Squats, Bench, Deadlift: This is your fitness thread

mrt144 said:
I'm doing 5x5 right now and lifting 4 days a week. How much do you weigh and how much are you eating in terms of protein per day
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I am about a couple of weeks into the year. It started late because there were some mean bugs going around the first part of the year and the gym has a January effect where it was very difficult to find a squat rack. So I am into the second cycle for the year.

For scheduling, I can get two days for the week to do real lifting, two days to do other fitness stuff. To get stronger, I will have to pick one or two more days to lift.

If I did Squats, Bench Press, and Rows last night, is doing Squats, Overhead Press, and Dead lifts okay tonight or do I need to wait another day?

Weight? Currently I am between 175 and 180. I would say 178, give or take 2 pounds based on extra water. (Two years ago I was 210. One year ago I was 205.)

Protein? My diet needs to be rebuilt. I think the number is supposed to be 175g (based on 1g per pound) out of 2400 calories. (30% of overall) To get that number I would have to take a log for a week or so and make adjustments accordingly.
 
So, not lifting but running. Up to about 5 miles of flat ground if I am determined, 2-3 miles on a normal day, still fairly slow (10-11 min per mile) but better than I have ever done before. (I used to hate running...kind of into it now.)

I am 31 and my knees, hips, ankles and so on are all fine. Is that going to last? I run 2-3 miles on cement sidewalks about 2-3 times a week, so not that much really. I just bought some new running shoes.
 
No, it won't last, your body will eventually deteriorate. However, the prevailing research tends to point to impact exercise as being good for your joints/bones, it's really cutting sports that's rough on them.

FYI, I'm pretty critical of regular running shoes - there's essentially no evidence to suggest they provide any bio-mechanical benefit over barefoot or minimalist (I like Merrell and Vivobarefoot, you can google for others) shoes.
 
Harv said:
I am about a couple of weeks into the year. It started late because there were some mean bugs going around the first part of the year and the gym has a January effect where it was very difficult to find a squat rack. So I am into the second cycle for the year.

For scheduling, I can get two days for the week to do real lifting, two days to do other fitness stuff. To get stronger, I will have to pick one or two more days to lift.

If I did Squats, Bench Press, and Rows last night, is doing Squats, Overhead Press, and Dead lifts okay tonight or do I need to wait another day?

Weight? Currently I am between 175 and 180. I would say 178, give or take 2 pounds based on extra water. (Two years ago I was 210. One year ago I was 205.)

Protein? My diet needs to be rebuilt. I think the number is supposed to be 175g (based on 1g per pound) out of 2400 calories. (30% of overall) To get that number I would have to take a log for a week or so and make adjustments accordingly.
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Honestly its up to you, i lift 4 days back to back then usually snowboard saturday and rest sunday monday. Im at 218 and my lifts are linear progressing 5 lbs per week. Ill post more layter
 
illram said:
So, not lifting but running. Up to about 5 miles of flat ground if I am determined, 2-3 miles on a normal day, still fairly slow (10-11 min per mile) but better than I have ever done before. (I used to hate running...kind of into it now.)

I am 31 and my knees, hips, ankles and so on are all fine. Is that going to last? I run 2-3 miles on cement sidewalks about 2-3 times a week, so not that much really. I just bought some new running shoes.
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Yes you will decline as you age. But long term runners, for example, start declining around 30 and by like age 70 they decline to their 18 year old running endurance performance ;)

Keep exercising, eating right, sleeping, having good relationships, having purpose, and you'll likely live long and healthy, without destroyed body parts.
 
mrt144 said:
Honestly its up to you, i lift 4 days back to back then usually snowboard saturday and rest sunday monday. Im at 218 and my lifts are linear progressing 5 lbs per week. Ill post more layter
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I eat whatever I want and drink a combo of Optimum Nutrition Hydrobuilder and Whey and a tablespoon of Creatine before workouts and 2 scoops of Optimum Nutrition Casein and Creatine before bed, both mixed with milk.
 
Harv said:
For scheduling, I can get two days for the week to do real lifting, two days to do other fitness stuff. To get stronger, I will have to pick one or two more days to lift.
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It's totally possible to get stronger on two days per week, even though a higher frequency would be preferable. Just make sure you pile enough volume into those two days (and with five worksets per exercise that's probably good enough), and get plenty of food etc. and you'll be fine -- some lighter (bodyweight-based?) exercise once or twice per week on off-days would probably help with recovery, too.

I'm currently on a two-days-per-week scheme but I'm also not really expecting to get any stronger over the next few months as I am cutting. I've given up on more advanced programming for now and am simply running linear power cycles -- three worksets per exercise, no more than five reps per set, bump up weight for next week if and only if I make at least ten reps (so 5,3,2 would be good enough), otherwise reset weight by about a month's progress.

Day A:
Overhead press
Weighted chinups (superset with press)
Deadlift
Close-grip bench press
Pendlay rows
Front squat

Day B:
Bench press
Weighted chinups
Squat
Incline bench press
Pulldowns or wide-grip pullups
Stiff-leg deadlift
Deficit deadlift (speed sets; 8-10 sets of 2-3 reps, one set per minute).

In addition to this I'm trying to get in some high-frequency work on off-days: Pullups (have a pullup bar in the garage), miscellaneous kettlebell and bodyweight stuff. Actually, just concentrating on pullups, kettlebell swings and Turkish getups is my main plan for now. Pullups and getups as often as possible, high-volume swings once or twice per week. I can do six pullups on a good day and I just recently managed a getup with my 32 kg bell, there's room for improvement here.

If I had the opportunity (and if I ever get around to clearing a space in the garage so I can put a squat rack and a barbell in there I will) I'd try lifting 5-7 days per week. But I'd do so by taking the same amount of volume that'd go in a traditional three-days-per-week powerlifting program and just spreading it over more days -- chopping each workout in half, so to speak.
 
Managed to hit 70 kg (154lbs) on my power cleans today! Very happy because this was my 1RM max back in October before I got sick and everything got set back terribly. I'm more or less back in shape on my lifts now and I spent some time working on my form, so things are looking good.

I am getting frustrated by my attempts to lose the weight I put on... I was 180 then I ballooned up to 196. After about 5 weeks of hard work I'm between 190 and 191 and having trouble losing more... I'de like to be around 175, but could be happy with 180 again. As of now I have obvious fat on my stomach and sides, and many of my old pants still don't fit well.

I've been lifting twice a week and doing hardcore cardio 3 times a week. With lighter cardio the other two days when I can. Eating well and keeping my calorie counts down etc. Any other ideas? I'm getting frustrated...
 
Zelig said:
I should do something about my bench, it's stuck at like 150 while my squat and deadlift are over 350.
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Try running a Smolov jr. cycle? I did that about a year ago (stretched out a little because I could lift three times a week but not four), it bumped up my gym PR by 10 kg from my previous best (and actually by 20 kg from where I was when I started out, as I'd just spent three months not benching due to an injury). I'd only recommend this if you don't have shoulder problems, I guess. It amounts to an awful lot of benching.
 
Zelig said:
I should do something about my bench, it's stuck at like 150 while my squat and deadlift are over 350.
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Smash hard on your row. Have you been doing that?
 
Last week's working weights:

OHP 67.5 kg / 148.5 lbs x {5,5,3}
Bench 105 kg / 231 lbs x {5,5,8}
Squat 135 kg / 297 lbs x {5,5,5}
Deadlift 182.5 kg / 401.5 lbs x {5,3,2}

On assistance lifts:
Weighted chins: fat + 12.5 kg / 27.5 lbs x {5,4,4}
Close-grip bench: 102.5 kg / 225.5 lbs x {5,5,5}
Pendlay rows: 102.5 kg / 225.5 lbs x {5,5,5}
Front squat: 102.5 kg / 225.5 lbs x {5,5,5}
Incline bench: 80 kg / 176 lbs x {5,5,7}
Stiff-leg deads: 135 kg / 297 lbs x {5,5,5}

This from a 40-year-old man currently tipping the scales around 114 kg / 250 lbs, trying to cut weight down towards 105 kg / 230-ish lbs. Haven't tested 1RM in anything for a good while and have no plans to do so in the immediate future; in 2012 my gym PRs were an 80 kg OHP, 140 kg bench, 180 kg squat and 210 kg deadlift. Tried but failed to join the 3/4/5 plate club last year (got too impatient with the deadlift, pursued it too aggressively, injured myself, lost time and strength...) but will get there yet. Just with no set schedule.
 
Leifmk said:
Try running a Smolov jr. cycle? I did that about a year ago (stretched out a little because I could lift three times a week but not four), it bumped up my gym PR by 10 kg from my previous best (and actually by 20 kg from where I was when I started out, as I'd just spent three months not benching due to an injury). I'd only recommend this if you don't have shoulder problems, I guess. It amounts to an awful lot of benching.
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Only shoulder problems I've had was when I was doing BW+20kg dips, I've given up on weighted dips and haven't had problems since. I'll take a look at it.

Hygro said:
Smash hard on your row. Have you been doing that?
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Yeah, row is good.
 
My latest numbers are:
245 Dead Lift 5 sets of 5
First set was 4 because my grip was going, so the next four sets I used an alternating grip.
185 Squat 5 sets of 5
I feel better about the range of motion and am still getting used to the first part of the motion.
155 Bench Press 5 sets of 5
The last set fell short and I tried again to get it right and got to execute a Roll of Shame.
105 Bent over Row 5 sets of 5
This worked out great so I am bumping it up to 115 in the next cycle.
95 Overhead Press 5 sets of 5
The last two reps of the last set needed a little bit of help.

I also learned that squats two days in a row suck. My hamstrings tend to be tight.

So if I understand the proportions correctly, I should be at:
100% Dead Lift (This implies 255 pounds)
80% Squat (205 pounds)
60% Bench Press (155 pounds)
50% Bent over Row (125 pounds)
40% Overhead Press (105 pounds)

By this, it is the Squats and Bent over Rows that need help. I believe these are issues with coordination and as soon as I am more used to the motion, those numbers will go up.
 
I have a cold right now so I'm taking a week off.

130 OHP
275 DL
185 Bench
255 Squat
160 Barbell Rows
 
Squats - Finally got the full range of motion! It took a good bit of practice and confidence building, but I got down! I started with an empty bar and went up to 135, and then did some sets varying the weight between 155, 175, and 185. We will see how the hamstrings and backside feel in the morning.

Bench Press - Working on 165 - Did sets of 5, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2. I did not feel quite confident enough to try the fifth rep.
 
So after taking a week off because of a cold I got back into it

285 on DLs. BIG GAINS!
 
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