It's supposed to feel heavy

[Jr_Geezer]

Love that Paul Horn quote, and the philosophy behind it.

Vital stats first: Male, 55, 5' 10", 195-200 lbs.

Quick background: Began lifting in August 2014. The 2016 Fall Classic was my first meet and my numbers there were: 365 squat, 147.5 OHP and 440 DL. Bench was 195 at the time. I was just starting intermediate programming when a month ago (11/28 to be exact) I tore/strained/pulled some groin/adductor muscle while squatting 360. I went through the Starr rehab, documented here: http://startingstrength.com/resource...opped-hip.html. I didn't really do anything other than squats during that time, so all my lifts have suffered. I'm just now getting back to regular workouts, being careful not to overdo things, as the last thing I want is to re-aggravate the injury. So right now I'm not really doing an intermediate-type program, more of a combined LP and advanced novice, but I'm pretty sure I'll be back in intermediate territory soon, so I thought I would start a log here rather than in one of the other forums. I appreciate any comments or suggestions.

I'm going to see an SS coach (Robert Santana) early in January, after which I'll probably post some form videos. I had a session about six months ago with Rob and he was a great help.

So, first real workout after Starr was last Monday (all weights in pounds, I use 'weight x reps x sets' or 'weight x reps' format unless otherwise noted):

12/16, BW:196
Squats
45 x 10
135 x 5
195 x 3
225 x 5 x 3

OHP
45 x 5
75 x 3
105 x 2
125 x 3 x 3

DL
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 2
345 x 3 (overly cautious warm up)
385 x 3

12/29, BW: 195
Squats
45 x 10
135 x 5
195 x 3
235 x 5 x 3 (very easy)

Bench
45 x 5
135 x 3
165 x 5 x 3 (easy)
145 x 5

DL
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 2
385 x 4 (easy)
315 x 5 (just thought I would throw in an easy back-off set)

12/31, BW: 196
Squats
45 x 10
135 x 5
195 x 3
245 x 5 x 3 (still easy)

OHP
45 x 5
95 x 3
110 x 2
125 x 5 x 3 (last rep a bit slow, but no real problem)

DL
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 2
385 x 5 (all reps went right up)
315 x 5 (Threw in an easy back-off set again. Next workout I'll probably reduce by 8-10% from work-set instead of this big jump.)

So next workout I'll bump up squat by 10 pounds at least, bench by 5-10 and DL by 10 (and reduce reps). Going forward I'll just log my work and back-off sets (if any) here, but I wanted to give a sense of my warm-ups to begin with.

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year.

-Rob

[Jr_Geezer]

1/2/17

Squats
260 x 5 x 3
First time I actually felt the weight just a bit. No problem, just not light.

Bench
175 x 5 x 3
Enough of a workout that I didn't do any back off sets.

DL
395 x 3
365 x 5
Felt good

-RJP

[Jr_Geezer]

1/4/17, BW: 196

Squat: 275 x 5 x 3
Was thinking of just adding 10 lbs to previous workout, but decided that two 45's, two 10's and a 2.5 looked ridiculous so I just put on the 25's instead. Really good sets, felt better than the 260 from previous workout. I could feel a tightness or tension deep inside my hip area, where I assume my injury occurred. No pain, just a tension. Weight felt good, felt like good depth, good bar speed.

OHP: 125 x 5 x 3
Repeated last workout because of the slow bar speed then. This felt better and had better bar speed. Either 127.5 or 130 next time.

My wife came with me this tonight and finished her workout ahead of me and had to get back home so no other work done today. Not too much of a loss because yesterday I took my daughter to the gym for her workout and I did bodyweight dips in between her pull-ups: 3 sets, 10, 8, 10.

-RJP

[MBasic]

where do you lift again?
I'm in Gilbert, BTW

[Jr_Geezer]

where do you lift again?
I'm in Gilbert, BTW

Tumbleweed Rec Center, Chandler (Germann and McQueen). They've got a pretty decent setup there, considering it's just a community gym.
How about you?

-RJP

[Jr_Geezer]

Falling behind on my data entry.

1/6/17, BW: 196

Squat: 285 x 5 x 3, easy
Bench: 180 x 5 x 3, last rep of each set was a real grind but I completed each set
DL: 395 x 4, 365 x 5, coming along nicely

1/9/17, BW: 196

Squat: 295 x 5 x 3, also easy
Press: 127.5 x 5 x 3, took some effort. Last set I really concentrated on staying tight and getting a good bounce from the hip movement. Set was a thing of beauty.
DL: 395 x 5, 365 x 5, heavy, but no problems here.

1/11/17, BW: 197

Squat: 305 x 5 x 3, over the 300 lb mark finally. Need to watch my elbow and arm position as I felt a little strain in the elbow. Chest up, keep traps tight to support the bar and make sure I'm not supporting the weight with my arms.
Bench: 182.5 x 5 x 3, followed safety rules of having a spotter and not using clips as the bench does not have safeties. Nearly hurt myself when I tilted the bar slightly on one rep and the weights on one end slid out towards the end of the bar, throwing things off balance. Think I'll stick with clips (and a spotter).
Chins: 8 (BW), 5 (BW + 25), haven't done chins in a while, they need work.
Skipped DL to give myself a bit more recovery time.

So Friday I hope to be doing a 3-plate squat and a 4-plate DL (maybe throw in a 1-plate press attempt, just for kicks and symmetry).

-RJP

[Jr_Geezer]

OK, so I finished up my rehab LP and I'm ready to start my new intermediate programming.

I finished up the LP with squat 335 x 5 x 3 , bench 175 x 5 x 3, press 132.5 x 5 x 3 and DL 415 x 5. I also had a coaching session over the weekend with SSC Rob Santana to get some of the kinks out of my squat, bench and press. Time and money well spent, although I'm still having some issue with extending my left wrist during my squat, leading to mild elbow pain. I know what to focus on, I just have to make it work.

Optimistic long term goals right now are to get the bench to 205 and press to 150. Coach Santana thinks I might have a 500 pound DL in me by the time the next Fall Classic comes around, but I'm not sure. A 4-plate squat would be awesome as well. Before my adductor injury I was pulling 430 and squatting 360.

After reading through the intermediate program templates in The Barbell Prescription, I decided on a modified version of Example 24-16: HLM Basic Cycling Routine. I'm not doing the Olympic lifts so I'll substitute chins, dips or some other accessory for them. Also, the week-to-week heavy day weight jumps seem pretty, shall we say, optimistic to me so I'm going to go at a more conservative pace. Finally, I'll add a couple of back-off sets to the presses for a bit of added volume.

Monday was my first heavy day and I basically repeated my last LP numbers.

Monday, 2/6/17, BW: 196
Squat: 45 x 10, 135 x 5, 182 x 3, 245 x 2, 295 x 1, 335 x 5 x 3
Bench: 45 x 5, 115 x 3, 135 x 2, 155 x 5 , 175 x 5 x 3, 155 x 5 x 2
DL: 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 315 x 2, 375 x 1, 415 x 5

Everything felt pretty good. Bench was most improved with the coaching I got over the weekend related to grip width and getting the bar directly over the shoulder joint at the top. Felt much more solid.

Today was light day:

Wednesday, 2/8/17, BW: 196
Squat: 305 x 5
Press: 135 x 5 x 3, 120 x 5 x 2
Chins (BW): 12, 8 (should have done a third set but I ran out of time and initiative)

Pleased with how well the press felt.

Both days I did my workout in the morning and both days I was hungry in the gym. I had a 12 oz glass of milk with a scoop of protein powder and 5g creatine on Monday and the same plus a fried egg on Wednesday. I think I'll make that at least two eggs before the next morning workout.

[MBasic]

Tumbleweed Rec Center, Chandler (Germann and McQueen). They've got a pretty decent setup there, considering it's just a community gym.
How about you?

-RJP

I live just down the road aways

But I go to Lifetime Fitness.

I've been to Tumbleweed to practice Volleyball with my daughter...it's nice, didn't scope out the weight room though.
Is it nice? What do they got there?

And how's Robert S....I need to work some kinks out of my squat

[Jr_Geezer]

I live just down the road aways

But I go to Lifetime Fitness.

I've been to Tumbleweed to practice Volleyball with my daughter...it's nice, didn't scope out the weight room though.
Is it nice? What do they got there?

And how's Robert S....I need to work some kinks out of my squat

It's not bad. They have a two-station Hammer Strength rack with safeties and wheeled adjustable benches along with a set of bumper plates (45, 35, 25 and 10 pounds), a complete set of dumbbells (up to 100 lbs), generic bench station, several flat and adjustable benches, a Smith machine (of course), multi-station cable crossover station, 45 degree leg press machine, assisted pull-up/dip station, landmine attachment, set of fixed weight EZ curl bars, total of four bars and plenty of rubber coated plates. Also a complete set of cardio equipment (including four Concept 2 rowers and an Aerodyne bike) and LifeFitness/Hammer Strength weight machines (not the plate loaded type though).

Robert S is pretty busy these days as he is working on starting his PhD research so is only coaching Saturday mornings. He has been extremely useful to me and has really helped my form.

[Jr_Geezer]

Friday, 2/10/17, Medium day
BW: 199 (Where'd that 3 pounds come from?)

Squat: 320 x 5 x 2 - Felt good, still have issue with keeping weight off my elbow, especially when racking.
Bench: 165 x 5 x 2, 145 x 5 x 2 - The wider grip really makes the bar feel more stable.
LTE: 30 + whatever the bar was x 5 x 2

First time with the LTEs. Was inspired by Rip's video on the exercise I came across while trying to decide which accessory lift to add to the Medium day. Weight felt pretty light but I didn't want to overdo my first attempts. I can already feel it in the triceps.
Edit: Just took another quick look at the comments on the video and Rip suggests not doing fewer than 8 reps so I'll up reps next week.