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Thread: Strength Engineer Log

  1. #1
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    Mar 2017
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    Phoenix, AZ
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    Default Strength Engineer Log

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    I'm Phil from Phoenix, AZ. I'm originally from Detroit, MI. I'm 35 years old, USAF veteran, ASU graduate, and I'm a software architect by trade.

    Why am I doing this? Most of my life I've battled serious depression and low self esteem. Working out has really been the only thing that truly works on my depression long term. Getting stronger of course also helps with self esteem. Being an engineer by trade I like efficiency. There's nothing more efficient than a barbell strength training program. I've done numerous terrible programs off and on over the years, mostly bro-splits that had me doing 30,000 different isolation movements and the like developed by as Rip calls them "pin-setters" that had no idea what they were doing. Sadly, I didn't know any better at the time. I came across Starting Strength via googling strength programs about two years ago. Worked the program for a couple months, then life got in the way and I fell off the band wagon. Recently I've been back into training the last month and really loving it.

    What am I doing and why? I know this is the starting strength forum, but I'm actually running Greyskull LP at the moment. There are a few reasons I am choosing GSLP right now over SS. First, my power cleans are terrible. I just can't seem to get the form right. I get a lot of elbow and shoulder pain, and struggle to get any real weight on the bar. My current best is a sloppy single of 115 lbs... I just don't feel that my power clean is at a point that I can actually "train" it at the moment. I probably need to shell some money out for an actual coach to work through it with me... but all in due time. In GSLP I can at least delegate PC's to being a secondary warmup to DL's so I can practice light and not hurt myself. Secondly is the AMRAP final set. When I did SS in the past having to deload made me feel like a failure. It felt like punishment. I lost a lot of motivation when I had to reset, and that lost motivation definitely had a big part to play in me stopping going to the gym altogether for about a year. In GSLP the resets don't feel like punishment, because I'm still pushing for PR's even during a reset. But Phil, why are you on the SS forums if you're running GSLP? Well, mainly because I love these forums and this website. GSLP to me is just a modified version of SS. I still think Rip is awesome, I still have my Starting Strength book and reference it all the time, especially for anything form related. Plus, I'm an engineer and a nerd at heart, and this is the website where the strength engineers and nerds hang out. This is the website where you can read scientific articles about strength training, not just opinionated bro-science bullshit. This makes me happy. I may at some point go back to SS if I can fix my PC, or the Texas Method once I run out of GSLP gains and need to graduate to an intermediate program, but for now it's working wonderfully for me, as any program based off of SS should.

    What are my goals: Increase strength. Increase my very lagging squat especially. Learn to power clean properly. Put on some new muscle. Find something to do with my strength (competitions of some sort, sport of some sort, something to put it to use).

    What are my current stats:
    Age: 35
    Weight: 165
    Height: 5'9"
    Body Fat: ~13%
    Squat: 190x5
    Deadlift: 290x6
    Press: 100x7
    Bench: 137.5x10
    Weighted Chin: 17.5x8

    What does my program look like:
    Squat 2x5, 1x5+: MF
    Deadlift 1x5+: W (with 5-6 light power clean singles as a warmup)
    Bench / Press 2x5, 1x5+: Rotating A/B
    Yates Row / Weighted Chin 2x6-8: Rotating A/B

    Accessories: Curls 2x 12-15 / Raised Barbell Calf Caises 1x15-20: Rotating A/B
    Last edited by StrengthEngineer; 03-09-2017 at 08:13 PM.

  2. #2
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    Welcome to the forums.

    Check this link out GSLP Strength Bias | Barbell Medicine Jordan Feigenbaum took GSLP and tweaked it to be more of an intermediate program. This way you get a volume day and intensity day for your squat and press variants.

    What's your height? If you're taller than 5' I hope you're eating enough to gain 2lbs a week.

  3. #3
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    Great intro. We have a lot in common. Like you, I'm a software guy (mech engineer by training, but I evolved into a manufacturing systems s/w guy professionally). Like you, I grew up in the Detroit area (Warren, MI to be exact). Also, like you, I battled depression - especially during the dark winter months. Strength training is, by far, the best treatment for depression I've ever used - and I've tried a few.

    As for the Greyskull program, it sounds fine and is probably pretty close to the SS novice program. The main thing is to get your form on your core lifts right. For that, you already have the SSBBT book, so you're in good shape.

    Best of luck to you!

  4. #4
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    As I said above I've been doing this for about a month now, I'll just abbreviate and start this log with this week.

    3/7/17
    Press 100lb: 2x5, 1x7
    Chin: 17.5lb 1x8, 15lb 1x8
    Squat 190lb: 3x5
    Calf raise 100lb: 1x20

    Thoughts: last squat workout I got 185x8, so dropping down to 190x5 has me a little worried. I literally just stalled at 200 and did a reset the other week, really hoping to not have to reset at 200 again. I don't know what it is about 200lb, I just can't seem to get this stupid squat above it. Failed at 200 on SS last year, failing at 200 on GSLP this year. This is the bane of my existence right now. From some self analysis I am starting to feel that my legs (especially quads) are very weak, and that my back is very strong (as seen in the giant disparity between my dl and squat). So I believe what my body is doing is actually trying to push more weight onto my back instead of my legs. Next squat day I'm going to record myself, but I suspect from just feel alone that I'm doing a squat morning. I always feel slightly off balance on the way back up in the squat. Something in my form is clearly off just enough to really make me struggle to get through this barrier. I can also tell that my leg development isn't as good as my upper body development has been. Even though I'm doing legs 3 days a week, I have not really put on any muscle on my quads or hams. I've put on some calf and glute muscle and that's it for lower body. Also, the next day after squatting my upper hams and glutes feel tight, but my quads never feel anything. I really think my body is trying to squat by taking the load from my quad muscles and pushing it all onto my stronger back and glutes, lol.

  5. #5
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    Awesome, I'll just gave that a read. I'll have to come back go that when I'm ready to transition to a more intermediate program. I'm 5'9". Currently eating ~2700-2800 cals a day. I've put on 5 lbs in the last month.

  6. #6
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    Eh, I've never felt my quads unless I went ages without doing front squats and then did tons of them suddenly. Submit a form check for your squat to the technique forum. Gaining 2lbs a week would also help your squat probably. As far as "balance" goes, you aren't squatting in squishy running shoes are you?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by irongeek View Post
    Great intro. We have a lot in common. Like you, I'm a software guy (mech engineer by training, but I evolved into a manufacturing systems s/w guy professionally). Like you, I grew up in the Detroit area (Warren, MI to be exact). Also, like you, I battled depression - especially during the dark winter months. Strength training is, by far, the best treatment for depression I've ever used - and I've tried a few.

    As for the Greyskull program, it sounds fine and is probably pretty close to the SS novice program. The main thing is to get your form on your core lifts right. For that, you already have the SSBBT book, so you're in good shape.

    Best of luck to you!
    Nice, yeah you're right by my old stomping grounds. I grew up in St Clair Shores. Graduated from Lake Shore HS!

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aaron Montgomery View Post
    Eh, I've never felt my quads unless I went ages without doing front squats and then did tons of them suddenly. Submit a form check for your squat to the technique forum. Gaining 2lbs a week would also help your squat probably. As far as "balance" goes, you aren't squatting in squishy running shoes are you?

    Yeah, I'll post a video there when I squat again on Saturday. I have been squatting in running shoes. I need to get some lifters. I just blew a ton of dough getting a rogue power rack with a full set of bumper plates at home though, so it may be a little bit before I'm ready to splurge again. I've read some people say squatting in socks is good, do you think that would be better than running shoes?

  9. #9
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    No clue about squatting in socks, though I do deadlift in just socks. If you don't have the $$ for good shoes yet, find some cheap Converse Allstars to wear. Could probably find some used. The heel height isn't ideal, but the soles are non-compressible. But I'm guessing almost anything is better than squishy running shoes...

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    3/9/17

    Bench 137.5: 2x5, 1x10
    Yates Row 152.5, 1x8, 1x7
    Deadlift 290: 6
    Curl 25: 1x15, 1x9

    Thoughts: Great day today! Absolutely crushed it on bench. Last workout I got 135x8, and this time I got 137.5x10! The AMRAP's have been huge for both bench and press progression for me. My past bench PR was 140x5, I just did 137.5x10 today! Hitting that 10 rep means I can double weight next time, so I'll be going for 142.5 a new weight PR. Bench form has felt great lately. I've been doing a good job keeping my elbows in, in the past I had a habit of flaring my elbows out too far. Deadlift was great today too. I actually felt like I could have pulled another rep or two, but my grip was giving out. My hands were really sweaty and my left hand was slipping out in alternate grip. I need to invest in some chalk so I can grip the bar even when my palms are sweaty. Aside from grip issues, I feel like today was the best deadlift form I've ever had. I was able to actually get the only bar at the gym that doesn't have knurling that will tear up your shins, so I was able to keep the bar along the legs the whole way up as described in the book. Really helped me to load more of the weight on my hams and made the movement so much easier. When I have a shin killer bar I pull it a little in front of my shins the weight stays more in my back. This will no longer be a problem though, as my gear from Rogue is scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Never again will I have to use one of the crappy bars! I'll be able to DL against the shin without busting my shins open from here on out! Curls need to be increased in a similar manner to chins, where I increase the sets individually of each other, that last set I didn't hit the 12 minimum. Definitely want to keep curls in the higher rep ranges so they don't effect recovery on the important lifts.
    Last edited by StrengthEngineer; 03-09-2017 at 08:39 PM.

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