Stephens Basic Novice (3x5) Log

[Chris Stephens]

Age: 44
Height: 6’
Weight: 185

Program: Basic Novice (3x5)

Goals: I’d like to get squats up into the 250 range for 3x5, so I’ll try to run this basic novice program around 6-7 weeks … and then make whatever adjustments are required to keep the weights moving up from there.

Just listing the work sets. Also I have kg plates at my home gym, but I’ll convert to lbs.

Wk1:
8/9/2017 Squats 3x5 155, Deadlifts 1x5 198
8/11/2017 Squats 3x5 160, Bench 3x5 143, Deadlifts 1x5 203
8/13/2017 Squats 3x5 165, Press 3x5 88, Deadlifts 1x5 209

[carson]

Good start. If you follow the program you will probably weigh over 200 before you reach your LP limit.

[Chris Stephens]

Wk2:
8/16/2017 Squats 3x5 170, Bench 3x5 148, Deadlifts 1x5 220
8/18/2017 Squats 3x5 176, Press 3x5 93, Deadlifts 1x5 225
8/20/2017 Squats 3x5 181, Bench 3x5 155, Deadlifts 1x5 231

[Chris Stephens]

Wk3:
8/23/2017 Squats 3x5 187, Press 3x5 99, Deadlifts 1x5 236
8/25/2017 Squats 3x5 192, Bench 3x5 160, Deadlifts 1x5 242
8/27/2017 Squats 3x5 198, Press 3x5 105, Deadlifts 1x5 247

So far so good. Pleased with deadlifts – spent the last year using a hook grip, which I like a lot, but decided to go back to the conventional over under hand for this program. Pulls are so much easier with this grip (for now anyway). Press feels very heavy, not sure why. Such light weight too. Terrible. I might have started with bench press too low. Maybe a jump of 10 lbs for a couple of sessions?

[James Mountain]

Press feels very heavy, not sure why. Such light weight too. Terrible. I might have started with bench press too low. Maybe a jump of 10 lbs for a couple of sessions?

In my limited experience the press is the lift that usually gets really hard first. 105 seems pretty good as compared with the rest of your lifts, though! The only tips I have is not to underestimate how much tightening up everything helps, especially your legs/butt. I also have good luck using my hips to lean back a little bit while pressing, but be careful to keep your low back tight.

[Chris Stephens]

Thanks - James. I attended a starting strength seminar last year and try to use that hip thrust jerk motion thing they teach, keeping everything else tight,...but it's not my favorite lift. I'll probably micro plate the next couple of press sessions and see if I can't get some power back into it.

[Chris Stephens]

Just some random notes on my supplements and meals during this program:
- Creatine x 5g /day
- BCAA x 10g /training day, 5g off day
- Whey Protein Isolate (unflavored) x 84 g/day (75g protein)

Meals:
(1) breakfast: coffee straight, 2 eggs with my garden vegetables/yard weeds (kale, dandelions, garlic mustard, peppers, tomatoes), bacon, protein shake – plain oats + banana + whey protein.

(2) lunch: usually salmon or chicken, Japanese white rice, vegetables.

(3) Afternoon snack: shake – whey protein + instant coffee + water, apple, walnuts, sardines in olive oil (sardines only on workout days)

(4) dinner: whatever my wife makes, usually pork/chicken, Japanese white rice, vegetables, miso soup

(5) Late night snack: shake (whey protein + water), cereal + milk and/or 2 eggs.

On training days I’ll usually have my 3rd protein shake right after my workout. Once I get my squats in the 225+ range I’ll probably take on a 4th protein shake just for extra protein and recovery.

I try to work in steaks every now and then, problem is my wife and kids enjoy eating steak too so it’s a cost issue.

[Chris Stephens]

Wk4:

BWT: 188.7 lbs

8/29/2017 Squats 3x5 203, Bench 3x5 165, Deadlifts 1x5 253
8/31/2017 Squats 3x5 209, Press 3x5 107, Deadlifts 1x5 258
9/4/2017 Squats 3x5 215, Bench 3x5 170, Deadlifts 1x5 264

Overall, feeling good so far. Deadlifts are starting to take their toll a bit, probably due to the volume. From here on out all of my meals and activities will be focused on recovery.

[Chris Stephens]

Wk5:
9/6/2017 Squats 1x5 88 -> BACK TWEAK
9/9/2017 Squats 1x5 sets of 44, 66, 88, 132, 165 -> no issues with back
9/10/2017 Squats 3x5 220, Press 3x5 110, Deadlifts 1x5 270

Not sure what caused the back tweak, but I suspect a tug of war session with my Akita a few minutes before I started the workout could have been a trigger. My frequently occurring tweak is acute pain in my lower left side of back. Could be sciatic nerve or lumbosacral joint or something else. Nothing really helps to treat it except for rest, usually between 3 days to 2 weeks depending on the severity.

The first time I had this injury was when I was doing a heavy set of leg presses back in the day – about 6 years ago. Since then I have dealt with this at least a dozen times, popping up with absolutely no warning at seemingly random times/activities, from putting on my shoes, squatting, deadlifting, sneezing, to stretching my arms up in the air. Fortunately, I only had a warmup weight on the bar and the tweak was minor.

I didn’t have any intention of getting back on schedule for my workout yesterday. I was going to cut back to about 85%, but decided to just trust my technique and go for it. All sets felt pretty good. The rest probably helped as well.

[Chris Stephens]

Wk6:
9/13/2017 Squats 3x5 225, Bench 3x5 176
9/16/2017 Squats 3x5 231, Press 3x5 112, Deadlifts 1x5 275

Only two training sessions this week, and had to give deadlifts a break on 9/13 workout. I felt great during the 9/16 workout - focused, energized, no pains whatsoever, strong. No reason to feel better than any other workout, but every once in a while you get those awesome days.