The Progress Thread 2012

[Techun]

Progress this week: Feeling out of the circle with all the FB picture talk.

Yes. I'll be forever alone with you

Dead PR
315x5 up from 305x3

I felt like I had a bunch in the tank as well. Next time.

Lol @ this. I was sore for three days in places I've never been sore before. Feels good man

[kryptonik]

Lol @ this. I was sore for three days in places I've never been sore before. Feels good man

Are you talking to yourself?

[TheJuggernaut]

625 squat, my best raw squat ever, rather pleased

[Rob Cote]

and losing the shoes also gave the lift an all new
feel. Definetly felt more sturdy and better planted.

This. I ditched my shoes for squats today and did the full 5x5. (vs the 5x5 with increasing weights for each set that I did previously) Felt like I had way more pushing power and could get lower.

[autodubbin98]

625 squat, my best raw squat ever, rather pleased

That's big

[Techun]

Are you talking to yourself?

I'm reflecting back on what I said, to communicate to others :-)

[ClockworkChad]

625 squat, my best raw squat ever, rather pleased

[kimlin85]

Progress this week: Feeling out of the circle with all the FB picture talk.

you guys can add me if you want, kim giannola. i'd add joe milazzo too, his posts are too funny.

[kryptonik]

Expecting epic dinner photos tonight.

[kimlin85]

Expecting epic dinner photos tonight.

tonight is just gonna be steaks so no pics. but i have a big food album. warning though, not all of it is clean.

[scandalous_cynce]

thanks guys. i gotta keep up w/cynce, she posted some good ab pics on fb recently.

Thanks, doll.

Looking forward to a nice round of cutting in about 12 weeks to prep for my cruise in June! Hoping to see the abbies pop even more!

[VW1.8Tsunami]

tonight is just gonna be steaks so no pics. but i have a big food album. warning though, not all of it is clean.

Yeah, your food album is mouth watering. You cook stuff that I've never even thought of.

After almost a 6 month hiatus and dabbling in crossfit (1 month), I'm finally back in a gym. My strength feels like it's ~90% of what it was when I stopped but my conditioning is sh!t. Ready to get back to a normal schedule.

[XiaoNio]

Did 5x3 for back squats at 150 kg tonight. Weighed in at 75 kg. That's 330 and 165 respectively for you non metric folks. It's not 600, but I think at the end of this cycle I should be getting towards 375.

This is my last set. Hips got away on the last rep.


Some observations:
1. I never realized how much extension I start out with.
2. How far from truly ATG I am on back squats vs. front squats.

[spoolin215]

Nice work Xiao. You need to lead with your chest a bit more you're letting your hips come up too fast. You definitely look like you have a lot more in you though.

[kryptonik]

Kim, the food album is ridiculous. Now I see what everyone is talking about.

I back squatted 275 5/5/5/3/5/3 last night. Fourth set, I distracted myself. Got my reps though. Last time I was doing 275 I was getting it for 3x5. Feels good to be gaining again.

I'm trying to cut a little bit. Took my calories down from 3200 to about 2700. Maintenance is supposed to be around 2850, so I am hoping that it's a small enough cut to not exactly notice. I'm in no rush. Though, I will say, from last week to this, I am noticing a bit of a difference in my strength levels. Hopefully I can maintain my numbers for a bit, and then start going up again.

[autodubbin98]

Before I tell most people to "cut" I usually ask them to examine their ratios of macro nutrients. Usually you will find too many carbs, not enough fats and medium in protein. With the re-arranging of nutrients to the proper amount of carbs and higher fats and proteins that body composition will change without sacrificing any strength levels. Just a thought.

[VW1.8Tsunami]

Hit the pool last night and swam a whopping 750 yards before I was wore out. I've got to improve my lung capacity.

My plan is to alternate elliptical and swimming, 6 days per week. Lifting will be done after elliptical sessions.

[kryptonik]

My macros are as follows,
240g protein
105g fat
180g carbs

[spoolin215]

Before I tell most people to "cut" I usually ask them to examine their ratios of macro nutrients. Usually you will find too many carbs, not enough fats and medium in protein. With the re-arranging of nutrients to the proper amount of carbs and higher fats and proteins that body composition will change without sacrificing any strength levels. Just a thought.

This.

Always look at quality of foods/content of food first, and then worry about "how much."

If you eat to train well, the body usually finds a happy balance.

[VW1.8Tsunami]

Did elliptical for ~30min last night. It's already much easier than it was on the first day but still have a long way to go.

I also started weighing myself more frequently...I'm just shy of 300 (298.8lbs). FWIW, when I joined these forums I was ~240.

[Rob Cote]

Did elliptical for ~30min last night. It's already much easier than it was on the first day but still have a long way to go.

Elliptical takes serious getting used to. I usually just do ~10 mins to get my blood flowing faster. Also, going back on the treadmill in lieu of the elliptical takes you down a few pegs.

[kimlin85]

Kim, the food album is ridiculous. Now I see what everyone is talking about.

progress: you have THE creepiest main pic ive ever seen.

[VW1.8Tsunami]

Elliptical takes serious getting used to. I usually just do ~10 mins to get my blood flowing faster. Also, going back on the treadmill in lieu of the elliptical takes you down a few pegs.

Yeah, I know. This week has been the first time I've ever felt challenged on an elliptical. Once I start getting better stamina, I'll make the switch. Another problem I have to deal with though will be finding a treadmill that will support my weight. Most gyms don't do anything as far as maintenance on their treadmills. I've had several belts slip on me and it's not a fun feeling.

[autodubbin98]

Yeah, I know. This week has been the first time I've ever felt challenged on an elliptical. Once I start getting better stamina, I'll make the switch. Another problem I have to deal with though will be finding a treadmill that will support my weight. Most gyms don't do anything as far as maintenance on their treadmills. I've had several belts slip on me and it's not a fun feeling.

I thought you were gonna be a bodybuilder or something

Maybe I have the wrong screen name

[VW1.8Tsunami]

I thought you were gonna be a bodybuilder or something

Maybe I have the wrong screen name

lol..yeah..about that

That's me. I just got WAY off course. I moved to a new city that had new bars/people, TONS of restraunts and making more money. I went on a binge I guess.

The strangest thing is that I ran into a friend of mine at the gym yesterday. He thought I was looking HUGE (in a good way )

[vwbrvr6]

dammit, hurt my shoulder doing bench press. Hurts right under the collar bone. Sigh......

[ClockworkChad]

Did elliptical for ~30min last night. It's already much easier than it was on the first day but still have a long way to go.

I also started weighing myself more frequently...I'm just shy of 300 (298.8lbs). FWIW, when I joined these forums I was ~240.

hahah damn dude, we have extremely similar body types and ability to gain weight. any idea what your bodyfat is?

[VW1.8Tsunami]

hahah damn dude, we have extremely similar body types and ability to gain weight. any idea what your bodyfat is?

no idea, it's probably not pretty though.

[Rob Cote]

Got 2x5 @ 250 dead lifting. I've done some dead lifting with lighter weight as previously mentioned but this was the first time I've ever really pushed myself. I've been nervous about damaging my back, so I wanted to get comfortable with the motion first. I'm excited to get into the "700s club".

[ClockworkChad]

Got 2x5 @ 250 dead lifting. I've done some dead lifting with lighter weight as previously mentioned but this was the first time I've ever really pushed myself. I've been nervous about damaging my back, so I wanted to get comfortable with the motion first. I'm excited to get into the "700s club".

right on - keep that form dialed in, pushing is ok but dont push too hard

[Sir Biggz]

I'm shooting for the '700 club' as well!

[Chilledman]

625 squat, my best raw squat ever, rather pleased

jebus man awesome !!

I am trying to get that on my DL

[TheJuggernaut]

jebus man awesome !!

I am trying to get that on my DL

Thanks dude, for what it's worth I haven't tried pulling that, my squat is always better than my pull but then I don't deadlift often.

Awesome workout today. Back to 475. Next step, time to push past 500. Then did 445 and 405x3 closegrip.

[XiaoNio]

Hay freaking seuss. It's embarrassing when there are folks on here benching more than I can squat.

In other news. The progressive overload system seems to be working. Front squatted 160 kg this morning. That's 5 kilos over 2 weeks ago and pretty good considering I went in tired and sore from back squatting yesterday.

Unfortunately, I've got some pretty bad AC joint irritation going on. Probably from benching and catching jerks/push presses, so the bench program is frozen.

[spoolin215]

I find it to be ridiculous hard to bench heavy and make progress on the jerk. At this point the only horizontal pressing I do is push-up variations. Benching just makes the pecs way too tight to get good bar positioning with jerks.