Jon's Training Log

[Jonathus]

A quick bit of history for frame of reference here. Picked up SS in August '08. I was 6' weighing in at 152lbs (+/- 2lbs). At this time I had no previous barbell experience. My bench was about 130 (5RM), Squat was ~130 (5RM), and Deadlift ~150 (5RM). From Aug '08 to Mar '09, fairly inconsistent workouts until Feb-Mar. My Bench stalled at about ~140ish, Press at ~100ish, Power Clean got to about ~125, Squat stalled at 230, and Deadlift stalled at 310. At the end of March '09 I weighed about 158 lbs, +/- 1lb. Work (deployment) affected workouts on occasion. I didn't see significant gains until Feb and Mar '09 where I was strictly abiding M/W/F workouts.

I gained 6 or so lbs, and yet added 160 lbs to my Deadlift and 100 lbs to my squat. I've always been lean, and before lifting I'd only done calisthenics for several years. I believe diet and inadequate sleep have interfered with weight and larger strength gains.

It hasn't been until a month ago that I've resumed the novice program, having inconsistent lifting/calisthenics workouts since March '09 beyond my control (military).

10Jan, Assessment workout (add 10 lbs per set doing 5 rep sets). All weights in pounds.
Squat 125
Bench 95
Deadlift 175

Novice program. For warmup: 2x5x45lbs, then 40/60/80% 5RM max, 3x5 work sets listed below
14Jan
Squat 130
Press 85 (very slow bar speed last two sets)
Power Clean 90 - I went with 3 sets of 5, since a set of 3 reps didn't seem like enough time for me to 'feel out' issues with my technique. Though I'm not sure if this will interfere with performance since I'm lifting more in a shorter time span.

16Jan
Squat 140
Bench 100
Deadlift 185

19Jan
Squat 145
Press 75 (minor reset to prevent an early stall)
PC 100

21 Jan
Squat 150
Bench 105
Deadlift 195

Temporary insanity, I took a week off here and did some cross-fit because I thought it'd be better suited to work (deployment). Then said fuck it, I'd rather focus on pure strength right now.

1Feb
Squat 155
Press 80
PC 105

3Feb
Squat 160
Bench 120
Deadlift 210

5Feb
Squat 165
Press 85
PC 110

9Feb (pushed right a day because of work)
Squat 170
Bench 125
Deadlift 220

11Feb
Squat 175
Press 90 (slow bar speed last two sets)
PC 115

13Feb
Squat 180
Bench 130 (very slow bar speed last set)
Deadlift 230

I didn't see a sticky on posting guidelines in here so if I fucked something up let me know. Criticism welcomed. I see other folks update every day they workout, I figure I'll do the same. It's a little frustrating backsliding on the weight so much from last year, but it's been nearly a year so I figured I'd just start over. My bench gets nowhere. My right shoulder is fairly weak, it was usually the first thing to weaken in bench & press last year as it is now.

Picked up PPFST2 and have been reading that to prepare for moving beyond novice training. From reading SS and PPFST2 it seems most novices take 6 months of regular lifting to stall in a way that deems they've moved beyond novice level. I don't know if this includes resets every couple of months, but I get the feeling my bench will stall within the next two workouts, as will my press.

[Jonathus]

16Feb
All weights in pounds. Current bodyweight 156.

Squat
2x5x45
5x70
3x110
2x145
3x5x185

Press
2x5x45
5x50
3x65
2x80
3x5x95

Power Clean
2x5x45
5x65
3x80
2x100
5x3x120

Challenging workout since I was fairly worn out from work today. Press wasn't as hard as I expected, nearing the place where I stalled last year but my bar speed was still good. Power Cleans definitely felt better as 5 sets of 3 instead of 3 sets of 5... a week ago doing 115 was pretty difficult but doing it in this manner is easier.

[Jonathus]

19Feb
bw: 156

Missed a workout day again, due to work. Lifted the following day. Got some samples of N.O. Xplode so I thought I'd give it a try. Made a pretty big difference in my workout. I was already worn out yesterday from a long day but I lifted anyway, and with that stuff I felt like I had some energy. Maybe it was a placebo effect, I dunno.

I also just got in some cytogainer, with which I'll try to hit one with milk in the evenings (900 calories) and one between lunch and dinner (570 cal).

Squat
2x5x45
5x75
3x110
2x150
3x5x190

Bench
2x5x45
5x65
3x90
2x120
3x5x135

Deadlift
2x5x95
3x140
2x200
5x240

Bench was hard but not as hard as the last time I did it. Right shoulder still feels fairly weak, only during bench press and press, though. Moreso in bench than overhead press.

[Jonathus]

Used N.O. Xplode again tonight; lots of energy, but didn't really seem to affect my ability to lift. Seems better for endurance workouts so I'm gonna stop using it.

Squat
2x5x45
5x75
3x115
2x155
3x5x195
No issues.

Press
2x5x45
5x55
3x70
2x85
3x5x100
Last two sets very slow bar speed. Last rep on last set was extremely slow; will likely stall next workout.

Power Clean
2x5x45
5x65
3x85
2x105
5x3x125
Technique is starting to suffer a bit here, I feel like I'm lifting a bit more with my arms than I usually do.

[Jonathus]

Last night's workout:

Squat
2x5x45
5x80
3x120
2x160
3x5x200

Bench
2x5x45
5x70
3x95
2x125
3x5x140
Very slow bar speed last couple reps of 2nd and 3rd sets. I thought I'd stall this workout, but I guess I'm recovering just enough.

Deadlift
2x5x95
3x150
2x210
5x250
Felt pretty heavy this time, which is unusual from last year...deadlifts didn't feel this heavy until I got to 280/290ish.

Two days ago I upped my caloric intake to 5000+ a day, whereas before I was at 3300-3500 or so. I've already added 5 lbs, will see next week if I keep it on or not. I thought 3300ish would be enough to gain weight, but with a little reading around the web and here other folks say they took in 5k+ when trying to gain weight.

BW: 159