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Thread: Less weak than last week

  1. #251
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    • starting strength seminar april 2024
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    Yep, it will work.

    I realized, just as I unracked my first heavy squat for the day, that I should have clarified. One Intensity set per week per lift, backoffs if you have time.

    Using your squats today as an example, if you had to head out on the road again for the next two weeks, next week you'd do 320x5 + backoffs (if time allows), then 325x5 + backoffs (if time allows) the following week. That would get you back on track to 320x5x3 the week that you'd return, so no resets. It has worked well for me. And it works well with two sessions/week, which is pretty much what I'd do during the meat of the snowboarding season.

  2. #252
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    Jul 2016
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    Knoxville, TN
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    20 May 2023
    Weight: 208
    Squat: 320
    Press: 125x4,4,3,2,2
    Deadlift: 375

    So begins Nick's "15 at all costs" press stage. This time I know to just keep going rather than struggle with 3 sets of 5.

    I missed Thursday due to work demands. This is the new normal, such as it is. So long as I get two workouts in a week, I seem to keep progress going. The bigger issue today was a lack of food yesterday. I had to miss lunch and ended the day well underfed. Throughout the workout, I had a bit of low blood sugar kind of feeling, so I took extra rests. Got it done, even though I had serious doubts about the deadlift. I didn't do chins because I had sewing machine hands after deads, and I was starving.

    Bar don't lie. Onward and upward.
    Last edited by David Hooper; 06-03-2023 at 02:37 PM. Reason: Fixed the month.

  3. #253
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    27 May 2023
    Weight: 207
    Squat: 325
    Bench: 167.5
    Power Clean: 137.5
    Banded Chins: 10, 7, 6

    Had a medical appointment this week that required a liquid diet for a couple days, so I missed both midweek gym times since I couldn't fuel properly. Today went well enough, though. I do need to repeat the power clean weight. My biggest problem is not getting under the bar to catch it. It's getting high enough; I'm not low enough.
    Last edited by David Hooper; 06-03-2023 at 02:37 PM. Reason: Fixed the month. Calendars, how do they work?

  4. #254
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    31 May 2023
    Weight: 209
    Squat: 330
    Press: 130x3, 125x4,3,3,2
    Deadlift: 385x3 (fail)

    Should have been going for 127.5 on the press. I misread the logbook.

    I couldn't hold my back on the deadlift. On the second set, I felt it round out. On the third, I squeezed as hard as I could, but it was even worse. The set was already lost, so I stopped before injuring myself. Three potential culprits: the lack of regularity over the last couple weeks, fatigue from the squats, and fatigue from having spent all day Monday repairing the roof on my shed. I'm rearranging work schedules to try to open up more consistent workout times. It's also time to add the light squats to deadlift day.


    1 June 2023
    Weight: 209
    Bench: 170
    Power Clean: practice up to 135x2
    Chin: 6,5,4

    I came in to bench, similar to what I was doing on intermediate training before my long layoff. I wanted to get both presses back on schedule. I then practiced power cleans but kept from turning it into a work day due to back fatigue. This turned out to really help later on.


    3 June 2023
    Weight: 209
    Squat: 335
    Press: 127.5x3,3,3,1,2,2,1
    Power Clean: 137.5
    Chin: 6,5,5

    Squats had a lot of 'good morning' action in the first couple sets. Cleaned it up, and the third set was easily the most solid. Bad bar pathing in the press turned it into a grind.

    Power cleans went great. The earlier practice really paid off as I was finally catching it in a half/quarter squat position with the bar crashing on my shoulders. I focused harder on setting the back before starting, and mentally cued "rack" before starting the lift.
    Last edited by David Hooper; 06-10-2023 at 12:41 PM. Reason: Fixed typos

  5. #255
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    6 June 2023
    Weight: 209
    Light Squat: 275x5, 295x5
    Bench: 172.5x5,5,4,1
    Deadlift: 385x4
    Chin: 5,4,4

    Added light squats to prevent interference with deadlifts. 295x5x2 is probably about right at the moment. It also provides more headspace to focus on things like depth and pace. The bench is now into '15 at all costs' territory. Deadlift was so freaking close. That's what I get for the long gaps in training the last couple weeks, though. Bodyweight chins don't do well immediately after deadlifts. Noted.

    8 June 2023
    Weight: 210
    Squat: 340
    Press: 130x3,3,3,2,2,2
    Power Clean: 140

    Skipped chins because my shoulder was sore and felt like it was wrenched. Press was slightly better than the previous go, likely due to slightly better bar pathing. Cleans were rougher because I was struggling to get low enough. That'll be an issue until I erase the old motor memories.

    10 June 2023
    Weight: 209
    Light Squat: 295x5x2
    Bench: 175x5x4x3x3
    Deadlift: 385x5
    Banded Chin: 10,7,7

    Felt like I was favoring the sore shoulder a bit on the bench. It's better today but still a bit sore. Got the deadlift even though I had burps and reflux on the first two reps that forced me to slow down until they passed. That made the last rep a real grind.

    I guess I'm into something of an advanced novice phase now. I could probably do heavy squats every day still, but I can't do that and continue to make progress on deadlifts, so I now have light squats to prevent interference. Both presses are running out 15 reps until it becomes a ridiculous number of singles, at which point I'll probably back the weight up once to regain reps per set and run it out again. It worked alright before. Chins are improving slowly.

  6. #256
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    13 June 2023
    Weight: 211
    Squat: 345
    Press: 132.5x3,3,2,2,2,1
    PC: 142.5

    Need to be careful of depth on squats. I had to cut presses short a bit as they were taking too long and I was time limited. I also need to switch to five sets of 3; I burned myself up trying for the 4th on the first set, and it made the rest a grind. Clean was inconsistent. It still comes down to whether I get under the bar. Just a bad habit I haven't quite unlearned.

    15 June 2023
    Weight: 211
    Light Squat: 295x5x2
    Bench: 177.5x4,3,3,3,3
    Deadlift: 395x4
    Banded Chin: 10,8,7

    Bench needs to move to sets of 3 while running out Nick's 15 protocol. I was slow on the deadlift, which probably cost me the last set.

    17 June 2023
    Weight: 212
    Squat: 350
    Press: 132.5x3,3,3,3,2,1
    Power Clean: 145
    Chin: 8,6,4

    Much better all the way around. Squat was solid. On the press, I didn't try the hero 4th rep on the first set and it went better. I'll move the weight up now. Mostly better on the clean, with a couple bad catches that required repeat attempts.

    A good time to evaluate the First Three Questions. I'm sure my rest is fine - 4 to 5 minutes for most things. Sleep is pretty good - 7-8 hours consistently and deeply. Perhaps food could be upped. I'm in the 3000-3500 calorie range (usually closer to 3500) and weight is still going up. Maybe upping veg and protein would be helpful. Either way, I'm getting close to end of NLP, based on my last run and being 2 years older now. I could really use a way to squeeze four pressing days in a week. That was very beneficial last time at around these weights.

    Next week is travel. I think I can get three days in, but it's not a certainty. Getting sufficient food is the trickier part, honestly.

  7. #257
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    24 June 2023
    Weight: 209
    Squat: 350x5x1
    Bench: 177.5x3x5
    Deadlift: 385x4

    Last weekend, after writing last week's log, I must have ate something that disagreed with me. A full factory reset of the GI system ensued, depriving me of one to two days of food. It wasn't an infection so I still made the work trip, but ended up not getting to a gym while on travel. Following Grant Broggi's advice after a gap in training, I repeated my last squat for one set to avoid DOMS. I'll repeat the weight next heavy squat day for three sets and move from there. Bench was just a repeat and went well. I repeated the last successful weight on deads and should have had it, but after the third rep, the bar had shifted to the right. It put me off balance when attempting the fourth pull, so I had to set it down and try again. Got the fourth, but ate up enough energy that I missed the fifth. I'll repeat 385 again and consider 5 lb jumps from here.

    Too early to tell on the DOMS, but I feel good about what I accomplished after last week's interruptions. I now have my starting block on everything except presses and power cleans, which will happen next workout.
    Last edited by David Hooper; 07-01-2023 at 01:19 PM. Reason: Fixed typo

  8. #258
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    27 June 2023
    Squat: 350
    Press: 132.5x3,2,3,2,1,1,1,1
    PC: junk

    Good news was no DOMS. Bad news was the press was sluggish. I had a couple reps where I floated the bar forward on the way down, killing the next rep. Ugly news was the cleans. I made just about every mistake in the book. No consistency whatsoever. Even worse, I had one catch at 145 that was stiff-legged and bent backward. It jarred my lumbar spine hard enough to affect the rest of the week.

    29 June 2023
    Squat (light): 275x5x2
    Bench: 180x3x5
    Power Clean (therapy): doubles up to 140

    Lower back was still hurting quite a bit from the prior mess of a workout, so I approached today as a healing session. Squats as high as tolerable for two sets of 5. On power cleans, I started with empty bar hang cleans and rebuilt everything. As usual, cleans are magic at relieving back pain and I eventually got to 140 with much, much better technique.

    01 July 2023
    Weight:210
    Squat (light): 315x5x2
    Press: 132.5x3x3x3x2x2x2
    Deadlift: 385

    Back felt okay today, so I made it a deadlift day to try to get them back on track. Squats were solid with no lower back complaints. Press was much better. I'm still close to either resetting for three sets of 5 (that worked once last NLP run) or moving to intermediate with a volume/intensity 2xweek program. After the last NLP run, I know when to not beat my head against a wall on presses. Deadlift was the star today. I was ready to lower the load a bit if the back complained, but my last warmup was so strong, I repeated 385 to get going again. Smooth with a solid final rep.

  9. #259
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    Gang aft agley.

    03 July 2023
    Weight: 210
    Squat: 355
    Press (volume): 120x5x5
    Power Clean: 140x3x3, 142.5x3x2

    Squat was fine. With the 4th of July holiday, I had great plans to get in a week of intermediate pressing. Volume press on Monday and volume bench Tuesday, with intensity on Thursday/Saturday. Press went well enough. On the power clean, I wanted to reinforce good technique at a heavy weight. 140 was moving well, so I upped to 142.5. I was quite gassed at the end. It may be that heavy squats affect my cleans as well as deadlifts. It seemed to be a thing, looking back at my prior NLP. Something to track.

    04 July 2023
    Bench (volume): 160x5x5
    Chin: 7,6,6

    Probably could have done a bit more on the bench, but it was a solid weight for the first volume day. Chins went well, for having not done them in a bit.

    08 July 2023
    Weight: 211
    Squat (light): 315x5x2
    Press: 135x3,2x6
    Deadlift: 395
    Chins (at home): 8,7,6

    Workplace demands conspired to prevent me from lifting on Thursday or Friday, so my plan for 4 press days went out the window. Ah, well. I kept throwing the bar forward on the press, which killed third attempts on a few sets. The deadlift was solid. I'm feeling good about 405 next time.

    That said, next week has a work trip that may prevent me from getting a deadlift session in. It all depends on if I can get the time to go to a good gym while on the road.
    Last edited by David Hooper; 07-08-2023 at 03:20 PM. Reason: Added chins, which I decided to do after posting.

  10. #260
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    Jul 2016
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    starting strength coach development program
    No workouts for the week of July 9-15. Work travel conspired against me, and the two evenings I might have had free to hit a gym did not happen. I'll do re-entry workouts to start next week, and resume from there. I have more travel at the end of the month, but I'll maintain the progress as best as I can and see if I can get some training in on the next trip.

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