Form > Figures

Rising through the ranks on Fitocracy has been a fun way to get a little bit of extra motivation exercise, but there's a few things I don't like about it. Since Fitocracy, awards points based on weight and for duration exercises, speed, it puts extra emphasis on upping weight and doing many sets with few reps. But doing low rep sets with near max weight is a great way to break down your form and increase the chances of injury.

I've decided to generally avoid doing lifts at weights that I can't do for at least 4-5 reps and focus on form to avoid injury. The one exception is deadlift, which is just an exercise that works well with high reps. I keep my reps between 2 and 5 for deadlifts, but have been avoiding 1 rep maxes.

Pulling back a little on my max lifts and not seeing any new max PRs is a little disheartening, but I feel a lot safer and I don't have any real problems with my muscles or joints. I also feel that in the long run, avoiding near max level lifts will allow for greater progression.

I am the 1%

I've been keeping up with my workouts for the past couple months aside from a bit of time off for Christmas and taking a week off to get over the flu. I've moved into the top 5000 on Fitocracy with just under 300,000 points, which puts me in the top 1% of accounts. It doesn't mean too much since 90% of accounts are probably inactive and points values are arbitrary but it's still fun to feel like I'm part of a semi-exclusive group.


My lifting has been coming along pretty well since my last post. My deadlift max has increased to 415lbs and my overhead press is up to 137.6. I haven't been upping my squats and bench press weight due to lack of proper equipment and spotting; I've been benching 225 for 5 reps and squatting 225 to 265 for 5 to 8 reps. I feel fairly comfortable that I can remain safe keeping my lifts at those weights and adjusting reps ad necessary to get a good workout. I am not planning to move weight up on those lifts unless I get a proper squat rack or have happen to have a spotting available for bench.


I've been doing more weighted bodyweight exercises lately as well. I can do about 5 parallel grip pull ups and 8 dips with 90 lbs. It's remarkable how light you feel doing bodyweight-only lifts after working with a weight belt.


I still try to run at least 2 days a week, once on the weekend and once on Tuesday. I usually run 3 to 4 miles at around 7mph. My Thursday cardio session has kind of crumbled away because I started doing deadlifts on Thursdays to keep my Wednesday workouts from lasting too long. I'd like to figure out a way to do cardio and deadlifts in the same workout, but I'm not sure that is possible, since cardio leads to sweat which makes the bar difficult to grip. It's hard enough keeping a solid grip on the bar without sweaty hands. Hand chalk can only do so much.


My toe is feeling pretty good these days. I usually only notice it if I try running too fast or wear the wrong types of shoes. I may do another marathon someday if I can keep it feeling good with higher mileage.