PT's Log "Roaring Rippetoe!"

[PinkTiger]

Welcome to the log, I'm doing Ripp's routine atm to develop my core compound lifts before I use splits since I think I can gain some more using full body routines to get some mass up. No e-inflated numbers here, telling it like it is.

Current Stats:

Height:5ft 10"

Weight:68 KG - 150 lbs

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Workout A:

4 minute cycle to get the blood flowing

(ATG) Squats:

Warmup went well, felt confident.

70 KG - 154 lbs (3 x 5)

3 x 5 completed. I found it very difficult towards the end, the bar speed wasn't optimal for the last one. Form was very good throughout though, so I'll raise it 2.2 KG - 4.8 lbs next time.

Bench Press

Rushed warmup, but decided to aim higher than usual.

50 KG - 110 lbs (I know it's low) (3 x 5)

1 x 5 I completed, slow bar speed on last one. I knew this wasn't good for the next sets.

1 x 4 I needed assistance on the last rep

1 x 3 I needed assistance on the last two reps

So yeah, pretty disappointed. Should I stay with this weight next workout or lower it? I'm thinking lower it by 2.5 KG. I hope my bench isn't stalling on me, or Ripp's isn't going to do my bench any favours.

Dead Lift

I hadn't used deadlifts frequently, so I went safe to prevent early injury.
Form > Weight was more important to me here. Warmup went fine.

60 KG - 132 lbs (1 x 5)

1 x 5 I absolutely aced these. Great form on all of them, this can go up 10 KG as it was far easier than the other exercises.
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I'm somewhat disappointed about my bench press, but the squats more than made up for it. Looking forward to Workout B. Nutrition, body state and effort were all decent, so it was good by my standard.

[jlozan84]

Don't worry about the bench, it will come around. Everyone has to start somewhere.

I would stick with the same weight and move weight up when you get 3x5.

[Papasmurf]

If you want, read a few articles on the bench press. Theres a lot of little how-to's and good tidbits out there that will add weight instantaneously. Bench is a ton of form.

[PinkTiger]

Thanks for that Papasmurf, I'll do that

Overall it's been an alright week. Still getting used to it. As I do more, my form will improve, my weights will increase, my strength will increase and so too will my gains, so more focus on form for now. (I think it wise to avoid injury wherever possible, so form takes the lead for now.)

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Wednesday's Workout

I can't remember details such as nutrition, but I didn't feel on top form, slightly lethargic (tired) but still determined enough to get out there.

Workout B

ATG Squats

72.5 KG - 160 lbs

3 x 5 No problems on any of them, decent form too.

Standing Military Press

Didn't feel like pushing myself here, I sustained a slight shoulder injury (not internal, just a wound).

27.5 KG - 60 lbs

3 x 5 Laughable weight, I know. Easy Peasy.

PowerCleans

I'm going to be honest here and say I'm not happy with my form. It's not dangerous or anything, but I'm still working on it (the 2nd part is the tough bit) and so it's not worth mentioning. I will switch over to B-bell bent over rows, definitely (for now).

Overall a little dejected, but no big deal, pick myself back up again.
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Friday's Workout

Nutrition was less than I wanted, but was on the lower-end of protein requirements. Got enough carbs though, and felt much more energetic.

Workout A

Bit of a mixed bag this one. Definitely great for me though.

ATG squats

80 KG - 176 lbs

3 x 5

I was confident, and had a good warmup. The last set was pretty intense, and slow bar speed on the last rep. I was advised to slow my descent a little, so I'm bearing that in mind for the future, but extremely pleased by it, it properly tested my willpower, and I'm no longer doing "child's play" weight.

DB Incline Press

A group of people took a full 25 minutes on the bench press, so resorted to doing these as a warmup for my bench press. These proved challenging, as the stabilisation needed was completely different. Minimal weight though.

Bent-Over Barbell Rows

You're probably thinking "WTF!" here, but they were *STILL* using it, so I did minimal weight and form to slot in at this point, as I will be doing them in Workout B (resourceful huh? ). Nothing much to report, I picked the form up pretty fast, these are harder than they look though.

Bench Press

Finally, lol. I was determined to stick with 50 KG, so I did.

50 KG - 110.2 lbs

3 x 5

1 x 5 Good
1 x 5 Slow last rep, good though.
1 x 4 You've got to be kidding me.

It's hard to describe my disappointment at losing that last rep. I was pretty annoyed. Almost got it though, next time I'm putting the final nail in the coffin to raise my bench up some more.

Dead Lift

70 KG - 154 lbs

1 x 6 First rep was adjustment form, so did one extra to make up for it. It was a little taxing, but no big problem.

BarBell Curls

22.5 KG - 50 lbs

1 x 21

... experimenting. My biceps were slaughtered. I used a different form in cycles of 7, went half-way, then the top-half, then 7 full ones. I'm not entirely convinced it's that effective.

Tricep Dips

Bodyweight, after the first dip I experienced cramp in my HAMSTRING (of all places). I did 3 more, but knew my energy was near depletion by this point.

Situps

2 x 20

Just with a medicine ball and a friend. Not difficult, more resistance is needed in the form of cable crunches!
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Thoughts:

For my first week it was alright. I am improving, so that's good! Might as well keep it up. Comments/Criticisms/Mockery of weak lifting always welcome

Till next time.

[jproudj]

Nice squats. Are you in the UK/Australia? Are dips in your programme? Seems a bit intense as a tri exercise after squats and deads and bench. You'll get the 50kg bench next time easy.

[Papasmurf]

Power Cleans, or any clean exercise for that matter are pretty tough to learn, especially for a new lifter. Id take your own advice and substitute something else for now. Try to find someone who can teach you to clean properly.

[PinkTiger]

Originally Posted by jproudj

Nice squats. Are you in the UK/Australia? Are dips in your programme? Seems a bit intense as a tri exercise after squats and deads and bench. You'll get the 50kg bench next time easy.

Yeah I'm UK. The Dips usually would be, yeah. It would be intense but I'm no good at them (I struggle with tricep exercises) so it's not that intense for my body. Besides, 2 days is enough for a full recovery at that intensity for me.

Originally Posted by Papasmurf

Power Cleans, or any clean exercise for that matter are pretty tough to learn, especially for a new lifter. Id take your own advice and substitute something else for now. Try to find someone who can teach you to clean properly.

Yeah, it's very difficult. I know someone who can, so I'll do that. Once I've got my deadlift and shrug technique improved I'll move onto it. Bent-Over Rows was approved by Rip as a replacement, so I'll do those for a while.

[PinkTiger]

Just updating the log, need some input. This is my second week:

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Monday's Workout

Workout B:

Felt a little tired going into the gym, and I despise Monday's as it's always the busiest day out of the lot.

(ATG) Squats

85 KG - 187 lbs 3 x 5

Done it, was hard and my form wasn't perfect on the last two. Was happy with it though.

Standing Military Press

30 KG - 66 lbs 3 x 5

Done them all with good form, last one was a bit difficult, but nothing major.

Bent - Over Rows

35 KG - 77 lbs 3 x 5

Just to get used to the form, my lower back really got worked. Can lift more though.

Thoughts

I know I'm capable of more, so I've just got to try harder!

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Wednesday's Workout

Workout A:

Felt up to some more, so kind of went for it.

(ATG) Squats

90 KG - 198 lbs 3 x 5

Heh, not happy with my form here. Warmup went well, and achieved the reps, but on the 4th one on the second and third sets I always seemed to struggle. I can't explode upwards with this much weight on me. Putting the weight up would be foolish.

Bench Press

50 KG - 110 lbs 3 x 5

I know it's low, but I FINALLY broke through it, with relative ease. Probably something with technique. Looking forward to go up 2.5 KG again.

Deadlift

80 KG - 176 lbs 1 x 5

Found it harder than it should have been. Still did it with correct form, but it wasn't a very explosive rise like with the 70 KG. Will leave it at that weight until I'm happy with my form at that weight.

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Friday's Workout

Workout B:

Wasn't really up to much this workout, just a bad day I guess.

Parallel Squats

90 KG - 198 lbs 3 x 5

Did them all but parallel because an instructor was watching and kept telling me to "not go so low" because he thinks it puts stress on the knee joints. I've read alot of contradicting stuff about it, but I'm more flexible than most, so I can safely ATG, but whatever, because of my age and size I just did it parallel. I found these difficult too, I need some advice on what to do, because my form is deteriorating, and I'm worried about possible injury. Should I reset or something?

Standing Military Press

32.5 KG - 71 lbs

1 x 5 Good
1 x 5 Slightly hard
1 x 4 For Fcvk's sake!

Really couldn't get the last rep. I'll get it next time though.

Bent - Over Rows

40 KG - 88 lbs 3 x 5

No big problems there. Good for my lower back.

Thoughts

I've got a squatting dilema going on and I'm not sure what to do. It may be stalling on me because my increases were too quick, what should I do to reset? I think I can put my bench and military press higher though, so I'll keep on Ripp's for another week at least. Advice is *really* appreciated, especially with those squat problems I'm having.
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[jproudj]

You should definitely go ATG, Rippetoe would not be happy if he saw you But really I think you'll get more progression with ATG. Oh and tell the instructor he's wrong In theory parallel actually puts more strain on the knee joints.

[jlozan84]

Your coach is a dolt. ATG is easier on the knees. The force on the knee is much strong when you stop 1/2 way down.

It might benefit you to do some 20 rep squats for a while, just to get used to the motion of ATG....

[PinkTiger]

Yeah, I know. I completely prefer ATG squats personally. I don't have any problems with the form until about 75 KG + in which I find pretty hard. I would tell him ATG is better, but considering I've only been training for 3 months (2 of which were pretty useless) and the fact I've only just turned 16, it would be hard to be taken seriously.

I'll keep ATG squatting, but what about the weight? Should do I decrease the weight then increase the reps a little for some periodization? I find 90 KG *really* hard. (Probably about 84% of my 1RP).

I'll just give you my feelings on the main compounds at the moment:

Bench Press:

Feels great to break the plateau, I'm sure I can to 60 KG soon.

Squats:

I'm not sure I can go much higher currently.

Dead Lift:

I don't think I am using my legs enough in this lift. That's probably why 80 KG felt difficult.

Bent - Over Rows

Happy with them.

Military Press

I find these pretty hard. But I'm sure I can progress some more, until 40 KG I hope.

Goals:

110 KG - 242 lbs (ATG Squats)

70 KG - 154 lbs (Bench Press)

100 KG - 220 lbs (Dead Lift)

Total: 280 KG - 617 lbs

Would be nice to break the 600 lb mark

50 KG - 110 lbs (Bent - Over Rows)

40 KG - 88 lbs (Military Press)

[jproudj]

I'd drop the weight so you can get the required reps and then increase it slightly (like 2.5kg) Keep your form to a standard, I think that's most important in squats because it's easy to cheat and lose your way.

[PinkTiger]

Originally Posted by jproudj

I'd drop the weight so you can get the required reps and then increase it slightly (like 2.5kg) Keep your form to a standard, I think that's most important in squats because it's easy to cheat and lose your way.

Got it. I'll drop the weight down to 60 KG first, then go up in 2.5 KG each workout.

3 x 8 with perfect ATG form and a nice slow decent should get me some hypertropy in my quads (They're naturally pretty developed anyway, but I find the leg power essential).

[jlozan84]

If you are just starting out doing ATG squats, I would recommend 20 rep sets for a while man. This will help you to perfect the form with a light weight while at the same time help you grow a sack. 20 reppers are no joke.

The weight will come.

[Will100]

Originally Posted by jlozan84

If you are just starting out doing ATG squats, I would recommend 20 rep sets for a while man. This will help you to perfect the form with a light weight while at the same time help you grow a sack. 20 reppers are no joke.

The weight will come.

good advice, im thinking of doing the same


and PT in your log where u were telling us how u were happy with some lifts..be happy. but never be satisfied. keep up the good work

[Taekwondo Guy]

you have a PM

[PinkTiger]

Originally Posted by jlozan84

If you are just starting out doing ATG squats, I would recommend 20 rep sets for a while man. This will help you to perfect the form with a light weight while at the same time help you grow a sack. 20 reppers are no joke.

The weight will come.

My form is good, it's the weight that's the problem. When it's that heavy, I have to "cheat" for the explosion upwards, that's all I'll see how the next workout goes then make a decision from there.

Originally Posted by Taekwondo Guy

you have a PM

Read and replied.