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Week 4 day 1
Moved this workout up a day (still had a rest day) since camping plans this weekend are going to interfere with the workout schedule. This way I only miss one workout, not two.
BW: 141
SQ: 155x5x3
BP: 95x3, 90x5x3 Just barely got the third rep up at 95 lbs, was scared to fail with no spotter and figured failure was likely, so reset to 90. Even 90 was no picnic, so I think that was the right decision.
PC: 95x3x5 Fun.
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Steve, keep it up. You gotta find a spotter for bench. You'll get more reps when you have the confidence that someone can bail you out if needed. I'd rather fail with a spotter than set it on the safeties. Something about setting it on the safeties that screws with my confidence.
Post some videos.
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Keep it up Steve. All these things you are noticing like going forward on squats, losing back tightness, inconsistencies between sets... All totally normal when beginning. It gets better, just keep going. I still am making tweaks to form and rest timing and stuff like that at almost 6 months. The important thing right now, more than the exact weigh, is that you stay regular and work your way towards better technique.
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Yeah, I know. I'd like to have a spotter, and it's a pain dragging the bench over to the power rack and getting it all set up for benching. I'm just a wuss about asking, basically. I don't know the etiquette. I mean, in the couple of weeks I've been at this gym, I've seen plenty of benching, and zero spotting. I'm not saying this means it's a good idea, I know it's not. It just makes me feel weirder asking since nobody else is doing it. And then asking again 5 minutes later. And then again 5 minutes later. I *hate* that type of thing. On the other hand, I don't want to hurt myself, so I probably ought to just grow a pair.Originally Posted by HandPlaneSteve
Thanks Dave. Hopefully I'm not giving the impression that I'm obsessed with things that have gone wrong so far; I get that it's a learning process that takes time. Honestly, I've been really thrilled with my progress so far. The actual weights I'm lifting are nothing special, but they're going up almost every time, and that's pretty incredible. Sooner or later here, I'll post a couple of videos to see whether I'm in the ballpark of good technique.
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No I didn't have that impression, just wanted to encourage you to keep going and know that it will get even better.
I used to get this weird pain in my left thigh/hip area after squatting, and lower back soreness, but eventually that stuff just went away without me doing anything extra.
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Week 4 day 2
BW: 141
SQ: 160x5x3
OHP: 70x5,5,3 I seem to be more or less microloading here. Partial reps one day, full reps the next, rinse, repeat. But it's progress, so I'll keep the course.
DL: 185x5 At this rate squat is going to overtake deadlift in a couple of weeks. Perhaps I'll try a 10 lb. jump to see how it goes. Today felt heavy, but not impossible. I suspect an extra 5 lb. wouldn't have killed me.
6,5 chin ups.
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Week 5 day 1
Camping trip this weekend resulted in a couple days break from training. Results were a mixed bag of frustration.
BW: 139 (hard to eat enough with lots of other things going on)
SQ: 165x5x3 I took a video of last time's session, which I didn't get around to watching until after the first workset of this session (dumb). And, lo and behold, I wasn't getting all the way down to parallel. I'm thinking the best thing to do is to deload slightly and be really strict with myself on depth (video and review every set).
BP: 95x3,90x4,90x4. Well this was just a mess. Unlike last time, I wasn't too scared to commit, I just failed. Repeatedly. I guess I'll blame the long layoff? Grrr.
DL: 190x5 Just like the squat, I fear I'm cheating my form on this one. Trainer nearby said something partway through, I think she was encouraging me to drop my hips lower. I should have asked her about it afterward. I don't know if that's good advice, although I have noticed from peeking in the mirror that I have an easier time keeping the lower back straight (my bugaboo) when I let my hips drop a little. Need to go back and do some reading in the deadlift chapter. In general, I've been able to lift the weight without problem so far, I just worry that my lower back control is bad. I don't know whether the solution to that is to deload a little and add more volume with the hope of strengthening up those muscles, add in some sort of assistance exercise, or just stay the course. Perhaps I need to head over to the coaches Q&A area.
7,4 chip up.
All in all, I left feeling discouraged this morning, even though my results weren't really that bad. I feel like I need a coach. I could certainly hire a trainer at my gym, but I don't know whether to trust their advice. Nearest SS coach I've found is a couple of hours away in Chicago. Blerg.
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Hey man, don't beat yourself up too much. Before you deload, post your squat and deadlift vid, and let's work through those form issues.
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Week 5 day 2
BW: 142
SQ: 165x5x3 Repeated weight to video my form and try and get deep. (video of final set below.) I videoed each workset, and each time I wasn't as deep as I thought, so each time I tried to go deeper. The last one I got close. Wasn't too bad at first, fourth rep was a little ugly, and then I started to fall forward on the fifth and had to step forward. And lucky for me I got it all on video.
OHP: 70x5x3. Pretty grindy, but I did it.
PC: 100x3x5. Didn't feel super heavy, but I felt like my technique was kind of all over the place, just wasn't concentrating as well as I should. Mostly good reps but a few not so good.
Here's the squat video. I'll put it in technique as well, for a few more eyes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYJacM-KXL0
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Don't know much about low bar as I squat high bar but your knees are caving in a bit when squatting. Try actively thinking about pushing your knees out more.
Also are you gaining weight?
Edit: On reading your first post you have put on weight which is good. Keep it up!
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