starting strength gym
Page 2 of 13 FirstFirst 123412 ... LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 123

Thread: Newbie Log

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    150

    Default

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    Thanks everyone!

    Gene- I thought that might be the wrist issue. I was trying my best to shove my elbows back more to try straighten out my wrists, but it wasn't enough. I'll work on it some more & see what I need to do to get everything straighter. As far as the shoulder, I've been developing a massive knot behind my right shoulder blade, so I think when I'm squeezing my shoulder blades together, I'm squeezing on that knot, or that maybe the bar is digging into the knot? I'm not sure yet, but this is my theory, since the pinching was in the same spot.

    synchronicity- I'll look into those. The 45s worked "ok", and my form was way better, but the only problem was since there are raised parts on the plates, I had to be really careful on where I set the bar down at & a couple times my reset took longer than I would have liked. We've discussed getting equipment for the house, so I may have to add those to the list. Ideally, I'm just hoping I'll be on the 45s soon

    yonkyo- Thanks! Spud was actually a nickname my high school best friend's bratty little brother gave me. But, since I'm also a potato addict, it kinda stuck

  2. #12
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Portola Valley, CA
    Posts
    1,250

    Default

    Spudness,

    I developed some pretty serious shoulder and wrist pain from having bent wrists and my elbows forward on the squat (holding some the the barbell weight up with my arms). It became so bad that I actually had to take 3 months off from SS to rehab, so when I restarted in August I was extra extra careful about it. My problem was that I didn't have enough flexibility to get my elbows back without bending my wrists. To address that I did stretches with a broom handle every single day. I took a very wide grip on the broom handle and then worked it around to my back in the squat bar position and then held it for a count of 5. Then after a rest, I did it again with a slightly narrower grip and a count of 15, and then again to a count of 30. I did this every day that I wasn't doing a workout (squatting itself provides this same stretch exercise), and after about 6 weeks I stopped having any problem with my wrist/elbow position and the shoulder and wrist pain has not returned. You might give it a try.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    150

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Gene61 View Post
    To address that I did stretches with a broom handle every single day. I took a very wide grip on the broom handle and then worked it around to my back in the squat bar position and then held it for a count of 5. Then after a rest, I did it again with a slightly narrower grip and a count of 15, and then again to a count of 30. I did this every day that I wasn't doing a workout (squatting itself provides this same stretch exercise), and after about 6 weeks I stopped having any problem with my wrist/elbow position and the shoulder and wrist pain has not returned. You might give it a try.
    I had a friend recommend that and sent me a youtube video showing what you just described. I tried it one day & I couldn't tell if it made everything better or worse. lol. I'll focus more on what my arms/shoulders/wrists are doing tomorrow. If I can't get them where they need to be - then I'll try the broom again. I'm glad to hear someone else recommend this though. Two testimonials are better than one. haha

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Boston
    Posts
    2,765

    Default Newbie Log

    Welcome aboard!
    (heh, it's a board...oh never mind)

    I'll be following your progress. Looks like you're cranking along so far :-)

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    150

    Default

    Thanks Jenica! Definitely enjoying the rapid newbie strength gains!

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    150

    Default 11/13/12

    Tough tough tough day.

    Got to the gym, the one squat rack was in use. Decided to warm up on the elliptical while I waited on it to free up. Elliptical because it was in direct view of the squat rack, not because I have any love for the elliptical. I'm just not the type of person who can stand around in a gym (unless I'm between sets). Anyways, 2 miles later, the squat rack frees up.

    Squat: 80 lbs.
    did shoulder stretches this morning, so was able to get my wrists straighter on the bar - no more wrist problems. felt weird at first, and I thought it was going to make my sets tougher, but actually by the end, it felt easier. Space between my shoulder blades felt warm and for the first time, my knot wasn't bothering me.

    Hopped back on elliptical while I waited for a bench to free up.

    Bench Press: 60 lbs.
    Work sets felt a bit sloppy. I think it's because I was on my own today (no spotter), and so was overthinking everything, instead of just having a spotter to check in with when I feel like something might be off.

    Another 1.5 miles on elliptical while I waited on a space to free up for me to deadlift in.

    Deadlift: 115x3, then 115x5 (after warm-ups)
    This one was a doozy. I'm stacking the bar on 2 or 3- 45's to prop the bar up at the right height, but by the time I get the plates lugged over to prop the bar up, I'm worn out. By this time, I had been at the gym for two hours and was pretty ready to get home. When I got to the work sets, I used the 35s & tried to prop those on top of just 1 45, but that didn't work. So I set it on the floor. Form wasn't great, and lifting the bar that extra inch or two felt like it made a huge difference. First set, plates were sliding around, everything was off. After 3, I stopped, rested, put the cuff things on the bar to keep the plates in place, and reset. I was determined. I got the 5 done, but I fought for every single one of them. I think I could have gotten it easier if the bar was the right height, but who knows. I will try this weight again on Thursday. I'm considering this my first fail, so that's a bit frustrating.

    Between the four miles & the lifts, I feel like I got my ass handed to me.

    Diet: kind of a mess right now. Some days I'm starving, some days I have no appetite. I don't really want to count calories at the moment, and would rather just go with trying to eat how I feel. But I just need to be more diligent about making sure I eat well (this weekend was a lot of crap) & not going too long without food. Been skipping breakfast lately and not really sure why. I always do much better when I eat breakfast. Felt like I ate ok today though (except not eating anything til the afternoon).

    Aches & pains: No aches & pains during the lifts. Now, though, knot in my shoulder blade is acting up, knees are very stiff and warm, plantar fasciitis is flaring up. I blame the last two on the elliptical breaks between lifts. Glutes/hams/back feel well worked.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    150

    Default off day (11/14/12)

    Physically, feel a bit like I got hit by a truck. Well, maybe an exaggeration, but a majority of my muscles ache. That's a good thing! My knees & IT bands are a bit achy. I think this is more related to the DOMS than it is an injury or "bad" pain. When I first started running, my knees ached for about 4 months before they finally got used to the motion. I think a similar thing is happening here.

    I have a beer run tonight with friends - should be interesting given the achy knees & what not. Hopefully I'm not dragging them down!

    On the plus side, today is the first day of doing this program where I have actually had energy. I feel pretty good today. Dragged a little bit when I first woke up (been dealing with a flu-ridden child all week), but once I had coffee & breakfast (rolled oats with raw honey), I felt great. Definitely the most energy I've had the last three weeks. AND I'm actually looking forward to running tonight. This is the first time in over a month that I've wanted to run. I think I'm starting to visualize my goals of being fitter & stronger and looking fitter & stronger, and suddenly I want running to be a part of that (at least for the "trimming down the fluffiness" part of it). We'll see if I'm still singing the same tune after my 14-miler on Saturday. :-/

    Even though I don't "see" any physical changes, and I still think I look like a bloated blob in the mirror, this is the first day that I haven't FELT like bloated blob. I hope this means that the changes will be happening soon.

    For now, the eating plan is not to worry about the calories. Eat consistently, eat when I'm hungry, and eat as clean as possible. I always go through my phases with this. I prefer to eat clean (meaning, making everything from scratch, no preservatives, "whole" foods), but then I start to get busy/lazy/forget to plan dinners or go to store/get bored with it/etc etc etc. I don't immediately resort to fast food, but that's when we start turning to more "convenience" (aka processed) foods. But suddenly I'm more determined than ever (not that I ever wasn't - but I've woken up with a major DRIVE and FOCUS today. See above energy comment.), so I'm hoping this will drive me to think about everything I eat. Much like I used to when I was in determined weight loss mode. Obviously, the diet will be up for review anytime I don't feel like I'm making my goals.

    I could use some help with goal setting. Right now, my goal is to be able to squat and deadlift my own body weight (actually, ideally my goal is to never stop making gains, but I need to give myself a reason to celebrate). I'm not sure what my goals should be on the other lifts, or what my timeline should be. The goal is to be 25% BF (then hopefully one day, 20%).

    Also, I took my measurements when I first started this program (inches, weight, bf%, etc.). Haven't taken pictures yet, but have been meaning too. My thought was to retake measurements once a month. Is this a good amount of time, or should I do it more often in order to reassess my progress?

  8. #18
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Portola Valley, CA
    Posts
    1,250

    Default

    I weigh myself daily. It's a little obsessive but I get a good sense of where I am through the ups and downs (recently mostly ups as I've been bulking). Measurements though move so slowly that once a month is enough.

    Good progress Spudness!

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    NY NY
    Posts
    85

    Default

    Good job Spudness! I feel your pain with setting up the deadlifts. I had the same issue and waiting for equipment sucks. But where there's a will, there's a way. Maybe you could stack up some plates for the deadlift while your waiting for the equipment so you have some rest time or as part of your warm-up? I did that for a few sessions. But keep it up! Establishing the habit and routine is the hardest part. Once you've got a groove going it becomes so much easier and you find out where you are wasting time and what you need to do to make the most of it. That goes with eating too.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    150

    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    Thanks everyone!

    Claud - when I went yesterday, someone had removed the bars off the safety part of the squat rack (sorry, I don't know technical terms yet). Anyways, it left the bases at the perfect height to set the bar on & my DL's were no problem! Now I know how to do it that way, I don't have to mess with the plates! Now if only I could cut down the number of people waiting to use the rack at any one time.... lol


    11/16/12
    Squat: 85 lbs
    -My husband decided to chime in & correct my form in the middle of my first work set & got me all messed up. I started overthinking it & things went downhill. The first two worksets were a total mess. I told him to go ahead and get started because I needed some time to regroup before starting my last workset. I sat down, pulled up some videos on my phone, and after he warmed up, I went back to it & it went well. It was a fight, but it still felt good.

    Press: 55 lbs
    -Only managed 3 reps on the first workset. I guess I didn't rest enough between my warm-up sets and my first workset. Squeezed out all 5 reps on the last two sets, but it was a major struggle. Still my weakest lift - I will be doing this work weight again next time.

    Deadlift: 115 lbs
    -Since the set up was easier, this was a piece of cake (relatively).



    I am WORN OUT today. Set out to do my long run this morning, and it just wasn't happening. Felt like I was running through mud. It's going to take a lot more careful planning & eating on my part if I want to balance the two. Also realized that I hadn't had any protein since my workout last night, and that would probably explain why I felt so ravenous a mile into my run, to the point where I was nauseous. Barely managed two miles, then went to get some lunch. I am exhausted & ravenous today. Going to eat well & get some good sleep tonight, and try the run again tomorrow. Knots behind my shoulder blades & my feet are kinda bugging me today.

Page 2 of 13 FirstFirst 123412 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •