starting strength gym
Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 34

Thread: 45 y/o, first LP, sedentary, one bad knee, keto?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2021
    Location
    Pasadena, CA
    Posts
    30

    Default 45 y/o, first LP, sedentary, one bad knee, keto?

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    During the pandemic I bought squat rack in August 2020 and dabbled with YouTube-informed powerlifting, also sort-of worked out in the park. Stopped exercise in 2021, de-conditioning occurred. Swallowed my pride and bought “Barbell Prescription” in May 2021 and got started on my own. No coach or supervision, just a mirror and a phone-camera.

    Previously held goal: 180 lbs, 20% body fat (~150 lbs lean mass)
    New goal: Get as strong as I can while I still can, and stay sexy lol

    Diet:
    Ate pizza and burritos at-will for much of the pandemic, along with ice cream and boozes. Stress eating. Mostly sober since Nov. 2020. Did a month of a keto diet before starting LP, dropping body fat % from 26% to 22%. As of this writing I’m still half-assing keto, with carbs around 50g, no diet log. Measuring acetone in breath in the mornings with a keto breathalyzer, am staying in the “dietary ketosis” range.

    Limitation:
    Injured knee twice in 2018, first from aggressive commercial gym use: discovered leg-presses were weak, exercised 15-rep sets for endurance => patellar tendonitis(?) in right knee. Two months later, tore *something* on the inside of my right knee while hiking, unsure if muscle or ligament. Some muscle atrophy occurred, right quads slightly smaller than left. Saw PT who prescribed bodyweight squats and massage. One-legged squats too hard ever since.

    Medications:
    - Depakote (epilepsy)
    - Lisinopril (pre-hypertension, high BP)
    - Levothyroxine (slight hypothyroidism)

    Exercise history
    - Mountain biking and backpacking during teens.
    - Relatively active in late-20s (yoga, capoeira).
    - Sedentary through 30s and early 40s, (computer programmer, video games). on/off use of weightlifting machines at commercial gyms.
    - Never did a deadlift before 2019. Did a Smith Machine squat once in a blue moon.
    - Born 9 weeks early. (not sure if this impacts adult muscle tissue at all, but I’ve always “felt” thinner and smaller than my peers, could be some sort of BDD though)

    And, all that is probably too much info, but what the heck. Nice to meet you all, fellow weightlifters.

    ==========

    Stats as of 5/17 before LP:
    - 5’ 11”
    - 179 lbs (195 in Nov. 2020)
    - 23% body fat (29% in Nov 2020) (impedance, Fitbit Aria)
    - 10RMs:
    - Squat 45 (full-depth)
    - Half-squat 135
    - Bench: 155
    - Deadlift: 205

    Typical diet through week 3 of LP: (keto-inspired, but I might bail soon)
    - Breakfast: Sausage scramble w/ potatoes/cheese
    - Keto shake w/ whey protein (water)
    - Lunch: Salami sandwich on keto bread (surprisingly tasty)
    - [Lift before dinner]
    - Dinner: Salad or veggies w/ meat
    - Before bed: Casein/Creatine shake (12 oz ultra-filtered lactose-free milk)
    - Supplements: Daily multivitamin, Omega-3 capsules

    Log thus far: (bench/squat x5x3, deadlift x5x1, clean x3x5):

    1M: Squat 45, Bench 135, Deadlift 185
    1W Squat 55, Press 55, Deadlift 195
    1F Squat 60, Bench 140, Deadlift 205

    2Su Squat 65, Press 65, Deadlift 215
    2Tu (Break for calf strain)
    2Th Squat 70, Bench 145, deadlift 225
    2Sat Squat 75, Press 75, Power Clean 50

    3M Squat 80, Bench 150, deadlift 235
    3W Squat 85, Press 85, Power Clean 55
    3F Squat 90, Bench 155, Deadlift 245
    3Sat 35 min HIIT w/stationary bike (Basecamp Fitness)

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2021
    Location
    Pasadena, CA
    Posts
    30

    Default

    Week 4 Monday
    Squat 95 x5x3: PASS
    - Felt a little weak during the first set. Took a break and got carbs and water (this worked before)
    - Second set felt amazing. Slow, nice and deep, bar under control.
    - Third set felt off. Knee is stiffening despite ample warm-up

    Press 95 x5x3: MISS!
    - Set 1: only 4 reps on 95
    - Set 2: only 4 reps on 90
    - Set 3: got 5 reps back down on 85 (5RM from last Wednesday)
    Considering using fractional plates from now on

    Power Clean 75x3x5: WTF
    Calf strain from week 2 still makes me timid here but there's no pain.
    First rep pulls the bar off the ground. After racking I'll squat down slowly and un-rack while standing up. This might tear my arms off with heavier weights but I don't have bumper plates here, and I'm lifting on concrete. Second and third reps start with the bar at thigh level.
    Honestly my form is still a mess on this one. I don't feel too comfortable going much heavier than this until I can rack it perfectly.

    One key takeaway from today's session is the realization that my knee tightness is probably exascerbated by my pelvis being at a bad angle, from sitting down all the time. If I curl my tailbone forward, then deadlifting and squatting is a tad easier.
    Last edited by wdkaye; 06-07-2021 at 09:56 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Location
    Phoenix-ish
    Posts
    2,004

    Default

    First off, welcome. Glad you're making this move. You've started later than some, earlier than others. But you've got enough years in the tank at this point to make lifetime strength gains. Embrace the process, be willing to stick around through the tough bits, and future-you will thank you.

    Quick testimonial: From 2008-2018, doing various silly programs including CrossFit, I slowly crept my 5-reps of the Big Four from ZERO up to 275 Squat, 145 Press, 225 Bench, 335 Deadlift. 10 years of goofing off.

    From 2018 to 2020, I went Full Rippetoe, and by COVID-shutdowns got up to 405 Squat (455 single), 207.5 Press (240 single), 327.5 Bench (365 single), 460 Deadlift (500 single). The Program (Blue Book, Gray Book, Barbell Prescription) works for those who work it.

    Some things I wanted to note:

    On press:

    Yes. Use the 2.5lb plates (so you can do 90 instead of jumping to 95). And definitely get some true microplates soon, if you haven't yet. I expect if you do 90 and 92.5, the next time you touch 95 it will fly right up. Don't feel wussy about baby plates (if that's any part of your hangup). I still use them for upper body lifts, with regularity.

    On bench:

    You haven't missed a rep yet. But keep an eye out, and switch to 2.5-lb jumps before you crash a rep. The goal is to make the least intrusive/minimum effective modification **slightly before** you would miss a rep. The sooner you learn to judge this, the longer your linear progress will go.

    On squat:

    Some concerns that your bench is higher than your squat. I expect this will fix itself. Glad you ate carbs.

    On power cleans and pulls in general:

    You're 45. ** Heresy Alert**Why are you doing them? If you love them keep them. If you don't love them, switch them out with some other light pull. My coach has me do more deadlifts for my "light pull." For instance: If your heavy pull is going to be 250x5, maybe on your "light pull" day, do 205x5x2. Or 205x3x3. Then when you get to that heavy-pull day where rep 5 comes up but rep 5 makes you contemplate euthanasia, switch your heavy pull to a pair of triples (Say that you grind out 295x5 just barely ... next heavy pull day, try 300x3x2).

    On bodyweight:

    **Orthodoxy Alert** Gain some. I know you recently made efforts to drop 16 pounds, and kudos to you on that. I know it's tough. But you're doing a different thing now: You're getting strong. Don't drink a gallon of milk a day (because you're not a 20-year-old testosterone factory), but work more calories in, and make sure the calories include sufficient carbs to drive effort. You and I are both 71 inches tall. I began LP at 193lbs, finished around 215, then slowly marched up to 227 as an intermediate lifter. For various reasons (including shutdowns and surgery) I'm only sitting at 218 right now. But I'm not even close to fat, and neither will you be if you let yourself pack on 1 to 3 lbs per week. Perhaps use a phase-up approach, allowing yourself to progress up to 190 for starters: A gain of 11lbs, over the course of 3 to 10 weeks. During that time, for the price of 11 pounds on your body, you'll likely add at least twice that to your press, 3x to your bench, 4x+ to your deadlift, and maybe 6x or more to your squat (since your squat is artificially depressed right now).

    On being a fellow old fart:

    At age 41 I went to a men's clinic, got my T tested, and began supplementing under physician's care. Consider doing similar if the option exists in your town.


    Enough rambling. Carry on and crush this thing, one session at a time. Slow and steady, brother.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2021
    Location
    Pasadena, CA
    Posts
    30

    Default

    Thanks Geoff, pleasure to meet you. I greatly appreciate the advice, and your testimonial is inspiring.

    Power cleans came from "Novice program 1B" out of the Barbel Prescription book, I've never done them in my life. It felt good to learn a new barbell exercise, it took me out of my comfort zone in a good way, and put stresses on parts of my body I hadn't felt before. I'll admit that I'm quite uncoordinated, and I may lack flexibility in the shoulders/elbows to really do the "rack" right. Per your advice, maybe I should observe "light pull days" instead, as I'm quite fond of the deadlift. And just maybe power-clean the empty bar for fun when time allows.

    Bodyweight needs to go up, no doubt. I haven't been counting my calories or tracking my macronutrients... that ends now. Using an iPhone app called "Cronometer" now. But I put "keto" in the title of this thread, so I feel inclined to try and stick with it? I've decided to try "Targeted Keto", "bracketing" carbs around a lifting session.

    Re: testosterone. I'm bald and covered with hair, not quite George "The Animal" Steele but pretty close. Hard to imagine T is low but anything's possible I guess. What sorts of "mens clinic" do you mean?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2021
    Location
    Pasadena, CA
    Posts
    30

    Default

    Week 4 Wednesday
    185 lbs, 23%BF
    Acetone: 0.6 ppm
    Macros: 79g carbs, 177g protein, 100g fat
    kcal eaten/burned: 2149/2319

    Squat: 100x5x3: PASS
    Today's squats felt really great. Focused on tucking tailbone and tightening abs before squat, then moving the hips back as the squat went down. Almost no knee problems at all. I wondered if I was skimping on the depth (there's a semi-reflective window in front of me, I'm wearing black track pants, can't really tell).
    - Set 3: I went all the way down and got caught a little bit. I got up through sheer effort - in the past, my right knee would turn inward ("knee valgus"?). I've taught my knee to not do that anymore, but today I felt my body compensating in some other way during that last deep rep, possibly rotating my hips slightly to favor the left leg. Immediately after, slight pain deep in my left groin. But I'm ready for 105 on Friday.

    Bench: 157.5: MISS
    Context: Pain in right shoulder (front deltoid or pectoralis minor) since last Friday's 5RM PRs on Bench and Deadlift. Saturday HIIT, Monday press miss, and sloppy power cleans didn't help. Did arm circles and ate a banana before warm up reps.
    Set 1: 157.5x5 but SLOW. Right shoulder only hurts when I lift the bar off the rack. Decided to rest extra-long before second set attempt
    Set 2: 157.5x4. Rep 5 failed low/near chest. Right shoulder flinched noticeably before first rep, but no new pain. Forgot to anchor my feet (engaging hamstrings) until rep 3.
    Set 3: 150x5 Dropped to below last Wednesday's 5RM PR, and actually this felt too easy. I could've done 7 reps, but I'd "lost my nerve" worrying about the shoulder. I guess I'll try for 156 next Monday if my shoulder feels better.

    Deadlift 255x5: PASS
    Feeling more and more comfortable with deadlifting. Hamstrings too tight or overstretched, so warmed up with some straight-leg deadlift negatives. Reps 1-3 felt great. Pretty sure I kept my lower back straight, which has been a challenge. Right knee still does feel odd/tight when I'm bringing the bar back down. Reps 4 and 5 though... oh man. Maximum effort. Struggle. But never felt "stuck". 265 next Monday, with a light pull session on Friday perhaps.
    Last edited by wdkaye; 06-10-2021 at 12:16 AM. Reason: formatting issues, added nutrition

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Location
    Phoenix-ish
    Posts
    2,004

    Default

    Brotha: If you love PC, keep PC. But Starting Strength coaches I've heard from seem to agree they're mostly a young man's game. I'm one of those poor souls who, when executing a PC, looks like a monkey f#$%ing a football. So I do lighter deadlifts instead.

    On testosterone stuff: An endocrinologist will check the general population results and tell you that if you're between 190 and 500ish, you're good to go. A men's clinic will tell you that a 21-year-old male has a walking T-rate around 850-1000 and say, "let's aim for that." So yeah, maybe you're not low compared to gen-pop, maybe you're not low for your age ... but if you're low compared to a 21-year-old, a good men's clinic will supplement you up to that level. The difference in recovery is profound. My doc keeps me right around 900-1000, and it's not a fountain of youth by any means, but the amount of punishment I can recover from has gone up markedly.

    In the Phoenix area, I used Vital4Men and paid 10 bucks a week because my National Guard insurance covered it. In the FLW area, now that I'm on Active Duty again, I go to Axis Rejuvenation and pay 180/month because Active Duty insurance doesn't cover it. Wherever your local area is, use Google search terms along the lines of "Testosterone Replacement Therapy near me" or "Hormone Replacement Therapy near me" and that should let you know what's in your area of operation.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2021
    Location
    Pasadena, CA
    Posts
    30

    Default

    Week 4 Friday
    184.9 lbs, 24.6%BF*
    Morning acetone: 1.20 ppm
    Macros: ? Backyard party occurred. Couldn't keep track.
    * I call BS on the impedance measure. As measured, my scale claims I lost 3 lbs lean mass and gained 3lbs fat in 2 days. Maybe it's possible but it feels like a false measurement. I'll believe what I want I guess.

    Squat 105x5x3: PASS
    - Still good control at this weight, great depth. Really feeling the burn in my lower back muscles, despite trying to keep a straight back. Might need to check my form with a video camera again.
    - Hard to describe, but it feels like my right foot (the side with the bad knee) isn't really pushing into the ground 100% at the beginning of the concentric movement (pushing up from the bottom of the squat). It's almost as if the ball of my foot isn't flat. Or maybe it's some kind of neuropathy. My right toes usually curl around the same time, I don't now if this is normal.
    - There's still some sort of subtle leftward shift at the bottom of my squat, if I stop paying attention to form.

    Press: 90x5x3: MISS
    - I screwed up. The log said I was supposed to do 87.5 on the over head press today, but I didn't look at the log and just loaded up to 90. Shoulder pain still an issue, affects right arm stability during movement. There's a very minute "click in the shoulder as I push the bar up off the rack at the beginning of the set.
    - 90x4: Failed on rep 5
    - 85x5: Firmed up the shoulder on the un-rack. Good control in this set, but it's still a struggle.
    - 85x5: My trunk muscles are engaged like never before. I used to do seated shoulder press in commercial gym, so this would be my body trying to break those limit. Time to go back to the book and study the nuances of the standing press.

    Deadlift (light): 205x5x2: PASS
    - Right knee tendonitis flared up during warm-up sets, did some light stretches until it went away, then proceeded with work sets without incident. It's weird, it's like a tendon or ligament is getting caught on something else and isn't moving without pain unless I coax everything in just the right way.
    - Set 1: solid. nothing special.
    - Set 2: Decided to experiment with form at this lighter weight. Tried dropping my butt down a little at the beginning of the pull, so I'm really pushing the ground with the legs instead of focusing so much on moving the hips forward. Felt better somehow. Need to review videos and SS book on the right way to start the Deadlift.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Chicago Burbs, IL
    Posts
    1,525

    Default

    This video helped me:

    https://startingstrength.com/video/shoulder_rehab

    Seriously, best video ever.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2021
    Location
    Pasadena, CA
    Posts
    30

    Default

    Week 5 Monday
    185.4 lbs, 23.8%BF
    Macros: IDGAF. Too much time to count, must get work done.
    **I'm giving up on keto for now. California beat Covid, we're opening up the bars. I'll probably be partying as much as possible. This ain't the right time to be a goody-two-shoes. Besides, I want glycogen.

    Squat 110x5x3: PASS (full squat PR)
    - Knee still felt bad after general warmup (15 min walk, leg circles, stretches, massage). Tendon feels tight.
    - Empty bar x5: still painful on center of kneecap. Tried hip circles.
    - Another empty bar x5: Feeling slightly better. Able to do ATG. Ready.
    - Warmup: 60x5, 80x5, 100x1
    - 110x5, Set 1: Slight sticking point on rep 2. Just kept grunting from here out. Right hip/quads still tight.
    - 110x5, Set 2: A little more comfy, went too deep on 3, but still got up. Felt a "click" in right quads.
    - 110x5, Set 3: Really good. No sticking, minimal weakness. Almost no kneecap pain, until I stepped forward to put the bar back on the rack.

    Bench: 156.5: PASS (PR)
    - Empty bar x5x4 - Several slow warmup sets for my aching shoulder. Seemed to help, and it's not as bad as last Wednesday, but still, it's been a week and a half. No bueno.
    - Warmup: 70x5, 95x3, 120x1, 145x1
    - Was planning just 156, a 1-pound increment, but I dreaded the snails-pace of 1-pound increments over weeks, and I was feeling kinda strong today. 1.5 pound increments it is.
    - 156.5x5, Set 1: This set was just a tad hasty. Right shoulder weak on unrack. Bar did not touch chest on rep 5. Trying to get through these sets before my arms gas out. Break for water. Accidentally chugged it all at once (Cali heat wave). Got water again.
    - 156.5x5, Set 2: Rep 5 slowed a bit, but I think I'm strong enough for this weight. As long as i keep my feet anchored and don't pause with the bar low for too long, I can pull this off.
    - 156.5x5, Set 3: PASS. F yeah. Almost gassed after 4, but did the thing where you pause at the top, breathe in and out rapidly 3 times and… the last rep was a success! I guess I'll be doing 158 next time?

    Deadlift 265: PASS (PR)
    - Empty bar warmup: straight-leg negatives. My patellar tendon is complaining a lot. Suddenly remembered the pelvic thrust revelation from last week. Seems to alleviate the knee pain. I should have more sex.
    - Warmup: 95x5, 145x3, 195x1, 245 x1
    - At this point I looked up to see two 7-year old twins peeking through the blinds of the second-story apartment overlooking my patio gym. The boys cheered and gave me a thumbs-up. I smiled and waved back. Thanks kids. Drink your milk, take your vitamins. Give barbells a try in 10 years. (it's a good thing I wasn't videotaping myself in my underwear today)
    - 265x5x1 - F yeah. It constantly blows my mind how I can just keep adding 10 lbs every 4-5 days to my deadlift. And I always think beforehand, "Y'know F this 1-set garbage, Imma try 2 sets, no pain no gain"... but god, this one was hard. Tried to focus on keeping by back straight, but this was the heaviest thing I've ever picked up. In the end all I could think was "pull it higher", and the form ended up being what it was. The weakness now is my fingers. This is the first time I've done the deadlift and haven't been able to keep my hands closed. The "Barbell Prescription" seems to say that this is the desired form, that I shouldn't be trying to keep my fingers wrapped around the bar, so... I guess I'll just keep focusing on the back?

    Planned for Wednesday:
    Squat: 115
    Press: 87.5, really focus on form per Rippetoe
    Lite Deadlift: 215
    Last edited by wdkaye; 06-15-2021 at 12:40 AM.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2021
    Location
    Pasadena, CA
    Posts
    30

    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    Week 5 Wednesday
    188.5 lbs, 22.2%BF
    Breath acetone: 0.4 ppm - out of ketosis

    Seems like I'm gaining about 1.5-2 lbs per week on this, and my BF% has more or less stayed the same after fluctuations. Nice.

    Right shoulder felt "slightly injured" up til now, but upon waking up on Wednesday it now just feels "really sore". This is also good.

    Knee is particular. At any given moment it either wants to play ball or not, and is fairly unpredictable. I'm learning how to use my hip and foot in more agreeable ways.

    I'm definitely eating carbs again. But I really don't crave them too much.

    Squat: 115x5x3: PASS (full-squat PR)
    massage, stretch, kicks, pelvic thrusts & hip circles
    Warmup: 45x5, 65x5, 85x3, 105x1
    Work sets:
    - Set 1: Knee pain almost nil, less than warmups. Going very deep with this weight, almost ATG. I 'm feeling this in my trunk more than my legs.
    - Set 2: Losing symmetry by rep 4, 5. I think my right knee was turning inward like bad old habits but I'm wearing pants instead of shorts, couldn't confirm. Rep 5 was too deep and getting up was a struggle.
    - Set 3: On rep 5 I noticed I was a little far forward on the descent - the bar was over my toes, and not the base of the foot. i pitched forward on the ascent and got stuck in the middle. Held breath, grunted, and got through it, but my mid-back felt the most of that one. My form still needs work.

    Press: 87x5x3: PASS
    Warmup: 45x5, 52x5, 67x3, 82x1 - really focused on form: hip motion at bottom of lift, lockout of arms at top, shrugging
    Work sets:
    - Set 1: Slower than it needed to be, for form. Felt like a great set wrt stress on many muscles, but I'm afraid I'll gas out on the next two sets. No "fire". Getting water.
    - Set 2: sped up a little bit - easy. Form still OK. If I keep it like this I've got a PR in the bag.
    - Set 3: 87x6, just to make a point. Ready for 89. Shoulder feels fine. Almost healed.

    Lite Deadlift: 215x5x2: PASS
    Warmup: 45, 95x5, 135x3, 165x1, 195x1
    Work sets:
    - Set 1: SUSPICIOUS BURN ACROSS LOW BACK (UPPER BUTT) AFTER REP 5. Quiet landing. Need to focus on straight back again. Knee feels unbothered.
    - Set 2: solid.

    Chin-ups - NEW! Added to program every other day as per "The Barbell Prescription", Novice plan 1C
    Set 1: 4
    Set 2: 3
    Set 3: 2
    *Chin ups and pullups are my nemeses. I've always been bad at them and have rarely ever done more than 4 in one set. I'll keep trying here but as I'm gaining weight, this will just get harder and harder. Pessimistic yet determined.

    This was my first session in which I used powerlifting shoes I bought off Amazon. Feels awesome. The support and stability is very noticeable.
    Last edited by wdkaye; 06-16-2021 at 11:37 PM. Reason: new shoes

Page 1 of 4 123 ... 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
  •