Back to SS. Again. For the 3rd.... or 4th time, I forget.

[KAG]

As the title says, I'm once again back to SS. Today was my first time doing any type of heavy program in a while. I did 5/3/1 until my injury. Then I did Jim Wendler's 100 Rep Challenge for 6 weeks just to get back into lifting.

All weights are in pounds/lbs. All reps are written as (reps x sets).

Squats:
45 -5x2
135 x5
185 x3
225 x2
250 -5x3

These started badly and ended well. The first set almost crushed me, but each set got better. I hadn't squatted in a few weeks and it just took some getting used to. By the 3rd set everything was going just fine. A few weeks ago I would've thought 250 was way too light. After set 1 I was thinking it was way too heavy. But I think I chose wisely. I will be taking my time and only adding 5lbs per day. I could probably add 10lbs but I'm not in that much of a hurry.


Press:
45 -10x2
65 x5
95 x3
120 x1
135 -5x3

This was my first time ever trying the new style press as taught in SS 3rd edition. It went really well too. During warmups I thought I made a big mistake and may need to drop down to 95lbs for sets, but I got the drift pretty quick and it smoothed out really well.


Power Cleans:
45 -5x2
95 x5
135 -5x3

These went surprisingly well considering how little I had done them recently. I had a few minor issues but I found some guys who were really good at power cleans, had them watch my reps, and they got me squared away. I think I can add 10lbs Friday, but I need to figure out a better rep scheme. 5x3 was rough after everything else.

It felt good being back. I've got to get back into a rhythm as far as diet and rest.

[KAG]

Day 2. I was unbelievably sore yesterday. I felt like I got hit by a truck. And then today I had bad sinus drainage, headache, and a sore throat to go along with the soreness. I took it easy all day and was able to get my training in.


Squats:
45 -5x2
135 x5
185 x3
225 x1
255 -5x3

I forgot to foam roll before warming up with the bar, and it hurt. I put it down and got the foam roller. A few minutes later I felt 10x better. But once again warmups and my first set were incredibly hard. By the second set I had some rythym. And set 3 went really well despite the fact that I was exhausted and had a small river of sweat flowing away from me.


Bench:
45 x20
95 x5
135 x5
165 x3
190 -5x3

These were terrible. I couldn't get set tight and each rep was rough. On the last set I apparently got setup too far back because I hit the rack on each of the 5 reps. It was bad that these were so hard but I guess it's good that I clanked 5 reps off the rack and still was able to keep them on track and complete them. A week ago I figured 190 would be really easy and I considered going for 200. I'm glad I stuck with 190.


Deadlift:
135 x5
225 x3
275 x1
315 x5
315 x1
315 x1

By the time I got to these I was exhausted. Last week I pulled 335 without a belt, with really good looking technique, for multiple reps. Today 275 was tough and I needed the belt to complete 315. I did my set of 5, watched the video, and didn't like what I saw. My set started slightly off and didn't get better. So then I tried 315 2 more times. I finally got it somewhat the way I wanted on the 7th rep, but still not great. Apparently I need some more work on my setup. It's been rough since I hurt my back. I may have to move these up before the bench just to have some energy left for them.

[mwhities]

Back to SS. Again. For the 3rd.... or 4th time, I forget.

I'm catching up to you... I'm on my second or third.

Welcome back.

[KAG]

Friday

It was a cold day in the gym and I forgot to dress accordingly. It made it almost impossible to feel warm, mobile, and active.

Warmup:
Foam roll some
Stationary bike on medium difficulty for 3 minutes
Foam roll again until I felt better

Squats:
45 -5x2
135 x5
185 x3
230 x1
260 - 5x3

Once again these started horribly and got better. By the 3rd set they were flying up, felt good, and looked good. But warmups and the 1st and 2nd set were a nightmare. I couldn't get setup right, the bar slid, and I couldn't stay tight throughout the sets. This is going to be a long hard road if I can't figure out how to get squared away during warmups soon. If I had started the way set 3 went it would've been an amazing session.


Press:
45 x10
65 x5
95 x3
120 x1
140 -5x3

These were just like the squats. After the first set I didn't think I had a prayer of completing them. By the 3rd set the bar was moving well. It's kinda backwards here lately.


Power Cleans:
45 x5
65 x5
95 x3
155 - 5x1 & 3x1
145 - 5x1 & 1x1

This was a bad mental error. I added 20lbs from Monday instead of 10 and almost wore myself completely out before I realized why. I thought it was just because I was so tired from everything else. Then I noticed the plates on the end. I grabbed 10s instead of 5s. Once I dropped down it got much easier, but I was too tired and frustrated by then and quit before I finished.


Week 1 Evaluation:

It's going to be a long few weeks coming up if I can't focus and work out all these little errors such as how high to wear my belt on each different lift, how tight, etc. I've got to figure out how to start with the proper technique and get it worked out during the warmups rather than figuring it while I go and not getting it right until set 3. And I've got to concentrate on counting properly because I started to press a set with a 45+5 on one side and a 45+10 on the other. Then the issue with my wrong weight on the power cleans. I've got a lot on my mind lately and it's sticking with me in the weight room. If things keep going like the first 2 sets, I'm going to be beaten down and injured soon. If I can straighten things out I'll be fine. It's not the weight getting to me, it's me screwing up. I've got bruises all over my midsection from not getting the belt on properly, bruises all over my shoulders from not racking power cleans properly, bruises on my back from the bar sliding, and I'm just generally more worn down than I should be.

I'm catching up to you... I'm on my second or third.

Welcome back.

Thank you. Not that I don't like SS, but I really hope this is the last time I have to be on it for a while. I would really like to stay healthy and keep on going well into an intermediate program.

[Kyle Schuant]

3rd or 4th time... so what's different this time? What stopped you doing it the other times, and could that stop you again now? It's not a good sign that after your first week you're already thinking you'd rather be doing a different programme.

SS is a great programme, but I'm not religious about it, I think you have to find something that works for you. It's simply that SS works for a lot of people.

[tertius]

Week 1 Evaluation:

It's going to be a long few weeks coming up if I can't focus and work out all these little errors such as how high to wear my belt on each different lift, how tight, etc. I've got to figure out how to start with the proper technique and get it worked out during the warmups rather than figuring it while I go and not getting it right until set 3. And I've got to concentrate on counting properly because I started to press a set with a 45+5 on one side and a 45+10 on the other. Then the issue with my wrong weight on the power cleans. I've got a lot on my mind lately and it's sticking with me in the weight room. If things keep going like the first 2 sets, I'm going to be beaten down and injured soon. If I can straighten things out I'll be fine. It's not the weight getting to me, it's me screwing up. I've got bruises all over my midsection from not getting the belt on properly, bruises all over my shoulders from not racking power cleans properly, bruises on my back from the bar sliding, and I'm just generally more worn down than I should be.

Sounds like you need to be doing two things on your squats: more warmup reps, and really locking in the bar. I'd also recommend warming your upper body up before you squat. I like to row, rather than hitting the bike. I also usually do at least a double at the weight before my workset, and usually I do one rep at my workset weight, or maybe a little higher, to prime my muscles and let them know what they're going to need to do. I'd recommend doing this on pretty much every lift, really. It's these effects (getting fully warmed up, and your muscles being primed for the weight) that it is making the third set go so much better than the first two.

Between the hard time getting set and misloading of the bar (which I've done myself on more than one occasion), it's clear your mind isn't really on what's going on in the gym. You gotta let go of all the work shit and life shit. You sleeping well? Consistently shitty sleep will fuck you up something fierce. What can you do to get your head clear before you walk onto the floor of the gym? Ten minutes sitting quietly? Spending some time putting rounds down range? Blaring rock n' roll? Can you get a workout partner/coach to shout at you and keep you focused?

You're absolutely right that you're going to get creamed by the bar at some point if you can't get your head together.
Unfortunately that part can be harder than actually moving the weight, sometimes.

[KAG]

3rd or 4th time... so what's different this time? What stopped you doing it the other times, and could that stop you again now?

Everything is different. My work schedule, sleep schedule, eating schedule. It's all normal for the first time in 15+ years.

The short short versions is over the last 2 years: I did SS and was stopped by an injury (work related, not lifting) before I got too far, went back to it afterward and found that around the 300lbs range my work/sleep/food schedule wore me out. Switched to 5/3/1, did well, got injured (work again), back to SS for a short while, 5/3/1, and injured again, 100 Rep Challenge. I think that's an accurate rundown but I can't remember exactly. I'd have to dig out my old logs to see. It's all kind of a blur.

It's not a good sign that after your first week you're already thinking you'd rather be doing a different programme.
SS is a great programme, but I'm not religious about it,

I never said I'd rather be doing something else. If I wanted to do something else, I'd just do it. I'm not married to any program. I like SS, I was merely stating that I hope this time I can complete linear progression and make it well into an intermediate program without having to come back. I like SS but I'd rather not need to run it again. I want to do well here and maybe try to Texas Method.

Sounds like you need to be doing two things on your squats: more warmup reps, and really locking in the bar. I'd also recommend warming your upper body up before you squat. I like to row, rather than hitting the bike. I also usually do at least a double at the weight before my workset, and usually I do one rep at my workset weight, or maybe a little higher, to prime my muscles and let them know what they're going to need to do. I'd recommend doing this on pretty much every lift, really. It's these effects (getting fully warmed up, and your muscles being primed for the weight) that it is making the third set go so much better than the first two.

That's good advice. I will try it tomorrow and see if there is any difference. Thanks.

Between the hard time getting set and misloading of the bar (which I've done myself on more than one occasion), it's clear your mind isn't really on what's going on in the gym. You gotta let go of all the work shit and life shit. You sleeping well? Consistently shitty sleep will fuck you up something fierce. What can you do to get your head clear before you walk onto the floor of the gym? Ten minutes sitting quietly? Spending some time putting rounds down range? Blaring rock n' roll? Can you get a workout partner/coach to shout at you and keep you focused?

Last week I was on-call so my phone rang every few minutes in the gym. There was no way to avoid it. So one set I'd have a 5 minute rest between sets, the next was 15 because I was on the phone. There isn't a whole lot that could be done to clear my head. Hopefully this week will be better because I'm not on-call.

Sleep had been decent. Diet too. In fact the diet has been more than good according to the scale, so food is not a problem.

I wish I had a workout partner but it just isn't in the cards.

[tertius]

Last week I was on-call so my phone rang every few minutes in the gym. There was no way to avoid it. So one set I'd have a 5 minute rest between sets, the next was 15 because I was on the phone. There isn't a whole lot that could be done to clear my head. Hopefully this week will be better because I'm not on-call.

Ah, that'll do it to you. You regularly alternating weeks when you're on-call? Just accepting that you're going to get interrupted, and that the sessions for the week might be shitty, maybe you don't move up in weight how you want to, and knowing it ahead of time might help.

I wish I had a workout partner but it just isn't in the cards.

I know that feeling well.

[KAG]

Week 2 Monday

I was dressed much more appropriately today and managed to stay warm. Over all today went much better with some small hiccups.

I upped the warmups slightly and added 1 rep of the work set into the warmup. Right when I finished it I was just tired and figured this wasn't going to work for me. I plotted a terrible vengeance against Tertius, but then my working sets went well, so I have to say that his idea worked. I have shelved my vengeance for the immediate future.

Squats:

45 -5x3
135 x5
185 x3
235 x3
265 x1
265 -5x3

Everything went fine here except I had some hip impingement on my right side. I'm not sure why or what was wrong but on every rep it felt like something was pinching in my hip. Nothing changed from last week till this week. Same form, same depth, just pinching. I tried stretching out extra and doing some hip mobility stuff but it didn't help. It felt perfectly fine at all times until the very bottom of the squat. As soon as I started back up, I was fine.

The sets went well until the last one. I messed up and simply put my belt on the wrong hole. I couldn't feel the difference before the set because I had a sweatshirt on. But as soon as I hit my first rep I felt the belt shift and realized it wasn't tight enough for real support. I managed to finish it but it was not pretty.


Press:
45 x10
65 x5
95 x3
125 x2
145 x1
145 -5x3

These went really well. I got a little off balance on the first set and struggled but the second and third set went great. The bar went up smooth and quick. I was pleased.


Power Cleans:
45 -5x2
95 x5
145 -5x3

I did 145 again because of Friday's snafu.

And oddly enough these went well too. By the time I started them I was exhausted but I got 3 good sets in.

You regularly alternating weeks when you're on-call?

Yes. In a couple more weeks it'll be my turn to have all the fun again.

[tertius]

I upped the warmups slightly and added 1 rep of the work set into the warmup. Right when I finished it I was just tired and figured this wasn't going to work for me. I plotted a terrible vengeance against Tertius, but then my working sets went well, so I have to say that his idea worked. I have shelved my vengeance for the immediate future.

Yeah, it's weird like that. You feel like "Oh shit, I totally just blew my wad warming up" and then a fifteen minutes later you're done squatting, feel good, and can't figure out what the problem was earlier.