Avatara's training log

[Avatara]

Squat 3x5 70lbs
Press 3x5 35 lbs
DL 1x5 95 lbs

[t-money]

Hi Avatara,

I'll be following along! I've heard it's easier the second time round, so I'm excited to see your progress.

Congrats on the baby too! Props to you for keeping up with strength training. I bet time is not a big luxury with a newborn.

[anniemichael]

Always good to see another lady on here! Best of luck for many gainz, and congrats on the new family addition.

[Avatara]

5 August
Squat 3x5 75 lbs
Bench 3x5 55 lbs
DL 1x5 100 lbs

[MarthaF]

You are doing starting strength after just having a baby?!?!?!? I don't think there is a single person in the world I respect more than you. I've watched my sisters' pregnancies come and go and I still can't get them to lift, ever.

Can't wait for your little one to grow up with such a great mom as a role model.

[Avatara]

Squat 3x5 80 lbs
Press 3x5 40 lbs
DL 1x5 105 lbs

T-money, anniemichael, and MarthaF, thanks for the good wishes! MarthaF - I had a really easy pregnancy (although the baby made up for it during the delivery >.> ), but after giving birth I discovered that during the preceding 9 months of inactivity I had lost every scrap of muscle I ever had, and wanted to do something about it.

[Avatara]

Squat 3x5 85 lbs
Bench 3x5 60 lbs
DL 1x5 110 lbs

[Adrian351]

Nice start! I like the focused vision!!

With your knees giving you some grief, in addition to ensuring good knee alignment/travel with your feet, I would recommend getting some "knee sleeves". I bought a set at the start of this year and WOW! The increase stability I felt during squats was amazing. Even now when I do my light warm-up squats, with my sleeves around my ankles...then pull them up for some heavier sets, I feel the benefits immediately.

Not all knee sleeves are alike. Some are there just to keep your joints warm (and are flimsy), but proper powerlifting ones really give you extra support and stability. To get your size, you normally bend your knee to 30 degrees and measure the circumference around the knee joint, then order the next size down to give you a nice snug fit (too loose doesn't work). These ones are top of the line and probably cost the most, but sure do work.....they'll at least give you an idea.

SBD Apparel

Changing lifting techniques can be a pain as you mentioned, I swapped to the correct lower back squat technique after doing it wrong for some time. I had to drop weight during the transition period of feeling uncomfortable doing something new, but now it's second nature. With your issue of having bar on bone and feeling like the bar is sliding around....yep had that too!

Mr Rippetoe has some great youtube videos on lower bar positioning which are well worth watching.

Bar on bone grinding: try moving your elbows back and move your shoulder blades closer together. This bunches up your back muscles together and makes a nice padding to spread out the bar weight like a cushion. I used to use those bar pads, but Mark clearly says they are for pussies and I stopped the next day!!

Bar sliding around: you're right about it sitting on top of the lower delt and below the bone which goes from your shoulder blade out to the top of your shoulder....which makes the nice saddle. Before I unrack the bar, I push up slightly into the bar to find that snug saddle position, and once located, I give an extra push up before unracking to make sure it's locked in. Are your hands on top of the bar? (that's what I never used to do). With hands on top, you actually PULL the bar down into the saddle during the squat to make sure it stays put. If it still slides out of position, sometimes it could be due to your elbows being too low......once tucked in, raised elbows make the saddle deeper helping to prevent movement.

One of my #1 pet peeves at the gym are BENT BARS. I always rotate the bar before I start squats to avoid a wonky bar and swap it out for a straight one. If you unrack the bar with the bent curve going upwards, the bar will roll all over the place.

I found an invaluable tool for checking your knees is either to get a coaching session or video some squats (your heavy work sets) and play them back to yourself. I've had the guys on here crack the whip on my form plenty of times Sounds like you've picked up on one of the most common errors: knees collapsing in under load, causing a twisting of the knee joint. Focusing on forcefully pushing your knees our as you drive up helps a lot.

Enjoy watching those numbers climb!!!!

[Avatara]

17 August
Squat 3x5 80 lbs
Press 3x5 40 lbs
DL 1x5 110 lbs

Missed two workouts while I was out of town - this time I even remembered to look up gyms to get a day pass, but the only gym in town was closed before I finished work both days. On the other hand, I did spend all that weekend moving furniture into a friend's new (second floor) apartment, so that ought to count for something.

One of my goals was to adhere to the program as closely as I could, but it has turned out to be frustratingly difficult. I backed my weight down a little this workout, but I didn't worry about backing it down a whole lot since I'm not exactly moving big numbers yet, and I did get at least some unorthodox work in with all the furniture lifting. I am bound and determined to get in 12 weeks of legitimately Doing The Program(tm), so I am restarting the clock once again.

Adrian351 - Thanks for all the advice! I've thought about knee sleeves, but they seemed like a crutch to disguise bad form. I figure I will focus on making sure my form is good, and then if the problem persists despite good form then I might consider something like knee sleeves.

For low bar position, I've found that my shoulders are gradually getting more flexible, and getting the bar position right has gotten easier. Usually I do one or two warmup sets, and the stiffness is mostly gone by the work sets.

[Avatara]

Squat 3x5 85 lbs
Bench 3x5 60 lbs
DL 1x5 115 lbs