Peez's log

[peez]

Hi,

my name in peez (not my real name) and I have never belonged to a gym. Until two weeks ago.

I am 41, have been doing Judo for the last 30 years (which contributed to my knee issues, including two non-functional ACLs) and I commute to work by bike (12 miles/day). I consider myself to be in pretty good shape for my age, but trying to lift weights quickly proved that I am quite a weakling esp. with respect to the squat and deadlift. I am at 175lbs right now, 5'9" and started to getting a little soft around the mid-section.

I had meniscus surgery three weeks ago and decided that I need to do something more to help stabilize my knee ... and get in shape for the next Judo tournaments. Some extra strength won't hurt (me).

In addition to knee stabilization, my ultimate target is to roughly double my "strength" as in the sum of the core lifts - which corresponds to "intermediate" status with respect to the strength standard at
http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLi...Standards.html

- that's a real stretch goal for me ... the first milestone will be to move from "untrained" to "beginner". Very humbling.

Now I am on a Mon/Wed/Fri morning workout schedule, and have physical therapy for the knee on the same days in the afternoons - probably for a few more weeks.

Ignore my first squat - two weeks out of surgery, I wasn't ready to put any load on my knee.

Date BW Squat Bench Press DL
17-Jan 175.1 (85) 145 75 ---
20-Jan 173.3 145 140 --- 175
22-Jan 174.8 155 --- 95 205 (squat should have been deeper)
24-Jan 174.2 175 145 --- 225 (better form on the squat and DL)
27-Jan 176.4 185 --- 105 245 (grip strength was the limit for the deadlift)

Also doing some leg raises, dips and chins after the workout ... but focus is on the lifts.

I can't do the gallon of milk per day yet (maybe half that - with organic raw milk - yum!), but increased my caloric intake. Gained a few pounds already (172ish is my normal baseline). Actively suppressing my worry about getting fat.

I wish my bench press would go up at a better rate - but all those push-ups gave me a higher starting point that the other lifts.

So far so good - I'll keep you posted!

[peez]

Today I had to work out before lunch - early conf call. Not ideal but better than skipping the workout

Almost two weeks into the program.

BW 176.6 (lbs)

Squat - managed 195 5x3 but depth wasn't great. As in sucks eggs. Will have to redo or reset at a lower weight until form improves
Bench - 150 5x3 - hit my goal for the first two weeks - yay!
Deadlift - 255 1x5 - hit the goal for the first two weeks - yay! Barely managed holding on to the bar and locking out. Hook grip helped. First of my DLs where ability to get the bar off the ground was at the limit.

Can't wait for Friday, in more ways than one.

[peez]

3 PRs today! Ready for a nap.

Squat 205 5x3 form and depth was better, but degraded at the end
Press 115 5x3 barely made it
Deadlift 265 1x5 not quite as bad as I thought this would be

Quick summary, two weeks into SS :

Body weight up about 4lbs - a bit more on the belly than I like but I guess that can't be helped
Squat up at least 60 lbs, but hard to tell as the baseline was two weeks out of knee surgery. I have always been scared of squatting deep because of my knee issues all my life. Time to get over it.
Bench up a measly 5 pounds, but I think I was fairly well trained there.
Press up 40 pounds
Deadlift up 90 pounds

I am drinking lots more milk, but not a gallon per day yet. More calories, as my weight gain indicates. I have always been eating very clean/medium carb, and won't stop now. Esp. increased carb and protein intake.

Soon I can start thinking about learning the power clean. Gotta find a decent coach around here.

I am thrilled about the progress, but would like to do more about my bench press - can anybody offer some advice?

[peez]

For those who prefer something more visual

[peez]

This morning, my recovering knee felt tight ... but not painful. Some stimulus is need for recovery. Had my first Judo session since December on Saturday. Got paired up with our biggest guy, 280lbs. That's 100lbs more than me. Good workout! Yay! Plus Physical therapy and the workout on Friday - that adds up. No wonder the knee was tight all weekend.

No Judo tonight because we are getting about 8 inches of snow (additionally). No school for the kids. We'll be building a snow fort today!

The time for big jumps is over. Hope to stay linear at a lower rate for a while. Ordered the PPST book to prep for harder times ahead.

Squat: 210x5x3 better form than last time (that's not saying much), 5lb jump only so form does not get worse. Still not flexible/tight enough for comfortable bar position
Bench: 155x5x3 tried 166 for 4 + 2 reps, no cigar. Benched in power rack fr the first time. Hooks are too high - need to shrug up to get to bar/put it back. Next position down is four inches lower, too low. Stupid rack. Again, Rip is right - this time about proper hole spacing.
Deadlift: 275x1x5 barely made the last rep. But working at 100% is a good growth stimulus!

BW Chins 5,3,3 (PR)
BW Dips 5x3, very deep, easy
Leg raises, 15x3

[peez]

Yesterday's workout

Looks like the honeymoon is over, gotta settle in for much smaller jumps and the occasional stall. Amazon Prime (USPS) is late in delivering PPST. Should have been there yesterday. Ordered on 1/31. Two-day-shipping-my-ass!

Squat: 215x5x3, but the depth for the last set was awful. Will slow down the increases more until form and recently fixed knee improves
Press: 125x5x3 Yay! 10lb jump!
Deadlift: 285x1x4 Could not do another rep. Tried. After every rep I got a little dizzy and had to sit down. Guess that meant the intensity is right?

BW chins 5x3 for the first time in my life
BW dips 7x3
GHD (kinda - the platform for the feet angles down by about 30 degrees - flat plate with a 2" angle on the top. Is that a GHD?? Closest we have in the gym.) I tried to keep a straight back, legs straight until body is horizontal, then raise to vertical using hamstrings 5x3.

[carson]

Welcome Peez. It's always good to start young as you have done. I didn't start until I was 66. Your progression looks good. Can you post some videos?

BTW Don't worry too much about squatting with knee problems. If you go to the proper depth there is very little strain on the knee. It's only when you stop short that damage can be done. There are several instructional videos on this forum. When you have time you will benefit by watching them. I gather you have read or are reading the Third Edition of Rippetoes "Starting Strength".

[peez]

Thanks carson! I guess "young" is a relative term, some days I don't feel so young anymore! Videos are a great tool to get help reviewing form, but I am very camera-shy ... posting a video of myself publicly ... I am not so comfortable with that (and I work in technology!)

Yes, I almost know SS3 by heart now )

[peez]

Bad morning for a workout. Had to rush because of a conf call, which I found out was cancelled when I finally got to the office.

Knee has been bothering me for the past six or seven days even when walking about and not getting better. I can't risk this getting worse - my knee is not 100% after my meniscus surgery 4 weeks ago (and I don't have functional ACLs in either knee). In spite of this I have been progressing so this program is working out, but I don't want to get greedy and overdo it. Recovery comes first.

So I decided to spend a week starting today focusing much more on form and rehab - now I need to get my knee used to plyometric stuff again. I"ll still push upper body work hard.

Deadlift: getting a 160lb generator into my car - friends have been without power for a few days due to the snow&ice storm
Bench: 165 5,4,3 reps, probably could have gotten 5x3 with longer rest but I was in a hurry today
Squat: 145 5x2, 10x6 - I tried to optimize form, and to move quickly and get enough volume to produce a decent stimulus - figured I was doing squats way too slowly before

Dips BW 7x3, Chins 5x3, GHD raises 5x3

Funny order, but a bozo was hogging the only power rack in the gym so I started with the bench. He looked "chunky" and fierce but could only do 105lb press for 5 reps while grunting loudly. Ha!

Not too happy with this day. Oh well. Monday will be better.

[peez]

Good day for a workout!

Knee was much better this morning. Good to have had a "longer" break (i.e. a lighter day on Friday and not to strenuous a Judo session on Saturday)

Squat 220x5x3, good depth, decent form, maybe leaning forward a bit too much
Press: 130x5,5,4 Could have gotten 5x3 with a bit more rest
Deadlift 285x1, 265x1,2,1 I should stop doing deadlifts every workout and start learning the power clean. In fact, started practicing Power Cleans from the top down today.

Dips BW 8x3, Chins 5,3,4, GHD raises 10x3

I'll cut down on the chins and dips. Too much ancillary stuff, even if it's fun. I know, all this extra stuff = YNDTP.

Speaking of ancillary - add 12 miles of commute per bike (in the snow), 2.5 hours Judo.

BW is up 4-ish lbs in the three weeks since I started SS. And it's not all fat.