acquiring alpha male status (lvling up my T)

[dsp]

I have two other logs on this site, one in SS logs (forgot title), and "getting bigger cajonas" in Intermediate logs. I made this new thread because I don't feel like I'm justified as an intermediate, and I keep experimenting with programs and diets so I feel it's better suited here.

5'10, ~190lbs (prob a little lower, havent checked), took training srsly in Jan. Currently cutting and maintaining/gaining strength (you be the judge).


Best lifts:
SQ ~270 3x5
BP 200x1, ~175 3x5
PR 140x1, 120 3x5
DL 320x5
PC 170 5x3
chins 9 / dips 13


Currently doing a MT TF bastardized upper/lower split. 2 weeks in, it seems I'm gaining strength and definately swoletrophy. Looks like this:

M: 3x3 bench, 3x8 press, dips
T: 3x5 squat, chins, 5x3 PC
W: rest
T: 3x3 press, 3x8 bench, dips
F: 3x5 squat, chins, 1x5 DL

[dsp]

Some more background info: Ive been attempting SS since November of 2010. For the first couple of months I struggled to do the program correctly, not dedicating myself to either the lifting or the eating, as to which I'm still not sure. Come January I started taking my lifting seriously, went full GOMAD and did SS as intended. I went from a bw of 170-210 from Jan-Apr, and my lifts went from SQ 0 - 275#, Bench 75 - 175#, Press 60 - 120#, DL 135 - 320#, PC 0 - 160#. Since then, I've been trying different programs and diets, in a less than efficient manner. I tried TM from Apr-May in an attempt to break my Bench/Press plateau without microloading. It didn't work, and the program doesn't feel efficient for my body.

Now that it's starting to get hot, I've been trying to diet since the start of May. I really want to do Lyle's RFL but it's just not possible right now as I don't buy the food thats available. Solution = job, and I'm working on it. I'm currently trying to cut out the junk and eat a bunch of eggs/ham focusing on getting enough protein without taking in too many calories. Progress leaves some to be desired. Currently around 190lbs, still with lovehandles and lower belly chub. I've never really cared about being chiseled, I just would like a flatter stomach to be more comfortable with my shirt off.

Not sure why people complain about "t-rex arms" on SS. I think the program and all the upper body barbell exercises develop the upper body much better than any hypertrophy routine. Here's an embarassing, gay photo that I'll share just to show you guys where I'm at (sorry, shirtless photos are too gay).

[dsp]

Oh, before lifting I was a 100% inactive individual who liked weed and video games. Now I like weed, iron, and getting smashed. This is what I've already done this week, so you guys get an idea of where I'm at :

13/06/11
bench 175# 3x3 (just deloaded)
press 105# 7/8/7
dips 13/11/11 (13 is a PR)

14/06/11
squat 210# (recently started these again)
chins 9/8/7 (7 was my max last week)
PC 175x1, 170x1, 160x3 (failed, deloading)


Increasing everything in a linear fashion, because.. how else would you progress?

[jgh]

You could buy a lot of good food for the cost of one ounce of weed!

fwiw, I've read people diss lunch meats a lot so if that's the kind of ham you're talking about pounding, you might want to look into it their concerns.

Your split program looks pretty fun.

[dsp]

You could buy a lot of good food for the cost of one ounce of weed!

fwiw, I've read people diss lunch meats a lot so if that's the kind of ham you're talking about pounding, you might want to look into it their concerns.

Your split program looks pretty fun.

Problem is I get it for free so I just keep smoking.. just bought 20lbs of lean ground beef too, it's gonna be great. The split seems to be working great, I'm gaining strength and looking fitter (I'm attempting a cut.. I eat a ton on workout days, but just like eggs ham low-fat-meat and booze on recovery days.

16/06/11

Press 125x3, was too easy so 130x3* x2 last week I was pressing this for a hard double. sweet.

Bench 160x8, was too easy so 165x8*, x6 (not enough rest), x5 my bench went up too. fuck, finally

Dips 14*/9/7 did them with 90 second rests in-between cause I was in a hurry. weighted dips HERE I COME

a quick set of 50# decline sit ups x10


fuck what rippetoe says, do the decline sit ups weighted for 2 sets and then a set of however many you can bust out. in a week this has helped me have 50% less of a flabby stomach.


edit- oh, i dont buy lunch meats or canned ham. i buy the big hams that look like a pigs body cut in half, those are huge portions of meat that is all protein.

[dsp]

17/06/11 today was a bitch.

squats 215# 3x5 no problem here.

chins 9 seem to be sore from benching yesterday, so I tried: neutral grip pull up 3, close grip 4 (i couldn't get my chin over in either set up)

deadlift 330x2, 320 x 2/1 said fuck it after. didn't get any stronger from last week, never squatting before DL again.

bunch of ab work, one set of curls (its the fucking weekend)


So, what do the different pull up variations do? seems like the more narrow the grip, the more I use my forearm muscle. wide grip just feels a little weird. gonna start doing pull ups instead of chin ups on the second "pull" day of the week, I want dat dere lats.

[dsp]

im back mufuckahhs

20/06/11

bench 180 5x3 did two extra sets cause this lift needs to get moving. 185 3x3 or 5x3 next time.

press 110 6/5 then 100# x 7 still a bit of an improvement. tried to get 8 with the last set but arms wouldnt have it.

dips 16*/14/10 was rushed on the last set, gym was closing. 16 is another +2 from thursday. time to use the gyms dip belt!

obliques (huge improvement from last week)


although this split seems to be working, I really want to give SS another run. I'm craving a PR on every lift, every day. For my lifts to constantly go up instead of messing with rep numbers. The only missing link is micro plates. once I acquire those, I don't wanna a skinny kid, which I'm headed to be. I wanna be barrel chested and power lifting, lifting at least 2x what i lift now. in time..

[ambivalens]

For what it's worth, I've started 5/3/1 with a rather big reset on my lifts (to cut fat and slowly move up again) - increasing the amount of reps I can do with a lower weight has both maintained and even upped what I can move on a 1RM or 2RM basis.

[dsp]

I'm not exactly sure what's going on here, really. My press has moved up a little since starting this program, my bench maybe a little too. I dropped squats a while ago because I was biking everywhere, so I'm still building them back up. DL got stuck last workout, PC needs a reset. My BW exercises have exploded in progress though, my top dips used to be 9, and chins 6. I'm alot skinnier though, wish I could check my weight. My routine is basically push/pull, so here's hoping that I don't get stuck next week (I ate like a champ yesterday to insure I grew instead of lost weight.. at this point, my goals are a little messy).

[ambivalens]

Could the increase in BW exercises be due to you being skinnier? Moar milk, moar nuts!