Hello - James' Basic LP Log (modified SS)

[16bit]

Hello Everyone.

My name is James, this is my first post so hello and thanks for having me.

I am 29, about 5 7 and currently weigh about 149lbs in the morning (this is very light for me, haven't been this light since I was about 21)

Here is a bit of my training history, recent history and my goals so feel free to skip this bit as I will start with the beginnings of my program in the next post.

I have been weight training (exercise really as there was no specific goal) on and off for about 15 years in change. The first 13 or so were very much body-building based. It worked in the sense that I was able to stay in pretty good shape and I even got to a decent bench of 270 at 168 bw. Though like a lot of people just going to the gym for aesthetic reasons I neglected my legs and never really 'trained' in the full sense of the word.

I had a couple of years of not really doing much and got out of shape. I didn't want to go back to boring lifting weights just for the sake of it so I decided to get into martial arts. I was inspired at the time after listening to the Joe Rogan Experience for a little while and decided to get into BJJ and Muay Thai. I did that for about 6 months and decided I wanted to supplement my training with some resistance training.

I got into some mobility stuff to help my flexibility. Mostly involving kettle bells and some circuit stuff. This helped my cardio and a bit of strength but once you start lifting more, you just want to lift more!

So soon after that I started to get into doing some powerlifting. I started out with some very light deadlifting and some squats. My hip flexibility was good but flexibility from the knee joint was not very good. I remedied this and have been doing some lifting for about a year now with no real plan for more than 6 or so weeks followed. At the start once I had my knee flexibility issue sorted I paid a professional to teach me the basics of the lifts so I wouldn’t fuck anything up too bad.

This has led me to this forum to start a very basic linear progression program. I have opted to try this very basic form as I still like to do high intensity cardio (sled runs, kettle bells, skipping etc) and my martial arts training. And if you want to go through an hour with my muay thai coach not being in good cardio condition it will render you a heap on the floor with no sympathy at all.

My nutrition is really good. I eat very healthy but my diet for the last 6 months or so has been more focused on losing body fat than anything. So with this new program in mind I have adjusted it to take into account the extra protein requirements I will need. But I won’t be eating anything and everything in sight as I don’t want to put on too much body fat as lifting the most possible is not my focus, getting stronger while staying lean is my goal. I haven’t had my BF measured scientifically but I would estimate it at around 10 – 12 %, maybe a bit lower some days!

For those that are interested here is how my diet plan overview looks like.

Training Day

Morning:
BCAAs 7:50
Breakfast 8:00
Coffee 8:05

Mid Morning:
Fruit 10:00
Small Protein Snack (nuts) 10:10

Lunch:
Lunch 12:10

Mid Afternoon:
Fruit 3:00
Casein Shake 3:10

BCAAs 6:00
Exercise 6:30

Dinner 8:00
Whey Shake 8:10

1 Date 10:20
Casein Shake 10:30

Non Training Day

Morning:
Breakfast 8:00
Coffee 8:05

Mid Morning:
Fruit 10:00
Small Protein Snack 10:10

Lunch:
Lunch 12:10

Mid Afternoon:
Small Protein Snack (nuts) 3:00

Dinner 8:00

1-2 Dates 10:20
Casein Shake 10:30

[16bit]

So this is the plan I have devised!

Please keep in mind I am from Australia and thus work in kilo’s but as this is an American forum I have converted them to lbs hence why they may seem odd weights.

I will be doing 4 basic lifts.

Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Power Clean.

I don’t have the greatest of shoulders anymore (pretty sure all those heavy dumbbell flys did it in my teens!) so don’t like to lift weight over head too much hence no Press.

I will be doing the weight training 3 times a week. It will be Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The workouts will look like this to start with.

Tuesday – Squats and Deadlift
Squats = 3 sets x 5 reps @ 192.5lbs
Deadlift = 3 sets x 5 reps (pending recovery I may switch to 1 set x 5 reps) @253lbs

Thursday – Squats and Bench Press
Squats = 3 sets x 5 reps @ 192.5lbs
Bench Press = 3 sets x 5 reps @165lbs

Saturday – Squats and Power Clean
Squats = 3 sets x 5 reps @ 192.5lbs
Power Clean = 8 sets x 1 rep @ 132lbs

The progression is planned to look like this

Squats will add 5lbs per week (3 work outs at the same weight per week)
Deadlift will add 5lbs per week
Bench Press will add 4lbs per week (I will review this and may reduce it to 2lbs per week)
Power Clean will add 4lbs per week (I will review this and may reduce it to 2lbs per week)

I will be testing max lifts every 4 weeks.

So far I have completed the first workout of the first week! So its early days (or day really)

[16bit]

Week 1 - Workout 1 - 11/03/2014

Squat - 3x5 @ 192.5lbs
Deadlift - 3x5 @ 253lbs

Squats felt about the right weight.

Deadlifts could have been heavier but will keep with the progression as planned.

[luke.conrad]

Welcome aboard! I saw that you are not pressing because of shoulder issues. http://startingstrength.com/index.ph...icle/the_press

Here is a link to Rip's article on the press. He has written extensively in SS and Strong Enough about the press being a shoulder saver/shoulder rehab. Just figured I would share to give you something to think about.

Good Luck!

[16bit]

thanks Luke.

hmmm very interesting (and entertaining article).

i think i might add it in after my bench on thursdays.

i will do some tests and figure the best way to add it in with some reading.

thanks again!!!

[16bit]

Week 1 - Workout 2 - 13/03/2014

Squat - 3x5 @ 192.5lbs
Bench - 3x5 @ 165lbs

I also added a test few sets of over head press as recommended.

My neck was not feeling great so I kept it light.

Press - 3x5 @ 66lbs

I think I will keep this in on Thursdays and work on 2lb increases

[16bit]

i weighed in this morning about 1lb lighter - around 147.8lbs.

my weight does not fluctuate much during the week as i eat pretty much the exact same thing so a drop this late in the week for me means i have lost weight. this is particularly odd as this week i have increase my protein intake by around 60 grams per day.

I am going to increase my carbs in all 3 meals. I think sweet potato shall do the trick.

[16bit]

Week 1 - Workout 3 - 15/03/2014

Squat - 3x5 @ 192.5lbs
Power Clean - 8x1 @ 132lbs

everything felt pretty good today.

my groin had a little niggle but nothing too bad.

[16bit]

Week 2 - Workout 1 - 18/03/2014

Squat - 3x5 @ 198lbs
Dead Lift - 1x5 @ 258.5lbs
Press - 3x5 @ 77lbs

Squats felt easier than the last workout as did dead lifts.

Press is still quite under what I think I can do but am sticking with progressing it at a reasonable rate as I am very new to them.

I filmed my squats and realised that I am almost bang on parallel however I would like to go deeper so am going to concentrate on that.

[16bit]

so i went to the chiro tonight.

she fixed up an annoying problem but it turns out i have a torn supraspinatus.

gotta get physio, at least i can still squat.