Tiger's SS Log: From Pussycat to Wolverine

[Tiger]

First off, if anyone has any feedback, I'd be more than grateful for it. The more I get back from myself, the mirror and others, the better I can adjust my training. I tend to ramble, so please bear with me, it's the PR major coming out in me.

I'm 22 years old, 5'4", 130 lbs, and skinnyfat. Got a bit of a belly, but it may be due to horribly weak abs, so hopefully as my lifts increase, that'll take care of itself. A six pack is not my goal right now, overall strength and muscle gains are.

My goal: basically look like Wolverine and be about as strong. Not sure how big to get. Being a small guy and all, I know I can gain too much fat if I don't watch everything.

I started off with SL 5X5 on 2/19, but then came across SS and have been doing it since 3/5. I'm using SS until I stall completely, then I'll probably do Crossfit, but I'll decide that when the time comes.

Current calories: ~2400 lifting days, ~2000-2100 off days. I don't know if I'm eating enough. Tracking it on Livestrong at 250cal over maintenance. Not gaining weight, but getting stronger than all get-out on my lifts. Will increase when weights get heavier.

Lifts (2/19 to current)

Squats: 45-115lb (shooting for 10lb increase per workout)
Bench: 45-85lb (increasing 10lb)
Deadlift: 90-145lb (increasing 15-20lb)
Press: 45-75lb (increasing 5-10;b)
Power Clean: 75lb (started 3/7, increasing 10lb)

Okay, enough rambling, here's today's workout:

Squat:
2X5 - 45lb
1x5 - 75lb
1x5 - 95lb
1x5 - 105lb
3x5 - 115lb (WS)

Bench:
2X5: 45lb
1x5: 55lb
1x5: 65lb
1x5: 75lb
3x5: 85lb (WS)

Deadlift:
2X5: 90lb
1x5: 110lb
1x5: 120lb
1x5: 135lb
1x5: 145lb (WS)

Deadlifts were brutal. I was going to do 145 instead of 135, but I didn't pay attention to how much I put on the bar until I finished and went to put up my plates. So, I cranked out another set. I won't make that mistake again.

Also, my squats are slowing down on my last set. Probably since I've had 8 hours sleep in the last two days thanks to tests, projects and working late-night college basketball. I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight, so I should recover beautifully.

[f4thpathway]

5'4", 130 lbs

working late-night college basketball

Didn't see THAT coming...

The guys will be talking to you about Crossfit. Be prepared...

[BarbellJunkie]

Feedback #1
Don't look in the mirror while lifting for feedback! It will stuff you up. Record your lifts if you want to see your form.

Feedback #2
Feel free to do crossfit, but don't be surprised when the idea if group suicide so that you can all live on planet crossfit comes up as a WOD. Oh and if I see you with a tribal tattoo I will punch you in the face.

Best of luck with SS!

[Tiger]

Feel free to do crossfit, but don't be surprised when the idea if group suicide so that you can all live on planet crossfit comes up as a WOD.

My monitor's covered in milk after reading that. When I've got the meat on my bones I'll consider what avenue to take, Crossfit's just one road.

Oh and if I see you with a tribal tattoo I will punch you in the face.

Fuck tribal tattoos. I'd kick my own ass if I got one of those things.

[Tiger]

3/10

Thanks to having to work soundboards for a high school basketball game right after class, I couldn't walk my usual two miles to and from the university or get a decent meal. I have to say though, Muscle Milk and V8 hits the spot for a couple hours when you're in a bind. Scarfed a chicken sandwich and bacon breakfast burrito from Sonic after work while running errands before coming back for another couple of hours. Three hours later, I'm already starving, that or I haven't drank enough water. I'll empty out the water cooler here and annihilate some cottage cheese when I get home. Or drink myself into a whisky coma if I have to listen to any more depressing country songs.

Cals: 2161 (88g fat, 192g carb, 159g protein)

Getting kinda neurotic that I'm progressing way too fast in all my lifts, especially my squat. Oh well, as long as everything keeps going up without slowing too quickly, I'm not going to worry too much about it.

[Tiger]

3/11

Woke up with my sinuses inflamed, not enough to where I was feeling sick, but enough to where it annoyed the hell out of me. If I get full-blown sick, someone at work or that's visited in the last three days is getting a friggin' baseball bat to the shins. If it's allergies, I'm going on a one-man tree genocide.

Here's my stats:
Squats: 125lbs 5/4/5 (Strike one, my neurosis was correct.)
OH Press: 75lbs 5/5/5 (Took everything to make the last rep, but I got it.)
Power Clean: 80lbs 5X3 (Form's good, but I can't get the bar to rest on my fingers, maybe it'll come in time.)

Weight: 131.1 lbs (+1.8)
Cals: Will update tonight

I think I'm finally starting to hit the wall as far as big jumps in gains. That, or I need to eat more, I'm starting to get hungry later on in the evening anyway. I'll see how I feel tonight and tomorrow whether I need to start chowing down.

With Spring Break next week, I was going to just work out this weekend and next week without a weekend off (Sun/Tues/Thurs/Sat), but with my squats stalling, I'm going to take the weekend off anyway.

[Tiger]

3/14

Slept hard last night, didn't wake up until about 9a and got to the gym at 10a. Feeling better than what I did, this weekend off did wonders for me.

Squat: 125lbs 5/5/5 (Knocked them out slow, but no problem. Going up by 5lbs from here out.)
Bench Press: 95lbs 5/5/5 (Also going to start increasing by only 5lbs. I could do more for another workout or two, but I ain't going to push it.)
Deadlift: 160 1X1, 155 0X1, 145 1X5 (Literally no progress. I don't know if my squats killed me or if I just didn't have the energy. I'll try again for 160lbs on Friday.)

Weight: 131.4lbs (+0.3)
Cals: Shooting for 2500-2700 on both work and rest days.

Didn't exactly eat clean yesterday, had a Sweet Habanero sandwich with two packets of marinara from Domino's at work and an XL breaded chicken and cheese sandwich from the gas station. Maybe the only way to eat enough, though. Eating at least one fruit or veggie per meal and a minimum 2L of water & multivitamin daily, so I think I got a hold of everything for now.

[Tiger]

3/16

Yesterday damn near killed me in terms of eating. I had to stuff myself full just to get the calories down my gullet. I made a big ass pan of chicken, rice and vegetables with olive oil for the fat, mainly because I'm tired of doing dishes and cooking all the time. The oil was probably a bad idea, because I got what I call a "grease hangover", like when you eat a whole pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut and the next day you feel like you had a little too much to drink the night before. Water didn't cut it and Advil didn't cut the headache. Woke up this morning hungry as hell, though.

Oh, and a little off topic, but I have never walked away from a Comedy Central Roast. Until "The Situation" took the mic at the Trump Roast last night. This is why I don't watch Jersey Shore, I'd rather curb stomp myself than watch such horrible television.

Squat: 130lbs 5/5/5 (Form was off my first set, partially because I had an "OH SHIT, THIS IS HEAVY!!!" moment. The other two were fine, but I need to watch my depth, I may be going too low below parallel. May also need to slow things down and get more control.)
OH Press: 80lbs 5/5/5 (Another "OH SHIT!" moment on my first set, the other two were good, harder than hell for the last two reps of each, I thought I was going to fail. I'm expecting to fail this next week.)
Power Clean: 85lbs 1/3/3/3/3 (At first I was wondering why I failed my first set, then I remember I had to haul ass out to my car because I failed to put any money in the meter. Thankfully no ticket or boot or anything. The other four sets were okay, still can't get the bar on my fingers on the rack, maybe my hands are too small?)
L-Chins: 1X8, 1X6 (Decided to throw in because I was almost OD'ing on adrenaline.)

Weight:
3/15: 133.5 (+2.1) Cals: 2408
3/16: 131.2 (-2.3) Cals: Shooting for 2500-2600

I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that my abs are becoming a major hindrance, I'm having trouble steadying some of my lifts, especially squats. I'm bracing everything during my lifts, so I'd assume my abs and back are getting worked. I may throw in some leg raises or weighted knee raises if I have the energy at the end of my workouts, maybe 2X8 or 3X5. If it starts affecting my gains, however, I'll throw them to the wayside. May also start throwing in chins and dips once my bench, press and clean hit the century mark. I don't know at this point, I'll just play it by ear for the next week or so.

I'm also starting to get to the point to where I get pissed at the weight of the bar. Not agitated, aggravated or pumped, I mean super-pissed off. Like someone raped my girlfriend and I want to hunt them down pissed. Which is odd because nothing really pisses me off that much. Helped me out today, just as long as I keep my mind clear and focused, I don't see any reason why it'd hurt anything.

Friday, I go for a bodyweight/1 plate squat, 100lb bench and my second attempt at 160lbs on deadlift. All three will be PRs. Not going to have an obligatory pint of Guinness on St. Patrick's Day just so I have nothing in my way of getting this done.

[Tiger]

3/18

Today and yesterday have been hell. Very little sleep and an extreme amount of stress coupled with running around and eating almost nothing but fast food is leaving me feeling frayed. I think hypertension runs in the family, I need to get some muscle on me so I can start running or something to get my blood pressure down and destress. Sad part is, despite being a friggin' mess, I lifted better and with more focus today than I have all week. If I can get enough nutrients tomorrow (running the NCAA National Wrestling Championships from 9:30a-9:30p), I'll consider it a good day.

Squats: 135lbs 5/5/5 (PR, 1 X Bodyweight) - Form was better, I may be leaning a bit too forward though. Then again, I lean back a little when I maintain regular posture, so it may all be in my head.

Bench: 100lbs 5/5/5 - Control was way better, bar never bounced off my chest. Felt it in my stomach and lower back, too. My form may be off there as well, it's like I'm pushing myself into the bench instead of pushing the bar up (if that makes any damn sense).

Deadlift: 160lbs 1x5 (PR) - I'm either lifting with my back or not using my ass enough, but my lower back was KILLING me after the fact. I'll keep that in mind for Wednesday.

Weight:
3/17: 131.2lbs
3/18: Unknown (135lbs at 6pm, usually weigh as soon as I wake up)

I'm going to reread Starting Strength over the weekend to make sure I have my form right. I also need to record all my lifts for a form check, seeing as this was my third week on SS.

[Tiger]

3/21

Well, I'm contending with my father on my training. He wants me to add in running on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday as well as do the lifts at 3X10 and increase when I can hit that mark instead of 3X5 increase every workout. He claims that's what he did when he played football and wrestled in high school (three-time all district in both, some state honors that I forgot). He also knows I want to train in martial arts or MMA once I get the funds.

Semester ends in five weeks, so if I can get my squat to 190-200 and DL to around 225 by the end of finals, I'll probably work on endurance during the summer before hitting the weights again in the fall. It'll mean I'll drop to 125-130 from 135-140, but I'll have more muscle on me so I won't waste away.

Here's the stats:

Squats: 140lbs 5/5/5 - Still going up, form is getting better as weights go higher it seems. I'm learning to use my ass to lift, so I'm getting more power. Also pushing my knees out, so my knees don't hurt nearly as bad tonight. I need to watch my speed going down, though, I'm hitting the safety bars on the side of the power rack as times. Plus, it's getting harder to stabilize the bar. This may be a problem, I'll keep an eye on it.

OH Press: 85lbs 5/5/3 (FAIL, STRIKE ONE) - I could tell at the end of the first set I was going to stall, but I busted ass trying to lift the bar. My arms just gave out on the fourth rep.

Power Cleans: 90lbs 3/3/3/3/3 - Getting heavier and harder, but my last set I got pissed and annihilated all three reps. I STILL can't get the bar to land on my fingers though. Had a weight room supervisor check my form and he says it might be due to my small hands. That's the one part of the clean I just can't seem to hit, everything else looks perfect.

Weight
3/19:134.5lbs
3/20:133.4lbs (-1.1)
3/21:133.6lbs (+0.2)

Scheduled to work NIT Basketball Tournament tonight at 9pm, won't get off until 1-2am, maybe not even until 3am depending on how long the basketball game runs and how long the broadcasters decide to flap their gums pre- and post-game. I love my Cowboys, but having a late game on Pacific time wreaks havoc when you have to run soundboards for it two hours later than where the game is. I pray they lose so the two most stressful sports to run (basketball and wrestling) are done.