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Thread: Finally lifting heavy things again

  1. #1
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    Default Finally lifting heavy things again

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    Somehow the forum was wonderful to me and ate my very first post. Ugh. Here's the short version:

    New guy here. U.S. Army Major stationed at the Pentagon. Haven't lifted much since I was in Iraq back in '08/09. Intrigued by the Starting Strength programming, so I bought the book and started lifting again. Form on some exercises is okay, some others suck. "First workout" weights were as follow:

    Squat: 215
    Bench: 135
    Deadlift: 225
    Press: 95
    Powerclean: 95

    My bench and powerclean 1RM are higher than would be expected by the work sets, but I want to make sure my form gets better before I start getting to heavier weights. Powerclean form SUCKS. I'm only lifting Tues/Thurs since that's what works for the office rotation (sub-optimal, I know, but don't even get me started on 'office SOP').

    Last work set for each exercise (Just started 4th week on the program, though powercleans just got into the rotation) is as follows:

    Squat: 285
    Bench: 155
    Deadlift: 275 - I had 295 up 1x this morning, but just dropped the weight and walked away. Going to drop back about 15% and go without the weight belt since I think it's interfering with my back as I start the lift.
    Press: 105
    Powerclean: 95 - Just started these last week.

    Diet is okay, though I could likely use more protein. For reference, I'm 37, 6'0", and ~212lbs. Complicating factor is that I have to pass tape every 6 months, and I didn't get started on this until a month and a half after my last PT test. I've got about 2 more months before I have to cycle back to 'exercise' vs strength training, just so I can make sure I'm squared-away for the tape. Then rinse and repeat.

    Questions, comments, snide remarks?

  2. #2
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    Welcome Major and thanks for your service. Tell us you age, height, and weight. Good starting weights.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by carson View Post
    Welcome Major and thanks for your service. Tell us you age, height, and weight. Good starting weights.
    37, 6'0", ~212lbs.

  4. #4
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    Power went out yesterday at the house due to large trees schwacking the lines JUST before they go underground on the way into the neighborhood. Running home, moving crap (read: the generator) around, and un-covering the RV so we would have somewhere with AC to keep the baby and nearly 13-y/o shepard-mix meant that I woke up wrecked this morning. Traded off with the other guy in the office, and will lift tomorrow. Which brought up the 'So... would you mind swapping days so I can go M/W/F (neither of us currently works out on Fridays)" discussion.

    Long story short, moving this morning's workout to tomorrow allowed the day swap conversation to happen, which means I'll get to lift 3 days a week now. Plan for tomorrow is to drop the DL back to 250 and start working it back up again. More to follow.

  5. #5
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    Welcome to the forums, sir!

    I have a snide remark: Military PT testing is stupid. I've had a ton of friends and family in the military (always lived within 30 minutes of bases), and I've heard the ridiculous hoops they make you guys jump through and the shitty ways they can use PT to screw with people. I have at least some idea of what a challenge you're taking on doing strength testing alongside having to switch modes to pass PT. We'll be rooting for you here!

    Nice starting lifts, too. Higher than mine were! Power clean was such a bitch for me to figure out that I ended up not only putting off trying it until 6 months into the program, I ended up scrapping it after trying it for just one week. I don't advocate other people do that, but I wanted to sympathize with how crappy power cleans are.

  6. #6
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    Squat: 2x5@45, 5@135, 4@225, 3@255 (lower back protested), 2x5@205 (to stretch)
    OHP: 2x5@45, 5@65, 4@85, 3@105, 3x5@110
    Powerclean - NOPE.


    Military PT testing is a decent gauge of muscle endurance, but a pitiful gauge of usable strength. Skinny runner types do really well. Guys like my Military Training Team (MiTT) XO in Iraq, who was strong as a bull ox, have a much harder time.

    Today I reaffirmed that I am not 18 anymore. The little twinge, at 18, means 'Slow down'. At 37, it means "You should have stopped 2 reps ago." When I got up to 255 on the warm-up sets, the right side of my lower back was having none of it. I don't think I pulled it badly, but I'm going to knock a bunch of weight back off and keep squatting for form and the stretch. After the squat fiasco, powercleans went off the list. However, on a positive note, my sets of OHP went really well. Last rep was ugly, but it went up.

  7. #7
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    Getting old sucks.

    Squat 2x5@45, 5@135, 5@205 - back quit. I have pulled my erector spinae on the right, in the vicinity of T12/L1. Squats were fine at full depth with 45 and 135 loaded. At 205, the same spot that was 'tweaked' last week told me to go fuck myself. This sucks. So much for engaging the posterior chain. Squats and DL are out for the next week at least. I'll likely put an empty bar on my shoulders and just stretch, but no weight on the bar. Shit.

    Bench was fine for 2x5@45, 5@95, 4@145, and 3x5@165.

    Alternating heat and ice at night for the next week... OHP and Bench will continue.

  8. #8
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    Squat 2x5@45. Decent stretch, back still doesn't like it.

    OHP: 5@45, 5@65, 4@75, 3@95, 3x5@115. Last set went fine instead of struggling on the last few reps. Nice to see this progressing despite my back being knackered.

    Jump-cleans: 2x5@45, 5@75, 3x5@95. Instead of pulling the weights off the floor, I picked them up from the rack at shoulder height, lowered them to the hang position, and then to the jump position before executing the top part of the lift. Form is markedly improved from the last time I tried these. I'll likely keep this in the rotation since lowering the bar to mid-thigh (at the jump position) doesn't bother my lower back, and keeps me working on form until I'm no longer broken.

  9. #9
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    Monday's workout:

    Bench: 2x5@45, 5@135, 4@155, 3x5@175.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    I know what you mean by 37 being old. Take it easy old man.

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