My Starting Strength log

[KAG]

Squat:

135lbs 5x3

Bench:

155lbs 5x3

Close-grip bench:

140lbs 5x3

I had fairly decent bounce out of the bottom of the squat and all bench reps were paused 1+ seconds on the chest.

I'm going to have to get used to doing two lifts per day. Even with just 135 and 155, by the end I was gassed. Squatting three times per week will be an experience also.

[KAG]

Squat

140lbs 5x3 + 140x1 to change camera angle for depth check

Press

95lbs 5x3

Chin-ups

3x3

Rolled out of bed, stretched, and lifted without anything to eat. Less than ideal. I was really stiff and stretching didn't help much. I am not going to like these days where I lift right out of bed.

Squats didn't go very well. Barely made depth on the 1st set, borderline on every rep. Apparently I was still warming up. Hit depth on every rep 2nd and 3rd set but it wasn't smooth and had no rebound out of the bottom. Felt sluggish by the last set.

Press went well. All reps paused on the chest and started from a halt. 95lbs was probably a little too light to start, 100 or 105 may have been better, but better safe than sorry.

Chin-ups went alright. From a full hang. 1st set went well, 2nd set not so much. Didn't rest enough. 3rd set went as well as 1st set. Added an extra minute of rest. On days where I have more time I will have to start doing 3x5 or 5x5.

[KAG]

Squat

145 - 5x3

Bench

160 - 5x3

Deadlift

250 -5x1

20 hour day, 17 hours at work,4 hours of sleep, hadn't eaten in 13 hours prior to lifting. Stiff, sore, sluggish.

Did 2 extra warm-up sets in the squat and it didn't do much but make me more tired. Hit average depth on 1st set, good depth on 2nd and 3rd set. Form was a mix of good and bad. Exhaustion hit hard.

Bench did not go well. Had my head where the sun doesn't shine and forgot to warm-up. Just threw on 160 and lifted. 1st set reminded me of this. Won't happen again. Left elbow was sore. Despite my gaff I got a good pause on the 1st set, but 2nd set was not paused. By the 3rd set I was repping as quick as possible without bounce, except last rep. Paused #5, but barely made it up.

Deadlifts went okay. Back felt good, legs felt surprisingly good. It was my hands which didn't appreciate it. Hadn't deadlifted in a while. Originally planned 5x3, but after 1 set my hands were ready to stop and so was I. Hopefully next week I can get at least 5x2.

Now that I've had a ton of catfish, half a bacon cheeseburger, fries, and peach cobbler with ice cream, I feel better.

[KAG]

Squat-

150lbs -5x3

Press-

100lbs -5x3

Chin-ups

3x3

Been up 18.5 hours at the time of lifting, 13 at work. Tired going in. Rushed workout. Only had 1 minute between each set. Not ideal, but livable for now.

Definitely going to have to do more slow stretching before hand. Was not pretty when I tried starting with the bar.

Left elbow keeps hurting on squats. I keep having to play with my arm position. Finding a good medium between tightness and pain can be difficult at times.

Good depth and rebound out of the bottom of the squat. Definitely feeling the hamstrings and glutes a lot more lately and the quads a lot less. As I work into this better squat form my knees ache less. No ache at all today. No pressure or even the sense of lifting weight at all on my knees. Able to keep my breath good and deep and my back straight. 150 felt good, only snag was being exhausted before I lifted.

The 100lbs press was easy. Left elbow gave me some problems on the later reps but nothing serious. On the last set I narrowed my grip and it helped a lot. Smooth and easy reps. Could definitely go to 110 Friday but I won't. Better to ease into things.

Chin-ups went very well despite the left elbow. In fact the elbow felt better after chins.

Now for a little sleep before I head back to work.

[slowjoe]

Hi Kag,

Could you put age/training age/weight/height into the first post, please?

Careful with the left elbow, http://mobilitywod.blogspot.com/ has some ideas, especially http://mobilitywod.blogspot.com/2010...and-darth.html

Also check that you aren't supporting the bar with bent wrists.

Anyway, good luck with your lifting.

[KAG]

Squat -

155lbs-5x3

Bench -

165lbs-5x3

Close grip bench -

150lbs-5x3

16 hour day prior to lifting, 14 at work. Tired. Wanted to sleep when I got home but knew I couldn't lift later if I did.

Stretching again was ugly but ended up working out alright.

1st set of squats was slow and sluggish on the accent. 2nd and 3rd set went really well, quick and explosive accent. Slightly winded afterward but felt good. Good depth and rebound. Knees feel good. Hams and hips feel like they've been raped.

Elbow is still slightly sore, but from the last workout, not today. Today I got it just right. No pressure, no pain. Adjusted the grip and managed a good lift with no discomfort.

1st and 2nd set of the bench were nightmares. It felt HEAVY. Couldn't pause a single rep and had to "touch and go" all 5 reps. Felt week and shaky afterward. Took 2 minutes of rest and reset really tight and firm. 3rd set went great. Paused every rep. Weight felt average and I felt like I could do 3 more sets paused.

Close grip bench went really well. All reps paused. Narrowed my grip a little and it made a lot of difference. It really hit my triceps hard. Reps were good. Definitely going to keep using this narrowed grip.

Slowjoe, I'll check out all that tonight, but for now it's sleep time...........

[KAG]

Squat

160lbs -5x3

Press

105lbs -5x3

Deadlift

260lbs -5x1

What would have been a good day of sleep was ruined by work calling every couple of hours. I hate being an on-call supervisor. Woke up with the right side of my neck stiff and sore again. Hurts through my right shoulder all the way up to the base of my skull. Thought it had passed. Must have slept crooked.

It is cooling down, garage was cooler than it's been, so warming up isn't going as well.

Squats were the usual. 1st set was rough, 2nd a little better, 3rd decent. Got good depth, just not much rebound. Slow reps. A little ache, probably from temperature drop. Weight wasn't a problem.

Press went okay. 1st set went fine except the last rep where my left elbow hurt a little and made it hard to lock out. Didn't hurt during squat at all though. 2nd and 3rd set were good.

Deadlifts are more difficult than they should be. More tired when I deadlift than I was used to. Hands felt okay today, just tired. Reps were pulled smoothly, just took more times to set between reps than I liked.

[KAG]

Squat

165lbs -5x3

Bench

170lbs -5x3

Close grip bench

155lbs -5x3

14 hours at work, 40 total from Friday through Sunday night. Exhausted. Only ate once per night, didn't even get to finish last nights meal.

Despite being active all night, warming up was not easy.

Squats started like usual, first set was rough, second slightly better, third good. By the third set I was spent. My last 2 reps were slow to the top and I was feeling it. This was the first time it was really work and was hard. If I can sleep and eat a little then I'll be fine Wednesday.

By the time I benched I was exhausted. My first set somehow was good with a good long pause. Second set was touch and go. Third set was paused the first 3 reps, then touch and go.

Close-grip bench was even worse. The first set was hard as hell. Paused, but barely got them up. Second set was touch and go. Third set was a nightmare. The bar barely made it each rep even doing them quickly.

And now, sleep............

[KAG]

Squat

-170lbs -5x3

Press

- 110lbs -5x3

No other accessory work. No time.

Cold, so squats were the usual, took forever to go well.

Had to use the belt for the first time. Felt my back wanting to round a little. With the belt the weight was easy.

Pres was easy, weight was light. Only issue was my right trap, shoulder, and neck hurt. Keep aggravating something there.

More later. Time to go to work now.

[KAG]

Squat

-175lbs -5x3

Bench

-175lbs -5x3

Deadlift

-270lbs -5x1

This was the first time working out in the cold. 40 degrees in my garage when I started. My lungs did not appreciate the cold air. I had to wear sweats and I need a space heater badly. Warm-ups were not good. But in the end it wasn't bad considering how much I hate breathing cold air.

Interrupted sleep and 20+ hour days have been hurting. So has poor nutrition.

Squats were the usual. I tried the first set without the belt and they were passable but not up to my standard. Second and third set were much better.

Bench was not good. My first set was decent with an average pause but I was shaky and the sore neck and trap made it hard to get set-up tight. 2nd and 3rd set had a better set-up but I was spent and shaky, so they were almost all touch and go.

Deadlifting went well. No belt. I didn't do touch and go sets, instead I let the bar go and reset every rep. Some might say that is 5 singles, but I'd rather do 5 quality singles than 5 sloppy reps where I lose form throughout the lifts. Weight went up smooth. Good form, tight back, shoulders back, no hitch.