starting strength gym
Page 1 of 17 12311 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 167

Thread: SeanThornton gets back in fighting shape!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Chicagoland
    Posts
    323

    Default SeanThornton gets back in fighting shape!

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    (Title is a reference to my favorite movie... you can call me Bob)

    Hey guys! New SS beginner here, and starting a log, so you can all offer advice, track my progress, and mock me when appropriate I've put up a general post in the Geezer forum, you can see that here: http://startingstrength.com/resource...ml#post1131199

    A little background info:
    Age - 51
    Height - 5' 9"
    Weight - been running ~183-184 the last couple of months

    I work out at home (just put a home gym together the beginning of this month), usually at about 9:30-10pm. I'd like to work out earlier, but that's when I have time, so that's it for now. Of course, this also keeps from getting as much sleep as is required by "the program", but for now, that's the way it is.

    Nutrition: I probably should be eating more, but I loathe counting calories, so we'll see how it goes. I did start drinking whole milk a couple weeks ago (never been a milk drinker, but I hate low fat/no fat milk), just 1-2 glasses a day. I'm too old and too fat for GOMAD, and for now, I'd like to just turn some of the fat into muscle, before I worry about adding weight. No idea what my body fat % is. I do know that I've been eating more than normal the last three weeks or so, and drinking the whole milk, and I haven't gained any weight, so I'm definitely lifting/exercising enough to keep from getting too "fluffy".

    Anyway, on to the fun.....

    Workout #1: 6/7/15
    Weight 183.3, workout took 1:15

    Squats: no bar x 5 (practising form), 45 x 5, 65 x 5, 85 x 5, 105 x 5, 115 x 5 x 3
    Just followed the book here, to find out the initial weight to use for work sets. Did 115, and said to myself, I can go more. And then, as I was adding weight, remembered that once you found your weight, you had to do two more sets! So I set the weights back to 115, and did two more sets, cause I was getting tired!

    Bench: 45 x 5 x 2, 65 x 5, 75 x 5, 85 x 5 x 3
    It felt like I had VERY little bar control.

    Deadlift: 35 x 5 (using an aluminum 15# bar), 65 x 5, 95 x 5, 125 x 5
    Was just basically pooped after the 125s, and felt like there may have been some back rounding at the end of that set, so called it a night.

    Workout #1 done !!!


    Off day: 6/8/15
    Went on a 1.8 mile run, getting ready for a 5K on the 13th.


    Workout #2: 6/9/15
    Weight 183.3, 6.5 hours sleep, workout took 1:00. Also videotaped this workout, and all subsequent workouts)

    Squats: 45 x 5 x 2, 65 x 5, 85 x 3, 105 x 2, 125 x 5 x 3 (actually 125 x 5,6,5)
    Added 10# for the worksets, per the program. Went brain dead and did an extra rep on the second set. Video showed I was looking out, not down, and wasn't going as deep as I thought (just above parallel, instead of just below)

    OHP: 45 x 5, 55 x 5, 65 x 5, 75 x 5 x 3
    This was Press 2.0, per SSBBT 3rd edition. At least it was supposed to be. Video shows no hip bounce, and it's a very unnatural form for me. This one will be tough to improve. Also, video showed grip was too wide.

    DL: 65 x 5 x 2, 85 x 5, 105 x 3, 120 x 2, 140 x 5
    Added 15# for the worksets. No problems, video showed good form.


    Off day: 6/10/15
    Went on a 2.7 mile run, prepping for the 5K on the 13th.


    Workout #3: 6/11/15
    Weight 181.8 (lowest for me in probably 12-15 years!), 7 hours sleep, workout took 1:00

    Squats: 45 x 5 x 2, 70 x 5, 90 x 3, 115 x 2, 140 x 5 x 3
    Added 15# for the worksets. Only intended to add 10#, just screwed up. Video showed I was STILL looking out, not down, and still not quite getting deep enough (looked about exactly parallel to me). Also had a strange pain in my lower right leg, just above the ankle, on the inside. Mostly on the early warmup sets, seemed to ease up as I increased the weights.

    Bench: 45 x 5 x 2, 60 x 5, 70 x 3, 85 x 2, 95 x 5 x 3
    Added 10# for the worksets. Still felt incredibly shakey, but looking at the video, it didn't look that bad, so apparently it's not the bar, it's me (to paraphrase George Costanza). Also, per the program, I should have just added 5#, not 10#.

    DL: 65 x 5 x 2, 90 x 5, 110 x 3, 135 x 2, 155 x 5
    Added 15# for the worksets. No problems.


    Off day: 6/12/15
    Really, a complete off day this time


    Off day: 6/13/15
    Ran my 5K race. 30:25, for a 9:30 pace, best 5K in a very long time, and 7+ minutes better than the same race last year!
    I've decided that I'll just run on off days maybe once a week, and do something else for conditioning on the other off days. The running is a bit much for me, as it impacts recovery too much.


    Workout #4: 6/14/15
    Weight: 183.8, 8.5 hours sleep, workout took 1:15

    Squats: 45 x 5 x 2, 70 x 5, 100 x 3, 125 x 2, 150 x 5 x 3 (rests were 3:10 and 3:28, probably not long enough)
    Added 10# to worksets. Video shows I was looking down to the correct spot, and I was definitely parallel most reps, with a few being below parallel. Note that I'm now tracking rests between worksets, getting it off of the video after the fact.

    OHP: 45 x 5 x 2, 55 x 5, 65 x 3, 75 x 2, 85 x 3, 80 x 5,4 (rests were 4:10, 3:29)
    OK, here's where going up 10#, and not 5#, killed me. I just couldn't do 85 for 5 reps. Form still kills me, cause the whole hip bounce thing is so unnatural. Backed off to 80# for second and third sets, but still was one rep short at the end. I'll repeat 80# for the next OHP workout. Also video, still showed my grip was too wide. It might be that my forearms are too long relative to my upper arms (Rip talks about this in the book). So I'll have to review the chapter and see how I need to adjust. One other item of note... SSBBT says usually OHP starting weight will be about 50-70% of bench starting weight, and I started at 75 and 85, respectively (12% less). So, perhaps my OHP was a bit strong already relative to my bench, and I'll have to take it slow for now.

    DL: 75 x 5 x 2, 100 x 5, 125 x 3, 145 x 2, 170 x 4
    Added 15# to worksets. No problems to speak of, except video review showed I only did 4 reps on the workset!!! Earth to Bob, wake up moron! Seriously, I didn't even know until I watched the video two days later! So next workout, I'll just add 5#, since I didn't get all of these reps in. The other remark is, this was the first DL workout that really felt HEAVY.


    Off day: 6/15/15
    A complete off day


    Workout #5: 6/16/15
    Weight 183.1, 5.5 hours sleep, workout took 1:10

    Squats: 45 x 5 x 2, 75 x 5, 105 x 3, 130 x 2, 160 x 5 x 3 (rests were 4:21, 5:20)
    Added 10# to worksets. Got below parallel on almost all reps (maybe 2 or 3 of the workset reps were just parallel). A coworker who's done SS told me last week, once the weight gets high enough, getting low won't be a problem, it's the getting back up that will be tough! Sure enough, this was the first squat workout that really taxed me. I was breathing very hard at the end.

    Bench: 45 x 5 x 2, 60 x 5, 75 x 3, 85 x 2, 100 x 5 x 3 (rests were 6:16, 5:00)
    Added just 5# to worksets this time. Still felt a bit shakey on the reps, but definitely improving. Could definitely keep increasing the weight.

    DL: 75 x 5 x 2, 100 x 5, 125 x 3, 150 x 2, 175 x 5
    Added only 5# to worksets, after my screwup last time. No issues this time, with form or # of reps Only comment is, man this was heavy!

    This was the first workout that I finished drained. Put butter on me, I was toast!


    Off day: 6/17/15
    A complete off day. As in, come home, eat dinner, fall asleep in front of the TV. Totally drained.


    Workout #6: 6/18/15
    Weight: 183.5, 7 hours sleep, workout took 1:17

    Squats: 45 x 5 x 2, 75 x 5, 105 x 3, 135 x 2, 165 x 5 x 3 (rests were 6:32, 6:28)
    Added 5# to worksets, as they are getting much tougher to do. First set was very grindy, second set a little less so, and third set was the best. Definitely have to rest more now that the weights are increasing.

    OHP: 45 x 4,5 (brain dead again), 55 x 5, 65 x 3, 70 x 2, 80 x 5,5,4 (rests were 4:59, 5:35)
    No weight added from last time due to failure. Came much closer this time, only missing last rep. Could have sworn I was resting about 7 minutes, so apparently I tell time bad That might have made the difference. However, all three sets were super grindy, so it was just ugly all around. Interestingly, a couple reps from the first two sets, and one rep on the last popped right up, so when the form works, it's much easier! Will keep the weights at 80# next time again, and will crush it then.

    DL: 75 x 5 x 2, 105 x 5, 130 x 3, 160 x 2, 185 x 5
    Added 10# from last time. My first BW lift!!! Looking at the tape, form was good, and reps were not grindy, but holy cow these were hard lifts! Will have to consider whether I will add 10# next time, or only 5#.

    This workout left me very drained, just like the last one.


    Off day: 6/19/15
    Doing nothing today, unless we all go for a bike ride tonight, but that won't be especially taxing for me. However, unlike two days ago, I've recovered much better from last night's workout.

    Bob

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    5,471

    Default

    welcome aboard to another 51-er! I'm jealous you can work out at home. Take it nice and easy and get the sleep where you can, a BW lift is a pretty neat feeling, isn't it?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Walled Lake, Michigan
    Posts
    6,681

    Default

    Pretty good progress for a new lifter. Did you ever figure out at what you were looking in those early squats? Keep up the good work. I will follow your progress.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Chicagoland
    Posts
    323

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by carson View Post
    Pretty good progress for a new lifter. Did you ever figure out at what you were looking in those early squats? Keep up the good work. I will follow your progress.
    Nothing in particular, just looking out instead of down. Finally fixed that by the 3rd or fourth workout

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Chicagoland
    Posts
    323

    Default

    Weightlifting off-day: 6/20/15
    Took the day off, no conditioning work. Need to get going on this again!


    Workout #7: 6/21/15
    Weight: 186.0, 7 hours sleep, workout took 1:13

    Squats: 45 x 5 x 2, 75 x 5, 110 x 3, 140 x 2, 170 x 5 x 3 (rests were 6:49, 6:20)
    Added 5# to worksets. Third set was grindy. Noticed that, with the higher weights, I'm coming forward when bringing the weight back up, having to use my toes to push myself back. Not looking forward, still looking down where I'm supposed to be, so not sure why I've started doing this.

    BP: 45 x 5 x 2, 60 x 5, 80 x 3, 95 x 2, 110 x 5 x 3 (rests were 7:48, 5:34)
    Added 10# to worksets. Only meant to add 5#, so oops But 110# was no problem, so it's all good.

    DL: 75 x 5 x 2, 105 x 5, 135 x 3, 160 x 2, 190 x 5
    Added 5# from last time. No issues. Didn't tax me as much as the last two times (with 180# and 185#), so will add 10# for next workout. This will likely be my last week doing DL every time. Next week I'll add the power clean in place of the DL every other workout.

    Bob
    Last edited by SeanThornton; 06-22-2015 at 12:27 PM. Reason: I count bad

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Posts
    319

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by SeanThornton View Post
    .........No issues. Didn't tax me as much as the last two times (with 180# and 185#), so will add 10# for next workout......
    Bob
    Sometimes this happens. Doesn't always mean the next one will be easy. FYI, people that get greedy can dig themselves into a recovery hole and get a ride on the reset train. Slow and steady wins the race.

    I also think these easy days can come when we inadvertently improve our form.

    I would use that energy to keep the speed of your work outs brisk. They can slow down a lot when it gets heavier.

    Good work by the way.

    cheers
    Damo

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Chicagoland
    Posts
    323

    Default

    Weightlifting off-day: 6/22/15
    Took the day off, no conditioning work.


    Weightlifting off-day: 6/23/15
    This was supposed to be workout #8, but we got busy with too many projects at home, and it never happened


    Workout #8: 6/24/15
    Weight: 185.3, 5 hours sleep, workout took 1:17

    Squats: 45 x 5 x 2, 80 x 5, 110 x 3, 145 x 2, 175 x 5 x 3 (rests were 8:19, 7:11)
    Added 5# to worksets. All sets were a bit grindy. This definitely feels like a lot of weight. Looking at the video, it seems I'm still just barely getting to parallel, although my body doesn't feel like it could go any lower. This weekend I'll set up a Youtube account, and post a form check. Regardless, I think I'm going to stay at 175# for the next workout, and work on perfecting form a bit, and get used to the weight. Could be I've reached the point where I just add weight every other workout. The other alternative is to microload, and the microplates I ordered should be arriving sometime soon.

    OHP: 45 x 5 x 2, 55 x 5, 65 x 3, 75 x 2, 80 x 5 x 3 (rests were 6:31, 6:05)
    Didn't add weight to worksets, last workout I missed one rep on the last set. Did slightly better than last workout, at least I completed all reps, but holy cow just barely. It's strange that my first workout with OHP, I got to 75 x 5 x 3, with relative ease, and 80# is just about at my breaking point! At any rate, will keep weight at 80# for the next time, as this is just barely doable now. One positive is that, of the 15 reps at workset weight, more had good form than last time (probably 7 of the reps, almost half). When the hip swing/push/whatever-it's-called works, the weight really does go up much easier. But by the 3rd set, it was just one of the reps. Part of this is probably fatigue, some is probably lack of sleep/end of the day, and some is my fluffy "core" is still not where it needs to be, so I don't get much bounce to help with the press. Hopefully it will come along soon. Interestingly, the bounce is fine for the warmup sets. Would fewer warmup sets help, just to keep the fatigue from setting in? I may try that next time.

    DL: 75 x 5 x 2, 105 x 5, 135 x 3, 165 x 2, 195 x 5
    Added 5# from last time. No issues. It's very heavy, but I was able to do it with normal bar speed, so I wouldn't consider it grindy. Will add 5# more next time.

    So far, it seems I'm making good progress on two of the movements (DL, BP), OK progress on one (SQ), and no progress on one (OHP).
    Overall progress so far:
    SQ (8 times): 115 -> 175#
    DL (8 times): 125 -> 195#
    BP (4 times): 85 -> 110#
    OHP (4 times): 75 -> 80#

    Bob

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Northen Virginia
    Posts
    333

    Default

    Awesome! Another over 50 lifter starting out....great work, keep it going.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Chicagoland
    Posts
    323

    Default

    Weightlifting off-day(s): 6/25/15 - 6/28/15
    Took the day(s) off, no conditioning work. LOTS of projects around the house, so I missed a workout in there


    Workout #9: 6/29/15
    Weight: 184.2, 7 hours sleep, workout took 1:02

    Squats: 45 x 5, 80 x 5, 115 x 5, 150 x 5 x 3 (rests were 6:17, 7:00)
    Two big changes here. Took off 25# from last time, because I really wanted to bury these reps, and previous video showed I wasn't going deep enough. Also, went with my modified warmup sets. Fewer low weight reps, more mid/high weight reps, and one less stop on the way (3 warm up weights vs. 4). Reasons were to a) save time (less loading bar time), b) less total weight for warmups, to save fatigue, and c) to get more reps at weights closer to the workset weight, which I felt I needed. It worked out great, I buried all of the reps, and because I was going deeper, it was still a challenge. I'll continue adding 5# for future workouts.

    BP: 45 x 5, 70 x 5, 90 x 5, 115 x 5 x 3 (rests were 6:35, 5:35)
    Added 5# from last BP workout. Made all reps, no issues. But this now feels heavier, for the first time since the first workout. Will add 5# next time, and then we'll see if microloading is needed after that.

    DL: 75 x 5, 115 x 5, 160 x 5, 200 x 5
    Added 5# from last time. No issues. First 200# lift!! It's very heavy, but I was able to do it with normal bar speed, so I wouldn't consider it grindy. Will add 5# more next time. First time I noticed grip issues. Don't think I need to go alternating/hook grip just yet, but will probably finally open up the box of chalk I bought a while back


    Bob

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    202

    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    Hi Bob,

    Greetings from another Chicagoland Geezoid. I'll be watching your progress.

    -John

Page 1 of 17 12311 ... 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
  •