IWillLiveFreeOrDie's Starting Strength Log

[IWillLiveFreeOrDie]

I'm 35 years old, 5'9 and 188 pounds. Last Summer I was 206 pounds, and really overweight so I spent November dropping down to 178 pounds, and decided to get serious about Starting Strength.

This current iteration of the program began in the middle of November 2009. I reset all of my weights, and focused on getting at least 200 grams of protein each day. I also started taking vitamins in December.

Starting Weights

Squat: 185
Deadlift: 225
Bench: 135
Press: 95
Power Clean: 95

[IWillLiveFreeOrDie]

January 25th
Body weight: 188 lbs

Squat

45X10X2
135X10
185X5
225X5
275X3
300X1
325X5X3 PR

Press

45X10
95X5
115X5X3

I'm still nursing sore shoulders. I decided to halt the press at 115 because of a little pain in my right shoulder, and I didn't want to aggravate the injury again. 3 weeks ago I had my press up to 145X5X3.

They hurt in two different spots, and I'm not sure how I hurt them. It was either from letting my wrists support the weight during squats, or poor bench press or overhead press form.

Last week was an easy week while I learned how to use my new belt and shoes.

[Tim Lofton]

That's a pretty extensive warm-up (volume-wise) for the squats. Good luck with the shoulder and getting the press back up there.

tim

January 25th
Body weight: 188 lbs

Squat

45X10X2
135X10
185X5
225X5
275X3
300X1
325X5X3 PR

[IWillLiveFreeOrDie]

Thanks Tim. I workout at 5am, and the squat is essentially my warmup to wake me up, and get my muscles warm. I don't have a rower or bike, and can't jump rope in my basement. So I need a way to get the heart rate up. The 10 rep squats with just the bar and even 135 pounds are a ridiculously easy way to accomplish that. I guess the real warm up would start at 185 pounds?

[Pistol Pete]

Besides the 200g of protein what is the rest of your diet like cause 10lbs in 2 months isn't a lot but the numbers are still impressive.

[Tiburon]

my new belt and shoes.

Belt for the press too?

[IWillLiveFreeOrDie]

My diet is fairly simple. I do a shake every morning, and sometimes at night before bed. I us 3 scoops of ON Gold Standard Whey and 2% milk. That gives me 86 grams of protein per shake. This is what I ate so far today.

Shake for breakfast plus a pot of coffee and an extra 8 ounces of milk.
2 ounces of walnuts for a snack.
2 Burger King double quarter pounder cheese burgers. 100 grams of protein for $2.13
Cheese stuffed olives and pickled garlic for a snack.
3 pieces of fried chicken and 1 Sam Adams Noble Pils.
16 ounces Chobani plain greek yogurt with 3 ounces of chopped almonds before bed.

To give you a reference, I used to weigh 148 pounds several years ago when I was running all the time. Then I got married, and turned into a 200 pound fat ass. A couple of months ago I decided to lose 25 pounds or so doing strict Atkins. That way I could focus on gaining weight.

@Tiburon, yeah I left the belt on for the press and it felt good!

[IWillLiveFreeOrDie]

January 27th 2010
Body Weight 190 pounds

Squat

45X10X2
135X10
185X5
225X5
275X3
330X5
330X5
330X4
I pussied out on the last rep.

Bench

45X10
135X5X2
185X1
155X5X3
Left elbow giving my trouble so I backed the weight down.

Deadlift

135X5
225X2
275X1
305X1
Pussied out again. I tried to pull 325, and it wouldn't budge. I'm having issues with locking my back out, and preventing it from rounding. This is a combination of bad technique and poor grip strength.

I took video of myself this morning. My workouts always suck when I video. It just seems distracting. I'm noticed that I had problems keeping my knees out during the squat. They would want to wobble inwards on the up drive. I'll focus Friday on keeping them pushed out. The depth looked really good.

I still having issues with my left elbow/shoulder. The really need to lock my form down because I think that is what led to my injury several weeks ago. I tried 185, and after 1 rep decided to back the weight down, and focus on form. I'm hoping to be back in action next week. 3 weeks ago I was benching 200X5X3 so these weights are really disappointing.

I need to focus on my deadlift. This is getting ridiculous. I'm confident that it is due to poor form/technique. I'm having a lot of trouble locking my back out, and preventing it from rounding. My grip strength needs a lot of work as well. Next week I plan to really focus on the deadlift, and get my numbers up. I should be pulling at least 350 right now, but I'm too much of a pussy. I know it is mental.

[IWillLiveFreeOrDie]

January 29th 2010
Body Weight 193 pounds

Squat

45X10X2
135X10X2
185X5
225X5
275X3
335X2X3

Squats sucked this morning. I couldn't keep the bar from sliding down my back. My elbows/shoulders were getting sore again. For some reason I am having a difficult time keeping the bar racked.

Press

45X10
95X5
115X5
125X5X3

Press felt a lot better today. I'm hoping to be back to 145 in 2 weeks.

I should have done my power cleans, but I ran out of time and energy. Having a newborn in the house is wrecking my sleep, and getting up to feed him at 3:30 or 4:00 AM is starting to catch up to me. I'm going to get as much rest as possible this weekend, and hit the weights hard again on Monday.

[Mr.City]

Those are some nice squats, especially for your bw. And you haven't programmed a light squat day yet? Wow