Ello's log (The quest to be the hulk never ends...)

[Ello]

Background info:

* 23 years old
* Currently a Nursing Student, which equates into me being sleep deprived at times, and nutrition can be just as bad...
* History of weightlifting (8-9 years) - nothing ever serious though. First 4 years were for high school football where I was taught nothing about form but told to lift heavy. the next 5 years were me following programs that I thought would get me bigger (bodybuilding...)


Anyhow, started Starting Strength in Dec of 2009 and it ended in July of 2010 because of school/life/relocation. My lifts were as follows (all numbers are listed in terms of pounds and 5RM)

Bodyweight: 190 ---> 220
Squat: 185 --> 315 (form was crap at 315 though)
Bench (Neglected and substituted for Incline because I'm dumb...)
Deadlift: 225 ---> 425
Press: 95 ---> 165

My numbers fluctuated highly during this training period because 1) I didn't read the book completely, 2) I didn't follow the program completely, 3) At some point I was obsessed with losing weight and modified the program accordingly.

Anyway, fastforward into October of 2010, I resumed SS. I read the books, threw out any desires of getting "lean" for the time being, and just dedicated myself to getting strong.

Bodyweight: 230 --> 235
Squat: 185 --> 330
Deadlift 225 --> 365
Bench: 185 ---> 225 (Piercing bicep pain/weakness that I'm trying to workout)
Press 135 ---> 175

Currently, I find myself still making progress on most of my lifts:

5 lbs on the squat, 10 lbs on the deadlift, and 2-3 lbs on the press. My bench sucks because of the bicep pain mentioned above.

So, yeah, this log is way overdue, but I just never got around to it. I have a years with of info on my actual log, but I'm not going to write it all out. I figure I'll start with todays workout.

05/15/11 Edit:

All time PRs

Squat: 345 x 5 x 3
Deadlift: 415 x 5 x 1
Bench: 270 x 5 x 3
Press: 195 x 5 x 3
Chins: ?
Pullups: ?

[Ello]

So today was my first day squatting with a reset. (345 to 305) Tried the 345 workout twice but just didn't have it in me to finish. As of late, I've had a hard time keeping my back/hamstrings tight. Might just be fatigue...

Squat
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 2
(305 x 5) for 3 sets.
I goodmorning'd a couple of those squats. I really have to fix that.

Press
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
(185 x 5) x 3 (A new PR!)
Should have a video posted of these in the Q&A section soon. I fear that I have a bit too much back lean, but we'll see.

Deadlift
185 x 2
225 x 2
275 x 2
315 x 2
385 x 6 (PR)
Reps felt too slow, and I was resting too much in between reps. Really and truly, I need to post these in the Q&A section for a form evaluation. But, in the meantime, I'm going to reset back to 345.

Helped put away weights around the gym for about 15 minutes. I workout for free there, so I figure it's the least I can do.

Pullups
(3 x 15) x 3
Same as always. Nothing surprising with these.

[Ello]

Background info:
I had my dad with me today. He's finally decided to get into shape. So part of my warmup/workout was spent teaching him the lifts from ground up. This is going to be interesting.

Warmup:
Double Unders with Shoulder dislocations along with an assortment of other movements (Body squats, pushups, etc)

Squat
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 4
185 x 4
225 x 3
275 x 2
310 x 5 x 3.
Second day in the deload. Felt pretty good. Back felt better. Felt less of a stall in my lifts, but I felt rather uncontrolled on a couple of the lifts (hit the saftey bar on the way down). I need to focus on staying tight and controlled throughout the entire lift - no bobbling or early rise of the chest. Just need to pick a point on the wall and focus on it as I drive my hips up.

Bench
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
235 x 5 x 3 (PR)
Same situation with my squat. They felt better, but I really need to get a video of these up. Like my squat, I feel like there's a unnecessary pause in my lift. This could be due to the bicep pain, but I need to get over that and work past it.

Chins
2 x BW
2 x BW
5 x 17.5lbs x 3 (PR)
Solid. Nothing to say here.

F. Walks
(30 steps x 85lbs) x 3 (PR)
Grip felt solid. Right forearm felt a larger pump than my left.

Overall, I just need to remember one thing: KEEP THE DAMN FORM TIGHT.

[Ello]

So, yeah, missed 3 days of working out because of the holy trifecta of failure. I messed up my nutrition, sleep, and I missed a workout. Oh well. Back in it today!

Warmup:
Double unders, Shoulder dislocations, Airsquats, Pushups

Squat
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 5
240 x 5 (Switched over to a different rack)
275 x 5
Walkout with 365 (held for like 5 seconds)
315 x 5 x 3
Form, according to my training partner, was better than last week, but it's always back to the same thing: my chest drops. The last set felt more solid. I think what's going on is my hips are rising without bearing the load like they should. On set 3, I tried to correct this, and from what my training partner said. They looked better. We'll see next workout

Press
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
190 x 5 x 3 (PR)

http://www.youtube.com/?v=tNMlPtXNDiw

The above video is my third set. As you can see, there is some layback. I'll get the full critique from Mark soon hopefully.

Static Holds
135 x 15secs
185 x 15
240 x 15secs x 3 (PR)
Nothing special here. Hoping to learn the hook grip soon. Need to look into that

Weight Dips (32.5 lbs)
3 sets of 5 (PR)
Nothing special. Form was tight. Shoulders were tired from Pressing!

[nkelman]

Thanks for checking out my log mate.

I checked your press video, I would have said what mark said.

Your pressing stupid amounts though, 195lbs for 3x5, i will be happy if I make it to that by the end of the year

[Ello]

Thanks for checking out my log mate.

I checked your press video, I would have said what mark said.

Your pressing stupid amounts though, 195lbs for 3x5, i will be happy if I make it to that by the end of the year

Anytime man. It was a good read =P.

As for the press, I'm not sure why it's going well for me. I guess it's just one of those lifts I'm good at it. Kind of like you and your dips and bench!

[nkelman]

fuck mate, i read your comment on my log last night (while shitting), and thought to myself. I always liked lifting weights, im dedicated now and more knowledgable now, so why cant i have what i want?

Im on my way to pick up a power rack in an hour!

Ill chuck up a picture in a few hours, check it out in my log.

[Carnivroar]

hey man nice numbers, your press is totally bitchin

[Ello]

fuck mate, i read your comment on my log last night (while shitting), and thought to myself. I always liked lifting weights, im dedicated now and more knowledgable now, so why cant i have what i want?

Im on my way to pick up a power rack in an hour!

Ill chuck up a picture in a few hours, check it out in my log.

Haha, I'm glad you can get one man. Especially since you're lacking a competent training partner (or just a training partner at all), it's vital that you have something that can catch your squats when you go to failure. I look forward to seeing your progress, and let me know how your apprenticeship turns out as well! I always thought wood work was cool

hey man nice numbers, your press is totally bitchin

Thanks Carni. According to Rip, I need to shorten up the grip a bit, so I'm gonna reset it a little so I can get the form down.

[Ello]

Warmup:
Double Unders, Shoulder dislocations, dynamic stretching. Warm up kind of suck today. Gym was crowded.

Squat:
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 2
365 Walkout
320 x 5 x 3
First rep was crap. Chest kept dropping. Didn't feel as tight as I should be. Cue that helped me: KNEES OUT (Focused on keeping them out on the descent - not sure if that was appropriate but it helped ...I think) and CHEST UP.
2nd and 3rd set were better. Bad habit I have to get rid of - STOP LOOKING AT THE MIRROR. Something I have to work on =/

Bench
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
275 Unrack (I'm falling in love with unracking the bar but not lifting prior to my workset)
240 x 5 x 3 (PR)
Pretty solid bench I feel. Need to get a vid posted, but although it's slow it feels great. I may be "bouncing" the bar off of my chest too much. I need to slow it down more and have the bar touch my chest in a controlled fashion.

Deadlift
135 x 3
225 x 3
315 x 2
395 x 6 (PR)
I had said early in my log that I was going to deload a bit, but I knew that I shouldn't. I had managed all the reps really, so there was no excuse not to go up in weight. Felt solid too. They went up with ease. Grip was a problem at the top. Felt like it was slipping. Not sure if that was because of the alternate grip or me not setting my hands properly. We'll get a video of this soon

Pullups (Not enough time...will do these tomorrow)

Things I need to focus on
Squats:CHEST UP, LOOK DOWN - NOT AT THE MIRROR, KNEES OUT, KEEP IT TIGHT. Reread squat chapter.
Bench: Controlled descent (no bounce), Wrists straight
Deadlift: Set my grip better

Overall: 2 new PRs. Today was a good day.