starting strength gym
Page 1 of 25 12311 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 249

Thread: Legit Linear Progression

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    1,151

    Default Legit Linear Progression

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    Hi!
    24 y.o
    5"10 ft. (178 cm)
    178 lbs (81 kg)

    I started lifting weights pretty consistently about 2/3 years ago, and although I am still skinny, I got to a point during my boxing training where I was under 70 kg.
    I gained the last 5/6 kg in the last year.
    I tried doing the program a couple of times, failing for the usual reasons, besides the covid situation didn't make things easier.

    So I started back, hopefully with no interruptions this time, on September 7, after working out at a couple of different gyms during the summer, which helped me maintain some of my strenght
    The first 2/3 weeks I had a lot of problems with my deadlift technique for some reason (probably developed some bad habit during the summer by going to different gyms?)
    So I couldn't increase my DL and my squat was becoming hard to manage.

    The difference this time was, instead of making things up about how to solve it, I went back to the book and the videos, I recorded myself, I looked at some form checks and I realized I was basically doing a good morning squat, which was causing a burning sensation between my abs and my left hip on the way up.
    And I started deadlifting in weightlifting shoes instead of socks (even though it was never a problem before), also realizing I was keeping my back angle too horizontal and wasn't really concentrating on squeezing the lats and keeping the bar in contact with the leg. I was also having a lot of problems with getting light headed even with light weights, and I found out it was probably because I wasn't taking a big enough breath and keeping it "in my stomach", now it's a little bit better, also cause it's not as hot anymore.

    So after making these adjustements session by session, and also buying microplates (0.5 - 0.25 kg) so I could make any increment I needed, I'm finally seeing the results and feel confident that I'll keep making progress.
    For example, this week on Monday I only did a 1kg jump on the squat (from 115 to 116)
    and 1kg on the press (from 52,5 to 53,5), this allowed me to get to 117,5 on the squat o wednesday and 55 on the press tomorrow, whereas usually I would have increased by 2,5kg on Monday and probably gotten too fatigued failing to recover.

    My numbers at the end of this week will be:
    Squat 120kg - 264lbs
    Bench 82,5kg - 181,5lbs
    Press 55kg - 121lbs
    Deadlift 135kg - 297lbs

    I'll start doing Power Cleans from next week, which I used to replace with chin-ups or barbell rows because I couldn't get the technique down, but this time no excuses will be made and I'll follow the program to the letter. I'll probably start around 40% of my deadlift and work my way up to 50% pretty quickly, and then add chin-ups and back extensions when necessary.

    I hope this is useful information for people who get stuck early, just stick to the program, record and analyze yourself, what you feel like when you move can be very different that what you are actually doing, especially if you coach yourself.
    I will start posting my workouts here from now on.
    My hope is to carry on the LP for at least another 4-5 months and get to a 180kg DL, 160kg Squat, 100kg Bench, 70kg Press.
    You guys think that I can get there if I keep i
    increasing my weight to about 90kg?
    Last edited by francesco.decaro; 10-10-2020 at 03:50 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Location
    Wollongong, Australia
    Posts
    102

    Default

    Yes. Absolutely.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    1,151

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    1,151

    Default

    Today's workout

    Squat - 122,5 kg - 12.10.20 - YouTube

    Bench Press - 83,5kg - 12.10.20 - YouTube

    Power Clean - 50kg - 12.10.20 - YouTube

    New Bodyweight at 83kg

    Notes

    Squat
    Started wearing a belt today. It's a cheap one but very thick, so thick that I have a hard time tightening it properly because I can't unbuckle it, even by using the rack.
    But it still fits well and feels well a couple holes looser, and it serves the purpose of making the weight feel a lot lighter. I will keep using it until I need a better one.
    I also started using the advice given on one of the latest articles about closing in your grip after you've set up under the bar, and it really helps tightening things up.

    Bench Press
    I finally managed to have someone properly recording me, and the movement looks a lot better than it feels. I thought I was way more asimmetrical and slow.
    The gym's PT that you see in the back, actually told me that the reason I feel a bit "off" when I lay down on the bench, is because it's slightly tilted on the right side (my left side when laying down), but I guess it's not that big of a problem for them (commercial gyms, right?). And hopefully it won't be a problem for me.

    Power Cleans
    Started doing them today
    Warmed up learning the movement following all the steps (3 positions, jump and rack, slide below knee, slide to mid shin)
    I started with 50kg which was heavy enough to create some stress but light enough to allow me to focus on technique.
    The last rep of the last set (in the video) was actually the best one I did today.
    I will warm up repeating the learning steps for the next couple of sessions to really nail the technique (thankfully I seem to not be naturally inclined to arm pull, so I can learn this faster)

    Please feel free to give me some advice, especially on the new PCs

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    1,151

    Default

    Today's workout

    Squat - 125kg - 14.10.20 - YouTube

    Press - 56kg - 14.10.20 - YouTube

    Deadlift - 137,5kg (forgot to record myself)

    Notes:
    Today's Bw was 82,5kg

    Squat
    Felt pretty good, nothing much to add.
    I'll probably add 1,5kg on Friday and then try 127,5kg on Monday. The squat is becoming pretty intense and it might interfere with the next lifts if I exaggerate. I'm taking 6-7 minutes rests

    Press
    Felt pretty heavy. I had to stop on my 4th rep of the 2nd set and rest a little before doing the 5th. The 3rd set was definetely better, and I'm proud I could grind that 5th rep setting a new PR for my press.
    I wore a belt on the 2nd set just to try it but I got veryy light headed, which is why I set it down on the 4th rep. the last set I chose to not wear a belt or straps thinking that mabye they were constricting my blood flow.
    I'll probably only add 0,5kg next time just to make sure I don't fail or hurt myself.
    Rest between sets was 5 minutes

    Deadlift
    Was pretty good. I'm starting to take a few more seconds between reps but not too long. Last rep was a little in front of mid foot. I'm becoming faster in my set up though.

    Overall it was a good workout and I set new PRs, so progress is being made.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Walled Lake, Michigan
    Posts
    6,681

    Default

    Concerning Deadlifts: You are not supposed to take rests between each lift. You should be doing all five in under 30 seconds. If you cannot then redo the same weight at the next sessions until you can. Otherwise your form looks good except for your note that sometimes the weight is too far forward.

    What can you lift without straps?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    1,151

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by carson View Post
    Concerning Deadlifts: You are not supposed to take rests between each lift. You should be doing all five in under 30 seconds. If you cannot then redo the same weight at the next sessions until you can. Otherwise your form looks good except for your note that sometimes the weight is too far forward.

    What can you lift without straps?
    You should take enough time to take a breath and set up, right? My main concern is getting light headed if I rush it so I wanna make sure I have enough air. They weren't huge gaps anyway, probably less than 9-10 seconds

    Without straps I would have to guess mabye 127,5/130 kg? I hate the hook grip and when I tried it the bar slipped anyway, mabye I should put on a lot of chalk. And I really don't wanna do a reverse grip either, it feels weird.
    I think today's bar position on the last rep was mainly my fault for not setting up right/being fatigued. I'll try putting on 1kg only on my next deadlift session and shorten the time between reps.

    One thing I forgot to point out was my sessions are around 2hrs long now and I feel like I should bring something to eat or drink mid workout even tho I have a big breakfast before working out and some black coffee, especially before the deadlift cause I really got tired today.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    1,151

    Default

    Bodyweight: 82,8kg

    Workout:

    Squat - 127,5kg - 16.10.20 - YouTube
    Bench Press - 85kg - 16.10.20 - YouTube
    Power Clean - 55/50kg - 16.10.20 - YouTube

    Notes:
    Squat
    I tried tightening the belt and it felt better. Still feel like the technique could improve but overall felt good, hard enough.

    Bench press
    Had to take a 20" rest between rep 4 and 5 of the 2nd set, I was afraid I couldn't lift it and it wasn't safe. On my 3rd set I asked a guy to help me unrack the bar and could actually finish the set. Technique looks ok to me but I'm probably approaching a plateau just like in my press.

    Power Cleans
    Warmed-up using the teaching progression and tried 55kg as a working set weight. Technique was off, I was jumping backwards and was unable to properly rack the bar in one movement. I had a little bit of pain on the inside of my left elbow which showed up during the bench, mabye it contributed to this problem.
    I did 50kg on the last set and it felt a bit better. I was probably fatigued and couldn't concentrate.
    I'll go back to the book and the videos and see if I can do 52,5kg properly next time.

    I put 40g of maltodextrins in my water and I will do that every time I train from now on, and also started taking creatine. I've never taken it so I'm curious to see the effects in a few days, mabye it can help me recover faster during the workout and be less fatigued on my last exercise.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    1,151

    Default

    Bodyweight: 83kg
    Workout

    Squat - 130kg - 19.10.20 - YouTube

    Press - 56kg - 29.10.20 - YouTube

    Deadlift - 137,5kg - 19.10.20 - YouTube

    Notes:
    Squat felt ok, probably too much forward knee travel at the bottom

    Tried 56kg again on the press, was able to not fail all 3 sets but still heavy. I have a hard time keeping the elbows in front during the set.

    Warm-up sets on the deadlift felt good and with correct technique, but the working set was pretty much as bad as the one on Wednesday, only I took shorter breaks between reps. I tried doing 1 rep without the wraps and it wasn't slipping out of my hands, but it felt like it was going to after a couple reps, so I put on the wraps.
    I was rocking back before initiating the movement and pushing the bar forward, causing back flexion. Mabye I should lower the weight until I can get a perfect technique.

    The shittiest news tho, is the prime minister of Italy threatening to close all gyms within one week, and he gave, in my opinion, a fake ass warning even though he's gonna close them anyway.
    If this is true, gyms will stay closed for at least a few weeks, and I have no way to train elsewhere, so goodbye gains and f**k covid.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    1,151

    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    Workout:

    Squat - 131kg - 21.10.20 - YouTube
    Bench Press - 85kg - 21.10.20 - YouTube
    Power Clean - 50kg - 21.10.20 - YouTube

    Notes:
    Squat felt good, still have to fix my chest failing to catch up with my hips out of the bottom, when I get tired.
    I'll make only 1kg increments from now on to keep the squat steadily going up without fatiguing myself too much during the session. Rest was 7 minutes.

    I did 85kg on the bench again, just like I did for the press, and this time it was definetely better, I asked for help to unrack the bar on all 3 sets which I think helped, although I still felt a little discomfort on my left arm which seems to originate from my scapula muscles/traps, it doesn't seem like I'm messing something up with my left arm, so it could be the damned tilted bench that this gym doesn't want to change. Anyway it was a weaker sensation than last time. Rest was 7 minutes

    Power Cleans went much better, I only did 50 kg cause I wanna be able to fix form issues. My biggest ones are jumping a little backwards and racking the bar between the delts and the collarbone, instead of the meat of the delts. These two problems are probably related, mabye I set my jumping position too high. Everything else seems ok, I'm positive I will improve as the weight gets a bit heavier and I can be more explosive off the ground. Rest was 3 minutes

    Overall I felt less fatigued and more energetic, probably due to training a little bit later in the morning instead of right after waking up, eating a protein milkshake, 60/70g of maltodextrins and creatine before training, although I doubt that the creatine is having such a quick effect since I've only been taking it for less than a week, around 5-10g/die.
    I'm also going back to tracking my macros and stop intuitively eating cause that seems to make me eat less.
    Today's macros are 202P, 384C,131F for a total of 3550 calories. I'l try to increase carbs up to 430-450 and lower the fats to 100-110.
    Last edited by francesco.decaro; 10-21-2020 at 03:50 PM.

Page 1 of 25 12311 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •