Newb in NYC

[Bloodninja666]

Years of 90-hour work weeks in a desk job have done a number on my body, and Ive decided to make time for SS to reverse this damage. Ive put on a lot of blubber on my torso, and never really had any strength to begin with. This is my first foray into strength training.

Age: 26
Ht: 5'11''
Wt: 195
Bf: 25% I would guess

Im starting my 3rd week of the program and haven't felt better. Here is what I lifted last Friday, which I feel accurately represents my strength after using the first 2 weeks to nail down form and see what Im capable of:

Sq: 180
Dl: 215
P: 87
BP: 127
PC: 95 (still hammering out form here.)

Caloric Intake about 3,000 a day, but plan to increase this to 4,000 now that weights Im lifting feel heavy.

My hip flexors are holding me back on the squat. I feel like my hams and ass could handle much more weight, but hips are damn sore. Anyone able to advise on this- would it make sense to rest the hips or continue to train through it? There is no pain when Im resting, but I get a few sharp blasts through the day when I take a funny step walking.

Anyone else training in the city, and if so what are the best gyms?

I will update this blog on Fridays. Any encouragement or tips would be welcome!

[Mr.City]

I had the same problem for a couple days on my squats. You may be letting your knees slide forward at the bottom.

[JC400]

Like Mr. City says watch out for your knees sliding forward, may or may not be the cause of the pain but its a bad habit to have and its amazing how many of us make this mistake!

[misspelledgeoff]

Hey Blood,

I'm concerned your not recovering properly (thus the hip flexor pain) becasue your not eating enough. 3K is way low and 4k is borderline at best for a guy your size.

remember, belly fat is easier to lose than muscle is to gain. And the belly fat will come off a lot easier when you have an extra 35 pounds of muscle to help with metabolism

[Platus]

I second Geoff's recommendation. If you really are at or near 25% body fat and you are training hard then you can probably expect that percentage to come down despite a relatively high caloric intake. I have also found that making sure to get 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight keeps me from getting too sore.

[Bloodninja666]

Thanks for the tips guys.

I feel like I am prone to the knees sliding forward. Are there any good cues to correct this?

After reading around a bit more today, I'm sold on the big-calorie diets. I'll be eating everything in sight for the near future. The first Costco just opened in the city this weekend, so that should help keep me stocked in the 3 main food groups (beef, pork, chicken.)

[JmastaUSMC]

COSTCO is an awesome supporter of 70's big appetites. Good luck with your workouts and happy eating!

[Platus]

I have just started correcting some knee sliding of my own. The "terribly useful block of wood" from SS works pretty well. I have been practicing technique with an empty barbell and I have found that just being very conscious of the tension in my hamstrings helps me to perceive if my knee placement is good or not.

[JLascek]

This is definitely a form issue. The fellas here have helped so far. Think about the knees going out first, then sitting back (which is what happens in the TUBOW deal).

Your main dietary concern in these beginning stages is protein.

[Bloodninja666]

It was a mixed week of training. Overall I grade it a C.

Wednesday:

Went well

SQ #185x3x5. Lascek's (thanks man) tip worked very well and I felt the hip drive more than any session so far and lifted the weight easily.

P #92x3x5. Gave the very last rep a bit of a liftoff with the knees, but otherwise good.

PC#95x5x3. Finally feel comfortable with the form on this lift.

Friday:

Disaster on the squat. I could tell during warmup I was in for trouble, but went for it.

SQ #190xfail. Got 2 frightening reps in. My hips just felt destroyed. In addition to my hip flexors mentioned in above posts, tendons/muscles on the outside of my hips were giving way. Basically I felt like I was driving the bar with every muscle in my hips except the glutes and hams.

My theory is that in tweaking my form Wednesday, I activated some tissue I had not been using in previous weeks due to poor form, and gave those tissues more weight than they were ready to handle. The odd part, though, is that my hips didn't feel bad at all Wednesday night.

Will play it by ear Monday, but may end up deloading by 25lbs.

BP #130x3x5. Felt so strong I didnt even bother with a spotter. Will make a 5lb jump next workout.

DL #225x1x5. Used the reverse grip for the first time and lifted this weight rather easily despite some lingering hip pain from the squat.

[GianMilano]

It's looking good, dude. Hopefully you won't have to deload the squat. I've come to learn that a weekend of copious food and sleep can work wonders for a lagging lift.

I noticed that you're using the reverse grip for deads. I use it as well, and thought I'd advise you to alternate the grip after each rep.

Definitely get down with some of that Costco. Their burgers are absurdly sized.

[Bloodninja666]

This week was for the birds. First travel for work, then to families' for the holiday, so Monday was my only training day. I crammed SQ, DL, BP and P into the same session.

SQ- hips were still feeling destroyed and was only able to do 165 after testing 1 rep of 195.
BP - 135 (pr)
DL - 235 x 4 ( will attempt only 240 next session)
P - 97 (pr)

Weighed myself tonight and broke the 200 mark, which is a PR for me. Hopefully those pounded didn't all end up in my belly.

Looking forward to a fresh start next week and getting something going with that Squat.

[Flbloodline]

Not sure where you are at in NYC, but Keith Wittenstein's Brooklyn Barbell Club has Starting Strength classes on Mon-Wed-Fri. Keith is a great coach and was an assistant instructor with Rip in many of his CF barbell certs on the east coast. Definitely worth checking out as he has a great gym!!

http://www.brooklynbarbell.com/

[Bloodninja666]

Not sure where you are at in NYC, but Keith Wittenstein's Brooklyn Barbell Club has Starting Strength classes on Mon-Wed-Fri. Keith is a great coach and was an assistant instructor with Rip in many of his CF barbell certs on the east coast. Definitely worth checking out as he has a great gym!!

http://www.brooklynbarbell.com/

Nice, I didn't have these guys on my radar for some reason. It would be too much of a trek for regular workouts, but a few coaching sessions could be just the thing. Thanks for the link.

[Bloodninja666]

Decent week, but still trying to get my squat squared away.

SQ - 165x5x3 I found my hips were still damn sore Monday, so I decided to just start working up again from 1 plate. By Friday Im having no pain during my lift, though I still feel the soreness when sitting around. Hopefully the derailment is over and I can start moving up in weight.

DL: 240x5x3 (PR)

BP: 140x5x3 (PR)

P: 100x5x3 (PR)

Press and Bench are both feeling strong. Im considering trying a few 5-pound jumps, but would hate to stall on account of greed.

[strongdaniel]

Fellow New Yorker here.

Good luck in your quest to get strong. Make sure to eat 70's big.

There aren't many good discount places to grocery shop for a 70's appetite in NYC, however if you are a manhattanite, may I suggest fairway? They have ridiculously good prices on prepared foods (I buy lbs of chopped liver, egg salad and tuna salad there and demolish it throughout the week), they have an adequate meat department and they deliver. That means you don't have to kill yourself lugging 7 gallons of whole milk back to wherever you reside.

Fairway is friend to the fraternity of 70's big aspirants.

[strongdaniel]

Decent week, but still trying to get my squat squared away.

SQ - 165x5x3 I found my hips were still damn sore Monday, so I decided to just start working up again from 1 plate. By Friday Im having no pain during my lift, though I still feel the soreness when sitting around. Hopefully the derailment is over and I can start moving up in weight.

DL: 240x5x3 (PR)

BP: 140x5x3 (PR)

P: 100x5x3 (PR)

Press and Bench are both feeling strong. Im considering trying a few 5-pound jumps, but would hate to stall on account of greed.

Is there a reason you are doing three sets of deads? I was doing that for a while, and I found it really limited my recovery. As far as I know, what is recommended in the program should suffice: 1 set of 5 reps.

[Bloodninja666]

Is there a reason you are doing three sets of deads? I was doing that for a while, and I found it really limited my recovery. As far as I know, what is recommended in the program should suffice: 1 set of 5 reps.

Ah, typo, I only do 1 set of 5. Good looking out.

[Bloodninja666]

An extended engagement in BFE really interfered with training the last couple weeks. Still, some PRs made:

BP 147
Press 105
DL 255

Hopefully the new year will bring a more regular schedule into my life.

[Bloodninja666]

It has been a frustrating december. Lots of missed gym days due to holiday travel. A botched deadlift workout where I added up the weight wrong and pulled 10lb less than I planned.

And the hip flexor injury has reared its head again as of yesterday. I cant even pick up my foot to tie my shoe. This is the most frustrating thing, I haven't made progress on the squat in a month! I hit 190lb, tweaked the thing. Worked back up to 200lb, tweaked it again. I feel like my form is solid and dont really understand what's going wrong.

So here are the PRs as they stand:

SQ: 200 (though I doubt there will be progress next week due to this injury)
DL: 255
P: 112
BP: 155
PC: 105

[Bloodninja666]

Actual progress this week on everything but the squat. Squatting high reps at lower weights to rehab hip flexors. I see a form check video in the near future so I can get squats straightened out once and for all- I feel like I could be so strong on this lift if I can stop hurting myself.

Ive also dialed my calories down since Im not squatting heavy. 3000 cals, and I dont feel like it slowed my progress on other lifts too much.

DL: 265
BP: 160
P: 115
PC: 110

[Bloodninja666]

Another week done.

On the squat I discovered I was actually putting the bar in too low a position on the back. This may help explain some of the form issues/injuries Ive had the last month. My new bar position plus Rip's latest article about keeping the knees out and chest up has led to a break-through I think. Squats felt less akward and like I was finally using the major posterior muscles.

Still hip flexor pair, which I hope is just residual from last week. During the squats I dont feel like theyre nearly as in play. So one last try at this squat thing and if things go sour again Ill just shell out the cash for a coach.


Some PRs:
DL: 270
P: 120
BP: 162
PC: 115

[Bloodninja666]

Another week.

DL: 280
Press: failed at 122 (only 4 reps per set)
Bench: 165
PC: 120

[Bloodninja666]

Back on track...

SQ: 220
DL: 295
BP: 175
P: 122 (reset form with a narrower grip and worked my way back up)
PC: 135

Deadlift stopped moving for a minute, I think because my squat was so weak in comparison. Couldn't find the strength to break 285+ deadlift off the ground until I got my squat to 220.

[Gaucho]

Glad to see you're back on track. Question: how did you manage to overcome the hip flexor issue? Was it just the position of the bar and knees out that solved it? I'm having the same issue with my right hip so any further input on solving the problem is appreciated.

[Bloodninja666]

Glad to see you're back on track. Question: how did you manage to overcome the hip flexor issue? Was it just the position of the bar and knees out that solved it? I'm having the same issue with my right hip so any further input on solving the problem is appreciated.

Im not really sure Ive seen the last of this issue. My hips are still far from right. e.g. kicking a soccer ball is a painful experience. So is raising my legs from a seat position with my thighs spread.

Hopefully this is just a tendonitis thing that will get better with time. Though the problem has nagged me going on 3 months...

Improving my form + foam rolling has helped. I don't seem to be aggrivating them as much now. But even still, over the last couple of weeks, by the 3rd day of squatting I find there is too much pain/weakness to do the workout.

So for the time being Im happy adding weight 2x per week. Let me know if you have any insight.

[homerj742]

How do you warm up before your session? A good warm up, and maybe some hip flexor stretches (everyday) would help.

Maybe even a massage?

[Gaucho]

My warm up is 5 minutes on the C2 rower and situps per the Onus Wunsler program.

My experience is the same as you Blood, I've been having the right hip pain for quite a while now. It's usually bearable, but it is persistent pain when squatting - even in my warm ups with the bar I can feel it. When I get to my work sets sometimes it hurts to the point where I just call it a day for squats, but that has only happened a handful of times and I've been on SS since last September. I've also had the hip pain outside the gym when I take an awkward step and the pain surges up and down my right leg.

I've done a few resets to work on form, and reducing the forward knee travel has definitely helped the pain. Also, I've started doing figure four stretches which have helped. Like you, I've reduced my squatting to two days a week and that has helped too (I tried adding a light squat day when I was squatting 3 days a week but it didn't help the hip).

Anyway, I hope both of our hip situations improve. Good luck.

[Bloodninja666]

Good progress in the last months.

DL: 405
SQ: 305
BP: 202
OHP: 142

All while maintaining 200 lb bodyweight.

Had to scrap the powercleans for the time being due to a meniscus injury.