View Full Version : Yet another, run of the mill, boring old...... Starting Strength Log
ok, cutting a very long story short here. 2 years ago, I had managed to eat myself to a very very fat 220 lbs at 5' 8''. I decided to do something about it and began running every day. I managed to bring myself down to a much trimmer, but still pretty fat 180lbs.
About three weeks ago I discovered starting strength, bought the book, and pretty much read everything on the internet there was to read on it. I am now two weeks into the program, and will begin logging from here. Progress so far: (weight for workouts in 5rm)
Bodyweight: 180 lb- 190 lb
Squat: 110 lb - 176 lb (i have an old knee injury from years ago which recently started hurting again, so i wear a knee sleeve, and weirdly enough it hurts when i do a bodyweight squat, but when i have weight on my back and i break parralel, it completely stops hurting during the set)
Bench: 110 lb - 154 lb
Deadlift: 132 lb - 209 lb
Press: 66 lb - 104.5 lb
Power Clean: just started these, was able to pretty easily hit 110 lb but starting at 77 lb to get form
I guess the purpose of this log is to have somewhere to post my workouts and any difficulties I run into. I have a logbook already, so feel free to insert as many of your own comments in as you want.
Aims: (Big three total)
Current: 245 kg > 539 lb
December 30th: 280 kg > 616 lb
January 30th: 340 kg > 748 lb
February 30th: 390 kg > 858 lb
March 30th: 440 kg > 968 lb
Cheers guys, support and suggestions are most welcome!
Quick post about diet, since Im a uni student living at home, my diets not rlly very fixed. I generally get about 60g of protein from my shakes, plus a few chicken mayo sandwhiches, plus some tuna or eggs, cereal in the morning, and i snack a lot on bread and stuff during the day. My major two weaknesses in terms of diet are mayo and bread, and lack of fruit and veggies.
Todays workout:
Squats: 80 kg x 5 > this was the hardest set of anything ive ever done, my face was going red and i was straining to get the reps, so lowered to 70 kg and got 70 kg x 10 and then x 8
Bench: 70 kg x 5, 5, 4 missed the last rep on the last set, all three sets were rlly hard, so gonna repeat the weight and if i hit all three then ill increase it.
Deadlift: 95 kg x 5 felt pretty easy, feeling good about the deadlifts.
I think next workout im going to deload squats to 70 kg and restart 5,5,5 from there, only increasing 2.5 kg per workout instead of my previous 5 or 10 kg jumps.
Up to 192.5 lb today!! definately starting to feel the roll on my stomach when i sit down....... might be time to start adding some cardio in :s
noticed something weird tho... altho im nowhere near visible abs, when i tense, only my upper abs harden, i guess because theres so much excess skin on my stomach
Todays Workout:
Squat: 70kg 5,5,5
Press: 50kg 4,5,5,5 PR!!--
rlly happy with this, i think the press is fast turning into my favourite excersize.... I started with 4 reps, struggled, and just managed to heavily push press the last one. I began to swap the plates to move it down to 47.5 kg but then i thought, fuck it i can do this, so i put the 15s back on either side and easily hit the reps. I found it was easier when i widened my legs. I did the extra set just to make sure i could hit 5,5,5
Power Cleans: didnt go very well, thought id be clever and use 50kg my second time ever power cleaning, thought i got the first two sets pretty easily, but then an oly lifter who lifts in my gym told me that i wasnt shrugging hard enough and i was using my arms. I tried about 20 times with the bar only but it didnt seem to go any better.
Pretty happy with the workout because of the press, but i need to seriously think about the power cleans. I have winter break coming up so i think im going to book a couple of sessions in at a powerlifting/ oly lifting gym near me and have them go through my form on all the lifts with me..... its called genesis gym, run by a guy named Dave Beattie, who according to their website has squatted over 1000 lbs!! should be awesome if i can get a couple of sessions in
If ppl do read this post, id be very interested to know what you would do in my case.... if i practice my powerclean form with just the bar, how will i know when its time to add weight on? i mean its not like a deadlift where you either get the weight up or dont... ur form has to be perferct
just tried suit on, the suit which i was measured for in october is now clinging to my legs when i sit down, pretty tight around the chest and under the arms.... think im gonna have to get a new one in a couple of weeks.... also, had an idea... whenever i read starting strength logs, people always give a weight and then just estimate their bodyfat levels, and you can never really get a clear picture of how big they actually got, so i think im going to include an updated progress picture every month..... the one in the first post was taken at the beggining of november, this is from the beggining of december. Ideally id like to reach 200 lb by the end of the year and then maintain that whilst radically altering my body composition.
Me at 192 lbs:
838
Todays Workout
Squats: 72.5 kg 5,5,5
Bench: 60 kg 5,5,5: i knew it wasn't happening with 72.5kg, i squeezed out two reps and had to rack it before i hurt myself, problem was definitely form. I deloaded to 60 kg and bench 5,5,5 with impecable form, explosively up, controlled down, pause on chest. Gonna reload up from here keeping form in check.
Deadlift: 100 kg 5,5,5 PR! I've hit the weight once before, but form was shit and i struggled, here, i reset every rep, and by the 15th rep it sailed up. Feeling really confident about the deadlift, i think that and the press are my favorite lifts.
Curlz: 30 kg: 10,10,10,8 Gay PR! when i started a month ago i could just about cheat curl 30kg for 6 reps, today i easily hit the 10 and felt i could probably get 12, and my form was freakin awesome
Dips: Still on BW dips: 6,5
1000m Row: 3:58 mins !!!!! last tested this a month ago, since then ive put on 12 pounds and done no cardio. When i last tested it, I went all out, had it on difficulty 6/10, and managed to just about hit 4:12 mins. Today i upped it to a nearly manly 8/10, and hit 3:58 mins, only having to break once as opposed to the 6 times i had to break last time..... so essentially, the strength < conditioning argument, can go screw itself. (not rlly, but still very happy with this)
Todays Workout
Squats: 75 kg 5,6,5 Lost concentration in second set and did extra rep. Focused on curling toes up and staying on heels. Harder than normal.
Press: 52.5 kg 4,4,4 PR I guess 2.5 kg jumps per workout are starting to get too much for the press so im ordering some micro plates. In the meantime Im gonna follow Rips advice, and retry the weight for two workouts before deloading.
Deadlift: 105 kg 5 PR Not gonna be doing power cleans till january so figured id throw in an extra set of deadlifts. Hit it easily. Deadlifts are much easier than squats now.
Weighted decline crunches: BW+10kg 15,15 I read on another thread that weighted crunches rlly helped someone else burst through a press plateu so figured id try it out
Dips: BW 7,7,7 PR Keepin em slow an controlled
Todays Workout
Squat: 77.5 kg 5,5,5
Bench: 62.5 kg: 5,5,5
Deadlift: 110 kg 1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1 PR!!
Dips: BW 8,7,7 (8: PR!)
Weighted Decline crunches: BW + 10kg: 15,15
1000m Row: 3:58 mins !!!!! last tested this a month ago, since then ive put on 12 pounds and done no cardio. When i last tested it, I went all out, had it on difficulty 6/10, and managed to just about hit 4:12 mins. Today i upped it to a nearly manly 8/10, and hit 3:58 mins, only having to break once as opposed to the 6 times i had to break last time..... so essentially, the strength < conditioning argument, can go screw itself. (not rlly, but still very happy with this)
Pretty amazing--keep up the good work!
Pretty amazing--keep up the good work!
Cheers mate
Todays Workout:
Squats: 80kg 5,5,5 Tied PR! I think the problem with these was that my lower back wasnt truly straight. I concentrated on really squeezing the lower back tight, and it felt easier than last time, so its either because of that or because of the deload.
Press: 52.5kg 5,5,5 YESS!!!! fuck ye...... retried last workouts weight and smashed it.... might have something to do with the weighted crunches I added in.
Deadlift: 110 kg 5,5,5 form wasnt perfect last workout, so redid weight it to make sure I had form down
Dips: 9 PR! 5,5 I think the discrepancy in the number of reps is because I did the first set after squats, but then sort of supersetted the second two sets with press due to lack of time, so triceps must have been shot from the press.
Russian Twists: 10kg: 20, 20 Figured Id throw these in since the situps helped my press so much.
Overall great workout, hopefully meeting up with a mate in his gym over christmas so he can film my form so I can post it here for a form check.
Slight problem Im having.... in order to get enough rest between sets to actually be able to complete the next set, it means the workouts are now taking between 2 and 3 hours every time, and it just seems impossible to cut it down.... does anyone else have this problem, and if so how do they deal with it?
just weighed myself, now up to 194 lb...... 6 lb to go to hit my end of year target of 200 lb....... 55 lb to go to hit my big three target total for the end of the year.... at 561 lb now, would like it to be at 616 lb by the end of the year
Todays Workout
Squats: 82.5 kg 5,5,5 PR!
Bench: 65 kg 5,5,5
Deadlift: 115 kg 5,4 PR!
Dips: BW: 6 Not sure why these were so shit, probably because i did them straight after the squats, and my shoulders were still aching from the squats, so left them for today but two PR's so Im happy
Theoretically, every squat and deadlift workout should now be a PR
Todays Workout
Squats: 85 kg 5,5,5 PR!! Love these... sorted out my form, stopped my knees traveling forwards, now just working on keeping my back completely straight, weight went up easily
Press: 55kg 3,4 PR, 52.5 kg 5,5,5 FUCK MY PRESS!!!The PR sets were hell on my shoulders (which have recently developed massive stretch marks on top of them) and much too difficult... I lowered the weight to last weeks, gonna begin microloading next session, start with an extra kg, if its too much then lower it too 500 g.
Deadlift: 120 kg 5,5 PR!! Just ordered some chalk. Problem is im using mixed grip. Gonna deload to 100kg next week, restart loading with double overhand.
Dips: 8,6,4 Sheer exhaustion prevented more
Marotta
12-16-2010, 01:43 PM
Quick post about diet, since Im a uni student living at home, my diets not rlly very fixed. I generally get about 60g of protein from my shakes, plus a few chicken mayo sandwhiches, plus some tuna or eggs, cereal in the morning, and i snack a lot on bread and stuff during the day. My major two weaknesses in terms of diet are mayo and bread, and lack of fruit and veggies.
Fill some water bottles with milk and put them in a lunch bag with an ice pack, people stare, but soon you'll be able to break them in half, so it's cool.
Squat: 87.5 kg 5,5,5 PR!!!
Bench: 67.5 kg 5,5,5 PR with correct form
Deadlift: 120 kg 5,5,5 Decided that as long as the weight goes up im not bothered about the grip, seeing as if I competed I could use either
Dips: BW 10,7,7 PR!!!
Situps: BW + 15 kg 10,20,20 Didnt feel the 10 reps hit it hard enough so switched to 20
Todays Workout
Squats: 90 kg 5,5,5 PR!!
Press 50 kg: 5,5,5
Deadlift: 125 kg: 4 PR!! 100 kg 5
Dips BW: 5,5,5
Shoulders are now killing me after my squats, since I switched to low bar. Made dips very painful. I deloaded press to nail form. Gonna microload it by 1 kg a session from here. Deadlift was a PR but also very very difficult. Not too sure what to do about it.
My gyms shutting for 10 days next week. I think im going to go around to different commercial gyms in the area and use the 'try the gym free for a day' thing.
I officially beat my end of December total target of 280 kg by 5 kg giving me a current 5rm total of 285 kg, or 627 lb.
I think I may also try to book a couple of sessions at a local powerlifting gym to nail down form, and sort out my knee, although the cost is a bit of a problem.
Thursdays Workout:
Squats: 90 kg: 5,5,5
Bench Press: 75 kg 5,5,5 PR
Deadlift: 125 kg 1,1,1,1
Sorry for taking so long to post this workout. I repeated the squats to nail form, since I was in a different gym with a squat rack in front of a mirror, and I believe I nailed it. The bench was a bit weird, I was in a bit of a hurry and I guess didnt look at the plates properly, because I was meant to use 70 kg this week, which is a 20 kg and a 5 kg plate either side, but when I took off the plates, I noticed I had put a 25 kg and a 5 kg on the left side. I still managed to hit all the reps though, but Im going to go for an even 70 next week. I hope to hit a BW bench by the end of January. I also want to hit a 1.5 bw double overhand deadlift, and a 1.25 bw squat by the end of january.
OH MY GOD!!!!! Im genuinely in shock.... today was by far and wide the most awesome workout in the history of workouts. Basically, I came down with a nasty case of flu on saturday night, and consequently havent worked out since last thursday. In my last workout, I struggled with a 90 kg squat, a 52.5 kg press, and i really fucking struggled with a 125 kg deadlift. Today I...I........ fuck it...... read below.
Todays AWESOME Workout
Squats: 92.5 kg 5,5,5 easy PR, feel I could probably have hit 100 kilo for 3x5, but didnt want to fuck up LP on the main excersise.
Press: Began with 52.5, it literally felt like nothing. I upped it to 55 kg and this too shot up. Now, I thought I would be cheeky and increase it to 60 kg, a 10 kg increase from my last hard press workout. I hit 2 sets of 5. None of these were pushpressed. These were hard, fast strict presses. Not even very much layback. I then figured that I could potentially fuck up my linear progress on these too, so moved to 55 kg and did 3 x5, which felt a little harder due to all the previous sets, but not by very much.
Deadlift: 130 kg 1,1,1,1,1 PR!! De-fucking-stroyed this.
I genuinely dont know what the fuck happened with my press. It may have something to do with the several coffees and painkillers I took before my workout. My fist thought was that it wasnt actually an olympic bar, however I confirmed with every PT in the place, and by holding it in my own hands that it was either an oly bar, or a damn close replica.
I also had to give the squat rack up after my squats to someone who wanted to squat, so had to improvise for my last few sets of presses. FTW, approach the jacked dudes doing 60 kg benches. Ask if you can work in. Then, squat down, rest the bar on your shoulders, squat back up, and fucking press it easily for reps. There is no better feeling in the world than your first OHP of the big boy plates, especially when every jacked russian in the gym stops to watch you do them.
Anyway, thats how awesome my day was.
Todays Workout
Squats: 95 kg: 5,5,5
Bench: 75 kg: 5,5,5 (distributed weight equally this time)
Double overhand deadlift: 110 kg: 2, 2, 2 (wanted to work grip)
Dips: BW: 9,6,5
Curls: 30kg: 10,10,10, 35 kg: 5, 5, 5
Terrible day. Turned up at the gym, it was fucking full of new years resolutioners, had to share the rack with a bunch of quarter squatting douches. One guy, Im pretty sure is on steroids, his arms have literally grown about 2 inches since I saw him about 4 weeks ago. Saw a bunch of guys squatting to fairly decent depth although with shitty form, rounding backs at the bottom and mixing high and low bar squats together, never ever seen hip drive being used in the gym. Saw one guy on a 20 rep squat program using 90 lbs, and then collapsing on the floor after. The cunt also did it with no shoes on. What a douche. Anyway, I had a shitty shitty workout. I pulled a muscle during my squats warmup (thread in recovery section entitled groin pull), and could only squeeze out one workset because of this. Also, I was using a different rack, and the bar kept hitting the pins even though they were on the lowest position.
Squats: 100 kg 5 PR
Press was shit, a couple of weeks ago I managed to bang out two easy sets at 135lb, only managed 4 today and then lowered it to about 130lb, managed to squeeze out 3 or 4. After this, decided it wasnt happening and I would just call it a day and try again next time with more food in my belly.
Ok, restarted today, with a barstadized version of the Starr Rehab Protocol. My groin is feeling better than before, but not good enough. The squats today were a grind because of this.
Bar: 20 reps
40 kg: 10,10,10
I know I should do 25, but my knee cant take it.
I finished off with 2 120 kg deadlifts, Because I couldnt bear going into the gym and not putting a couple 20's on the bar for something, seeing as I can no longer squat it. I think Im going to continue the Rehab Protocol this week, and then restart vanilla SS next week. Im going to deadlift and bench twice a week, and press and powerclean once a week. My bench really needs to come up. Im also going to try and get a coach to learn powercleans, but due to uni work this may not happen.
Powered by vBulletin™ Version 4.1.0 Copyright © 2013 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.