SS novice LP

[dreadMoros]

Hi All!

after several years of bouncing back and forth between gyms with no apparent results i stumbled upon this genius and simple idea of starting strength. After watching entire youtube content, reading all the articles and listening to Mark R. voice i decided to give it a go. To my surprise novice gains kicked in and strengthen my resolve to use it until my back breaks in half To make things official: i'm 36 years old programmer from Poland, 105 kg and 182 cm. I hope this log will even further enforce my progress. Currently i have no intention starting in competition but that might change in future...will see! Novice phase started at:

14.06.2018
Day A
Squat 5 reps x 3 sets 70 (chosen some number from my last squat i remembered and was on point)
Press 5 reps x 3 sets 30 32.5 35 37.5 (looking for correct weight)
Deadlift 5 reps x 1 set 90 (same as squat but aimed lower since i didn't know how it would affect me)

followed by 17.06.2018
Day B
Squat 5 reps x 3 sets 75
Bench Press 5 reps x 3 sets 65
Deadlift 5 reps x 1 set 95

Currently at 10.07.2018 my results were:
SQ 100
BP 77.5
OHP 50
DL 122.5

For now recovery is not an issue, however i had to increase breaks between sets to 3.5-4 mins in order not to fail reps (i feel i could do it but want to keep good form during each rep). I asked on forums already about adding Power Clean to the mix as stated in article Starting Strength Training Programs and will do so when DL stalls. As a side goal i really want to try Olympic Weightlifting since i got trainers in my city, but i will leave it out for now

Lets see how far i will get!

[carson]

Welcome. Great start! I hope that the SS program will soon be known all over the world. It is the sanest and safest strength building program in existence. It's good that you found it at such a young age. I began at age 66.

[dreadMoros]

Hi, thanks for the kind words. If only i knew about it 10 years ago... Anyway we must make the best of the time we have now So yesterday 12.07.2018 training summary is as follows:
SQ 102.5
OHP 52.5
DL 125

It was first time i recorded my training (need to buy some sort of tripod to get better elevation angles) and noticed that when doing DL set i tend to loose balance when touching ground - barbell goes a little forward so i tilt a little and my heels rise few millimeters. I don't know if this is because i'm using squat shoes all the time or it was just a minor mistake...But i did it once between 1st and 2nd rep and then proceeded to reset my position between reps (it takes about 4-5 seconds but i will push it to 2-3 hopefully) and it was fine.

[sinker]

Good start! I'll be following your progress. And yes, it's amazing how simple the SS program is.

[dreadMoros]

14.07.2018
So as usual went to training shy of closing the gym 1.5hrs seemed like a lot of time but longer breaks put me under so much needed presure
SQ 105
BP 80
DL 127.5
During DL session (warmup and main set) i made sure to not rush and not bounce barbell from the floor and make quick position reset - went exceptionally well considering i was under the impression that grip would fail me. Overall i feel i still can push LP - so made a plan ahead for several next sessions (extra pressure!)

Since i tried to fit into shorter timeframe i ened up with some extra time so used that to practice power clean - for now just movement from starting position to rack position and final result was 1/3 of the cleans were somewhat correct - ie no arm pull, rest was either arm pull, jump with bent tors or didn;t rack properly...

[dreadMoros]

17.07.2018
Had trouble eating correctly during past two days but managed to get enough coffee before training so managed to:
SQ 107.5 (i felt too much weight on my toes in my last set and i bar path was not straight line - i didnt have to grind it but i lost hip drive feel and my back leaned more during ascend, but bar speed was ok) RPE 7-8
OHP 55 (having stability issues on last set, i feel my lower back wiggle a little and bar speed dropped significantly) RPE 9 edit: watched mine and platform videos from starting strength channel and now i know where the instability is coming from - no HIP DRAAHVE!!!! now i know the secret and will use it from now on! also read article from BBM about their OHP/BP plugin when stalling - very informative!
DL 130 (no problems here, clean and fast resets, flat back, correct bracing and bar path) RPE 7
Everything went ok to the point where i tried to cleanup plates from my session and felt weird pain in my back (around right kidney). It wasnt sharp, dull, just...weird. I assume it wasnt DL since i checked my form and my back was flat, no rounding, maybe little shoulder slap but this weight is challenging enough to me. Anyway felt it couple of times (1 time at the gym and 2 times at home). I hope it is nothing serious.

Since i'm looking into some intermediate programs i start to learn RPE scale so i will try to use it onwards.

[dreadMoros]

19.07.2018 - THE GRIND BEGINS!
That was a hard session ending in failure on DL...fuck! But lets start from beginning, woke up that morning with small pain in lower back around same spot it appeared on last session. Well, nothing drugs cant fix right? Got myself some pills and pain subsided, but correct sleep was nowhere to be found that night, so i stuffed myself with food and coffee and went to work where i still felt weird on my lower back... Entire day went okish when at evening i almost collapsed with my kid on the bed - more COFFEE! Put the little guy to sleep and went training, something i was looking for last two days, to get my mind clear and just move some weights. Shit didn't stop when i started my warmup session...i was alone, no music, no living soul at the gym, one would think that those are perfect conditions -so would i if i didnt start to fall asleep under the goddam bar! warmup was already a hard grind not to mention 3x5 on my prescribed weight, bench went ok - i swtiched to BBM plugin for bench and press becuause it was close to stalling last time and proceeded to DL:
SQ 110
BP 85x1, 72,5x5
DL 132.5 FAILED!

Squat started very heavy and i had to grind the first two sets, could not concentrate, felt like i was not in position, like the bar was misaligned on my back and torso twisted, i was thinking about my back and everything...almost as i would do it on my friggin' head and squated with my abs - RPE 9-9.5. Luckily some girls showed up so last set the bar was flying - RPE 0
Female presence was felt during bench press also, but as soon they left and i started DL it died...warmup felt ok, so i had high hopes to finish with success, but i forgot my magnesia and had to pull with sweaty hands (i borrowed some straps but i hate those things so i don't have practice with them - gave them back) - even Eleiko bar didn't help. First rep i already felt rounding of my upper back - Oh Oh! Second rep shoulders started to give in - FUUUUCKKKK! Third rep - i grinded like my life was depending on it and stopped there - i was afraid of hurting myself and there was no sense in pushing with so bad form... First time i failed on this program and i felt like shit... so to cheer myself up i deloaded to 120kgs and made set of fahhves with perfect form. I guess its time to add power cleans to the mix and maybe chins. Seeing how sleep affects my performance i will never do that mistake again - no more late netflix sessions!

[dreadMoros]

22.07.2018
Because of some RL stuff had to postpone training one day, so i don't know if outcome is caused by this:
SQ: 112.5
OHP: 57.5 1x5, 50 6x4
DL: 132.5
My biggest fear was DL since i failed it last time, but good warm-up proved me wrong - the bar felt light and i did 5 reps in no time. As to OHP - i tried to incorporate hip drive from latest press tutorial from SS and still am little twitchy - but its better than overextending with fixed hips. I also corrected my grip and slight over extension of the wrist help pushing the bar slightly behind the head. A

At the end i added some assistance grip exercise and called it a good day

[dreadMoros]

24.07.2018
SQ: 115 5x5
BP: 87.5 1x5, 75 5x5
DL: 135 1x5
OHP: 50 3x5
Again something came up so didn't have time to prepare myself for training but seems that just storming gym and working under time pressure works for me Without any routines i normally do before warmups (basic stretching, doing all the movements with just body weight etc) i did my warmup which i cut a little short (removed one weight jump) i proceeded to squat - first set felt horrible, again some balance issues with my upper back, but as soon i got it done rest of the sets felt pretty good with RPE@8.5 - this time i controlled the depth more since i noticed i keep going almost ass to grass - staying slightly below paralel was awkward so i will have to get used to it and maybe record my sets next time. Bench press with BBM plugin is great - first set i was a little hesitant so asked a guy to spot me but as soon as i felt that someone is spotting me i felt more confident and the bar was flying RPE@8 for first set. Deadlift also went well all things considered. At 3rd rep had to switch to hookgrip so this threw me off a little - i was already "in the zone" when i had to do this so 4th rep was sorta ok but at fifth i did not reset correctly (big breath before removing the slack and bringing my chest up) so bar went slightly in front of my shoulders and pulled me forward - had to fight it and of course my shoulders again were the problem...Surprisingly weight was not an issue for my back and legs so RPE@8-8.5??? After that i moved to Press on which i also practiced recent move pattern from platform videos. I have to say that slight wrist extension and bending my knees is making it easy to move the bar over the shoulders while not extending my back. I cannot recommend this enough - watch it and learnt it!

[dreadMoros]

26.07.2018
Quick recap:
SQ 117.5 @8.5
OHP 1x5 60 @9 + 6x4 52.5 @7
DL 137.5 FAIL
Close grip BP 4x8 67.5 @8
So again DL has stalled for me - i could not perform one last rep with good form. Seems doing DL every training session is too much to recover from. So from now on i will add power clean to the mix and see how that works. Had been practicing that for some time already so i think i will manage to get to some respectable weight on next session. Can someone remind me how to find correct weight? i mean i do the warmup by ramping the weights slowly until i hit something heavy enough (RPE@8)?