5x5 Deadlifts!

Got in my chest routine yesterday, and messed around with some biceps on the new cable machine my new gym has. Got in some shoulders as well.

Decline Bench - 135x12 - 185x6 - 185x6 - 185x6 - 135x12 - 135x12 - 135x12

Incline Bench - 135x8 - 135x8 - 135x8

Overhead Press - 135x8 - 135x8 - 135x8

Dumb Bell Shoulder Press(Total Weight of two dumb bells) 80x6 - 80x6 - 80x6

Cable Chest Fly - 130x8 - 160x8 - 160x8 - 160x8

Cable Overhead Tricep Pull - 90x8 - 90x8 - 90x8

Cable Tricep Pull down -50x5 - 50x5 - 50x5 - 50x5 - 50x5

Cable Bicep Curl - 60x8 - 80x8 - 100x6 - 100x6 - 120x4 - 120x4 - 140x2 - 140x2

I enjoyed giving the new cable cage a run through. On the tricep pull downs, I did them on a hanger that was higher than the others. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it or if it was made this way, but the weight was more realistic with this one, as you can see by sets of 50 lbs for only 5 reps. The cable bicep curls felt good too. No drag in the line or anything. I think I'll stick with those for a few weeks.
 
Got in for some back yesterday. No deads, unfortunately, but still a productive workout nonetheless.

Dumb Bell Rows - 60x9 - 60x9 - 60x9 - 90x6 - 90x6 - 90x6 - 100x4 - 100x4 - 100x4

Cable Lat Pull Down - 130x8 - 130x8 - 130x8 - 160x6 - 160x6 - 160x6 - 190x4 - 190x4 - 190x4

Dumb Bell Back Flies(Total weight of two dumb bells) 60x6 - 60x6 - 60x6 - 80x4 - 80x4 - 80x4 - 40x12 - 40x12 - 40x12

Cable Curls - 85x8 - 85x8 - 105x6 - 105x6 - 125x4 - 125x4

Shrugs - 200x9 - 200x9 - 200x9 - 200x9

I wish I could have done deads, but my back is still bothering me. Don't want to risk it. Worked my traps a little more than usual(and I'm feeling it today), which is good because typically after doing deads, I don't want to have anything to do with shrugs. My bi's are about to explode too. After doing the curls on Monday and then again yesterday, they're feeling it. I really enjoy the cable machine that my new gym has. The weight feels real, unlike some of the older cable machines I have used where it feels like you are pulling a chain through a hole that's too small.
 
Good stuff. Not a fan of recovery sessions either. I am on deads this evening, so glad I did the recovery steadily, still might get 200 this year, would be nice.
I do need to remember your weights are in pounds. Was thinking how long it is since I have trained in a gym with 100kg dumbells reading your rowing record.
 
CrazyOldMan said:
Good stuff. Not a fan of recovery sessions either. I am on deads this evening, so glad I did the recovery steadily, still might get 200 this year, would be nice.
I do need to remember your weights are in pounds. Was thinking how long it is since I have trained in a gym with 100kg dumbells reading your rowing record.
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Yeah, that would be about 220lbs. If I were rowing that with one arm and I wasn't bigger than I am, something definitely would be wrong.

I don't mind taking the time off from the deads for my back. I just hate losing some of my gains. those 5 lb increments are precious when it comes to deads. Oh well. You gotta pay to play, I guess.
 
Went in Friday for a leg workout, but it pretty much turned into a chest and leg workout, due to my back and not having done legs in two weeks because of my back.

Dumb Bell Pull Over - 30x8 - 30x8 - 40x6 - 40x6 - 50x4 - 50x4

Incline Bench - 145x8 - 145x8 - 145x8 - 160x6 - 160x6 - 160x6

Squat - 135x9 - 135x9 - 135x9 - 155x6 - 155x6 - 155x6 - 175x4 - 175x4 - 175x4

Cable Tricep Pull Down - 40x8 - 40x8 - 40x8 - 60x6 - 60x6 - 60x6 - 20x12 - 20x12

I also tried this "leg press" they had, and in hindsight, I wish I didn't. As I've said before, I'm not one for machines, and this piece of junk didn't help. It wasn't a sled. You sat down and had a plate right in front of you that you put your feet on and pressed it out. The ROM was completely unnatural and my left leg actually cramped on the last set, not to mention the pressure it put on my knees. The weight was also completely unnatural. I can easily press 600lbs on a regular sled, but the resistance of "200 lbs" on this machine was terrible. It was a completely miserable experience and I will not be using this machine again.

Stupid "Leg Press" Machine - 205x8 - 205x8 - 205x8 - 250x6 - 250x6 - 250x6

All in all, it was a good workout. I would have liked to get more legs in, but between the squats and the cramp I got after using the machine, I was done for the day. I also didn't want to push the limits of what my back could handle, so I called it a day.
 
One leg press that I only used once was vertical. Really flimsy despite being sold to the gym as suitable for commercial use. It went back after they realised the membership had loaded it to the point where the bars to hold the weights on the side had bent. Aparently it was only supposed to hold 300kg, which a couple of the guys were using to warm up with, oops!
 
Vertical? Like a hack squat press? I've seen those. My old gym years ago had one. It wasn't bad, but I'd still only prefer to use a barbell. I was going to attempt some dumb bell lunges, but my left leg couldn't take it. It was miserable for the rest of the day after that cramp.
 
This was laid on your back with platform directly above you. Really good idea in theory, gravity providing additional resistance etc. Just not able to cope with weights required by the heavier trainers and the movement was really jerky.
My version of leg press at home would have to be using the bar on my feet old school style, which I may do at some point, rack will make it safe.
Leg press on sled is good for the ego, max weight I have done on one is well over 3 times my best ever squat, but in reality it meant nothing.
 
I've seen tons of guys feeding their ego on the leg press with hundreds of pounds on it who can't even come down for a complete rep but act like tough ***** when they hernia out 6 half-reps.
 
Got in for chest yesterday. I'm starting to think that I need to switch up my routine again. The pyramid is starting to wear me out. I flipped my decline bench yesterday and did heavy first and got an extra set in, which was great. I did feel bad though because I got a spot and when I was done, the guy told me I could have done more, which I could have, but I didn't want to wear myself out on my first lift. My left shoulder also started to wear after my declines causing my incline press to suffer.

Flat Bench Warmup - 135x8 - 135x8

Decline Bench - 225x2 - 225x2 - 225x2 - 185x4 - 185x4 - 165x6 - 165x6 - 145x9 - 145x9

Incline Bench - 135x6 - 135x6 - 105x6 - 105x6

Dumb Bell fly(Total weight of both dumb bells) 60x9 - 60x9 - 80x6 - 80x6 - 100x4 - 100x4 - 50x12 - 50x12

Skull Crusher - 50x9 - 50x9 - 50x9 - 60x6 - 60x6 - 60x6

Cable Tricep Pull Down - 30x12 - 30x12 - 30x12 - 60x6 - 60x6 - 60x6

I'm thinking that when my back is 100% again, I may go back to the 5x5. I'm losing structure again, as I always do when I get off of my 5x5 routine. Maybe I'll try something I've never done, like the 5-3-1. I'll have to look into new stuff.
 
I always give as much as I can early on delberately to wear me out. It is the only way I get anywhere, and means I am dead at the end. Hence when I do proper 555s it takes me hours.

One power session to try is simple sets aka the devil's session. Simple and easy to under estimate and impossible without a spotter. 3 sets of 6 on each exercise (666 hence nickname) use your absolute 6 rep max for each exercise. The fatigue is what makes this work as 1st set's 6RM, second it's more like 5.somthing RM, third it's 4.somthing RM and the spotter takes literally just enough to get you to 6 reps each time. Number of exercises is up to you.
Haven't been able to do these in years and will not be while training alone, but this was one I did many times buddied up and it never failed to get results for me or anyone I trained with.
 
See, that's what I need. I would love to do something like that, but I don't have a dedicated spotter to lift with me during my sessions. The guy that spotted me yesterday is nice enough, and he is a very good spotter, but he's got his own thing. The one thing that I miss about the gym that I just quit was benching in the trx cage. I could set "arms" right above my chest to spot and bench as much as I wanted to without worrying about the roll of shame. I could do that in the squat cage in my new gym, but there's always somebody in it, and being a squatter myself, I don't want to be that guy benching in the squat cage while somebody's waiting to squat.

I wish the smith machine didn't have such a negative affect on my shoulders because I would love to bench on that, but that machine is what cause my bone spurs in my collar bones years ago. Well, that and bad form most likely, but to this day, I can't use it.
 
Went in for back yesterday feeling better than I have in weeks, but unfortunately not ready for deads. It only took picking up 135 twice to realize that. I did get in some good rows though. Had to set the pins in the squat cage as I couldn't pick the weigh up straight from the floor.

Barbell Row - 135x9 - 135x9 - 135x9 - 185x6 - 185x6 - 185x6 - 215x4 - 215x4 - 214x4

Lat Cable Pull Down - 160x8 - 160x8 - 160x8 - 190x5 - 190x5 - 190x5 - 100x12 - 100x12 - 100x12

Dumb Bell Pull Over - 40x8 - 40x8 - 40x8 - 50x6 - 50x6 - 50x6 - 60x4 - 60x4 - 60x4

Dumb Bell Curls(Total weight of both dumb bells) - 30x6 - 30x6 - 30x6 - 40x4 - 40x4 - 40x4 - 25x9 - 25x9 - 25x9

Shrugs - 200x12 - 210x12 - 210x12

I'm still a fan of the idea of having just an arm day as I was not happy at all with my bicep work. The rows take any energy in my arms away and when I'm curling, my arms are fried and I can't curl a decent weight.The problem is going four times a week, because it would have to go Monday/Chest, Tuesday/Back, Thursday/Legs and Friday/Arms, but with my hours at work changing recently, I'm barely walking in the door in time for dinner, not to mention having to do yard work and such.
 
I found the first set of deads made me concerned about my back but once warmed through I was OK. Of course that's me and I will openly admit my version of recovery from younger years has resulted in waking up in varying levels of pain daily, so that isn't automatically good.

Is there a possiblity of training prior to work? I know I do well training first thing.
 
Years ago when I was way into cardio and running every day, I would wake up early and row for 45 minutes before I went to work. That was before I had a family. The reason I say that is because I'm a very deep sleeper, and it takes a lot to wake me up. When I was waking up an hour before I had to, to row, I had 2 alarms set and my television set to turn on to wake me up. Needless to say, I can't do that now without waking the whole house up. I have one alarm now to wake up on time, and I really have to force myself to wake up every day, not to mention, since my hours with work have changed and I'm going in an hour later, I'm feeling much better during the day. Not tired and sluggish all the time like I was when I was waking up at 5 a.m. every day. I get that extra hour at night to wind down a little more, as I really don't stop until the girls are finally asleep. I know it seems like I'm making an excuses, but I really did feel great when I was rowing in the morning, and I would probably feel just as good if I were to lift in the morning as well, but that one hour that changed in my schedule has really made me feel better over the last couple weeks, and I would hate to have to go back to basically going to sleep at the same time as my girls do.
 
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Training has to fit into your life, especially when there is family. If family don't come first you don't deserve them, my own personal opinion.
I have to temper my training to fit into available time so I accept others doing the same.
Cardio takes time and that is often an issue for many. My only opportunity is lunch time so I take it. Without that I don't know if I could do cardio.
 
So, in an effort to add cardio into my routine while needing to change it anyway, and scrapping this week as I can't make any time to hit the weights any night, I have come up with a new routine that I am going to start Monday. I think I'll see good results from it, as I am ditching the pyramid-esque scheme that I've been doing for a couple months now and going heavy 5x5 again. I'll be splitting up my hour between weights and cardio.

Half hour weights/Half hour cardio

Day 1 - Chest/Cardio
Day 2 - Rest
Day 3 - Back/Cardio
Day 4 - Rest
Day 5 - Shoulders/Cardio
Day 6 - Rest
Day 7 - Arms/Cardio
Day 8 - Rest
Day 9 - Legs/Cardio
Day 10 and 11 - Rest

Repeat.

Now, I could possibly add shoulders into chest day and shave two days off of the routine, but if I'm lifting heavy, I'm only going to really have time to get through two different sets of 5x5 before my half hour for weights is up. Another possibility is that I do shoulders on leg day and no cardio then, because cardio on leg day is miserable. I'm up for tweaking, which is most likely going to happen, because that's a rather long split.

It will most likely end up like this..

Day 1 - Chest/Cardio
Day 2 - Rest
Day 3 - Back/Cardio
Day 4 - Rest
Day 5 - Arms/Cardio
Day 6 - Rest
Day 7 - Legs/Shoulders
Day 8 and 9 - Rest

Repeat.

This will be a good change for me, as my days of the week won't stay constant and if I have to skip a day, then I can just pick up where I left off the next day. It will also get in my much desired cardio. It also adds in weekend work, which will help because then not all of my days will be squeezed in after work. Thoughts?
 
Your back workout will include deadlift so will hit legs there too which is good. I would otherwise be concerned that the balance is 4 parts upper body 1 part lower, which is 1 part more than many bother with, but I know you like being capable.
This will gain you some serious muscle mass on either routine, plenty of time for growth and repair. Possibly even more so on the first one if you put legs as third workout rather than last, giving your shoulders and arms more time for recovery.
Looking at order and thinking of recovery times I would likely go for
Day 1 - Back/Cardio
Day 2 - Rest
Day 3 - Chest/Cardio
Day 4 - Rest
Day 5 - Legs/Cardio
Day 6 - Rest
Day 7 - Shoulders/Cardio
Day 8 - Rest
Day 9 - Arms/Cardio
Day 10 and 11 - Rest
The only time anything will still be recovering there is on arms day when triceps will be finalising recovery from shoulders but with 2 days rest after that would be fine.
Ignoring 7 day week is great. Training at home you would think this would be easy for me and in years to come it may be but weekends seem to disappear, annoying really.

Looks good and you will hit every session totally fresh which is more than I can say.
 
CrazyOldMan said:
Your back workout will include deadlift so will hit legs there too which is good. I would otherwise be concerned that the balance is 4 parts upper body 1 part lower, which is 1 part more than many bother with, but I know you like being capable.
This will gain you some serious muscle mass on either routine, plenty of time for growth and repair. Possibly even more so on the first one if you put legs as third workout rather than last, giving your shoulders and arms more time for recovery.
Looking at order and thinking of recovery times I would likely go for
Day 1 - Back/Cardio
Day 2 - Rest
Day 3 - Chest/Cardio
Day 4 - Rest
Day 5 - Legs/Cardio
Day 6 - Rest
Day 7 - Shoulders/Cardio
Day 8 - Rest
Day 9 - Arms/Cardio
Day 10 and 11 - Rest
The only time anything will still be recovering there is on arms day when triceps will be finalising recovery from shoulders but with 2 days rest after that would be fine.
Ignoring 7 day week is great. Training at home you would think this would be easy for me and in years to come it may be but weekends seem to disappear, annoying really.

Looks good and you will hit every session totally fresh which is more than I can say.
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Yeah, for recovery, I like yours better. You don't think and 11 day split is too long? I mean, as long as I'm seeing gains, it could be a 20 days split for all I care, I guess.
 
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