SS:BBT - A Newb Log by Josh

[dedman77]

January 2015 - I had not lifted a weight in 8 Years. Back was sore, shoulder was sore. I was tired. I was old. There was a time I did 315 Bench for a 2 Rep Max. I had let myself go. What a waste of skin. I weighed 226 lbs. Got sick of being useless. Initially did a 5x5 program starting with the bar essentially. Added 5 lbs a week and have had 3 weeks off intermittently and one reset.

Squat - 45
Dead - 95
BPress - 45
OHPress - 45
BBRows - 65

Switched to SS:BBT in May after reading it. Everything went to 3x5. Back is not sore. Shoulders are coming around. I just switched to cleans because I had never attempted even one rep. Read up thoroughly and watched a few vids. I have just replaced the BBell Row with them. I also had a reset after hitting a 275 squat for 3x5 with a belt. Dropped to 250 and worked back to 265 without it. I lift 3 times a week for 1.5 hours at 5 a.m..

Current Status
5'-10"
210lbs
Squat - 270 5,5,5
Dead - 335 5
Press - 130 5,5,5
BPress - 205 3,4,4
PClean - 115 5,5,5
Rows were at 180 for 5,5,5

[Agilic]

Age? Very nice improvement under the bar. Great you decided to make a change. How come you decided to try belt less? How much would you estimate your bf% has changed since January?

[dedman77]

Age? Very nice improvement under the bar. Great you decided to make a change. How come you decided to try belt less? How much would you estimate your bf% has changed since January?

Age 38. Body fat has gone from probably 30% to around 18-20%. Last estimate via caliper was at 18.5 3 months ago. Not sure the caliper was correct. Tough to say what it is. I would like to be around 190. That would be around 15% me thinks.

I went without the belt because I want to see what I can do without it. I seem to be stalling at 265. So I am strapping it back on. Next goal is 275 beltless 3x5 and 315 3x5 with it on.

Edit- forgot to mention, also had an ACL replacement done 8 years ago.

[dedman77]

Also, did I read correctly on T-nation that Mr. Rippetoe suggested a 3" belt instead of 4" for deadlifts? Can someone confirm or deny this because my deadlifts have all been beltless. And I want start using a belt since the last set I did were particularly difficult.

[Belulk]

I remember reading a few posts by Mark about the belt being thinner in the front for deadlifts, yes.

[dedman77]

Well, I am deloading this week. Now I am aware that the opinions on deloading are as varied as the people who post here. I have pushed for 2 months solid not missing any workouts. Going to take a week to let this body catch up. Taking it light. Going to repost my A/H/W just so it's clear.

8-3-15
Age - 38
Ht - 5'-10"
Wt. - 207 - Probably lack of hydration causing this.

Squat
45-5, 95-5, 135-5, 185-5, 225-8, 225-8, 225-8
Press
105-8, 105-8, 105-8
Deadlift
135-5, 185-5, 225-8, 225-8, 225-8
Farmers Walk
70lb dumbells to failure x3

Easy day. Just letting my back and hips rest.

[Agilic]

I'm sure those weights were light sauce for you, but wouldn't most of the benefit of the deload come from lowering the weight AND not adding extra volume? I'm asking this as a less experienced lifter than you, so mostly out of curiosity, but I know from the book that the recommended reset is around 10% and continue back up with 5s.

[dedman77]

I'm sure those weights were light sauce for you, but wouldn't most of the benefit of the deload come from lowering the weight AND not adding extra volume? I'm asking this as a less experienced lifter than you, so mostly out of curiosity, but I know from the book that the recommended reset is around 10% and continue back up with 5s.

I am open to opinions about the matter. I was just fooling around. The volume didn't really affect me negatively. I could of gone another 3 or 4 reps on each lift. I guess I could just keep them at sets of 5. I am just kind of testing this out to see how my body responds to be honest. I have done resets up until now, I wanted to try a higher deload that 10%.

[dedman77]

Monday August 10
Age: 38
Weight:208 lbs
Time:5:15 AM
Sleep: 6 hrs.
Notes: My energy level is ok. Found the squats to be trying. Deadlift last rep was troublesome. Had to re-pull to lockout.
8 mins bike
Squat:45x5, 95x5, 135x3,185x3, 225x3, 245x1, 265bx5, 265bx5, 265bx5
OHP: 45x5, 65x3, 85x3, 115x2, 120bx5, 120bx5, 120bx5
Dead: 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 275x2, 315bsx5
Lat Raise: 15x5, 15x5, 15x5

[dedman77]

Wednesday August 12
Age: 38
Weight:207 lbs
Time:5:15 AM
Sleep: 5 hrs.
Notes: 270 felt lighter than the 265 Monday. Looks like the week of light work helped. Wasn't so sure after Monday. Felt like The Hulk after hitting the 270 easily. Bench last rep was very slow, almost missed it. Hit a PR in power cleans. Didn't allow enough time for rest between sets of dips.
Bike 8 mins
Squat: 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 185x3, 225x2, 245x1, 265x1, 270bx5, 270bx5, 270bx5
Bench: 45x15, 135x5, 185x2, 200x5, 200x5, 200x5
P Clean: 65x5, 95x5, PR 135x5, 135x5, 135x5
Dips: 4, 3, 5

EDIT - My confidence has been waning recently with regards to hitting a 315 squat for 3x5 with this linear progression program. I believe I can make it now. Might take 3-4 months depending on how my body responds. Might be easier once I get my deadlift above 350. Also I am really going to have to get disciplined on my sleep. Diet is fair. I eat enough to hit it. Whey protein first thing, then eggs for breakfast, chipotle for lunch and some meat and veg for dinner is my typical diet.