cwd's log

[Charlie Davies]

I'm a man, 5'10".
As of 2012.07.18 I am 46 years old, 176 pounds.
My goals are to gain weight and get strong.

I'm starting a log here so that when I comment on other threads, folks can see exactly how unqualified I am to tell them what to do.

Also, maybe someday someone will aggregate all the weightlifting journals on the internet and do some useful research on what programs work best. I.e. what constitutes "normal progress" for skinny middle-aged men taking up barbells for the first time? This log will pull down the averages.

Of course, the guys with the worst progress won't log at all, so there's a serious sampling bias problem. I guess I'm contributing to bad science.

[Charlie Davies]

Pre-Starting-Strength exercise history:
- Recreational bicycling/swimming/tree climbing as a kid (no sports)
- Construction work as a teenager (roofing, drywall, etc).
- Nautilus for a few months at age 20 (bw 145->160 lbs).
- Then 25 years of sitting at computers with occasional bouts of walking, bicycling, pushups, chinups.

Pre-Starting-Strength injury history:
- Several back-pain episodes severe enough to require days off work.
- Crippling wrist tendonitis on a few occasions.
- No surgeries or cortisone injections.

In other words, I started close to blank slate here.

Diet all along has been permissive paleo:
- No liquid calories except 1 adult beverage per day.
- Very little processed food (90% of meals have no sugar, flour, HFCS, veg oil), but I do cheat and eat a burrito or pizza once in a while.
- 3 meals a day.
- Carbs mostly from potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, apples, onions, etc.
- Protein from meat, eggs or fish with every meal.
- Large servings of veg with every meal.
- Milk and yogurt when I'm trying to gain weight, skip a few meals per week when I'm trying to lose weight.
- Only supplements are fish oil, plus vitamin D3 in the wintertime.

[Charlie Davies]

2011.04.06 to 2011.05.10
Body weight: 152 to 163
Squat: 0 to 145 (5x3)
Dead: 0 to 145 (5x)
Bench: 0 to 110 (5x3)
P.C.: 0 to 75 (3x5)
Press: 0 to 72.5 (5x3)

Wins:
- Read the book (2nd edition SS).
- Acquired YMCA membership.
- Gained more strength than I'd ever had to this point.
- Learned to do the lifts (badly), and gym etiquette, and started a workout journal (on paper).
- Learned to eat a lot.
Losses:
- Derailed by hip-flexor tendonitis at ASIS aka "interesting tendonitis" caused by bad squat technique.

[Charlie Davies]

Try to get around the hip tendonitis with less squat volume.

2011.05.12 to 2011.07.10
bw 163 to 167
Squat: still 145 (5x3)
Dead: 145 to 200 (5x)
Bench: 110 to 120 (5x3)
P.C.: 75 to 85 (3x5)
Press: 72.5 to 80 (5x3)
Goblet Squat: 0 to 90 (5x3)

Wins:
- Steady progress on deadlift, some progress on presses & cleans.
- Technique got better on all lifts.
- Acquired proper shoes (Roque Do-Wins).
- Acquired foam roller and began using it.
- Learned some stretches and started doing them.
Losses:
- Unable to squat without worsening tendonitis.

[Charlie Davies]

Again, chasing a hip tendonitis solution.


2011.07.12 to 2011.09.14
bw 167 to 173
Squat: 145 (5x3) to 150 (5x5 with belt) and 185 (2x with belt)
Dead: 200 to 235 (5x)
Bench: 120 (5x3) to 120 (5x5) and 135 (3x)
P.C.: 80 to 95 (3x5)
Press: 80 (5x3) to 85 (5x5) and 95 (4x)

Wins:
- Steady progress on deadlift, some progress on presses & cleans.
- More form improvement, esp. squatting.
- Acquired awesome belt (Best Belts).
Losses:
- No real squat progress in weight.
- Hip tendonitis still quite bad.

[Charlie Davies]

My back "went out" from a bad hotel mattress and long drive (work-related travel).

Interestingly, this is the only back episode I've had since starting weightlifting. This is a much lower rate of back problems than is normal for me. Duh, weight training works for injury prevention.

2011.09.15 to 2011.09.23

[Charlie Davies]

My 12yo son started weightlifting with me at this point.
I started him on goblet squats, and did them myself along with him.
Goblets/front squats are easier on the lower back, and easier to coach.

I started eating less during this period, as I was getting a little pot belly.
This along with the continuing tendonitis and back-related reset stalled my strength gains.

2011.09.24 to 2011.11.16
bw stable around 170
Goblet Squat: 70 to 100 (5x3) this was the largest dumbbell at the YMCA
Front Squat: 0 to 100 (5x3)
Squat: 0 to 155 (5x3)
Dead: 135 to 255 (5x)
Bench: 125 to 135 (5x3)
P.C.: 95 to 100 (3x5)
Press: stuck at 90 (5x3)

Wins:
- Got my son started on weightlifting.
- Back recovered quickly.
- Some deadlift progress, slight bench progress.
- Started daily 1.5 mile walks before breakfast (which I've done ever since).
Losses:
- Stalled on most lifts.
- Hip flexor tendonitis still quite bad.

[Charlie Davies]

Maybe squatting only once per week would help my tendonitis?
Try Wendler's 5-3-1 (yes I bought the e-book).

I did the Boring But Big template for 2 4-week cycles, lifting 4 days per week.
I took deload weeks and experimented with many assistance exercises.

2011.11.27 to 2012.01.31
bw 170 to 175
Squat: ?? to 160 (5x)
Dead: 255 to 250 (5x)
Bench: 135 (5x3) to 125 (8x) and 135 (4x)
Press: 90 (5x3) to 90 (4x)

Wins:
- Got better at chins and pullups.
- Discovered 1-hand and 2-hand weighted carries, which I love.
- Hip tendonitis got a little better.
- Conditioning got better (squat and deadlift for 10x5 is awesome).
Losses:
- Lost strength.
- Constant muscle soreness.

[Charlie Davies]

From the article "Boring But Big" 3 Month Challenge on T-Nation by Wendler.

2012.02.04 to 2012.04.29
bw stable around 176
Squat: 160 (5x) to 170 (5x) and 140 (8x5)
Dead: 255 (5x) to 275 (1x) and 205 (10x5)
Bench: 135 (4x) to 160 (1x) and 120(8x5)
Press: 90 (4x) to 105 (1x) and 75 (10x5)

Wins:
- Conditioning got better (deads for reps!)
- I think I got some upper-body hypertrophy (didn't measure, I'm not a bodybuilder).
Losses:
- Hip tendonitis got a little worse.
- Constant muscle soreness.

[Charlie Davies]

Theory here is that lower volume will help tendonitis, and allow more conditioning.
Target weights were reset down again.

I was doing a lot of foam rolling and static stretching during this time, and doing sprint workouts 3 times/week. This turned out to aggravate the hip tendonitis.

As tendonitis got worse, I dropped squatting entirely in cycle 7, doing power cleans and weighted lunges instead. The lunges turned out to aggravate hip tendonitis also.

I reduced eating volume during this time as well.

2012.05.06 to 2012.06.27
bw 176 to 172
Squat: 170 (5x) to 0
Dead: 275 (1x) to 265 (6x)
Bench: 160 (1x) to 145 (3x)
Press: 105 (1x) to 100 (4x)
P.C.: 100 to 120 (3x5)

Wins:
- Conditioning got way better (sprinting is great).
- Lost some fat.
- Power Clean form improved, all those volume deads greatly improved my strength with this also.
Losses:
- Tendonitis got worse.
- Injured my shoulders doing dips to excessive depth on a dip-assistance machine. This injury doesn't bother me when benching, but I now have some pain with presses and rows.
- Strength stalled.