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Thread: Dillon's Intermediate Log

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
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    Default Dillon's Intermediate Log

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
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    Figured as I switch over to intermediate programming (very likely NOT justified, admittedly) I'll go ahead and start a log.

    31, M, weighed in at 195 lbs last night up from about 180ish when I began my LP back in June. I had some training history so I wasn't a complete novice, but far less experience with barbells than with things like gymnastics style calisthenics and kettlebells. I'm a teacher, so I had nothing to do all summer but lift and recover. As ideal a situation as it was, I still managed to fuck it up a bit by not eating enough at first. Also had some stalls, form issues, and resets along the way, so I didn't make quite as much progress as I'd have liked to, but I'm happy all things considered.

    My switch to intermediate programming has more to do with being back to work (and tutoring in the evenings), so not having time for workouts that were consistently pushing 2 hours, and would get longer having to do them during peak hours at a busy commercial gym. Despite the fact that I still could have squeezed some more LP out of myself, I'm switching to a 4 day TM style to make for shorter workouts while hopefully maintaining consistent progress.

    The end of my LP basically looked something like:
    Squat: 255x5x3 > 295x3 +265x5x2 pause squats
    Deadlift: 275x5 > 330x5
    Press: 105x5x3 > 125x5x3 or 135x3x3 (think there's lots of room for this to go up since I learned Press 1.5)
    Bench: 155x5x3 > 195x5x3

    Last night I started a 4 day TM that'll go something like:
    Day 1: Bench ID, Press VD, Chins
    Day 2: Deadlift ID, Squat VD, Abs
    Day 3: Press ID, Bench VD, Rows
    Day 4: Squat ID, Power Cleans, DL Volume (still figuring out exactly how I want to handle Day 4. Suggestions welcome!)

    When I have time I may add some assistance/accessory work, but the idea is that if I'm crunched for time I can get in and out with 2 or 3 lifts.

    Day 1 was:
    Bench 205x5
    Press 120x5x5
    Chins 10-8-8
    Dips 10-8-8

    Really happy with how the main lifts went. They were both getting a little bit stuck, I had already started 2.5 lbs jumps for the press and was about to do the same for the bench, but they both seem to be back to cruising upwards easily. Might have a few more 5 lbs jumps in there. Probably not a coincidence that I recently managed to get and keep the scale moving steadily in the right direction. Chins and dips are usually stronger than they were last night, but oh well. Looking forward to my first squat 5x5 tonight!

  2. #2
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    First lower body day of the new program. Backed off a bit on my my squats as they were stuck the hardest, with the intent to hit a new 5RM in week 4 as outlined by Andy Baker in his article on the TM intensity day. Looked like:

    Squats 250x5x5
    Deadlift 330X5
    GHD situps 3x12
    Back extenstions 3x12

    Wasn't feeling my best today. Probably just adjusting to actually having a work schedule again, and didn't get the best night's sleep. Got it all done without feeling like I was killing myself though, so I'm calling it a success. So far I like being able to throw a few sets of assistance work in when I have the time, because I think I have a decent idea of where some of my relative weak spots are, and am optimistic about targeting them directly being beneficial to my overall performance. Fingers crossed!

  3. #3
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    I've had mixed success with assistance work. Overall it's beneficial. I'm doing some crunching of the stomach mostly to firm things up and some work on isolating the Traps and posterior Delts. Both seem to be helpful. I tried something that was supposed to help with bench press. I wound up with some difficult pains in my spine which required medical attention and a few weeks in PT. I don't even try chin ups. I guess I'm too old. But the basic lifts are doing quite well.

  4. #4
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    Glad to hear your lifts are going well! I'm trying to resist the urge to include too much assistance work at the expense of improving the basic lifts. Things like dips and chins have always been staples of my training, so I don't think they take so much out of me that they'll compromise my big lifts as long as I don't overdo it. Conversely, I feel like my hamstrings and lower back are comparatively underdeveloped and that giving them a little extra love when I have time to may be beneficial. I always thought I had a pretty strong "core", at least for the types of training I've mostly done in the past. Having a few hundred extra pounds on my back/in my hands has made me realize that perhaps I wasn't as strong in that department as I thought! Either that or I've let it slide. Back when I could pull off gymnastics holds like front and back levers a strong core was a necessity, but it's been a few years now since that's been a major component of my training and I've probably gotten weaker.

  5. #5
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    So week 1 and my 4 day split already hit a snag! I only got like 4 hours of sleep on Thursday and felt like trash at work on Friday. Went straight to bed instead of to the gym when I got home. To make up for it I just combined my upper and lower days in my Saturday workout and left out any assistance I might otherwise have done. Seemed like a decent solution and it went pretty well. I'm liking the flexibility this program is giving me, which was kind of the idea all along.

    Squats ID 280x5
    Press ID 135x4 (Missed my last rep, which surprised my because I did 3x3 with 140 last week no problem. Next week!)
    Bench VD 187.5x5x5
    RDLs 4x6 @205 (Had to strap up for the last 2 sets. My grip is fucking pitiful.)
    Power Cleans 135x1x10 EMOM (Just practicing some technique)

    All things considered, pretty happy with squeezing two workouts into one. Might have been a better move to do chins or rows instead of practicing my power cleans, but I'm sure it's not the end of the world. Really optimistic about RDLs being a good assistance exercise for my deadlifts. I like how they give me some grip work too, because mine sucks. My plan is to DOH as many as I can before I strap up. Might also try to stop being a pussy and hook grip. Haven't quite gotten used to it. Tried yesterday but it didn't go well. Grip was still slipping. Also plan to use a double progression for RDLs. Stick with a weight until I can do it for sets of 12, then increase it and go back to sets of 6-8.

  6. #6
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    Are you lifting in lbs or kg? 205 in lbs seems pretty light. But 205 in kg certainly needs chalk.

  7. #7
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    Tell me about it! That's pounds. It's more fatigue than that I can't hold on to 205 at all. Usually with my deads I pull warm ups up to about 275 DOH. With RDLs you don't get to put the bar down though, so by the last rep of the second set I was feeling my grip start to tire out and slip. Like I said, my grip sucks!

  8. #8
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    Posting two workouts today, one upper and one lower body.

    8/27/2018

    Bench ID 207.5x3 back off sets of 185x5x2
    Press VD 122.5x5x5
    Chins 3x5 w/ 35lbs added
    Zottman curls 3x12 w/ 25 lbs dumbells (I know, I just toss them in sometimes for shits)

    Went to 2.5 lbs increases on my bench and only got 3 reps. Surprised me because 205 for 5 was no problem. Wondering if it was because I only had one day between my volume day and my intensity day, when usually I have at least two. Maybe jamming two workouts into one wasn't as clever as I thought it was. I just did a couple of back off sets and called it a day. Hopefully I'll get it next time. I also never reset either of my presses during my LP, so now that I've missed reps on both maybe the time is coming. Was hoping to get a little further before having to do so. We'll see! Decided to start alternating between loaded and body weight chins each upper body workout.

    8/29/18
    Squats 255x5x5
    Deadlift 335x5

    This one was exactly what I was hoping for by going to a 4 day split. Had a long day of work and tutoring, so I got in and out in about an hour, then went home to down a protein shake and a pizza. Everything felt pretty good. My deadlift felt strong. 335x5 felt much easier than 330x5 last week. Not sure if the RDLs are helping or if it was just a good day, but I was happy. The only issue I had was having to reset a bit on the floor. I realized it's because with my mixed grip the barbell was windmilling away from my body a bit. It was fine on the way up, but would get away a bit on the last few inches of the descent. At least I think that was the problem. Barbells have a nasty habit of rolling around on their own in my gym. No proper platforms, just thick rubber matting everywhere. Either way, I'll focus on keeping the bar close on the supinated side, and hopefully adding weighted chins will help with the lat strength to do so.

  9. #9
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    9/1/2018
    Body weight: 199 lbs Maybe it was the big breakfast, but felt good to be an almost fully grown human male.
    Press ID 135x5
    Bench VD 187.5x5x5
    Chins 10-10-6

    Got the 5 at 135 that I missed last workout, and it wasn't even a grind. Think I probably just messed my form up last time. Bench felt good, but have a bit of deep soreness in my upper arms during and afterwards. It's a weird kind of sore I've only ever experienced from straight arm gymnastics strength work, particularly on rings. It's not joint pain, and it feels deeper than muscle soreness, almost like the bone itself is sore. Not especially worried about it, as I've had it before and it didn't seem to be related to any injury. My last few bench workouts are the first time I've felt it lifting weights, so I figured I might as well make note of it. Chins felt fine today. Only got 6 reps on the last set, but I rushed into it because a guy was waiting patiently for my rack. At least they're keeping pace with my increasing body weight, so I'm cool with that.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    9/3/18
    Squats ID 285x5
    Power cleans 165x3x3 (PR)
    RDLs 205x8x4
    GHD sit-ups 3x12 w/ 10lbs

    Had a little trouble with my first set of power cleans. Form was shitty. The second and third were much better. My squat intensity set went up pretty easy, so I'm hopeful that will continue steadily until I attempt a new PR in a couple of weeks.

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