A little less weak today than yesterday, not as strong as tomorrow...

[GOMAD]

Hey all,

At the ripe age of 40, with a baby boy screaming in my arms and showing a natural strength that I knew would very soon outstrip mine I vowed to be a dad he'd be proud of if for absolutely no other reason than I would be able to smack into pink slime anyone who messed with him... and so here I am. God Bless the United States, Rippetoe and barbells everywhere (except shitty Made in China ones).

Me:

Male, 40, 6', 210lbs (circa 20% BF - yuck),
Squat 205lbs 3x5,
Deadlift 270lbs 1x5,
Press 110lbs 3x5 (bad shoulder from rugby years, getting better though with SS training).
Bench 165lbs 3x5 (pathetic I know but I'd forever been doing it wrong with shoulders at 90 degrees and figure that's where my shoulder never healed...
PC - haven't yet mastered the technique where I'm comfortable to put on the plates. Chin-ups BW 3x4. Pull-Ups - giving it a miss because of shoulder.

I've been messing around really just learning the lifts, getting comfortable with the techniques while under weight that's pushing me but as of tomorrow Monday, 9th July, 2012 it's officially strict SS regime - journals, milk, protein, rest and lifting to get strong and nothing else.

I'm interested in some goals - would setting myself to be able to hit 300lbs in Squat, Bench and Deadlifts by end of the year be reasonable? Too easy? Too hard? Some guidance on goal setting based on my metrics would be appreciated.

Thanks Mr. Rippetoe, you've saved me from dumbass 'gymisms' that have literally hurt me, hindered me and made me scoff at the barbell... who knew that there's Thor's own Hammer there in the corner of the gym, behind all those nice shiny LifeCircuit machines...

Cheers

[StrongLiftMyBalls]

Welcome GOMAD (although at 20% BF I wouldnt recommend you actually follow GOMAD right now),

300lbs is a reasonable target (although on 6 months to achieve it), however 300 on the bench might be a tad optimistic, not too many people here that have a 300lb bench.

[GOMAD]

Thanks for the goal guidance - what would be a realistic goal for year end then? I want something that'll push me.

Re: GOMAD - I physically can't drink a gallon a day. It's goat milk as I'm lactose intolerant and my limit is about 1/3 gallon in a day right now. I'm losing fat, I can see it in my pants fitting looser and also my shirts. Perhaps I'm over-estimate my body fat level?

Training Session details:

Squats - 3x5 205lbs - this was easily done, next workout weight will go up to 215lbs.

Bench Press - 1x5 165, 1x4 165, 1x3 165 - I felt weak on the bench, my left arm hurt around the elbow on one of the lifts in the second set on the descent but then I focused on technique (arch, flat shoulders) and the rest were painless. I think I'm two sessions away from a weight rise as it's the technique that's holding me back I feel.

Deadlift 1x5 265. Really focused on good form but thinking perhaps might be dipping my hips a tad to get more of an angle on the back. If I don't do this then I'll be lifting with pretty much a parallel back and not sure if this is a good idea.

NOTE: Must get more sleep! had a crappy night's sleep and can't help but feel it affected my session. More eating would help to, felt a bit lethargic too. Will keep a better log of eating too (following Leangains which has also helped with the fat loss).

Thanks and can't wait for Wednesday!

[GOMAD]

Wednesday, 11th July, 2012

Squats - 3x5 215lbs - PR!!! Felt good. Happy with technique although the first rep on the first set was a bit iffy. Others felt good. I"ll stick to 215 for one more session to make sure I have perfect form for all sets on all reps.

Press - 2X5 75lbs. These felt easy I added 20lbs for a PR of 1X5 95lbs. I think I could have done more and my shoulder didn't hurt! Next time I'll do 105lbs.

Deadlift - 1X3 275lbs. This is the heaviest I've ever lifted on anything but I couldn't do the last two. I think I just lost my concentration and didn't feel confident. The three I did demanded every ounce of effort and focus I had. Felt great!!

Can't wait for Friday!

[GOMAD]

Saturday, 14th July, 2012

Squats - 2x5 215 felt really strong, form was good so upped it to 225lbs for a PR. 1x5. Felt great!

Bench - 1x4 175lbs highest I've benched but I'm only counting PRs as a full, good form set. 2x4 165

Deadlift - was a bit nervous going heavy because of back pain. Warmed up slowly and well and ended up doing a decent 1x5 265lbs. 10lbs below my recent PR of 275lbs. It felt ok, my form felt a little loose so perhaps I'll drop to 255lbs and work more on form to get a good base to get another PR soon.

I feel that the extra day of rest REALLY helped here. My adductors felt really good whereas before they had always taken a lot of warming up to do before I could go full squat easily and not sacrifice form or concentration. I think for the next 2-3 weeks I'll rest for two days between sessions, make sure I rest and eat well and then see how it goes.

NOTE: I got a belt (4" X 10mm Toro lever). It helped a TON on my squats. Really allowed me to take a huge breath and push against it which in turn helped my form tremendously. However, on deadliest, it kinda just got in the way and for the warm up I took it off and only used it on the work set. Is this normal?

[GOMAD]

Tuesday, 17th July, 2012

It's funny, Monday night I was itching to workout but wanted to see what it would be like to have another two days of recovery between sessions... mixed results is the answer...

Squats

Warm up sets - 2x5 bar, 1x4 95, 1x3 135, 1x2 185
Work Sets - 3x5 230 PR!!!!

These were hard for me. The last set was not easy. I'm not going down and then powering up fast like some of the pros do in the vids. I'm not wallowing down there enjoying the view, but it's not a fast ascent, more slow and steady but I'm working very hard.

Press

Warm up sets - 2x5 bar, 1x4 65, 1x3 75
Work sets - 1x5 105, 1x3 105, 1x3 105 crap! The first set felt good but then for the other two, my mid-back started hurting again and my shoulders just didn't want to know.

Deadlift

This is part of my 'recovery' in dropping the work-set weight to 255lbs while my back gets better.

warm-up sets - 1x5 bar, 1x4 135, 1x3 185, 1x2 215

Work set - 1x5 255lbs. I didn't do a continuous set. I reset the weight, got my position fully set and pulled. Wanted to make sure form was good. Felt fine, no worries.

Chin-ups 1x7 BW PR!!!, 1x4 BW, 1x4 BW

Overall, OK, got some nice PRs. I suspect my form on squat suffered however, especially on the last set as I was huffing hard and perhaps on the first rep I didn't go as low as I should have. I'll stay at 230lbs to make sure I nail perfect form each rep before advancing higher weight.

Side Note: I've lost a good 1.5inches on the waist from June 7th when I got my weights and was just learning the lifts. I've been pounding the milk but only up to a .5gallon, I can't drink a whole gallon I'll explode from farting.... My overall bodyweight is staying the same +/- 2lbs but the view in the mirror is looking better (from the next down, still ugly from the neck up...).

[GOMAD]

Friday, 20th July

Notation (Because I found out I was doing it wrong..) weight, reps x sets

Squat

PR! 235lbs 5x3 All works sets were maximum effort, had to rest for 4 minutes between each set, last rep on each set was total grinding it out. Form felt really good - deep, good bounce at the bottom, knees out and butt out with hip drive. One thing I did for form that seemed to really work was before I started my work sets, as in immediately before, I squatted with just bodyweight a couple of time, just for form and then right into the lift. Felt like I nailed the form. Will video next session and see if it works.

Bench

PR! 170lbs 5x3. These felt good with the exception of a twinge in my forearms just before the elbow but only on the first rep of each set's ascent. After that, hard work but got a good result and PR.

Deadlift

265lbs 5x1 this work set felt good to almost easy. I felt I could definitely do another 15lbs without killing myself. Back felt solid so next time I'll aim for 280lbs.

Food log:

After having my ass handed to me via Coach's guidance on YNDTP I upped my food intake - lots of steak & turkey, not the extra lean cuts, bigger breakfast, mostly protein with carbs coming from blended kale, fruits, some brown rice and protein powder. Wholegrain sandwiches with lots of meat (turkey), cheese, hummus etc. I'm aiming for at least 210g of protein now a day (I weigh 215lbs as of this morning). I've got a 36" waist and I figure between 15 to 20% BF (admittedly this is a 'broscience' estimate) but I'm putting the idea of giving a damn about that away day by day...

I've gained about 1.5lbs in a few days but my workout today was nothing short of stellar. Felt really strong but also my form was better. I'm figuring that it's because I'm more energized for the training and can therefore put more into it. I'm up to an easy .5gallon of milk now, the last few weeks were really bad though, I'd fart so bad it made the wife and the cats leave the room.... not so much now... kinda miss it...

[vanslix]

I'm confused as to your weight selection for your working sets. Are you not doing the linear progression?

[GOMAD]

Don't be confused, I just wasn't following the program. I wasn't eating enough, I hurt my back (hence the reduction in weight on the DL) and I had gotten confused on the breathing technique. Also, my notation might have been wrong - I was always doing 3 work sets of 5 reps but some thought it was the other way around.

We'll see how it goes now - I'm eating as much as I possibly can and I've re-read the relevant chapter in Practical Programming so hopefully I'll be on track.

I must say though, judging by the reactions of some to making any mistake or easily made misinterpretation of the texts, it seems linear progression has some serious side-effect of getting ones vagina hard packed with sand. I must remember to douche regularly...

Cheers

[GOMAD]

Sunday 22 July, 2012

BW: 215lbs

Recovery:

Eating high amounts of protein and good carbs. .5gallon milk. Protein no less than 200gr a day.

Sleep, 7.5hrs. Interrupted twice by baby. About 6.5 total sleep.

Squat

245lbs 5x3

Press

105 5x3

Deadlift

285lbs 1x5 felt I could have done maybe an extra 5-10 more. It didn't kill me but was hard.