Eric's Training Logs

[carson]

Youth is being served. At 38 you just started and are already stronger than I am. I'm 71 so I'm not going to complain about what I'm doing but I sure wish this method had been around when I was 38. It is fun to be strong. What does your wife say about your increased strength?

[dfreric]

She’s letting me put together a garage gym, for one, and she’s thrifty! I’ve been surprised by the continued adaptations myself. What gets me more than anything is how great my back feels. I was couched over Christmas it hurt so bad, and now I want to wrestle the bears in my back yard. (Note: bears will win.) I think everyone over 19 wishes they would have started younger due to this program’s massive effectiveness. At least we all started.

[dfreric]

3/13/2018

I'm tired and strangely enjoying it. I've upped my protein intake to help with recovery as well as some fat--a lot of MCT oil--to maintain the relatively keto way I've been eating. My body composition is beginning to visibly change, which is nice. I still have a great gut, but it's slowly shrinking (measurably, in fact), even if my weight isn't yet coming down. My shoulders are helping to mitigate my physique from that of a short-armed orangutan to lowland gorilla, which is a step in the right direction!

Squat: 335x5x3 (My legs are tired, but I got through these just fine. I believe and am hoping I'm a ways off of being done with LP on squats at this point. In fact, my later sets were easier than my first, likely on account of the first always feeling a bit shocking but also because of the technical corrections I kept trying to make regarding bar-placement along the way.)

Press: 167.5x5x3 (These were hard. I almost missed my last rep, but I pulled it through. I fear LP is coming to a close on these, although at this point I'm more willing to say it's technique, which I'm going to put some serious time into before convincing myself of anything else. I may also move to 5 sets of 3 on these if I miss any on my next attempt. I'd really like to see these reach 70% of my bench in LP, which seems absurdly high relative to the rest of my lifts for some reason. That means it needs to be around 200lbs)

Deadlift: 350x5 (DLs felt good! I used straps on the final set, and my hypothesis proved true: it's all in my grip. As such, I'm using the hook grip for all warmups (thanks for the video, Carson), up to 315 in today's warmups, and will eventually get rid of the straps--so I hope. Really with the hook, its fine even on heavy weights until I'm doing multiple reps. I just need bigger callouses. That said, my whole body was understandably tired during these lifts, but I believe I can still make progress in 10lb increments again for a while. I'm really hoping to eke out 3 months of LP, at least for most lifts, whatever might happen to my presses.)

[dfreric]

3/15/2018

Great training day. I recovered better for today, even without the same sleep I'd been getting. It's in the protein: I obviously wasn't eating enough. I've essentially doubled my protein, which now comes out to around 230-250g. I was apparently eating less than I thought, which is certainly a new issue for me.

Squat: 340x5x3 (These are moving right along again. Definitely a bit slower of a bar, but nothing concerning. The extra protein and extra rest between sets have, no surprise, resolved my worries: The First Three Questions | Mark Rippetoe)

Bench: 282.5x5x3 (No issues. Glad I moved to 2.5lb jumps, but the bar speed was just fine on these.)

Barbell Row: 240x5x3 (I felt these, but they were still fine. I'm more focusing on lumbar extension than anything, which, due to inattention, made me start moving my chest a bit much but held it stable toward the end.)

No chins today because of time. I'll try to hit some tonight.

[dfreric]

3/17/2018

Squat: 345x5x3 (I began feeling these ones in my back before anything else. I was really trying to work hip drive.)

Press: 170x5x3 (I switched to what Barbell Logic calls the Press 1.5. I got the weight up much easier, even if I had to get used to the balancing. I really worked on throwing these weights back, too, and I think that made a difference in my ability to press. I should be able to keep pushing my presses up for a few more weeks, at least based on my bar speed today.)

Deadlifts: 365x5 (I took the warmups too quickly, and I had some lactic buildup both from the squats and from the lack of time between warmup sets. I won't make that mistake again. I used hook grip up to my 325 warmup for 2 and used straps for the 365. It shouldn't be long until I can simply switch to hook grip for all of the work set. Now that I'm getting my deadlifts ahead again, I'll likely only do 10 lb jumps. we'll see. I may do one more jump of 15 with them.)

[carson]

Those gains look mighty good.

[dfreric]

Thanks, carson. I’m hopeful I can hit my goal of 405x5x3 on squats by the end of LP—if I can eke out another month. 200x5x3 on press likely won’t happen, but I won’t be too far off.

[dfreric]

3/19/2018

My lower back hurt, which I believe I strained putting up sheetrock in the garage over the weekend to, ironically, create a garage gym.

Squat: 350x5x3 (slower bar, but felt good. I keep the belt extra tight and I absolutely made sure to attend to my back as I did these. Got through'em.)

Bench: 285x5x3

Chins: bodyweight (263) 6, 5, 4

Skipped barbell rows on account of my back. I want to save my back for deadlifts.

[dfreric]

3/21/2018

I have no way to verify this, but I suspect that the overall health gains that I've developed through barbell training and the adaptations it has spawned has helped me to stave off the flu this year, which I consistently get. In fact, we have a young woman living in our basement who's got a bad case, and I felt it coming on for a couple of days. I slept a little extra and seemed to have fought it off. I suppose that strength truly is money in the bank.

Squats: 355x5x3 (These continue to slow, which makes sense given the fact that I'm over 2 months into LP.)

Press: 172.5x5x3 (It goes without saying that this was the hardest set I've ever done, but it was also just the hardest feeling set I've ever done. I brought my bar speed back up a little by using the press 1.5 again and by getting in 3 quick reps after my first breath at the top of my first lockout. Part of the issue is my left bicep tendon, which I hurt several years ago in an armbar. I may add some really light hammer curls at 3 sets of 25 just to see if the work can help with any of the scar tissue and get some fluids flowing to the old wound. Alas, it may just be something I have to suck up.)

Deadlift: 380x5 (Felt great! Slowest bar speed I've noticed, which should be obvious, but I should be able to keep pushing these up 10lbs at a time for a bit. Because of my relatively low starting point on these, I suspect DLs may stay in LP the longest. I used straps for the final set of 5, but I used the hook grip up until 320lbs. Where the hook grip hurts is in multiple reps, but for singles or doubles it's not an issue. I'll keep on using it as I suspect my thumbs just need to get used to the pressure.)

[dfreric]

I went back to jiujitsu tonight after being off since starting LP. My priority is to finish out LP and get as much out of it as I can, but I missed the cameraderie since I usually lift alone. I’m also out of shape, even if my newfound strength was of benefit. I could at least lay on people REALLY well, better than usual. I just didn’t have the energy to hit any submissions after laying on someone Rolling shape (as in grappling, not what I currently do on my belly) is its own adaptation, which will come back easy enough. I’m guessing five sessions of grappling will bring me to 90% of being in the clear again—that last 10% is always a bit more difficult. We’ll see how I recover. If I don’t, I’ll stop rolling until I hit a wall, doing only technique, which sucks right now too.