Makeshift Chef's Shifty Log

[Makeshift Chef]

I just completed my first month of SS. Even though I have both paper and electronic logs, I thought it would be a good idea to keep a log here as well because I am very absent minded and lose stuff all the time, lol.

Basic starting stats: 35 year old male, 6'2' 230lbs. I'm really weak from being a lazy ass for the past several years. I found myself wanting to get stronger (and not be so lazy) so I started looking into weight lifting. Having never actually lifted before I needed to find something noob friendly. I happened across SS from another forum and promptly bought the book.

Lift progress for the first month: Squat: 85lbs-->165
Bench: 95lbs-->140
Deadlift: 95lbs-->185
Press: 75lbs-->100
Power Clean: 65-->100

My weight stayed the same this month and I didn't really pay any attention to my food intake. I'll be focusing on that in the following weeks as I am pretty sure that I'm not getting enough protein. Oh! One more thing: my wife was the first person to notice a difference in me after this past month of SS; she said my legs weren't so chicken-like anymore,lol.

[Makeshift Chef]

Session 13: warm up: 7 minutes on a bike.
Squat 45x2x5, 65x1x5,95x1x3, 125x1x2, 170x3x5
Bench 45x2x5, 70x1x5, 100x1x3, 130x1x2, 145x3x5
Deadlift 75x2x5, 115x1x3, 165x1x2, 195x1x5

Things were really tough for me today. My rest last night was really poor (little less than 6 hours of sleep) and as a result of that I didn't really have the energy that I normally do when I lift. The last rep of both my squat and bench final sets were really hard to get up there. I still managed to keep my form and finish though! Deadlifts were fun as always, I dunno why I like them so much... maybe I just like the idea of picking up heavy shit off the floor. I'll keep trying 5lb increases on my squat and bench and 10lb for the deadlift. I wonder if I should order belt now or just wait til later?

[Makeshift Chef]

Session 14: warm up: 7 minutes stationary bike
Squat: 45x2x5, 70x1x5, 105x1x3, 140x1x2, 175x3x5
Press: 45x2x5, 55x1x5, 70x1x3, 85x1x2, 105x5x3
Power Clean: 45x2x5, 55x1x5, 70x1x3, 85x1x2, 105x5x3

Pretty good workout overall. Squats continue to go up nicely and power cleans are getting better as I continue to dial in my form. Presses on the other hand, are killing me. It was all I could do to hit my reps for them today. I think my days of 5lb jumps on the press are over. Good thing I've gotten my makeshift micro plates ready to go. Better go reread that press section in SS and make sure I'm doing what I am supposed to.

Side note: The wife saw my tub of whey protein last night. She asks with a concerned look in her eyes: "you're not trying to get really huge like those guys in the magazines are you?" She got a good laugh out of me there. I was able to reassure her that I didn't have the necessary drive, determination, and willpower to get that huge. I just want to get as strong as I possibly can. Having never lifted weights before I'm curious to see where I'll end up at the end of my progression.

[Makeshift Chef]

Session 15- warm up: 7 minutes on the bike.
Squat- 45x2x5, 70x1x5, 105x1x3, 140x1x2, 180x3x5
Bench Press- 45x2x5, 75x1x5, 105x1x3, 135x1x2, 150x3x5
Deadlift- 80x2x5, 120x1x3, 170x1x2, 205x1x5

This was a surprisingly good workout for me. Going in today I wasn't really sure I'd hit my numbers for the day as I felt pretty tired. This body of mine needs more than the 6 hours of sleep I got last night. Need to be more disciplined in my sleeping habits (this means putting down the game controller earlier at night, lol). But once I got in there and got moving around things shaped nicely for me. I'll continue to try 5lb squat and bench jumps and 10lb jumps on the deadlift.

Wonder if I should start taking creatine, or is that overkill for someone as weak as I currently am? Better go do some reading up on it.

[Makeshift Chef]

Session 16- warm up: 7 minutes on the bike
Squat- 45x2x5, 70x1x5, 110x1x3, 145x1x2, 185x3x5
Press- 45x2x5, 60x1x5, 75x1x3, 90x1x2, 110x2x5, 110x1x4
Power Clean- 45x2x5, 60x1x5, 75x1x3, 90x1x2

See those press numbers? Missed it by one freakin' rep! That's what I get for trying to swing one more 5lb press jump, lol. I'll give it another shot at 110 next time and then decide what to do. No matter how the next attempt goes, I'll be doing 2.5lb jumps on presses now.

Squats were good. I can't believe how intimidated I was by power cleans when I first started! These days I find them to be a lot of fun. Still working on form, but I am improving every time. I guess I should start noting PR's for myself since I'm having press issues, give me a little motivation.

After reading up on creatine, I see no reason not to start taking it, we'll see if it helps with recovery for me. I also tried out my new belt today. I don't think I set up up so it would be tight enough. I'll move the lever in one notch and see how that goes.

[Makeshift Chef]

Session 17: Warm up- 7 minutes on the bike.
Squat- 45x2x5, 75x1x5, 110x1x3, 150x1x2, 190x3x5<PR>
Bench- 45x2x5, 75x1x5, 125x1x3, 135x1x2, 155x3x5<PR>
Deadlift- 85x2x5, 125x1x3, 180x1x2, 215x1x5<PR>

I adjusted my belt to be a bit tighter this time and that seemed to really help. Squats were good, it's really nice to look back and see myself warming up with weights that were working sets for me when I first started!

The five pound jump on the bench was pretty tough today. Still, not really close to failing on them though. We'll see how things go in the future.

Deadlifts are feeling heavier as things progress. And a little pat on my back for lifting something 200+ pounds today. I'll be deadlifting and squatting my weight soon (first goal I set for myself)!

[PVC]

One more word with the "sh" sound and your log's title would have been an alliteration nightmare. Keep up the good work man. You'll be benching and pressing more than me in a couple of weeks (which is sad since I've been at this for three and a half months).

[Makeshift Chef]

Thanks PVC! I might get the bench higher, but I don't know about the press. Presses freakin' kill me every time. During my late teens and early twenties I worked a factory job handling scrap aluminum. Basically pushing/rolling 55 gallon drums around that I filled with scrap, compacted and repeated the process til they weighed anywhere from 250-350lbs. I think some of those motions have paid off in the bench for me.

[Makeshift Chef]

Session 18- 7 minutes on the bike
Squat- 45x2x5, 75x1x5, 115x1x3, 155x1x2, 195x3x5<PR>
Press- 45x2x5, 60x1x5, 80x1x3, 95x1x2, 110x3x5<PR>
Power Clean- 45x2x5, 60x1x5, 80x1x3, 95x1x2, 115x5x3<PR>

Pretty meh day today. I was really lethargic going in to today's session and I'm not sure why. I did however manage to shake it off enough to get my lifts in! Squats went well enough, no real problems there. My presses were a real grind it out affair today. Did manage to get them done at the weight I had previously failed at though. Power Cleans were average today, still working on the proper form for them.

Oh yeah, just noticed that this marks my 6th week doing SS. Things have gotten off to a good start for me.

Side note: The wife said my rear end looked like someone elses last night. I was oh really? Should I be concerned? She laughed and said "no, it just looks different. I like it though."

[Makeshift Chef]

Session 19- 7 minutes on the bike
Squat- 45x2x5, 80x1x5, 120x1x3, 160x1x2, 200x3x5<PR>
Bench- 45x2x5, 80x1x5, 110x1x3, 140x1x2, 160x3x5<PR>
Deadlift- 90x2x5, 135x1x3, 190x1x2, 225x1x5<PR>

Really good time in the gym today! Hitting 200lbs on the squats was a nice mental boost for me. The bench press continues to surprise me. Really happy that I've been able to keep the 5lb jumps on it so far. I realize that will come to an end soon, but for now I'm just enjoying the ride Deadlifts weren't an issue today either.

Oh hey, I just realized that the next time I deadlift I'll be picking up more weight than I actually weigh, cool deal. Two more weeks and I'll finally be up to my body weight for squats.