Zane, Train

[Trane]

After skulking around the forums for months, and having run SS LP for 12 weeks toward the end of last year (before unemployment and the resulting self-loathing kicked in), I decided that my newly hired ass needed to get back in the gym. 26 year old male, and at 6'2" and 295 lbs, I am quite overweight, but as I've seen echoed throughout the myriad forum posts, having muscle mass will allow me to shed some weight more easily, so strength is my primary goal at this point (although loss of body fat wouldn't be unwelcome). I restarted LP on 04/07/14, and have been logging my workouts, but will post here as well as I believe it will hold me accountable. I will post the results of my first two workouts, as well as my most recent, and will be logging here consistently from here on out.

Day 1 - 04/07/2014
Squat - 185x5x3
Press - 115x5x3
Deadlift - 255x5x1
Barbell Curl - 50x12x3

Day 2 - 04/09/2014
Squat - 190x5x3
Bench - 165x5x3
Deadlift - 265x5x1
Triceps Extension - 45x12x3

Last workout - 04/21/2014
Squat - 215x5x3
Press - 130x5x3
Deadlift - 320x5x1
Barbell Curl - 60x12x3

I have been increasing everything by 5lbs/session, except for deadlift which I increased by 10lbs/per (except for 4/14, when I accidentally added 20lbs and realized after having done 5 reps). I've also started to incorporate some conditioning 2x a week as of last week, doing 7 rds of 30sec on/90sec off. We will see where this takes me, but I'm excited for the ride.

[peez]

Welcome to the forum - looks like you are off to a great start! What were your PRs last time around?

[Trane]

After 12 weeks I was at:
Squat - 300x5x3
Press - 160x5x3
Bench - 225x5x2, couldn't eek out those last 5
Deadlift - 365x5x1
I also incorporated Pendlay Rows when I couldn't deadlift every session, those got up to 175x8x3

Thanks for the welcome!

[Levon_Xidyn]

Welcome! Looking forward to seeing great progress from you

[Trane]

Today's workout felt really good:

Squat -
Barx5x2
85x5
135x3
175x2
220x5x3

Bench -
Barx10
75x5
105x3
145x2
180x5x3

Deadlift -
135x5
185x5
225x3
275x2
325x5x1

Triceps Extensions - 75x12x3

Battle Ropes - 30s on/90s off for 7 rounds

I tend to struggle with the upper body lifts, legs just seem to be stronger. Bench today felt easier at 180 than 175 did last week, focused more on my setup and going down slow/up fast (which for the last couple of the set seemed to be down slow/up slightly faster). I feel like I'm in a better mindset this time around with LP, more focused on DTDP, and not screwing around with stuff that won't help me in the main lifts.

[Trane]

Got into the gym a little bit earlier than usual, was nice having it to myself for the first half hour. Today felt good as well, plenty of energy, back was a little sore after deadlifts, but is gone now. Next week I will probably start alternating them every other day, and will start utilizing my belt as well.

Squat:
Barx5x2
90x5
135x3
180x2
225x5x3

Press:
Barx5x2
55x5
85x3
105x2
135x5x3

Deadlift:
135x5
185x5
235x3
285x2 - all double overhand to this point, 285 was a PR w/o mixed grip
330x5x1

Barbell Curls:
70x8x3

[Trane]

I forgot what it was like to have a bad training day..

Squat:
Barx5x2
95x5
135x3
185x2
230x5x2, 230x1 - I felt a really sharp pain in my lower back after the first rep of my last working set, and thus far have been walking around very slowly as a result. I'm not sure what to attribute the cause to, though it may have been a result of using my 4" belt for the first time today (whether it was too tight, or using it again caused me to compromise my form; it made my squats easier by allowing me to stay tighter, but in retrospect I feel like my back may have been too vertical) or the inordinate amount of sex I got this weekend. For argument's sake I will look to the belt, and on Wednesday I will be more conscious of my form when squatting.

Bench:
Barx10
75x5
105x3
145x2
185x5x3 - My form could have been better, but with my newly-tweaked back I couldn't get the arch I needed, but was still able to push them out.

Deadlift: N/A - I decided not to exacerbate my lower back with deadlifts, will plan on loading up on protein and (hopefully) sleep, and will come back on Wednesday to attempt 335x5x1

Lying Triceps Extension - 80x8x3

Not discouraged, just reminded of how important it is to not get complacent and to concentrate on proper form for all the lifts. Ready for Wednesday.

[Trane]

Got a massage before work this morning, lower back is still sore but I can walk upright again. I still plan on squatting tomorrow, though I will go through the warm up sets and see how I feel for 230, and will probably substitute heavy deadlifts with Pendlay rows. I don't see any reason I couldn't do my press, will just have to make sure everything is tight.

[Trane]

I was a little optimistic yesterday; back was incredibly stiff after last night's sleep. Stretched out, did not go into the gym. Tonight I will do 15-20 squats with an empty bar, just to feel the stretch/get some blood moving. Having a desk job does nothing to help the stiffness, started icing 20min on/20 off for a few times this morning, will do that again this afternoon, also have some Bengay. Friday I will get into the gym and do the bar + a little weight to stretch it out more, and walk. Hopefully by next Monday I can just deload a bit and start my progression again, since that seems far enough in the future for my back to stop being such a dick. I am now convinced I need to video my form and submit them for form checks, because even the slightest hindrance this early in the game is annoying.

[Keith]

I used to get sharp or shooting pains pretty regularly when I squatted and I still do occasionally.
This video helped me fix up my form:
http://startingstrength.com/index.ph...sition_control

I also noticed that I would occasionally loosen up at the bottom to get to depth, or I would divebomb into the hole which also loosened things up. Loosening up at the bottom will definitely screw up your back. But definitely post a video in the coaches section.