SS – Day9

01 May 2015

Weight: 183.3

Squats:  2x5x45 + 1x5x70 + 1x3x105 + 1x2x140 + 3x5x175

Bench: 2x5x45 + 1x5x55 + 1x3x80 + 1x2x100 + 3x5x115

Pullups: 3/2/1.5

SS – Day8

29 Apr 2015

Weight: 183.6

Squats:  2x5x45 + 1x5x65 + 1x3x95 + 1x2x130 + 3x5x165

Press: 3x5x45 + 1x3x45 + 1x2x55 + 5x3x70

Deadlift: 2x5x75 + 1x3x115 + 1x2x165 + 1x5x195

Weights are getting heavy!

Had some slightly slower reps on the squats towards the end of the 2nd and 3rd sets. Overall, I'm pretty happy about my form. I made sure to keep my wrists straight instead of letting the load fold into the wrists. Cranked the elbow up to keep the bar in place. I got a really great upper back workout too from all the squeezing that was happening. The fatigue carried over into the overhead press. Used mirror to check my feet stance during warmups.

Presses were still pretty easy. Played around with the grip width a little. Hands took a beating from the squeezing the bar so much and keeping the weight as close to the base of my palm as possible.

Deadlifts were...interesting. I don't know how I feel about them just yet. Doing them is very difficult and damn irritating using the polygonal shape of the plates. They're not round, go figure. I felt like I was using more back then I've done in the past. But, nonetheless, I still got the bar up, so I guess that's still a go. Let's see how far I can go before stalling.

I'm using the following guidelines to keep an eye out for when I need to slow down the rate of weight increase on the bar. Cited from Rippetoe's FAQ about the program on his website.

1. If you get all 3 sets of 5 with proper technique, then move the weight up as described above.
2. If you get all 3 sets of 5 with proper technique, but bar speed was exceedingly slow on the last few reps (i.e. you busted a nut trying to complete your reps), then you may end up stalling if you add the full amount. Err on the side of "lower". i.e. don't add 20 lbs to the deadlift, add 15. Don't add 10 lbs to the press, add 5 (or even 2.5), etc. and proceed cautiously. Cautiously means adding less weight rather than more. There is no consequence for adding too little weight, but adding too much could stall progress for weeks.
3. If you get the first 2 sets of 5 with proper technique, but you only get 4 reps on the 3rd, then determine if it was a "recovery deficit" (4 hours sleep last night/skipped meals, etc) or a "technique deficit" (body wasn't tight during presses, leaned forward too much in squat, etc). If the strength or technique deficit was an anomaly and/or is easily correctable, then you can probably add the normal amount of weight as described above. If the weight just felt dog heavy, then add only a bit more, or even keep the weight the same for the next workout. Better to get your 5/5/5 next workout then get a 5/5/3 or a 5/4/4 with a heavier weight.
4. If you get at least 12 or 13 of the reps total (i.e. 5/4/4 or 5/4/3 or 4/4/4) then keep the weight the same for the next workout.

If you get something strange like 5/5/2 or 5/3/4 on your 3 sets, then you probably just need to be more mindful of rest periods. Best to use 3-5 minutes between pressing, cleaning and rowing work sets and up to 7 for squats and deadlifts if necessary. For now, use a little too much rest rather than too little rest.

If you can't get at least the first set of 5, or if you are missing 2 or more reps each on the 2nd and 3rd sets, then you are using too much weight, assuming you recently started training.

SS – Day7

27 Apr 2015

Squats:  2x5x45 + 1x5x60 + 1x3x90 + 1x2x120 + 3x5x155

Bench: 2x5x45 + 1x5x50 + 1x3x70 + 1x2x90 + 3x5x105

Chinups: 3/2/2

Had slow reps on the last squat set. Need to read from book to determine when I consider reps a stall.

Bench was a bit uncontrolled. Didn't have good grip on the bench against back. Need to read from book about addressing this balancing issue.

Chinups were great. Broke through previous PR of 2 and managed to grind out 3 reps on first set. Going to shoot for 3 reps across.