SMitzma's log: Putting the extra poundage to good use.

[SMitzma]

Ever since I was 10 years of age, I have been overweight. Unlike most of you here who have had trouble putting the weight on, I've had trouble trying to take it off. I messed around with diets and workout routines throughout the years with no real results in sight.

Instead of boring you with my prior failures, I'll shoot straight to last few months. I started a Paleo type diet back in February and decided to do some p90x along with it. Between my paleo diet and the workout program, I brought my weight down from 255 to 230. My lowest in the last few years has been 220, but that was in 2002. I got through 8 weeks of p90x and realized it was making me weaker rather than stronger. I wanted size and strength, and that wasn't going to happen jumping around an hour a day.

I've read about starting strength for a couple of years, and even half ass incorporated some of it into my workouts two years ago. I bought the book and PPST2 and have been on the program for 5 weeks so far.

My stats so far:

Age:24
Height: 5' 11''
Body weight: 230 ---> 235
Body Fat %: Unknown, but I'm guessing its hovering around 25%

Squats: 95 ---> 225 (previous best of 185 on a Smith machine without proper form)
Bench: 95 ---> 190 (previous best of 185)
Press: 55 ---> 110
Power Clean: 65 ---> 120
Deadlift: 135 ---> 290 (previous best of 185)

Today's exercise was workout A

Squats:
45
90
135
180
225 Work

This was the first time I ever had two 45's on each side of the bar. My squats in the past were always bullshit half ass attempts, and never ass to the grass, nor were they done in proper shoes or a proper stance.

Bench:
45
95
130
170
190 Work

This was by far my worst bench day ever. I have been stuck at 190 for two straight workouts. I may have to deload, which is unfortunate, but I can't seem to focus properly on keeping my form while benching. I even had to deload to 185, then 175 while in work set and still struggled.

Deadlifts:
115
170
245
290 work

Deadlifts went fine today. I tweaked my form a little because in the past, my arms were way too far apart on the bar, which caused some pain in my back and forearms. This was not the case today, and I noticed an increase in grip when my arms are closer in.

[SMitzma]

It should also be noted that I did something that could be viewed as either really fucking dumb, or mildly impressive.

Instead of doing the warmup sets properly (sets of 5, 5, 3, 2) I've been doing all in reps of 5, then doing my 3 work sets of 5 (except for deadlift 1 set of 5, I fucked that up the first few workouts, but they were light anyway).

This changed today to the proper way to do the program. I'll view it as a good thing since my lifts were low to begin with, and as I increase the weights I'm going to need that extra energy for the work sets.

[SMitzma]

Workout B


Squat:
45
90
135
180
230 Work sets

I have had slight discomfort in the lower left back right above my ass. I think I went down strange in my second set today as their is a dull pain around my left hip in the back. Otherwise, this set went pretty well, I would say it was better than my last set of squats on Wednesday.

Press:
45
60
80
95
115 Work Sets

This was by far my best press set. I revamped my grip a little bit more than the last time having half my thumb reach over the marking on the bar. It allowed me more stability. I also think doing the warm up sets properly allowed me to push the weight better. I also controlled my breathing better.

Power Clean:
45
65
85
105
125 Work sets

The power clean is still a work in progress, but I am trying my best to keep proper form. There are no bumper weights at my gym, so usually I have just allowed the weight to roll off my shoulders and catch it, jerking my shoulders. Today I changed this technique to dropping the weight the way described in the book for those who have no bumper weights. I might have to change gyms once my membership is up in august to a place that provides bumper weights, but who knows if I can find one that is affordable.


Note:

On Wednesday I added accesory chin-ups to my Workout A. I did them at night in my home since I have a pull up bar. I was able to do three sets of five, which I was impressed with since I havent been able to pull off more than 4 straight in awhile.

I also controlled my resting breaks better this time. I think this is my major problem with the bench since I rest only 2 minutes max. I will change this to at least 5 minutes between sets and go for 190 again on Sunday.

[SMitzma]

Today was a day of big achievements after a night of hard partying.


Workout A:

Squats:

45
90
140
185
235 Work Set

Achievement: Body Weight Squats achieved

Squats went ok today. The weight went up pretty easily during the first 4 reps on each work set, but the 5th was tough, especially for set 3. I attribute this to my lack of sleep and heavy drinking the night before.

Bench:

45
90
130
170
190 Work Set

Achievement: Surpassed 185 lbs., my highest bench press previous to SS.

I don't know what it was, but today I was able to get out 190x5x3 with little to no problems. I did make sure to take ample rest sessions between each set, so maybe that had something to do with it. Also, accessory chin ups were performed on Wednesday after benching, so this might have helped too. I will be doing them later today too.

Deadlift:

120
180
255
300 Work set

Achievement: 300 lb. deadlift x 5

I messed up by doing 180x5 instead of 3, but continued on until the work set. I can feel the weight getting more intense at this point. I feel that my form might have been off today, that might be due to exhaustion from the previous two exercises or the fact that the weight is just getting heavy.


Overall it was a decent workout. Now for a two day rest break...

[SMitzma]

Workout B

Squat:
45
95
140
190
240 Work

My first complete work set above body weight went well. The first of the three work sets felt like hell, which was probably due to the two day rest break. Sets 2 and 3 went fine. No pains, but I can feel the weight increasing on my traps.

Press:
45
65
80
100
120 Work

Presses have been getting better. The last set was hard but I was able to put up the weight for 5 reps, with the last one being difficult.

Power Clean:
45
70
90
110
130 Work

The work sets went well until set 4, where I actually failed to get rep 3 up. I put the weight down, walked away for a quick breather, then completed the set. Set 5 went fine though. I think my power clean form needs more work and will be focusing on that for the next B session.

[SMitzma]

Started to use creatine monohydrate yesterday. 5g in water last night, and once today prior to workout.

Breakfast: Ate 4 egg omelet with jarlsberg cheese. Had cherries for carbs.

Workout A

Squat
45
95
145
195
245 Work sets

Squats went well. The weight did not feel so bad on my back after adjusting to set 2. Set 3 was fine, but it did knock the shit out of my lower body strength, which helped set me up for..

Bench Press
45
95
135
175
195 Work sets

Bench exceeded my expectations. I was having trouble getting to 190, but 195 was fine. I have an issue of questioning myself on the bench, but today I put up the weight as if I have been doing 195 for a long time. Maybe this has to do with my change in technique: I have been trying my best to keep my back arched and traps contracted, until that form seems to break with the weight of the bar above me after a few reps.

Deadlift
120
185
260
310 Work Set x2 ..... 305 x3

Let me start off by saying toe cramps are fucking annoying, especially when you are trying to deadlift. On my right foot, my pinky, ring, and middle toe decided to cramp up on me by rep 2 on my work set. I thought to myself "Ok, just take 5 pounds off anyway since you have been increasing your lifts by 10 for DL's, its time to pull back" while trying to adjust my cramp to normalcy. I then completed the last 3 at 305, with the toe cramp crawling back. If those fucking toes didn't give me issues then this set would have been a success.

Anyone else have this issue, or know a solution? I actually wake up many nights with cramps in these toes and have absolutely no explanation. My only guess is lack of potassium.

[SMitzma]

I'm a bit behind, so i'll start with sundays B workout.

I should note that I do a 3-5 min. warm up on a stationary bike prior to each workout.

Workout B:

Squats
45
100
150
200
250 Work Sets

Overhead Press
45
65
85
105
125 Work Sets

I was having some trouble with the weight and had to break down my last two sets into 4, but I completed 15 reps. I might stick at this weight for next workout.

Power Clean
45
70
90
110
135 Work Sets

[SMitzma]

Today: Workout A

Squats:
45
100
150
200
255 Work Sets

I'm feeling the weight. The first set was pretty tough, but sets two and three were easier to handle. A huge guy who must be a boxer (people were asking him about his next fight) came over to give me a friendly warning that I may be leaning too far forward, and that he was concerned since he had two herniated discs. He suggested going down to parallel like box squat style. I explained how my routine focused more on hip flexion below parallel, and told him I appreciated his kind gesture of advice. He was impressed by the amount of weight I had on the bar though.

Bench Press
45
100
140
180
200 Work Sets - 200x5, 200x4 200x1, 200x4 200x1

For the last two sets, rep 4 was extremely difficult to put up. I was able to get it there, but it killed my confidence to bring the bar down to finish 5, especially with no spotter. I rested a minute and finished rep 5 after each set of 4. I may stick at this weight for my next session on Sunday.

Deadlift:
120
185
260
310 Work Set

This was the first time I felt like the gas tank was empty after the last rep on my work set. Luckily, no toe cramp problems today during my sets, but I still get them in the middle of the night from time to time.