rjg91680 starting strength log

[rjg91680]

Last night:

Squat
45 x 5 x 2
95 x 5
145 x 3
195 x 2
245 x 5 x 3

Bench
45 x 5 x 2
65 x 5
95 x 3
115 x 2
140 x 5 x 3

Deadlift
135 x 5 x 2
185 x 3
225 x 2
265 x 5

I missed a session Saturday because of some stupid circumstances.

This session was HARD. I had an unfortunate gout flare up on Sunday that may have affected things.

Squats were tough. I repeatedly got stuck coming up out of the hole and probably good-morning-ed too much at the end of some reps.

While bench felt light last time, I definitely felt the weight during this session.

Deadlifts were pretty brutal. I tried alternate grip which was weird. I'm not sure if I was able to lock out the last rep.

I need to stop missing sessions.

My eating has been touch-and-go since I have a newfound violent intolerance to milk. I need to find a stomach-friendly alternative.

[rjg91680]

Squat
45 x 5 x 2
105 x 5
165 x 3
225 x 2
250 x 5 x 3

Press
45 x 5 x 2
65 x 5
85 x 3
95 x 2
110 x 5/5/3

Power Clean
45 x 5 x 2 (hang cleans)
55 x 5
65 x 3
75 x 2
85 x 3 x 5

Squats didn't feel as difficult as I thought they'd be; they were easier than the previous workout. I adjusted my warmup set weights and that my have helped. I also concentrated on elbows up - it helped me keep my chest up as well. I've also been eating more the last few days.

Press continues to be difficult. I tried some different breathing and using the stretch reflex at the bottom, both which were relatively new for me. I'll repeat this weight next time.

I'm not even sure how I'm doing on power cleans. The weight feels like it takes forever to rack. I think I'm also taking a little jump forward instead of in place. Definitely time for video.

[rjg91680]

Yesterday's workout:

Squat
45 x 5 x 2
105 x 5
165 x 3
225 x 2
255 x 4,4,2(!)

Bench
45 x 5 x 2
75 x 5
95 x 3
115 x 2
145 x 5 x 3

Deadlift
135 x 5 x 2
185 x 3
225 x 2
275 x 2...2...1

This was a good/bad workout. Squats killed me. That was weird because the last workout went relatively well. I'm going to try this weight again and see what happens.

Bench press is getting more difficult, but I feel like I have a little more to go before I start loading up 2.5 lbs per session. Bench press was never my strong suit, but I hope to change that.

Deadlifts are pretty heavy. The first 2 I did with double-overhand grip, then I took a breather, did 2 more with alternate grip, another breather, then the last one alternate grip.

If I can't get all of the squat reps for the next 2 sessions, I guess I'll have my first official stall. If that happens, I might start putting in a light squat/front squat day in the middle of the week. I've never done front squats, and they look like a good complement to back squats.

Since my press stalled last time, I'm also thinking about adding some chin-ups/pull-ups.

[rjg91680]

Last night's workout:

Squat
45 x 5 x 2
105 x 5
165 x 3
225 x 2
255 x 5,5,3

Press
45 x 5 x 2
65 x 5
85 x 3
95 x 2
110 x 5 x 3

Power Clean
45 x 5 x 2 (hang cleans)
55 x 5
65 x 3
75 x 2
95 x 3 x 5

Squats continue to be hard. Missed the 4th rep of the last set. I'm getting really winded after 4 reps of each set. I wonder if it's time for me to do some....CARDIO (DUM DUM DUUUUUM). Seriously though, the first 2 or 3 reps went up pretty easily, but I was out of breath and just could barely do the last 2 reps of the 1st and 2nd set. I have the net 2 days off so we'll see if that's enough rest to get me past this.

Press went up pretty easily. I feel that my form is spot on, with minimal layback. My cues: keep elbows slightly in front of the bar, have the bar rest on the heel of the hand, keep the bar close to my face, and tighten everything up. Works for me.

Power cleans went surprisingly well. The past few times I had some wrist pain immediately after and the days after I did this exercise. I re-read the PC chapter of SS before my workout to help with my form. This time, before I did anything I racked the empty bar with a few times with different widths, and ended up widening my grip. I also loaded the bar with bumper plates and just dropped it after each rep, taking away more wrist stress. Today my wrists feel fine. I just need to work on elbows up and keeping the bar path close to my body.

[rjg91680]

Last night's workout:

Squat
45 x 5 x 2
105 x 5
165 x 3
225 x 2
255 x 5 x 3

Bench
45 x 5 x 2
75 x 5
95 x 3
125 x 2
150 x 5 x 3

Chin-ups, assisted by using wide white band
7, 6, 7

I finally got through all three sets at 255. While it was difficult, it went up easier than I had anticipated since the last two times I tried I didn't get all of the reps. It looks like the 2 days off did some good. I did manage to tweak my left quad during one of my warm-up sets, which was weird. I also tweaked my shoulder during the last set.

I probably had the sloppiest looking bench performance ever known to man. There was a guy push pressing more than I was benching a few who was definitely staying a little closer in case I needed a spot. I managed to get all of the reps up. I never had much upper-body strength.

I've decided to change up the programming a little and give myself some rest and variety. I added chin-ups, but haven't done a bw chin-up in 2 years when I was 40 lbs lighter. Again, sucky upper body strength.

Now programming will look like this, from Practical Programming:
Workout A
Squat
Bench
Back extensions
Chin-up/Pull-up

Workout B
Squat
Press
Deadlift/Power-clean

When I have to reset, I'll probably throw in the light squat day as well. Hopefully I can keep going on the linear progression for a little while longer.

[rjg91680]

I've been eating crappy, sleeping crappy, and everything caught up. Here's today's workout:

Squat
45 x 5 x 2
105 x 5
165 x 3
225 x 2
260 x 0
225 x 5 x 2
225 x 3

My regular gym closes early on Saturdays, so I went to my alternate. When I got there, the safety bars in the power rack were set above my head. It's one of those crappy Hammer Strength racks...the bars slide down and have pins that lock them in place. This particular rack's bars didn't want to go down, so I ended up unscrewing the pins out and hammering the bars down with a 10 lb weight to get it to the correct height. That was fun.

I did all of my warmups but the movement didn't feel quite right today. I put 260 on the bar and as soon as I descended I dumped the weight onto the bars.

I decided to back off and do some sets of 225. The first and second sets were ok...during the third set I tweaked my knee. That, along with shoulder pain, pretty much kept me away from doing anything else today.

I probably should have recognized that fatigue has been creeping up on me since it took me 3 tries to hit 255. I should have just backed off instead of pushing through and fatiguing myself.

If my knee feels ok on Monday I might proceed to backoff as prescribed in PP, with a workout of mainly warmups. We'll see what happens.