mattciupak's SS log: wrestling with bears

[mattciupak]

time to do the program. I attempted it last year and got nowhere because I wasn't DTFP.

stats:
15 y/o
5'10ish
~180lbs

goals:
get strong as fuck
start looking like a man and not some chubby kid who gets asked "do you even lift?"

i'm also a wrestler who will be going to a club to work on technique on the weekends. I play pick up games of football/baseball/softball sometimes on the weekends during the spring and summer as well. that'll be my conditioning work.

i'm working on getting a membership to a MUCH better gym than the one I go to now (ivanko/eleiko bars, lifting platform with bumpers, monolift, chalk bowls, more than one squat rack, etc). I have the 2nd edition of SS and will be ordering the 3rd edition soon. will read cover to cover before I seriously start.

I injured my back at some point. I haven't squatted/deadlifted since around Thanksgiving I think, but at that point it hurt a lot. if I cough really hard I can still feel some pain in my lower back. possible herniated disc? I don't know. I do know that this new gym is an inzer dealer, so i'll get a belt once I start going there. I also broke my 5th metacarpal a few weeks back. i'm not supposed to be lifting for another week or two, but it doesn't hurt much anymore.

with that said, I went to the gym on Tuesday. not a legitimate workout, but i'm happy with it.



Tuesday, February 21, 2012

bench: 135x5, 145x5, 155x5*, 165x5*
+curls
+a few hills

before wrestling season, at a BW of 210, the most I was able to bench was 155x4. mid-season (sometime during December) I got 155 for 5 very hard reps at a BW of 185. now, at a BW of 180, I SMOKED 155x5. it was way too easy. was feeling reckless, and decided to give 165 a go after my friend got 5 moderately-hard reps (he's 6'2, 200lbs, had been going to the gym while I was wrestling). I got 5 reps, albeit they were hard. I think I attempted this weight a few days after getting 155x4, and wasn't able to get it once.

[mattciupak]

another fantastic day

Thursday, February 23, 2012

press: 105x5, 115x5, 95x5x4, 95x4
RDL: 95x10, 115x10, 135x10
dips: BWx8x2

press was easy. I struggled with 115 before, today it FLEW up. I had at least 2 more reps in me. didn't want to increase weight any further because I didn't have my 2.5's, so I did 5 sets of 5 with 95 on the minute. last set I missed the last rep.

RDL's were fine, I was having trouble holding onto 135, though. I don't have chalk, and the knurling on the bar is pretty shitty, but my grip is still very weak. can't wait to be able to hold onto some real bars with chalk, though. my back didn't bother me at all. going to try squats on Saturday.

[mattciupak]

still didn't get a membership to new gym, waiting for parents to finish paying off bills to ask. did order SS 3rd edition though, should be here Friday.

another half-assed workout today. don't even think this is worth logging.

did some squats. something like 135x5, 155x5, 175x5, 135x5, 135x5. knees started coming in a bit on the 175 set. this confirms that i'm a useless piece of shit.

benches all taken, gym was extremely crowded, did dips instead. 3 sets of 8 BW, then 2 sets of 7 because I couldn't get the last reps. 1 set of 5 to failure about 30 seconds after the last set.

[mattciupak]

got SS 3rd edition and gym membership over the weekend.

Monday, March 5, 2012

squat: 135x5, 155x5, 165x5, 170x5, 175x5, 185x5, 135x5
bench: 135x5, 145x5, 135x5, 135x5
deadlift: 135x5, 185x5, 225x4, 225x1, 135x5

squat felt OK for the most part, up until 185 back was painless. starting at 170, I couldn't keep my knees shoved out. even at 135, I felt an inward tug on my knees when my feet were pointed out at about 30 degrees. I feel like I can't shove them out far enough when my toes are pointed that much out. 15-20 degrees feels much better. I think I could even manage 5-10 degrees. the more I point them forward, the tighter I feel at the bottom and the better rebound I get. not sure I should be playing around with this though, especially since I can't even squat fucking bodyweight.

stopped at 145 for bench. chest felt weird, I was being a pussy and got scared i'd pull my pec so I didn't go up to 155. I also felt stronger benching a bit higher on the chest, an inch under my nipples as opposed to 3.

deadlifts were depressing. I straight-legged the 135 set. with 185, I couldn't even get into the right position to pull. to set my back, I basically have to let go of the bar. once I get my back set and I take the slack out of the bar, my back is no longer set. I can't set my back while pulling the slack out of the bar. i'll be stretching my hamstrings to see if that helps. the reason I missed the 5th rep with 225 was most likely because my lumbar was rounding. I couldn't lock it out at the top, and my chest fell completely.
the toes-out thing wasn't working well here either. pointing toes out 10 degrees causes a slight knees in position and feels very "soft". if I were to shove my knees out, my grip would have to be wider than my bench grip. again, I don't think I should be playing around with this considering how fucking weak I am. i'll keep doing what the book says for now.
another thing is I can't use the mixed grip without widening my grip significantly. my arms aren't completely straight, and my left is really bad, probably because I broke it when I was younger. they get in the way of my knees. hooked grip it is. I used regular DOH today, though.

tried jogging home, back hurt too much. was planning on doing Rip's back decompression thing at the gym but I completely forgot.

[mattciupak]

still sore from Monday. had to shorten workout today by just a bit to save some time to study.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

walk to gym

squat: 135x5, 165x5, 155x5x2, 135x5, a million reps with just the bar
press: 100x5x3
hang power clean: 95x3x5
RDL: 95x12

walk home

did Rip's back decompression with the "ab straps" on a chin up bar for about 5 minute or so at the end of the workout. felt like shit. i'll try to do it for longer next time.

squats: knees weren't out enough with 165. adductors felt "off". dropped weight to 155, which I should have probably used from the start. same goddamn thing.

got some advice today from a guy who knows what he's doing when it comes to powerlifting, not necessarily SS though. told me my squats were fine, except that I should be looking forward, elbows should be under the bar, and to widen my stance by about 2inches. I don't think any of this advice is bad, and I think my stance may even be a bit narrow. it definitely is nice not being told "you're gonna break your wrists/back/knees, son" for a change.

press felt really good. I'd say out of the 15 total work reps, about 11 or 12 of them felt correct. I wasn't squeezing my abs hard enough on the other 3 or 4. this was an easy weight.

wasn't able to use the platform today, so I just used the bar from one of the squat racks. did PC's from the hang because the bumpers were at the platform, and I can't power clean 135 yet. was still sore from Monday, so rack position wasn't perfect. these also felt good, though. did RDL's after the last set just to get some more work in.

BW is about 181 now. eating meat is hard.

[Tom Narvaez]

Nice work, Matt. Keep at it. Don't be afraid to gain weight.

[mattciupak]

Friday, March 9, 2012

walk to gym

squat: 155x5x3, 135x5, many reps with bar
bench: 145x5x3
deadlift: 135x5x2, 185x5, 225x5
DB rows: 60x20 both arms
+2 sets of curls

walk home

did Rip's back decompression thing again. felt even worse than last time. still hurts.

squats felt fine. somewhat challenging. I think I'm just being a pussy.

bench was easy.

tried deadlifting with my squat shoes and barefoot today. shoes are a no-go but I liked barefoot. I used my sneakers (sambas) for the work set, though. pulled it hook grip. might take some time to get used to. huge callouses on both of my thumbs.

Nice work, Matt. Keep at it. Don't be afraid to gain weight.

thanks, Tom. the plan is to wrestle at 195lbs next year. I lost nearly 30 pounds within weeks of practice this year so i'm sure I won't have any problem next year.

[mattciupak]

light game of football and some baseball on Saturday.

Monday, March 12, 2012

walk to gym

squat: 165x5x3
press: 105x5x3
hang PC: 95x3x5
lat pulldowns (v-handle): 135x12, 150x7, 105x12

walk home


squats felt fine. wasn't able to exaggerate knees out, but knees weren't coming in. back felt completely fine until second set. third set I valsalva'd much harder and not nearly as much pain. I need to get a belt.

press was OK. harder than last time. wasn't able to stay as tight. next time, i'll take breaths at the top.

did PC's from the hang again because my hamstrings were tight and couldn't get into a good enough position with bumpers.

threw in the lat pulldowns so I could get a bit of the back decompression (didn't feel much though) and some vertical pulling work because I can't do a single proper, chest to bar chinup. on a good day I might be able to get 3 where the bar is about an inch from my clavicles, can't manage to pull myself up all the way.

[mattciupak]

Just got off the phone with Dean from Best Belts. ordered a belt, should be here Thursday.

going to the gym now, will update this post after I get back.


Wednesday, March 14, 2012

walk to gym

squat: 175x5x3
bench: 150x5x3
deadlift: 135x5, 185x5, 235x5
+BB curls (55x20, 45x10x2)

walk home

overall, I felt really good today. ton of energy as I was walking to the gym. couldn't keep my hands still. I know for sure that i'm not eating enough, though.

squats felt like shit. I either descended too quickly or too slowly on all of the reps. wasn't getting a good rebound on any of them. this may or may not have something to do with me pointing my toes out to 30 degrees today. could also be that the weight was too heavy, but this is bitch weight. I find it hard to believe that i'm physically struggling with 175lbs, considering the size of my legs. back felt fine first set, horrible second set, ok the third set.

bench was ez. easier than last week.

listened to 'Battery' off of Metallica's S&M before deadlift work set. too much adrenaline. never again. set-up wasn't as tight as it should have been, although these felt like decent reps, don't think I was rounding on any of them. bar took some skin off of my shins, I didn't realize until after the set. hook grip is working well so far, I like it.

[mattciupak]

wasn't able to go to the gym yesterday. another day of NDTP.


Saturday, March 17, 2012

walk to gym

squat: 135x5x5, 95x10x3, lots of reps with the bar
press: 110x5x3
hang PC: 95x3x3

walk to park

played football and some not so serious soccer for 3 or 4 hours after.


squats were absolutely awful from the start. no rebound on any reps, not even with the bar. 135 felt hard, I kid you not. in trying to keep my knees out, weight shifted forward. when I mentally cued "midfoot", felt an inward tug on my knees. wish this wasn't so difficult. knew that I wasn't going to be able to squat heavier weights so I stuck with 135 and later, after power cleans, did some more with 95lbs. had some elbow pain today.

press was so-so. hip movement was garbage. can't stay tight in the rack position. strongly considering going back to touch and go, but I'll wait until my belt arrives. third set my left shoulder started bothering me, like something was on the verge of tearing. this started during the wrestling season, whenever I rolled on the shoulder it would hurt really badly.

power cleans done from the hang again, this time I internally rotated arms when pulling. don't think I was pulling with bent arms before, but these felt a hell of a lot better.

didn't really want to do too much today so I could recover for Monday. I don't see how recovery is such a huge problem for me at these weights while maintaining body weight. definitely need to start eating more though. i'll probably end up fat again, but i'm going to start drinking more milk. only reasonable way for me to get more protein.