Phil's SS Log

[philNC]

Sometime soon I will give more background info, but for now:

I just turned 30 a month ago. As of right now, I'm 6'1", 181 lbs. I'm a pretty thin guy. My fiancé and I measured my wrists and came up with ~6.5". I've looked like a cross country runner my whole life. When I graduated high school I was about 140 lbs.

I've lifted on and off since I was 17 or so, but it's mostly been off instead of on.

My 30th birthday gift to myself was to build a little gym at my house. It has quickly become my happy place, and training has become a priority. It has also become a release. I have accumulated enough baggage at this point in my life that I am literally willing to die under the bar rather than puss out. We'll see how it goes.

I'm going to post my backlog in replies to this post, a bit at the time.

The numbers from day #1 can be considered PRs, and accordingly increase from there.

[philNC]

1/30/14
Squat: 3x5x115
Press: 3x5x85, failed on last set and switched to push press

2/3/14
Squat: 3x5x135
Bench: 2x5x95, 1x5x105
Deadlift: 1x5x185

2/6/14
Squat: 2x5x135, 1x5x140
Press: tried something and fucked it up...struggled with technique...I believe this was even at a reduced weight of 65 lbs
Deadlift: 1x5x205

2/10/14
Squat: 3x5x145
Bench: 3x5x115
Deadlift: 1x5x225

2/20/14
Squat: 3x5x155
Press: 3x5x65 (I believe here I started doing them from the top, i.e. not pausing at the bottom)
Deadlift: 1x5x245 (felt heavy - back felt loose - friends said it was OK)

2/24/14
Squat: 3x5x165
Bench: 3x5x125
Deadlift: 1x3x255 (I don't know why it was only three reps, and there is a note saying that 5 reps @ 265 would be easy next time)

2/27/14
Squat: 3x5x175
Press: 3x5x75
Deadlift: 1x3x265 (must not have been too damned easy!)

[philNC]

3/2/14
Squat: 3x5x180
Bench: 1x4x135 (failed on 5th rep)
Deadlift: decided to skip

3/4/14
Squat: 3x5x185
Bench: 3x5x135
Deadlift: 1x5x155, 1x5x185, 1x5x225 (says I worked on being explosive from the floor...who knows if I meant this in an intelligent way or not)
**There is a note saying that I weighed 170 pounds naked after pooping.**

3/9/14
Squat: 3x5x185
Press: 3x4x85
Deadlift: 1x5x245

3/11/14
Squat: 3x5x190
Bench: 3x5x140
Deadlift: 1x6x225 (note says I rested between reps - must have been like 15 seconds if I wrote that)

3/13/14
Squat: 3x5x195
Press: sucked so did "lots" @ 75 lbs
Deadlift: skipped

3/20/14
Squat: 3x5x200
Bench: 1x4x145, 2x5x135

3/23/14
Squat: 3x5x205
Press: 3x5x75
Deadlift: 3x5x225

3/27/14
Squat: 3x5x210
Bench: 3x5x135
Deadlift: 1x5x225

3/30/14
Squat: 3x5x215
Press: 3x5x80
"dicked around with power cleans"

[philNC]

4/5/14
Squat: 3x5x220
Press: 3x5x85

[philNC]

5/4/14
Squat: 3x5x195
Bench: 3x5x135
some chin-ups

[philNC]

Begin Wendler 5/3/1
6/17/14
Bench: 5x90, 5x105, 12x115, 5x10x75
DB Row: 5 sets, varying weights

6/19/14
Deadlift: 1x5x165, 1x5x195, 1x6x225

6/20/14
Press: 1x5x55, 1x5x60, 1x11x70, 5x10x45
4 sets of pull-ups between the 5 light sets

6/22/14
Squat: 1x5x150, 1x5x170, 1x5x195

6/24/14
Bench: 1x3x95, 1x3x110, 1x9x125, 1x1x135, 1x1x140, 1x1x145, 1x1x155, failed on 165 lbs
some barbell rows

6/26/14
Squat: 1x3x160, 1x3x180, 1x8x205, 5x8x135
some dips

6/29/14
Press: 1x3x60, 1x3x70, 1x7x75, 5x10x45
DB rows alternated w/ the five light sets

7/7/14
Deadlift: 1x3x185, 1x3x205, 1x4x235, 5x10x135

7/8/14
Bench: 1x5x105, 1x3x115, 1x7x130, 5x7x95
some DB rows

7/10/14
Squat: 1x5x170, 1x3x195, 1x4x215, 1x7x135, 1x5x135

7/12/14
Press: 1x5x65, 1x3x70, 1x5x80, 5x10x45

7/15/14
Deadlift: 1x5x195, 1x3x220, 1x4x245, 5x6x135
some dips

7/17/14
Bench: 1x1x135, 145, 155, 160, 165, fail @ 170, 5x10x95

7/20/14
Squat: 1x5x155, 1x5x180, 1x6x200, 5x10x135

7/21/14
Press: 1x5x55, 1x5x65, 1x7x75, 2x10x55, 1x8x55
some DB rows, noted how much weaker left side is
some curls

7/24/14
Deadlift: 1x5x175, 1x5x200, 1x7x225, 5x10x135
pullups/leg extension supersets (5 each)

9/25/14
Bench: 3x5x135, 4x10x95
some DB rows

9/26/14
Squat: 3x5x185
some leg extensions, hamstring curls, bicep curls

12/17/14
Bench: 1x5x75, 1x5x95, 1x5x115, 1x5x135, 5x10x95
some DB rows

12/19/14
Deadlift: 1x5x135, 1x5x185, 2x5x205

1/15/15
Deadlift: 1x5x185, 1x5x205, 1x5x225, 1x1x245

1/17/15
Bench: 1x5x85, 1x5x105, 3x5x135, 3x10x95

1/19/15
Squat: 1x8x185, 1x3x205, 1x5x185

[philNC]

As you can see, I made somewhat decent progress early on with S.S. However, I have never stuck to anything, and that was no exception. I've never slept enough or ate enough, so that didn't help either.

Around early Feb, I bought a squat rack, bar, plates, and a bench, and set up my own thing. After some initial dicking around, I have really started to dig in. This post is where my log really starts. Long may it continue.

Looked at Greyskull LP
11P Sun 2/15/15
Bench: 2x5x115, 1x10x115
some pushups and curls

11P Mon 2/16/15
Squat: 2x5x185, 1x7x185

5P Tue 2/17/15
Press: 2x5x45, 1x23x45
some pushups and curls

1P Wed 2/18/15
Yates row: 2x8x65
Deadlift: 1x5x185, 1x14x185

5P Sat 2/21/15
Squat: 2x5x190, 1x8x190

So after basically a year of dicking around, I decided I like Rippetoe's logic the best, at least for a weak guy who just needs to shut up and lift some fucking weight.
So, back to S.S.
2A Tue 2/24/15
Squat: 2x5x195, 1x6x195 (sleeves, belt (S,B) - have always used these pretty much but decided to start recording this)
Bench: 2x5x117.5, 1x8x117.5 (never used belt, will indicate if changes)
Deadlift: 1x5x195 (sleeves, no belt (S, NB))

6P Fri 2/27/15
Squat: 3x5x200 (S,B)
Press: 3x5x50 (decided to take 5 lb jumps instead of 2.5 for press/bench) (NB)
Deadlift: 1x5x205 (S, NB)

8P Mon 3/2/15
Squat: 3x5x210 (decided to take 10 lb jumps on squat/deadlift) (S, B)
Bench: 3x5x125 (NB)
Deadlift: 1x5x225 (S, NB)

10P Wed 3/4/15
Squat: 3x5x220 (S,B)
Press: 3x5x55 (NB)
Deadlift: 1x5x235 (switched to deadlifting barefoot - love it) (S,NB)

6P Fri 3/6/15
Squat: 3x5x230 (this was a big deal for me - has given me some confidence) (S,B)
Bench: 3x5x130
Deadlift: 1x5x245 (S, NB)

8P Mon 3/9/15
Squat: 3x5x240 (S, B)
Press: 3x5x60 (NB)
Deadlift: 1x5x255 (S, NB)

11:59P Wed 3/11/15
Squat: 3x5x250 (S,B)
Bench: 3x5x135
Deadlift: 1x5x265 (S, NB)

11P Mon 3/16/15
Squat: 3x5x260 (S,B)
Press: 3x5x65 (NB)
Deadlift: 1x5x275 (S,NB)

11P Wed 3/18/15
Squat: 3x5x270
Bench: 3x5x140
Deadlift: started 1x5x285...felt heavy as balls...might have gotten it but decided to begin alternating with power cleans...might go back on this
Power Clean: 5x3x95 (I used to have a working knowledge of Snatch/C&J through CrossFit but that felt like a million years ago tonight..catching bar on my shoulders felt like it was going to break my wrist...need to do some meditating on my form before next time)

[philNC]

Some general notes...since early Feb I've been steadily ramping up my caloric intake and the amount of sleep I get. It's still far from perfect but I'm really trying to turn over a new leaf here. I'm pretty close to a gallon of milk a day, though some days it feels like I hardly consume anything else. I should start keeping a sleep log, but a food log is not realistic - too much work.

I've had a fair amount of pain in my shoulder...I believe it's from how I hold the bar during squats (low-bar, of course). I'm really focusing on it...the pain is still there but hasn't gotten worse even through multiple new PRs so I have hope that in time it won't be a big deal. It hurt pretty bad during bench and press a few times, tonight I felt a twinge only on the first rep of each bench set.

I've had pain at the top of my right patella pretty much since I started doing back squats a year ago. I got some sleeves from a drug store pretty early on, and they DEFINITELY help. These days I even try to put them on a bit before I lift so the knees get nice and warm. I believe it might be something I was born with...I have what I call skinny guy joints...friends have heard my knee grinding from ten feet away during squats before. I might try to run down errors in my form at some point, but right now everything is humming along so I won't worry about it yet.

My primary concern is fucking up my knee or shoulder, but I'm pressing on until something gets worse.

[philNC]

10:30P Mon 3/23/13

Squat: 3x5x280
Press: 3x5x70
Deadlift: 1x5x285

Notes: It's been a long time since I've had a cold but I woke up Sunday with a motherfucker of one. I had a five day gap between tonight and my last workout. I never drop weight or use the weight from last time in these cases because I feel guilty enough already about missing the days. My shoulder pain is still there...it hurt on some of the press reps. On many, I didn't feel it at all. I've never had shoulder issues of any kind so this nagging pain is really frustrating and something I'm still trying to figure out. Used belt and sleeves for squat today, for first time used a belt on deadlift. I put it high...the top was close to the bottom of my pecs. This beats the shit out of trying to use a 4" belt in the low position for deadlifts. In time I will probably buy a narrower belt but that high position does feel like a lot of compression. I'm not sure if having the support down near the lumbar would feel even better, though. On a related note, I must confess I do something like five singles on my deadlift sets. I really enjoy them and I like to stand up and take a breath between each. I'd estimate a max of five seconds between each rep. Tonight the weight felt so fucking heavy and I found myself wishing that the movement wasn't coming after such heavy squat sets. I plan to stick with SS but I will be happy when they are on separate days! One last note...I was struggling to breathe while deadlifting; I think it might have been because this cold has been making me short of breath anyway. We'll have to see how Wednesday goes. I want to go for 1x5x295 on deadlifts but I'm not sure if I should.

[philNC]

10P Wed 3/25/15

Got 1x4x290 on squat and crumpled under the fifth rep. I've had a ton of sleep since Mon but I didn't feel right somehow. Also, mentally I felt off. I'm treating this as a fluke and doing the same workout today.