coreJack's Log

[coreJack]

I've been keeping a log at Stronglifts, but since the extra eyes and feedback can only help, I'm starting a log here.

I'll copy most of the relevant historical posts over to this log, and from today (Feb. 1, 2010) on, make the same updates in both logs. The link to the full log leading up to today is http://stronglifts.com/forum/corejac...og-t14559.html.

I'm 36, 5'7", 148lbs.

[coreJack]

3/01/09
Stats
age: 35
height: 5'7"
starting weight: 120 lbs

After years of on/off lifting, mostly doing split routines and machines, smith machine squats and never doing deadlifts, and having nothing to show for it other than imbalances, I'm finally going to do this thing.

I ramped up my caloric intake about a month ago, and I'm 127 lbs, but a lot of that is fat, but I'm not worried, losing fat and weight has always been easy for me. In that time, I've been doing a lot of core and corrective exercises, but I'm now ready to start a customized 5x5 program. The modifications are necessary for my knees and shoulders which cannot handle squats, benching or pressing, but with lots of mobility, stretching and posterior strengthening over the next two months, I'm hoping to be better balanced and pain free, and then I'll add squats and benching. If my shoulders can handle benching, I might switch to overhead presses sometime down the road.

Hopefully this log will keep me motivated to lift, and more importantly, eat!
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3/02/09
My program is heavy on posterior chain and back/shoulders, core and corrective exercises, mobility work, soft tissue work (foam rolling), and stretching. A lot of the modifications and corrective exercises come from reading/watching a lot of stuff by Eric Cressey, Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, and Mike Mejia.


Deadlift: 5x5, 45 lb. (a whopping 20.5kg)
Starting with just the bar, and focusing on form. I'm pulling this off the lowest rack setting, which is still a few inches higher than where the bar would be using 45lb plates. I'm working on mobility and flexibility, so hopefully by the time I get to the big plates, I'll be able to pull off the floor.

Lat pull w/ chin grip: 5x5, 80 lb.
I think I'll switch to chin-ups next week.

Hanging reverse crunches: 3x5

I think I'm going to replace RDLs with deadlifts, since these force me to reset every rep, which is probably good for getting the form down. So I'll be deadlifting 2x/week, adding 5lb per session, so 10lb per week. I'm guessing it won't be too much given that I'm not doing squats for now.

Squat stretches: these are too painful right now, so I modified it to a squat stretch on my back. Laying on my back, I put my feet up on the wall and get into a squat stretch position, maintaining neutral spine. Wow, my adductors were screaming. Wierd thing was that my hip flexors were also very uncomfortable - but these are being hyperflexed, not hyperextended, so I was surprised by the discomfort. 3x30s. Hopefully after a couple of weeks, I'll be able to start proper squat stretches.
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3/24/09
After tweaking my low back several days ago (http://stronglifts.com/forum/post255...hilit=#p255963), I'm giving the Starr rehab protocol a shot.

Yesterday I did a lot of RDLs with just the bar, and my back didn't feel any worse this morning, so did some more work today:

Deadlifts: about 30 reps with just the bar
Reverse Hypers: this is the only thing I've found thus far that reliably reproduces the pain. Did about 50 reps (across multiple sets)

We'll see how it feels tomorrow.

On a more positive note, after 3 weeks of working on it, I can now get into the squat stretch position, though not as deep as Mehdi gets in the pic he uses to demonstrate the stretch.
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3/28/09
Update:
1. I've been rehabbing the low back injury the last several days. Lots of light-weight, high-rep RDLs and reverse hypers. Even though it doesn't seem much better, it's not getting any worse, so I think it's working.
2. Added barbell overhead presses to my program. I'm a bit wary of this, but will give it a shot, and if it starts to hurt my shoulders, I'll switch back to DB presses.
3. Did my first bodyweight squat. Hopefully will be able to squat with an empty Oly bar within the next couple of weeks.
4. Switching to 3x5 for all the main lifts, except deads, which go to 1x5.

[coreJack]

4/10/09
After that last workout of BSS at 40 lbs, my knees were bugging me a little, so I decided to switch to RDLs, both to give my knees some rest as well as to really strengthen my low back and get that tweak to heal.

RDLs
50 lb, 1x10
75 lb, 4x5

OHP
45 lb, 3x5
My shoulder had been bothering me a little in the days following OHP, as it has been increasing over the last couple of weeks, but it would always clear up by the next OHP session, so, not wanting to be a pvssy, I kept incrementing the weight. Mistake. While this session didn't hurt, my shoulder was in pain the next day, and has been bothering me a bit since even to the date of this post, two weeks later.

Face Pull
75 lb, 3x5

Reverse Hypers - I'm gonna stop logging these, but I do them 5-6 days/week, both for low back rehab and to keep the low back strong. No RH machine, so these are unweighted - well, I use my chains, so there's a couple of pounds.
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5/26/09
Been some time since my last log entry. I'll just do a general update instead of logging all my workouts.

In late April, I overdid some lumbar stretching and sprained my low back. Took it easy for a few days and started with deloaded RDLs down to 30lbs. Also, with my left shoulder still bothering me, I heavily deloaded on chins, going back to +0, 1x5.

In mid May, I tweaked my low back around the spine doing RDLs. I don't think I was fully concentrating on keeping my back in extension. Stupid. After a few days, started with heavily deloaded RDLs.

With all the rest and deloading, I cut back on calories and dropped 5lbs, which seems like it was mostly fat.

Latest:
RDLs: 105 lbs, 3x5
Face Pulls: 90 lbs, 3x5
Chins (neutral grip): +10 lbs, 3x5
Squats: 0, 7x7
Rev Hypers: 0, 3x15

Back feels good, just have to really concentrate on keeping the back in extension. Shoulder is getting better, and no longer bothers me when doing chins, as it did after I first injured it. Will be a while before I can return to pressing, but hopefully I'll be able to do more of the rehab/corrective exercises over the next few weeks. Flexibility on squats still sucks, but I can do bw squats (not to depth yet) without any knee pain the next day.
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9/24/09
Been a long time since my last log entry. I'll just do a general update instead of logging all my workouts.

In mid July, I re-aggravated that lumbar spine injury from back in April. My fault - I never rehabbed it properly in the first place. So that was a pretty big setback, but I've gotten back to the weights, and pretty much all exercises except squats, which I hope to resume next week.

Latest:
RDLs: 120 lbs, 3x5 (reset back to 45lb after the injury, and working my way back slowly)
Face Pulls: 112.5 lbs, 3x5
Chins (neutral grip): +31.25 lbs, 3x5
Partial TGU's: 23.75, 3x5

Also doing some rehab/corrective exercises, some of which I'll drop once I get back to squatting. Swimming 2-3 times a week, on non-lifting days. So shoulder is improving, and hopefully I'll start pressing (with just a broomstick) in a few weeks.
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10/09/09
Squats: 45lbs, 5x5
Chins (neutral grip): +33.75 lbs, 3x5

Resumed squats for the first time since the lumbar injury back in July. On the first set, I tweaked my low back, but it wasn't spinal, so I think it will be fine by Monday's workout. I think I was trying to force depth instead of allowing the weight to get me there, and 45lbs just isn't heavy enough to do that. In the next 4 sets, I didn't force depth and just drove back up when I felt my hamstrings well stretched, and back was fine on those.

Wow, quads are really sore today. Since I stopped squatting back in July, I haven't done any exercise that really hits the quads.
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10/19/09
Squats: 65lbs, 4x5
Cable row: 115 lbs, 3x5
RDL: 135 lbs, 3x5

Weigh in: 140 lbs. Goal achieved, even if a good portion of it is fat. Setting my sights on 150 now.

Hope to start deadlifting soon. Have to do some hamstring stretching this week to help get me there.
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10/28/09
Squats: 85lbs, 4x5
TGU: 10lbs, 3x5

I had been doing partial TGUs (stopping at the kneeling position w/o going to standing position) to take it easy on my knees. But decided to try to work on doing the full TGU to get some single leg work, and more importantly, to see if I could work through this long-term knee issue. Had to drop the weight down from the partial TGUs, where I was last doing 27.5lbs, to a mere 10lbs, and even that was a struggle.
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10/30/09
Squats: 90lbs, 3x5, 1x4 (failed on last rep), 1x2
Chins (neutral grip): +36.25 lbs, 2x5, 1x4
RDLs: 140lbs, 3x5

Dumped a squat for the first time. Safety catches worked like a charm. The extra weight is definitely pushing me deeper than I was able to get with 20-30lbs less.

Couldn't hit 3x5 on chins for the second consecutive session. I weigh about 3lbs more than when I did 35lbs for 3x5 two weeks ago, so I'm not going to consider this a potential stall. Instead, it's the equivalent of incrementing the weight too much.
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11/02/09
Squats: 85lbs, 4x5
Cable Rows: 125 lbs, 3x5
RDLs: 145lbs, 3x5

Did a slight deload after missing on 90, 3x5 last session. Wanted to focus on getting good depth on every rep. Will probably repeat this weight again next session.

OHP - trying to work back into these. It's very hard to raise my left arm overhead (no weight) without my shoulder clicking. And my injury experience is that the clicking will get worse with weight, and eventually generate a lot of pain. If my shoulder doesn't feel any worse by next session, I'll do more of these 'air' presses.
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11/04/09
Playing around with both shoulders, I noticed that the rack position (using just a broomstick) was a lot tougher on my left shoulder (the one that clicks when performing the OHP) - it felt like something tight was being stretched. I'm going to try holding a broomstick in the rack position, or as close as I can get to it, a few times a day for a couple of minutes to see if this loosens things up in my shoulder and permits me to press click-free.
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11/04/09
Squats: 85lbs, 4x5
TGU: 10lbs, 3x6
Various accessory and rehab exercises

More consistently getting to below parallel on squats. One thing I noticed last time is that my left hip crease was a little sore after squatting. Today, I noticed during squats, but the pain was less after the fourth workset than after the first or second workset. So I think it must be a form issue. In my attempts to get good depth, maybe I was descending too quickly and not staying tight enough.

TGUs might be the most difficult exercise I do all week. Brutal.

Been feeling like my low back has been pretty tight the last few weeks, which coincides with my returning to squatting. Definitely have to shoot a video soon.
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11/06/09
Squats: 85lbs, 4x5
Chins: 36.25lbs, 2x5, 1x4
RDLs: 145, 3x5
Couple of accessory and rehab exercises

On squats, didn't consistently get below parallel on every rep, so I'll repeat weight again next session. Still so many things I'm trying to focus on - knees out, chest up, butt back, depth, etc. Really need to make a video soon. On a positive note, though I felt that pain in the left hip crease, it wasn't nearly as bad as last time, and didn't really notice it afterwards while walking around.

On chins, that's 3 consecutive failures to get 3x5. I'm going to start taking bodyweight into account when deciding on the weight increases. Looking back, I realize I've increased the weight by 9lbs over the last 4 sessions, when factoring in bodyweight increases. My normal progression on chins would have increased the weight by only 5lbs over that time. No wonder I stalled. Bigger concern is my technique - I noticed today that I'm bouncing off the bottom. Not sure if that's desirable (as compared to pausing at the bottom).

[coreJack]

11/08/09
I'm going to take a break from the routine for at least a week. Rationale:
1. While getting stronger and bigger is great, my primary goal is to get my joints (knees, shoulders) healthy. And that hasn't been happening. Plus, my low back has been feeling pretty stiff. I'm going to take some time to stretch and loosen things up.
2. Tried some bodyweight box squats and was appalled at the box height needed to maintain control on the eccentric and power up, all while keeping shins vertical - 21". Obviously I can't squat with good form with a loaded bar on my back if I can't box squat to a decent depth unloaded.
3. Speaking of form, my gym doesn't allow video, which is why I haven't done a squat video yet. I can do the bw box squats at home and take tons of video and ensure my form is good.
4. I need to massively deload on chins to get form right (have been breathing at top, and sort of bouncing off the bottom), so now is as good a time to do that as any.
5. Going to use the time to really SMR my shoulders and do shoulder rehab stuff. Would love to be able to get to the point where I can OHP a broomstick without my shoulder clicking (ignoring it, manning up, etc., doesn't make it go away, and loading weight will lead to an injury - been there, done that).

While I'm lifting less, I'll cut back on carbs a bit, but keep up the milk and protein intake. Hopefully that will help get my waist down an inch or two so I can more comfortably wear my pants.
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11/13/09
First time back to the gym in a week. Been working on the box squat (unweighted) at home, on improving flexibility in my hips and legs, and trying to work on OHP technique. In retrospect, I can see that I needed the time off, as I was quite relieved to not have to go to the gym on Monday. And by today, I was chomping at the bit to get in there. Not sure if it was the flexibility work or the rest (probably both), but things don't feel so tight - still tight, but not as bad as it was a week ago when I felt that I was on the road to certain injury.

With the slight calorie reduction (probably a few hundred calories per day), I lost a tiny bit of fat, as I can now button my jeans (only when standing), and dropped 1.8lbs overall.

RDLs: 135, 1x5; 145, 2x5
Chins: 20lbs, 3x5
OHP: no weight, just working on the motion and trying to do it w/o shoulder clicking
Box Squats: no weight, just working on form
Couple of accessory and rehab exercises
Stretching afterward

RDLs: during the week I realized I must have tweaked my back (muscular) with RDLs last session, so the week off was good. Anyway, these felt great today - probably a combination of rest time and the hamstring awareness/control from working on box squats - I could really pull my knees back in a way that I had never done before when doing this exercise.

Chins: massive deload from 36 to 20lbs so I could use proper form - hang and breathe at the the bottom. First set was easy, but not being able to bounce was definitely making me work hard by the last set.

OHP: after a few days of working on this, I've got an ice pack on my shoulder as I write this. We'll see how it goes.

Box squats: truly an exercise in frustration. But I will stick with it, and keep my inner pussy at bay.
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11/28/09
Box Squats: no weight, just working on form
RDLs: 165lbs, 3x5
Chins: +21.25, 3x5
Couple of accessory and rehab exercises
Stretching afterward

Per Guru's suggestion, I tried adding some weight to the box squat, but I found I could not prevent the quads from getting involved, so I'll stick with unweighted for a few more sessions. Even though I haven't been able to lower the box yet, I feel like I'm slowly gaining better control over sitting back. I've also been doing hamstring curls to help strengthen the hamstrings.
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Been a few weeks since my last update, but I've been lifting regularly in the interim.

12/11/09
RDLs: 185lbs, 3x5
Box Squats: no weight, just working on form
Chins: +23.75 (TW = 172.55), 3x5
Couple of accessory and rehab exercises

RDLs: Grip is definitely starting to get challenged. Have to work on hamstring flexibility so I can start doing deadlifts.
Box squats: Still unweighted, but I'm making a little progress - I'm using a slightly lower box. One thing I notice is that with the wide stance, my adductors get pretty sore during the session. Still doing hamstring curls 1x/week as an assistance exercise.

OHP: Though I didn't do it this session, I've been doing OHP 2-3x/week. Currently using 12lbs. I can now press up without my shoulder clicking, though there is a much milder click on the eccentric. Still need to ice afterward, but because I'm lifting such a light weight and increasing it very slowly (3lbs a week), I'm not as worried about the kind of injury I experienced my first time around with OHP (where I was increasing the weight much more quickly despite increasing soreness), though I wonder if I'll ever heal up enough to get to challenging weights.

I was reflecting the other day, that with my various injuries and mobility deficits, and consequent restricted lifting program, most of my strength and muscle gains can be attributed to just two lifts - RDLs and neutral grip chins. I think it goes to show that one can get bigger and stronger, albeit more slowly, even if they are unable to do a strength training program like SL or SS, as written. Looking forward to seeing what kind of gains I can get once I'm able to do weighted box squats/squats, deadlifts, and OHPs.
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12/21/09
Deadlifts: 115, 4x1; 135, 4x1
Box Squats: no weight, just working on form
Cable rows: 135lbs, 2x5; 1x4
OHP: 15lbs, 3x5
Couple of accessory and rehab exercises

Deadlifts: My flexibility has improved to where I can set up properly for deadlifts, which is great, but some grainy video I took showed that I didn't maintain a good lumbar arch through the lift, which is disappointing given that I did RDLs on Friday with 60lbs more than I attempted to deadlift today. I allowed my disappointment with deadlifts to carry over to the rest of my workout - that was a mistake. Anyway, at least I can deadlift now - will just have to focus on form before increasing the weight. I'll probably do deads 1x/week and RDLs 1x/week.

OHP: On a brighter note, I'm continuing to progress on OHP very slowly.
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12/25/09 (in response to questions from another forum member)
Thanks, but my injuries are nothing compared to some others who train. There's a guy on Rip's forum who had to drain his own knee for months so he could squat.

Knees are still dodgy, but they seem to be getting better with laying off regular squats and working on box squats. Hopefully that will continue. Left shoulder doesn't hurt, but if I'm not careful with how I do overhead motions, I get a click. A lot of clicks in one day, and my shoulder hurts the next. Lots of clicks with increasing weight, and I can't lift my arm overhead, which is what happened the first time around with OHP. Now, I'm incrementing weight very slowly and focusing on pressing in a manner that doesn't create the clicking. So far, so good.

Yeah, my injuries are relevant to strength training. Knees are from excessive quad dominance over a long period of time. Shoulders are from an accumulation of minor traumas along the way, accentuated, I believe, by overly tight pecs, and weak upper back. This is why most of what I'm doing in the gym is aimed at posterior chain and back. I'm minimizing work to my quads and pecs.

[coreJack]

1/02/10
RDLs: 200lbs, 3x5
Box Squats: no weight, just working on form
OHP: 20, 3x5
Chins: +25.0 (TW = 176), 3x5
Couple of accessory and rehab exercises

After peaking at a bw of 148.6 in the last week of 2009 (up 28lbs for the year), I've decided to cut back a little on the caloric intake to get my midsection a little trimmer. Just purchased a set of calipers, so I'll measure and post here, but whatever it is, it's gotten to be a bit much.
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1/04/2010
Box Squats: no weight, just working on form
Cable rows: 135lbs, 3x5
Deadlifts: 135, 5x1

Deads: Didn't videotape them, wish I did. Not sure I was maintaining a good lumbar arch. Going to have to focus on improving hamstring flexibility over the next week.

Box squats: Took another step lower today and did a few reps with a box height that put me at just about parallel.
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1/11/2010
RDLs: 205lbs, 3x5
Box Squats: no weight, just working on form
Cable rows: 137.5lbs, 3x5
OHP: 22.5lbs, 3x5

With the cutback in diet, my weight has averaged 147lbs over the last 2 weeks. Kind of surprised that it hasn't dropped more. I figure if I can get a bit stronger at this weight, the bodyfat % has to come down. Speaking of, I still need to take a few minutes to learn how to use the calipers and measure myself.
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1/22/10
RDLs: 215lbs, 3x5
Pullups: +25 (TW = 176.6), 3x5
Box Squats: no weight, just working on form
OHP: 27.5, 3x5
Couple of accessory and rehab exercises

RDLs: Chalked before every work set (before, I was just chalking before the first work set), and was badly slipping by the last rep of the 2nd and 3rd sets. Guess I'll have to learn the hook grip.

Pullups: Switched from neutral-grip chins to pullups. I worked out at a friend's gym last week and they had neutral grip bars spaced further apart than my gym (which are quite narrow), and I could feel my back more involved in the lift. So I think I'll switch to pullups at my gym so long as it doesn't bother my shoulders.
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1/25/10
RDLs: 215lbs, 3x5
Cable rows: 140, 1x5, 2x4
Box Squats: no weight, just working on form
OHP: 27.5, 3x5

RDLs: Switched to mixed grip for RDLs. Nice to be able to do these without worrying about my grip failing!

OHP: I think I figured out how to avoid the minor clicking I was getting on the eccentric. Still, I'll continue to increment very slowly on OHP.
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1/28/10
Weighty Decisions

For the last 4 weeks, I've cut back on calories, both carbs and proteins/fats. That includes cutting back on milk. I've lost a little of the belly fat, which was the goal, and a nice surprise has been that my overall weight didn't really change, which suggests an improvement in body compostion. I'd like to lose more, but I'm noticing more missed lifts. So I think I'm going to ramp up the proteins and fats and milk, but keep my non-milk carbs a little lower than I had them before.

At 148lbs, I'm no longer scrawny, so I'm not in as much of a hurry to pile on the weight, so I'll try to tune my diet such that I'm gaining 0.5-1lb/week, and hopefully that keeps my belly a tolerable size.
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1/29/10
RDLs: 220lbs, 3x5
Pullups: +25 (TW = 178), 3x5
Box Squats: no weight, just working on form
OHP: 30, 3x5
Couple of accessory and rehab exercises

[coreJack]

2/01/2010
Deadlifts: 135lbs, 5x1; 145lbs, 5x1
Cable rows: 140lbs, 3x5
Box Squats: no weight, just working on form
OHP: 30lbs, 3x5

DLs: I put these off for a long time because I wasn't able to maintain lumbar extension due to tight hamstrings, but after a lot of stretching over the last few days, I did these with good form. I think. Will have to take a video next session to make sure. Knees ached a little bit, but I think I wasn't sitting back enough during the setup to unload the quads.

[coreJack]

2/03/10
Box Squats: no weight, just working on form
SL Hip hyperextensions: 125lbs, 3x8
Seated hamstring curls: 152.5, 2x8, 1x7
Reverse hypers on swiss ball: 7.5lbs, 3x10
Pushups: 2x10
Few rehab exercises

[coreJack]

2/05/10
RDLs: 225lbs, 1x5, 1x3, 1x5
Pullups: +25 (TW = 179), 2x5, 1x4
Box Squats: no weight, just working on form
OHP: 32.5, 3x5

Weighed in at 150lbs today. Next target: 160lbs.

[coreJack]

2/08/2010
Deadlifts: 135lbs, 5x1; 155lbs, 5x1
Cable rows, medium grip: 110lbs, 3x5
Box Squats: no weight, just working on form
OHP: 35lbs, 3x5
Face pulls

[Mr.City]

Wow, you seem really beat up for a 38 year old man. Is all this from previous training injuries?