bangin' heads, liftin' weights

[the dio]

Well, I've been doing SS for a month now so decided it's time I start logging stuff here.

I haven't really done much weight training before. I'm a pretty active dude in general, ride a bike for transportation and train Muay Thai 3+ times a week. I lift in the mornings and train MT in the evenings, M,W,F.

I don't really have any specific goals right now for my strength training, beyond just plain getting stronger and bigger. I'd like to gain a bit more weight, maybe get up to 195 or so. We'll see.

Stats:

Initial:
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 170lb
BF: 18% according to the crappy impedance meter

Current:
Height: 5'10" (hasn't increased hah)
Weight: 182lb
BF: 19% again, according to the crappy impedance meter

Current Weights: (3x5)
Squat: 130lb
Bench: 105lb
Deadlift: 190lb (I need to reset this one as my form is bad due to really tight hamstrings)
Press: 72.5lb
Pendlay Row: 100lb

So first things first: My squat is really low because I had to sort out form issues. It's going up now. I'll only be doing deadlifts probably once a week because of the hamstrings causing form degradation. Working on improving hammy flexibility.

Doing rows instead of cleans because I personally find more value in them right now.

Diet:

I did GOMAD for almost three weeks and gained 9.5lb. I decided to stop because my gut was beginning to feel like jelly. My diet during that time was not strict, but I didn't eat like shit. Heavy protein focus, with a total of probably around 250g per day, sometimes less. Since then, I've changed it up a bit.

I've become much more strict and calculative with my macros. I still drink whole milk but usually restrict its consumption to shakes in the morning and early afternoon. I've been eating a lot of rice for the rest of my carbohydrates. I increased my protein shake volume from 24g 1x/day to 48g 3x/day. PWO I'll have a scoop in water and some simple carbs (soda, pastry, etc.). Now I am shooting for 300g protein total each day, not counting PWO.

For reference, here's a picture of me from today:



Physically, I'm happy with the developments in my back and chest. There's a bit of shadow under my chesticles -- that didn't really exist before :-O

[the dio]

I'll begin with yesterday..

5/13/11

Bench: 105x3x5
Squat: 130x3x5

I actually screwed up on bench and went up 5lb instead of the 2.5 increases I had been making for the past two weeks or so. I had a session with TomC on my previous bench day but we didn't do it and I forgot when writing down my weights. Hah! I'm really stoked about my gains because I've never benched this much in my life. Tiny arms, weak chest!

The weight felt good; about as difficult as when I lifted 85lb.

Diet:

I didn't log the queso w/ground beef and tortilla chips I pigged out on with the chicken breast dinner. Or the two Mexican cokes I had. :-D



Muay Thai:

Damn. I had a head cold so I didn't get to go as often as usual for the last couple weeks. I was starting to get out of shape!

I really need to work on hamstring and adductor flexibility for my body kicks. Having to use a lot of force just to get my leg up high enough for them. This is preventing me from keeping my hips and leg loose.

[the dio]

5/16/11

Press: 75x3x5
Squat: 135x3x5
Pendlay Row: 102.5x3x5
V-handle pulldown: 100x2x8
Negative chin ladder: 2x2
Burpees: 3x10, 1min rest, longest set 35s

Pretty stoked on finally adding weight to squats. I had no knee issues at all today. Hamstrings are still tight but have been working on them. I stretched them between sets.

I've decided to start doing V-handle pulldowns and negative chins so I can work up to the ability to do actual full chin-ups.

Diet:

Nutrition today was wack. I was up late last night doing some programming (lost track of time, gah) and didn't get to bed until 2am. So I woke up at 10 and didn't get to the gym until 2pm. :-( Thanks to the wonders of protein shakes, I got my protein in though.

Muay Thai:

Not tonight since my schedule got fucked up today. May go tomorrow instead.

[the dio]

5/18/11

Squat: 140x3x5
Bench: 107.5x3x5
Deadlift: 175
Negative chins: 2x2

I stretched the hell out of my hamstrings yesterday, before and during workouts. Felt more control of lower back in squats and it was easier to contract it in the deadlifts. Did the negative chins after Muay Thai.

Diet:

Pretty solid. Didn't count the fries I ate with fish and chips, didn't have many anyway.



Muay Thai:

Great class. Learned some stretches afterwards. Really gotta work on this shit. My flexibility is terrible.

Hamstrings are sore from stretching yesterday. I'm gonna take that as a good thing.

[the dio]

Wanted to make sure and log yesterday's workout before the rapture...

5/20/11

Press: 77.5x3x5
V-handle pulldown: 110x2x8
Negative chins: 2x2
Squat: 145x3x5

My left shoulder has been really sore and tight for the past few days, not sure why. I was not looking forward to dealing with it when squatting. Did upper body lifts first to try and warm it up a bit.

Press sets were tough. I tried keeping my head MORE out of the way on press and had a few reps that felt a lot easier. Gotta keep at it.. V-handle pulldowns are still too light so gonna increase to 120lb next time. Still falling like a sack of stinky shit on the negative chins, haha.

Diet:

Man, my diet sucked. I was super busy and did not get enough carbs. Tried to make up for it at dinner with some Indian food but meh..

Muay Thai:

Didn't go, planned on going today (Saturday 5/21) but didn't get to bed until 2am. Over the past 1-2 weeks, total caloric intake has probably been too low to gain weight so it was probably best that I not get a 3rd MT session in this week.

[the dio]

5/23/11

Weight: 181.5
BF%: 19.5%

Squat: 150x3x5
Bench: 110x3x5
EZ Curl: 35x1x12, 35x1x10
Deadlift: 185x1x5
Negative chins: 2x2

I'm switching to lifting at night because I start a new job Monday. Up until now, I've been doing lifting M,W,F mornings and Muay Thai later those nights. I'm going to do MT Tu,Th,Sa instead.

With that said, boy was the gym busy at 6pm. I figured it'd be busy but wow. All three power racks were taken with a line of two guys waiting. One group of two guys was doing fucking 5 plate box squats. Then one dude loaded up a bar for deadlifting and had 45s all the way to the end of it.

Anyway.. my workout was AWESOME.

Squat felt good. It was easier than 145 was Friday. I'm really feeling way more comfortable with my wrist position. I can feel my shoulders getting a lot stronger, too. Delts are gonna get buff soon..

Bench was good. The last two reps of the last two sets were tough but I got the bar up. I just keep reminding myself to push hard and really get into the leg drive when I feel the bar slowing.

Diet:

I'm switching the diet up a bit. Trying carb cycling to see how it goes. Today was a high carb day, here's what I had:



Muay Thai tomorrow...

[the dio]

5/25/11

Weight: 181.5
BF%: 19.2%

Squat: 155x3x5
Press: 75x3x5

Had a second session with TomC. Worked on figuring out how to keep my back from rounding in the hole, mostly. And my knees, but I think I have that mostly under control. We had to use a squat stand with no safeties, which was interesting. Never used one before. The fifth rep of the first set got really slow coming up because of some form issue and for a second I wasn't sure if I'd get it up. Then I realized that I had no other choice but to get up and did it. Turns out Tom was ready to save me anyway. :-P I learned a lot from that rep.

We finally figured out some cues for me that help keep my back straight in the hole toward the end of my third set. Tom said they were "textbook squats." I was stoked.

On to press.. Wow, I never really understood the way Rip teaches press gripping. That opened my eyes a lot with regards to wrist angle and elbow position. I bet a lot of people don't understand it.. My last set was 77.5lb, so we loaded 80. Tom wanted me to pause at the bottom. I've been bouncing, so unfortunately the weight was too much. I failed the 4th or 5th rep of the first set. So we dropped to 75 and finished from there. I learned a ton from him about proper pressing mechanics. Can't wait to utilize and improve upon what I learned next Monday.

Diet:

Was moderate carb day..

[the dio]

5/27/11

Weight: 183
BF%: 19%

Squat: 160x3x5
Bench: 111x3x5
Deadlift: 190x1x5
EZ Curl: 35x2x15

Squats felt good today. Wanted to get a video of my working sets but I was practically on borrowed time, with the damn gym closing early. Finished and started warming up for bench. Realized I left my chains at home and couldn't go to my next weight of 112.5lb. :-( Scrounged around and threw on a couple extra collars. They were Muscle Clamps, which only weight 1/4lb. So it was an increase of 1lb.

I got to the 5th rep of my first working set and it was a real bitch to get up. I got about a third to halfway up and it felt like the bar just stopped. I had to really engage the leg drive and get it up through sheer willpower. I was disappointed as it was only the first of my three sets. The next two sets played out in the same way. I sincerely believe that were it not for that squat rep I mentioned in my last entry, I might have just given up on them. Thank God for leg drive and willpower.

I'm pretty confused that I seem close to stalling on bench when I'm only 7 weeks into the program. I get plenty of sleep and eat a ton. I've gained 13lb in two months. I expected my first stall to occur a good bit later than this. My next bench was to be 115lb and I was really looking forward to finally getting a pair of 35s on there. Beyond that I really really want to get to 135lb.

Anyway...

Diet:

High carb day. The following list does not include the massive hamburger and seasoned homefries I had PWO. Or the beer. Or the actually dinner I'll be eating shortly.

[dkggpeters]

At your bodyweight you should not be stalling on bench for a long time. You should be able to do over bodyweight before stalling. Sometimes one workout is tough and on the next will seem easy even with added weight.

I noticed that you are doing chins but struggling with reps. Do yourself a favor and get a bar to put in a doorway at home and if you can do just one chin then about 5 to 10 times a day do just one chin. Over a week or two you will be up to 2 or 3 chins. Keeping doing them throughout the day and almost everyday. Don't worry about overtraining as the back can take a lot and overtraining is hard for us novices to begin with. Before long you will be up to over 10 chins. That is how I did it.

Good luck and keep up the training!!!!

[the dio]

Whoo, a reply!

At your bodyweight you should not be stalling on bench for a long time. You should be able to do over bodyweight before stalling. Sometimes one workout is tough and on the next will seem easy even with added weight.

Agreed. I'm still going to go up to 115 my next workout. Hopefully I don't stall.

I noticed that you are doing chins but struggling with reps. Do yourself a favor and get a bar to put in a doorway at home and if you can do just one chin then about 5 to 10 times a day do just one chin. Over a week or two you will be up to 2 or 3 chins. Keeping doing them throughout the day and almost everyday. Don't worry about overtraining as the back can take a lot and overtraining is hard for us novices to begin with. Before long you will be up to over 10 chins. That is how I did it.

Good luck and keep up the training!!!!

Unfortunately I am in a fairly old house (at least early 20th century), and the door trim is all too wide for a chin bar. Instead of the frequency method you described, I've been doing negative chin ladders after I lift and after I train Muay Thai. Basically it works like this: start with one rep, then do a set of two, then a set of three, etc. I've worked up to a set of two this week (although I didn't get time to do them yesterday since the damn gym closed early). I'm going to increase to a set of three next week. I'm also doing V-handle pulldowns.

Honestly, I think a lot of the reason I struggle with upper body exercises is due to weak arms. They're improving though...

Thanks for the encouragement :-)