Some Dude's Log

[somedude]

I'm 34. I used to be strong but now I am weak and it's getting irritating. Tasks that used to be simple now require thought and effort. It's demotivating.

I joined the army back in 1996. Been at it for awhile. You'd think being in the army would keep you fit, but the reality is that it's a heavy mill stone that slowly grinds you into the ground. It won't slow down for you, so you learn to roll one injury into the next and compensate for your shortcomings.

What's really motivating me is that it's very difficult to lead from the front when your fitness forces you to direct from the rear. I realize that the military is typically a young man's game, but young men need examples to follow, and I don't think my fitness has been setting a stellar example.

I did a bit of barbell/bodybuilding back in 2001. I read Schwarzenegger's Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding and followed the program it laid out but eventually got tired of the 2 hour sessions at the gym. Each day started with a powerlifting exercise and I grew to really like that part of the routine, but the need to hit every muscle group from multiple angles in isolation grew old. The worst was that I'd be deployed for a month with no way to maintain the routine... after one such deployment I decided that I didn't really want to do yet another reset and never went back to the gym.

This Dec (2012) I decided to use my Christmas leave to start a new program. I originally found a powerlifting style program in Men's Fitness that I did for a week, but while doing research into powerlifting on the internet I was eventually turned onto Starting Strength and started that immediately.

My short term goals are;
- hitting 900lbs combined (3x5, not 1RM),
- 300lb Squat,
- 200lb Bench,
- 400lb Deadlift,

Additionally
- 150lb Press
- 200lb Power Clean

Lastly, I'm looking to teach this program to my troops. The last few weeks of reading has taught me that the high rep pushup/situp/etc style training the army loves to do are not only not that beneficial, but are actually counter-productive when measured over a period of years. I'm kind of experimenting on myself so I know what to expect once they start it themselves. Once the program has been underway for awhile I plan on introducing various strongman style GPP elements into the PT schedule.

Stats for 13 Dec 12:
Age: 34
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 197lbs
BF: ?

---------------Week 1---------------

17 Dec 2012

Squat - 125
Bench - 125
DL - 125
Press - 85
P. Clean - 95

- I started the program before I bought the SS book and wound up doing the 5RM baseline all in one day. I also skipped the first two week template and went right to power clean. Starting to regret it now as my squat and deadlift have developed at a similar rate.

19 Dec 2012

Squat - 125 (+0)
Bench - 125/115/115 (-10)
DL - 130 (+5)

BW - 202.5
BF - 21%

- I was pretty tired this day so I didn't perform very well.

21 Dec 2012

Squat - 165 (+40)
Press - 95 (+10)
P Clean - 135 (+40)

- I was feeling a lot more rested this day. After I completed the initial warmup the work weights felt like a joke so I added a bit more weight until I felt more comfortable.

---------------Week 2---------------

24 Dec 2012

Squat - 185 (+20)
Bench - 145 (+30)
DL - 205 (+75)

- Again, after the warmup the weight felt too light so I upped it until I felt comfortable. I'm not so sure this is strength gain so much as it is me getting all 8 cylinders firing again.

27 Dec 2012

Squat 195 (+10)
Press - 105 (+10)
P Clean - 140 (+5)

BW - 200.5lbs
BF - 20.8%

- The weight on the squats still feels a bit light, but at this point I'm getting worried about whether or not larger increases might be counter-productive and keep it more moderate.
- The form on my cleans sucks. I've been racking the weights on my wrists (forearms vertical) instead of the shoulders/chest (forearms horizontal). I'll have to fix this.

29 Dec 2012

Squat - 215 (+20)
Bench - 155 (+10)
Deadlift - 230 (+25)

- Said, "F*ck moderation" and added more weight anyway. Probably my best workout. All my forms locked up solid and I felt like a machine.

---------------Week 3---------------

31 Dec 2012

Squat - 225 (+10)
Press - 115 (+10)
P Clean - 145 (+5)

- Not sure what happened this day, but I couldn't keep my form tight and I felt like a wet noodle. Things stayed like that until about halfway through the power cleans when things started to tighten up and I finished feeling good.

02 Jan 2013


Squat - 235 (+10)
Bench - 165 (+10)
Deadlift - 260 (+30)

BW - 205.6lbs
BF - 23%

- Squats are starting to feel heavy.
- Bench has never been my strong point. I spent some extra time studying the form and learned I had my elbows pointed out at the bottom. Switched things up and things are feeling more solid.
- Deadlifts... I didn't do the first two weeks of the program correctly so my squats (225) had almost caught up to my deadlifts (230). I did a bit bigger lift in an effort to increase the gap in weight between them bit more. Really had to pull for this one. Seems my grip isn't much better than 260 as I finished the set with the bar on my fingertips.
- I think I might do some grip training following power cleans next workout.

[somedude]

04 Jan 13

Squat - 245 (+10)
Press - 125x1, 115x4, 115x5, 115x5 (+0)
Clean - 150 (+10)

- Couldn't press 125. Dropped back to 115 and struggled for 4. Took a 3 minute rest and did the last two sets at 115. I have two days rest this weekend so I think I'm going to try 125 again next Wednesday.

- Over the last number of workouts I've noticed that I do terrible at everything for about 20 minutes after I'm done my squats, after which my energy returns and I find it easier to maintain form. This typically means that my benches/presses are crap along with the first few warmup sets of deads/cleans. Not sure if I should integrate a break between squats and the remainder of the session or just keep pushing it until my recovery time improves.

- I'm having trouble getting the clean form down correctly. During the warmup the weight is light enough that the second pull isn't needed, and although I go through the motions the bar offers no resistance and racking on my shoulders feels forced and uncomfortable. It isn't until I hit about 135lbs that the bar starts getting heavy enough to pull properly, and once that happens the motion seems super natural and the bar racks properly across my shoulders. I did 4 sets of 2 at 135 trying to un-f*ck my form before moving to 150 and completing the work set. I'm thinking about reducing/eliminating lower weights from the warmup so that my starting weight requires proper form from the first pull.

[somedude]

07 Jan 13

Squat - 255x5x3 (+10)
Bench - 175x5x2, 175x0, 165x5 (+10/+0)
Deadlift - 295x4 (+35)

This article helped me a lot.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_..._for_power&cr=

Squat - I already have an anterior pelvic tilt that I've been working to correct, so I'd been trying to straighten my back too much, causing a lot of low back muscle fatigue in the process. After reading the article I just left it with it's natural curve and finished with no back stress. Sweet!

Bench - I have an old injury in my left bicep. It woke up on the second set at 175. The third set went straight down to the safety bars on the first rep. Dropped 10lbs and finshed the set @ 165.

Deadlift - I was only planning on 290 but I couldn't find the 2.5lb weights and chose to go 5lbs heavier instead of lighter. I think that if I'd done a bit of soul searching and dug a little deeper I could've gotten that 5th rep, but in the split second between lifting it about an inch and setting it back down I didn't have much time to think about it. On the plus side my grip was rock solid, and like the squat my back feels totattly unstressed.

[somedude]

08 Jan 13

Morning PT
- 45 minutes of sprint drills (20m sprints w/ ladders, hurdles and cone drills)

09 Jan 12

Morning PT
- 45 minutes of medicine ball work.

Afternoon PT
Squat - 265 (+10)
Press - 125 (+10)
Clean - 155 (+10)

Since returning to work on Monday my diet fell apart and my carb intake went up, subsequently I'm noticing that I have more energy during workouts and that I don't feel as drained afterwards.

Squat Set #3 of 3 - Little high on the first rep. Corrected and dug deeper for the rest.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zdy7e906k6...%2006%20PM.mov

[somedude]

10 Jan 13

Morning PT
3.2km ruck march, 40lb pack

[somedude]

11 Jan 13

Morning PT
- No morning PT (yay!)

Afternoon PT
Squats - 275x5x3 (+10)
Bench - 135x5x2 (-40)
Deadlift - 295x5 (+0lbs, +1 Rep)

I think I set the bar too low on my shoulders during the squats. I felt it slip down on the second set, and by the third set my shoulders felt stretched and had something similar to a lactic acid burning going on. Due to the pain in my shoulders the most I managed during bench warmup was 135, so I did my three sets at that weight.

I tried to move up to 315 on the deadlift but only got it a few inches off the ground. Dropped 20lbs to 295 and finished the set.

Not sure if my issue is under-recovery or under-eating (I suspect it's a bit of both). I've noted that during the past three Fridays I'm exhausted after squats and struggle to finish the remainder of the workout. This week I've also struggled to adapt my new diet around my work schedule and dropped 5lbs. I'm going to have to put some thought into how I'll adjust progression to continue moving forward.

[somedude]

14 Jan 13

Morning PT
Light cardio & core

Afternoon PT
Squat - 280 (+5)
Bench - 155
Chins - 1
Back Ext - 10x3
GHR - 1x3

On Friday my grip slipped during the final deadlift, which developed into wrist tendonitis on Saturday. I iced and rested it until the pain subsided. Today I tried doing chin-ups with wrist straps to reduce the strain but it aggravated my left forearm so I'm going to have to lay off pulling for a bit while this heals. Word is it takes about 6 weeks to heal and that I should be able to start light pulling with straps once the inflammation goes down.

I can only manage one rep on the GHR machine so I'm doing 10 back extensions and following them with a single GHR rep to finish the set. Going to work my way up to reps of 10.

[somedude]

16 Jan 13

Morning PT
4km ruck march, 40lb packs

Afternoon PT
Squats - 285 (+5)

I only did squats today figuring it wouldn't bother my forearm/finger flexors. I was wrong. Going to skip the next two workouts (Friday and Monday) in an effort to give them a rest. On Wednesday I'll make a judgement call.

[driveclimbslide]

Next time you do squats check to make sure your wrists aren't under the bar trying support the weight. I'm having a very similar thing happen right around the elbows and discovered my squats were the cause. Might help.

[somedude]

I know the pain you mention, but that's more in the elbow and this is in the forearm. It's the muscles that pull my fingers closed into a fist, so I can't grip anything without aggravating them... and apparently they're also involved in wrist flexion, so I can't hold my wrist straight without using them, making squatting more or less impossible right now unless I can find some ghetto way to hold the bar in place without using any grip strength.