Starting Starting Strength (for real this time)

[medsteele]

Been big ever since I was a kid-- when I first did SS I was 18 and weighed roughly 235lbs at 5'11". I gained some great strength gains in my opinion, but because I didn't watch my diet whatsoever (I actually ate like a fucking cow, and not in a good way), I gained 35lbs and became frustrated with myself, as my goal was to lose weight.

Strength gains during the first run (5RM)

Squat: 95 > 305
Deadlift: 115 > 355
Bench: 75 > 215
Press: 45 > 145
Row: 95 > 205

Due to having terrible squat form, I injured my knees and ever since was convinced I didn't need squats. I was stupid.

So I tried all sorts of cardio routines, bullshit "cutting" routines, and other nonsense to try to lose weight. I eventually managed to get down to 211, but lost all my strength and what muscle I had gained. Sadly, due to advice on other forums, I replaced Power Cleans with Rows, though occasionally rowed the mostly deloaded bar from the floor to the squat pins. Their reasoning was that Rows balance the back and shoulder imbalances from Benching, and made sense to me at the time. Plus everyone was always saying how hard it was to learn to Clean properly.

So now, 5 years later, I'm going to do it right. My goal isn't some aesthetic bullshit, my goal is pure strength and physical ability. I recently had a son with my wife, and when he's older, I wanna be the dad he brags about to his friends. I've always wanted to be strong, but I spent my adolescent years wishing I was thinner, and I now realize the error of my ways. By following the nutrition advice ib the book (which I recently bought and am currently reading), I know I'll cut some BF% while making the necessary strength gains.

My stats now:

213lbs
Squat: 115x3x5
Deadlift: 145x1x5
Bench: 100x3x5
Press: 80x3x5
Row: 100x3x5

I will start doing Power Cleans during my next B workout. I think I'll be fine with learning the form, as I now practically clean the bar up to the squat pins after Rows.

My short term goals are hitting 275x3x5 Squat and 315x1x5 Deadlift before we go to the beach on June 18th. If I shed some BF, awesome, if not, no biggie. Strength is the #1 goal.

[Bradley]

Welcome and good luck!

I too wished I would have done things differently when I was 18, but only in the opposite way.

[DariusM]

wow you lots tons of strength from what you have wrote down there, but anyways good luck. I'll be following.

[dkggpeters]

Why are your starting weights so low? You couldn't have lost that much strength. I would start with weights that are challenging but no issues with hitting reps and sets.

[medsteele]

The weights are low to fix the form issues I had. My squat, bench, and deadlift all needed serious work. I'd rather atart low and hammer out my form than start high and get discouraged. My bench as of today is less than 135x5, as that's what I originally tried and had extreme difficulty finishing the reps, and they were terribly sloppy.

[medsteele]

Workout on Wednesday went okay.

Squats I had planned to increase from 115 to 125-- this didn't happen. I managed three reps at 125 then had to rack the weight. After taking five off (still a 5lb increase), I managed my 3x5. I'm not sure to attribute this to form issues or the fact I ate like shit that day. Almost no protein and an overload of carbs (medium stromboli was all I ate).

Bench went well. 105x3x5.

Deadlift, likewise, went well. 155x1x5.

Squats I am going to try to post a video of. I spend too much time on the descent worrying about my lower back rounding, which causes me to expend a lotnof energy simply lowering the weight. I push my knees out, but halfway down something painlessly pops in my left knee and it then "clicks" into position. It's odd. I'll try focusing more on the master cue during today's workout.

[medsteele]

Last night's workout was a little disappointing.

Squat: 125x2x5, 125x1x3
Press: 85x3x5
Deadlift: 65x1x5

Squat is again going to be what pisses me off. I spend so much time trying to keep my back from rounding that I screw up other elements of the lift. I stumbled backwards multiple times during those sets, to the point where I'd expended too much energy to complete my last set. Tomorrow I will really try to focus on pulling the bar down to the bottom, spreading my femurs out, and sinking between my legs. Pushing my knees out doesn't seem to be an issue. Goong to focus on keeping the bar moving in a straight path.

I'm determined to get my squats fixed so I can continue to add weight. I'm not giving up on them like before.

Also, it is insanely hard to get sleep with a newborn. I think I'm eating enough (220g protein daily, 2500ish calories), so sleep may be where I lose energy. Until he starts sleeping through the night, I don't see a way around this problem.

[medsteele]

Last night's workout was much better. Forcused on "sinking between the thighs" for the squats, and it helped my balance immensely, while also helping me reach good depth. I didn't stumble back once, hit parallel, and my back didn't round at the bottom. I'm pumped. Not perfect, but better than before by a good margin.

Bench was alright as usual, the weights aren't too heavy yet though.

Deadlift-- I don't think my back is rounding, but I'm not 100%. I read some pointers on setup in another thread, I'll give those a shot on Wednesday. I think my form is okay, but we'll see.

Squat: 125x3x5
Bench: 110x3x5
Deadlift: 175x1x5

Sorry for the delay on the squat, my phone fell. I also apologize for the lack of quality and shit camera angles, my workout area sucks and I hadn't read the sticky yet in Technique, which is why I'm not posting them there.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Th0SOXZKX1s
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9UgXeOfs1TA
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_mzyY3_GAwA

[medsteele]

Last night was both successful and not successful.

Good news: I increased my squat by 10lbs.

Bad news: Said increase came at the cost of technique and knee pain.

Got too overeager for squats last night, added 10lbs (up to 135), and pumped out the sets like nothing. Unfortunately, upon review of the one set, my lower back was rounding somewhat at the bottom, which I tried to correct on my last set. Today I have pain in my left knee-- not terrible pain, but pain nonetheless. Focus more on shoving the knees out. Shove. Them. Out.

Press and deadlift went well. I tried some cues for setup I read on the forum, and he was right, it felt like my ass was too high. But the weights went up easy enough, and today there is no soreness in my back. Will video the sets next time to ensure proper form, but I feel good about them.

Also, have gained 6lbs since starting three weeks ago. I already weighed 211 @ >20% BF, so I'm not too pleased. Waist definitely hasn't gone down any. Will start eating more paleo, need to watch my carb intake. At least I'm consistently hitting.my protein goal.