Jazz's Journal

Light Day

3x3 squats (102.5 kg)

I tried box-squating on one set as well. The weight seemed too heavy though so I went back to ordinary squats. Definately worth trying again though.

3x3 Deadlifts (132.5 kg)

3x3 Military Press (62.5 kg)

3x3 Close Grip Chins (Bodyweight + 7 kg)

Heavy Day

3x3 squats (147.5 kg)

felt real heavy. Had a spotter but didn't manage to squat real low. A couple of the reps were not great.

3x3 bench (100 kg)

Just failed on the last set (last rep)

3x3 Row

Again tough making progress. really need to work on this lift.

Light Day

Front Squats 3x5 (70, 80, 80 kg)

Thought I'd throw in some fromt squats for a change

Deadlifts 3x3 (135 kg)

Military Press 3x3 (65 kg)

Close Grip Chins 3x3 (9 kg)

Really tough only managed two on the last set.

Westside For Skinny Bastards


Max Effort Lower Body

Front Squats 45x5, 55x5, 65x5, 75x3, 85x5

weight about right

Reverse Lunges 3x8 (60, 60, 65 kg)

Quite tricky weight a bit light (felt real tired though) Knees felt sore

Good Mornings 3x10 (70 kg)

Weight a bit heavy (really struggling on last set, form began to suffer)

Dumbell Holds 3x30 sec (40 kg)

Repetition Upper Body

Set of bench dips to warm up

Body Weight Dips 15, 10, 8

Dumbell Floor press 3x8 (25 kg)

only managed six on last set

Assisted Wide-Grip Pull-Ups (10x25kg, 8x30kg, 6x30kg, 8x35 kg)

Didn't quite get the weight right was aiming for 4x12

Dumbell Shoulder Press ( 8x17.5kg, 8x17.5kg, 6x17.5kg)

Seemed a real low weight.

Barbell Curls 3x10 (30kg)

Only managed 8 reps on the last set.

Ab circuit (Lower Ab Crunch machine, Hanging Knee Ups, Swiss Ball Crunches, Upper Ab machine) 12 reps each exercise.

Found changing to higher reps quite a shock. Very difficult to get the right weight for the exercises.

Max Effort Upper


Bench Press (Max 95 kg)

About right.

Incline Dumbell Press 3x8 (30 kg)

Weight about right but only just got last rep.

Barbell Row 4x12 (50 kg, 12, 12, 12, 9)

Last set I struggled with.

Rope Pulls to Throat 3x15 (40 kg)

Swiss Ball Sit-ups 3x12 (15 kg)

Don't really feel it in the abs much

Repetition Upper Body

Dips 15, 8, 6

Dumbell Floor Press 3x8 (25 kg) 8, 8, 9

Pull-Ups 4x12 (35 kg) 12, 12, 8, 8

Dumbell Shoulder Press 3x10 (17.5 kg) 10, 8, 6

Barbell Curls 3x10 (30 kg) 10, 8, 6

Felt a bit tired + still not quite got the weight right.

No lower body max effort this week.

Max Effort Lower

Front Squats (top weight 85 kg x 5 reps)

Rear Lunges 3x10 (70 kg)

Good Mornings 3x10 (65 kg)

Dumbell Holds x3 (40 kg)


The lunges really wiped me out. The weight seemed alright but I felt quite light headed afterwards

Max Effort Upper

Bench (max 100 kg x3)

Incline Dumbell Press 3x10 (30 kg) 10, 9, 8

Barbell Row 4x12 (50 kg) 12, 12, 10, 7

Face Pulls 3x15 (45kg) 15, 12, 12

Ab work (tried swiss ball Crunches but wasn't too happy with them)

Good stuff Jazz, keep it up

Cheers Rambo

Repetition Upper Body

Dips 15, 8, 7

Dumbell Floor Press 3x10 (25kg) 10, 10, 8

Wide Grip Chins 4x12 (35kg assist) 12, 8, 8, 8

Tried a different grip on the first two sets. The lower handles allowed for greater range of movement but I wasn't so strong.

Dumbell Press 3x10 (17.5 kg) 10, 10, 6

Barbell Curl 3x10 (30 kg) 10, 10, 8

Leg Raise 1x12
Side Bend 1x12 (12.5kg) each side
Ab Machine 1x12 (80kg)

Max Effort Lower

Power Cleans (max weight 75 kg x 3, then another couple after a rest)

Hard to get the technique right

Rear Lunges 3x10 (75 kg)

1 set of Good Mornings (70 kg x 10) and two sets of leg curls 2x10 (60 + 80 kg)

Someone wanted to use the bar so I cut down my worksets. But when I finished the guy didn't use the equipment...

Max Effort Upper

Dips ( working up to BW + 30kg for 5 reps)

Incline Dumbell Press 3x6 (32.5 kg)

Barbell Row 4x12 (50 kg) 12, 12, 10 ,8

Face-Pulls 3x15 (45 kg) 15, 15, 15, 15

Hanging Leg Raises 3x12 (BW)

Grip failing before abs

Repetition Upper


Bench (60 kg) 15, 10, 10

Dumbell Floor Press 3x6 (27.5 kg)

Wide Pull-Ups 4x12 (35 kg assist)

Dumbell Shoulder Press 3x10 (17.5 kg) 10, 10 ,7

Barbell Curls 3x10 (30 kg)

Ab circuit

Hanging Leg Raises 1x12

Russian Twists (med ball) 1x10

Ab Pulldowns (45 kg( 1x10

Max Effort Lower


Power Cleans (75 kg, still struggled on this so dropped back to 70 kg)

Rear Lunges 3x10 (80 kg)

Was exhausted after every set and took up to five minutes to get my heart rate back to normal.

Hamstring Curls 3x10 (90 kg) 10, 10, 7

Did these instead of Good Mornings (back sore from last week). No grip training this week either. Was really exhausted after this workout.

Max Effort Upper

Weighted Dips (BW + 32.5 kg) Managed four reps on last set. Felt a twinge in my shoulder.

Incline Dumbell Press 3x7 (32.5 kg) 7, 7, 6

Barbell Row 4x12 (50 kg) 12, 12, 10, 10

Face-Pulls 3x15 (5o kg) 15, 12, 12

Ab Pulldowns 3x10 (various weights 75 kg approx.) Difficult to 'feel' anything in the abs

Upper Body Repetition

Bench Press (60 kg) 20, 10, 10

Dumbell Floor Press 3x7 (27.5 kg) 7, 7, 6

Pull-Ups 4x12 (30 kg) 12, 8, 8, 6

Dumbell Press 3x10 (17.5 kg)

Barbell Curl 3x10 (35 kg) 11, 8, 6

Ab Circuit

Mate i really like your routine but im a little unsure of something. please explain to me why to reduce the weight on other days. For instance "light" and "medium" days? im not contesting it, im just not familiar as to how they can be beneficial if your not going all out. do you up the reps or something?


PS......(im refering to loading phase at begining)

Its basicially a full body routine. So you would find it hard to exercise with high intensity every workout. I can't imagine squating fifteen sets a week all heavy.

You're hitting the muscles affectively three times each week so more oportunity for muscle growth. The variation in intensity keeps the CNS from getting overtrained so you won't burn out so quickly

You don't up the reps at all. You stick to 5x5 for all exercises. I found the routine quite managable. However you do feel relieved when the loading phase has finished. I also seemed to gain more muscle in the deload/intensity phases.

There are many variations on this routine. The 'original' routine can be found at....

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/m_867263/mpage_1/key_bill%252Cstar/tm.htm#869591

The following links are worth reading....

http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/manrodt4.htm

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=375215

http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow1/5x5_Program/Periodized_5x5.htm

There are many variations with this routine but I found this one worked quite well. My knees were really sore during the loading phase but the soreness faded after the deload.

What's your routine at the moment ?

Jazz

Max Effort Upper

Close Grip Bench (80 kg)

Was originally working up to 75 kg but found I could easily do another set.

Dumbell Bench (palms facing) 3x6 (32.5 kg)

Tried first set with 35 kg managed only five reps so went back down to 32.5 kg.

Seated Cable Row (palms facing) 4x12 (49 kg) 12, 12, 10, 10

Cable Scarecrows 3x12 10 (10 kg), 8 (7.5 kg), 8 (5 kg)

Real hard exercise had to really lower the weights for this one.

Ab Pulldowns 3x12 (90 kg)

Max Effort Lower

Deadlifts max 140 kg x 5

Leg-Curls 3x10 (80 kg) 10, 10, 8

Didn't have the energy to do anything else deadlifts really burnt me out. Also find Unilateral Quad Movements difficult. Lunges give me a lot of discomfort as do bulgarian split squats and I don't feel comfortable doing step-ups especially without a spotter.

Max Effort Upper


Close Grip Bench (85 kg)

Dumbell Bench (Palms Facing) 3x7 (32.5 kg)

Seated Cable Row (Palms Facing) 4x12 (49 kg)

Cable Scarecrows 3x15 (5kg) 12, 12, 8

Ab Pulldowns 3x12 (90 kg)

I've missed my lower workout for this week and repetition upper from last week. Felt drained of energy from work and from last week's heavy deadlifting.

Started a new two day routine today. Its based on both of Frankie's Routines.

This is what I did today....


Deadlifts 3x5 (130 kg)

Hard to get used to the movement again.

Military Press 5x5 (55 kg)

Weight just about right

Wide Grip Pull-Ups 5x5 (10 kg assist) only managed four on last set.

Close Grip Bench 3x5 (2x80, 1x85 kg)

Ab Rope Pulldowns 3x12 (90 kg)

Overall hard work but managable.

Front Squats (85 kg) 3x5

Really hard work. Keeping the bar in position was especially difficult.

Bench Press (85 kg) 5x5

Just managed four reps on the last set

Bentover Row (57.5 kg) 5x5

Barbell Curl (37.5 kg) 3x5

Ab Rope Pulldown (105 kg) 3x12

Deadlifts 3x5 (132.5 kg)

Military Press 5x5 (57.5 kg) 5, 5, 5, 3, 4

Pull-Ups 5x5 (10 kg assist)

Close Grip Bench 3x5 (82.5 kg) 5, 5, 4

Crunch Machine 3x12 (20 kg)

Front Squats 3x5 (87.5 kg)

Bench 5x5 (85 kg)

Bent Over Row 5x5 (60kg)

Barbell Curl 3x5 (40 kg)

Crunch Machine 3x12 (22.5 kg)

Deadlifts 3x5 (135 kg)

Military Press 5x5 (57.5 kg) 3x5, 4, 4

Only managed four reps on the last two sets. On the last rep it must have taken about 5-10 seconds to lift the weight.

Wide Grip Pull-Ups 5x5 (lowest setting assist + 2.5 kg) 3x5, 5, 4

Difficult to keep the 2.5 attached to the weight stack so the last set I did without.

Close Grip Bench 3x5 (82.5 kg)

Hard to keep elbows in and felt real heavy

Crunch Machine 3x12 (25 kg) 12, 12, 11

Deadlifts 3x5 (137.5 kg)

Military Press 5x5 (57.5 kg) (3x5, 4, 2.5)

Struggling again this week. Not much in the way of carbs today so that might be the solution.

Pull-Ups 5x5 (assist on lowest setting) (3x5, 3, 3)

Again really hard work needed a spotter. My triceps were fried after all that pressing

Close Grip Bench 3x5 (85 kg) (5, 3, 2)

Not much energy left

Ab Machine 3x12 (25 kg)

Front Squat 3x5 (90 kg)

Some back rounding occured. I really need to synchronise my breathing with the movement. Had burst blood vessels this week as well.

Bench 5x5 (87.5kg) 5, 5, 4, 4, 3

Row 5x5 (62.5 kg)

Barbell curls 3x5 (42.5 kg) 5, 5, 3

Ab Machine 3x12 (27.5 kg) 12, 12, 10

hi jazz, I like the excercises youve choosen for a 2 day split, in a few weeks im going to change to a 2 day split and think i might copy what youve done!

my journal, come say hello - I need all the help I can get! 
http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?high=&m=3731999&mpage=1#3731999

Deadlifts 3x5 (140 kg)

Military Press 5x5 (57.5 kg) 5, 5, 5, 4, 3

Pull-Up 5x5 (assist) 5, 5, 5, 4, 4

Close Grip Bench 3x5 (85 kg) 5, 4, 4

Ab Machine 3x12 (27.5 kg) 12, 12, 9

Glad you like it. Even though I've dropped to two days a week it's still hard work. I'm going for a deload / intensity phase for the next few weeks and drop to sets of 3x3 since my progression is slowing on most of my lifts.

Deload

Missed a couple of sessions during the last few weeks and weights have stayed the same for a while so I think it's time for a deload.

Deads 3x3 (140 kg)

Military Press 3x5 (57.5 kg)

Pull Up 3x5 (assist lowest setting)

Close Grip Bench 3x3 (85 kg)

Ab Machine 3x12 (27.5 kg) 12, 12, 8

front Squats 3x3 (90 kg)

Bench Press 3x5 (87.5 kg)

Barbell Row 3x5 (62.5 kg)

Barbell Curl 3x3 (42.5 kg)

Ab Machine 3x12 (27.5 kg)

Deadlifts 3x3 (142.5 kg)

Lost my grip on the last set and the bar bruised my knee just before lock-out

Military Press 3x5 (60 kg)

Pull-Ups 3x5 (bw) 5, 5, 3

Close Grip Bench 3x3 (87 .5 kg)

Ab Machine 3x12 (30 kg) 12, 12, 10

Front Squats 3x3 (92.5 kg)

Bench 3x5 (90 kg)

Row 3x5 (65 kg)

Barbell curl 3x3 (45 kg)

Ab Machine 3x12 (30 kg) 12, 12, 8

Deadlifts 3x3 (142.5 kg)

Grip starting to fail again on last set just before lock-out.

Military Press 3x5 (62.5 kg) 5, 5, 3

Pull-Ups 3x5 (BW) 5, 5, 3

Close Grip Bench 3x3 (90 kg)

Ab Machine 3x12 (30 kg) 12, 12, 10

Front Squats 3x3 (95 kg)

Bench 3x5 (92.5 kg) 5, 5, 3.5

Barbell Row 3x5 (67.5 kg) 5, 5, 5

Barbell Curl 3x3 (47.5 kg)

Ab Machine 3x12 (30 kg) 12, 12, 10

Deadlifts 3x3 (145 kg)

Military Press 3x5 (62.5 kg)

Pull-Ups 3x5 (BW) 5, 5, 4

Close Grip Bench 3x3 (92.5 kg)

Ab machine 3x12 (30 kg) 12, 12, 10

Front Squats 3x3 (97.5 kg)

Bench 3x5 (95 kg) 5, 5, 4

Row 3x5 (70 kg) 5, 5, 3

Barbell Curl 3x3 (50 kg) 3, 2, 1 (really hard work)

Ab Machine 3x12 (30 kg) 12, 12, 11