussy". I feel that I am the strongest I have ever been, and I try to focus on the next set during breaks as best as I can (although I do find myself zoning out to music or fantasies of why I am lifting).

I am probably getting 30-50% of the protein I should be per day (1g/lb = 190g protein) and I still sleep around 6 hours a day, would love to get some more solid sleep. Also, I feel that sitting at the computer for 3-4 hours before lifting just makes me feel lethargic or weak, I know I should lift right after breakfast, but I get sidetracked.

This post has been edited by MoS. on Wed - Apr 28 2010 - 17:58:50

I wouldnt say that those weights make you a pussy when lifting, like when I started I had to keep telling myself that everyone starts somewhere and the only way to get better is to work at it.

Although I do agree that the mental component of lifting is pretty large, and you need to have the mindset to want to improve. Keep up the good work m8

Back is sore today, in the good way.

Also, I see no reason to do what I was doing on my off days right now, heavy presses are going to do more than anything for my upper body development IMO.

And standing barbell calf raises don't even seem to affect my legs at all at 265 lbs. I specifically remember not being able to walk right once in high school from doing seated calf raises where your foot can hang down and get more range of motion. Standing on flat ground doesn't seem to do anything.

This post has been edited by MoS. on Thu - Apr 29 2010 - 11:50:04

do calf raises on stairs,have it so only the front part of your foot is on it

We don't have stairs, and I don't know how I would fit a barbell in a doorway.

The seated calf machine I have you put your feet onto an arch and have two pads that rest right near your knees and you can fully extend up/down which is the same as using stairs...

Stand a box then, you should have trouble doing the full motion with just your body weight.I still don't use extra weight.

Does this actually strengthen (and cause a size change) with your calves?

Strengthen yes, will it make them noticeably bigger? Doubtful, big calves is more genetics then anything i would say. It's definitely beneficial but I wouldn't spend too much time on it, I do a few sets twice a week personally.

I didn't think there was anything that legitimately increased calf size noticeably, aside from implants of course.

I'll try bouncing around on a doorway step down some time.

Monday
Squat
5 x 45
5 x 135
3 x 165
5 x 205 (x5)
This felt harsh on my lower back, not sure why, proelbay not working out + deadlifts on Wednesday.

Bench Press
5 x 45
5 x 95
5 x 145 (x3)
4 x 145
0 x 145
Super weak today, I am digressing for some reason.

Barbell Row
5 x 105
5 x 105
5 x 105

Terrible way to finish the week IMO. Couldn't even finish the 4th set of Bench Press. Not sure what the fuck is going on.

tired?
diet stuff?

keep up the good work. everyone has off days, low energy days, weak days etc.
when i was bodybuilding in hs i would still finish my workouts on shitty days but i wouldn't get discouraged.
don't get discouraged. your body is getting stronger but you'll have some bad, awkward or backward days. just use them as fuel for future workouts.

oh and as far as i know, unless you have some kind of disease, you should be able to get calves over 15" with np

calves grow fast if you work on them hard. just give them a little rest and don't push them so hard that you'll get cramps overn8. i was able to get my calves to (almost) match my biceps when my biceps got to 19". they started off as weakpoints but i read that arhhhnold had the same issue when he was young so i just kept working at them. and if u look at my jsp pic from a few years ago when i wasn't lifting weights at all, you can see that i'm not a genetic freak. i do respond quickly to training but i'm not a beast-freak.

atm my calves are something like 15"-16" mostly from playing basketball (not much weights as per my own fitness topic). consistency will keep them going. so atm they are a little bigger than my biceps/triceps.

the way i see it, the calves are the "biceps" of your leg in terms of muscular growth. your leg has a biceps that isn't the calves, but i don't mean a structural biceps. biceps can be trained almost every other day because they heal/grow pretty fast with rest. most other muscles need 40+ hours of recovery for optimum hypertrophy but biceps need less. it seems like calves are similar in that respect, but i don't know the data for calf recovery offhand. they grow fast. they can also get shredded down fast if you're not training them right for muscular growth.

bonus also:

when you do calf stuff, remember that when you lift weights, your calves are used to supporting your body weight. so i weigh 190 lbs and if i lift 190 lbs for calves, i just lifted like 0 pounds. you need to lift bodyweight+ to get much out of calves ONCE you have strong calves

tip o' the day, something most weight-lifters never figure out for some reason

My calves are nearly the same size as my biceps, I know the anatomy. I can't see JSP pictures, dickhead.

But yeah, I just felt super weak all week, but I'm like 99% sure it's because I don't get enough fuel. Either way, keep lifting, get stronger, [etc].

breakfast is the most important meal of the day be sure you eat that

glad i can contribute to this topic in a meaningful way

This is 100% true. Contribution noted.

more carbs

Yeah, and protein, and fat. I've probably not been getting 1,500 calories even the last week or so, and some of that is in sugar carbs.

forgot to mention i do them one-legged, you shouldn't be adding weight after that

bump for update?

looked at this to see how strong nick was cuz he thinks he can beat me up

just lold

Maybe he's hulked out since then?

I'm still debating whether or not I go today, still sick.