Strato's Pursuit of Strength

[Strato]

It's time to update my log and get back in the habit of regular updates. I just recently got married and went on my honeymoon with my new wife which is why I haven't been doing any updates, but I continued to do my workouts and eat big. My bodyweight is close to 230 lbs now.

I ended up missing one workout right before my wedding which translated into a 5 day break since it included the weekend. This gave me immense relief from the elbow issues I was having (at least for the next few workouts). Here's a quick breakdown of my workouts for the past few weeks:

12/16/2009
Squat: 255x5x3
Press: 125x5, 3 ,3
*Elbows were too sore to do anything else

12/22/09
Squat: 260x5x3
Bench: 200x5x3
Deadlift: 315x5x1
*Elbows feeling much better after 5 day break

12/24/09
Squat: 265x5x3
Press: 125x5x3
PC: 155x3x5
Chins: (BW+30 lb) x 5 x 3
*Elbows still feeling pretty good

12/26/09
Squat: 270x5x3
Bench: 205x5x3
Deadlift: 325x5x1
*Elbow pain starting to creep up but did not affect workout

12/29/09
Squat: 275x5x3
Press: 130x5,5,4
PC: 160x3x5
*Elbow pain a little worse

12/31/09
Squat: 280x5x3
Bench: 210x5x3
Deadlift: 335x5x1
*Elbows pain really starting to flare up

1/2/2010
Squat: 285x5x3
Press: 130x3, 115x5x2
Chins: (BW+35) x 5 x1
*Elbows were on fire after squats. Definitely contributed to the poor performance on press andquitting after one set of chins.

[Strato]

The previous post brings us up to the current week. I'm currently on a Tue, Thur, Sat schedule. I pretty much took Tuesday off to give my elbows a break since they were really hurting from last saturdays workout.

I pulled out my copy of PP and decided I need to try something similar to the advanced novice plan. Even though I'm still making steady increases on most of my lifts, my elbows just can't handle back squatting 3x/week without it greatly affecting my progress in the other lifts. So I'm gonna substitute back squats with front squats (which don't irritate the elbows at all) on the thursday workout to allow my elbows a little more rest.

The new plan is:

Day 1: Squat, Press/Bench, Chins/Pullups
Day 2: Front Squat (3x3), Press/Bench, Deadlift
Day 3: Squat, Press/Bench, Power Clean

1/08/10
Front Squat: 185x3, 195x3, 205x3
Press: 130x5x3 (finally got this)
Deadlift: 345x5x1

Haven't done front squats in a while so had to ramp up to a good weight. I'll probably do 205x3x3 next workout and increase 5 to 10 lbs each week from there. No elbow pain allowed me to finally get 130x5x3 on the press, but it was quite a grind. Going to increase only 2.5 lbs next time.

Hopefully this change in programming will allow me to manage my elbow pain while maitaining linear progression.

After reviewing video of my squat work sets from last week, one thing I do need to work on is keeping my chest up. I tend to get pretty bent over as I come up in the squat. As others have pointed out, sometimes this is what causes elbow pain.

[Strato]

1/9/2010
Squat 255x5x3
Bench 215x5x3

Decided to reset the weight a bit on squats to really work on my forward lean. I focused hard on keeping my chest up and maintaining a constant back angle as I drive up. It was a bit harder this way. Think I'll go up in 5 lb increments from here to really drill the form into my head even though this weight is lighter than what I have been squatting.

Elbows didn't feel too bad, probably mostly due to the week long break from low bar squats.

Had to cut the workout short after bench since the gym closed early.

[Strato]

1/12/2010
Squat: 260x5x3
Press: 135x5,5,4
Power Clean: 165x3x5

Squats felt light (as expected due to reset). Think I'm doing a better job keeping my chest up. Hopefully I can confirm this by video sometime this week. Elbows also held up fine. I've been doing a lot of trigger point therapy type massage with a lacrosse ball that may be helping.

I was supposed to do 132.5 on the press but forgot to bring my microplates. So I got super fired up before each set and just missed the last rep on my 3rd set. I was so angry that afterwards I just stood there holding the bar and breathing deeply while contemplating attempting that 5th rep again. I made the smart decision and racked the bar instead. The 1 wheel press will be mine on saturday

Power cleans flew up and I had no trouble racking the bar since the elbows are feeling better.

Weighed in at 229 lbs this morning. This is kind of misleading when looking at the bodyweight changes up to this point in my log because I have been weighing myself at the gym with clothes on, shoes on, and a stomach full of milk. But for consistency, I'm going to start weighing first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I expect had I weighed at the gym yesterday I would've been around 235 which would indicate a weight gain of almost 30 lbs since starting the program a month and a half ago.

[Strato]

1/14/10
Front Squat: 210x3x3
Overhead Squat: 105x3x1
Bench: 220x5x3
Chins: (BW+35lb)x5x2, BWx7x1
45 degree hyperext.: 25lb DB held at chin x 10 x 3

Front squats felt solid. This may be the most weight I have ever front squatted, but since I'm now used to squatting in the upper 200's, I had complete confidence with this weight. I decided on my front squat day I'll also do a set of 3 on the overhead squat to help bring this lift up since I feel I'm pretty weak at it (probably adding 10 lbs per week to start). Fear of dumping the bar makes this lift pretty difficult for me to perform well (since my gym does not have bumper plates).

I was really happy with bench. The 5th rep in each of the sets was a bit of a grind, but it's been that way for the past couple of workouts. Looking forward to doing 2 wheels the next workout. Then I will probably need to start micro-loading.

Elbows started to ache a little bit during the weighted chins, but not in the same place they normally do for squats (more on the outside). I'm thinking this may be because of the extra 30 lbs of bodyweight I now have pulling down on my arms when I do chins.

Still eating a ton and starting to get sick of it. I never thought I would say that since I've always had a pretty good appetite. I constantly feel full and my body feels like it would really enjoy a day off from the heavy eating. But seeing my lifts continue to go up is enough motivation for me to keep downing as much as I can. I've still been eating fairly clean and I'm starting to think I may eventually have to dirty things up a bit to continue eating enough calories.

[Strato]

1/16/10
Squat: 265x5x3
Press: 135x3x3
Deadlift: 355x5x1

Squats felt heavy but solid. Doing a good job of keeping my chest up.

The press felt super heavy (and shoulders were still sore from the previous bench/chin workout) so I only did 3x3. I should have started microloading the press sooner because I keep getting stuck.

Deadlifts also felt very heavy. Felt my back starting to give a little bit (as in start to round) on the 4th and 5th reps. I think I'll try wearing the belt next time to see if that helps.

[Strato]

1/18/10
Squat: 270x5x3
Bench: 225x5x3
Pullups: BWx9,8,7

Bodyweight up to 236 lbs. Awesome workout today. Was feeling really tired with only a two day break over the weekend and playing a basketball game the night before, but had a big cup of coffee on my way to the gym and I was instantly amped. I rarely drink coffee because I'm pretty hypersensitive to caffeine, but when I do, it's like a complete 180 in my mood, alertness and energy level.

I banged out the squats with really good form. I got a friend to video my second set and my form seemed spot on.

Bench was quite the triumph. I really had to dig deep on these sets and take plenty of rest in between. I'm very happy with the two-wheel milestone.

Managed 3 decent sets of pullups considering the pretty big jump in bodyweight I've had the past couple months.

Rewarded myself after dinner with a big bowl of ice cream with peanut butter and magic shell.

[Strato]

1/20/10
Front Squat: 215x3x3
Press: 135x5x3
Power Clean: 170x5x3

Finally got 135 on the press. The fifth rep on the first two sets was a real grind (the bar literally stopped moving above my head for a good few seconds on the second set). But I rested 10 minutes before the last set and nailed it pretty solidly. Going up in 2.5 lb increments now.

Like August West, I've also decided to compete in my first meet in Charlotte, NC on March 20th. I'll be competing in the RAW 275 class, and so I don't expect to win anything, but I think it will be a lot of fun and will be good for my training to have something to work towards.

[Strato]

1/22/10
Squat: 275x5x3
Bench: 227.5x5x3
Chinups: BWx9,7,7

For the first time in a while, I didn't feel any elbow pain during squats. Makes me almost want to go back to back squatting 3x/week, but with all the different things I did to try and eliminate the pain, I think reducing my squatting frequency is probably what made the biggest difference.

[Strato]

1/25/2010
Bodyweight: 241.6 lbs
Squat: 280x5x3
Press: 137.5x5x3
Deadlift: 365x5x1

Deadlifts were very hard today. It felt like my back was really starting to round on the last couple of reps no matter how hard I fought it...the weight was just heavy. I'll have to get video of my form next time to see if my back really is rounding badly or if it just feels that way due to the weight.

I tried using my belt (4", 10mm) during my last warmup set of deadlifts and could not get into proper starting position. The bottom edge of the belt was digging into my hips, preventing me from getting all the way down and setting my back. I played around for several minutes with the belt tightness and positioning on my torso, but it never felt right, so I just took it off.

I've heard this is a common problem and that others typically use thinner belts for pulling. Has anyone been successful in deadlifting with the same thick belt that they squat in?