AK's almost 50 and need to get stronger training log

[AK49]

Hi everyone! I am starting this log in hopes that it will help me participate in this great community of people and add another record of how a middle-aged small skinny guy can make progress on fitness.

About me:
Male, 49 years old, 5'8" and 147 lbs
My home scale tells me I have 15% body fat which is up 1% since I started SS.

Fitness:
I have been reasonably fit all my life, playing soccer and baseball through high school, club sports in college and running and dumbbell workouts through my life.

I joined a Crossfit gym in Oct 2012 and went 2-3x per week for 8 months. I had my doubts about Crossfit at first but I became a believer. Crossfit unlocked a drive in me to get fit that I have not had in decades and got me into much better shape than anything previously. I got my first taste of Olympic lifting from the coaches at Crossfit and loved it.

I eventually left Crossfit because I felt like I was not making many gains in strength even though my cardio was improving with each workout. I felt like the old guy among 20 year old studs. However, I was able to move up to using for Women's RX (and more) during the MetCon and I could absolutely smoke any new arrival. That's proof enough for me that CF can make a huge difference in fitness, especially cardio.

Starting Strength:
I came across SS while searching for a way to get more strength gains out of CrossFit. I bought a squat rack and iron plates for home and got started on June 8, 2013. Here's what I have done so far over 26 sessions:

High bar squat: 145 lbs -> 165 lbs. I have reset twice to get better depth and form.
Bench Press: 155 lbs -> 167.5 lbs.
Shoulder Press: 80 lbs -> 92.5 lbs.
Deadlift: 185 lbs -> 230 lbs.
Power Clean: 85 lbs -> 115 lbs.

Dips: 20, 15 -> 25, 23. I stopped doing dips when one of the Senior members said I don't need them at this point.
Chins: 4,3,1 -> 6,5,4.

[AK49]

Two recovery days and back into it today.

Squat: 3x5 170
Bench: 2x5 170
DL: 1x5 230
Dips: 25, 20

Today is a milestone because my back squat caught up with my bench press. Although, I did skip the third set of bench press when right shoulder started feeling shakey.

I started taking Creatine last week. I don't feel any difference yet except for some very mild nausea. I'll keep it up for another couple of weeks to see if the squats get easier. They continue to be the hardest thing I've ever done each time I do them.

[Karl Schudt]

Squats don't get easier, you just get stronger. How much has your weight gone up since starting SS?

[AK49]

Karl,

I have gone up to 180 twice and reset back to 145 to go deeper and to get better form. I have been adding 5lbs per workout each time. I can almost always complete 3x5 after adding 5 lbs but it always seems like I am very close to failure. And if you are asking about my body weight, it has only gone up a couple of pounds.

[slowjoe]

Karl,

I have gone up to 180 twice and reset back to 145 to go deeper and to get better form. I have been adding 5lbs per workout each time. I can almost always complete 3x5 after adding 5 lbs but it always seems like I am very close to failure. And if you are asking about my body weight, it has only gone up a couple of pounds.

If you've reset twice, I'd suggest going to Advanced Novice (ie, Dynamic Effort squatting 2x10 starting a set on the minute) on deadlift day. At the least, try DE workout, and see if it suits you.

Rip says DE is Westside Barbells' biggest contribution to weight training. He's not wrong.

[Karl Schudt]

I would eat more, before I changed programming. Take a look at this article, which lays out a good baseline for figuring out what to eat: http://thefitcoach.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/584/. Eating is assistance work.

In any case, good luck with your training. You'll be amazed at what you can do.

[Gruner]

I have gone up to 180 twice and reset back to 145 to go deeper and to get better form. I have been adding 5lbs per workout each time. I can almost always complete 3x5 after adding 5 lbs but it always seems like I am very close to failure.

I'm in the same boat, I reset my squat after just a few sessions because my lower back wasn't keeping up. I don't really count it as a deload, more like a newbie working light weight to learn the form better. But when I got up to 195 I felt like my head was about to splode, and I also had trouble keeping my torso upright because my erectors aren't quite strong enough. So I've dropped to 175 which feels fine for my back. I'm just going to hold at 175 while I do some hyperextensions and ham/glute raises to strengthen my lower back.

[Oldster]

Squats don't get easier, you just get stronger.

That is PERFECT, Karl! So absolutely perfect.

I have tried to take hours, long minutes at least, to say what you did in eight words.

AK, you are in the right place to make great gains. Good luck, you are just a few years younger than myself, young whippersnapper!

[AK49]

Thanks everyone. I will keep it up and eat more. Yesterday, eating more was actually pretty hard. If I was eating ice cream and potato chips, it would be no problem but once I'm full, I have no desire for more protein.

[AK49]

Today's workout was a lesson in recovery and a bust overall. I had a stressful day yesterday, was at the ER last night until late and didn't get enough sleep.

Squat: 3x5 @ 175. +5lbs. Video of the last set showed I wasn't getting the depth I need. I'll need to repeat this weight.
OHP: Attempted 92.5 and failed. 1x5 @ 90, 1x5 @ 85
PC: Attempted 115 and failed. Did some sets of 95lbs to work on form.

Blah. I also feel like shit this morning. I think I over exerted.