Mark's commitment to finish SS

[medsteele]

I am 5'11", 223lbs.

I've dabbled with weight lifting on and off for three years now. I was 270, mostly fat, whe. I began. Did SS, gained strength, stayed at 270, and got frustrated. Started running and lost 60lbs and plateaued. Haven't lost any since (actually put 10lbs back on).

I'm married now, have a son, and have new priorities. I want to be strong, both for my long-term health and (strange as it may be), to be something my son can look up to. Plus, being married, I can stand to focus on strength and not looks. I don't wanna put on tons of weight, but I'll stay where I am if it leads to a 4 plate squat and 5 plate deadlift.

Tonight's my fourth workout. The first three went as follows:

Squat: 135x3x5
Bench: 135x3x5
Deadlift: 225x1x5

Squat: 145x3x5
Press: 85x3x5
Row: 135x3x5

Squat: 155x3x5
Bench: 140x3x5
Deadlift: 235x1x5

I'm going to re-read the power clean chapter of SS, watch some youtube vids, and start working on learning them. Until then, I'm going to do rows. Tonight should be the last night.

I'm hoping to reach 405x1x5 for the deadlift and 315x3x5 on the squat before I need to move on to madcow. Also hoping I've lost some fat by then, but if not, at least I'll be tons stronger than I am now.

[medsteele]

Last night's workout wasn't great-- squats were more difficult than anticipated, and I paused in the hole in my last rep, nearly failing it. Tomorrow I start incorporating power cleans, so my workouts will be as follows (and actually following the SS plan):

A
Squat
Press
Deadlift

B
Squat
Bench
Power Clean

Last night's numbers:

Squat: 165x3x5
Press: 90x3x5
Row: 140x3x5

[medsteele]

Today's workout was a little smoother. A very conscious effort to focus on "KNEES OUT". Squats were smoother than last time, and my knees didn't buckle much whatsoever. A definite improvement. I switched the press to this workout, as I had it and the bench on the wrong days.

Squat: 175x3x5
Press: 95x3x5
Deadlift: 250x1x5

On a disheartening note, my bar is a piece of shit. The collar on the one side continuously unscrews itself, and the threads are partially stripped making it unstable. It's worrisome, as I need to adjust it after every workset. I need to save up for a new one ASAP. Until then, I'm going to postpone starting power cleans due to their explosive nature.

[medsteele]

Still working on getting a new bar. Lowered my increases on squat to 5lbs per workout.

Squat: 180x3x5
Bench: 150x3x5
Row: 150x3x5

[medsteele]

Workout from the other night was terrible. Back position and stability were huge issues. I dedicated myself to reading (reading, not skimming) SS these past two days. I think I learned a lot about all the exercises, but especially about trunk control and stability. Hopefully it pays off tonight, where I'd like to try 185 again on the squats.

Still working on saving up for a new bar-- selling a few personal items and hopefully that'll do it.

Squat: 185x2x5 (back and right knee really bothering me after 2nd set and after rest period)
Press: 95x3x5 (dumbass forgot to put all the weight on; should have been 100x3x5)
Deadlift: 225x1x5 (back still bothering my from squats)

Before in my lifting adventures, I was fully committed until form issues became too apparent. I'm sticking with it this time, as my goal isn't simply to lose weight-- I want to be strong. I read SS in two days so I could correct my issues, hell I actually bought it again so I could read it on the wife's Kindle.

[medsteele]

Still can't seem to fix my squat. My back tends to arch too much on the ascent and I don't know what to do. I'm joining a gym Monday-- using an actual rack will help with my setup and possibly aid in fixing my issues. Plus I can power clean. Monday I'll restart SS.

Squat: 135x5, 185x5, 135x5
Bench: 155x5x3
Row: 155x5x3

[medsteele]

Forgot to update.

Haven't had opportunity to join a gym yet. Soon, hopefully.

Reset the squat and deadlift to focus on trunk stability. My back hasn't been arching as much coming out of the squat, and I discovered I was keeping the bar forward of the midfoot, which explains why the weight was shifting towards my toes during the ascent. Working on both issues still.

Squat: 140x3x5
Press: 100x3x5
Deadlift: 185x1x5

Squat: 145x3x5
Bench: 160x3x5
Deadlift: 195x1x5

Squat: 150x3x5
Press: 105x3x5
Deadlift: 205x1x5

[medsteele]

Joined the local YMCA. Not ideal, but they have a power rack and two flat benches. First workout there is today. I'll update later.

Also, today is going to be a new beginning. Going to tighten up on my diet, because there is no reason to weigh 230lbs at 5'11" to lift what I'm lifting.

[medsteele]

Workout went well-- really well. The power rack and different (better) bar made a huge difference in squats and presses. I left feeling great.

Squat: 155x3x5
Press: 105x3x5
Deadlift: 225x1x5

Weights are the same because my old bar was 5lbs underweight. So weights actually went up today.

[medsteele]

Workout was pretty "meh" today. Due to working swing shift, this week I need to train after working third shift, thus hitting the gym at 6:45am. Energy levels are obviously impacted.

Squat: 160x5x3
Bench: 165x5x3
Deadlift: 235x5x1

During the bench I had an odd issue which caused shoulder discomfort-- from the extended position, the bar shifted down my torso going toward my legs. I stopped it, and I believe it was caused by me pressing the bar at a downward angle due to rotating my elbows too far in. Will fix next time it comes around.

Will also start power cleaning next time I bench. I wanted to start this morning, but didn't have time to practice the moves.