blazingsunn3's SS training log, a.k.a. Do the Damn Thing

[blazingsunn3]

Stats:

female, 5'3", 125 lbs (and slowly climbing)
Former Crossfitter looking to get stronger to build bone density and get better at Crossfit

1RMs:
Squat: 180
Bench: 124
Press: 70 (haven't tried for a press 1RM in over 6 months though so this probably isn't truth)
Deadlift: 210 (weeeaaakkkk lower back. took a year to be able to deadlift without being wrecked for a whole week afterwards)
Power clean: 115
Clean: 125 sloppy
Clean & Jerk: 120
Snatch: 87
Front squat: 140

2016 Goals:
Squat: 200
Bench: 150
Press: 100
Deadlift: 250
Clean & Jerk: 150
Snatch: 110 (a bodyweight snatch would be fantastic)
AND ONE GOOD MUSCLE UP. Just one. That's all I want. Just ONE DAMN MUSCLE UP.

I have a gym in my garage with a rack, male and female barbells, bumper plates and rubber flooring, weighted vests, a bench, dumbbells, kettlebells, rings, bands, plyo boxes, medicine balls, and a few other pieces of "silly bullshit" for Crossfitting.

I don't keep track of what I eat. I make conscious good decisions (high protein, relatively low carb) and I eat a shit ton of food. I add protein shakes and BCAAs. That's all I make time for when it comes to nutrition. I've gained 3 lbs in 1 month by doing this and (begrudgingly) laying off the MetCons.

1/18/16
Squat: warmed up with book instructions to find starting work set weight, then 105x5x3
Bench: same warm up, then 85x5x3
Back Ext: 3x12 with 20lb weighted vest
Chins: 6,7,6

Notes: Had no clue where to set starting weights since I've trained with weights before, so I just followed the book's instructions for novices.

Squats felt ridiculously light but oh well

Benching hurts my shoulders. Damn. Chiro claims impingement, but that's a broad diagnosis.

Here's what I know about my shoulders and benching:
1. Barbell benching on a bench makes the fronts of my shoulders ache EVERY TIME I DO IT. It doesn't matter how I change or tweak my form. Elbows close to body (narrow grip) makes them ache less, but they still ache. Doesn't matter if the weight is light or heavy. Doesn't matter if I do 3 reps or 30 reps. I've been messing with benching for the last 5 months trying to figure out what's going on.
2. Floor press makes my shoulders ache, albeit to a lesser degree than on a bench.
3. Barbell benching and dumbbell benching on a medicine ball does NOT hurt my shoulders. But... a. too dangerous to go heavy, and b. Rip says that's "silly bullshit"
4. Dips do NOT hurt my shoulders if my shoulders are fully recovered from the ache of benching. My shoulders get sore from dips, but "soreness" and "ache" are different.
5. Push ups and weighted push ups do NOT hurt at all.
6. Pressing, banded face pulls, sled pulls, pull ups, chin ups, rope climbs, etc do NOT hurt my shoulders. Only barbell benching.

I spent hours in the forum looking for advice and direction on this. Rip basically says, if it hurts, don't do it. Others say sub dips and/or weighted push ups, or just press. I decided to try floor pressing next workout to see if I could salvage the bench. I really want to include this lift, and SS states that it is pretty important. If I can't bench, it won't be the end of the world, but a strong bench does equate to more push ups. More push ups/weighted push ups are important to me. I would love to complete "Murph" with a vest some day.

[blazingsunn3]

1/20/16
Squat: 115x5x3
Press: SS:BBT3 novice starting work set weight instructions, then 55x5x3
Deadlift: same book instructions, then 165x5x3

Notes: everything felt fine except I think maybe I might have started too heavy on the deadlift. They felt ok form-wise, but they were a bit more of an effort than my other starting weights for the other lifts. Can't tell if this is because they work the whole body more or because my lower back and deadlifts suck in general. I'll pay close attention to form next time and see if I should repeat 165 or add 10lbs.

Didn't know if I should have increased my squat by 10lbs or 5lbs (since I'm a female). Since they felt light last time, and squats are a strong point for me, I decided to go with 10lb jump. Hope that wasn't a mistake.

[blazingsunn3]

1/22/16
Squat: 125x5x3
Floor Press: 90x5x3
Back Ext: 3x10 20lb vest
Chins: 7, 6, 6

Notes: Squat felt fine. Tried floor pressing to salvage the bench press, and it's the next day & my damn shoulders ache. To a lesser degree than Monday, but still ache... same story as before. I don't know where to go from here with my bench. I don't want to try to push through this because the last time I did that, I ended up with moderately debilitating impingement that left me unable to bench for 2 weeks and unable to press or snatch for 10 days. "Ain't nobody got time for that."

Again, after hours of forum searching, there's no definitive answer, so I'll try switching to dips. Do I treat them the same as the 3x5 and add weight (microloading is a viable option. I have 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1 lb plates)? Or do I just do 3 x 10 bodyweight or something? Do I add weighted push ups since I have a 20lb vest? These would certainly be treated like an accessory exercise since I can't really increase weight on these. Well, actually, I could. I could put my fraction plates in the pocket in the back of the vest. I could even put a dumbbell in that pocket. Uggghhhh I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! And I'm afraid to ask. Rip will most likely tell me to ditch the bench and just press. That's fine, if I absolutely HAVE to. A strong press can carry over to a strong jerk. But since one of my goals for this year is to be able to do muscle ups, I think dips would carry over better to that skill.

I also love the Olympic lifts. I'm happy that SS LP includes power cleans. I have searched the forums for advice on power cleans vs full (squat) cleans because I prefer the full cleans (They feel more natural to me, and I'll say it again, I love the Olympic lifts), but Rip says that he uses power cleans because they require a higher pull and thus more strength. This makes sense. I'll do power cleans to build the necessary strength and speed. I don't want to lose my comfort with the squat cleans, though. Would it be possible to do a back off set of full (squat) cleans after my power cleans, for practice, without compromising my strength training?

Also, I want to snatch. Nowhere in SS LP are snatches included. They aren't added in until intermediate training... Texas Method with an Olympic lifting focus. Can't wait to get to that program. Love the looks of that one. Not sure if Rip excludes snatches due to the technical nature of them for novice trainees or because they get in the way of strength gains.

Wish I knew how to program the dips in to SS LP.
Wish I knew if I should program weighted push ups into SS LP (general consensus in the forums is no, but that seems to be due to technical and weight limitations. I'm a small girl so it might actually be an option for me).
Wish I knew if I can program snatches in to SS LP.
Wish I knew if I can do a back off set of squat cleans after power cleans.

The above paragraph seems like I'm trying to bastardize SS LP. I'm not. Primarily, I just need a sub for bench. The Oly lifts are just something for which I have a heart's desire.

[chromoly]

Hi blazingsunn! I love seeing more and more women join the board!

For the squat, if you are still able to make the 10 pound increase I would go for it. Once you miss a rep, I would switch to 5 pound jumps. Eventually you may want to switch to 5x3 and/or 2.5 pound jumps.

Gilchrest addressed the Olympic lifts pretty well. If you want to snatch more frequently than every other week, I would go for HLM with DL on Heavy Day, PS on Light Day, and PC on Med Day. If you wanted to do chins, maybe throw them in on light day (or even on a GPP day)

[anniemichael]

Welcome! I don't have much advice to offer (mgilchrest and chromoly have great suggestions above), just wanted to say hi, and I'll be following along. Happy about so many women posting logs here.

[blazingsunn3]

mgilchrest,

Thank you so much for your input. Yes, I can do 3x5 bodyweight dips. That is where I thought about starting if I took an LP approach. I have even smaller plates than 2.5lbs so I can even microload the dips, though given the fact that my bodyweight fluctuates on a daily basis by an average of 3lbs, I'll be sure to weigh myself before I do them so I know how much to load. (Overthinking? Probably. haha.)

About my bench, I'm not sure where the "bad" part of it is because it doesn't hurt to bench while I'm benching. It aches the next day or two. Strange. I have seen the Slingshot. Haven't tried it, but I'd be willing to.

I will definitely look up the HLM that you and chromoly mentioned. I would like to snatch more than once every other week if possible. And after stumbling onto a Texas Method forum question, I found Rip's answer to programming in snatches into LP! He says, "I'd use 5 x 2 reps across after warmups on the same days the cleans would be done." I'm assuming if I went this route, I would add 2.5lbs each time, like I would a press.

I think I will incorporate just one back off set of squat cleans after my power cleans, at least for now, since I am starting light. If I notice that my squats or Pcleans suffer, I'll adjust accordingly.

Thanks again so much for your feedback. I feel better and more confident about my goals already. I am trying to train properly this time. I don't want to go too far with incorporating my own ideas into SS LP because I've been on the bus to Overtrainville twice in the last 5 months trying to figure strength training out on my own (not doing SS, but other random programs along with Crossfit), and like Rip says in PPBBT3, overreaching and/or over-training sets more experienced lifters back much more than rank novices. Even though I'm not an advanced or even intermediate lifter, I can still attest to that statement 1000%. But like you said, I'm not quite a rank novice, either. That makes it tough to decide where to draw the line.

chromoly,

Thank you for reaffirming my decision to take the 10lb jumps. I'll take your advice exactly. I am hoping to delay moving from 3x5 to 5x3 as long as possible. Because I come from a Crossfit background, muscular endurance is still in the back of my mind. I feel like 3x5 would be better for maintaining at least a little bit of endurance. And I can microload the squats and deadlifts, too, right? If I've got the baby plates? or should the lowest jump for squats and deads be 2.5lbs?

anniemichael,

Thank you and hello! Happy to be here!

[chromoly]

About the 3x5 --> 5x3 switch: yes, run fives for as long as you can. I'm not sure what order you'll do this (before or after switching to 3s), but also at some point you may want to have a Light Day in the middle of the week (move to the Advanced Novice). I have a 1x/week Light Day, squatting 3x5@80% of my 3s, to work on some of the "muscular conditioning" you talk about.

Not sure about microloading squats and deads at less than 2.5lbs per jump, that's something for someone with more experience to chime in on. Personally, I would switch to a weekly progression (or do 5x3 or add a light day, depending on how far you've gotten) if 2.5lbs for those lifts is too much. I'm trying not to do less than 5lb jumps for DL.

Btw: there is a women's only FB group called "Starting Strength ~ Bar Belles." It's great for getting advice and motivating to see other women being/getting strong.

[blazingsunn3]

1/25/16
Squat: 135x5x3
Press: 60x5x3
Power Clean: 90x3x5, 75x3x2 back off set of squat cleans because I like them.

Notes: Yeah! I finally feel like I actually did some work! Squats took effort. Last couple reps of press did, too.

My hubby and I struggled big time on our power cleans tonight. I had a really hard time finding a starting weight. I decided on 90#. He learned how to pclean the wrong way at Crossfit so he's trying to unlearn old habits. He gets frustrated but doesn't give up. God bless him.

I don't care what anyone says, power cleans and squat cleans are different lifts with different mechanics. I struggle with power cleans in pulling the bar high enough. I have to very consciously think about back angle, pulling speed, hip drive, triple extension, etc. Squat cleans come so much more naturally to me. I barely even have to think about the movement. I actually almost hit myself in the face with the bar because I pulled so hard and caught the bar nice and low. That being said, I will continue to work my weakness and do the power cleans.

[chromoly]

If deads and squats aren't able to be progressed at 5lbs, cycling rep ranges is probably the better option.

I do disagree with Gilchrest on this a little bit (WTF, Gilchrest?). At the moment, I run 2.5 lbs increments for squats, but not deadlifts, and I've seen other women successfully run with 2.5 lb or 1kg increments also. To back me up: in the section about women in PPST, the example shows 2lb jumps for advanced novice (after switching from 3x5 --> 5x3).

Notes: Yeah! I finally feel like I actually did some work! Squats took effort. Last couple reps of press did, too.

You're still making 10 lb jumps on squat! Press may need to start microloading soon. Good work.

I don't care what anyone says, power cleans and squat cleans are different lifts with different mechanics. I struggle with power cleans in pulling the bar high enough. I have to very consciously think about back angle, pulling speed, hip drive, triple extension, etc. Squat cleans come so much more naturally to me. I barely even have to think about the movement. I actually almost hit myself in the face with the bar because I pulled so hard and caught the bar nice and low. That being said, I will continue to work my weakness and do the power cleans.

For me, when the weight gets too heavy to power clean, it either doesn't get racked or becomes a full clean. I am not very good at either though so

[chromoly]

I'll buy into 2.5lb/1kg loading on LBBS and DL, maybe 2lbs. Even when moving to 5 sets of three with a top set and taper approach. Anything lower than that, I think you're out of novice land and DUP or HLM tactics are better. n.b. This is also in perspective of the ratio of the lift to BW and if the lifter is still willing to gain weight or is wanting to really push the CNS aspect. Only reason I say is "probably" better to cycle the rep ranges is that it seems to be less fatiguing over the long haul with similar gains. I do appreciate the "WTF, Gilchrest" reference! :-)

Wasn't sure if it was appropriate use of "WTF Gilchrest." I haven't been around the boards long enough, but I heard that it gets me a 100% discount on programming advice in other people's logs.

If I recall correctly (too lazy to check my log), I started 2.5lb jumps when I got to roughly a squat with an extra chromoly on my back. But I was totally untrained when I started LP and didn't have any concept of what it was to truly grind.

Blazingsunn, you appear to have started much stronger than I am. You can probably run 10 and 5 lb jumps for longer than I did. But don't be afraid to switch to 2.5 if you feel you need it. My rational is that 2.5 lbs 2-3x/week is still 20-30 lbs in a month, not insignificant.