Saint Nick's DYEL Log

[Saint Nick]

12/29/2012
Squat: 195
OHP: 100x4x1, 100x2x1, 100x4x1, 100x3x1, 100x3x1
Deadlift: 230 PR

Squats still feeling good. Really excited to hopefully reach two plates in the next couple months!

Overhead press sucked this morning and it pissed me off. I couldn't put it up five times even once. Something I realized that really helped, was tightening up my core. I should have known better, of course, because it helps take pressure off of the spine and helps you to push the weight up with more force. My abs definitely are feeling it now. I suppose I'll try 100 pounds one more time, but I highly doubt I'll be able to make it.

Deadlift felt awesome. My warmup weights seem to wear out my lower back, but when I do it heavy, it almost seems easier. Sort of odd, but I'm glad I hit 230 there. Big PR for me

Working on upping the calories as well. A little tough for me, because I feel very bloated/gassy after eating so much. About to go pound some eggs and a pound a bacon once my g/f gets back from the store Haven't eaten since about 2:00 AM, so could be another reason why my OHP suffered this morning. Quite hungry after the lift.

 

[Saint Nick]

12/31/2012
Squat: 200
Bench: 145 PR
Row: 155 PR

Squats feeling really good today. I think I had been doing high bar ATG squats for the better part of my lifting career, and recently made the switch to a low bar. I'm not sure if I have the form 100% on it, but I don't lean forward anymore and can find my center of gravity/balance point a lot better. Really easy to drive with the heels on low bar.

Bench. Finally put up 145x5x5 this morning. I had been doing a better job of tracking what I'm eating, and have been making sure to hit 3500 for a couple of days prior to the lift. The last rep on the last set was shaky at best, but I managed

Rows are still easy. Not sure what's going or why these feel easy to me.

Once I remember, I'll put up some videos to get form critiques.

 

[Saint Nick]

1/2/2013
Squat: 205
OHP: 100x5x4, 100x3x1 PR
Deadlift: 240 PR

Nailed most of my lifts today. Squat still feeling great.

I am ecstatic with my overhead press. I nailed it four times out of five. I think on my third set (three reps), I didn't wait long enough. Plus my girlfriend was talking to me and I couldn't focus.

Deadlift felt heavy, but it was good. I'm ready to keep moving this up. Need to go buy another set of 45 pound plates

 

[Pantlegz]

Congrats on the ohp, glad the little deload helped. Keep it up.

 

[Saint Nick]

Congrats on the ohp, glad the little deload helped. Keep it up.

Thanks -- I actually haven't deloaded yet. I think I will, however, this next time around. I think SL calls for 10% deload, which would put me at 90 pounds next time I OHP. Given I got four out of five on my OHP last time, I'm wondering if I should move up the weight or deload.

 

[Saint Nick]

1/4/2013
Squat: 210
Bench: 150 (5, 5, 4, 3, 3)
Row: 160 (5, 4, 5, 3, 5)

Trying to notate this a little better. Each number represents how many I got each set. No numbers in parenthesis means I got 5x5.

Squats! Hit 5x5 no probs.

Bench was tough today. Got it the first two sets, but didn't make it through the rest. I'm sure I'll get it next time

Rows felt heavy for the first time in a while. I think my form suffered a bit on this lift today. I'm not really sure what I would call a failed rep on a row -- I guess not bringing it all the way to my waist? Going to keep at 160 for next time.

 

[Saint Nick]

1/7/2013
Squat: 215
OHP: 90
Deadlift: 250

Squats still going well. Decided to deload on overhead press. My triceps are crazy sore. Deadlift felt really heavy. Going to go for 255 next time.

 

[Saint Nick]

Went into the weight room last night to continue working on my squat form with the bar and some light weights. Realized I'm still not doing the low bar squat properly, and now I think I'm making better progress there. I spent a good 30 minutes watching a few "low bar squat set up" videos on YouTube.

I have been screwing up the bar placement for a long time. I haven't been setting the bar on my deltoids, but my traps. I think I tried this a long time ago, but didn't have any delts to speak of, and it hurt to even have an empty bar lay on my non-existent delts. Now that I actually have some muscles, laying the bar across my delts didn't feel so bad.

I was actually able to put up 205x5x1 without issue last night. I tried to keep it light so I didn't affect my workout today. I'm thinking I am going to lower the weight back to 200 again now that I think I am finally placing the bar properly. Going to have my girl video a few sets today (squat, bench, row) for critique.

 

[Saint Nick]

1/9/2013
Squat: 200
Bench: 150 (4, 3, 4, 1, 3)
Row: 160

Hopefully I'm getting the low bar down. Getting used to the feeling of the bar on your deltoids rather than your traps is different. It isn't terribly comfortable, but I think it's something that will improve over time.

Bench felt terrible tonight. I spent a chunk of the afternoon watching bench form videos on YouTube, and so I was trying to make a few adjustments. I feel as if I'm going to about 50% ROM. Bringing the bar down to my chest at this current weight feels terrible, and I performed poorly. I did capture the first set on video, so hopefully you guys can tear it apart and clean me up. I think it really needs some work.

Rows felt all right. I kept it the same weight as last time, but ended up hitting 5x5 no problem. I feel like my form is all right on these. I captured a couple on video.

 

[Saint Nick]

1/11/2013
Squat: 205
OHP: 95
Deadlift: 205

Workouts the past few days have been somewhat discouraging as I try to better my form. Mostly discouraging seeing less weight on the bar, but I know it will be worth it in the long run.

Squats are feeling okay. The bar is uncomfortable on my delts a little bit, but I think I did something right in fixing my form. My legs were crazy sore yesterday from the lift on 1/9. Likewise with my chest -- quite sore.

OHP was decent tonight. I've put up 95 before, but tonight it felt pretty heavy for some reason. The last set, I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. I managed, but it was pretty bad form

Deloaded my deadlift as well. 205 was easy, but I felt it in my lower back more than anything. More bad form

Might try to spend some quality time with YouTube and the bar only this weekend getting the motions down as best as I can.

 

[Saint Nick]

1/14/2013
Squat: 185
Bench: 125
Row: 95

Going to really work on my form this week. Lightened up the weights and will work up again from here. I did make some videos, but ended up just comparing them to other form videos online.

 

[Saint Nick]

1/17/2013
Squat: 190
OHP: 95
Deadlift: 210

I should have lowered my overhead press weight today, but forgot for some reason 95 pounds felt crazy heavy and could barely finish the last set. I'm going to deload on this lift so that I can work on tightening up my core when I push the weight up. I think right now, that is my weak point on the lift. When I get about halfway through the movement, my back starts arching like crazy and the weight feels like a million pounds. If my core was stronger, I could probably be pressing more weight. Next week, I'm going to start at maybe 75 and work up again.

The rest of my lifts felt nice.

 

[Saint Nick]

1/19/2013
Squat: 195
Bench: 130
Row: 100

Felt great today. I'm pretty sore (DOMS), so hopefully that means I fixed something. Squats are owning my legs. Benching all the way down to my chest feels awesome! Who would have thought Hopefully will be able to continue to keep adding to the bar now. I'm feeling as confident as ever on my form after taking some videos and comparing with others online.

 

[Saint Nick]

1/22/2013
Squat: 200
OHP: 75
Dead: 215

Good lifts yesterday. Didn't sleep worth a lick after the workout, and I feel tired today. I don't think I ate enough.

Squats felt great. Really focused on tightening my core during my OHP. Deadlifts felt great, too.

 

[Saint Nick]

1/24/2013
Squat: 205
Bench: 135
Row: 105

Still feeling as confident as ever. Glad I de-loaded and started focusing on my form. Hoping to squat 315 by the end of the year. Hopefully it could still be done even if I decide to cut for three months. Might just continue bulking all year.

 

[Saint Nick]

Slept like crap last night. Seems on my lifting nights I have been sleeping pretty poorly. Keep waking up, having problems falling asleep.

 

[KIAman]

Slept like crap last night. Seems on my lifting nights I have been sleeping pretty poorly. Keep waking up, having problems falling asleep.

I don't know how people do it but I feel the same. On days I lift, I sleep like crap. My muscles get all twitchy like frog legs on an electrode, I get hyper sensitive to movement and sound and I get sore more easily sleeping in one position so I have to move every hour.

 

[Saint Nick]

I don't know how people do it but I feel the same. On days I lift, I sleep like crap. My muscles get all twitchy like frog legs on an electrode, I get hyper sensitive to movement and sound and I get sore more easily sleeping in one position so I have to move every hour.

I remember Pantlegz said in a thread that it could be because I'm not eating enough. I'm thinking on lifting days I might try for 4000 calories instead of 3500 I normally shoot for. I'm starting to run out of time eating all this damn food.

I guess I'm not sure if it's due to my eating or maybe just stress at work. I haven't felt sore at all except for earlier this week.

 

[Saint Nick]

1/26/2013
Squat: 210
OHP: 80
Deadlift: 220

Really felt great today. Got a great, long night of sleep and lifted right when I woke up after drinking a couple cups of coffee! Probably the best day I had all week!

 

[Saint Nick]

1/29/2013
Squat: 215
Bench: 140 (5, 5, 4, 5, 3)
Row: 105

Squats and rows felt great. My bench sucks. I feel like this lift is never going to go up. However, the few days up to the lift I had been sleeping in waaaay too much, and subsequently losing time to eat (only ate around 2800-3000 cals per day each day this weekend, and had Monday off). Hopefully I can keep my caloric intake high over the next few days so I can hopefully nail 140 with better form than before.

 

[repoman0]

My bench was stuck right around where yours is for the longest time - at least a good few months. Not that it's great now but I've put 20+ pounds onto it since which is big for how crappy my bench is. Things that helped "fix" it, in no particular order:

1. Stay tight throughout the body. Feet stay back enough so your heels can't touch the floor when you press them down (which you should be doing). This will arch your back and naturally put your upper back in the position it should be on the bench

2. Explosive warm up sets. Push the bar up as hard as you can even if you don't have to on lighter sets.

3. Smaller plates so you don't stay stuck at a weight for too long

 

[Saint Nick]

How much warm up should I be doing for bench? Here is a typical warm up for me. I'm always worried if I warm up too much I won't be able to perform when it comes time for my working weight.

10x45
5x95
working weight

For squats, I usually warm up like this:

10x45
5x135
5x185
working weight

repoman0, also at your recommendation, I did pick up some 1.25 pounders on eBay. Might have to bust those out instead of trying to go for five pounds every time.

 

[repoman0]

Forgot one more point - 5x5 is a lot of volume when you're near your 5RM. Don't be afraid of moving to 3x5 if your first few sets are consistently good.

I'd add another 3rep warmup at 115-120 but it's personal preference

 

[Saint Nick]

1/31/2013
Squat: 220
OHP: 85
Deadlift: 225

Felt great today. Eating lots!

 

[Saint Nick]

2/4/2013
Squat: 225
Bench: 140
Row: 115

Took a few days off to look at houses with my girlfriend and my folks. Got back to it tonight after checking some cool homes. Had a delicious burger and some sweet potato fries from an organic food restaurant down the street. Lifting felt amazing.