Burnsie's Log

[Burnsie]

Hi everyone, I’ve been reading this forum since mid 2010 and thought it was time to start a log. I’m 38, 5’10”, 216lbs and about 25% BF (which has been a problem for me since I was a kid).

I’ve been doing the SS program since September 2010 (so about 6 months). In my 20’s I did a bodybuilding type of program going to the gym 6 days a week, sometimes even twice a day. I know, I know. I was a competitive mountain biker a few years ago, and also study a full-contact karate style (currently on a break from it). I took a break from regular lifting for about 6 years or so, so my strength plummeted. I came across SS through my CrossFit days (which I really liked, by the way, but just can’t afford it right now). I have to say though that the lifting days were my absolute favorite workouts. My conditioning has always been shit, and I’ve had to work my fucking ass of to even be remotely competitive in anything that involved cardio (i.e. the mountain bike racing).

Starting out on the program with such light weight was difficult, wanted to lift more weight right away but I kept my impatience in check as started off at the following:

Squat: 105 lbs
Bench: 115
Deadlift: 115
Press: 65
Powercleans: 95

Lifts this week:
Squat: 260lbs
Bench: 215
Deadlift: 315 (pretty proud of this even if this is your warmup weight)
Press: 160 (failed to get all reps twice now)
Powercleans: 180 (failed to get all reps twice now)

So I've made some decent progress. Not stellar, but not bad. I probably could have squatted 185 for 3 sets of 5 when I started, I used to bench 205 for sets of 10, do seated presses with 135 and once deadlifted 275 for one. I’ve always found squats very difficult, so I’ve taken my time with the weight increases, often pausing at a weight for several workouts until my form was better.

Will likely do a reset in the press and powercleans. I kept the weights at 150 and 170 respectively for a few weeks. I moved up the weights to 155 and 175 and got all reps no problem. So increased again the following workouts and failed twice to get all the reps.

The powercleans have been on and off for me. Sometimes I can get them with good form, othertimes, they’re hard as hell for me.

[Burnsie]

Some more info, I generally eat well. Not following any strict program, but influenced by Precision Nutrition (Dr. John Berardi) and Zone from my Crossfit days. Lots of meat, vegetables, fruits (mostly morning and afternoon), eggs, nuts, some whole grain bread, some rice. I try to limit breads and rice, etc. for Post-Workout meals. I don't do GOMAD since I'm too fat already, but I did switch to whole milk and probably drink about a litre per day. I have a whey protein shake immediately after my workouts, and sometimes a blended protein powder with frozen berries and whole milk for breakfast if I'm not hungry enough to eat real food.

Rest has been fairly decent, and I'm generally getting enough sleep.

My weight was at 223 for a couple of years, then due to some illness, I was down to 208 within about a month in October. My weight has been creeping back up to now 216. I'm really trying to watch what I eat, as I would like to be leaner and get my BF down to below 20%. My pants are definitely fitting better, and I can see the weight gain is muscle, but the fat isn't dropping much. I have noticed that when I eat a lot, the lifting gets easier and I get stronger quicker, but as I said, I'm too fat already and have been struggling with weight my entire adult life, so I don't want a bigger gut than I already have.

In the fall, I was lifting MWF, karate on WF (so two workouts a day on Wednesdays), rowing Tuesdays and either MMA class or rowing on Thursdays. So I was doing 7 workouts in 6 days, with Sunday off. While Wednesdays and Thursdays were tiring, I was still making gains on all of my lifts. I was sleeping well and eating well, and I felt good. A little ambitious? Yes, it was.

I had a three week unintended break in December where I didn't do a thing and lost some progress. I also worked out of town in February so could only lift twice a week.

Currently, I've only been lifting MWF with no other activity. Being at the heavier weights (at least for me) I definitely need all the rest I can get. I may reintroduce karate on Saturdays, and been considering doing short rowing workouts on Tuesdays.

Rowing workouts have either been: 2k row, 5k row, or 12x1 min intervals with 1 min rest in between (so the latter 2 workouts are over 20min). Undecided on when to reintroduce any of these, since my hip flexors are always sore and I have a hell of a time with powercleans when I've rowed the day before without a days rest.

Lately I've also been playing it by ear on Wednesdays and introduced a light squat day at 80% of Mondays 5RM for 2 sets of 5. I still find them hard to do on those days. I seem to squat deeper on the light days, which makes me realize that I may not be squatting deep enough otherwise. I go down to at least parallel, but I think I could go deeper. I may have to back off on the weight a little and make sure I'm getting deep enough.

[Burnsie]

Great workout today.

I made sure i was nice and deep for all of the squat reps today at 260. The last one wasn't pretty...a little more like a good morning than I would like, but I'm going to keep the weight there until I feel my form is good enough to move to 265.

Bench was great at 215, last rep was a little slow. I'll likely stay at 215 for another workout or two and then move to 220. Really looking forward to having 225 on the bar.

Hit 315 on the deadlift today for 6. Felt good at 5 so did another rep just for the hell of it and walked a couple of steps to put the bar back on the rack as it's so easier to put the weights away. Felt fucking great to finally get to three plates a side. Barely anyone in my gym deadlifts, and only a few people squat, so seeing three plates a side in my gym is extremely rare. Lots of people doing chest and bi's though.

I have a pair of 1.25lb plates on order from Rogue for microloading. Only $6 with shipping included for the pair. Sweet.

Also going to get myself a pair of proper shoes from Rogue as well. Likely Rip's shoes, when they have them back in stock in my size and when I have the extra cash. Currently lifting in Chuck knock-offs. Red too. Fucking stylin' baby.

[Burnsie]

Good rowing workout today. Did a 5min warmup, then 12x1min intervals with 1min rest. Pushed myself fairly hard today. No PR's broken today, but a pretty good effort. 3141M with an average pace of 1:54.6. Really want to get my average pace down below 1:50 and start working on my 2K time.

I will likely leave these workouts for Saturdays. It will be either rowing or a 2hr karate class, we'll see.

[Burnsie]

Was really tempted to do a 2k row on Sunday, but thought better of it. Legs are still tired today and trying to get motivated to go hard today.

Undecided what weight I'm going to use for the press (failed twice at 160) and the powerclean (failed twice at 180).

I cut the powercleans short for the last 2 workouts. The first time cause I was just too pissed off at missing 180 I said fuck it and left. The second time I was having some pain in my right middle finger (A2 pulley I think). No swelling or discolouration, just pain in the one spot. Since I was foaming at the mouth to finally get the 315 deadlift in a couple of days, I decided to cut the workout short and let my finger heal. It hurt like a bitch during the previous deadlifting day at 310 and I wasn't sure if I was going to get all 5 reps because of it. Thankfully, it felt ok for Fridays 315 pull.

I think I'll drop down to 155 on the press. Not sure when my 1.25lbs plates are coming in the mail, but it's time to microload on the press for sure. Will likely do it on the bench as well. I generally don't like using a spotter for the bench, partly because of previous experiences with shitty spotters.

Fucking powercleans are hit and miss for me. One day they feel awesome, the next they suck. They're like a golf swing for me. I'm inconsistent with the second pull, jumping up and shrugging as well as probably too slow on the elbows at the same time. Going to go down to 165 or 170 and work on form and start microloading soon too.

Been rocking a beard for a few weeks now. Makes me look meaner and a little on the psycho side when I'm intense. Good times baby.

[Burnsie]

Not a great workout today, but not bad. Felt tired all day, and I had the time and took the opportunity today to have a 2hr nap. Got in a third meal before my 6pm workout.

Squats were ok, but tough today. As my legs were tired, a couple of the reps weren't low enough and the last one or two of each set was really tough to grind out. Keeping it at 260 at least for the rest of this week. Itching to get to 275, but going to be very patient with it and concentrate on good form.

Went down to 155 on the press today (from 160). Last rep of the second set I barely squeezed it out. Barely. But got all my reps in. Of course, if I move to 160 for Friday it may be a fail again. I do have an idea of what may be happening...

Fucking powercleans. Went down to 170 (from 180) and didn't get the last rep in the 2nd and 5th sets. Once I question whether or not I can get the next rep, it's usually a no-go. I don't think I'm being explosive enough on the 2nd pull, and my elbows are definitely too slow as I finally noticed today. Going to either stick with 165 or 170 for the time being. The last warmup set at 140 flew up like it was nothing, so I was surprised to fail some reps today.

A couple of weeks ago I ran out of my whey protein powder, which I have been using immediately post-workout in the locker room. Interestingly, this kind of corresponds to a week of failed reps last week. To be honest, I've only recently actually FELT a correlation between my food intake and my lifting ability, now that the weights are getting heavier I suppose.

Today I bought some more whey, and had 2 scoops in a shake. I also add a scoop of Endurox R4 to that to get some carbs in there. I have a big cannister of the stuff from my cycling days and decided to use it up. Read some stuff on PWO nutrition that suggested that some carbs are important as well as protein. So with the three combined scoops and water I get around 60g of protein and 52g of carbs. We'll see how the recovery goes after using that bad boy for a couple of weeks.

Also decided to have a nice big plate of pasta after my workout. 1-1/2 chicken breasts sauteed with an onion, lots of garlic and pesto over a nice pile of linguine. Damn that was good. Washed that down with a glass of whole milk. Ahhh...gonna sit back and rub my tummy now.

[Burnsie]

I ate a shitload after my workout on Monday and had a protein shake before bed, but still sore on Tuesday. I ended up fucking around after my workout on Monday and did some OHS (just with the bar) and then some snatches (again, just with the bar) for the hell of it. I've definitely lost some shoulder flexibility as this it was pretty uncomfortable to be in the OHS position. And this made my traps and delts sore as hell on Tuesday!

Good workout yesterday:

Squat (light day with 80% of 5RM): 205lbs 2x5
Bench: 215lbs 3x5
Deadlift: 320lbs 1x5
Dips: BW x 12, x11

Feels good to have a somewhat respectable bench again. I think I'm almost ready to move to 220lbs, but I will give it another workout or two at 215. Very, very excited to get to 225 and see 2 plates on the bar. It's been a long time since I've benched that much. I'm just really, really hoping to get to 225 within 2 weeks. It should be doable. Problem is that I am having some surgery in a couple of weeks that will have me sidelined from lifting for a while. I should be able to resume squats within 2-3 weeks, but bench will be a month (as well as presses, powercleans and deadlifts)....so that is really going to suck ass big time. I'm going to be foaming at the mouth to get back in the gym.

I've made some good progress and I've exceeded my previous PR's on everything except bench press. Then, to be sidelined for a month...damn.

The light squat days still feel heavy at 205. I slow my reps down and concentrate on good form and full depth, but everytime I keep thinking how the hell am I going to squat 260 again on Friday if this feels so heavy. Go figure. Legs sore today too.

Deadlift was tough, a lot tougher than last Friday's 315. Hook grip hurt like a bitch too on my left thumb, and my right middle finger is still sore. I'm doing all my warmup reps with my middle finger crossing over my first finger, to try and limit how much pressure that one spot gets. Well, at least my finger will heal up nicely during my recovery.

Also used the barbell loader contraption for the first time (no idea what it's actually called). There used to be powerlifting club at my gym and I presume that piece is left from those days. Pretty handy thing when loading 3+ plates a side for the deadlift!

[Burnsie]

Just got a call from Rogue Canada asking whether I care if the 1.25lb plates are black or silver (seems there's a delay in getting them in black). I'm certainly not picky about the colour and I'd probably prefer the silver ones as the one's in my gym are black. So they are sending them out today.

This is my first order from Rogue and I am thoroughly impressed that someone actually took the time to call me regarding my order. I'm hoping to eventually build up a gym in my garage, and when I do, I'll be placing and order with Rogue for a power rack, bench, bar and bumpers, and a C2 rower. Top notch customer service.

[Burnsie]

Today I've had the most stressful day in recent memory. It's been a few days of high stress actually. Haven't had a solid night's sleep in 2 weeks, and my heartrate has been through the roof since yesterday. Didn't end up going to the gym today, will do the workout tomorrow morning. Hopefully I'm up to lifting after enjoying the 12-pack of beer I just bought. It's been a couple of months since I bought beer actually, so I'm really enjoying it.

[Burnsie]

Did Friday's workout today (Saturday). Wasn't great, feeling a little worn out. But I'm thinking that the previous two nights of drinking and...er...vigorous non-weight training left me a little less than 100%.

Squats: 260 3x5
Press: 155 3x5
Powercleans: 170/160 5x3

Squats were tough to grind out. Barely, barely got the very last rep of the press. Powercleans I started off doubting how the 170 would feel today, did the first set and got a third messy rep. Decided to drop weight to 160 and concentrate on form. The weight felt pretty good and form was good. Concentrated on jumping and stomping on the second pull and whipping my elbows around and I felt comfortable with form at 160. I'll have to take my time with the powercleans.

I may try and get some video and post it for comments, will have to prop my phone up with 5's I suppose to get the right angle.