LongDriver's Training Log

[LongDriver]

12-12-2011, workout #13

My elbow has been pretty sore the past few days, following the PRP treatment last Friday. However, the doctor did tell me it was OK to use it for everyday activities, and I also read that lateral epicondylitis heals better when the tendon is stretched a bit and made to bear moderate loads. For this reason I decided to see whether any pressing exercises could be done without too much pain. As a result, today’s workout went as follows:

Squat: bar only (10 reps), 135x8
Press: 135x1
Squat: 195x5x4
Press: 185x1
Front Squat: 115x5
Bench Press: 195x0 (hurt too much to try a full rep)

As I was waiting for either the squat rack or the cage to open up, two guys asked me whether I was waiting for one of them. I indicated that I was, but as soon as the cage opened up I asked them if they’d like to work in with me. They agreed, and it turns out they’re doing the Strong Lifts 5x5 program. After my warm-up set with 135 I tested my elbow by doing a press. It didn’t hurt at all, so I thought maybe I could at least do presses next workout, and maybe substitute them on bench press days until my elbow heals a little.

I kept my work sets at 195 pounds, but I did four sets because I knew I would be doing a shorter program (no upper body work to speak of). Oddly enough, one of the two guys working in with me was varying his work weight – he only did four sets, and although he always got five reps he started with 185 and ended up doing 195 for the last two sets. I asked him whether he realized there was ten pounds more weight on the bar than on his previous set, and he said he just wanted to try a little more weight to see how it felt. I didn’t say anything, but I was under the impression that it was better to keep the work sets at a consistent weight during the novice phase.

After I finished my back squats I decided to test the elbow with a press close to my current limit, so I took 10 pounds off my squat weight and tried a press with it. The weight got stuck over my head, but I was able to lock it out. I also didn’t have much (if any) elbow pain. Out of curiosity I tried a set of front squats, and I think I may substitute them for cleans/deadlifts in the next few weeks until my elbow improves. The elbow hurt a lot because I was racking it on the fingertips (too much stretch), but I'll probably try them with my arms crossed to reduce the stress.

The guys I was squatting with were on the bench press, so I asked if I could try a set to see how the elbow felt. They had 195 on the bar, so I gave it a try. As soon as I got it off the rack I put it right back on; I knew there was no way I was going to be bench pressing for awhile.

[LongDriver]

12-14-2011, workout #14

The elbow is slowly improving, but there’s still a little discomfort when I fully straighten it. I decided to try squats and overhead presses for my workout. Today I did the following:

Squat: unweighted (10 reps), bar only (10 reps), 135x5
Bench Press: 135x1
Squat: 200x5x3
Press: 160x5x2
Front Squat: 115x5x2

After the squat warmup there was a bench available with 135 pounds on the bar, so I did a very slow and careful rep to see how the elbow felt. There was a little pain, but it was nothing like Monday, probably because I was using a considerably lighter weight.

The squat felt very heavy today, but I guess 200 pounds is a milestone of sorts. The next milestone will most likely be in a few weeks if I’m able to make it to two plates per side. On the third set I lost my balance at the bottom of the first rep and almost pitched the bar forward into the safety rails, but I was able to regain my balance and complete the set. I believe if I had had even ten more pounds on the bar I would have definitely fallen. I don’t know how many more sessions I’ll be able to keep increasing the weight.

The press felt heavy again, and the bar speed was a little slow on the fourth and fifth rep, but I never got “stuck” and had to use a second effort to lock the weight out (as I’ve had to do on previous workouts). I think this is because my form is getting a little better. The presses hurt the middle of my back quite a bit though. On the second set my elbow was starting to hurt too, so I decided not to further aggravate it by doing a third set. I’ll plan on doing presses again on Friday with the same weight and try to complete all three sets.

After the presses I decided to work my legs more by doing some front squats. I really like doing them (even though they’re harder), and I feel much more in control of the weight than I do on back squats. I also feel much more balanced on front squats – even when I use a warm-up weight on back squats I feel somewhat off balance. My gym hasn’t responded to my request to allow me to video my form, so I’ll probably have to send another request.

As I left the gym and was walking to my car my legs were quite fatigued. It’s definitely the best leg workout I’ve had in the month that I've been doing the SS program.

[LongDriver]

12-16-2011, workout #15

I was very tired today because I didn’t get enough sleep the past two nights, and I’ve also been eating a lot of junk food since my workplace has a week-long pot luck as part of their Christmas celebration. As a result I didn’t have much energy for my workout. My elbow was still hurting, so I continued the presses. Today I did the following:

Squat: unweighted (10 reps), bar only (10 reps), 95x5, 135x5, 160x2, 205x5x3
Press: bar only (10 reps), 95x8, 135x2, 160x5x3, 185x0, 185x0
Front Squat: 135x5x2
Bench Press: 135x5
Lateral Raise Machine (150x6)


Today the squats felt so heavy that I actually felt intimidated during my first two sets. Although I was in the squat rack I was afraid I was going to have to dump the weight onto the safety rails, and I wasn’t sure how to do it. I was afraid I might lose my balance and crush my hand or a few fingers between the bar and the rail. I still grip the bar with my thumbs underneath, because I don’t have the shoulder flexibility to use a narrow grip (as in the SS videos), and my thumbs are underneath to keep the bar from slipping. The second set was a real grind because I had the bar too high (I realized this after I finished the set and was racking the bar); the third set was much easier. Unless I feel energetic on Monday I’m unsure whether I should increase the weight (due to safety concerns). Either that or I'll have to squat in the power rack with the rails set up about where my bottom depth is.

The first work set of presses was the most difficult of the three, but I don’t know whether I’ll be able to get 165x5x3 next Monday. I may need to start going up in one or two pound increments. I did take longer rests (8 minutes between the second and third sets) today, and there was no significant slowdown on any of the reps. After my work sets I was pretty worn out, but I wanted to see whether I could get 185 (as I had last Monday when I was less fatigued). On my first try the bar went up very quickly, and as I was locking it out my legs buckled and I had to lower the weight to keep my legs from completely crumbling underneath me. My upper body had the weight easily, but my legs were too tired from the squats. I tried it again a few minutes later, but I was so concerned about the same thing happening again that I only gave it a half-hearted attempt and didn’t even get the bar over my head.

I did some front squats again today with a little more weight than Wednesday. As I was doing them I noticed a guy about my height but much thinner (he looked like a high school kid & was maybe 170 pounds) doing front squats in the power rack with 205, with good depth, and getting 10 reps effortlessly. It was a pretty harsh reminder to me about how terribly weak my legs are.

I tested the elbow on the bench press again, and although the lift-off was painful the rest of the lift wasn’t too bad. I used a very slow tempo just to get a feel for what I could handle comfortably. I think I’m still going to have to wait until at least the first week of January until I’m ready to bench press anything substantial (for me).

Before I left I goofed around on some of the machines. I’m afraid not benching will cause me to lose a little strength in that lift, so I was looking for a pec-deck machine to at least exercise my chest (since gripping hard with my left hand will aggravate my elbow problem). I couldn’t find one that didn’t involve the lower arm/grip, so I did some lateral raises instead.

I didn't weigh myself today, but I've been putting on weight. My girlfriend took a video of me getting my elbow treated last Friday, and I thought I looked pretty fat. I'm thinking of cutting down a little on my food intake to help get my weight back down below 220.

[LongDriver]

12-19-2011, workout #16

On the way over to the gym my elbow was really bothering me, so much so that I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to do any pressing. However, by the time I got changed and went over to the power rack it felt much better. Today I did the following:


Squat: unweighted (10 reps), bar only (10 reps), 135x5, 185x2, 210x3x5
Press: bar only (10 reps), 95x5, 135x2, 165x5x3
Front Squat: 145x5x2

The squats felt slightly easier today than last Friday, most likely because I need three days’ rest to fully recover. I’m planning on trying 215 on Wednesday, so I’ll be interested to find out whether I struggle with it. My shoulders still aren’t flexible enough to use the hold shown on the SS video. I’m also not sure whether I’m going all the way down to parallel.

I think I’m beginning to hate the press -- either that or I’m getting too old and decrepit to lift weights close to my limit. It seems like each rep was killing my back, and in-between sets I had to sit down and bend over to stretch it in the other direction. Also, the carpal boss on my right wrist was giving me a lot of pain, especially when racking the bar. After the first set I really didn’t think I’d be able to get 5 reps on all three sets. The last two reps were a little slower than the first three. However, I realized that I was finishing with my head behind the bar instead of underneath it. For the second and third sets I concentrated on getting my head underneath the bar, and the reps were somewhat easier. I never really had to work hard for any of the reps (i.e. no slow lockouts), so I was happy about that. I took pretty long rests between sets though – probably 7 or 8 minutes. I’m torn between trying for 170 pounds on Wednesday or trying to buy some washers to load onto the bar so I can go up in one pound increments. I just hate the idea of getting stuck barely a month into my training, and I’m pretty sure I’ll have trouble doing 5x3 with that weight.

I did front squats again for my third exercise today. I find them much more relaxing than back squats, even though I can’t lift nearly as much weight. I also feel like they give my quads a much better workout.

[LongDriver]

12-21-2011, workout #17

During the day today my right hip was bothering me off and on. By the time I got to the gym the pain had subsided. Today I did the following:


Squat: unweighted (10 reps), bar only (10 reps), 135x5, 185x2, 215x3x5
Press: bar only (10 reps), 95x5, 135x2, 170x4 (fail), 170x3 (fail), 165x5
Front Squat: 150x5x2

Again the squats didn’t feel too difficult today. I think the front squats are helping me to gain strength faster in the back squat. I’m still not sure whether I’m going all the way to parallel though. Today I also made a conscious effort to use a slightly narrower grip and to try to keep the wrists straight and the thumb on top of the bar. It seemed to tweak my wrist a little, but it was an improvement compared to the way I’ve held the bar up to this point in my SS adventure.

I got my first failures today. For some reason 170 pounds felt WAY heavier than 165 did. After the fourth rep of my first set my back was killing me, and although I think I might have been able to eek out a fifth rep I realized I wouldn’t have anything left for my next two sets so I racked the bar at that point. My second set felt even HEAVIER, and after I got the second rep over my head the bar came down about three inches (almost landing on top of my head) before I was able to reverse its direction and lock it out. The third rep felt very shaky and slow, so I racked it there. I don’t know whether I could’ve gotten a fourth rep if I had tried. For the final set I decided to remove five pounds and try the weight I was able to get 5x3 with the other day. To my surprise, it felt MUCH easier than the 170, and I was able to get all five reps – even the last one wasn’t too slow. I don’t know whether I’m having a mental block with the 170 or not, but I did feel much more confident with the 165 since I had gotten it the other day. I also know that I can get 175 for five reps without too much trouble if I’m in a sitting position. I’m wondering whether the back pain may be causing my body to “shut down” during the reps, somewhat like Mark describes the body being unable to complete a deadlift with a double-overhand grip when the same weight may seem easy with a mixed grip. If the body senses the grip may fail it may prevent this by limiting the amount of pulling power the lifter is able to generate. The bottom line is that my performance today left me a little de-pressed (pun intended).

The first set of front squats felt heavy, and the fourth rep was particularly slow. During the second set I really focused on using valsalva maneuver, and it made the lift noticeably easier. I almost did a third set, but I didn’t want to burn out too much for Friday’s squat workout. I may plan on trying three sets Friday, since I’ll have an extra day to rest.

[LongDriver]

12-24-2011, workout #18

Seeing that it was Christmas Eve, I only had about half an hour to work out because of a family get-together. I only had time to eat two light meals yesterday because I was very busy. Today I also ate very light (protein drink for breakfast and no lunch), so by my 1:30 pm workout I was very low on energy. I did the following:

Squat: bar only (10 reps), 135x5, 185x3, 220x5x3
Press (standing): bar only (10 reps), 95x5, 135x2, 175x0 (fail), (seated) 185x2, 185x0 (bar hit support), 185x3 + 2 assisted

The squats felt very heavy today, even with the extra day of rest. I think it was because I hadn’t had enough to eat. On the third set I almost couldn’t complete one of the reps (I don’t remember which one), and I think I was intentionally not hitting full depth to avoid failure. I guess I didn’t want to have to have the weights crashing down on the safety rails and drawing attention to myself.

On the press I was planning on doing doubles and singles as a change to my program, since the past few workouts I’ve really hit a wall. I put 175 on the bar, which I didn’t think I’d have much trouble pressing for a double. The lift-off felt OK, but I couldn’t even get the bar over my head. My back also hurt, so instead of continuing in the standing position I moved over to an OHP station with a seat. The support on this one jutted out maybe eight inches from the uprights, which I didn’t think would be a problem at the time. I put 185 on the bar and did two reps, with the second one being a slow lockout. On the second set I hit the bottom of the support on the way up and couldn’t get the weight locked out. I struggled with the bar over my head for about five seconds, and another gentleman ran over to help me get it up to the supports. He told me it was an awful lot of weight to be attempting, but I told him I had gotten a couple of reps the previous set. I also asked him for a spot on my third set. During that set I was able to get three unassisted reps, and then I did two more with him giving me light assistance. I would’ve tried one or two more sets at a lower weight, but I ran out of time. I’m wondering whether the difference between my standing and seated press is due to poor technique, back pain, or whether it’s normal for most people to do about 5-10% more from a sitting position.

[LongDriver]

12-26-2011, workout #19

I had to work out very late today because I was running lots of errands. My girlfriend and I had a big dinner (all you can eat soup & salad @9:30 pm), and I ended up beginning my workout at 11:30 pm on a very full stomach. I did the following:

Squat: bar only (10 reps), 135x5, 185x2, 225x5x3
Press: bar only (10 reps), 95x8, 135x2, 160x3 (fail), 155x5x2
Front Squat: 135x5 (easy)
Bench Press: 135x10, 185x10

On the squats, some reps felt light and others felt heavy. I was wearing some new shoes I got for Christmas (Sketchers), and the heel feels much more stable than the tennis shoes I usually wear. However, I still almost lost my balance on one rep because the bar shifted higher up on my back at the bottom of the movement. I also sometimes get my weight onto the balls of my feet instead of keeping it over the middle of the foot. In a few more workouts I may reset to 185 and focus on going as deep as possible.

As I was beginning the press I let another guy (Eric) work in with me on the squat rack. I intended to reset to 160, but since I was chatting with Eric I inadvertently loaded the bar with 165. Fortunately, I noticed this just as I was about to begin my set. However, even after I removed the five pounds I still was unable to get the full five reps (I got three and failed on the fourth), so I backed off to 155 for the remaining two sets. Again it was discouraging to have to lower the weight, especially since I had been able to lift more than this for three sets of five last week.

As I was chatting with Eric I was able to give a good plug to Starting Strength. He had just finished playing basketball (there’s an indoor court next to the weight room) and was doing some squats with 95-155 pounds. He was going down around halfway, and I was able to relate how much more beneficial it is to go all the way down, and how having the bar lower on the back works the hamstrings better and promotes knee health through greater stabilization.

By now it was 12:15 am, so I did one quick set of front squats. These felt very easy, and I can really tell my leg strength is coming along nicely because the first time I tried this weight several weeks ago I had to work much harder.

Before I left I tested the elbow by doing some light bench presses. I had no pain on either set, so I may start working the bench press back into my routine (even though the doctor wanted me to wait a week longer). As I was driving home my left shoulder was a little sore, and I believe it’s because I’m doing all pushing and no pulling in my workouts. I’m going to wait a few more weeks before slowly adding the pulling movements back in (since pull-ups caused the problem in the first place).

I’ve also been reading a book about Paul Anderson (“The Mightiest Minister”), which I got for Christmas, and it’s pretty inspiring. On one page it says Paul did a lot of dumbbell work to develop his pressing power, so I’m thinking of adding some of that into my routine in the coming months.

[LongDriver]

12-28-2011, workout #20

Today’s workout went as follows:

Squat: bar only (10 reps), 135x8, 185x3, 230x5x3
Bench Press: bar only (10 reps), 135x10, 205x8x3
Front Squat: 155x5

Today I weighed 233 pounds with my workout clothes on.

I had to wait around 12 minutes for two guys to finish curling in the squat rack. After I finished my warm-up with 135 a guy came by and asked how many sets I had left. I told him I was just starting but offered to let him work in. He was doing deadlifts, so we had to rack the bar prior to each of my sets and unrack it afterward for his deadlifts. As I was doing my 185 he went to get a drink, so afterward I unracked the bar myself and tweaked my bad elbow a bit. I also didn’t get quite the rest I needed on the first two work sets because he was supersetting deadlifts with leg presses and still ended up having to wait for me on each of my sets. However, after my second work set he told me he was done. I struggled a little on some reps, but I was able to get them all. I know for a fact I wasn’t going past parallel on the back squats though.

Seeing that I seem to be stuck on the press, I decided to try a light bench press workout to see how the elbow would feel. I chose a weight I thought would be light enough not to hurt the elbow, and I added a few extra reps to give myself more of a workout. The elbow felt fine, and the reps went up quickly on all but the last two reps of the final set.

I wanted to finish with some front squats, and this time I went down as far as I could. To my surprise, I found them a little easier when I hit the lower depth. It reminded me what Paul Anderson is reported to have said when asked about his squatting depth: “I always hit the bottom; if I didn’t hit the bottom I didn’t have the drive to come up.” I think I experienced a little of this today.

I’m planning on working out with a friend of mine on Friday and having him critique my form. He was quite a lifter back in his day -- in high school he bench-squatted 655 and bench pressed 405 (both raw lifts). I’m sure he’ll be able to give me plenty of pointers.

[LongDriver]

1-2-2012, workout #21

Today’s workout went as follows:

Squat: bar only (10 reps), 135x8, 185x3, 230x5x3
Bench Press: bar only (10 reps), 135x10, 185x5, 225x5x3

Today I weighed 231 pounds with my workout clothes on.

Since I missed my weekend workout I was reluctant to add weight to my squat. I also got a good leg workout last night carrying my girlfriend about two blocks when a chronic foot problem flared up and made walking extremely painful for her. Today as I did my walkout with 230 it felt so heavy I didn’t know whether I’d be able to get any reps with it, but I took them one at a time and was able to finish. I’m thinking I may need to start using the micro weights on squats soon. I think I’m getting down to about parallel, but I know I can go a little lower if I have less weight. I guess I don’t quite have the confidence yet.

The bench press felt fairly easy, probably because I haven’t been training it regularly for over three weeks due to my elbow problem. The first work set felt so light and went up so quickly that I thought I might be able to get 10 reps if I had kept going. After I racked the weight there were two kids (Chris and John) waiting for the bench, so I let them work in with me. John was only using 95 pounds, so we left the 25’s on the inside and added the 45 and two tens to the outside. In the past I’ve had trouble stabilizing the bar when there are a number of plates on it, but today it didn’t seem to be a problem. The second set went up pretty fast, with the last rep a little slower than the others. On the third set I had to pause about a second prior to the fourth and fifth reps.

As I got off the bench my elbow was starting to hurt. I had originally planned on trying deadlifts, but I thought it would aggravate the elbow pain. The squat and power racks were being used, so I didn’t bother waiting for them again just to do two sets of front squats. We’ll see if the elbow feels well enough Wednesday to do some dips. I think power cleans will be out for at least another two weeks, but maybe I can do some light lat pulldowns in the meantime.

[LongDriver]

1-4-2012, workout #22

Today’s workout went as follows:

Squat: no weight (10 reps) bar only (8 reps), 135x8, 185x3, 235x5x3
Press: bar only (10 reps), 95x8, 135x5, 160x5x3, 175x2, 190x0 (fail)
Front Squat: 165x5x2
Weighted Dips: Bodyweight + 66½ x5x3
Lat Pulldowns: 165x10 (to test the elbow)

Today I weighed 234 pounds with my workout clothes on.

The squats continue to feel extremely heavy. On the first set I had my weight way back on my heels on one rep and almost fell over backwards as I was nearing the finish of the rep. On the second set I wasn’t sure I’d make it up on the fourth rep. For some reason the third set seemed easier than the other two. I still don’t have anything to use as micro weights, but maybe I’ll have time to get some before my next workout.

For some reason my press felt fairly strong today. Maybe it’s because it’s been seven days since I’ve worked it – I gave myself time to rest. Although the weight felt heavy all the reps on my regular work sets went up very fast. Afterward I tried 175 and got two easy reps. I could have gotten a third, but I decided to try to save a little energy to try for 190. I got the 190 over my head, 2/3 of the way up, and even though I really thought I was going to lock it out it just wouldn’t go any higher. The bar just hovered in the same position for about 3 seconds before I ran out of gas. I’m sure I could’ve locked it out if my triceps weren’t already tired from the other sets I’d done.

The front squats were very difficult today, much harder than the 155 was a week ago. I was definitely going below parallel though, and lower than I’m going on the back squats.

The dips felt very heavy; I picked the 65 pound dumbbell because it was 2 ½ pounds more than I had done last month before my elbow got hurt. Including the belt and adding my bodyweight I realized that the overall weight was 300½ pounds, so I guess that’s a milestone of sorts. The second set was easier than the first.

I finished with a relatively light set of lat pull-downs to see whether it would tweak the elbow. I was pleasantly surprised that there was no pain at all, considering that pull-ups had aggravated it. I think the PRP is working, but the doctor said I may need another treatment to break up the calcification.