Ragingcrocolisk's Training Log

[ragingcrocolisk]

Announcing my return to training and this log with this post. The details will follow.

[ragingcrocolisk]

As previously mentioned, I am making a return to barbell training and will thus be logging my results and thoughts here on [startingstrength.com](Starting Strength) as I feel it gives me a sense of accountability to my imaginative readers and myself looking back on it in the future.

Looking back
It has been 120 days since my last training log update (that mentioned sets, reps & weights). It sounds like a lot, but converting it into 17 weeks and 1 day makes it feel less impressive simply because weeks are flying by. In this time I have been practicing a lot of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (3 to 4 times per week) and have obtained my 4th stripe as a white belt, and finally feeling blue belt within my reach. This was well worth the attention despite sacrificing my barbell training (which was not the intention). I had worked on my 3-stripe white belt for 1.5 years before stopping my training around the end of 2019.

I cannot remember why I decided to quit my training plan as opposed to simply adjusting it further, adapting to my needs of practicing BJJ and, admittedly, getting some more rest and relaxation. What I do remember, however, is feeling extremely tired and sore (my shoulders and back in particular) when practicing on the mats, and ignoring these feelings. I also remember the battle of achieving my caloric and protein goals daily, not fondly I might add.

Also new at that time, but seemingly more present these days are back tweaks. My first tweak took me by surprised and had me doubting lifting heavy. I remember being scared of my squats and deadlifts, more than usual, especially since more (and frequent tweaks) could affect my return to BJJ. In hindsight, this in combination with the nutritional demands most likely caused me to quit. I have since accepted that tweaks are a part of life, and have noticed that I get them anyway, despite not lifting heavy. I’d rather be strong, and face unavoidable tweaks, than weak in the same situation (thanks, Rip). All in all it seems as a fine way to fight fear and strengthen my willpower.

During my progression, I was training in a cold, dark, spider ridden shed at a rental house in a cold, dark swamp region of the Southern Netherlands. My new weightlifting equipment painted a stark contrast to this environment. A lot of cold mornings and evenings later, with frozen barbells, reflections during starry nights with metal playing in the background, and the sense that it would all soon pass, I look back nostalgically to a situation that felt very inconvenient. In my relatively short life I have noticed that this is often the case with situations of voluntary hardship.

Highlights of my progression were:

- Easily reaching and passing my previous bodyweight record of 80kg
- Deadlifting more than 120kg, up to 150kg.
- Squatting 132.5kg for a set of five.
- Experience adjusted press training (heavy singles, for example)
- Being able to manhandle and submit +85kg (even +95kg) adult males in grappling during sparring.

Looking forward
I recently turned 26. Today, I woke up to what felt like the conclusion of facing my recent nostalgia and regrets of quitting my progression, the unavoidable truth that barbell strength training offers (stronger is ultimately better).

My life, daily schedule, and opportunities have also changed significantly:

I have moved out of the rental house and into a new home. In this new home, I have a gym. My own power rack (the same one used in the shed) with spotter arms, safety bars, spotter arms, a multi-grip pull-up bar, a logo plate (adding some more stability), and my own professional weightlifting platform. My bench, a plate tree, and 3 bars are not to be forgotten. It all stands in a newly built room about the size of a slightly larger than average garage, decorated with Starting Strength posters and my Sport Science book collection. My perfect training environment.

I have a new job working as a Performance Coach to the local, professional soccer team where I currently mostly coach ~20 athletes on getting stronger and their lifestyles (relating to recovery). It is a demanding yet highly motivating and exciting job. My schedule is packed, but I go to work with enthusiasm daily. Working in the professional soccer industry has affected my schedule drastically, as opposed to my freelance schedule last year. A huge benefit in terms of my lifestyle and nutrition is that the job provides with me breakfast and lunch tailored to athletes. All I have to take care of myself is dinner and supplements, which I consider very convenient.

Now that I have obtained my new stripe in BJJ, I am comfortable with training 2 days a week (as I have already been doing this around my busier schedule), and am also comfortable with skipping sparring occassionally to let my body rest. I have identified the roughly 15 minutes of sparring at the end of each class as the source of a lot of minor injuries (painful shins, fingers, and an aching back), and currently feel that I am progressing despite the quantity of sparring (quality seems to matter most). Overall, I have been sparring less, and have been succeeding more (submissions, succesful technique attempts). My goal is to stick to 2 days per week until my blue belt promotion.

A short term goal I have in terms of body composition is reaching 80kg bodyweight again, and seeing from there. Today, I weighed in at a surprising 77.3kg despite not having managed my nutrition (eating far less) and barely lifting at all. I am used to weighing 70-72kg in these situations, where >75kg was usually a turning point.

I will be tracking bodyweight daily and will assess weekly averages as opposed to a (bi-)weekly weigh-in to avoid dissapointments measuring myself on a day I happen to be at the lowest.

A nice addition to my arsenal is a brand new Garmin Forerunner 255. I absolutely love this thing and will be tracking sleep data, energy expenditure, HRV, and stress in the future.

I have taken a ‘before’ picture, and will take the ‘after’ picture in 1 month.

I will also track these bodyweight measurements alongside the progression pictures: neck, shoulder, chest, biceps (left & right), waist, thighs (left & right), calves (left & right), taking into account inaccuracies in measurements.

My program will look similar to the previous progression, and I will adjust it to fit my lifestyle myself.

As for the future of this log; I am writing all these things down in hopes of using it for a future blog. For now, I will get out of my head and into my home gym and onto the mats.

If you stuck around for this long, thanks for reading.

[ragingcrocolisk]

08/02/2024
On this day, I tested some of my lifts at 5 reps for reference, but definitely not at a maximum intensity.
Squat 3x5x80kg (~176 lbs)
Bench press 3x5x50kg (~110 lbs)
Deadlift 1x5x90kg (~198 lbs)

08/04/2024
Starting out with the exact same numbers as my previous progression logged here. I do this because I want an easy entry back into training considering my new schedule.
Squat 3x5x60kg (~132 lbs)
Press 3x5x35kg (~77 lbs)
Deadlift 1x5x80kg (~176 lbs)

Feels good to be back at it!

[ragingcrocolisk]

08/06/2024
Squat 3x5x62.5kg (~137lbs)
Bench press 3x5x45kg (~99lbs)
Deadlift 1x5x82.5kg (~181lbs)

[ragingcrocolisk]

08/09/2024
Squat 3x5x65kg (~143 lbs)
Press 3x5x37.5kg (~83 lbs)
Deadlift 1x5x87.5kg (~193 lbs)

[ragingcrocolisk]

08/12/2024
Squat 3x5x67.5kg (~148 lbs)
Bench press 3x5x47.5kg (~105 lbs)
Deadlift 1x5x92.5kg (~204 lbs)

[ragingcrocolisk]

08/13/2024
Squat 3x5x70kg (~154 lbs)
Press 3x5x40kg (~88 lbs)
Deadlift 1x5x97.5kg (~214 lbs)

[ragingcrocolisk]

08/15/2024
Had to split the training this week, so I did my bench and press today, along with some chins to see where I'm currently at.
Bench 4x5x50kg (110lbs)
Press 4x5x42.5kg (~94lbs)
Chins 2x5 @ bodyweight (77.85kg/~171lbs), 1xAMRAP (7)