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Thread: Eric's Training Logs

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
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    Default Eric's Training Logs

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    I began Starting Strength in mid-January and believe it's one of the better decisions of my life. With two kids under the belt, I let myself go physcially. It seems through LP, however, I'm finding a way to push myself harder than ever, which is strangely relieving, however difficult the workouts. I'm nigh 38, now 260 (up from about 255 when I started), 25% bodyfat without being able to measure subcutaneously (so, you know, really more than that), 5'10. (I have some work to do there still, but the bodyfat seems to be coming off even in the weight gain, which isn't terribly surprising but always a little jarring based on social conceptions.) This forum is merely a way to keep myself publicly accountable, appreciating any insights and advice that emerge from those of you that have more experience than me. I also had a bad back. Turns out it was just a really weak back, which I read in Rip's articles on several occasions. It's never felt better.

    Note: the hardest part of LP for me is the recovery. Lord knows I'm fine on the eating (no GOMAD for me because, well, I'm one of the dads who's a bit "fluffy" around the middle). But with a 1.5-year-old and 3.5-year-old, sleep can be a precious commodity. I've been forcing 7 hours per night (up from 6), and am working my way to eight. All of it's interrupted and will eventually take its toll. So it goes. The little bastards are (mostly) worth it.

    1/17/18
    Squat: 185x5x3
    Press: 115x5x3
    Deadlift: 155x5

    1/19/18
    Squat: 195x5x3
    Bench: 205x5x3
    Deadlift: 165x5

    1/22/18
    Squat: 205x5x3
    Press: 120x5x3
    Deadlift: 175x5

    1/24/18
    Squat: 225x5x3 (I did the same with squat, playing it conservative to see if my back would hold. It got stronger within two sessions, and I felt comfortable bumping up 20 lbs. a risk, but I believe I started out a bit conservative)
    Bench: 215x5x3
    Deadlift: 225x5 (I had been taking it easy to test deadlifts out on account of my back. I pushed the numbers up here, and it worked out just fine)

    1/26/18
    Squat: 235x5x3
    Press: 135x5x3 (I realized that I had been playing all of my lifts conservatively and wanted to ensure I was stressing my body enough to adapt. I tried moving everything up a bit, and too good measure.)
    Deadlift: 245x5

    1/29/18
    Squat: 245x5x3
    Bench: 225x5x3
    Deadlift: 265x5

    I missed a workout here, but I decided to move up 5 lbs in weight on account that I was worried I had still been playing my numbers too conservatively. I won't do it again, but it worked for me on this occasion.

    2/03/18
    Squat: 250x5x3
    Press: 140x5x3
    Deadlift: 270x5

    2/5/18
    Squat: 260x5x3
    Bench: 235x5x3
    Deadlift: 280x5

    2/7/18
    Squat: 265x5x3 (Squats were feeling truly heavy for the first time, so I began moving in 5lb increments here.)
    Press: 145x5x3
    Power Clean: 135x3x5 (Finally felt good enough in Deadlifts to move to PCs.)

    2/9/18
    Squat: 270x5x3
    Bench: 240x5x3 (240 still felt a bit too easy, and my body was overall tired during this session. I may go up 10 lbs after one more 5lb jump if that one still feels easy.)
    Deadlift: 290x5
    Chins: Weight (260)--6x5x5

    2/11/18
    Squat: 275x5x3
    Press: 150x5x3 (I may need to move up starting in 2.5lb increments soon. Press is feeling heavy. Then again, I simply made sure to tighten my chest and perform the valsalva and got this weight up. I'll have to pay attention because this could simply be a technique issue.)
    Clean: 145x3x5 (hurt my wrist out of dumbassery. It'll be fine, but I will practice on the next session with just the bar to ensure I have proper racking, which seems to be my biggest issue given my relatively long forearms.)

    2/13/18
    Squat: 280x5x3
    Bench: 245x5x3 (Still felt easy, but not so easy that I'm automatically going to jump 10lbs again yet, if ever.)
    Deadlift: 300x5 (I was proud to have moved up to the 300s on this lift. Wish I would've started earlier in life. No going back, though!)
    Pullups: Weight (260) 5x4x4 (the wrist still hurt especially when supinated. So. I did pull-ups, which are a relatively weaker on a guy my size. If I'm making an excuse, please let me know....)

    Thanks for any insights and interest, and for the training posts you all have put up. They've helped me to make good decisions along the way so far, not allowing my newfound testosterone make me think I'm a 20-year-old again, for instance, and staying conservative until I'm relatively sure I can bump up more.
    Last edited by dfreric; 03-09-2018 at 04:46 AM.

  2. #2
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    2/16/18
    Squat: 285x5x3 (Got the lowest into the squat I've been able to get. Thinking it might finally be deep enough—not just below parallel but far below.)
    Press: 155x5x3 (Finished but have definitely slowed down in this lift. Will move in 2.5 lb increments from now on. Have the weights coming from Amazon.)
    Deadlift: 315x5 (Made this move for several reasons. First, my wrist was still hurting, so I didn't chance cleans. Second, this session will have had 72 hours rest prior and after, so I wanted to provide enough stress to keep moving. Third, my dls seem weak relatively speaking, which is probably from an overcautiousness due to my back. I actually finished these pretty easily, resetting stance and grip between each lift. I'll give it another few sessions, but I may be able to do another 15lb jump. We'll see. I'll likely do one more set of Deadlifts on my next training to keep up this momentum as I don't seem particularly tired after the 72 hour rest, giving my wrist a chance to heal up all the way.)
    Last edited by dfreric; 02-26-2018 at 09:36 AM.

  3. #3
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    I'm recording my decisions in some detail. If any of you at this longer than me or who coach have insights on the types of decisions being made, critique or advice is appreciated. I want to ensure I'm making good decisions as I move forward, especially as weights start moving into the heavier direction. I'm too old to screw up too bad.

  4. #4
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    Mar 2013
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    Walled Lake, Michigan
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    Good progress. Check in with a certified Starting Strength coach from time to time. Early is best so as to catch any technique errors. You are certainly not too late to start this adventure. I was 66 before I started.

  5. #5
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    Thanks. Feeling good, and, yes. I shoud reach out to a coach. I know some technique is off. Glad to hear of when you started, too. That’s helpful.

  6. #6
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    2/18/18
    Squat: 290x5x3
    Bench: 255x5x3 (Moved up 10 lbs, but it still felt somewhat light. I may move up 7.5 lbs for 1-2 sessions as I don't want to get myself stuck. I also don't want to pussyfoot around.
    Deadlift: 325x5 (I stuck with deadlift because of the persisting wrist injury. This was the first truly heavy feeling deadlift set I've done, mostly in the grip, so I held it in my fingers rather than supinating one hand, which I’ll avoid until absolutely necessary. If I can't move back to cleans anytime soon, I'll work in a medium or light deadlift for every other session.)
    Pullups: (weight) 6x6x5 (Tried chins. Hurt too bad. Will stick with pulls for now.)
    Last edited by dfreric; 02-26-2018 at 09:38 AM.

  7. #7
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    2/21/2016
    Caught a cold from one of my germ incubators known as a child. It sucks. I still progressed.
    Squat: 295x5x3
    Press: 157.5x5x3 (Form is a little better and I got the the sets with some grind but not much. I don't think I'm pushing my shoulders far enough forward at the beginning. I need to video myself)
    Barbell Pull: 185x8x3 (While my wrist is hurt, and perhaps even until I can get real instruction for the clean so I don't screw up my wrist again, I'll use the barbell sub combined with chins as suggest on the Barbell Logic Podcast. I know it's not the program and am not pretending it is. I will, however, do deadlifts 2x a week--M, F--and a light pull combining chins and barbell pulls on wed. I'm being wary of the fact that 2x a week of DLs may accumulate fatigue rather quickly. If it does, I'll probably first try bumping up by 10lbs during my first workout of the week after my long recovery weekend, and likely only 5lbs during the second after two workouts. This still pushes me up about 15lbs a week, keeping ahead of my squats. If I can sanely do 10lb PRs for each deadlift, I will. Or, finally, if I need to, I'll go back to AB days, which I'm using for everything else, with the subs in place for B days. Didn't do chins today since I'd already done them during my previous workout. I can now see where too much of any lift and accumulated fatigue can easily stall progress.)
    Last edited by dfreric; 02-26-2018 at 09:38 AM.

  8. #8
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    2/23/2016
    Have gained a little too much weight, pushing into the fatter zone. I am fat enough, so I'll have to spend a few days recording my eating, keeping it around 32-3500 calories or so.
    Squat: 300x5x3 (Realized off of a couple of technique forums that I was making my feet too wide. Used the day to resituate my squat, narrowing my feet a bit and making sure to push the knees out rather than start with them out via the wider stance.)
    Bench: 265x5x3 (I hit this with only a little grind at the end. I will only jump up 5lbs for now.)
    Deadlift: 330x5 (This was heavy, I believe in terms of grip. I will try the switch grip or hook on my workset next time. I also had a friend pay attention to my form, and it sucks. The problem is with my hip placement and upper back placement. My back can't seem to win out over my hamstrings, leading to the rounding of my lower back, which I wasn't noticing. Part of this seems to be from possibly dropping hips too low in my 5 point setup on account of ham flexability. I'm considering a deload to really work on form and fix it. Before I deload, however, I will try one more workout, moving up only 5lbs. I'm going to see if, for instance, stretching my hamstrings over the weekend might help to loosen the hamstrings a bit, allowing my back to win out and keeping my lumbar flat.)
    Last edited by dfreric; 02-26-2018 at 09:38 AM.

  9. #9
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    2/26/2018
    Squat: 305x5x3
    Press: 160x5x3
    Deadlift: 315x5 (I de-loaded a bit to work on my back-rounding and grip. The rounding is, indeed, a hamstring flexibility issue, so I'll keep stretching, but I managed with some real struggle to keep it flat. I believe the rest of the gym thought I was going to shit my pants during my dl setup given the grunting taking place.... I also think I jumped too far up in my deadlifts in the hope to keep it well ahead of my squats, but my grip couldn't keep up with everything else. I used the hook grip for the early warmups just to get a feel, and it helped. However, I found that extra 1/2 of an inch--I've been holding the bar in my fingertips--rounded my back due to the hamstring flexibility issue, which again, I'm dealing with through some stretching. There may also be some accumulated fatigue setting in, so even if I've done a set of deads this morning, I will likely do something else the rest of the week, or perhaps a light set of deads on Friday. This is probably for the better as it will give me a good week of stretching to see if my issue is, indeed, one of flexibility or found elsewhere. In the end, deadlifts seem to be the only lift that's stalling out, which is likely a matter of both form and unfamiliarity with deads in a longer program. Alas, I'm becoming familiar in all the wrong ways and am re-reading Starting Strength on deads, which should lead to some good progress again soon enough if I remain intelligent and patient.)
    Last edited by dfreric; 02-26-2018 at 12:04 PM.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    2/28/2018
    Squat: 310x5x3
    Bench: 267.5x5x3 (The connective tissue below my left bicep was in some pain, likely from an armbar I managed to receive some 7 years ago now, from which I was too stubborn to tap....)
    Barbell Row: 205x5x3 (I will do a light DL on Friday to practice technique but still allow a little catchup rest.)
    Chins: (bodyweight 260) 5x4x4 (I got strict on my form. I realized that I was doing a slight kip on my last two reps in prior workouts. Wrist still hurts, but I found a non-strict chin grip with just a bit of pronation that I can hit.)
    Last edited by dfreric; 02-28-2018 at 02:34 PM.

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