Arkk's Weight Lifting / Fitness Thread

arkktheseaotter_sl said:

You'll adjust eventually. Whether its better than doing things more traditionally remains to be seen. I've never seen someone squat multiple times a week and increase the weight each time .

I guess see how it goes.

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Eventually I'll have to stop.

Itlan_sl said:

I started 5x5 SL. So I'm deadlifting 3 times every 2 weeks, 10 pounds each time. Bench is the same, I'm increasing by 10 for now until I plateau, mainly because I'm not necessarily new to lifting, but I wanted to try something different.

Squats, I'm at 225 and plan on attempting 235 on Thursday (my days got fucked up this week). Once the load becomes too much, I'll drop it down to 5 lbs per workout, so go from 235 to 240 for instance. Squatting three times a week is really taking it's toll on my body right now, but it's something different.

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I'd say it's because of doing 5 sets. I kept up linear gains moving to SS method (3 sets) after I stopped making linear gains with stronglifts (I'm talking about other exercises of course since my squats have never been up there). At lower weight relative to your genetic potential, 5x5 isn't that stressful. But when you get a little closer to your potential, 5x5 becomes exceedingly stressful on your body and too much to recover from in 2 days. 3 sets isn't as stressful, but it's enough to continue making gains for a bit longer.*

I started on stronglifts, but where the hell did that routine come from? It looks like someone read Starting Strength, changed it up a bit and claimed it as their own. It's nearly identical. Without any other information, I'd trust the word of His Majesty Rippetoe over anyone else.

Once you go to an intermediate program from starting strength, you'll do 5x5 on the "heavy" day. I'd say that fact alone shows that 5x5 three times a week is entirely too much once you start getting to heavy (relative to your potential) weights. So, I say switch routines.

*This is directly from "Practical Programming for Strength Training." The argument is that, when you're a beginner, say squatting 135 5x5, you may barely squeak out that last set, but that weight is still low enough of a stressor to your body that you can easily recover in 2 days. However, toward the end of your linear progression, doing say 225 5x5, it may feel no harder than the 135 was way back when, but it's much much more stressful on your body and its ability to recover. That means it's time to switch to an intermediate program that designs your workout for weekly recovery rather than every 2 days. But if you're doing 5x5, my guess is you could drop that to 3 sets of 5 and continue making linear gains.

I feel like 225 is heavy no matter what. Even when I was deadlifting 375, 225 still felt like a shit ton of weight.

After globo gym lifting for 15 months, I finally met a fellow gym bro who high bar, atg squats as well. <3.

Anyone train in a crossfit facility? Specifically, do they let lifters in who could give a shit less about c&jing 65kgs for 30 reps, but just wanna use their facilities to oly lift/strength train.

Dabamf_sl said:

I'd say it's because of doing 5 sets.

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Doubt it. I used to do 4 sets 12-10-8-6. Which is a fuckton more reps, and I was doing A LOT more workouts.

I just did 235 today, and will be going for 245 Saturday. I'll switch routines once I hit 285 or so, or at least not until I plateau hard. Squatting three times a week may seem like much, but I can always dial it back on the midweek workout. I know a guy who squats 5 times a week, and he's squatting well over 315 pounds. I give my legs atleast 48 hours to recover, which should be more than enough.

Itlan_sl said:

Doubt it. I used to do 4 sets 12-10-8-6. Which is a fuckton more reps, and I was doing A LOT more workouts.

I just did 235 today, and will be going for 245 Saturday. I'll switch routines once I hit 285 or so, or at least not until I plateau hard. Squatting three times a week may seem like much, but I can always dial it back on the midweek workout. I know a guy who squats 5 times a week, and he's squatting well over 315 pounds. I give my legs atleast 48 hours to recover, which should be more than enough.

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Someone squatting 5 times a week sounds idiotic in any context.

Squatting over 315 1) isn't impressive 2) the real question is how well he's progressed.

In no world is squatting 5 times a week superior to a dozen other programs, probably double or triple that.

I'm not saying it's a good program, I'm saying my legs wouldn't be tiring out that quickly. It's more my body getting used to a new program more than anything I'd say.

And the 315 number is just to show he's going heavy for a good portion of his lifting. It's not like he's burning out 50 reps of 135 lol.

Itlan_sl said:

I'm not saying it's a good program, I'm saying my legs wouldn't be tiring out that quickly. It's more my body getting used to a new program more than anything I'd say.

And the 315 number is just to show he's going heavy for a good portion of his lifting. It's not like he's burning out 50 reps of 135 lol.

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I know I'm not saying "315 BRO THAT AIN'T SHIT" I just meant it isn't like a testament to squatting 5x a week.

arkktheseaotter_sl said:

I know I'm not saying "315 BRO THAT AIN'T SHIT" I just meant it isn't like a testament to squatting 5x a week.

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Oh I know, I just meant he's pretty strong, but he also varies his squatting. Sometimes he just does one set, other times does as many as five. Not sure his reasoning, but I'm not one to judge.

Todays article on T-Nation was actually about a guy who did squats 6 times a week. He said it was some of the worst pain he's ever been in. It sounds tempting (if not incredibly dangerous), outside of that.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...tting_insanity

Itlan_sl said:

Doubt it. I used to do 4 sets 12-10-8-6. Which is a fuckton more reps, and I was doing A LOT more workouts.

I just did 235 today, and will be going for 245 Saturday. I'll switch routines once I hit 285 or so, or at least not until I plateau hard. Squatting three times a week may seem like much, but I can always dial it back on the midweek workout. I know a guy who squats 5 times a week, and he's squatting well over 315 pounds. I give my legs atleast 48 hours to recover, which should be more than enough.

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Is he doing some program? I remember Sheiko was a big thing for a while. That guy Broz (yes broz) had his people do Bulgarian method stuff which had them squatting every day. imo you cant do that effectively unless you're a genetic freak or on something. Starting Strength got to be ridiculous when the weights got to PR levels every other day. Maybe if you've got no job and can recover a lot after the gym. Still 5x a week seems a lot.

arkktheseaotter_sl said:

Someone squatting 5 times a week sounds idiotic in any context.

Squatting over 315 1) isn't impressive 2) the real question is how well he's progressed.

In no world is squatting 5 times a week superior to a dozen other programs, probably double or triple that.

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Maybe there's a disparity between power and oly lifters, but the latter pretty much squats 6 days a week.

375 x5 in the gym. Standing overhead press going slow, making progress with front squats. 175 without dumping it. Biggest thing holding me back on it is being able to squat without weights rolling off neck/front shoulders onto my fingers. Mobility is definitely increasing on thoraxal movement. Pretty much started with bar + 20 with it almost rolling off all the time. Really tempted to do cross grip but just being stubborn on doing a Olympic style front squat. All in all progress being made.

Anyone ever seen one of these?

http://www.amazon.com/DARD-Olympic-D...xp_grid_pt_0_0

I currently do front calf raises with dumbbells (sit on flat bench with heels at the end of it, place dumbbell between feet and "curl" the weight), but I'm getting to the point where the dumbbells are too big to do it with (70 lbs). I'm wondering if anyone who's seen one of these can tell me how much weight it can hold. If I couldn't hold 3 plate, I'd imagine it's worthless. The reviews on Amazon make it look like the only people using it aren't lifting anything substantial.

Oh, and if anyone is looking for a new protein, Controlled Labs just recently came out with a vanilla cupcake batter Pronom 23. Shit is delicious. You open the container and it literally smells like cake. I had only bought ON 100% Gold previously, but I may be switching. It's a bit more expensive (I wanna say about 7 cents more per serving), but it's seriously like a dessert. I've been a big fan of Controlled Labs for a while (used Green Mag and White Flood), so I'm pretty confident in their products.

They also have chocolate batter (tastes like brownie mix), but I'm not huge on chocolate protein shakes. Can get a free sample of that from bb.com.

Think I'm done taking protein shakes, tbh. I just eat...

I can definitely see where it would be too sweet for some (most) people.

As far as not taking protein shakes, I'm not sure I could do that. It's just too convenient a way to get protein in.

I eat like 20+ oz of chicken a day... should be more than enough.