Rob's SS/LP Training Log

[Rob_T]

Background:
I'm 27, 5'10", and i weigh about 195 lbs. I have worked out off and on since high school, usually doing bench, curls, shrugs, tri's, and some leg exercises. Throughout this time, I was fairly consistent with my workouts, but I never really understood the best way to progress.

About mid-March of last year, I got back into working out after a year or two layoff. I started doing deadlifts and squats, for the first time ever, about a month later. At this point, I was doing a 4 day split (chest/bi's, legs, back/tri's, legs), and I was doing a SL 5x5 type of progression with my squats, bench, rows, and presses. I was also playing basketball twice a week for some cardio work.

I switched to a variation of a SS workout in November 2012 because I wanted to increase my squats, and 5x5 started to become too much on bench and squatting for me.

Let's see... here are some of my stats from when i started to my most recent high end sets (I caught the flu right before Christmas and lost a few pounds, so I'll be working my way back up).

Bench: 185x1 -> 200x(4,5,4) *last rep of last 2 sets assisted
Rows: 95x5x5 -> 180x3x5 (3 sets of 5)
OHP: 70x3x10 -> 115x3x5
Deadlifts: 185x5x5 -> 290x5, 320x3
Squats: 95x5x5 -> 250x3x5

Further Notes:
-Squats- I have had trouble with my squats from the beginning. I originally got them around 225, then tweaked my lower back. Here, i realized my form was off, and I wasn't keeping my core/back tight in the hole. So, i reset to 185 and worked back up towards 225. This time when I got there, I felt like there was a weak link in my back. It didn't hurt, but it felt like if i kept going for sets that it was going to give in soon enough. So, i reset again and finally started achieving proper depth.

My goal for squats at the end of last year was 250x3x5, so I pushed pretty hard to get to it. It was pretty tough, and I had to grind the last couple weeks pretty badly. My form was definitely sacrificed here. Lucky for me, someone at my gym, who had had a PT help him with his squats, pointed out my flaws. Mainly, I was starting with my knees and not my hips, and I was not keeping my knees out throughout the entire lift. Now, that I am starting back after my sickness, I am going to start at 225x3x5 and move my way up, making sure I have correct form throughout my progression. Also, I high bar squat and will continue to do this for the near future.

-Deadlifts- I've always enjoyed deadlifts, but more recently, I have had trouble with my grip. For a while, I just worked towards heavy triples. Now, i reset the weight and am trying to progress through a heavy set of 5, then go back to a static DOH hold at 275 for grip work.

-Rows- I started doing Pendlay Rows with SL and have continued doing them through my variation of SS. I have not had the book (should be receiving it tomorrow via mail), so I did not really feel comfortable doing power cleans without some thorough instruction. Anyway, the last time I did rows after my 250x3x5 squats, I almost felt like I was going to have a hernia or something. So, I'm going to be careful with these in the near future.

-Bench- I always worked on my bench in the past, doing 10-8-6-4-2 type schemes and never really progressing too much. I carry most of my body fat on my chest/stomach, so I was not really focusing too much on bench when I first started back (just once a week). Eventually, though, I changed my mind, and I was glad to switch to SS, benching and rowing (instead of PC's) 3x every two weeks.

-Further Info- When I started working out again, I weighed 175 lbs with a 17.4% BF. Before the flu, I was up to 197 lbs and probably around 20% BF, if I had to guess.

I'm going to start running/playing basketball a couple times a week for some conditioning, trying to cut back a little bit on the body fat. I know this is not DTP, but at my weight, I feel that I should have some decent gains to make w/o consistently gaining weight. I'll probably still eat a good bit on my strength training days, though.

I have not officially stalled on any lifts, yet. Although, I have been really close to it on press. I guess you could consider that I may have on squats or deadlifts, but my resets were mostly due to form/grip issues.

I also add chins/pullups at the end of my workouts if I am not completely gassed. On Friday's, I add a set of curls, followed immediately by a lower weighted set, then another, and a set or two of triceps exercises.

I will be testing a couple maxes at the end of this month. I was going to max this last week, but after me and my workout partner both got the flu, we decided to move it towards the end of January. In reality, bench is the only lift that I really care to max.

Goals
1) Join the 1000 club
2) Increase my bench to 225 work sets. (my goal is 225x1 currently, but I should be able to do that now... I'll find out by the end of the month)
3) Deadlift 365x1, then x2 bw
4) OHP 135x3x5
5) Squat 275x3x5, and x1.5 bw

Thanks to anybody following this thread, and I welcome any advice anyone may have.

[Rob_T]

Monday, January 7th

Squats: 225x3, 205x2x5
OHP: 105x3x5
Deadlifts: 295x5 Mixed Grip PR, 295 DOH Static Hold
Chins: BW 3,3,3,3

Notes:
-Squats- I warmed up and got up to 225, but I started to feel my knees caving in more than i thought they would at the weight, so I dropped the weight down to 205, which was still tough. I was fairly upset after squatting, realizing I might have to drop my ego and work on form for the next couple weeks with lighter weights. After the workout, i remembered that I ran a mile and a half (on and off) for the first time in about 8 months, yesterday, so I am hoping that was what affected my squatting. Guess I'll see come Wednesday...

-OHP- These weren't too bad. I had a couple workouts that aren't posted after I came back from the flu, and I tried to continue with my OHP progression. That did not work at all... I think the couple sets I tried were like 3 and 2. So, I decided to drop the weight to 105x3x5 and take a week or two to catch back up to where I ended in December.

-Deadlifts- These have been going well for me lately. Steady progression. I felt like I had at least one or two left in the tank at the end of my set. I did a static hold a couple minutes after my set, but I doubt that I held it more than 4 seconds. My thumbs weren't wrapped around the bar at all, and I think that my grip was pretty shot by the time I tried this.

As far as chins go, before I was on my SS variation, I was up to sets of 5. When I was there, I was switching between chins, neutral, and wide pullups for sets, going for about 20 total. Recently, I've just been doing about 3 sets of 3 for chins once a week, but I am going to start trying to hit somewhere between 15-20 reps, if I am not completely worn out, and see if that helps me increase them any.

[Rob_T]

Squats: 215x2x4, 205x5
Bench: 190x3x5
Rows: 170x3x5
Dips: BW 7,7,7
Curls: 40'sx7, 30'sx7, 20'sx7 (15 second rest in between sets)
Tricep Pulldowns: 50x20

Notes:
-Squats- These were pretty bad today. The right side of my neck was sore, in between the neck and my shoulder, I guess the trap. I'm not sure if this was from doing too much effort on Monday, or just sleeping on it wrong. I've had this issue before from sleeping. Either way, when I started getting towards my 3rd/4th rep on set 1 and 2, my trap was really bothering me. So, I really did not want to push it. I'm getting a massage tomorrow, so that will probably help it a little bit.

Squats have been kicking my ass lately, and I have had a much harder time trying to focus on form. Before, I wasn't arching my lower back as much as I should, squatting with more of a straight back, so focusing on that seems to take away from my other cues. Guess I just need to work on it/grind my form until it's second nature with a ton of light reps. I'll probably just start Friday with 185, then maybe make a couple 10 lb jumps from there.

-Bench- I had no problem with these sets. My workout partner and his gf are starting to run on Wednesdays, so I didn't have a spotter. I didn't need one, though. I had to use a little bit of my leg drive on the last rep of the last set, but it wasn't hard at all.

-Rows- These were pretty easy, too. I made much more of a conscience effort of holding my breath/engaging my core with these today. It made them much easier off the ground (duh!). Maybe I wasn't engaging my core the last time I was doing 180's. Hope that was the problem.

-Dips- I might start adding weight on these and just do sets of 7

I wasn't going to do any other work, other than running, but after i changed out of my chucks and into some running shoes, i said, "what the hell" and threw in the curls/triceps. I jogged for a little bit, but I had to meet a friend, so I cut it short at about 3/4 mile.

[Rob_T]

Squats: 185x3x5
OHP: 110x(5,4,3)
Deadlifts: 300x5 MG PR, 300x1 DOH Static Hold

Notes:
I felt so good after my massage on Thursday that I decided to take another day off before going back to the gym.

-Squats- No problem here. I read through the squat and OHP chapters of SS over the last couple days. I mostly worried about having my back arched and starting back with the hips. Other than that, I just focused on a vertical bar path for each rep.

-OHP- These were kind of a bummer. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get to 120 for reps without any extra workouts at the same weights. I probably should have expected this. My form was a bit off... still need some work on these, but I think I'll be able to hit this weight next time.

-Deadlifts- I'm loving deadlifts right now. These are going up easy, and I am thinking that my grip strength won't be holding me back for a while. It's been forever since I have given any thought to possible muscle imbalances from the mixed grip, so I decided to switch my supinated arm from my left to right. I wasn't sure if this would be a problem, but it worked out fine. I'm going to continue switching these every deadlift workout. The static hold was like last time, I got it up for a few seconds but not too long. I may need to take a few pounds off the bar in between my work set and my static hold.

I didn't do any extra work, because I'm going to be working out 4x before a 2 day break this week. Figured I'd take it easy for the first workout and not tire myself too much for later.

[Rob_T]

Squats: 190x3x5
Bench: 195x5, 195x6??? (explain in notes), 195x5, 195x4
Rows: 175x3x5

Notes:
-Squats- These were fine. Felt pretty heavy for 190, but my form seemed well. I'm having a little bit of trouble getting my breath before my last rep... before I was focusing on arching my lower back, I would just make sure to get that deep breath in my belly. I'm pretty sure I have the support, but it just feels a little bit different with a strong arch.

-Bench- These were fucking gay. So, my workout partner is a little bit late... no problem. I throw up my first set of 5. It was a little bit tough on the 5th rep, so I ask a dude for a spot on my 2nd set. I specifically say, "Hey man, I'm going for a set of 5 here, I shouldn't need any help, but I might need some if the bar gets stuck on the 5th rep for like 3 seconds." He's like, "Oh, I got ya... just a little help to get you over the top." .... Sure. Well, Dude ends up having his fingers under the bar for each rep throughout the set. I tell him I don't need any help through the 2nd rep, but he keeps on doing this. By the 5th rep, I wasn't struggling at all... barely using any leg drive for support, and I throw up a 6th rep, easy breezy. So, it's fucking obvious that this tard was helping throughout the entire set. I didn't really feel like bitching at him, since he was trying to help, but this kid is definitely blacklisted as a spotter.

I do the 3rd set by myself without a spot, since I figure I've got the anger on my side from this, and something else that happened previously. Got it up pretty well. The 5th rep was pretty tough. I figured I'd go for a 4th set and see if i can get 5 when my workout partner got there, but I was pretty much spent after the 4th one. Tried for the 5th but was nowhere close. So, I guess I'm repeating this weight on Friday. Very lame.

-Rows- These were bleh. I used to like these a ton, but now that they've gotten pretty heavy, they've earned a spot in my most hated lifts. I did not end up touching my chest on all the reps, so I'll probably repeat this weight on Friday.

[Rob_T]

Squats: 195x3x5
OHP: 110x3x5
Deadlifts: 305x5 MG PR, 295x1 Static DOH
Chins: 3,2

Notes:
-Squats-These went well. I ended up deciding to go for 5 lb increases this week, since 185 wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, and I'm doing 4 workouts before having a two day break.

I think I finally have my form down pretty decent, so I'm hoping for steady progress on squats for the next couple months. I think I can hit 275 for reps close to the end of February, if all goes well. If I'm nowhere close by then, I'm either going to have to get a PT for an hour, or say screw it and switch to low bar. Only time will tell.

-OHP- No complaints here. My form wasn't the greatest, but it was better than last time... I could feel the bar moving forward on a couple reps.

-Deadlifts- I'm starting to think my problem with grip on these is due to sweating from squatting in the beginning. I got my set of 5, but the bar starting slipping from the first rep. The plates on the left side made contact with the ground first on just about every rep... maybe not the last. I dropped the weight 10 lbs for my static DOH hold. This worked out fairly well, and I was able to hold it for about 7 seconds.

I was wanting to do chins, since I haven't done any assistance the last couple times in the gym, but I was pretty worn out. I'm thinking this is from a lack of sleep the last couple days. I've had a decent amount, maybe 6 hours/night, but not as much as I normally do.

[Rob_T]

BW: 197 lbs

Squats: 200x3x5
Bench: 200x3x4 PR (last time I tried it I would have had 4,4,3 unassisted)
Rows: 180x3x5
Curls: 40's x 8, 30's x 8, 20's x 8
Triceps: 50x15

Notes:
-Squats- These were good. Squats always feel heavy after I get to my body weight. Started paying attention to the floor mats inside the rack. Two mats meet together around where my left foot usually is and the mat sticks up a little bit/isn't level. A few inches back, near where my right foot would go, the other mat does the same thing. Both mats are pretty level towards about as far back as I could go and still be in the rack. Just sucks because this will take alot of extra movement to get back there.

-Bench- Decided to go for 200x3x5 since my workout partner was there today, and I feel like i could have gotten 195x3x5 last workout. I'll have to ask for spotters next Wednesday, so I figured, if I go ahead and do 200 this time, I should be able to throw 5 up the first set or two no problem on Wednesday. Bench usually took me about two tries to increase the weight before I reset earlier this month.

-Rows- Thought I was doing the same weight as last time. Hit my chest/stomach on all reps. No complaints.

-Curls- Did these with about 15-20 seconds in between sets.

-Triceps Rope Pulldowns- Did these a couple minutes after curls.

Now time to go get drunk! I'm actually planning on drinking 2-3 beers, but I usually end up drinking waaaaay more than I would ideally like to on Fridays.

[Rob_T]

Squats: 205x3x5
OHP: 115x(4,3,2)
Deadlifts: 310x5 MG PR, 300x1 DOH Static Hold
Chins: BW 3,3,3,3,2

Notes:
I went to the gym a few hours later than I usually do. I used to always go at night... had a pretty good workout.

-Squats- These went really well. Felt like I had great form.

-OHP- These were a struggle. I think this the attempt that I would have been on before I got sick. Hopefully, next time I'll be able to get something like 5,4,3.

-Deadlifts- The grip today was not a problem. I made a conscience effort not to hold my hands together in between warmups and when I was getting ready. I think this may have helped keep them less sweaty, not really sure. Wasn't sure if I should try the static hold at 295 or 300, but went with 300 and got it for about 5 solid seconds.

Chins went okay. Had a 2-3 min break in between sets. Ideally, I would like to do these at home a couple times a week. I have one of those pull up bars that you can fit in a doorway, but I left the little fitting at my old apartment. http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Fitnes...ef=pd_sbs_sg_2

It's a little bent metal piece, like half a swastika with a pointed end that you can shove into the doorway molding, against the wall. It's supposed to be a safe-catch to keep the bar from falling off the doorway when you're using it. I think I could probably get another piece like that at Lowe's, maybe, but my question is, has anyone heard of people they know having the bar fall from the doorway while using it? I'm sure it has happened, otherwise they wouldn't have the warning (or else just not wanting to get sued), but I've been avoiding using it just in case this was a serious problem.

[Rob_T]

Squats: 210x3x5
Bench: 200x3x5 PR
Rows: 185x3x5 PR
Dips: 7 BW, 2x7 BW + 10 lbs PR

Notes:
-Squats- These felt pretty good. The first set is usually a little bit tougher than the rest for me. Well, except when the weight is so heavy that i spend like 3-4 seconds grinding my way to the top (had several of these with my bad form last December, the guy I got advice from said he thought he was going to have to jump in and save me on my final rep and set at 250... so he wasn't just watching me to bask in my awesomeness, haha). Anyhow, after the first set I feel a little more warmed up, I guess. Maybe, I should try doing one rep of warm-ups at a heavier weight than my work sets. I saw a few people talk about doing that on other threads, and they seemed to like it.

-Bench- Muahahaha... I got 200 lbs for 3x5! This is so awesome to me. I can't think for how many years, I just wanted to be able to bench 200, let alone do it for reps. Now I get to move up to 205. One step closer to my goal of 225 for work sets. I just know I'm going to kill that 225x1 attempt when I max out a week from Friday. Maybe, I'll even get 235. Anything higher than that would absolutely blow my mind.

Also, I had a random spotter today. This guy was really nice, and only jumped in to help me rack at the end of my 2nd and 3rd sets. Feel kind of bad that I was so pissed at the other guy last week, think I was more angry at other stuff that was going on that day, and that just added to the fire. I did kinda sorta cheat my last rep on bench (butt came off the bench barely) but I'm counting it!

-Rows- Heavy Pendlay Rows. I've been kind of guessing as to where exactly where my feet should be placed while doing these. I've been more comfortable my last couple of attempts. Pretty much a jumping stance with the bar above the knuckles of my toes.

-Dips- I have never used a weighted belt for chins or dips before. This was pretty cool to me. I felt like I could have done a few more on my first set, so I got the belt and threw a 10 lber on it. I thought about doing a 5 lb weight, but there was this cute trainer working with one of her clients (I usually see her when I'm stretching after my workout), so I didn't want to look like a total puss in case she looked over. Guess it would have been better than a 2.5 haha... I might go ahead and up the weight next time I do dips. I was going off maybe a min/min and half rest in between sets.

In case anyone was wondering I do warm-ups pretty much like they're suggested in SS. squat example: 45x2x5, 95x5, 135x3, 185x2/1, work weights. I'll probably start adding 205x1 in after this week, too.

I also do a few stretches after my workout... started doing these after my first few times deadlifting. The DOMS was killer to me, I think I popped a lortab the day after I deadlifted for the first 3 or 4 times and it helped a little bit (didn't have any muscle relaxers). After this, I started doing stretches specifically for it, and my back was not nearly as sore. This kind of carried over, and now I've been trying to incorporate one or two more stretches every week or two. Stretch out those muscles and increase that flexibility.

I felt really good after this workout, I think it was because I took my time in the gym. I probably should have ran a bit after, but I felt like being lazy. Twas a great workout for me, I'm really happy to be back in the PR setting part of this LP. Now, I just have to get my squats up past 250.

[Rob_T]

Squats: 215x3x5
OHP: 115x(4,4,-)
Deadlifts: 315x5 MG PR, 305x1 DOH Static Hold
Curls: 40's x 9, 30's x 6, 20's x 7

Notes:
-Squats- These went okay. Weight felt pretty heavy. Been trying to focus on starting by sitting back and spreading my knees out hard on the beginning of the descent.

-OHP- First set was alright. Second set, i got angry at the bar to get 4 up. Third set attempt, my left wrist was hurting when i unracked the bar, so I decided to rack it before I did some serious damage. Not sure if i did my setup too quick for the 2nd set and didn't see that the bar was too far back in the palm of my hand or not. The weight collar on the left side was pretty loose, so it's possible the weight might have slid to the left, causing me to have to try and balance it, and hurt my wrist. I'm not really sure about this, though, considering there was only one 35 plate on each side.

-Deadlifts- My wrist hurt for pushing but not for pulling. 315 didn't feel bad at all. I might have not had my back tight enough on the 3rd rep (1st time I've ever felt like I had bad form on deadlifts), but I made sure to keep it nice and tight for the 4th and 5th reps. The left side of the bar started hitting the ground a little early around the 3rd/4th rep. This is actually where I thought about the loose collar... I noticed that the three 45's on the left side had slid about 3-4 inches down the bar by the end of the set. I'm guessing the weights slid down during that 3rd rep, messing with my form.

Decided to do 300 lbs for the static hold, since my grip wasn't giving out during the set. I'm not sure if it has been the hold, or just the sets of 5, but my grip has been increasing pretty steadily lately.

Curls were same as always. I started to do triceps extentions after curls, but I think my left arm and chest started to cramp up. Something over in that area didn't like the thought of me doing triceps work today.