cph's complete novice log

[1guy1cup]

Great log, keep up the progress! BTW, I'm stealing your log format if you don't mind; mine just sucks.

[Simon Rest]

I'm right handed but have found my left arm is far stronger in pressing workouts, due to carrying my kids in my left arm! I haven't done anything about it, I figure the pressing exercises will supersede the strength soon

[cph]

I might be overthinking this, but I realized to maintain the same ratio between press and bench press there will be an occasional miss, but if I microload my press will lag behind. The plan for now is not to microload unless I actually stall, but I will talk to my coach about this next week. My bench-to-press ratio is 1.42 right now, which is slightly low based on what I've read, but it probably doesn't matter that much as such a novice.

[danradin]

I might be overthinking this, but I realized to maintain the same ratio between press and bench press

You are. It doesn't matter.

[cph]

BW: 201.6 (lost some of the beer bloat?)

Sq: 195
BP: 140
DL: 235

First set of squats was ugly. First rep was WAY forward. I actually had to step forward to recover. Sets 2 and 3 were fine.

BP: I keep hitting a few reps low, on the solar plexus. Overall it was fine, but every time I tried to adjust mid-flight, things got rough. I need to really concentrate on bar path during the eccentric phase next time.

DL was no problem. Last rep was a tiny bit slow, but this was by no means the grind it was last time I was at 235. I'm ready to move to 245 and get myself unstuck.

[cph]

You are. It doesn't matter.

Yeah, I'm just looking for excuses for failing. I'll stop doing that.

[Brodie Butland]

Welcome to the forum, Colin!

And just to echo on the ratio...everyone's ratio is a little different, so it's hard to discuss an "ideal" ratio for anything. That, and sometimes you'll falter on certain lifts, which will throw the ratios off.

But remember...you're in it for the long game. Long-term, everything will even out, so don't worry about short term blips. If I flip a coin six times, there's a reasonable chance I'll miss the "ideal" 3 heads, 3 tails...but if I flip it 100 times, I'll be pretty close to the "ideal" 50/50.

[cph]

BW: 200.6
Sq: 200
Pr: 100
PC: 95

200 lb. squat milestone today. It turned out to be about my body weight after I weighed in this morning. Still having knees out problems. I do fine with the warmup sets, but once I get the work set on my back, my knees just don't want to stay all the way out.

Completed the 100 lb. press. Last 2 reps of set 1 were UGLY, but the other two sets were reasonable. Still not enough hip pop once I hit the work sets.

I'm finally feeling the PC. I felt better with racking today, but I'm still not sure if my elbows are bending before I jump. Hopefully this can get fixed in my next coaching session with Brodie.

[afatgoat]

. Still having knees out problems. I do fine with the warmup sets, but once I get the work set on my back, my knees just don't want to stay all the way out.

This is pretty normal. I still have to make a conscious effort every working set to push my knees out. Literally every set i'm yelling in my head "KNEES OUT KNEES OUT KNEES OUT". Keep at it, you'll get it eventual. It helps with your hip pop and maximizes the bounce out of hole. Keep up the good work.


I'm finally feeling the PC. I felt better with racking today, but I'm still not sure if my elbows are bending before I jump. Hopefully this can get fixed in my next coaching session with Brodie.[/QUOTE]

[cph]

Sq: 205
BP: 145
DL: 245

Sq: Once again, the first set was UGLY. Glad I am getting some coaching this week. The third set actually felt great (and lighter than the first 2). I think my hip angle may have been too open (not bent over enough) because once I bent over a little more, everything felt much more stable.

BP: Warm up bar path good. A few bad reps on the work sets.

DL: Happy to hit 245. I definitely had more reps, too. Still pulling DOH. No grip problems this workout.

Saw a guy pull 405 for reps today. Not common in my gym (college rec center).