Starting Weak, Hoping to get Strong

[clantz]

Background:
New to the forum, total newb lifter. Never really took part in organized sports except for one year of rugby in high school, so I’m completely non-athletic. My main interests are outdoor activities such as hiking, canoe tripping, fishing, and bow hunting so having a decent strength base is somewhat important. A good strength base certainly makes shooting the bow easier or walking 5km over rough terrain with a 40lb pack and 70lb canoe on your shoulders more manageable.

Over the past few years I’ve been dicking around with machine based resistance workouts and doing a lot of cardio without making any progress in terms of strength. I've played with barbells a few times but never seemed to be able to improve any of my lifts, probably due to a combination of not eating or getting enough sleep along with doing too much cardio work. I completed my first marathon last May and really didn't like the way I felt after finishing marathon training, actually gained weight and felt weaker and flabby. Also came to the realization that running would never be a hobby and doesn't really have any carryover into anything else I do, thus the decision to put more focus into strength training.

I've been doing the Starting Strength novice routine since late June. Progress has been a bit slow due to newbie mistakes. Quite a few things Jordan listed in “Top 10 Mistakes People Following Starting Strength Make” apply to me. Since starting I have read the book and put more focus on technique.

Goal:
Really just to gain some functional strength which will hopefully help in my hobbies and performing everyday chores.

Initial Stats:
Male
5' 11"
Age: 35
Body Weight: 200 lbs, started at around 190. Weight gain seems too fast so I’ve probably added a lot of fat, haven’t had to by new pants yet though lol.

Work set weight, starting June 24th
Squat: 135 lbs
Bench: 95 lbs
Deadlift: 135 lbs
Press: 80 lbs
Power clean: Put off learning the power clean for a long time and just did deadlifts. Still messing with these trying to get technique down. Had some issues with tennis elbow related to poor technique so doing rows for now.

[clantz]

August 14, 2013
I was coerced into doing a 10 km run last night so I wasn't expecting this morning's workout to go well

Warm up: Rowing machine, 5 mins

Squat
45x2x5
95X1X5
130X1X3
175X1X2
220X3X5

Squats felt good despite tired legs. Work set actually felt better than last workout at 215.

Bench
45x2x5
80X1X5
110X1X3
140X1X2
160X3X5

Really had to fight for the last rep of each work set, form seemed to fall apart. Benching 155 last week didn’t seem nearly as difficult so maybe time for 2.5 lb jumps.

Deadlift
135x1x5
155X1X3
215X1X2
255X1X5

First few reps at 255 were ok, struggled a bit for the last 2. Felt like my grip was going to fail, really need to start using chalk.

Dips: 3X8

[carson]

At 255 you most certainly need to start using chalk and you need to wear a belt if you don't already. Believe me, chalk and belt will help your lifts immensely.

[clantz]

Thank carson. I'm not using a belt currently, I'll have to start looking for one.

[clantz]

August 16, 2013

Warm up: Rowing machine, 5 mins

Squat
45x2x5
95X1X5
135X1X3
180X1X2
225X3X5

Squats are taking more effort, still felt pretty good though.

Press
45x2x5
55X1X5
70X1X3
85X1X2
105X3X5

Pressing went really well today. Usually have a lot of trouble with the press, 105 isn't a lot of weight but it went up much easier than expected

Rows
45x2x5
55X1X5
95X1X3
105X1X2
125X3X5

Power clean
Worked with the bar and 95 lbs for a bit trying to sort out problems.

pull ups: 4X3
pull ups really suck. Just trying to make sure I'm doing a real pull up starting from the bottom position and getting all the way to the top.

[clantz]

August 19, 2013

Warm up: Rowing machine, 5 mins

Squat: 45x2x5, 95X1X5,140X1X3, 190X1X2, 230X3X5
Squats were ok, no big issues.

Bench: 45X2X5, 80X1X5, 115X1X3, 145X1X2, 165X3X5
Struggled with the last rep of each work set, struggled to maintain form. Need to focus on moving the bar on a consistent path. Work sets would go much better with clean form.

Deadlift: 135X1X5, 155X1X3, 225X1X2, 260X1X5
Grip strength sucks, used mixed grip for the last 2 work set reps.

Dips: 3X8

[clantz]

August 22, 2013

Missed Wednesday's workout due to work related issues.

Squat: 45x2x5, 95X1X5,140X1X3, 185X1X2, 235X3X5
Little bit of knee cave on some reps but overall ok.

Press: 45X2X5, 60X1X5, 80X1X3, 95X1X2, 110X2X5,110X2X4
Missed the last rep on the second set. Tried to do an extra set but still only managed 4 reps.

Row: 45X2X5, 65X1X5, 125X1X3, 1403X5,
Running our of time, rushed through warm up sets.

Power clean: 45X2X5, 65X1X3, 125X2X3
Got frustrated after 2 sets of 3.

Chins: 3X5, 1X6
Chalked up for these, felt so much better.

[clantz]

August 26, 2013
Plan to go tot he gym over the weekend didn't work out, finally back at it today.

Squat: 45x2x5, 95X1X5,140X1X3, 190X1X2, 240X3X5

Bench: 45X2X5, 80X1X5, 115X1X3, 145X1X2, 165X3X5
Didn't go up in weight because beching went so poorly last time. Things went much better today, handled 165 reasonably well. Should be able to increase weight next time.

Deadlift: 135X2X5, 150X1X3, 225X1X2, 265X1X5

Dips: 2X8, 1X9

[clantz]

August 28, 2013

Squat: 45x2x5, 95X1X5,145X1X3, 195X1X2, 245X3X5
Last work set felt damn hard, got through it though.

Press: 45X2X5, 60X1X5, 75X1X3, 95X1X2, 112.5X1X5,112.5X1X4, 110X2X4
Missed on the 4 rep of the second set again, then couldn't manage a set of 5 at 110.

Row: 45X2X5, 55X1X5, 125X1X3, 135X1X5,145X3X5,

Chins: 2X6, 1X5

[clantz]

August 26, 2013

Squat: 45x2x5, 100X1X5,150X1X3, 200X1X2, 250X2X5, 250X1X4
Missed the last rep of the last set, very frustrated that I couldn't push through the last rep.

Bench: 45X2X5, 80X1X5, 115X1X3, 145X1X2, 167.5X3X5
Went really well, surprised considering how poor my squats were.

Deadlift: 135X2X5, 160X1X3, 225X1X2, 270X1X1, 250X1X1
Things really fell apart here. Could only manage to get 270 off the floor for 1 rep, tried 250 and failed. Not really sure what happened today because 265 was easy on Monday.

Dips: 2X9, 1X10

Overall a very frustrating day, easily the worst day I've had in weeks. It's also a bit strange that the things I normally struggle with like the bench press and dips went pretty well on an otherwise shitty day.