11-24-22 09:04 PM - Post#923465    

First post.

This is a non-serious review, I'm just trying to get my thoughts out somewhere.

I completed the southwood program 2 weeks ago and am now doing the big 5.

Things I liked:
learned how to power clean, at least started to learn
spent some quality time with front squats
the 8-6-4 rep style is good

I only benched with the same weight for the first workout, i didn't see any reason to bother with benching not even 50%, it's not a new lift for me, unlike power cleans.

My ohp has always lagged, relatively, behind. My bench has always been much better relatively than any other lift - despite me never being a bench bro.

WEIGHTS
i started with a weight I knew for sure I'd ohp for 8 reps, and I just kept going up 5lbs every session.

started all 4 lifts at 115
on workout 6 (i think) i failed to ohp 140 for the 8 reps.
from here I continued adding 5lbs to pcl, fsq, and bench.

I only did this program for 3 weeks, since i thought I'd do the big 5 and then 1 more program before Jan 1, I was wrong, Ill just keep doing big 5 for the rest of the year, probably.

right now I'm on week 2 of Big 5. In the T-nation article, DJ doesnt say how many days/week to do big 5, I decided 2x per week. He says to do teh 532 workout every 5th workout, I'm doing it every 4th, since Im working out 2x per week (sorry Dan). I also go down to a local track and do a few sprints and loaded carries, usually the day after a workout. I didn't do this while doing the SW program.

Tomorrow I'll do my first 532 workout.

On Tuesday I hit (missed the monday workout)
power clean 185
ohp 145
fsq 205
bench 255
deadlift 375

All for 5 reps.
Power cleans are a lot tougher than I thought, and I'm no doubt held back by my lack of leg strength.
On the ohp, i was really using the stretch-reflex to get the reps, on the deadlift, the reps were paused on the floor (not touch-n-go)
I'm probably the strongest I've ever been.

I really like these programs and plan on doing the big 5 at least 2 more weeks.

Earlier this year I did what I called "The Dan John Trifecta"
10k swings, mass made simple, easy strength.
I completed all 3, but have been a super-procrastinator in writing a review, since it'll really be a 3-in-1 review.
I'll write that in time.

Thanks for reading

11-25-22 07:13 AM - Post#923475    

All you need to do is write one a day. I look forward to it. Thanks for sharing.

11-25-22 09:44 AM - Post#923478    

The press (military) always slows down. Which is why it used to be so fun to figure out ways to add more...a lost art.

Great insights here, thank you.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

Southwood Program and Big 5
11-25-22 06:29 PM - Post#923486    

Just finished my first 532 workout on B5.

pcl 205x1 and a failure
ohp 155x2, 165x0
fsq 225x2
bench 275x2
deadlift 415x2

the pcl, ohp, and dl are all prs.

notes:
— I seem to have slow motion elbows, wondering if years of kb cleans have something to do with this
— on the first rep of 205, I caught it in my wrists
— I could feel myself give up on the 2nd rep on pcleans
— I feel like I can pull it plenty high, I just move as fast as a stone.
— the 155 ohp was far easier than i thought itd be. did both reps paused.
— 165 was not even close - I wrote down "feels like I'm just 'out of juice'"
— fsq was a pr tie, i know i couldve done more tho
— bench was disappointing, 255 felt much heavier than the other day when i hit it for 5, I thought i'd do 285 for 2 easy
— the deadlift was surprisingly easy, so I must be much stronger. Felt like i couldve gone up to 425 for a double, 425 was my max single last year.


Despite hitting 3 prs on a bad day, which I know is great, I'm still a bit disappointed.

I ALREADY knew I was stronger than my old prs.
I havent done any maxes this whole year, and I knew I had definitely become stronger, even before SW and B5.

what I WANTED to hit:
pcl 225
ohp 165/175
fsq 245
bench 285
dl 425

all for 2.

EXCUSES:
1) its just an off day
2) trouble getting to sleep last night, not enough sleep
3) went to bed hungry, it was already too late to eat something + i was trying to go to sleep
4) maybe thanksgiving dinner was a bit heavier than I thought
5) for some reason I decided to do a bunch of band curls and extensions right before the workout, I don't know why

these are all just excuses of course.
objectively and subjectively it was a great workout.


I am going to do this probably for 4 more weeks, so I'll have 2 more max doubles sessions.
I believe, if I can get to sleep and eat like I should, I can hit:
225 on pclean
175 on ohp
maybe 275 on fsq
maybe even 315 on bench
I think 455 on dl
all for 2.

Im excited for the next workout already.

Edited by amat4866 on 11-25-22 06:31 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

11-28-22 08:40 PM - Post#923536    

Workout 5

Ascending 5 rep sets, worked up to
pcl 175
ohp 135 paused
fsq 205 paused
bench 235
deadlift 385 deadstop

took it "easy" today
— the 175 pcl was much better than the last time I did 175
— my front rack is slowly getting better
— the ohp was very good, I'm pretty sure I have 145 for 5 paused on thursday or friday
— the fsq felt off today, Its like I couldn't catch the bounce so I just paused all reps for the last set, wasn't planning on it.
— Didn't feel my back round so that's good.
— I'm pretty sure now that the reason the fsq feels so bad for me is that my deadlift is huge relative to my sq strength, so I have to struggle to not good morning everything — I'm fighting the weight and my body
— bench was alright, this is the 2nd workout I've done paused bench and both times my back cramps on the pause
— deadlift is a 5rm pr. Felt good, almost too good, makes me think I only did 4 reps but idk.

Tomorrow or Wednesday I'll go down to the track for some lift-n-sprints
Ive been trying the double 24kg kb sq for 8 and then a "sprint" (closer to a meander) but I've also been trying the opposite — 24kg kb swings for about 15 and then a backwards sprint, which is much more forgiving on my calves.
I've had shin splints for a while now but they're getting better.

I just bought some 3lb heavyhands weights so I'll be trying that out and I might do some crawling, if I remember to bring my gloves.

11-28-22 08:56 PM - Post#923539    

• BChase Said:

Thank you for the comment btw, This and Dans comment made me turn this post into a training log

Southwood Program and Big 5
11-28-22 08:56 PM - Post#923540    

• Dan John Said:

Thank you, any advice for slow motion elbows on power clean?

Edited by amat4866 on 11-28-22 08:58 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

12-07-22 03:35 PM - Post#923697    

Last Friday I was feeling bad, very tired.

Earlier that day at work I was listening to Christian Thibaudeau talking about how the last reps are what imprint on your brain.

I had already decided to take it easy but by the time I started working out I was just tired.

I worked up to:
pclean 125
ohp 125
fsq 125
bench 135
dl 195

this was much lower than I thought and honestly it still felt hard.

I dont think I fully recovered from that 532 day.
My sleep has been not so good, getting to bed early but waking up after only a few hours, not being able to fall back asleep and having to work and workout on just those first few hours of sleep.

My appetite has disappeared as well, it's a chore now to eat something. If I don't consciously do it, I'll skip breakfast and only have an energy drink.

12-07-22 03:46 PM - Post#923698    

I just finished my workout, I think I'm on week 4?

Today went better, but compared to I think week 2 I'm worse off.
I think I'm one of those people who has one bad training session and starts combing through my life wondering where I went wrong.

I worked up to
power clean 175 - felt rusty
ohp tried 155, idk what I was thinking, other than I wanted to do 5, got 1 and didn't bother on the 2nd rep, after that did 135 for 5 paused, it was tough. I did 135 about 2 weeks ago for 5 paused so easy it had me thinking i might get 155 for 5 in a bit
front squat - felt a lot better today than the past few sessions, 205 for 5
bench - weaker, 225 for 5
deadlift 365 for 5, this was tough but mostly because of hook grip, I'm still not used to it and so I lift it the way you lift when you can barely hold on to something - very slowly.

Here's something:
I was thinking how my workouts seem to take too long and thought how the first sets of 5 are really just warmups. So what's the point of doing 5 rep sets every time when the point is to get to the last set of 5 that'll really give a good stimulus.

Now that I have put this to the test, I think I was wrong.
I was already thinking how it makes sense to get more reps with lifts you might be unfamiliar with, like the power clean and front sq, but with the rest, theres no need to do the ascending sets of 5.

I'm now thinking that the ascending sets of 5 are a lot more helpful than they seem.
Maybe my power clean wouldn't have felt rusty if I had taken more time in the warmup.

That said, perhaps it did help my front squat and maybe my deadlift.

I'll put this to the test again, doing ascending 5x5 on the power clean, but just working up to a hard set of 5 normally on the other lifts.

My sleep has been better but that one or 2 weeks took their toll.
My appetite is still just not there.

I think my body might be trying to tell me it's time to switch tactics.
no appetite, mind wandering before, during, and after the workout. Thinking of all the other exercises and programs I could be doing.
who knows.

12-07-22 03:56 PM - Post#923700    

Yes!

Well, at least I think so: the last set (best set) is the key...and make the damn lifts.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

12-27-22 06:46 AM - Post#924003    

It's good to see all of your workout routines.