Peter’s SS journey

[Petermac7644]

Good to see you are continuing to progress. A few thoughts for you...

-on warmups, if you feel like you need to rest 2-3 minutes btw warmups, you might be warming up too much or too heavy. For a 170# work set, a warmup progression might look like: empty bar x 8-10, 95 x 5, 135 x 1, 155 x 1 then do worksets

Thanks - I honestly just thought I should be resting to avoid accumulating fatigue prior to my work sets. What you suggested is pretty close to what I do. It sounds like you do these warm-up reps basically as fast as you can get the plates on the bar? I think I could probably manage that and just take a minute or two between the last warm up set and the first work set.

[Petermac7644]

Hi Peter, Once I started pulling over 300 I went to using lifting straps. Between all the the deadlifts, cleans, rows and chins my tendinitis (golfer's elbow) would flare up. On warmups I use a double overhand until I get to 275 then switch to double overhand, then straps on 315 and up.
Hope this helps.
By the way I'm running a 1/2 marathon on veterans day to support a friend and don't want to lose too much strength. Any pointers would be much welcome.

I was actually wondering at what point most lifters start using straps. I was using overhand up to 200 and my grip didn't fail me but I wanted to start using hook just to get the technique down.

Do you mean veterans day as in a month from now? If you're that close in your training I think you'll be okay if you haven't already made the same mistakes as I did.

There were a few mistakes I made. I was getting a bit chubby before I started running so I put myself on a calorie restricted diet. I had never run that distance before so my body went through quite a bit of adaptation while I was increasing my mileage. On top of that I was lifting weights and trying to make progress there too. It became too much. Whether it was a cortisol buildup / too taxing on my CNS / over-training or what I don't know but I couldn't do everything I was trying to do. I stopped lifting and just focused on running. 6 months or so later I had lost the weight like I wanted to but when I went back to lifting it was shocking how much strength I had lost along with it. I didn't stick with it long enough to get to my prior level and since then fell out of my fitness routine. Its good to be lifting again.

I've been giving some thought to what I would do differently. I want to be able to do some running next summer. No marathons, mind you. First, I would eat more. There are calculators online that can tell you how many calories you burn while running. I would replace those in my diet over the course of the week. Second I would try to find a good maintenance volume for lifting or at most a program with a very moderate progression - and training weights but not with the intention of getting a lot stronger but rather simply maintaining strength. Its definitely something I'm going to want to plan for when the weather improves next May/June.

[Petermac7644]

Peter - nice progress. I am 36, 5'10", 177 lbs, and also have a toddler. We have some similarities!

I have run through most of my LP earlier this year, but had a long layoff, so I am running it again. I rest 5 minutes (maybe a little more) between work sets. The rule on rest between warm ups is only as long as you need (really shouldn't be very long until you are lifting really heavy weights). Check out Barbell Medicine and see what they have to say about rest periods (they are medical doctors).

Please take this as constructive criticism: you do not need hook grip nor straps until you are deadlifting close to 400. We just aren't hitting enough reps at a heavy enough weight this soon in the program to need those things. Use alternate grip with chalk!

Hey

I work out at 4:30AM and tip-toe around my gym praying that the little one doesn't wake up early. This morning she got up just as I was about to dead-lift. She and her bunny got to watch my last set.

I do need to get some chalk. I used to do a bit of climbing but gave it up a few years back. I donated a really nice chalk bag to my local climbing club. Never thought I'd need that again but now I wish I had kept it!

[cmw76]

Thanks for the insight Peter. I'll deload next week (yes the marathon is a month out) and just lift for maintenance while I prepare for the run.
I'll be following your progress and am going to start my own log on here after I recover from the run. These forums are a big help.

[Petermac7644]

Oct. 19

Success

Weighed in at 182

180lb Squat 5/5/5

137.5lb Bench 5/5/5

No sawhorse spotters today. I was having trouble getting the bar un-racked and it was pre-exhausting my front delts a bit. Made some adjustments to my set-up and the bench felt stronger. Still challenging for sure but I didn't feel like I was going to fail at all.

105lb Power Clean 3/3/3/3/3

Hard to get all those Power Clean sets done and be finished inside of an hour. I did my bench warm up during my squat rest intervals and started power cleans in between benching and just barely got it all done. The Power Cleans were light so I only rested 2-3 minutes between sets. I'm going to have to wake up earlier when the Power Cleans start feeling heavy again.

One thing I'm a bit concerned about is getting enough practice with the clean movement given how infrequent the Power Clean is being done. Would it be terrible to perform a few light Power Cleans as back off sets after the deadlift? Or maybe I could do some power cleans as part of the warm up for the deadlift...

Going to increase power cleans by 5lbs/ session for awhile. Front Squats=Power Clean=Bench Press is something I'm interested in achieving and maintaining after I'm finished Novice LP. I've read that provides a good indicator of top-to-bottom muscle balance. I also just like doing these lifts so I'm looking forward to programming front squats when I switch over to HLM.

[Petermac7644]

Oct. 22

185lb Squat 5/5/5
115lb Press 5/5/5
245lb deadlift 5

Officially Squatting north of bodyweight. Felt strong so I went for another 15lb jump on the deadlift. I used overhand grip to see if my grip strength would hold up. Felt heavy in the hands but I got it done.

[misspelledgeoff]

Early in the warmup, yes it's as fast as I can get the plates on the bar. Last set or two I might rest a minute or two as well, mostly because I am old and lazy.

Thanks - I honestly just thought I should be resting to avoid accumulating fatigue prior to my work sets. What you suggested is pretty close to what I do. It sounds like you do these warm-up reps basically as fast as you can get the plates on the bar? I think I could probably manage that and just take a minute or two between the last warm up set and the first work set.

[Petermac7644]

Oct. 24

190lb Squat 5/5/5
140lb Bench 5/5/5
110lb Power Clean 3/3/3/3/3


Success but.... I tweaked my back. I'm pretty sure it happened on the 3rd rep of the last working set of squats. I let my focus slide and let go of my bracing at the bottom of the hole. Back rounded and my hips moved forward. I finished the set. During the power cleans I noticed my lower back was tight but I finished the workout. Then an hour later picking up my daughter I felt it. I definitely pulled something in my lower back. Bending over to tie my shoes is like preparing for a heavy deadlift right now. I'm hoping this clears up before Friday.

I was happy with the bench press. The changes I made have put me back en route to making steady progress.

[Petermac7644]

Oct. 26
Back still tweaked. I would say its a mild strain. Pain is in the lower lumbar on the left side. Not taking anything for it. It felt much better yesterday and I decided to try and get some work done in the gym.

I worked my way up to 195 on the Squat and got 4 reps. Back felt fine through the warm-up until the weight got heavy. As long as my form was as perfect as my skill level allows I wasn't worried about making it worse. That being said I didn't want to risk form breakdown. I did a couple back-off sets at 175.

Worked my way up to 117.5 on the Press and got three reps. Did a couple back off sets at 105

Worked my way up to a 255lb heavy single on the deadlift. I didn't bother with a back-off set because by then my back was pretty tired. Bending over to put 45lb plates on the bar for deadlift was probably the worst part.

Hopefully the weekend does my back some good.

[positronbomb]

Oct. 19
One thing I'm a bit concerned about is getting enough practice with the clean movement given how infrequent the Power Clean is being done. Would it be terrible to perform a few light Power Cleans as back off sets after the deadlift? Or maybe ..........

Just do power cleans with an empty bar as frequently as you like.
Getting the technique right is more important than adding weight as adding weight makes it harder to get the technique right.
Timing the jump perfectly is critical in terms of making good progress with this lift.
When it's done correctly it's effortless and it's easy to progress.