Under the Bar

[PCBlue22]

Born: April 1st, 1983
Sex: Male
Height: 6'0"

First Recorded Values (July 27, 2011)
Weight: 195 lbs
Squat: 230 lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench Press: 150lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps
Press: 95 lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps
Chins: Body-weight x 3 sets x 5/5/4 reps
Pullups: Body-weight x 3 sets x 4/3/2 reps
Deadlift: 245 lbs x 1 set x 5 reps
Decline Bench Situps: 10lbs x 3 sets x 15 reps

Current Values (August 19, 2011)
Weight: 206 lbs
Squat: 240 lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps (maxxed out at 265. Currently resetting)
Bench Press: 170lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps
Press: 110 lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps
Chins: Body-weight x 3 sets x 6 reps
Pullups: Body-weight x 3 sets x 3/3/3 reps
Deadlift: 285 lbs x 1 set x 5 reps
Situps: 45lbs x 3 sets x 15 reps

The Program
Monday
Squat x 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench Press / Press (alternating) x 3 sets x 5 reps
Chins x 3 sets x 10 or failure (whichever comes first)
Situps x 3 sets x 15

Wednesday
Squat x 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench Press / Press (alternating) x 3 sets x 5 reps
Deadlift x 1 set x 5 reps
Situps x 3 sets x 15

Friday
Squat x 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench Press / Press (alternating) x 3 sets x 5 reps
Pullups x 3 sets x 10 or failure (whichever comes first)
Situps x 3 sets x 15

Note about the program: This is lifted from Practical Programming for Strength Training, first edition, page 155.

Morphology
Moderate scoliosis. Distinct asymmetry from shoulder to shoulder. Limited shoulder flexibility. Bar position for squats is higher than recommended in Starting Strength. Unable to properly hold a bar in the rack position. Power Cleans and other jarring movements (boxing) quickly produce significant shoulder pain.

Sharp pain in lower abdomen on deadlifts. Added situps to thicken the muscle.

Diet
Gallon of milk a day. Whey protein isolate. Fish Oil. Flax. Multivitamin. Probiotics. Whatever other food enters my vision. Focus on gaining. Not eating clean.

About Me
Graphic designer in the sign industry for a decade. In school for a degree in software engineering. Author of a couple books. Occasional work for small magazines.

Southern California. Have also lived in Phoenix and Chicago.

Coming off a four year relationship. My primary weaknesses are my god damn shoulders and girls with dark hair and light eyes.

[PCBlue22]

Your job's a dead end. You can't get the courses you need to graduate. You're in a fucked up situation with your married ex-girlfriend. Every day you put up with a lot of shit. This morning, you put a lot of shit up.

Squats - 3 sets of 5 @ 235 lbs
Bench - 3 sets of 5 @ 155 lbs
Pullups - 3 sets @ body-weight, 3/3/3
Situps - 3 sets of 15 w/ 12 lb medicine ball

Notes: First time using chalk. World of difference on bench presses. Pullups suck. Considering use of resistance bands to assist. Need to figure out some way to effectively strength-train abs using linear progression. The medicine balls aren't getting heavier. Holding plates is awkward, but may be the only way to go.

[PCBlue22]

Weight: 200 lbs
Squat: 240 lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps
Press: 100 lbs x 3 sets x 5/5/3
Chins: Body-weight x 3 sets x 5 reps
Situps: 25lbs x 3 sets x 15 reps

Slept like shit. Bombed the last two reps on my presses. If I can't pull this off on Friday, I'll reset. Felt strong on the squats and chins. New goal is six across on chins.

The press always feels disproportionately heavy.

[PCBlue22]

Weight: 201.5 lbs
Squat: 245 lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench Press: 160lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps
Deadlift: 265 lbs x 1 set x 5 reps
Situps: 35lbs x 3 sets x 15 reps

Went to the supplement store last night. Guy behind the counter is cool. Told him about gomad. He bagged a sample of some gainer. Tried it this morning. Felt like drinking a glass of cake batter. I'll stick with gomad and a simple protein shake post workout.

New girl camping out on the treadmills at the gym. Black hair in a ponytail. So far I've only seen her from behind. Not bad. Better than all the old ladies pushing their walkers back and forth across the gym floor.

Seems like I'm the only guy who ever touches a barbell. The gym has two giant, beautiful, expensive cages, and they're all mine. There's some kid I see on occasion. About my age. Works out like a douchebag. Fuckin, gloves. Nothin but dumbells and machines. He could be strong. I want to steer him towards SS, but I don't want to be one of those assholes who bothers people. Makes me think of the idiot who uses straps for lat pulldowns - the one who told me that if I kept squatting so deep, I'd blow out my knees.

[ambivalens]

Weight: 201.5 lbs
Squat: 245 lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench Press: 160lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps
Deadlift: 265 lbs x 1 set x 5 reps
Situps: 35lbs x 3 sets x 15 reps

Went to the supplement store last night. Guy behind the counter is cool. Told him about gomad. He bagged a sample of some gainer. Tried it this morning. Felt like drinking a glass of cake batter. I'll stick with gomad and a simple protein shake post workout.

New girl camping out on the treadmills at the gym. Black hair in a ponytail. So far I've only seen her from behind. Not bad. Better than all the old ladies pushing their walkers back and forth across the gym floor.

Seems like I'm the only guy who ever touches a barbell. The gym has two giant, beautiful, expensive cages, and they're all mine. There's some kid I see on occasion. About my age. Works out like a douchebag. Fuckin, gloves. Nothin but dumbells and machines. He could be strong. I want to steer him towards SS, but I don't want to be one of those assholes who bothers people. Makes me think of the idiot who uses straps for lat pulldowns - the one who told me that if I kept squatting so deep, I'd blow out my knees.

I like your style of writing. And your little anecdotes remind me that I miss working out at a gym instead of the basement. It's pretty damn lonely down there, and nothing of note to look at - be it girls or douchebags working out with gloves.

Used to go to a gym right nextdoor from my work a couple of years ago. There was this douchebag-looking guy always working out with gloves. Turned out to be a real nice guy, and he was strong as fuck even though I never saw him do any of the big exercises. He could do sitting 55 kg dumbbell shoulder presses I remember. That's about 125 lbs or something. I was quite impressed at the time.

[PCBlue22]

Thanks. Unnecessary name drop: I studied writing in a workshop with Chuck Palahniuk, the author of Fight Club.

There are benefits to working out at home. The commute, for one. When I first started at this gym, they had Girls Gone Wild infomercials playing on a dozen big flat-screens every morning. I'm pretty sure that it contributed to some discomfort in my neck after squats. I wasn't keeping my eyes on the floor. I'm not sure what my point is. Maybe, put a TV in your dungeon.

The kid working out with gloves seems nice. I didn't mean to imply that he was a douche. Just that he works out like one. They gnat who bothered me about my squats though...fuck that guy.

[ambivalens]

Thanks. Unnecessary name drop: I studied writing in a workshop with Chuck Palahniuk, the author of Fight Club.

There are benefits to working out at home. The commute, for one. When I first started at this gym, they had Girls Gone Wild infomercials playing on a dozen big flat-screens every morning. I'm pretty sure that it contributed to some discomfort in my neck after squats. I wasn't keeping my eyes on the floor. I'm not sure what my point is. Maybe, put a TV in your dungeon.

The kid working out with gloves seems nice. I didn't mean to imply that he was a douche. Just that he works out like one. They gnat who bothered me about my squats though...fuck that guy.

I never read Fight Club, actually. I loved the movie, but I never get around to reading books written after 1940. It's my main douchebaggery - I've decided that modern fiction is rubbish and the pre-1900s is where it's really at. So I'm sort of left out of the loop about the literary going on of today, which I'm both okay and frustrated with. After I had kids I have no time to open books anyway, but I imagine they'll grow up some day, leaving me with more free time.

Perhaps a TV in the dungeon would be a good idea. Atleast I need to get a laptop down there.

And what about the guy who bothered you about squats? Did you write anything about that? If so, I missed it completely.

[PCBlue22]

You like what you like. You like old books, and there's no shortage of those to get through. I don't feel like I really need to read books from a hundred years ago. I don't see why you should feel like you need to read books that were written last week.

For what it's worth, the roots of Palahniuk's style go back to Hemingway. If you ever take an interest in transgressive minimalism, I'd love to nerd out on the subject.

I haven't written about the guy who disturbed my squats.

[PCBlue22]

Weight: 201 lbs
Squat: 250 lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps
Overhead Press: 100 lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps
Chins: 3 sets of 6 @ bodyweight
Situps: 45lbs x 3 sets x 15 reps

Once again, slept like hell, despite the sleeping pills. Rolled around in the sheets, hot from the summer air and my mind pacing circles around the girl.

I was pissed that I failed at 100 pounds on the press, last Monday. This morning, I threw that weight through the ceiling. It is NOT heavy. Repping it is nothing to be proud about.

Making the six hour drive to Arizona, then back, this weekend. Going easy on food, because I don't want to feel like a bloated sack of shit while I'm out there. Off to see my friend and his new baby.

Also going to see the girl. The disaster. As much as she makes me crazy, I still love her. Should be interesting.

Oh, I also dropped half a pound. God dammit.

[IndividualThoughtPatterns]

Nice log, especially since it is, in contrary to you diet as you say, clean. And easy to survey. :-)

Advice for abs (I haven't read all replies so it might be second time you are hearing it). Hold the bar above your head on Press for like few seconds. This along with heavy DL (which I don't do anymore) and Front Squat has helped developing my abs way more than sit-ups :-).