astanto2 training log

[astanto2]

started strength about a week ago the basic novice progression, new to the boards, happy to be here. i have both SS and PPST2, and have read both. my background:

30 yo male. 6'2" 220 lb. BF: untested, likely btwn 12-18%. I played sports in high school and some at the college level (division III), and lifted throughout that time, off and on. I have never done a linear progression. I came to SS through crossfit, which i began doing in 07 and where I got much stronger than I was before crossfit, but I am doing the novice program here because, well, I am a novice in terms of programming for strength training. Prior to crossfit i had very little experience training the squat or deadlift and none with the press. Oddly, i had substantial experience with power cleans and hang power cleans, as my high school football coaches emphasized them (but would not allow us to squat). I also have had two ACL reconstructions (right 05, left 06). Knees do not bother me at all ... yet.

I started my SS progression at:
Squat 230
DL 335
Press 95 (extremely weak in this exercise for sets of 5, my CF Total max was 155).
PC 155
bench 175

Yesterday I warmed up (C2, five minutes) squatted 250 3x5 (after wu sets), benched 180 3x5 and DL'd 345 1x5. All of these weights moved up easily. The squats were taken well below parallel. The DL felt "hard" -- like a lot of effort -- but the bar speed was good. I plan to progress + 10 squat, +5 bench and +10 DL.

Eating: I am doing between half GOMAD and GOMAD, and eating three squares. I am monitoring my bodyweight at the conclusion of each training session. I plan to eat as much as I need to to support training, and I expect that to change as weights go up. Not sure how long I will be able to use LP; hopefully three months plus, but we'll see. Hope the log is of interest and becomes helpful, feel free to comment.

[astanto2]

warmup on C2

squat
45 2x5
95 1x5
155 1x3
205 1x2
260 3x5

Squats felt very strong today.

press
45 2x5
65 1x5
75 1x3
95 1x2
105 3x5

I have some trouble getting comfortable with the breathing on the press, but weight was fine.

power clean
135 1x5
145 2x3
165 5x3
I was very warm when I started, so didn't need extensive warmup. The 165 felt better in the later sets, when I seemed to have better timing. No missed reps this session. bodyweight: 222.8.

[Johnnyfondue]

Is that common/ok to take fewer warm up reps for your first last exercise because you are warmed up already?

I was just asking because I usually do the same thing. Though I usually hang clean the amount I was pressing before going straight to 135 PC.

[astanto2]

I don't know if it is common or not. I know that warming up serves both to prepare the muscles/joints for the worksets, and also to practice the movement pattern. Given that my later work sets felt more fluid than my first two, I probably would have benefitted from an additional warm up set at a lighter weight. Next PC workout, I will likely add in another warmup set for that reason.

[astanto2]

today
squat
45 2x5
105 1x5
165 2x3
215 1x2
270 3x5.

Again these felt good. sort of surprised that they did, but they did.

bench
45 2x5
75 1x5
115 2x3
155 1x2
185 3x5. felt solid. last rep of last two sets felt challenging, but wasn't slow.

deadlift.

135 2x5.
225 1x5
315 1x3
355 1x5. felt better than 345 on tues.

[astanto2]

2/2/10
squat
45 2x5
115 1x5
185 1x3
225 1x2
280 3x5. these felt a bit heavier than 270 on saturday. But, I was running at bit low on fuel (busy morning at home/work, only had time for a smallish breakfast). Got all the reps and will add ten thursday.

press
45 2x5
65 2x5
75 1x3
90 1x2
110 3x5. felt about the same as 105 did last thurs. will add 5.

power clean
45 2x5
135 2x3
145 2x2
170 5x3. these flew up today. no problems at all. tried out the hook grip, and was not very comfortable with it. may need it at heavier weights, and so am going to keep trying it.

bodyweight: 221.7.

[astanto2]

2/4/10

Squat
45 2x5
135 1x5
195 1x3
225 1x2
290 3x5.
Felt heavy. Went up, though.

Bench
45 2x5
95 1x5
135 1x3
155 1x2
190 3x5. This felt exactly the same as 185 felt. So, add five more.

Deadlift
135 2x5
225 1x5
315 1x2
365 1x5. Felt very strong. lower back was fried by the end today. just fatigued, no "bad" discomfort.
Bodyweight: 226.9. PWO snack: Subway footlong club, double meat, half-gallon of milk to be consumed through rest of the afternoon. Very excited about breaking into the 300's on the squat on Saturday.

[astanto2]

squat
45 2x5
155 1x5
205 1x3
235 1x2
300 3x5
this felt like a real challenge, but it went up. I think the thing here is a five pound jump next time. that's my plan.
press
45 2x5
65 1x5
80 1x3
95 1x2
115 3x5 (5, 4, 5); one missed rep. I think that I missed the rep because I had my grip slightly too wide. I will repeat this weight next workout.

pc

45 1x5
135 2x3
155 2x3
175 5x3.

this felt easy, hook grip felt much better than last time. will keep experimenting with that.

bw: 227.

[Tiburon]

Nice work. Couple more workouts and you have 3 wheels on the squats. Good milestone.

[Mr.City]

Nice job hitting 300 lbs. Soon comes 3 plates.

[astanto2]

thanks, guys. i posted a form check in technique, since this felt heavy. hope to hit three plates soon - with good form.

[astanto2]

2/9/10
going in to this week, have decided to switch to the PP novice program of:
A squat bench back ext. pullup/chinup
B squat press powerclean/deadlift

squat
45 2x5
145 1x5
215 1x3
245 1x2
305 3x5
felt good. worked hard on pushing knees out and keeping back tight.

bench
45 2x5
135 1x5
155 1x3
165 1x2
195 3x5
bench has been funny. every workout, the weight feels exactly the same. 195 felt just like 175 felt when I was doing that. anyway, going to add 5 again.

back extensions. 3x12 unweighted. my gym doesn't have a good GHD, it has one that is set at a 45 degree angle. better than nothing.

chinups. 6, 3, 4 1/2. the second set i think my grip was too wide for chins. anyway, these numbers are unimpressive.

bodyweight: 230.3.

[misspelledgeoff]

nice work on squats and bench!

[astanto2]

nice work on squats and bench!

thanks - all exercises are going pretty smoothly except for the press. I also meant to note that I switched to the PP routine with chins because the deadlift volume was killing me as the squats started getting heavier. Hopefully decreasing the frequency of the deadlifts will help me continue to make steady progress. Also interested to see where my weight ends up. I'm committed to eating enough to keep the weights moving. Looking at my log, I have gained 13 (approx 217 to approx 230) pounds since January 17, which doesn't seem outrageous.

[astanto2]

squat:
45 2x5
155 1x5
225 1x3
255 1x2
310 3x5
press:
45 2x5
70 1x5
80 1x3
95 1x2
120 3x5
dl
135 2x5
245 1x3
325 1x2
375 1x5.

got all my press reps despite last workout's set back at 115; glad i bumped up. squats were good and deep, have video taken on my blackberry and for some reason, can't figure out how to get it off. that's pretty absurd, eh? got all the squat reps. on dl, grip failed after 3; quickly got the straps on and finished. still, time for 5 lb jumps here.

[astanto2]

2/14/10

squat
45 2x5
165 1x5
245 1x3
265 1x2
315 3x5. Happy about this. It's getting hard.
bench
45 2x5
135 1x5
155 1x3
165 1x2
200 3x5. still relatively easy, but it was a little slower on reps 4 and 5 than it has been at lighter weights. However, I'm still very comfortable completing all reps without asking for a spot, which tells me it's still pretty easy (or I'm pretty stupid).

Pullups 3, 4, 4. not so good. needs work, glad I'm doing them.

back extensions. 3x12. what do people do about adding weight here? Do you add sets first, or weight? Not sure I've seen the protocol.

bodyweight: 233.2

[astanto2]

2/16/10
squat
45 2x5
165 1x5
255 1x3
275 1x2
320 1x5, 1x4, 1x3. A little disappointed but I knew this day was coming. I think it is definitely time for a re-set, even though this is my first failed effort. I'm getting enough to eat, I'm sleeping 7-8 hours, etc.
press
45 2x5
75 1x5
95 1x3
105 1x2
125 3x5. very pleased with this progress. 125 felt better than 115 did a few workouts ago.
Schedule called for powercleans today. I skipped them -- feeling a little beat up in the mid-back and left quad. nothing serious, but worth being cautious.

bodyweight: 229.7.

[astanto2]

2/19/10

first workout with home equipment that i picked up from a friend moving out of state. squat stand, no rack. may improvise some safeties, but no need right now.

got some helpful feedback from members and rip on my 315 sets, and based on that as well as my failure at 320, I backed 10% off the worksets today.

squat
45 2x5
135 1x5
185 1x3
225 1x2
285 3x5. These felt pretty good. I tried to focus on knees out, chest up and narrowed my stance some. I am looking forward to the arrival of my belt and shoes.

bench
45 2x5
135 2x5
155 1x3
205 3x5. This was easy. 5 lb jumps continue on the presses, so that's good.

chins: 5, 5, 4. meh.

bodyweight: 224.7. I think this is water-weight fluctuation, or differences in the gym and house scales. I will try to track this more consistently (i.e., same scale, same time). While I'm not going to keep a food log, I do want to make sure that I'm getting enough of what I need to progress, so I'm taking a look at what I did today, which is about average.

I've had four cups of whole milk (600 cal./32 g fat/48 g carb/32 g protein); 2 scoops of protein powder (260 cal./4 g fat/6 g carb/52 g protein); 4 eggs (320 cal./20 g. fat/4 g carb/28 g protein); a turkey club wrap (428 cal/16 g fat/41 g carb/32 g protein), 2 pieces of toast (160 cal/3 g fat/30 g carb/ 4 g protein). Haven't eaten dinner yet. So far 144 g protein, 137 g carbs, 1,768 calories. Clearly, at this point in the day, this is wildly insufficient. I need at least another 1,500 calories, and nearly another 100 g protein. Seems unlikely, but this gives me an idea of where I need to improve.

[astanto2]

2/21/10. I'm an idiot. See below.

Squat
45 2x5
135 1x5
225 1x3
290 3x5. These went well, but I think I will repeat this weight, to continue working on the form issues identified by rip and others on the board. reviewing the video, i'm still seeing a little bit of softness at the bottom, and some issues with chest up. no issues with depth, though.
press
45 1x10 (this warms me up quicker, I'm finding, than sets of 5).
115 2x5
135 1x3. What??? Am??? I???? Doing????? brainfart. this week I picked up equipment for home. my written log is at the gym. i was certain that 135 was the number today, until i started the set, and realized, "hey wait -- this feels pert heavy!" came up and checked the log online, and - only supposed to be at 130. so,
130 1x5, 1x4. I will repeat 130.

deadlift. Hey, there, dummy! want to screw up the progression again? Sure!

135 1x5
225 1x5
295 1x3
365 1x3 (note this felt very good).
395 1x3. WHY? The actual number should have been 380. Idiot.

Lesson learned: check the log before you start. Yeesh.

[astanto2]

2/23/10

squat
45 2x10
135 1x5
185 1x5
225 1x3
295 3x5. Ok, so I lied about staying at 290, but I'm glad I did. 295 felt good. I'm getting better, big revelation is that narrowing my stance to slightly narrower than I'm comfortable with is key. also, got my belt today. nice.

bench
45 2x10
135 1x5
185 1x3
210 3x5. done and done.

good mornings (I'm using this as a sub for back ext., I have no ghd in my home gym).
115 3x10

pullups
4, 4, 5

[astanto2]

2/25/10
had to break up the workout. did press at about 2 and squatted and powercleaned at 10:15 p.m.

press
130 5, 4, 4. time to reset.

squat
300 3x5. felt pretty good. video looks pretty good. could be tighter.

powerclean

180 5x3. pretty smooth.

[astanto2]

late post for yesterday's workout:

squat:

305 3x5. first time squatting in lifting shoes. Big, big difference. my torso stayed a lot more vertical, and I felt more balanced. Depth was easier to hit. I was pretty surprised that they helped as much as they did.

bench:
215 3x5. still going up. this felt moderately challenging, but still pretty smooth.

chinups:

5.5, 5, 4.

I am having a tough time recovering from three heavy squat days a week, as you can see by the fact that I'm programming in extra rest days. Accordingly, I am making an executive decision:

1. I am going to use light squats one day a week.

2. I am cutting good-mornings from the chinup/pullup days.

bodyweight: 231.

[astanto2]

squats - 80% of Monday
245 3x5

press -- ok, fine - seated barbell press: yes, I know. no, I don't have room. yes, I did not have time to get to the gym. no, i am not going to lose sleep tonight because i pressed from a seated position.

115 3x5

deadlift:

365 3x5 (no straps). I experimented with a sumo stance on some warmup sets. Not for me, or at least, not without someone experienced giving me some tips. felt akward.

[astanto2]

Ok. Took last day of last week off because I had lower ab soreness that made me think hernia. Pretty sure I don't have one - yet, so went back to it today.

squat
310 3x5. felt strong.

bench
220 3x5. the progress here is really amazing to me. I feel like I can make another 5lb jump.

power clean
185 2x3. What?? Two sets?? My wife told me I was (i) shaking the entire house; and (ii) waking up the baby. I was given a cease and desist order. I will repeat this weight on Wednesday, which otherwise wouldn't be a PC day. Felt very strong.

[PVC]

Nice lifts. Keep it up man.

[astanto2]

Have not been updating this log consistently. I keep a hard copy log in a notebook as well, so it's down there. anywho, today's:

squat:

320 5x3 - worked back up to this and today went very well, felt strong, didn't get folded in half, good stuff.

bench:

227.5 5x3 -- micro-loading begins.

power clean:

190 3x5. felt good, I think another 5 lb jump is in order here. bw. 232.

[astanto2]

squat:

325 5x3. need to repeat this weight. hangover probably did not help me here.

press:

127.5 5x3. this felt easy.

pullups:

4, 4, 4

bodyweight:

231.

[astanto2]

squat (light day)
255 5x3.

bench
230 5x3.

deadlift
365 5x1.

[astanto2]

yesterday

squat
325 5x3.

press
130 5x3.

chinup
7, 4, 4

bodyweight
229.4

[astanto2]

squat:
330 5x3.

bench
235 5, 5, 4 (5th rep got help from a spotter.). should have microloaded this, I'm a greedy bastard and deserve it. Ah, well, I'll get 235 next time and I will microload thereafter.

clean
185 3x5. for some reason, this felt heavy, and i didn't move to my planned weight of 195. wouldn't have happened. I am going to repeat 190 next time, and microload after that.

[astanto2]

squat (light day)
265 5x3

press
132.5 5x3. Easy-peezy.

pullups

7, 5, 5.

bodyweight 230.