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haha no way man, I appreciate everything that you have to say. I really liked the sound of your bulking shake and I'm going to see if my local grocery store has that granola. also re: the "so you think you can..." videos - I watched the SQ iteration and was very impressed, but it really only served to muddy the waters, so to speak. Rippetoe tells you to fix your eyes on the floor ~6-8 feet in front of you so that your neck remains relaxed, whereas the guy in the "so you think you can squat" video tells the trainee to keep his head up and to look at a point on the wall in front of him. Rip's reason is medical - spine flexion - whereas the other guy's is more bro-science-sounding. IANAD but it sounds safer to keep your spine in a relaxed, natural position, rather than bending it upwards to keep your head up

nigh70wl wrote:thanks for checking in, Dragon.

things are going well, my squat is up to 185, BP 110, OHP 70, DL 190, pendlay rows 110. squats are starting to show a tad bit of technique cracking but that's to be expected, getting closer to whatever my 5RM was before I started this. deadlifts are starting to be actually tiring, a harbinger of vein-popping DLs to come. my OHP form isn't great, some reps are much easier than others, so I need to keep working on it.

my core is pretty decent, I was squatting more weight before I started this 5x5 without any problems. as far as underdeveloped muscles, well, I started this 5x5 at a 130lb. squat lol, so they've had time to catch up to the rest.

So glad to see this! I do share the other's opinion here about dedicating yourself for a spell to all out bulking, but respect whichever way you go with it...

Keep up the GREAT work Dragon...

Ok, bit of an update.

Currently my lifts are still going up with fair regularity; SQ, BP and OHP have slowed down to 5lbs. increase every other session, while my Pendlay rows and DLs are increasing 5lbs./session and 10lbs./session respectively. My standard grip is getting iffy with DLs so I am using switch grip after the first 2-3 reps. I feel a very hard stall coming on with SQ and DLs, since I began this 5x5 program with those #s already being much higher than my OHP/BP/rows. I expect BP and OHP to continue increasing for awhile yet.

current numbers:

SQ 215 5x5
BP 125 5x5
DL 235 1x5
OHP 75 5x5
Pendlay rows 120 5x5

diet has been good in general, hitting a fairly high caloric excess on both On/Off days. sticking with the intermittent fasting, carb-cycling; supplementation is at a minimum, just multi-vitamins/flax oil/vitamin D/biotin when I remember. funny how biotin makes such a noticeable difference - my lips are chapped 24/7 unless I'm taking it.

RobRegish wrote:
So glad to see this! I do share the other's opinion here about dedicating yourself for a spell to all out bulking, but respect whichever way you go with it...

Yeah, that's coming. I can't wait, I'm itching for it, chomping on the bit as they say. I just want to get my muscle programming to the highest level that it will reach at my current bodyweight. Basically I know that my BP/OHP are going to continue to go up, since they are still very much in the stages of "beginner gains", whether or not I am on a Blueprint run; I want to wait until they hit hard stalls.

THEN I'll Famine/Feast, picking up with my 5x5 program more or less where I left off: all-out bulking, MPS/E-bol/MegaTurk/transdermal DHEA/GHRP6/CJC1295. Supps are pretty expensive and money is tight, so I don't want to waste them on sub-maximal effort, since my BP and OHP have a very long way to go before being advanced enough to warrant having the awesome power of The Blueprint arrayed against them.

Also, here's a note for anyone who's interested. I've been drinking about 90% of The Formula starting around 30min before lifting, and then drinking the rest within the first 5-10 minutes of the session. My reasoning is that my stomach will be more or less empty after lifting, so, I can take my GHRP/CJC without worrying about having carbs in my system that'd blunt GH release. This approach seems to work well for me, whether or not I happen to take the growth factors after a given workout.

DaCookie wrote: I think you're being a bit optimistic here, you cant just take the % you want to lose and expect to lose that in lbs, youl lose a lot more.Stomach shrinking, water loss, glycogen loss.12 weeks seems very reasonable though.

Ya I am finding that out...also think I was probably a bit higher than I originally thought because after re-reading the guide on caliper measurements I found an error in the way I was measuring. Likely was around 16-17% or so when I started, and am down to around 12% now at 189 lbs...

So far so good. Have thought about adding accesory work twice a week?
Maybe pull thoughs, hyper and reverse hyperextensions, neck harness, upper back extensions with the safety bar, forearms, cable crunches, single leg deadlift, calf raises, gluteham raises?

Sometimes the limiting factor in the "big" lifts are those things.

I really think its smart to keep the supplements minimal the way u are doing.

Dragon wrote:So far so good. Have thought about adding accesory work twice a week?
Maybe pull thoughs, hyper and reverse hyperextensions, neck harness, upper back extensions with the safety bar, forearms, cable crunches, single leg deadlift, calf raises, gluteham raises?

Sometimes the limiting factor in the "big" lifts are those things.

I really think its smart to keep the supplements minimal the way u are doing.

ah I did neglect to mention - I do cable crunch static holds at the conclusion of each workout, and I do a single set of pullups to failure after my Pendlay rows. my lifts aren't yet to the point that they need assistance work, I don't think. since I train in my basement rather than a gym, my equipment is limited, so if I was going to do an assistance routine it'd probably be Jim Wendler's Big But Boring, which if I recall correctly is basically just doing your big barbell lifts as normal, and then doing them again, 10x10 at 50% 1RM with 30sec. of rest between sets. shouldn't need to do that for awhile though.

I mixed up a batch of transdermal DHEA and started using it a few days ago; my recovery has started to get iffy with squats that are more or less maximal effort, three times a week; 220lbs. 5x5 was not fun yesterday and I suspect that the DHEA was what sped my recovery up enough that I was able to complete that. I'm going to ride the linear progression train a week or two longer, I think, but each time I squat I find myself wishing I was on the rapid recovery Blueprint train. soon...

thanks for checking in, Dragon, I appreciate it.

There was a point I was up to about 8 KA a day when I started getting "up there" in my squat numbers. I didn't get sore. BTW, spud straps are having a sale on their rack savers and suspension straps. WELL WORTH IT in terms of the safety they convey when training alone or even at the gym.

haha. it sucks training without adaptogens, after having used them and knowing what they can do.

edit: thanks for the recommendation. I checked out the suspension straps (never used or seen them before) and rack savers; is the primary purpose of these basically performing the function that lifting a barbell in chains does - catching it if you fail the rep? (assuming that's the function, I've never done that either haha) I have a power cage which has adjustable stall bars built in, which exceedingly luckily match my bench height / chest diameter damn near perfectly. the next piece of lifting-related merchandise which I plan on getting is some nice weightlifting shoes. I've been ignorant of the possibilities therein for a long time, and I do squats barefoot. definitely looking forward to getting those.

BIG NEWS


yours truly has tracked down a supply of time-release Laxogenin capsules. I will be getting a bottle of 90 50mg caps for use in my next BP run.

I've started to get a bit of soreness in my knees after doing squats, and with the help of some folks in reddit's weightroom, I believe I have the source pinned down to my knees caving inward on the upward movement. I am going to deload my squats from 220lbs., my last successful 5x5, to 190lbs., so that I can be very strict with my form, and fix my technique to eliminate this issue.

Today's workout will be:

SQ 190lbs. 5x5 fixing form
OHP 75lbs. 5x5 fixing form
DL 245lbs. 1x5 balls to the wall
cable crunch static hold 100lbs. 15sec.

so, update.

I fuxed my legs up today by spending 3 hours chasing cows through briars, streams, and marsh. tried squatting 230 5x5, which I almost nailed four days ago, and did AWFULLY. I was losing power in the weirdest parts of the movement, which I initially ascribed to the fact that I'd done light squats two days ago, but upon reflection I realized it was from all the running I'd done; must have fatigued certain muscles that aren't used to being fatigued in any way other than squatting 5x5.

current maxes:

SQ 230lbs. 5x5 SQ 1RM: 265lbs.
BP 130lbs. 5x5 BP 1RM: 155lbs.
DL 250lbs. 1x5 DL 1RM: 285lbs.
OHP 85 5x5 OHP 1RM: 105lbs.

I've been doing M/W/F, SQ every day, alternating BP/OHP, DLs on OHP days, back extensions and pull/chin-ups on BP days, weighted ab work every On day. nice and simple. my BP and OHP are low but I'm getting closer to needing more complicated programming to keep steadily increasing my numbers, so I'm ready to go on a Blueprint run to get some more muscle and some higher numbers.

I'm going on a beach vacation in North Carolina from May 13 through 20 and will be destroying myself with Convict Conditioning because I know I'm gonna be bored stiff and missing my weights. immediately thereafter, Famine begins.

I've been taking 50mg time-release caps of Laxogenin which I got from a fellow in Arizona who claims to extract it himself. I haven't had any DOMS to speak of; in general I've felt much more "recovered" - less achy and sore, that is to say, the day after lifting. it's not placebo, either, I was starting to feel pretty beat down by these workouts, because I was squatting heavy for volume each time, and after a few days of taking the Laxogenin that feeling started to subside. it will bear more investigation; it's $25 a pop for a 90-ct. bottle, so I'll dose it during my next BP run and will continue using it through Cruise. more info on that to come.

edit: too much to even remember

playing around with templates for 3.0...

Day A

(no EDT) low-bar squats: 5x5

EDT 1: 5x5
flat bench press
weighted crunches

EDT 2: 5x5
weighted hyperextensions
weighted pullups/chinups (three sets of each, alternating?)

SCT 1: weighted dip (held at the bottom of the movement)

SCT 2: bicep curl



Day B

(no EDT) low-bar squats 5x5

EDT 1: 5x5
overhead press
?

SCT 1 / non EDT, 1 set movement: top range rack pull alternating with traditional deadlift, 1x5

EDT 2: 5x5
weighted situps
?

SCT 2: seated calf raise


this run will focus on increasing my Big Four numbers - overhead press, low-bar squat, flat bench press, and deadlift - and all accessory work will support this goal. I will aim for 5x5 heavy squats every session, increasing weight 5lbs. at a time, until it starts to affect my recovery, after which time I will insert a "light squat" day at 80% of the previous session's load in between heavy squat days.

if anyone reading this has any ideas as to what I can insert into these two EDT blocks to complete them, I'd like to hear from you. I train in my basement - power cage, barbell, cable crunch chair, Roman chair - that's my equipment. might just remove the "EDT" label and do them solo.

Looks good 2 me. The beauty of 3 however is that the deloads are already masterfully scheduled in the run.
Maybe set up your edt's for antagonistic muscle groups?

Dragon, thanks for pointing that out, for some reason I had Day A set up weird.

amended:

Day A

(no EDT) low-bar squats: 5x5

EDT 1: 5x5
flat bench press
weighted pullups/chinups

EDT 2: 5x5
weighted hyperextensions
weighted crunches

SCT 1: weighted dip (held at the bottom of the movement)

SCT 2: bicep curl





Famine started today. Ugh.

well, that was rough. a week off + a week of Famine = sweating buckets.

ended up doing:

SQ 210lbs. 5, 5, 4, 3, 3

BP 120lbs. 5x5 (increase weight to 125lbs. next BP day)
bodyweight chinups alternating with bodyweight wide grip pullups

weighted hyperextensions +30lbs. 3x10 (increase)
weighted situps +30lbs. 3x10 (increase)

bicep static hold 110lbs. ~12sec.

and then since I knew in my heart of hearts that I could not do that static hold dip movement... I did 5 bodyweight dips and called it a day.