Novice Progression Log

[MartiniKiss]

Hi. I am Age 25, 6"3, 190lbs. My goals are to get
big and strong.

Day 1 (11-15-2022):
Squat:
set 1: 160 x 5.
set 2: same.
set 3: same.

Press:
Set 1: 115 x 5
Set 2: same.
Set 3: Same.

Deadlift:
315 for 5.

Day 2: 11-17-2022
Squat:
Set 1: 225 x 5
Set 2: Same.
Set 3: Same.

Bench:
Set 1: 190lb x 5.
Set 2: same.
Set 3: same. Really fought for that fifth rep here, but felt good.

Deadlift:
320lb x 5

Day 3: 11-19-2022
Squat:
Set 1: 230lb x 5.
Set 2: same.
Set 3: same.

Press:
Set 1: 120 x 5.
Set 2: same.
Set 3: same.

Deadlift: 325lb x 5.

[MartiniKiss]

Day 4 11/21/2022:

Squat:
Set 1: 250lb x 5
Set 2: same.
set 3: same.

Bench:
Set 1: 195 x 5.
Set 2: same.
Set 3: Same.

benching felt way easier this time. Rep 5 of set 3 was a grinder.

Deadlift:
330lb x 5.


Feeling a lot stronger already. Daily food is 28oz ground beef, 28oz white rice, 8oz whole egg, quarter gallon of whole milk.
Going to need to add a lot more food.

[MartiniKiss]

Day 5: 11/23/2022
Squat:
set 1: 255lb x 5
Set 2 and 3 same.
Squats are feeling pretty easy. I could probably add 20lbs, and may in the next month or so.
Press:
Set 1: 125lb x 5
Set 2 & 3: same.
Presses felt the easiest they ever have today.
Deadlift:
335lb x 5

My grip failed after I let the first rep down, even with my chalk on.
I quickly switched to the hook grip using my thumb and finished the other 4 reps.
I was worried, having never tried the hook grip, but it didn't hurt at all and I had no slippage with it.
I am hoping I don't need to use straps soon. I would like to save those for heavy weights.

[MartiniKiss]

IMG_7328.jpg
This is my breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack every day:
Each meal prep container contains:
1) 7 oz 88% ground beef
2)2oz whole egg (w/ yolk)
3)7 oz white rice
I eat 5 of these a day.
I also have a half gallon of whole milk a day.

What I like about this is it's all whole foods, digests great (no bloating or gas), and it's super easy to meal prep.

I can make about 40-45 of these meal prep containers for the week in about 2 hours.

[MartiniKiss]

Day 6, 11/25/22"
Squat : 260lb x 5, same for all 3 sets.

Bench: 200lb x 5, same for all three sets.

Deadlift: 340lb x 5.

Felt really strong today from all the food I had for Thanksgiving. Happy that i'm now benching in the 200s.

I feel like I could add 25lbs to my squat right now, but I think taking it slow will be better in the long run.

I'm really happy that my bench is 200lbs now.

I'm feeling sore after the workouts for maybe an hour tops, but by the end of the day I feel like I could do the whole session again.

I'm having a ton of fun doing these compound movement, I feel way better doing these than using machines. Deadlifts make me feel incredible.

The feeling picking up hundreds of pounds and standing up straight and tall with it makes me feel really awesome. Never felt like this doing cable pushdowns or leg press.

[MartiniKiss]

Day 7:
Squat: 265 x 5
Set 2 & 3 same.
Today I moved my hands out a bit farther on the bar, and held the bar a little lower on my back. Felt a lot easier this way.
I also widened my stance and pointed by toes out a tad bit more. Doing this felt a hell of a lot stronger. I'm extremely
excited to hit that 300lb mark in the future.

Press:
Pressing felt extremely off today. First set I did 130lbs but only got 2 reps.
Felt extremely dissapointed in myself. Took 5 pounds off, waited about 10 mintes, and then got 5 reps. Crazy
how much of a difference 5lbs can make.

The next 2 sets were with 125lbs. I think I may start practicing the press at home to supplement.

Deadlift: 345lb x 5.
These keep feeling easier.

Cool day at the gym overall today. Dude next to me was deadlifting 405. Also another guy was benching 315 for sets 5.
Now that I have actually picked up 315+lbs via deadlift, I can appreciate how absurd it is to bench that weight.
Crazy how chase put 405lbs over his f*cking head. Damn!

[MartiniKiss]

Day 8: 11/29/22
Starting week 2. Feeling great.
Squat:
My gym's 2.5lb plates were missing, so I went up 10lbs.
I'm going to begin bringing my own 2.5lb plates from home to the gym.
Squat-
Set 1: 275lb x 5
Set 2: 275lb x 5
Set 3: 275lb x 10
I honestly felt pissed off that it was feeling so easy so
I wanted to go for 10 reps on the last set. It felt easy, but the last rep was a bit
of a grinder. I could probably make a big jump now to 290 or something, but
I don't see the harm in getting there at a slower pace.

Bench:
Set 1: 205lb x 5
Set 2 & 3: same.
Set 1 was difficult. Set 2 felt pretty easy. Set 3 was somewhere in the middle. Last rep took me a good 4-5 seconds to get
up. It's pretty embarrassing being a fully grown man not being able to bench 225 for reps. But I put myself in this position. And in a few months I should be way past that point.

Deadlift: 350lb x 5

Idk what to say about these. I feel like I could keep going for 10 reps with this weight. At the same time though,
the first rep is always the hardest which means I should work on my form I believe.
I need to record my form and get some help from you guys.

Anyways, this workout was super fun. I feel really happy with how much I'm improving.

Also, I'm now weighing in at 200lbs in the morning, which feels really good. I think I can be 230-240lbs

by the summer.

[MartiniKiss]

Day 9 Dec 1:
Squat:
280 x 5 for all 3 sets.
Felt super good. I can't wait to hit 3 dishes on both sides.

Press:
Set 1: 130lb x 4
Set 2: 125lb x 5
Set 3: 125lb x 3
Did 130lb for 4 reps, 5th got just above my head but coouldn't get it higher.
Last set I just didn't have it in me.
My left shoulder was expiriencing some acute pain. hmm.

Deadlift:
I am feeling some tenderness in my right hip. It usually comes about after deadlifting.
I did 225lb for 5 reps and stopped there.
I am going to take a break from deadlifts for a while.
I really enjoy benching and squatting. The press and deadlift just seem
really hard on my body.

Some relevant history:
I suffered bulging discs L4 and L5 a few years ago from construction. I just started feeling better this year.
I tried a hack squat this year with no weight and instantly suffered sharp shooting pain through my body and had to bail.
I couldn't lift my left leg up more than 2 inches for weeks. It took minutes to get up out of bed, tie shoes, etc.

Months later tried squatting. Bar only felt good. Added 50lbs and same thing, couldn't lift my left leg etc, except this time was longer.

I started this program because after randomly trying a lifting belt at my gym, I realized I had no pain.
Still I have no pain with my lifting belt on. I will not squat without it on. Ever. Even just the bar.

I already had 2 second chances.