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Liftandswim's Log

liftandswim

liftandswim

Well-known member
What's up AM? Been lurking for a few months here and decided it's about time to make an account, and more importantly, make a log. I see all the support around here and want to join the party.

Background Info:
Age: 22

Weight: ~195 (BF% 12-14)

Years training: a few, but less than a year of not being an asshat (unfortunately fairly common for lifters my age)

Training style: beginning a 20 week modified 5/3/1 training cycle from Wendler's beyond 5/3/1 book this Monday!

Current lifts: squat 365, bench 305, deadlift 420, press 180*

*(calculated from rep pr)

Goals (putting it all on the table here before the training cycle begins!): squat 440, bench 330, deadlift 500, press 205

Past: Been a competitive swimmer my entire life. Was all-state in high school and went on to swim at the division 1 college level for 4 years so I'm no stranger to competing at a high level. in fact, its kinda weird being this mediocre at something (even though I'm the strongest at my gym...). just graduated this past May (beginning a masters program this fall) and looking to eventually step on the platform.

Will update this log frequently and post videos of my training when I can.

May gains be with you all.
 
Pretty good numbers to start man, 5/3/1 is great, I'd run it for as long as you are making gains on it. takes a while to realize gains. but when you start hitting what used to be a heavy single or double for a set of 5, it feels great.
 
capo180 said:
Pretty good numbers to start man, 5/3/1 is great, I'd run it for as long as you are making gains on it. takes a while to realize gains. but when you start hitting what used to be a heavy single or double for a set of 5, it feels great.
Click to expand...

Thanks bud.

And yeah that's the plan. I realize (now...) that strength will come with time under the bar and sound programming. No need to jump around from program to program. Work on building not testing.

Can't wait to get the ball rolling.
 
liftandswim said:
Thanks bud.

And yeah that's the plan. I realize (now...) that strength will come with time under the bar and sound programming. No need to jump around from program to program. Work on building not testing.

Can't wait to get the ball rolling.
Click to expand...

yep thats the right mindset, wish i would of had that frame of mind a couple years ago.
 
8/4

Week 1, Day 1

Warm-up
Cycle 1 mile
General stretching
Mobility

Box Jump
15 total

Squat
230x3
265x3
295x3+ (8, taped)
Invalid Link Removed

Pause Bench
(60 seconds rest between sets)
215x5
215x5
215x5
215x5
215x5

Pull-ups
BWx50 total

Side Bends
50x25
50x25

Tricep Pushdown
UnknownX25
UnknownX25
UnknownX25

Thoughts:
Squats went okay, I was hoping for a few more reps, but I just wasn't feeling it today. I was kinda letting the weight shift me forward a bit and, as a result, depth was meh. I'll take it though, technique is an on-going battle. Rest of the workout was pretty easy, nothing too spectacular. Stay strong AM.
 
Count me in! I like where your squats are at. Technique is solid. Focus on driving your head into your traps the whole time and your squat will improve.
 
herderdude said:
Count me in! I like where your squats are at. Technique is solid. Focus on driving your head into your traps the whole time and your squat will improve.
Click to expand...

Glad to have you, bud. Always open to critique from a 600lb squatter!

Care to elaborate on the head into the traps cue? Do you mean out of the hole? Should my physically move?
 
I push my head back before I squat to stay more upright and keep driving it back the whole time. It shouldn't move in relation to your body coming out of the hole, That would mean you weren't as tight as you could have been descending into the squat. Basically, we want an erect neutral spine throughout the entire squat.
 
herderdude said:
I push my head back before I squat to stay more upright and keep driving it back the whole time. It shouldn't move in relation to your body coming out of the hole, That would mean you weren't as tight as you could have been descending into the squat. Basically, we want an erect neutral spine throughout the entire squat.
Click to expand...

Oh okay, I see what you mean. I'll give it a go
 
capo180 said:
nice squatting man, reps looked easy.. form is pretty solid, especially for a newer lifter.
Click to expand...

Appreciate it. For me, reps go from easy to impossible really quick. Gotta work on that, as that seems more related to form breakdown not lack of strength
 
Seems like all I do is ask questions about equipment/accessories on AM, but oh well I trust you guys. So my birthday is coming up and I'm looking to get a new belt. Opinions on the Titan longhorn lever belt or the inzer forever lever belt? Anything else out there worth looking into? Price is no object.
 
I love my inzer forever single prong. I got the10 mm and it's sturdy as hell.

Inzer is SLOOOOWWWW though.
 
Missed the start...but in on this. Squats looked good!

I vote single prong as well. I got mine from BestBelts.net and it shipped and got to me fast. I love mine. :D
 
bolt10 said:
Missed the start...but in on this. Squats looked good! I vote single prong as well. I got mine from BestBelts.net and it shipped and got to me fast. I love mine. :D
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'm self-taught so always learning more.

I'll look into that site as well.
 
8/6

Week 1, Day 3

Warm-up
Cycle 1 mile
General stretching
Mobility

Overhead Med Ball Throw
10 total

Deadlift
265x3
305x3
350x3+ (6, taped)
Invalid Link Removed

Press
(60 seconds rest between sets)
120x5
120x5
120x5
120x5
120x5

Barbell curl
(strict. slowly building these up, I need strong/healthy biceps)
45x10
50x10
55x10

Back raises
BWx15
BWx15
BWx15

Facepulls
100 total

Thoughts:
Solid day, nothing ground breaking. My mid-back was a little sore from that weighted vest walking I did yesterday, stuff is no joke. Bar was moving a little slow, but I was still able to double the prescribed reps so I'll take it. I think I need to bring my grip in a tad, seemed a little wide in the video. I need to play around with my leg drive off the floor as well. Some days it's good and some days it's meh. My problem is I lose tightness in my back when I try to "pop" off the ground. Thoughts?

I'm going to work on that camera angle too. The gym was crowded and I had nowhere to set my phone. Note the curlbro in the background, that's a fairly accurate representation of 90% of the lifters at my gym. Live and let live, I guess. Stay strong AM.
 
Subbed!

Edit: Good lifts. I'd work on getting some more hamstring tension in your deadlift setup. Should help you off the flood.
 
In on this.

Just ordered a Inzer forever 10mm lever from house of pain Sunday. Already shipped should be at my parents house by the end of the week. Won't get to try it out for a week or so. Was gonna do BestBelts but they weren't taking orders at the time and I decided I wanted a lever belt
 
joh408 said:
In on this. Just ordered a Inzer forever 10mm lever from house of pain Sunday. Already shipped should be at my parents house by the end of the week. Won't get to try it out for a week or so. Was gonna do BestBelts but they weren't taking orders at the time and I decided I wanted a lever belt
Click to expand...

Glad to have you bro.

Let me know how you like the belt!
 
Lots of good belts I choose from. If only this sport would be big enough to have a place to check em out before we buy.

Putting in some good work. Deads looked pretty solid ma man.
 
8/8

Week 1, Day 5

Warm-up
Cycle 1 mile
General stretching
Mobility

Standing Long Jump
15 total

Squat
(belt-less, 60 seconds rest)
250x5
250x5
250x5
250x5
250x5

Bench
(all reps paused until top set)
200x3
230x3
255x3+ (8, no film wahhh)

Pull-ups
BWx50 total

Side Bends
60x25
60x25

Tricep Pushdown
UnknownX25
UnknownX25
UnknownX25

Thoughts:
Squats went well. Definitely need to up my work capacity, I was gassed after set 5. Bench was awesome. I'm damn pleased with 255 for 8 (estimated 322lb 1RM), especially after all them squats. Big PR!
No video today. I meant to film my final bench set, but completely forgot haha. Oh well. Stay strong AM.
 
Repping squats at 5 or more is hard. Why I always get so impressed when NomZ and Sean go high reps.

Awesome pressing, too. Beat the crap out of that AMRAP
 
rob112 said:
Repping squats at 5 or more is hard. Why I always get so impressed when NomZ and Sean go high reps. Awesome pressing, too. Beat the crap out of that AMRAP
Click to expand...

Yeah I was surprised how winded I was. Gotta put in that hard work though!

And thanks bud, I went into the day hoping to get 6, so 8 felt great.
 
8/9

Week 1, Day 6

Warm-up
General stretching
Mobility

Barbell Row
work up, work up
230x13

Kroc Row
100x25

Lateral Raises
(seated, super strict. 20 seconds rest)
10x15
10x15
10x15

Incline Curl
(just trying to get a pump)
20x10
20x10
20x10

Smith Machine Calf Raises
(toe-elevated)
2ppsx12
2ppsx12
2ppsx12
2ppsx12
2ppsx12

Core Circuit
(no rest)
60 second plank
15 45-degree leg lifts
25 straight-leg crunches
15 bicycle crunches
X2

Thoughts:
Rows continue to climb. I'm much stronger on them than a few months ago and I really think they're helping my deads and bench. Rest of the workout was just blood flow work. Kept it short and sweet. Ready to enjoy the weekend and get back at it Monday. Stay strong AM.
 
Hey man, nice weight in the rows and reps on the Kroc rows with that weight. Solid!
 
rob112 said:
Hey man, nice weight in the rows and reps on the Kroc rows with that weight. Solid!
Click to expand...

Thanks rob, I love me some rows. Like I said above, they seem to be helping in the big lifts. I like to alternate lower back taxing rows (i.e. barbell rows) and something less stressful like cable rows or chest supported row from week to week.

And I'm pretty bummed my gym doesn't have dbs above 100lbs for them Kroc rows.
 
Matt Kroc went to a gym that didn't have anything over 100 for awhile. He just set insane rep PRS, like 40 and 50. And that dude is as strong as they come.
 
herderdude said:
Matt Kroc went to a gym that didn't have anything over 100 for awhile. He just set insane rep PRS, like 40 and 50. And that dude is as strong as they come.
Click to expand...

A little goal of mine is to eventually get 50. Probably a good year off that. Thanks for the motivation herder
 
8/11

Week 2, Day 1

Warm-up
Cycle 1 mile
General stretching
Mobility

Med Ball Slam
15 total

Deadlift
(60 seconds rest)
285x3
285x3
285x3
285x3
285x3

Press
115x3
130x3
145x3+ (9, again no tape)

Barbell Curl
50x10
55x10
60x10

Back Raises
BWx15
BWx15
BWx15

Facepulls
100 total

Thoughts:
Good little workout. The volume deads gassed my low back and lats, gotta love short rest! Tripled the prescribed reps on press, so I'm happy with that. No film again because, like an idiot, I forgot my phone at home. Which also meant I had no music, lame. Looking forward to throwing up some tape of my squat 5's on Wednesday though. Stay strong AM.
 
In for squat videos. ;)
 
8/13

Week 2, Day 3

**Workout #1**

Squat
385x1 (20lb PR)
Invalid Link Removed

Thoughts:
ME + Boredom + Motivational Powerlifting Videos on Youtube = New squat PR. And after reviewing the tape I may have been good for 405 (would have been a grinder though). I don't want to make this a habit, but I just couldn't resist today. Few things I noticed:
1. the pins were set too high, I kept bumping it on my unrack, not too big of a deal but definitely not ideal on the heavier weights
2. i had a little more horizontal knee travel than i'd like, need to work on keeping my weight back. paused the video in the hole, dat shin angle.
3. when the weights get heavy I move my head around, it's almost like I'm afraid i'm not going to make it out of the hole so I instinctively look up. I need to knock that sh!t off because it only further exacerbates my weight shifting forward!
4. i don't want to be a dive-bomb squatter, but i slow my descent too much on the higher percentages. i deleted the film to save space on my phone, but 315 and 350 moved a ton faster (down and up)

Any other comments guys? Always open to critique.

Also, I still plan on hitting my scheduled workout tonight. It's nothing daunting and I have 5 or so hours to recover, i'll be just fine.
 
pretty nice squat man, i expected it too be a lot slower decent from the way you talked about it. for some reason it looks like you kinda bounced at the bottom, idk if you kinda bouced off your calves there, but that looked like it caused your knees to really move forward. besides that it looked like a great squat, especially for a 20 lb PR.
 
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