Press was close today, lots of face making on the 5th rep of the 2nd and 3rd set.
Deadlift was heavy but easier than I expected, I pre-pulled to get set and tight, shoulders back and down (wrt my back). That helped quite a bit. That and saying it’s just 10lbs more and not thinking about the total.
Squats I did 1 sec pauses at the bottom of each warmup (thanks Carson) and that seemed to help find the spot on the work sets.
Submitted a squat and deadlift form check in the forum, I’ll see if they make the cut.
Summary
Sat 3-13-21
Body 212.2
Fat 28.4
Squat 125
Press 70
Deadlift 180
Hill climb 32:39
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Last edited by Richard Durbin; 03-13-2021 at 10:31 PM.
Now, now, Mr. Bingley. Sully entices me my saying three things "Many people 1/2 your age can't do them. But you have enough shoulder mobility to do them." Or he says "until you learn to love them you won't advance." Finally, he threatens me by saying "OHP 5 x 3 every session until you get them right." Still, there's the nagging fear that these may indeed be "Satan exercise" and I don't want to have anything to do with that fellow.
Richard, I doubt that you are in Illinois since there are no hills in Il except for the southern tip or in the far NW corner. Still, you have a name of a senator from Ill. who is a real SOB. You aren't related to Senator Richard Durbin of Ill, are you?
I've found this video very helpful. I've rehabbed both a torn labrum and rotator cuff with this.
Having had a rotator cuff tear long before starting strength, and going thru "normal rehab", all I can say is I'll never do that again.
Now I do it with my press as a precaution. I figured to get a head start on the next injury... which never came, so I just continued.
https://startingstrength.com/video/shoulder_rehab
Once I got to "normal weights" I went back to normal reps, and did a similar number of the Arcs.
I suspend straps from my rack, which seemed a better option than my dry wall ceiling in the garage.
Ok so feedback on my squats was gotta get lower to even post form checks, and the bar is too high...
So now I squat all the way down, like if I took a nap I wouldn’t sag any lower, just tip over. I’ll post that for a follow up.
Going low is mostly mental, so hopefully I have fixed that finally.
The bar too high is more physical and I continue to work that flexibility. In the beginning I had to work to keep the bar down off my neck. This last time I felt it touching the top of that scapula bone - real progress. Looking forward to a proper low bar squat in a few more weeks.
Deadlift feedback was I’m pulling with my back first such that I’m dragging the bar over my bent knees.
I’m trying to fix this but am struggling with the timing... legs first then back? Legs and back together? Race between legs and back with knees locked before the bar pulls past?
I’ll post a follow up and ask for cues.
......
Squatted the same weight as last time to focus on full, no really, full depth.
Deadlift felt pretty heavy, had a moment of doubt on the first rep. Kept at it for all 5.
Strangely the 5th didn’t feel any harder than the first. I do take a breather between pulls, watching the video is a bit humorous. I’m at risk of turning 1x5 into 5x1.
Oh, today I wore the belt I ordered, that’s different. And I finally got some spring clips which kept the plates from moving after each deadlift clunk down.
Oh, also today the bench was a little slow going up. Like my triceps were doing all the work with my elbows angled like we’re supposed to. So I widened my grip a couple inches. That helped quite a bit.
Summary
Tue 3-16-21
Body 213.2
Fat 29.1
Squat 125 (full depth, no really)
Bench 110
Deadlift 190 (only 10lbs more, only 10lbs more - like Dorothy)
Hill climb 40:50
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Last edited by Richard Durbin; 03-17-2021 at 12:32 PM.
Ok spoiler alert. Giant wall of text below that says after a month I’m happy so far....
I like the idea of this log mostly as a way to leave thoughts, notes, and training history to future me. Comments, encouragement, advice from others are a big part too.
But I really want to remember why I decided to do this and what life was like before. Not that it was bad or anything, but there are reasons I was looking to exercise.
So, how did I get here?
In my twenties I dislocated my shoulder. No big deal, but after that I dislocated it again in my thirties. I never did therapy or anything, just babied it a bit and didn’t do anything at the extremity of motion that it was susceptible.
Also sometime or another I hurt my back, again no big deal, just a sprain. So again after that I babied my back. Pick up with your legs, brace with one hand lift with the other. See the pattern? That hurt don’t do that again.
Now I wasn’t afraid of soreness, just scary hurt.
Also about every five or ten years I’d say, man I should exercise. So I’d exercise for a month or two and say, hmm I’m in better shape than I thought. And quit.
This served my well enough into my early 50s, after all I was an able bodied male. Not athletic, but you know, jog a bit, mountain bike a bit, yard work, house repairs, etc.
In my late 50s I noticed that my strength that I always took for granted was waining. So I started walking the dog up my hill, riding a bike to work up that same hill, using some dumbbells, run/walking 5k.
But I found that my knees didn’t like running down hill, falling off my bike hurt more than it should (clip in pedals, happens once to everyone I’m told).
So I thought, I need more strength so that if/when I trip over a hose in the yard, I don’t plant my face due to week arms.
So I found a weight training 5x5 app and started with my adjustable dumbbell set. Squatting, pressing, faking deadlifting as best I could.
I did this twice a week for a few weeks until the dumbbells got too hard to hoist to my shoulders to squat. I was going to need real equipment to continue.
I don’t really remember how I found Starting Strength except that it was a competing app on my iPhone. But I liked the community aspect and the form checks. So I ordered a barbell, some weights, a rack and got started a mere month ago.
I’ll summarize that progress in another more succinct post and do that monthly. But I can already tell a significant difference, to me anyway. The garbage bag is no longer a strain to hoist into the bin. Just slightly leaning over the kitchen sink doesn’t bother my back like it used to. Just standing still in one place used to bother my back. My feet feel more planted when I walk. When I stretch, the involuntary kind - not the yoga kind, I can feel more “me” just about everywhere.
I still weigh about the same and my belly still measures about the same, but that layer of fat elsewhere is fading a bit and I can feel, if not more, then certainly firmer muscle underneath.
And all this without the soreness I expected. Oh sure a tinge here and there but nothing to speak of. Yes there have been a couple times I reached for the ibuprofen, but that was really user error. Like doing a deadlift funny.
So yeah, I’m a convert. I deadlifted 190 the other day, squatted 125. These are things I wouldn’t have dared to try. I was extra careful bring the 50lb bag of rice from the car to the kitchen. You know, so I don’t hurt myself.
So like I said, wall of text just to say, happy after my first month.
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When I was shamed into starting strength training at age 66 I weighed 244 with waist at 44 and chest about the same. I walked off about 30 pounds before I actually started because I was embarrassed at how flabby I had become. Within a year I had a 48 inch chest and a 38 inch waste and weighed 215. I'm now about 225 with chest 49 and waist around 40. I can lift things I never thought I could. I'm glad to still be at it at 74. Never give up.