Nick's SS Log

[duckumu]

Hi. I've been lurking on these forums for a while. I've only been logging my training in a spreadsheet (and recently on fitocracy for the cool graphs) and I'm at the point in my LP where shit is getting real and I could probably use some community feedback/support to keep me from screwing everything up.

About me: Male, 28, 5'6", ~200 lb, Brooklyn. I've been lifting for about a year and a half. Before that I was a crossfitter for a few months (and 150 pounds), which was my introduction to barbell training and olympic weightlifting. Before that I was a casual runner / elliptical user. And before that I was completely sedentary, weak, and sad.

This is my third go at Starting Strength since I started lifting, and I'm determined to see my novice LP through to intermediate programming so that I'm not ever left wondering how far I could have gotten on SS. My overall goal is to not be a weakling and to use my training as an exercise in self discipline, which I lack. And I have a few friends from the local lifting community here whose logs I lurk and I'd like to be more in touch with them.

I started my current SS cycle in late December, after a long break from back squatting (strained QL). After lots of PT and massage, my QL pain is really diminished and I think squatting has actually made things even better. I'm currently doing pretty well in my progression and setting PRs on all of my lifts.

I lift on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at about 2pm each day. I've found that lifting at a big box gym near my office/home has helped a lot with my consistency. The gyms have squat racks & bumper plates, and some even have platforms and olympic bars (which are usually beat up, but work). And the steam rooms/whirlpools are nice.

Starting lifts
Squat: 250 (3x5)
Deadlift: 290x4
Press: ~90 (3x5)
Bench: 140 (3x5)
Power clean: 155x3

[duckumu]

Most recent workout: Saturday, 3/9/2013

Squat: 265x5 - 265x5 - 265x5 (PR)
These went well. Only rep I had to bust ass on was the last rep of the last set. But it felt about as heavy as 260 did, which felt about as heavy as 255 did.

Bench: 155x5 - 155x5 - 155x5 (PR)
I wouldn't say these are heavy, but I'm starting to really want a spotter just so I can have a bit more confidence getting through them.

Clean: 140x3 - 140x2, 140x1F
This is the only lift that isn't going great for me. 155 is my PR for reps, and this was a deload. I think I was just exhausted from squatting and benching. But I also think I might just want to go down to doubles for these, or work up to one heavy set and try to push that up weekly. I dunno.

Pendlay Rows: 145x10 - 145x10 - 145x10
I do these after cleans sometimes, usually not so many, but cleans didn't go well and I can crank these out without worrying about technique too much.

Recovery
I want to log this in some fashion but not sure how. If lifting isn't something I have a natural talent for, recovery at least is. I can sleep like a toddler and eat a lot of food, and I do.

[duckumu]

Today

Squat: 270x5 - 270x5 - 270x5 (PR)
These were really heavy and it caught me off guard. And this is after two full days of no lifting and what I thought was great recovery. But I still did them and I plan to go onto 275.

Press: 105x5 - 105x5 - 105x5 (PR)
I decided to add 5lb to my press instead of 2.5lb. We'll see if that was a bad idea, since I was chugging along on my microload. But I got these done. Maybe I'll try 110 next time and see if I can make 5 pound jumps for a bit. I am really pleased with this because I was stuck at a ~90lb press for a very long time.

Deadlift: 315x5 w/ straps on last 4 reps (PR)
I was completely exhausted by the time I got to these. My 295x1 warmup fell out of my hands, which didn't really bode well for my work set. I hadn't used straps up until now but I thought it would be a good idea to try it for my work set. This is a 15 pound jump from last week because I really wanted to try 315 - a long held goal. But I don't really feel like I own 315 until I do it without straps, and this set took a long time (2-3 minutes) -- too much resting/recalibrating. So I'll increase again next week, maybe only 5 pounds, and try to do it all with my hands. And maybe do some gripper work in between.

Face Pulls (w/ Rope) - 45x25 - 50x25 - 55x20

[duckumu]

3/14/2013

Was feeling really beat down today, and I didn't have much time to be at the gym. So, I decided to go light on just my squats for the day, and I'll make my 5-lb jump to 275 on Saturday.

Squat: 225x5 - 225x5
This felt surprisingly heavy, even right out of the rack. After this, I did two squat walkouts -- one at 275 (my next squat) and one at 295.

Bench: 160x5 - 160x5 - 160x5 (PR)
Pretty nice PR considering my old 1RM before this cycle was 155. I didn't expect bench presses to continue to go so well at this point. These went up fine -- didn't even feel heavy, and the last set felt lightest. May be because I asked for a spotter today, boosting my focus/confidence under the bar.

Dips: 6 - 6 - 5
I got more last week, but not much more. I think doing dips after benching is just a lot harder than after pressing.

Called it a day after this. I was happy to leave with a good bench press.

[Haggit]

Have to say, nice squat man. Much better than mine.

A tip with the bench.... try setting the pins in the power rack to about chest level on a bench and see if you can get a full ROM with it still so you can fail and set it on the pins. Its how I do it and have failed a great many benches.

[duckumu]

Have to say, nice squat man. Much better than mine.

A tip with the bench.... try setting the pins in the power rack to about chest level on a bench and see if you can get a full ROM with it still so you can fail and set it on the pins. Its how I do it and have failed a great many benches.

Thanks Haggit... Good to know about the bench.. I've never tried it in a rack with pins!

[duckumu]

Today. Not so great.

Squat: 275x5 - 275x3 - 235x3
I was ready for this weight. The first set went pretty ok -- it was heavy but felt doable. Second set... I just lost control on the 4th rep, and had to bail it (and forgot to set a pin on the right side of the rack, so, not a very elegant bail). I should have attempted a third set but I did not. I am going to try this one more time (Tuesday's workout) and if I can't hit this weight I will deload. I have run this cycle of SS for 3 months without a deload so I think a little break couldn't hurt.

Press: 107.5x4 - 107.5x4 - 107.5x4
Missed the last rep on each set. I'll try this weight again next time and see what happens.
Note: I am still doing the 2nd edition press without hip drive or layback, reps starting from the top.

Power Clean: 135x3 - 135x3 - 135x3
This is a light weight for me because I am deloading back to this point and fixing up my form the best I can.

Pendlay Rows: 155x5 - 155x5 - 155x5
Because why not.

Dips: 6 - 8 - 9
Huh. This was interesting. These went up like magic. I've never done more than 7 reps before. I am getting close to the 10-10-10 I want before I start loading these.

[Haggit]

You're welcome :-)

[duckumu]

Today:

Squat: 275x5 - 275x5 - 275x5 (PR)
These were heavy. Last rep of first set I came forward and completely froze on the ascent, but I broke through. Second set was pretty smooth. Third set was really tough. But I did it -- so on to 280.

Bench press: 165x5 - 165x5 - 165x5 (PR)
These weren't even heavy. They just went up. No grind. 165 is higher than my old 1RM. I thought I'd be microloading by now. Really happy with this lift.

I was supposed to deadlift today but ran out of time -- had to get back to work. I think I might just do them tomorrow as their own thing, then do my next workout on Friday.

I'll be doing chins tonight at home. By that I mean my one chinup which I've managed to maintain.

[duckumu]

Today. I only had about an hour to work out, including showering and changing, which put me in a really bad mood that only got worse.

Squat: 235x4 - 235x4
I clearly didn't have time for my regular progression today. I'll have to do 280 in my next workout this weekend.

Press: 107.5x5 - 107.5x5 - 107.5x5 (PR)
On the bright side, I did get my press which I missed last time. Not sure how meaningful that is -- this was a different gym from my last attempt so the bar and plates were all different. But I am logging it as my PR and moving onto 110. Very happy my press is continuing to move up. I was stuck at ~90lb for so long.

Dips: 1 set of 9 reps
I wanted to do three sets but ran out of time. God dammit. Plus my shoulder was hurting from these -- my gym doesn't have a dip stand with nice close bars.

I left the gym sweating and cursing.