Road to novice

[adm]

Squat: 121kg (266lb)
Bench press: 74kg (162lb)
Deadlift: 103kg (226lb)

Squat felt heavier than I expected, the second time it hoped it would be easier. Bench was a bit more difficult than previously. Deadlift was worse then previously, I went completely out of breath. General observation is that my tight hamstrings make my squat and deadlift form more difficult. I need to keep working on that.

[adm]

Squat: 123kg (270lb)
Press: 45kg (99lb)
Deadlift: 106kg (233lb)

I didn't feel much energy before the training but once it started it was better. Squat was a bit odd, some of the reps felt very heavy, some were easier than those during the previous session. I guess this is kind of inconsistency in the form. I needed a couple of breaths before most of the reps and my left hip was annoying me especially during the first set. Press was clearly heavier than previously, the last reps in the second and third set were barely completed. Deadlift was very difficult or maybe more correct it would be to say that it was very exhausting. I was nearly seeing darkness after each rep and was breathing really heavily. I don't recall similar attractions when I was deadlifting before (event that 117kg did not cost so much energy). Form was for sure not perfect but not too bad either. I consider this workout as tough but eventually successful.

[adm]

Squat: 125kg (275lb)
Bench press: 75kg (165lb)
Deadlift: 109kg (239lb)

Squat was really heavy, everything above 120kg is a real challenge but no drama yet. Bench press was not easy, like usually thee 5th reps are especially tough but I had that strange calmness that I knew I could it and I did it. Deadlift was ridiculous, the whole set took me 3 minutes. Setting proper position is just super hard and either I'm not build for that, have massive mobility problem or doing something completely wrong. Generally first 2 reps are not too bad, before 3rd I need a couple of deep breaths, before the 4th I'm panting like a train and need to straighten my legs as my quads start burning, before the last one it is like 4th but only worse. Anyhow the session has been successful after all and now two days of rest.

[adm]

Squat: 127kg (279lb)
Press: 46kg (101lb) 5,5,4 failed
Deadlift: 112kg (246lb)

Squat is getting close to the previous result and it is getting super heavy as well. Press... not this time, after the fourth rep lactic acid simply killed me. I did another set of 4 to fulfill the volume. We will see how it goes next time. Deadlift was interesting. First of all the whole set took a lot less time and I have impression that setting the position was easier - I hope my stretching routine starts working but still enormous amount to work needs to be done. I'm not happy with the form of last two reps so I will repeat the same weight. In general I'm rather satisfied with this session, surely could be better but it is how it is.

[timr62]

You’ve done a great job working on your own. Love to see the progress!

[adm]

You’ve done a great job working on your own. Love to see the progress!

Hi timr62, calling it great is for sure too much, but thank you I appreciate it. Regardless of how the weight on the bar changes I see a lot of other benefits and I enjoy the process. Once again thank you!

[adm]

Squat: 129kg (283lb)
Bench press: 76kg (167lb)
Deadlift: 112kg (246lb)

Squat was heavy, no surprise here, but still I think it was heavier when I hit this weight before. Bench was not too bad, the day to hit 80kg seems to be slowly coming. In case of deadlift I decided to try the same weight as before with the belt on. It didn't really work. The problem is that when I bend to grip the bar I have to arch my back and the belt shifts. Effectively it makes setting back in the correct more difficult. The issue here is such that I can fix my back position (with some effort) once my shins touch the bar. If I could keep my back more or less straight like a normal person the belt would most likely not move. Stretching seems to help with that but it is just very slow process but I believe it will eventually be solved.

[adm]

Squat: 129kg (283lb)
Press: 46kg (101lb)
Deadlift: 115kg (246lb) 4 failed

In case of squat I decided to repeat the previous weight with a slightly different set of plates. I suspect this set is slightly heavier. Anyhow it didn't go well. In my first attempt I racked the bar after two reps. I rested a moment and tried again but attempt of the 4th rep ended on pins. Honestly at this point I was close to decision to skip the workout or at least squats. I rested about 8 more minutes and tried again. With a lot of effort this time 5 reps were completed. I was able to accomplish two other sets with similar rest periods. The form was not great. When I was done with those squats I felt so exhausted that I didn't want to continue but I decided to at least try. Press difficult, final reps in 2nd and 3rd set were kind of poor but technically all done. In case of deadlift warmup sets went quite well (maybe impression but this stretching may be slowly helping a bit) and even though I wanted to repeat 112kg I went for 115kg and after the fourth rep my hands were too sweaty for the last rep or maybe I had no more in the tank. I had been using chalk but due to laziness I didn't put more on before the work set which was obviously a mistake. Anyhow I dried my hands and pulled that last rep separately. It was very heavy so most likely even without the grip issue I would not pull all five in a single set. I decided to try this 115 and I didn't work, not a big deal. Honestly last two days I was a bit busy and effectively didn't sleep more than 5-6h. Was this the reason of how this workout looked like, hard to say. Now nothing more than to use the weekend to get more rest and see what is the next session going to bring.

[adm]

Squat: 129kg (283lb)
Bench press: 77kg (169lb)
Deadlift: 115kg (253lb)

Squat looked better than the last time but still didn't look well. Some reps looked good and some of them poorly. My left hip reminded about itself. It looks a bit like I returned to the point/weight I reached before. This time I will try to stay here and see if it is improves or not. Bench press was more difficult than previously but I recall more difficult sessions. Getting closer to 80kg is kind of exciting. This is really light considering how heavy I am but still as I failed at 70kg reaching 80kg would mean a real progress to me. Still a bit to go so not overexcitement at this point. In case of deadlift I tried the same weight again and this was ridiculous, it was more like a survival than a set. It felt way heavier than squat and it didn't look good either so no point adding more weight the next time. To summarize I kind of hit the wall. I will try to repeat weights for squat and deadlift until it looks more or less well. Maybe this is right decision or maybe it is not but I want to see what is going to happen.

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Body composition

	current	previous diff.	total diff.
Total:	102.1kg (224.6lb)	+1.0kg (+2.2lb)	+6.3kg (+13.9lb)
Fat:	19.9% 20.3kg (44.7lb)	+0.1kg (+0.3lb)	+1.5kg (+3.3lb)
Lean:	80.1% 81.8kg (179.9lb)	+0.9kg (+1.9lb)	+4.8kg (+10.5lb)

[adm]

Squat: 129kg (283lb)
Press: 47kg (103lb)
Deadlift: 115kg (246lb) 2 failed

First two sets of squats were not bad but the third set was bad. I got pain from the left part of sacral bone to the left calf. Press started badly, the last warm up set felt heavy and the first work set was barely completed. Second and third sets were a bit easier. Honestly I will be surprised if this works the next time but we will see. For now I will take it as a pass. Deadlift was essentially compromised by the back pain. It was manageable for warmup sets but not the work set, it was simply too painful. No one said it was easy.