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Thread: BigA's Log

  1. #1
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    Default BigA's Log

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    After a lot of time spent lurking on this site and then posting infrequently, I finally decided to start a log to officially document my training for myself and in case people here are interested in my lifting. In 2 years time, I will sign up for the fall classic in Wichita falls and I will then start a competitor's log on this site.

    I won't be posting any videos until I start the competitive lifter's log, the reason being that I eventually want to start my own garage gym and make an official account on youtube with my real name (basically become an Elliot Hulse or Johnnie Candito) and I want to have decent numbers when I first start posting videos so that I am viewed more credibly.

    I will only be competing in the strength lifting meets. The bench hurts my shoulder and frankly, I really just don't care for it at all and do not want to risk my long term shoulder health in order to hit big numbers. I absolutely LOVE the press though. I would like to become a press specialist. Last week, after some internal debate, I changed my press programming to pressing 3 times a week (I included a 3x5 incline bench press as well). We'll see how it goes.

    Im now running a HLM setup using independent sets and for the entire summer have been able to add weight to all of my lifts each week (excluding 2 where I took a week off and then repeated my lifts the following week). Here are my stats:

    22 years old
    Male
    6 ft 1.5 inch
    220-225 lbs bodyweight
    Squat (just did this today) 275x5,275x5,275x5,275x5,275x5 (as per the independent sets format)
    Press 140x5x3 (old programming)
    Incline Bench Press 175x5x5 (old programming)
    SLDL 325x5, 325x5, 325x5
    Chin ups (most recent workout) 12.5 lb x 4, 7.5 lb x2, 5 lb x 4

    Please feel free to comment or ask questions!

  2. #2
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    Press (no belt): 117.5 x 5, 117.5 x 5, 117.5 x 5, 117.5 x 5, 117.5 x 5
    Weighted Chin-ups: 15 x 4, 7.5 x 3, 5 x 3
    Barbell Curlz for the Girlz (to failure up to 10 per set): 55 x 3 sets
    Rear Lateral raises (to failure up to 10 per set): 15 (each hand) x 3 sets

    Morning bodyweight: 225

  3. #3
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    SLDL (no belt, hook grip): 330 x 5, 330 x 5, 330 x 5
    Squat (no belt): 135x5x3 (light day)

    Morning bodyweight: 226.4

    I suppose I should explain to everyone reading this why I am using SLDL's instead of conventional DL. First off, I don't do a true SLDL, my knees are bent more than an actual SLDL. I do my DL this way because I find it much easier to set my back. I also have long arms so doing my pull from the floor this way allows me to maintain a good back position even at weights that I perceive to be heavy. The bottom position does not feel nearly as uncomfortable as in a conventional DL. Although I want to be strong, I want to be smart about it. Im in this for the long run and I don't mind sacrificing some weight in order to prevent injuries. If my opponents lift more weight than me in the competition purely because they use a conventional style (and thus include their quads) even if I produce greater hip extension force, I am fine with that. I will keep working to get stronger. Anyways, it's really not that a big deal. At this point, I have a LONG way to go before I am qualified to win any sort of strength competition so I will keep diligently working and see how it goes!

  4. #4
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    Press (no belt): 107.5 x 8, 107.5 x 8, 107.5 x 8
    BW chin-ups (3 sets to failure, up to 10)
    Barbell Curlz for the Girlz (to failure up to 10 per set): 55 x 3 sets
    Rear Lateral Raises (to failure up to 10 per set): 15 (each hand) x 3 sets

    Morning bodyweight: 225 (forgot to write in original post)
    Last edited by BigA; 08-13-2015 at 07:13 PM.

  5. #5
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    Squat (no belt): 245x5x3 (medium day)

    Morning bodyweight: 224.8

  6. #6
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    Press (no belt): 142.5 x 3, 142.5 x 3, 142.5 x 3
    Weighted Chin-ups: 15 lb x5, 10 lb x 4, 5 lb x 5
    Incline Bench Press: 177.5 x 5, 177.5 x 5, 177.5 x 5

    After pressing 3 times this week (5x5, 3x8, 3x3) and also doing the incline bench press for 3x5, I think I will take out the 3x8 press and replace it with a light press day at 3x5. I barely made my reps today and my shoulders feel pretty tender, more tender than a normal week of hard training. So my future pressing programming will look like this.

    Monday: Press 5x5 (heavy)
    Wednesday: Press 3x5 (light)
    Friday: Press 3x3 (heavy), Incline Bench Press 3x5 (heavy)

    I rather like this experimentation on my way to becoming a decent lifter, it's very valuable experience. Overall, this was a pretty difficult week of training, my lower back feels quite fatigued. I'm looking forward to my rest day tomorrow.

    Morning bodyweight: 225
    Last edited by BigA; 08-15-2015 at 08:43 PM. Reason: bodyweight + no belt

  7. #7
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    I missed yesterday's workout so I had to combine the two workouts today like I used to do. I thought the extra recovery would help me with the squats but they were still very hard. After seeing an accident squat video on youtube with a powerlifter's knee caving in before he even descended, resulting in a horrific looking leg injury (I think his ligaments in his knee tore), I am paranoid about every little knee wiggle that happens!

    Squat (No belt): 280 x 5, 280 x 5, 280 x 5, 280 x 5, 280 x 5
    Press (No belt): 120 x 5, 120 x 5, 120 x 5, 120 x 5, 120 x 5
    Press "Start" (as per Bill Starr's article): 155 x 3 x 3
    BW Chin-ups with 1 min rest (ran out of time so I just did these quickly): 6,3,2

    Morning bodyweight: 225

    After thinking it over, I am deciding just for this week to do 3 whole body workouts due to missing my workout yesterday. I was considering deadlifting on Friday instead of Thursday but I think that 1 day of extra rest instead of 2 will be more optimum for deadlifting since last week's deadlifts were relatively easy.
    Last edited by BigA; 08-19-2015 at 12:38 AM. Reason: Bodyweight + complete post

  8. #8
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    Not a training day but I think it's noteworthy to remark how I feel the day after a full body workout as opposed to a split routine. In short, the full body workout feels much more taxing (Duh!) and psychologically draining. Comparing the two, I much prefer the split routine as I can get the same volume in but push harder on each individual lift. Doing a full body workout routine, I do not look forward to 5x5 squats followed by 5x5 Press followed by 3x5 SLDL or 3x5 weighted chins. With a split routine, it's psychologically easier as I now actually look forward to some of my workouts (mainly the press ones) and it makes doing 5x5 squats mentally easier since that's the only thing I will be doing that day.

    It's also a much shorter workout. My workout yesterday, had it not been cut a bit short, would have ran 2.5 hours. That's basically a Texas Method volume day. Also, I feel much "healthier" going to the gym 6 days a week keeping the time short but intensity high. My heart got a workout almost everyday basically and im sure this contributed to a general feeling of wellbeing. My body composition was also positively affected working out 6 days a week even though I am doing the same amount of volume, just spread out. Today, I feel like a slug from the workout yesterday (although I slept like a rock!). I will be glad to get this week over with and get back to a split routine.

  9. #9
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    SLDL (No belt + hook grip + chalk): 335 x 5, 335 x 5, 335 x 5
    Squat (No belt): 185 x 5 x 2 (light day)
    Press (No belt): 85 x 5 x 2 (light day)
    BW chins: 3, 3, 3 (light day)

    Morning bodyweight: 225

    I decided to do TM for squats. I have suspicion that they are not getting enough work and so, I will do an intensity day. My squat is too low to feel like I am plateauing and at the age of 22, I should definitely be able to add weight for longer. I also need to gain some weight and will do so gradually. I am not a program hopper (although this log might give a different impression, I started it during a transition period of programming. Prior to this, I had been doing HLM for 22 weeks and increasing weight each time. before that, I did 5/3/1 for 6 months just to see if it worked [it didn't, I made the classic mistake of doing too complicated a program at the novice level when I should have just been adding weight onto the bar]).

    So, I think that this is the final significant change to my programming. Basically, my whole program looks like this:

    Monday: 5x5 squat (heavy)
    Tuesday: 5x5 press (heavy, using independent sets), 3x3 press "starts" (Read Bill Starr's overhead pressing article), 3x5 weighted chins (using independent sets)
    Wednesday: 3x5 SLDL (using independent sets), 2x5 squat (light)
    Thursday: 2x5 press (light), 3x5 BW chins (light)
    Friday: Intensity Day (Texas Method)
    Saturday: 3x3 press (heavy, using independent sets), 3x5 weighted chins (using independent sets), 3x5 incline bench press (heavy, using independent sets)

    After each upperbody session, I might do 10 mins of bodybuilding work (mainly curls and rear delt raises). It's optional and depends how im feeling.
    Last edited by BigA; 08-20-2015 at 08:29 PM. Reason: bodyweight

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    Squat (no belt): 285x5 (ID)
    Press (no belt): 145 x 3, 145 x 3, 145 x 3
    weighted chin-ups: 17.5 x 3, 10 x 4, 7.5 x 4
    incline bench press: 180 x 5, 180 x 5, 180 x 5

    morning bodyweight: 225

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