Back at it again

[Safes]

Hello, SS forums.
This time, after a month of doing the program almost properly I thought the extra line of accountability plus hopefully the advice provided by the SS forum would help.

Lifter: 32 yr. old M from Italy, 168 cm 5ft 7in, 142 pounds (64.5 kg). - I know, tiny human. Never weighed more than 67 kg in my life.
Goal: Being stronger, better, faster, harder to kill (in this order).
Gym: "commercial", i.e. No chalk allowed (so I use liquid ), no deadlift allowed (but I manage to do it anyway w/o interferences), never seen anyone squatting below parallel. There is a rack, a few olympic bars, and a space to deadlift.
Training experience: Some experience with strength training; interrupted in June 2019, started "the program" in Sept 2020, it lasted a month before the Great Plague hit again (sigh). I've always squatted high bar and I can't say why exactly, I guess it's a more intuitive position for me.
Equipment: lifting shoes, 2x0.5 kg plates, liquid chalk, 3" belt (coming soon)
YNDTP level: mild. Since last attempt at NLP I have 1 more kid, and 1 more job to attend. I still strive to get my workouts in, and I've averaged 2.7 workouts a week since I started. Rest is ok, but I struggle the most with eating enough food. Maybe I'll seek specific help in that area if I see that the scale is not moving or not moving enough.

Working Set Weights (start -> last training). I don't include the clips, which together weigh around a kilogram.
- Squat 40 kg ->77.5 kg. High bar; Trying to set up in the low bar position evocates a sharp pain in the rear delt area on my left. I'm trying the stretch explained in this video (Low Bar Position Stretch | Paul Horn) with some improvement, but the pain doesn't seem to go away and I don't feel stable in the low-bar position. Properly executed BP and OHP don't evoke this pain (they did in the start, when I respectively didnt' retract the scapulae correctly, in the BP, and took a grip that was too wide, in the OHP).
- Deadlift 40 kg -> 95 kg. I've been deadlifting every workout, but I missed this same weight on one day due to extreme non-training related fatigue, and got it easily on the next try.
- Bench 35 kg -> 55 kg Quite easy.
- OHP 20 kg -> 35 kg. It's very clear that progress will be slow here.
- Power Clean Didn't try it yet. I've decided that I'm going to do whatever is possible to include it in my training, provided I can get a decent technique.

Short term plans are:
- trying to fix my shoulder problem in order to squat properly, or at least be able to perform a low-bar squat
- keep deadlifting till it's clear that the frequency is not working anymore,
- getting a belt and more fractional plates,
- GAINING WEIGHT. Liquid calories are my friend, and luckily I love milk

That's all for now. See ya next time!

[carson]

Welcome to the forum and welcome back to lifting.

OHP is always slow for most people. It's a shame that so many gyms frown on deadlifts. They are the most fun. No one squats to depth. What's the matter with them?

[Safes]

It's a shame that so many gyms frown on deadlifts. They are the most fun. No one squats to depth. What's the matter with them?

I'm guessing, in my case, no one able/willing to teach the big compound lifts and a misguided fear of injuries. A real shame.

Monday workout (weight in kgs)
Squat 80x5x3 - Not easy. Unfortunately still high bar. Pain in rear delt is better, I guess as a result of the specific stretch and due to getting stronger in general.
BP 57.5x5x3 - I might be close to the end of 2.5 kgs jumps, I'll still try 60 next time. No pain.
Deadlift 100x5. Gritty as it should be. Switched from double overhand to alternate on the last two reps. Trying to internalize the cue to "press the floor". Depending on my level of fatigue and the quality of my recovery, I might soon alternate with PC.

Weight - 64.8 kg first thing in the morning

[swoz]

Cool! We both started the program at the same time and both have really similar stats at a month in! I'll be following your progress with interest 👍

[Safes]

Cool! We both started the program at the same time and both have really similar stats at a month in! I'll be following your progress with interest 👍

Just noticed your post! It will almost be like doing this together, 2-3000 km apart
I'll post videos like you did, once I get a decent setup with the right angle.

Thursday workout (I cheated with one more rest day, not my fault)
- Deadlift 105 kg x5. Had to start with this due to the squat rack being unavailable...predictably, it was hard but doable. I don't like the alternate grip, so unfortunately I will have to try the hook grip (which I tried and dreaded in the past). If I manage to train in the next 48 hours, I might PC>DL considering I am around 22.5 kg ahead.
- OHP 36x5x3. All fine here, I'll go to 37.5 next time.
- Squat 82.5x5x3. I was almost sure this would prove to be very hard, but I was wrong. Took a longer rest for the last set and it went like a breeze.

I trained, I slept, I ate. Basic stuff.

[Safes]

Saturday workout (weight in kgs)
- Squat 85x5x3. I persist with stretching and I managed to do some low-bar sets with low weight. Then switched to high-bar for work sets.
- Bench press 60x5x3. Still surprisingly easy.
- Power clean. Decided against DL due to training in <48 hours since last WO. I familiarized with the three basic positions, but I'm still pretty far from being able to express power with this movement. I guess I got my 5 sets across with only the bar, but then I sinned.
- Chins. 6-6-5 reps

Weight (first thing next morning): 65.6 kg

[Safes]

Last few workouts. I managed to get three workouts in this week, despite a very full schedule and sub-optimal recovery.

June 7
Squat - 86x5x3. I pussied out of a 2.5 kg increase and looking back I feel ridiculous. Never again.
OHP - 37.5x5x3. These reps went up fine. Some
Deadlift - 107.5x3; 100x2. I could not get the fourth rep, nor pull the workset weight after a few minutes of rest, so I deloaded and did the last 2 (using alternate grip, for reference).

June 9
Squat - 87.5x5x3. This felt ok.
Bench press - 62.5x5x3. This was the first really challenging weight, unracked the bar feeling unsure about the last reps.
Power clean - I'm having trouble with the movement and getting frustrated. Learning it without a proper in-person coaching is hard for me (motor moron?).
Chins - 6-6-5. Better than nothing, or nothing was better?

June 11
Squat - 90x5x3. This was hard but still unfortunately high bar. I am gaining confidence in the low-bar position and the pain in rear delt is getting better. I hope to switch to low-bar soon.
OHP - 38.5x4-4-3-3-1. I tried to get all the 15 reps, maybe I cut rest times a bit too much.
Dealift - Started warming up, then got a sharp pain in the right shoulder. I think it was just fatigue (I'm not in pain now, 24 hours after the workout) but I coompletely unable to pull the bar.

June 12
Weight 65.9 kg (+0.3 kg in a week, meh)

[Safes]

Had a pretty terrible month with a very hectic schedule. It's been hard to keep track of my diet and get proper sleep.

Main news:
1. I've exploited a slight deload after an 8-day layoff to finally squat low bar
2. I've been stopped from doing the power clean in my gym and I can't switch gyms for the time being, unfortunately. I'm open to suggestions regarding some possible substitutes with the same goal of power production, if such a thing exists.
3. People noticed I started lifting, despite only putting 3 kgs on the scale in 11 weeks.

Last two workouts:

July 4
Squat - 87.5x5x3. Low-bar, went up quite easily
Bench press - 65x5x3. The last reps were hard.
Chins - BWx7-6-6
OHP - 40x1x7. Decided to do a few singles with 30-60 sec of rest, as I knew I would not be able to train for 5 days. I probably could have put more weight on the bar.

July 9
Squat - 90x5x3. Finally low-bar with the same weight I've squatted high-bar before the layoff.
OHP - 40x5-3-2-2-2 + 42.5x1. Felt like doing a "hard" single last rep, having miscounted the previous reps which had already put me at 15.
Deadlift - 110x2; 100x3. First two reps with alternate grip; I could not get the third rep nor pull the weight after a few minutes of rest, so I deloaded and did the last 3 (using double overhand this time). The alternate grip aggravates my pecs which I don't think is supposed to happen. I don't intend to ever compete, so I'm honestly tempted to use straps.

Body weight
66.5 kg (+0.6 kg in a month). I'm happy overall considering that all the variables went to shit this month.

Next steps:
1. Post videos of my lift
2. Buy this damn belt
3. Increase the speed of my weight gain, otherwise I feel like stalling will soon be invevitable.

[Nicholas Laureys]

Great to see you back in the game Safes; about the 'rest time' factor they you've mentioned a few times as a limiting factor:
Is there any good reason you've been artificially limiting your rest time? Because we could all randomly choose a 'rest time' number to limit our times to, but there's no good reason that 2 vs. 5 vs. 15 minutes of rest are better or worse for you: Rip has written about how this variable does not make you more or less strong.

If you aren't experiencing the time constraints that, for example, I have sometimes had - such as gym closing soon or outside family or work or friend commitments - than I would propose waiting as long as it takes to feel like lack of rest would NOT affect your likelihood of success on the next set. Yes, this might one day be something "outrageous" like 16 minutes, but who the fuck is anyone else, or your yourself for that matter, to consider 16 minutes "too much" rest, if that allowed you to complete your next set?

So I would suggest trying to intentionally maximize your rest time next time, instead of purposely trying to keep it to a minimum, and see where that leads you. If resting XX extra minutes allows you to keep adding weight to the bar, you've just found a way to keep progressing on the NLP while remaining rather underweight (for now)!
Good luck and keep working hard.

[Safes]

Hello and thanks for the reply!
I cut rest times short on the OHP on one occasion due to events outside the gym.
Even in that session, resting more would have probably allowed me to get my 15 reps in fewer sets and in the same time.
On the other more recent occasion, I'll admit I was fucking around, jus trying to get some OHP reps in since I was out of town and only had that session for the week.

Overall, I feel that rest times are linearly progressing and are routinely over 5 minutes (possibly 6 or 7) based only on the increasing duration of my sessions. I've just bought a magnetic chronometer to keep better track of my rest times.
Thanks for the reminder, I really want to be on the NLP for as long as possible.

July 11 I started to count the clips, 0.5 kg, since I will most likely micro load in the near future.
Squat 91.5x5x3. I'm starting to love the Low-bar squat and my shoulder pain is getting better with each session and is now barely an inconvenience. I said I would not progress by less than 2.5, but in the meantime I learned that "it's easier to not get stuck than to get unstuck".
Bench press 66.5x5x3 Basically a BW bench, it was hard but nothing that a longer rest before the third set could not fix.
Hyperextension Hands behind head x10x3
Chins BWx8-6-6

The following meals have been larger and more frequent than usual and now I have no soreness at all, amazing! I feel like there is a correlation /s.

News
I had night shifts at a second job, which will shortly be drastically cut or removed entirely: good news for my NLP