Pissed Off For Greatness: John's Log

[John Guerra]

Intro:
I am 17 year old male/junior in high-school who is training under the Starting Strength novice program. I have attended both the Starting Strength squat camp in Atlanta and the Starting Strength Seminar in Brooklyn(1 month ago). I have been barbell training for 2 months and have been doing (yes actually doing) the SS program since 10/12/2012. I have been playing varsity basketball for the past three years and I will run the 100m dash for the track team. I am currently in-season for basketball and will be barbell training on Sunday and Wednesday of each week using the basic A--B--A template. I am 6 feet tall.

Reasons for log:
I have started this log to ensure that I do not give into the allures of mediocrity. There has been an epidemic of laziness, along with a general acceptance of going through the motions in life, that I refuse to be a part of. Being strong, both mentally and physically, is something I value and am working toward.

What to expect/Goals:
I will be logging my training sessions(no shit!) and will mention how barbell training has impacted me on the basketball court and track. I will end each post with a motivational video because I think inspiration and motivation are often overlooked in one's journey. My training goals are to get to a 200lb body-weight and 405 squat as soon as possible. I will re-assess after I get there.

Where I was on October 12th, 2012 (First day of SS post-mono)
Bodyweight: 173.8
Squat 5x 3 225lbs
Press 5x3 90lbs
Deadlift 5x1 280

Today's Training Session--November 4th, 2012:
Bodyweight: 187.3
Squat 280x5x3--Good bar speed, need to stay tight in hole.
Press 105x5x3--SS 3rd edition form-- need to reach more with hips.
Power Clean 125x3x5--actually used jumping ability today. Still really light.

Summary: Good training day, I am looking forward to hitting 190 on the scale next Sunday. Drink your milk.
Motivational video of the day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07fhOVQ9wEA

[Gene61]

Way to go, John. Great progress.

[John Guerra]

Wednesday November 8th Training

Squat 285x5x3--will post video later--felt easy will add 5 lbs for Sunday's workout
Bench 180x5x3--strong sets

Had a great training night yesterday. Moved the deadlifts to today because it was 1:30am after the bench sets and I had to go to sleep. Last day of first trimester in school is Friday and I am looking forward to 2 weeks of sleeping, eating, and training.

How Bad Do You Want It? (pt.1)-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsSC2vx7zFQ

[John Guerra]

Sunday November 11th Training

Squat 290x5x3--Felt good
Press 110x5x3--much easier than 105--don't ask me why though--ok, probably because I reached more with hips
Deadlift 310x5--finally got to deadlift--a fun lift-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhLArOaYSxg&feature=plcp

Summary: Felt good today.I had my first basketball game on Friday so I was glad to see the weight training remain on point. Also--coached one of my teammates today through his second SS training day. The basketball game went really well too: we won by a lot and I scored 31 points. Looking forward to next game on Tuesday. My next weight training will be done on Thursday.

Live in a Vision: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I9UsfDZLyQ

[John Guerra]

Way to go, John. Great progress.

Thanks Gene, it's amazing what a combination of milk, squats, and a simple LP can do.

[John Guerra]

After one week of being everywhere but the gym, it felt nice to get back. Unfortunately I had to repeat weights that I have previously done, but I'll be back to my previous weights in two weeks. We won our second basketball game of the year by 25 points, and I scored 21. Looking forward to first conference game on Tuesday.

Squat 5x3x270

Bench 5x3x175

Deadlift 5x1x300

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-wumDYaGNA

[Sven]

Way to go John! It is awesome that you not only have the desire to do this but have the proper knowledge to take advantage of it. I'm impressed, keep up the good work. I look forward to following your posts.

[John Guerra]

Sunday November 25th,

Squat 5x3x275
Press 5x3x105
Power Clean 3x5x140
Chins BW 7,5,5
Total Workout time was 1 hour 27 minutes
Bodyweight after workout was 189.5 lbs

Summary: I have come to the realization(after still not being well past 190lbs) that I am once again not eating enough--despite drinking a gallon of milk a day. Fortunately, after two weeks off, school will be starting again and I will be able to up my caloric intake tremendously(I have found out that it sucks not having a buffet style lunch/postlunch meal everyday provided for free). Next workout will be on Wednesday and my next basketball game is on Tuesday.

[John Guerra]

Thursday November 30th,

Squat 5x3x280--First time squatting in the adipower shoes, and they were great. Ripped the strap off of my Do-Wins so I can't use those anymore.
Bench 5x3x180--Felt easy and expect 185 to go easily next week.
Deadlift (will be completed later today)

Bodyweight: 191.8 lbs

Summary: Good day lifting and I'm looking forward to next training session. For basketball we won our first conference game on Tuesday, and I played well--14 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 5 steals . I'm recovering well from 2 days of lifting a week plus 5 days of basketball, and I am considering adding a light squat day in the middle of the week for December. I'm not sure yet though. I plan on being 195lbs by second week of December.

Unbelievable video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448 --I wonder what would of happened if he had a copy of SS.

[John Guerra]

Monday December 3rd

Deadlift 305x5

Press 110x5x3

Chins BW 7,7,7 --- Glad to see that I was able to knockout 3 sets of 7 dead-hang chins

Summary: Had a good workout today, and I'm off to basketball practice now. We have a big game tomorrow and I'm looking forward to winning.

The first minute and half of this one gets me every time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyxeiD25fHM