Sousa's Strength Log

[Paul Sousa]

Just started back today after a three week down period. Planning on doing 16 weeks of SS and then see where to go from there. My goal is to get to at least 230 lbs. by February/March of next year. I am currently 6' and ~195-200 lbs.

My lift goals at the end of the 16 weeks are a 315x5 squat, 225x5 bench, 405x5 dead, 165x5 press and a 205x3 PC.

11/10/09:

Squat - 175x5x3

Bench - 155x5x3

Dead - 245x5x1

Felt really good and I have been working on hip mobility during my down time which has helped alot with my depth. The squats were not too tough but I need to stay focused on keeping my torso tight. The couple form issues I had were more of a lapse in focus than strength. Bench was really easy as I have the typical history of upper body bias in my training. Deads were also easy. Can't wait to see what kind of gains I make doing strictly SS. Last time I tried it I was also on two soccer teams and also played pick-up football regularly so I burned myself out quickly. I also didn't eat enough and didn't get adequate sleep. I'm not playing any soccer currently and thanks to 70sbig.com I have a solid grasp on my eating (I put on 12 pounds in two weeks at the start of October doing the CFWF program and eating alot).

[Paul Sousa]

11/12/09:

Squat - 180x5x3

Press - 115x5x3

PC - 135x3x5

Felt good, nice and light. Bodyweight is up to 204 so I am happy about that.

On a side note, this was my second time back to my old gym and it was pretty cool to see a couple younger guys come up to squat racks next to me and actually do legit deep squats. I can't remember a time there was three people doing real squats at the same time there.

[Paul Sousa]

11/14/09:

Squat - 185x5x3

Bench - 160x5x3

DL - 255x5x1

All sets completed without any issues. Thinking the bench started too light, but I'll keep making 5 lb. jumps and it should get heavy quick. DL again was really easy. Love eating a ton though.

[misspelledgeoff]

your stats are very close to mine when I started in August. I think your goals are well within reach. good luck.

[Paul Sousa]

Thanks Geoff! Looking at the numbers I have for a goal they seem almost unattainable, but I've seen enough people get there with hard training and eating so I'm confident I can get there.

[misspelledgeoff]

you will get there. just don't scrimp on the eating and do some form checks every once in awhile to make sure bad habits don't creap in. video taping yourself helps immensely. my squat should be in the mid 300's for worksets but I had to take a major reset because my form was shit.

out of curiousity, why are you planning on only 16 weeks of SS instead of milking the linear gains as long as you can?

Thanks Geoff! Looking at the numbers I have for a goal they seem almost unattainable, but I've seen enough people get there with hard training and eating so I'm confident I can get there.

[Paul Sousa]

The only reason for the 16 week period is so I can set goals to have by the end of that time. I may continue on SS after that, but I want to focus on the next 16 weeks. My wife is also due the end of February so 16 weeks puts me right around that time and I don't know what my schedule will end up being for a short while after that.

[misspelledgeoff]

gotcha. your first kid?

[JC400]

Keep up the good work Sousa! Those goals are definitely attainable. Just make sure you up the weight conservatively each session and you will be fine.

SS + ton of food and your lifts can only go up.

Look forward to watching your progress.

[Paul Sousa]

Yup, my first. And it's a boy. Can't wait to start training with him.

Thanks JC! I've been going with 10 lb. jumps on my DL each workout and 5lb jumps on squats, bench, press and PC with the expectation that I'll decrease to 2.5 lb. jumps on bench and press after not too long.

Random note, I seem to be naturally better at the press and DL than the other lifts for some reason. Does that make any sense? Not sure why as they are the two lifts I've probably focused on least in all my training (aside form PC).