NLP Restart

[DBA]

Restarting the NLP. I think I changed my programming too quickly to advanced novice and intermediate, so having missed last week due to sickness, I figure this is a good time to restart the NLP.

I weighed in this morning at 209.5lb at 5'9". While higher than I'd like, I plan on keeping my calorie count at 3000 per day for the foreseeable future with at least 210 grams of protein and 300 grams of carbs.

Today's workout (11/25/2024):
Squat: 315x5x3
Press: 115x5x3
Deadlift: 345x5

The press reps moved really fast, but on the second and third set, I lost balance on the way down after the third rep. I'll try a more controlled descent next time.

Deadlift was fairly easy except before one of the reps, I felt a slight gag reflex and tasted some of the Gatorade I had been drinking.

[DBA]

11/27/2024:
Squat: 320x5x3
Bench Press: 165x5x3
Power Clean: 145x3x5

The second and third squat set felt awful, but I'm pretty sure I didn't cheat on depth. On the third set during the 4th rep, I lost balance and the bar hit the left safety, which made the rep even more difficult as I had to restabilize. I also felt lightheaded after, a problem I've never had with any of the exercises before.

I didn't feel tight during the bench press, nor did I have much leg drive.

For the power clean, I had some very messy reps (jumping too early, hitting the collarbone, bending my arms), but getting the bar high enough was fairly easy.

[DBA]

11/29/2024:
Squat: 325x5x3
Press: 120x5x3
Deadlift: 355x5

My grip was uneven for the first set of the press, which made it more difficult. On the third set for it, I lost momentum after the 4th rep, which led to the 5th rep being a near miss.

[carson]

Good restart. What is your age?

[DBA]

Good restart. What is your age?

Thanks. I'm 26.

[DBA]

I weighed in at 211lb this morning. I overate a few days though, so I expected it to go up.

12/2/2024:
Squat: 330x5x3
Bench Press: 170x5x2, 170x4, 170x1
Power Clean: 150x3x5

I'm starting to feel soreness in my lower back after the squat.

I missed the final rep on the bench press with the bar hovering about halfway up until I gave out. I had more leg drive this time, but I need to review how to perform the list properly. I'll try the same weight again Friday and, unless it feels easy, I'll then switch to 2.5lb jumps if successful.

I marked the last two sets as complete for the power clean, but for both of them, I missed the third rep due to a form breakdown, but then did it right after. For the third successful rep of the fourth set, I hit my chin on the way up though. Again, a review of how to perform the lift is in order.

[DBA]

12/4/2024:
Squat: 335x5x2, 335x3
Press: 125x5x3
Deadlift: 365x5

The bar was slightly off centre for the first squat set, which added unnecessary difficulty. For the third set I failed, I had rested nearly 15 minutes before starting it and still felt gassed. When I went down for the fourth rep, it felt like I just didn't have any energy left to push and I basically collapsed onto the pins. I'll make Wednesdays a light day from now on. I'm not sure if I should try the weight again on Friday or do a light day on Friday and then try again on Monday as I suspect I'm overtrained (before I restarted the NLP, I had already added a light day). I might wait to see how I feel on Friday.

The deadlift felt fairly easy, although I was worried my grip might give out (mixed grip with chalk). After the set though, my lower back was really sore. I'll need to focus on bracing more next time as I didn't feel any rounding of my back. I think the reduction in heavy squat volume will help too as the past two squat workouts have made me feel my lower back more.

Also, a few hours before this workout, I had a very big meal. I think even after waiting quite awhile, it was still too much. If nothing else, I had to wear the belt looser than normal.

[DBA]

12/6/2024:
Squat: 265x5x3
Bench Press: 170x3, 170x5, 170x4
Power Clean: 155x3, 155x1

Terrible workout.

I felt completely gassed after the squats despite the much smaller load. The squats themselves felt much harder than the weight should have.

I had more leg drive during the bench, but the bar path felt wobbly and the arch wasn't sustained. I think part of the problem is I lose the arch while unracking the bar. For some reason, I was having trouble unracking the bar before the first set as if I wasn't strong enough to do it. Either way, I don't think I've ever really arched or used leg drive properly for the bench, the weight being light enough to handle without it. I'm going to drop the weight to 160 (5% reduction) and work on perfecting my form. Once I know my form is right, I'll resume with 5lb increases.

For the power clean, I was just too exhausted to generate explosive power during the second set, even with longer than normal rest, so I just called it quits. I'll try 155 again next time.

Overall, I feel completely exhausted, very irritable, and have little motivation. I had noticed the past week or so that I feel out of breath even after briskly walking for a minute or so, but I just assumed it was because I'm too fat; I'm now wondering if it's overtraining/underrecovery. I've been meeting my calorie, protein, and carbohydrate goals each day, but I don't think I've been sleeping enough. I'll take it easy this weekend and try to fix my sleep (I have a bad tendency to wakeup before my alarm, even when I clearly need more sleep).

[DBA]

Weighed in at 212.5lb today. I also took a waist measurement (around the belly button) and got 40 inches. I'm not sure how much I'm willing to tolerate, but I won't worry about it yet.

12/9/2024:
Squat: 335x5x3
Press: 130x2x3, 130x1, 130x0, 127.5x2x4
Deadlift: 375x5

Squat felt much better today, but I think my back angle changes throughout the movement, causing stress on the lower back. This either wasn't an issue before or wasn't noticeable enough with lighter weights. I'll really try to dial it in on the upcoming light day.

For the press, a lot of those sets had moment arms and maybe could have been triples, but there was no way I was hitting 5. I didn't rest much between those sets as I just wanted to hit 15 reps total. I'll switch to 5 sets of 3 and 2.5lb increments. Frankly, I'm surprised I was able to do 3 sets of 5 for as long as I did based on where I was before the reset.

[DBA]

12/11/2024:
Squat: 265x5x3
Bench Press: 160x5, 170x5x2, 170x4, 170x3
Power Clean: 155x3x3, 155x2

I paid attention to the form in the squat, and I found the source of at least one problem. I have a lot of trouble putting my feet in a symmetrical position. I always end up putting one in front of the other. When I fixed this (and it took like 10 seconds of shifting my feet around with the bar on my back), I remained tight at the bottom, which reduced the stress on my lower back. Next time I'll lay plates down in a line and ensure both my heels touch them.

I tried a new cue on the bench, and I was much more successful at staying tight and using my legs. Still, the third set at 170 had a bit of shakiness, which I think contributed to missing the final rep, although the form breakdown was itself likely a result of fatigue from the earlier sets. This might be injudicious, but I'm bumping the weight up 2.5lb next time.

Some of the power clean reps were pretty messy. This also might be a bad choice, but I'm going to switch to 2.5lb increments for 4 sets of 2.

I'm also going to add a Saturday workout, alternating a 5x5 bench press and 5x5 press. I think I might benefit from extra volume and extra practice for both lifts. I don't think I'm lifting enough in the upper body for this to seriously affect my recovery capacity. I'll also add chin ups/lat pulldowns to these workouts.