Archives For 5RM

A couple of rep PRs this past week:

Overhead Press: 225x5 (5RM)

I've been wanting this for a while now. Pretty happy I got the LMAO2PLATE OHP for 5 reps milestone!

Maybe I'll try for a 260 lb 1RM soon.

Bench Press: 350x2 (2RM)

On the first set, I slipped on the bench despite having that rubber anti-slip mat. Maybe it had something to do with the shirt I was wearing.

On the second set, I got 2 reps, but missed on the third. Had I not slipped on the first set, or had I wore my Three Wolf Moon shirt, I probably would have gotten 3 reps.

Thinking of going for a 1RM of 380 lb this upcoming Friday.

An Observation On Personal Records (PR's)

Lately I'm starting to notice from reading other people's blogs and updates in my Facebook feed is that a lot of people who consistently get stronger, along with those who are freakishly strong, tend to keep track and try to beat their personal records (PR's) on a variety of rep ranges and exercises.

I think there's something to this, as far as training effect, getting stronger and motivation goes.

I mean, if someone were to improve on their 5 rep max on say, the bench press, then their 3 rep max may be higher as well. And if this someone hit a 3 rep max, then they might be in a position to set a new 2 rep max. If they set a new 2 rep max, then maybe they're strong enough to get a new 1 rep max. Going by memory, this has been the case for me. If I hit a rep PR, then I usually can get another PR in a different rep range, and sometimes even a new 1 rep max.

Motivation-wise, having a 5,3,2, and 1 rep maxes on all major lifts gives you a lot more to shoot for (ie. more PR's to break). Trying to break a 1RM on the squat, deadlift, bench press and overhead press (total of 4 personal records) won't last very long and is not sustainable. But if you go keep track of your 5RM, 3RM, 2RM and 1RM on the big 4 lifts (at least, the 4 big lifts that I do), that's a total of 16 different PR's to try to break. Choosing from 16 different personal records to try to break, say, on a weekly and bi-weekly basis seems a lot more feasible than simply going for 1 rep maxes.

And that's only with 4 rep ranges and 4 different lifts. The number of PR's "to break" would increase with different rep ranges (say by adding 10RM, 8RM and so on) and different exercise or a variation of an exercise (ex. paused squats, paused bench etc), giving you more opportunities to break PR's and get stronger on a regular basis.

I don't know about you, but whenever I hit a PR in any rep range, I feel good about myself, and it validates that my training is working. Whenever I'm planning to hit a PR, it's usually on my mind days before I attempt it, and I'm pretty psyched for my workout.

At this point, I'm keeping track of my 1RM (it's on the "About The Author" section of each post on my blog), but I need to add 2,3 and 5 rep maxes (maybe others) to that section, or maybe new page so I can easily look it up.

Anyway, check out these blog posts I came across this past week:

Stuff You Should Read

  1. The Myth Of Perfect Form by Brandon Morrison
  2. Why Is Core Strength So Important? By Dave Hedges
  3. Getting Stronger: The Evolution by Greg Nuckols

Texas method recovery day.

Foam Rolling

L-Sit V-Grip Pull Ups

  • Body weight (~200 lb): 8

High Bar Squat

Put on a pair of Fat Gripz Extreme. Feel it a bit more in my lower back.

  • 45 lb: 20
  • 140 lb: 10
  • 230 lb: 5
  • 320 lb: 3
  • 410 lb: 1
  • 440 lb: 1
  • 410 lb: 3

Front Squat

Used straps. Felt like the bar was sitting on my collar bones, so I added the blue Fat Gripz to the last set at 230 lb and 320 lb. Feels better that way.

  • 140 lb: 3
  • 230 lb: 3,3,3
  • 320 lb: 1
    • Almost rolled off my shoulders.

Overhead Press

  • 45 lb: 10
  • 75 lb: 8
  • 100 lb: 5
  • 140 lb: 3
  • 190 lb: 1
  • 225 lb: 5 *PR!
    • 5 rep max! Finally! Previous best at this weight was 4 reps way back in January.

Barbell Curl

  • 45 lb: 10
  • 75 lb: 10
  • 85 lb: 10

My body seems to be healing up pretty good. I no longer experience that much pain when sneezing.

I can be more explosive out of the hole in the squat without feeling much pain or discomfort.

Also, I was planning on deloading this week (including today) for the bench press, but I felt fresh from taking it easy on Monday that I figured heck, why not go for some PR's??

So I did.

Foam Rolling

Low Bar Squat

  • 45 lb: 20
  • 140 lb: 10
  • 190 lb: 5
  • 230 lb: 5
  • 280 lb: 5
  • 330 lb: 5,5,5

High Bar Squat

Face Pulls

  • 70lbs: 15

Reverse Grip Bench Press

  • 45 lb: 10
  • 140 lb: 5
  • 230 lb: 3
  • 280 lb: 1
  • 330 lb: 1
  • 375 lb: 1 *PR - 1RM!
    • Back cramped up as I was pressing the bar up. Bar dipped a bit, but I pressed it back up.
    • +5 lb PR
  • 320 lb: 5 *PR - 5RM!
    • Previous 5RM was 315 lb

Texas method intensity day.

Foam Rolling

L-Sit Chin Up

  • Body weight (200 lb): 8

High Bar Squat

Normally I do low bar back squat (3x3) followed by high bar squat (2x5). But I got a 5RM today so it's good enough.

  • 45 lb: 20
  • 140 lb:10
  • 230 lb: 5
  • 320 lb: 3
  • 370 lb: 2
  • 410 lb: 1
  • 460 lb: 1
  • 427.5 lb: 5 *PR!
    • 5RM! Didn't even feel that difficult. Pretty sure I could have gotten 430x5 haha

Face Pulls

  • 70lbs: 13

Reverse Grip Bench Press

Wanted to film this at multiple angles to see what it looks like.

  • 45 lb: 10
  • 140 lb: 5
  • 230 lb: 3
  • 280 lb: 1
  • 340 lb: 1
    • Missed on 2nd rep. Maybe I need to cut down the volume on OHP on Wednesday.
  • 317.5 lb: 3,3,3
    • +2.5 from 2 weeks ago.

Rack Pulls

Set the safeties in the number 4 hole in my rack. Just below the knees. Kinda.

  • 140 lb: 10
  • 230 lb: 5
  • 320 lb: 3
  • 410 lb: 2
  • 500 lb: 1
  • 550 lb: 1
  • 600 lb: 1
  • 550 lb: 3,3
  • 500 lb: 5

Texas method recovery day.

Abs are feeling sore from yesterday's L-sit chin ups.

Foam Rolling

High Bar Squat

  • 45lbs: 20
  • 140lbs: 10
  • 230lbs: 5
  • 325lbs: 5,5

Overhead Press

  • 45lbs: 10
  • 75lbs: 8
  • 100lbs:5
  • 140lbs:3
  • 190lbs: 1
  • 250lbs: 1 *PR - 1RM
    • What a grind. Half way up I just kept telling myself non-verbally to keep on pushing. I think it's going to be a while until I attempt another 1RM for OHP. In the mean time I'll work on rep PR's.
    • +5lbs from last week
    • 1.25x body weight!
  • 215lbs: 5 *PR - 5RM
    • Struggling with this weight for a few weeks trying to hit 5 reps. Got that SOB.