Better and Better, Stronger and Stronger

[Eric Schexnayder]

I'm starting this log a few weeks into my third attempt at a Novice LP. This is the only LP attempt I've done where I bothered to actually keep a log, and up until today, I thought all a log was useful for was planning the warm up and work sets. I realize now that keeping a journal of thoughts and reflections on my training progress is the more critical component of this whole process.

Anyway, the obligatory progression-to-date data are as follows (all numbers are in pounds):

Squat: 95 -> 215
Press: 65 -> 117
Bench: 105 -> 175
Deadlift: 135 -> 235

As far as myself, I am a male, 29 years of age, about 218 lbs (up from 203 lbs), 6'3". I am a father of three, husband of one, a chemical engineer, and a sole income provider. I lift at about 4:30 AM MWF. This brings up my ever present concern that my first recovery roadblock will be sleep. I do my best to get 7 - 8 hours on nights before non-training days and at least 6 hours on nights before training days. It is my hope that if you are a dad in my same situation, this log will give you some semblance of inspiration. That may be pretty narcissistic of me, but then again seeing logs of other dads (and moms) like myself was one of the better kicks in the ass I needed to get moving on this.

Diet-wise, I strive for about 4000 Cal a day, though I often question whether this is sufficient. Economically it is difficult to go too much higher (Steak is not cheap. Then again, milk and eggs are). 1 g/lb of bodyweight is the protein target, and to be truthful I have not worked to adhere to a carb or fat target. Based on today's workout, I am thinking I need to adjust the carb intake.

I often think that being an engineer is per se counterproductive to this whole process. I had the opportunity to lift with Andy Baker about a week ago - as an aside, if you live anywhere near him, take the opportunity to work with him. Seriously, what a great coach. Andy told me that Starting Strength appears to attract a lot of engineering types due to the highly analytical nature of the program; he also consistently sees the same problem with folks like myself. "Perfection is the enemy of progress," he told me. Sometimes I need to stop overthinking this shit.

Sadly I think the biochemistry of nutrition confounds me when confronted with useful anecdotal evidence. At about 220 lbs, I am targeting 220 g of protein. I have been consistently getting about 230 - 240, which is good. I get this same amount in carbs on days where I really try, but I am considering bumping this up to 440 or 2 g/lb of BW. I don't want to get fat(ter), but I don't want to stall. I just need to get this going and then titrate to my desired results. Must beat analysis paralysis. Something is better than nothing.

Strength first. Strength first.

[Eric Schexnayder]

Today's Workout

Squat
45x5x2
95x5
135x3
185x2
220x2, 220x5, 220x1 (FML)

Bench Press
45x5x2
95x5
120x3
155x2
175x5x3

Deadlift
135x2 (FML... again)

What a disappointment that my first post after the introduction was a failed workout. Totally exhausted today. My thoughts are an accumulated lack of sleep (only got about 3.5 hours on Tuesday night per FitBit), stress at work, and inadequate calories, specifically, carbohydrates. I'm addressing the carb question with Robert Santana in a separate thread.

Had a little distracting hip pain on the left side by my groin while doing squats. May have contributed, but I managed through it during Wednesday's workout.

Planning to bump up the food and get some quality sleep this weekend, and hopefully tie up some loose ends at work causing some stress. Will be repeating the squat weight again Monday.

Quick note on my programming: I am deadlifting M and F, cleaning W. This advice came from Andy Baker when he and I both agreed my deadlift could be stronger. Plan is to continue this programming, possibly with 10 lb jumps, until that's not sustainable. Once the 5 lb jumps are required, I'll probably going one more week and then back to alternating per the normal SS routine.

Was planning on curls today (must have teh bizeps), but at this point some form of accelerated recovery is my priority.

Other Thoughts
Today's workout has me really frustrated and down. This is too early for someone my age (I think), and if this is what my genetics provides, then FML because I hate LSD. My last attempt at an LP yielded about a 240 lb squat, but that was about 2 years and 1 kid ago. Shoulder pain from an incorrect squat grip and a lack of time and commitment cut my LP short then. My intent with this run is to not give in so easily.

I've learned a lot under the bar thus far, mostly about physics and chemistry, but also about myself. Not sure who said this, and I could probably easily Google it right now, but I've heard that success is not measured by just how far you got; it is measured by how far you got after how many times you fell down. It's easy to be happy with everything when you are progressing along nicely, but continued progress after a disappointing failure like this will test the other part of strength that the barbell brings: mental.

Maybe this isn't a 3x5 failure on the squat. Maybe this is the first rep of a single, full intensity, mental deadlift. A 1 RM of dedication, if you will.

Time to focus on recovery until Monday.

[Ken_L]

I wouldn't sweat the bad workout. There is no way that you failed a 135 pound deadlift especially since you made some squats at 220. The only "healthy" males I have come across that have a hard time with 135 are a few of the soccer players at the college I work at. Their body weight is about that and they look like stick figures. Only extreme light weights are going to fail at a 135 DL. Even most older guys can lift that. For you 135 is a warm up set. I would chalk this up to the inadequate sleep and stress that you have been experiencing. Stress in life/work can really mess with your performance and makes quality sleep even more difficult. Once fatigue sets in it is surprising how fast you can fail even on weights that should be easy.

[Eric Schexnayder]

I wouldn't sweat the bad workout. There is no way that you failed a 135 pound deadlift especially since you made some squats at 220. The only "healthy" males I have come across that have a hard time with 135 are a few of the soccer players at the college I work at. Their body weight is about that and they look like stick figures. Only extreme light weights are going to fail at a 135 DL. Even most older guys can lift that. For you 135 is a warm up set. I would chalk this up to the inadequate sleep and stress that you have been experiencing. Stress in life/work can really mess with your performance and makes quality sleep even more difficult. Once fatigue sets in it is surprising how fast you can fail even on weights that should be easy.

Thanks for the supportive words bud. Definitely did not fail at 135 lb, but could not for the life of me get my chest up and spine locked (guess that's a failure?). Also stressed about getting off to work since I was running behind on the workout. Looking forward to pulling 245 lb on Monday!

[Eric Schexnayder]

Today's Workout

Squat
45x5x2
85x5
130x3
175x2
220x5x3

Press
45x5x2
60x5
80x3
95x2
120x5x3

Deadlift
135x5
165x3
195x1
245x1

Got my squats today after a weekend of better sleeping and eating. I got with Robert Santana regarding my diet; he advised me to eat way more carbohydrates than I had been (up from 200g/day to 400 g/day, cut back fat to mitigate body fat gains). I will have to titrate these recommendations since I love me some fat. I was basically eating Paleo + milk for a while, not really understanding how that was powering my workout, but I've begun to realize that Paleo is not necessarily low carb. Be that as it may, I think it will be impractical for me to get 400 g/day of carbs eating just Paleo. So grains are now firmly back in my diet. My inner Italian is quite delighted.

Had plenty of oatmeal, cereals, potatoes, pasta, some quinoa, and some peanut butter, banana, & honey sandwiches (much better than it sounds). Also drank a few more whey milk shakes than normal; I was struggling to hit my protein target without overdoing the fat. Had two Gatorades at the beginning of the workout to help get blood sugar up as well. All-in-all, I had more than enough fuel to drive the workout. Knocked out 220x5x3 like it was a warm up set, although I need to continue to focus on upper back tightness. This is always difficult to do first thing in the morning when I'm stiff in the shoulders.

Unfortunately my crappy deadlift form appears to have caught up with me. I managed to pull 245 lbs for a single. Rep #2 had me get just below the knees and then drop the weight. I attempted a few more and couldn't get the bar to budge. Deloaded by 5 lbs to 240 (as if that would help, right?) still no movement. Dropped to 225 lbs just to get some reps in and nothing.

Right now I am thinking that my deadlift is too hip-centric; I am "standing up off the floor" as some SS coaches around the forum post every now and then. I've always struggled with the deadlift, but I may have narrowed down the issue. I need to "push the floor away" and focus on using my quads to initiate the movement off the floor. Perhaps I will start doing some paused deadlifts as part of the warm up sets to help drive this movement pattern in the future. Hopefully this will also help me keep my weight off my toes.

Unfortunately I did not think to try this this morning, and I had to get going off to work anyway. I'm planning on trying this work set again tonight, with the intent of using more quad to help get the bar up (warming up with paused deadlifts). If this starts to get really bad I may deload, drop the power cleans for a bit, and work my way back up on the deadlift. Right now 235x5 when I'm squatting 220x5x3 is pretty lame in my opinion. In fact, I daresay being lame would be an improvement.

On a positive note, I am very pleased with my Press at this time. Andy Baker helped me better understand the "aim for your nose" cue, and that has really unlocked some good Press gains for me. I began micro-loading last week with 2 lbs (using two Rawlings 16 oz bat weights). Cheap bastard that I am, I only purchased two of these and decided that I would do a pattern of a 2 lb jump then a 3 lb jump, repeated ad nauseum. Today was the 3 lb jump, and it felt pretty damn strong. I may consider doing a 5 lb on Friday. Don't want to rush, but don't want to miss out either (read: gaInzZ).

I think the huge Bench form improvements that Andy helped me with are also driving the press up. I benched 175 on Friday no problem, and that is a huge improvement in the press-bench gap. Hopefully that will continue to drive the Press up.

[Eric Schexnayder]

Tried again on deadlifts yesterday evening and managed to get a set of 5, though it was quite an effort. The deadlift remains my weakest lift, and I am determined to fix this. I may even consider just doing dropping the power clean and just doing deadlifts, though right now I think it offers me somewhat of a break on heavy pulling. We'll see what tomorrow's workout brings.

Posted the video in the Technique forum to see if anyone would give some pointers.
Deadlift Form Check

[Eric Schexnayder]

Today's Workout


Squat
45x5x2
90x5
135x3
180x2
225x5x2, 2 (bailed)

Bench Press
45x5x2
90x5
125x3
160x2
180x5x3

Power Clean
65x5x2
100x3
120x2
145x1 (out of gas)

To anyone who has decided to track this log: I swear that prior to starting it I was making steady linear progress. The harder stuff has finally arrived, I suppose.

I am exhausted. I felt it starting right as I began the Power Cleans and it lasted all day at work. I meant to catch up on Power Cleans this evening but just don't have the time or energy. I need the sleep more than anything. I'm taking a bath for my back / hip aches then hitting the sack for a (hopefully) solid 8 hours.

Things have been very busy lately, the wife and I have started putting a patio in the back yard, so I am getting plenty of excess "conditioning" outside of strength training. That combined with the recent general busy-ness of life has caught up to me. I failed to track my calories and macros yesterday and today, so not even sure how recovery is doing. Also it probably doesn’t help that I put it another 3 singles of a 245 lb deadlift Tuesday night to practice technique...

I think I need a brief break. The wife and I have our five year wedding anniversary this Friday and plans to go out of town through Memorial Day. I may just pause the LP until next Wednesday to catch up on sleep and food and life and get fully recovered, then go at it again with a slight deload, maybe 10%. Need to review recommendations in PPST3.

Bench continues to do well. Not sure I understand how I can get exhausted during the squat and then go right into a heavy 3x5 on the Bench. Could be that my Bench is still relatively light given the technique modifications Andy helped me make about a week and a half ago. I’m not planning on deloading either the Bench or the Press, just the Deadlift and Squat and perhaps the Power Clean.

Need to get my diet in order as well. Can’t be resetting without making an adjustment to something related to recovery. Otherwise it is just genetic potential kicking in, and I can’t be having that at these relatively light weights.

See you in a week.

[BBB]

Thanks for the supportive words bud. Definitely did not fail at 135 lb, but could not for the life of me get my chest up and spine locked (guess that's a failure?). Also stressed about getting off to work since I was running behind on the workout. Looking forward to pulling 245 lb on Monday!

Technical failures are failures, it's good that you made that realization early on.

my third attempt at a Novice LP

First of all, I can't see your numbers prior to your first post, so I hope you didn't just start at these high numbers and not give yourself runway / room for improvement. Be conservative when you start. Besides giving yourself runway, you also should be practicing the lifts and you can't learn them if you're struggling with the weights.

Since you're an engineer, think about this as any type of learning curve.

Secondly, don't make the mistake of thinking you need to hit certain numbers to call the LP a success. Once you've reached current maxes and you start continuously failing it's time to consider proper programming. If you're continuing to make progress in one lift, then keep that one on LP. The ones where you're struggling, change out.

Good luck dude

[Eric Schexnayder]

Had a nice, long, relaxing weekend vacation with the wife. Took Friday off to travel.

Monday's Workout (5/28/18)

Squat
45x5x2
90x5
135x3
180x2
225x3, 205x5x2

Press
45x5x2
65x5
80x3
100x2
122x5x3

Deadlift
100x5
150x3
210x1
225x5

Tried not to deload per PPST3, which suggests that a single day off shouldn't require much, if any, remedial action. Squats felt heavier than usual though, so I knocked out 3 and decided to cut back 10%. Probably didn't recovery optimally during my vacation; though I got way more sleep and had way less stress than usual, less than perfect food probably interfered, along with the dehydration that comes with sitting in the sun by the pool and sipping margaritas for 4+ hours. But whatever. I had a good vacation, so fuck it, I'll deload for a week.

I decided after yesterday that it's time to add a Light Squat day. This decision alone has seriously removed a lot of the mental stress of the workout. I am actually looking forward to squatting 165x3x5 (~80% of Monday) tomorrow. What I'm finding more and more is that squatting leaves me too tired to pull. Press progression has not been a problem following squats. I get too tired to pull correctly. So hopefully the light squat day will help with that.

I've also decided to add in chin ups as a barbell pull substitute. Again, I'm actually excited to do these tomorrow.

So my routine is going to start looking like the "Advanced Novice" in SSBBT3/PPST3. I'm not sure if adding either of these at just 9 weeks and at the weights I'm moving is "kosher", but to be honest, I don't care. I want to keep this going, and if going a little easier on myself will prolong the progression and help me get more out of it, then all I have to "lose" is time. Since this is a lifelong pursuit, I think that'll be okay.

I'll make a 10 lb jump on the squat on Friday. I think by then it won't be an issue.

As far as my shitty deadlift, I've been told that my shins are likely too close to the bar. I guess this is making it harder for me to initiate the pull from the floor. I am planning on doing a light practice set of deadlifts tonight just to get some practice in.

Higher carb diet continues. Still an adjustment.

[Ski]

Hey Eric, your metrics are very close to mine, 6'3, kids, long office hours, etc. Reading through your log I wondered what your quality of sleep was like in addition to number of hours. Ive found the R in my SRA has been helped tremendously by supplementing with Zinc and Magnesium close to bed time. Now I'm almost 40 and Testosterone numbers were closer to the average 80 year old male - which is why I started this supplementation, but a very cool side effect for me was really great deep REM sleep even when I only get 6 hours. Just a thought. Keep up the consistency!