m11

Footwear can definitely affect both squat and deadlift form. Barefoot works just fine, but if you must wear shoes (do you train at a commercial gym?) then flat bottomed shoes like Chuck Taylor's mimic being barefoot the best.

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DangerousK

Awesome! I actually have a pretty good home gym setup right now, but I will definietly keep that in mind for whenever I end up training at a commercial gym.

Alright, I just finished today's workout. Here's how it went:

Power Cleans
Warm up set 1 - 3 x 95
Warm up set 2 - 3 x 115
Set 1 - 3 x 140
Set 2 - 3 x 140
Set 3 - 3 x 140
Set 4 - 2 x 140
Set 5 - 3 x 140 - New personal record!

Squats
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 135
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 135
Set 1 - 5 x 155
Set 2 - 5 x 155
Set 3 - 6 x 155

BB Military Presses
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 75
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 75
Set 1 - 6 x 120 - New personal record!
Set 2 - 5 x 120
Set 3 - 5 x 120
Set 4 - 5 x 120

BB Shrugs
Set 1 - 10 x 135
Set 2 - 5 x 225
Set 3 - 7 x 225 - New personal record!
Set 4 - 12 x 185

Standing BB Calf Raises
Set 1 - 10 x 225

DB Hammer Curls
Set 1 - 8 x 34.5 (plus dumbbell bar)

Overall a really good workout. New personal records on military presses, power cleans and shrugs makes me a happy camper (although the power cleans felt quite heavy today).

One thing I want to mention is that I think I need to start adding in some cardio and watching my diet just a little better (I have been deviating from my meal plan a bit over this last week). I took my shirt off today and I look like a f'n whale. Maybe I'm just having a bad day today, but my midsection looked a lot worse than usual. I'm definitely at a higher bodyfat % than I thought, which is depressing, especially considering my bodyweight isn't that high to begin with.

On the bright side, my shoulders are blowing up like a balloon, and my chest and legs look to be filling out nicely as well for the relatively short amount of time I've been on this program.

Anyways, I'm off to do some abdominal work and stretching. As always, thanks for reading!

DangerousK

Alright, please disregard my previous post (aka bitchfest). Haha. I think I just got bloated from eating too much sodium at the end of last week which is why I thought I looked so terrible. After a weekend of drinking lots of water though, I look a lot better, so no worries there.

I just finished today's workout, so here it is:

Squats
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 135
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 135
Set 1 - 5 x 160
Set 2 - 5 x 160
Set 3 - 5 x 160
Set 4 - 5 x 160

BB Bench Presses
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 135
Warm up set 2 - 4 x 150
Set 1 - 4 x 170
Set 2 - 5 x 170
Set 3 - 4 x 170
Set 4 - 4 x 170

Bent BB Rows
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 95
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 115
Set 1 - 5 x 135
Set 2 - 5 x 135
Set 3 - 5 x 135
Set 4 - 5 x 135 - New personal record!

Overall I was really happy with this workout. The squats felt heavy and I have absolutely no idea why. Usually I can do 7 or 8 reps with 160 without much trouble, but I was pretty much struggling to get 5 reps on the last set. Haha. Guess it just wasn't my day today.

I said I was going to get at least 4 sets of 4 with 170 last time, and I was able to do just that today, so I'm really happy about it. I was also able to get 135 for 4 sets of 5 on the bent BB rows and it didn't feel like I was just heaving the weight up, which is great as well.

On another note, I finally got myself a scale and was able to weigh myself. Since the beginning of this program (a month and a half ago) I have gained an amazing, get this...

Zero pounds. Yep, that's right. Started out at 168 lbs and weighed in this morning at 168.4 lbs. lol. I don't know if I've been gaining muscle and losing fat, but even that wouldn't make any sense since all my measurements went up over the last month (including my waist). Haha. I guess I'm going to have to up the calories even more. I just can't believe I didn't even gain one pound in the last six weeks. lol.

Anyways, thanks as always for reading!

Archangel

FANTASTIC!!! 4 more PR's, way to go!!!

"I can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13

"For NOTHING is impossible with GOD" - Luke 1:37

DangerousK

Alright, just finished today's workout! Here's how it went:

Power Cleans
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 95
Warm up set 2 - 3 x 125
Set 1 - 3 x 145
Set 2 - 2 x 145
Set 3 - 3 x 145 - New personal record!
Set 4 - 2 x 145
Set 5 - 1 x 145

BB Military Presses
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 75
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 95
Set 1 - 4 x 125
Set 2 - 4 x 125
Set 3 - 4 x 125
Set 4 - 4 x 125 - New personal record!

Deadlifts
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 135
Set 1 - 5 x 225
Set 2 - 5 x 225 - New personal record!
Set 3 - 4 x 225

Overall, I think this was a really good workout. Although I wasn't able to hit 5 sets of 3 on the power cleans, 4 sets of 5 on the military presses, or 3 sets of 5 on the deadlifts, I did end up setting new personal records for weight on all of them, so I'm really happy.

Thanks again for reading, everyone! Take care!

DangerousK

Thanks a lot, man! I still can't believe I didn't gain any weight over the last month and a half, but my main goal at the moment is to gain strength (which looks like it's working so far), so no complaints from me! Haha.

How's your training been going?

Archangel

Excellent workout, and even MORE PR's I see!!! It's definatly working, keep it up!!!

Mine is goin good, thanks for asking!!!

"I can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13

"For NOTHING is impossible with GOD" - Luke 1:37

DangerousK

I just finished the last workout of week 7! Here it is:

Squats
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 135
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 135
Set 1 - 5 x 165
Set 2 - 5 x 165
Set 3 - 7 x 165

BB Bench Presses
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 135
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 145
Set 1 - 5 x 170
Set 2 - 5 x 170
Set 3 - 5 x 170 - New personal record!
Set 4 - 4 x 170

Bent BB Rows
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 95
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 115
Set 1 - 5 x 140
Set 2 - 5 x 140
Set 3 - 5 x 140
Set 4 - 5 x 140 - New personal record!
Set 5 - 10 x 125
Set 6 - 10 x 125

Dips
Set 1 - 10 x Bodyweight
Set 2 - 10 x Bodyweight
Set 3 - 6 x Bodyweight + 25

BB Shrugs
Set 1 - 12 x 185
Set 2 - 7 x 205
Set 3 - 8 x 205
Set 4 - 12 x 185

DB Hammer Curls
Set 1 - 6 x 35 (plus dumbbell bar)
Set 2 - 9 x 32.5 (plus dumbbell bar)

Overall I was really happy with this workout. I've been having stomach aches for the last few days (nothing serious, I think I just caught some sort of bug), but still managed to set new PR's on bench presses and BB rows.

On a side note, I realized today that playing rap music and pretending I'm Ronnie Coleman actually helped me lift more weight. LMAO.

Thanks again for reading!

Archangel

MORE pr's my Friend!!! AWESOME!!! That is what is called visualization (pretending your Coleman), and it's a powerful technique to use, use and abuse it!!!

"I can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13

"For NOTHING is impossible with GOD" - Luke 1:37

DangerousK

Kind of a late workout today, but that's okay. Here's how it went:

Power Cleans
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 95
Warm up set 2 - 4 x 115
Set 1 - 3 x 135
Set 2 - 3 x 135
Set 3 - 3 x 140
Set 4 - 3 x 140
Set 5 - 3 x 140

Squats
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 135
Warm up set 2 - 4 x 135
Set 1 - 5 x 170
Set 2 - 5 x 170
Set 3 - 5 x 170
Set 4 - 7 x 170

BB Military Presses
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 75
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 95
Set 1 - 2 x 130
Set 2 - 4 x 125
Set 3 - 4 x 120
Set 4 - 5 x 120

I've been battling a stomach flu for the last few days, but it didn't effect my workout too much. The power cleans felt pretty light today (at least compared to the last time I did them). I think I'm getting better at really exploding the weight up once I get it to thigh/waist level. The military presses were feeling heavy today, and I wasn't able to up the weight like I had planned.

Thanks again for reading!

DangerousK

Just this morning I realized that I forgot to weigh myself on Monday, so I weighed myself today just after waking up and I am now officially at 170.6 lbs. Making progress, baby! It's not much, but I'm so happy to not be 160-something anymore. Haha.

Archangel

Excellent workout, and not much??? NOT MUCH??? 10 # is awesome progress!!! Little by little my Friend, your going the right way!!! Hope you feel better, when you start to slow down the progress, can I suggest you cut your sets in half, you would be suprised just how much your strength will skyrocket with less, but more!!!

Either way, keep it up, doin GREAT!!!

"I can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13

"For NOTHING is impossible with GOD" - Luke 1:37

DangerousK

I know I must sound like a broken record here, but thanks again for the kind words! Not only are they extremely motivating, but they are really helpful as well.

I will definitely keep that in mind when my progress starts to stall.

I was feeling pretty bad today and definitely didn't feel like working out. I didn't have it in me to lift really heavy today, but I didn't want to skip, so I decided to lighten up the weights a little and see what I could do. Here's how it went:

BB Bench Presses
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 135
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 135
Set 1 - 7 x 155
Set 2 - 6 x 155
Set 3 - 9 x 135
Set 4 - 5 x 155

Bent BB Rows
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 95
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 95
Set 1 - 6 x 120
Set 2 - 10 x 115
Set 3 - 10 x 115
Set 4 - 10 x 115

Deadlifts
Set 1 - 3 x 235
Set 2 - 5 x 185
Set 3 - 5 x 185
Set 4 - 5 x 200

Still an okay workout, but I just didn't feel good enough to try and set any new PR's today. The good news is that I've had the flu for at least a few days now, so with any luck I'm hoping to feel better by Friday's workout (where I will get back on track with my normal routine again).

Thanks again for reading!

DangerousK

Today is my 19th birthday, so how did I decide to celebrate it? With a workout, of course! Here's how it went:

Power Cleans
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 105
Warm up set 2 - 4 x 105
Set 1 - 3 x 145
Set 2 - 3 x 145
Set 3 - 3 x 145
Set 4 - 3 x 145
Set 5 - 3 x 145 - New personal record!

Squats
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 95
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 135
Set 1 - 5 x 175
Set 2 - 5 x 175
Set 3 - 7 x 175 - New personal record!

BB Military Presses
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 45
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 75
Set 1 - 5 x 125
Set 2 - 4 x 125
Set 3 - 3 x 125
Set 4 - 5 x 125 - New personal record!

BB Shrugs
Set 1 - 12 x 195
Set 2 - 12 x 195
Set 3 - 10 x 195

Bent DB Raises
Set 1 - 12 x 15 (plus dumbbell bar)
Set 2 - 15 x 15 (plus dumbbell bar)

I managed to set new PR's on all three of my core lifts today, which I'm super happy about! Overall this was a great workout.

Sorry to cut the post short, but I'm going out tonight and have to go get ready.

Thanks again for reading!

DangerousK

Just finished my first workout of week 9. Here's how it went:

Squats
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 95
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 135
Set 1 - 5 x 180
Set 2 - 5 x 180
Set 3 - 5 x 180

BB Bench Presses
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 135
Set 1 - 4 x 175 - New personal record!
Set 2 - 3 x 175
Set 3 - 3 x 175

Bent BB Rows
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 95
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 115
Set 1 - 5 x 135
Set 2 - 5 x 145
Set 3 - 5 x 145 - New personal record!
Set 4 - 6 x 135

I'm starting to get a little bored with the workouts, but I'm really determined to hit at least a few of my goal lifts before I decide to move on. I'm only 10 lbs away from reaching my goal weights on both military presses and bench presses, so if I can get them in the next couple of weeks, I'll be really happy.

Also, I weighed myself this morning and am currently 172.2 lbs. So I gained 1.6 lbs over the last week.

I forgot to do my measurements, but I will make sure to post them up tomorrow.

Thanks again for reading!

Archangel

SOLID progression my Friend, bored??? How can you be bored??? Your KILLIN it when you step into the gym, I'd be hungry and violent in the weight room if I was blowin through PR's like nothing!!!

Maybe it's time to cut back for a couple of weeks???

"I can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13

"For NOTHING is impossible with GOD" - Luke 1:37

DangerousK

Haha, thanks a million!!

I shouldn't say I'm bored, because I'm not. I'm still loving doing the workouts (especially since the weights keep going up). I just wish I could have a little more variety with the exercises sometimes, if that makes any sense.

Anyways, I just finished my workout, so here it is!

Power Cleans
Warm up set 1 - 4 x 95
Warm up set 2 - 3 x 115
Set 1 - 3 x 145
Set 2 - 2 x 150
Set 3 - 1 x 150
Set 4 - 2 x 150
Set 5 - 3 x 150 - New personal record!

Deadlifts
Set 1 - 5 x 235
Set 2 - 5 x 240 - New personal record!

BB Military Presses
Warm up set 1 - 5 x 65
Warm up set 2 - 5 x 75
Set 1 - 5 x 125
Set 2 - 5 x 125
Set 3 - 5 x 125

Woo! New personal records on both power cleans and deadlifts! It seems that every time I try adding weight to the bar I struggle with the power cleans, but end up being able to get all the reps up in the following workout, so let's hope that trend continues.

The deadlifts felt good today, and it's looking more and more like I'm going to be able to hit my goal weight of 275 on them by the end of the month.

Thanks again for reading!

Archangel

Man oh man, MORE PR's my Friend, great job, and I'm so sorry I missed this : HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

"I can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13

"For NOTHING is impossible with GOD" - Luke 1:37

DangerousK

More PR's indeed! It doesn't get any better than that!

And thanks a lot for the birthday wishes!!

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get in my workout today. I was feeling really weak, sick to my stomach and had a really bad headache as well, so I figured I'd be better off just taking it easy. I hate missing workouts, though, so I'm definitely going to make up for it on Monday if I'm feeling better. Ain't nothin' to it but to do it, baby! Watch out weights, here I come!

I just can't believe how long this flu has been lingering for. It must be close to 2 weeks already. Crazy.