OK SS Let's Go!

[WatsupHannity]

Hey everybody. I started Rippetoe's Starting Strength about a month ago and now that I've reached a couple sticking points I want to document my progress and get feedback. Please follow my updates!

Yesterday I failed squatting 220 for the second time in a row. I got 5, 3, 4 reps on my 3 sets. I'm sure my form has devolved as well as I struggle through the reps. I hadn't failed to achieve 3x5 on any weight until 220.

I got 175 on bench press after narrowly missing it the previous workout. Deadlifts were a success at 245.


Squats - 220 lbs. - 5,3,4
Bench Press - 175 lbs. - 5,5,5
Deadlifts - 245 lbs. - 5

I'm leery to try squats again tomorrow but I will anyways, and if I flunk them again I'll drop down to 185 lbs. and start climbing 5 lbs. per workout. I'm working out in New Balances which is disgraceful, so I'm on my way to the mall to get some Chucks.

[WatsupHannity]

By the way, I'm 6 foot 7, 208 lbs.

[Chris H Laing]

Just letting you know, its only supposed to be 1 set of 5 on the deadlifts. I know it doesnt matter now, but when you're getting up there in weights it makes a difference.

Also, looks like you made some great progress. Keep up the good work.

[K.Diesel]

Best wishes for success man. I'll be keeping up w/your log. If you haven't bought them yet, skip the Chucks and go to Walmart and get the Starter shoes made just like Chuck Taylors. I've been rocking them for a year. $14.97 plus tax.

[WatsupHannity]

I'm a dummy, I only did 1x5 of deadlifts, as with every deadlift w/o, but for some reason wrote it as 3x5. Progress has been going well and my numbers aren't terrible, but that's partly because I do have several years of weightlifting experience. Never in such an organized manner though.

K.Diesel: I didn't grab the chucks yet so thanks for the tip!

[WatsupHannity]

I have some questions about the program. Thus far I have been doing this split:

Day A-
Squats
Bench Press
Deadlifts

Day B-
Squats
Military Press
Pendlay Rows

Occasionally I finish with a couple sets of abs on the incline ab board, but other than that I haven't been doing any supplemental work. I have seen guys add dips, chin-ups, bicep curls, seemingly everything under the sun. What are the general guidelines for adding supplemental exercises?

[Chris H Laing]

When i did SS the first time, I added dips after my press workouts, and chins after my bench workouts. I would go for 2x8, and if i made both sets, I went up 5 lbs. the next time and tried again. If i failed I just stayed at the same weight til I made it.

Personally though, my first run through SS was pretty half assed, and the second time through, when I was serious, I never felt like I could have done dips or chins after everything else because I was also so exhausted. Just something to consider.

But then again you're already squatting more than me so maybe you can handle it :p

Edit: I guess all the bicep curls and stuff would go in the same place as the dips and chins, or maybe after the dips and chins if you have some massive work capacity.

[Tor]

Hey everybody. I started Rippetoe's Starting Strength about a month ago and now that I've reached a couple sticking points I want to document my progress and get feedback. Please follow my updates!

Yesterday I failed squatting 220 for the second time in a row. I got 5, 3, 4 reps on my 3 sets. I'm sure my form has devolved as well as I struggle through the reps. I hadn't failed to achieve 3x5 on any weight until 220.

I got 175 on bench press after narrowly missing it the previous workout. Deadlifts were a success at 245.


Squats - 220 lbs. - 5,3,4
Bench Press - 175 lbs. - 5,5,5
Deadlifts - 245 lbs. - 5

I'm leery to try squats again tomorrow but I will anyways, and if I flunk them again I'll drop down to 185 lbs. and start climbing 5 lbs. per workout. I'm working out in New Balances which is disgraceful, so I'm on my way to the mall to get some Chucks.


There's a couple of important things you forgot to include when considering a sticking point. How much weight have you been adding to each of your lifts as you progress? What do your squats look like? (video) And what's been happening with your bodyweight for the past month since you started. 208 sounds pretty skinny for a 6'7" guy...

[WatsupHannity]

Chris: I really like chin-ups and miss having them in the workout, so I will start adding them on the bench days. I believe I read 3x8 is a good guideline. I will also consider adding bicep curls on the other day. Being so tall my arms are perpetually spindly-looking so maybe that will help.

Tor: In general I've been adding 5 pounds to each lift each workout, except for deadlifts which I have usually jumped by 10.

If you think 6'7 at 208 is skinny, I was 190 about 6 months ago! I settled in around 203 before starting this routine, so I'm up about 5 pounds or 1 pound per week. I will post my diet shortly.

I have a fair amount of muscle compared to before I ever picked up a weight... back then I was incredibly scrawny. I may post some pics as well if I feel like it... not sure if this is that kind of forum :p

[WatsupHannity]

Hit the gym last night... somewhat sleep-deprived so I made an executive decision to drop the squats down to 185. What a breeze that was, psychologically even moreso than physically. Staring down what could potentially be your failure weight each and every workout is a drain. And I didn't need to nag someone for a spot! I'm not trying to wimp out on attacking heavy weight though... I legitimately need to work on form so the weight decrease was necessary.

I watched a ton of squat videos on this site so I picked up a few things to work on. I really focused on getting that bar pretty low on my shoulder blades, and I emphasized pushing my knees out at the bottom of the lifts. That seems to have corrected the sharp pain I had been getting at the intersection of my quads and hip.

Squats - 185 lbs. - 5,5,5
Military Press - 125 lbs. - 5,5,5
Pendlay Rows - 160 lbs. - 5,5,5

Military press was a struggle but I dug deep and got off the fifth rep. Rows was still a relative piece of cake.

[Tor]

Chris: I really like chin-ups and miss having them in the workout, so I will start adding them on the bench days. I believe I read 3x8 is a good guideline. I will also consider adding bicep curls on the other day. Being so tall my arms are perpetually spindly-looking so maybe that will help.

Tor: In general I've been adding 5 pounds to each lift each workout, except for deadlifts which I have usually jumped by 10.

If you think 6'7 at 208 is skinny, I was 190 about 6 months ago! I settled in around 203 before starting this routine, so I'm up about 5 pounds or 1 pound per week. I will post my diet shortly.

I have a fair amount of muscle compared to before I ever picked up a weight... back then I was incredibly scrawny. I may post some pics as well if I feel like it... not sure if this is that kind of forum :p

Well, you might consider dropping to smaller increments as your body weight catches up. For squat, that could be 5 lbs. Monday, 2.5 lbs. Wed, and 2.5 lbs. Friday. That's still 10 lbs. a week, or 40 lbs. in a month, which would have you squatting 265 by the middle of July. And same goes for bench and press, if they're getting hard as well. It seems like sometimes it happens that people charge forward on the bench and press and then stall out for months while they continue to make linear progress on squats and deadlift.

See if you can get that squat video up, and, of course, especially since you might be on the more slender side, there's always the option to drink more milk and eat more food.

Tor

[WatsupHannity]

Yessssss, sick workout today, for multiple reasons. I didn't get to bed until 5am and slept about 6 hrs. I decided to get a workout in anyways. Because of the way life unfolds, I haven't kept to a MWF split exactly, but I have pretty much stayed on the target of getting 3 workouts per week on non-consecutive days. This sometimes means going 4 or 5 workouts in a row with 1 day rest between each.

Anyways, I got a bit of coffee in me and headed to the gym. I bumped the squats up to 190, did that with relative ease. I noticed that as I was focusing on pushing my knees out and getting my ass real low, I was forgetting to lead the drive up with the hips. Squatting's a bit like patting your head and rubbing circles on your stomach in that way... gotta keep all the parts moving in synchronicity but it can be awkward when learning and solidifying the movement.

Then I headed over to bench. You're correct Tor, I totally need microloads for this routine. Unfortunately I have procrastinated on getting/making microloads, and my last load was 175 (which I had missed getting 3x5 on the first time I attempted it), but I was feeling good so I stacked the bar to 180. Long story short I pulled it off first attempt! I bounced the bar on my chest a bit on the 5th rep of the 3rd set, but otherwise it was a flawless 3x5. Now I DEFINITELY need to go to TSC and get some hardware for the microloads.

Workout gets better though. My last deadlift workout was 4 days ago, in which I pulled 255. I debated making it 260, but I said screw it let's keep adding 10 and do 265. I get in position and start pulling but the bar feels slag-heavy. I get 3 off, then a slight reset between the 4th and the 5th, with me focusing on keeping the bar close to my body the whole time. I drop the bar down after the successful set, and as I'm stripping the bar I realize, it wasn't 265 on the bar, it was 275! No wonder it was damn hard! Back to math class dumdum...

Squats - 190 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 180 lbs. - 5,5,5
Deadlifts - 275 lbs. - 5

Then I did 2 sets of 8 chin-ups to finish the workout, which felt great. I love that exercise.

It's funny how you can show up to the gym and find your strength falling short of your expectations, then other times it pleasantly exceeds it.

[WatsupHannity]

Took a two-day break and did a workout today, but not before going to TSC and picking up some metal gaskets used for plumbing, that just happen to perfectly fit the olympic bars. Bought 6 of them as each pair weighs about 1.3-1.4 pounds... meaning I could put all 6 on the bar and still be adding less than 1 pair of 2.5 lb. plates. I used 'em for the military press, and the sets felt great. It was probably easier than the last slightly-lighter round of mil presses.

I've really got to be more diligent about bringing my target weight numbers for each exercise to the gym with me. Today again I mis-remembered what weight I was supposed to be doing (on Pendlay Rows) and jumped to 170, even though I had been intending to do 165. Last workout's bad math fiasco (miscounting the weight of 275 as 265) is further amplified by the fact that I had believed I had done 255 the prior workout, when in fact I had done 245. So as I contemplated whether to increase by a 5 or 10 pound jump on deadlifts that day, I ended up making a 30 pound jump! And it was purely due to two common-sense errors. It's funny and I can poke fun at myself about it, but at the same time it's just dumb, and counter-productive to my progress.

Squats - 195 lbs. - 5,5,5
Military Press - 126.3 lbs. - 5,5,5
Pendlay Rows - 170 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bicep Curls - 35 lbs. - 8, 40 lbs. - 8

I'll just add that I did a 30 minute, relatively easy bike ride with a good friend in the afternoon a couple hours before the workout. It's a goal of mine to get in a daily dose of cardio alongside Starting Strength.

[Sami]

I've got a logging app on my iphone for just this reason. :)

[WatsupHannity]

No iPhone for me unfortunately! Just good old Excel and my sieve of a memory.

Well I had a kinda sucky workout today. First mistake was not arriving at the gym with enough time to get my workout done at the pace I need. Sure enough I had to rush from squats to bench press without taking enough time to properly recuperate. Bench press was a disaster. I figured the microloads I had bought would make this workout a success, but I missed the first set! Well, at least I'm almost certain I did; the spotter put his fingers on the bar and it went up but he swore up and down "I didn't help at all!" Well if that's the case then don't put your fingers on the friggin bar, you maniac.

On a sidenote, what is up with spotters not listening to what you tell them? When I ask for the spot, I have the same routine for explaining my needs. I tell them I'm going for 5 repetitions, I will do it entirely on my own and they don't need to touch the bar in any way unless I specifically say "spot" or "help". Despite all this, a good 25% of them smile and nod vigorously, say "Sure, gotcha, yep", and then go ahead and touch the bar anyway at the first sign I'm struggling! Very frustrating. Funny thing is, I often get the feeling they're going to screw it up before I begin the set and I'm usually right.

Squats - 200 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 181.3 lbs. - 4,4,2 (with 1 assisted rep on each of the first 2 sets and 2 assisted reps on the last set)
Deadlifts - 280 lbs. - 5

I booked it and did some chin-ups at the park. 9xBW, 6+2xBW (took a quick breath after 6 and pulled off 2 more)

I will chuck the bicep curls in future as they seem to overlap too much with the chin-ups.

[WatsupHannity]

Equipment Question: I haven't gotten around to buying chucks or comparable shoes. I can get some weightlifting shoes from this company: http://www.weightliftingshoes.ca/, which is relatively straightforward and easy since I live in Canada. Cost is not an issue in the sense that I don't mind paying for the ideal piece of equipment. Hell, my protein and gym membership costs enough every month as it is. So, should I go with the weightlifting shoes or the chucks?

My other question is: should I be using a weightlifting belt for this program?

[Chris H Laing]

Yes to the weightlifting shoes, no to the belt.

[poopmonkey]

Also, "Yes" to spending a freakin' buck on a notebook so you can write down your workouts and the gym and not just try and go by memory.

[K.Diesel]

For whatever it's worth, I've been to a few powerlifting meets in the last 2 years, including the Arnold each of the last 2 years. By my eye, I've seen lots of lifters at state and national levels deadlift in chucks and weightlifting shoes, with weightlifting shoes seeming to be the preferred footwear for deads. However, it seems that the pendulum swings the other way for squats. A few also squat in squat shoes. That's not a scientific observation or survey, just my experience. If you have the $, maybe try both since the chucks are so cheap.

[WatsupHannity]

I may try getting both in fact. When I was at Foot Locker they had the high-top Chucks and the low-tops; I was a bit surprised that the high-tops had really squishy soles, especially around the heels. The low-tops seemed a little better but still a bit soft. I was under the impression that these shoes would have very little give, therefore absorbing less energy, and that's why they are popular for squatting. Am I looking at the wrong Chucks?

[WatsupHannity]

June 23- Pretty standard workout. Did it at a gym out of town so that might be why the weights felt a little heavier than I thought they should have.

Squats - 205 lbs. - 5,5,5
Military Press - 127.6 lbs. - 5,5,5
Pendlay Row - 175 lbs. - 5,5,5

Will need to start microloading the P Rows.

[WatsupHannity]

June 27 workout:

Attacked the 181.3 lb. bench press again after my rough performance last time- got it off! Third set was easier than the second set actually. I think I learned something this workout... that I must focus on efficiency of movement and holding very good form. I found the sets to be easier when I wasn't letting the bar lean right or left, forward or back during the set, as sometimes had been occurring previously.

Squats - 210 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 181.3 lbs. - 5,5,5
Deadlift - 285 lbs. - 5
Chin-ups - 8, 6

[Sami]

I may try getting both in fact. When I was at Foot Locker they had the high-top Chucks and the low-tops; I was a bit surprised that the high-tops had really squishy soles, especially around the heels. The low-tops seemed a little better but still a bit soft. I was under the impression that these shoes would have very little give, therefore absorbing less energy, and that's why they are popular for squatting. Am I looking at the wrong Chucks?

I think they flatten out and firm up pretty quickly.

[H0neyBe4r]

Quick question, why would one do pendlay rows, and chins as support? Wouldn't it be better to do weighted chins instead of rows if one doesn't want to do power cleans, since they work more muscles?

A beginner might not be strong enough, but @WhatsupHannity clearly is.

[WatsupHannity]

Quick question, why would one do pendlay rows, and chins as support? Wouldn't it be better to do weighted chins instead of rows if one doesn't want to do power cleans, since they work more muscles?

A beginner might not be strong enough, but @WhatsupHannity clearly is.

Love to hear the opinions of more advanced lifters on this as well. I think I may know why but I know next to nothing in the grand scheme of strength training so I'll defer to others.

[WatsupHannity]

Got up quite early and flew to Vancouver yesterday, I was pretty zonked by my evening workout but gave it my best shot. Squats went fine, I'm going nice and deep and I think my form is very good (the gym I was at had like a million mirrors so I could see every angle). However, I really feel like I'm pushing differently on each rep. Like my hip drive will be much more on a given rep than the next one. I should really videotape my squats when I'm back home next week and put them up here.

Military press was a success at 130 lbs., but I'm a bit concerned about the pain I'm getting in my right shoulder. I find that the low-bar squats really push on the rotator cuff, leaving my shoulders tender just from squats, and I'm wondering if that is playing a role. I gently rotated my shoulders between sets of presses which seemed to help. Oh yeah, 130 lbs. was a bastard but I got it up.

Pendlay Rows was a qualified success, in that I did 3x5 but I missed making contact between the bar and my torso on a few of the reps. I shouldn't have gone to 180 but I left my microloads in the hotel room, so I think I will go for 177.5 next workout, then 180 the w/o after that and try to get back the momentum of successful sets.

Squats - 215 lbs. - 5,5,5
Military Press - 130 lbs. - 5,5,5
Pendlay Rows - 180 lbs. - 4?,4?,3? (see explanation above)

[WatsupHannity]

I have neglected to mention the elephant in the room of my life, so to speak, which is that I am having fairly major jaw surgery on July 16. This will put me out of commission for quite a while; going by what the surgeon said it will be a minimum of 6-8 weeks before I can work out again, although I'll see what I can do to work around that. It's common to lose a lot of weight after jaw surgery (hell it's no wonder, I will be on a liquid-only diet for 4 weeks!) and everyone is advised to try to bulk up a bit beforehand. Being undernourished interferes with the body's ability to recuperate from the surgery.

I hope to hit the surgery date with plenty of added mass to help me heal as quickly as possible. After surgery, I will try to down the super high-calorie smoothies through a feeding tube (olive oil and peanut butter ftw). By any chance has anyone reading this gone through such a surgery? I would love to know how a strength-trainer dealt with eating enough and getting back to the weights as soon as possible.

So yeah, basically phase 1 of this program comes to an abrupt end July 15! But I've had a great time on it so far and I really feel I'm adding quality mass and strength. I'll keep journalling during the recuperation period and after, as I transition from invalid back to strength super stud ;)

[WatsupHannity]

Ran into a guy at the gym today who was also doing Starting Strength. Figured it out pretty quickly because how many guys go from military press to power cleans? It was nice to finally meet someone in real life who's doing this program and chat about it. He was only in his second week and still finding the rhythm of the program, but he had read the book thoroughly and had some good pointers on how I could improve my setup on squats and bench press. Told him about this website so maybe he'll saunter on over.

My last squat set was 215 lbs., so if I jumped by 5 I would be attacking the 220 lb. barrier that I didn't get across previously, so I felt that microloading to 217.6 before re-attempting 220 was a good plan psychologically. Without even getting a spotter I successfully cleared the 3 sets. Bench press didn't go as well as I had hoped; the gym-hopping can't be helping that as yet again the bar had a different thickness and knurling pattern than the bars I'm familiar with. I will retry again next time. Deadlift was a success at 290 lbs. I really felt it in the hams, unlike any previous set of deads. I would say it felt slightly easier than last time at 285 did.

Small anecdote: I've been working out at Steve Nash Sports Club while I'm in Vancouver this week, and as I was chatting between sets with the guy also doing SS, a girl came up to us, said they were shooting a commercial for the place and asked us to sign waivers in case footage of us got into the commercial. Why not, so we signed. Then about 5 minutes after that I look over, and there's Steve Nash, pumping away on the old pec deck as they filmed him. Didn't expect that.

Squats - 217.6 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 182.6 lbs. - 4,4,3
Deadlifts - 290 lbs. - 5

[WatsupHannity]

July 4 workout- Squats felt heavy through the warmups and first set, but I settled into it and the last 2 sets felt better and I got good depth and form. The 220 barrier is broken now, and again I didn't get a spotter, which shows I've improved my strength and form, but also my awareness of my ability to perform the exercise. First time around I was getting spotters every squat set from 195 lbs. up.

I'm sure I'm doing military presses sub-optimally now but I'm just gonna roll with it until the jaw surgery. I power-clean the weight up to my shoulders and then start pushing it up, but I believe my elbows get too flared. I dabbled with setting the bar on the squat rack at shoulder height and taking it off the bar with tucked-in elbows and it was a very different movement. When I get back into the routine after the recuperation period I will start with low weight again and attempt to build up with perfect form.

Pendlay rows was 15 reps, 15 torso-touches.

Squats - 220 lbs. - 5,5,5
Military Press - 131.3 lbs. - 5,5,5
Pendlay rows - 177.6 lbs. - 5,5,5

Went up to a mountain lake about 1 hour north of Vancouver with some friends... the drive had some of the most ridiculous views I've ever seen, featuring snowcapped mountains intermingled with bodies of water branching off from the Pacific. I got in some serious cardio when I swam across the lake and back, which took probably about 45 minutes. Good times.

[WatsupHannity]

Arrrr... don't touch the barbell please!!! Had a beautiful opening set on bench press where I easily repped 5 at 182.6 lbs. This coming off my last attempt where I totally failed to get 5 on any set. Planned on definitely having a successful 3x5, until my spotter, who nicely stayed away the first set, put his fingers under the bar on the 5th rep of the second set. I was barely struggling. Even though he probably barely touched it, it was easier as a result; the bar moved fluidly through the sticking point. There's a reason I put microloads on the bar... the spotter effectively wipes them out by even lightly assisting the load. Very, very frustrating and I'm sorry to belabor the issue in this journal but I'm not entirely sure what the solution is. Like all the others, I told him what I was looking for. What does "don't touch the bar at all unless I say 'spot'" mean? What does he think I'm saying that for?

I decided to microload squats the minimum today, and I'm not even sure why exactly. Probably felt a little less than 100%. Deadlift is getting nice and challenging now, the 5th rep was quite slow today. I can feel tension all the way through my calves, hams and quads on these high-weight (for me) reps. I can see how proper weightlifting shoes are going to let me just push away with every muscle fiber.

Even though I'm over a week out from my surgery date, I'm already getting nostalgic about my brief stint on SS. It's such a nice program. I'm adding weight little by little on these exercises, but in just under 2 months I'm moving weight I did not think was possible in such a short time. I have been around weights for more than 6 years now, but I've never had such an easy and effective program to follow and never had this kind of progression, on multiple movements. I want to finish out the last 10 days with a bang, and then plan on getting back into the swing of it come September or so.

Again, does anyone have any experience coming back to weightlifting after jaw or any other major surgery? Even knowing I could start moving light dumbbells after say 4 weeks would make me feel better, that my muscle and strength isn't atrophying into nothingness.

Anyways, the numbers:

Squats - 221.3 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 182.6 lbs. - 5,5,5............ read comments above. I will call it a successful set for now because I believe I would have accomplished it today without spotter interference, and I will attempt 183.9 next time.
Deadlift - 295 lbs. - 5

[WatsupHannity]

God. This week has not come together well in the workout department. I was scheduled to have a workout on Wednesday but I flew back from Vancouver and that wasn't doable. I went on Thursday but not long before the gym closed and I couldn't get to Pendlay Rows! Just squats and military press. I thought I'd come back in the morning to do the rows, but the day became very hectic with meetings and calls. I went today to hit squats, bench and deads, and sure enough I was too late and had to skip deads! Like last time, I'll attempt to go back tomorrow and do the deads and some chinups. Then Monday will be a workout again. Sloppy.

Worst of all, I miscounted weight on squats on Thursday, and only had 217.6 up when I thought it was 222.6! Just a combination of sleep deprivation and my head being other places. To make up for it I went straight to 225 today, which was a success. I couldn't find my 3rd pair of microloads, plus I was back at my home gym, yada yada, so I went with 182.6 on bench press. Nobody came anywhere near touching the weight and it was a clean and crisp 3x5.

On Thursday night:
Squats - 217.6 - 5,5,5 (obviously)
Military Press - 132.6 - 5,5,5

Tonight:
Squats - 225 - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 182.6 - 5,5,5
Deadlifts - tomorrow morning

[WatsupHannity]

Did the deadlifts I missed yesterday. Since I didn't have to do squats and bench press in advance, and since this looks to be the last set of deads I will do for like 9 weeks, I pushed it to 315. Banged it out with I believe precision form on the first 4, then the 5th was very slow but I got it up with like my quads really getting into it. I think I have a lot of runway to increase weight on this exercise when I do my next SS run-up in September.

Followed with some chins, really trying to dead-hang it, but at the same time not letting my shoulders relax out of the joint. Got 8, 6, 5.

Deadlifts - 315 lbs. - 5
Chins - 8,6,5

[WatsupHannity]

Well I'm getting close to surgery day. I will have a "normal" workout tomorrow (squats, military press and rows on the sched). On Wednesday I believe doing a full workout would tax my body excessively before major surgery where I need my body's recovery resources directed towards healing. I am thinking of coming in and doing just a few sets and getting my girl to film them so I can post them here.

So far my maxes are:

Squats - 225 3x5
Deadlifts - 315 3x5
Military Press - 132.6 3x5
Pendlay Rows - 177.6 3x5
Bench Press - 182.6 3x5

I think I can get 185 on Bench for at least 1 set of 5 on Wednesday. I will try 135 on military press tomorrow and see if 3x5 is doable. 180 will be the attempt on P. Rows. What the hell, I'll try 230 on squats tomorrow even though I deadlifted today. If all goes well, my best lifts will look fairly pretty going into the jaw surgery.

[WatsupHannity]

I've made today the last full workout before the surgery. I will attempt 3x5 bench press at 185 lbs., either tomorrow or Wednesday but other than that I'm done. Squats at 230 were a struggle but a success. (Do I even need to mention it's a struggle? Every set until I absolutely fail is gonna feel like a struggle.) My form is much much better than my first run-up when I couldn't complete 220, and I feel if I really had to I could have done 235 or even 240 today. That being said, I believe I still have room for improvement on squat form. Solution: post a video when I get back into it in a couple months.

Military press at 135... I dusted it, wtf? Felt damn easy. Although an odd thing happened the first set: on the second rep I got lightheaded, which like never happens when I'm lifting. Then for the last three reps my arms had a mild tingly feeling, but the weird thing was the weight felt like nothing and I just pushed it up like a piece of cake. But yeah, everything felt smooth today; the power-clean component to start each set felt easy as balls, pushing the weight up was easy as balls, pulling in my elbows and completing the sets was easy as balls. You might say the whole exercise was easy as balls ;) Note to self: I like where I'm lining up my fingers. I put my middle finger on the first smooth ring this time, instead of my index finger. Remember for future.

Finished with Pendlays at 180. Again, a form check would be useful here, though I'm pretty sure I'm doing it alright. There's a bit of chatter in the angle of my back as I pull through the movement, but that's ascribable to the heaviness. In any case, I got 15 torso-touches on it.

Squats - 230 lbs. - 5,5,5
Military Press - 135 lbs. - 5,5,5
Pendlay Rows - 180 lbs. - 5,5,5

[Tor]

Good luck on the surgery. We'll await your return.

But, mostly, nice job on the presses.

Tor

[WatsupHannity]

Thanks a lot, Tor.

Dropped into the gym for a quick set of bench press... wanted to see if I could crack 185 before the layoff, and I was successful.

Bench Press - 185 lbs. - 5,5,5

In fact, it was almost too easy. Were I not having surgery, I could see myself gaining plenty more strength on this exercise, 1 or 2 pounds a workout. Hell, 5 pounds every 2 weeks on bench is plenty. That seems to be the power of Starting Strength. Get your eats in, do the exercises and slowly but surely creep up those poundages.

So, as I go into tomorrow's surgery and a 6-to-8-week layoff from heavy weightlifting, these are my maxes for three sets of five reps (3x5):

Squats - 230 lbs.
Deadlifts - 315 lbs.
Bench Press - 185 lbs.
Press - 135 lbs.
Pendlay Rows - 180 lbs.

These are all more or less done correctly, with better form than I ever had before (i.e. fully resetting each rep of the deadlift from the ground, bench press bar-to-chest, squats parallel or lower). The amounts are higher and with better form after just 2 months than I ever would have imagined. It just psyches me up how much more progress I could make if it weren't for surgery. Nevertheless, I will do my best to get back into light lifting about 2-3 weeks from now, and I hope to be back on track for personal bests within a couple months!

[WatsupHannity]

Well, that was brutal. After having the surgery I had the worst week I've had in a long time, which turned into the worst month in a long time, and I'm still getting over it. My face swelled up like a pumpkin. My family said I looked like Peter Griffin. The discomfort was overwhelming, and I was like constantly frustrated and depressed. Sleep was garbage for weeks on end, and I'm still getting odd pains in my face and even my ears, as all the muscles and joints get used to their new position. Through the recovery period I've been having a lot of doubts about whether I'd made the right decision. If anyone is contemplating orthognathic surgery all I can say is consider carefully if you really need it because it's not a walk in the park, not by a long shot.

Anywho, the swelling is finally more or less gone and it's been 7.5 weeks since the operation. I am now looking ahead to getting back into SS. I am doing some light to medium weightlifting at home, where I have adjustable dumbbells and an adjustable bench. Exercises include incline DB bench press, seated DB shoulder press, kettlebell swings done with DB, air squats, DB sumo deadlifts. My ability to eat my usual diet has almost fully returned; however things like nuts and steak won't be edible for a while longer.

Now I have to think about how to get back into it again. I suppose I will start fairly light and see how my body is responding to the weights, and nudge the poundages back up. I hope to get to the levels I was at before the surgery within a month. Whether this is too optimistic or too conservative, I have no idea, but it's a guideline.

[WatsupHannity]

First SS workout in months. Starting out low again.

Squats - 135 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 135 lbs. - 5,5,5
Deadlift - 205 lbs. - 5

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 145 lbs. - 5,5,5
Military Press - 95 lbs. - 5,5,5
Power Cleans - 95 lbs. - 5,5,5

[WatsupHannity]

Last night:

Squats - 155 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 145 lbs. - 5,5,5
Deadlift - 225 lbs. - 5

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 165 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 100 lbs. - 5,5,5
Power Cleans - 100 lbs. - 3,3,3,3,3

Form on press is slightly better than my last run-up; elbows aren't flared as much. Still finding my groove with power cleans. The weight feels light enough but the movement is not nearly as clean and smooth as some of the better PC videos I've seen on youtube.

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 175 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 155 lbs. - 5,5,5
Deadlift - 235 lbs. - 5

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 185 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 110 lbs. - 5,5,5
Power Cleans - 105 lbs. - 3,3,3,3,3

Despite the successful lifts my performance today was pitiful. I'm having trouble getting back into the swing of things since the surgery. My diet went out the window, as the surgeon advised me to get the calories in any way I could, and it's tough getting back to a fairly clean and consistent diet. Also there's the fact that the muscles in my jaw are basically 70-80% deteriorated in the aftermath of the surgery. Chewing is a major ordeal even still; imagine having things like sliced cucumber and not being able to crunch through it. Thus, eating is a trial and something I don't look forward to.

I had such a great diet before the surgery, but I may have to go back to the drawing board and swap out some of the meals with other foods that are just easier to eat. It looks like I'll be having another 2-3 week layoff in the second half of this month for personal reasons. I'm working like a dog lately, on 3 major business projects, and I'm fighting a sinus infection for over a week.

Okay vent over. That feels a bit better.

[Mr.City]

That sucks, man, but you can get through it.

[WatsupHannity]

Heh, I'm just being a b**ch, my life's not actually that bad. But I appreciate it :)

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 190 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 160 lbs. - 5,5,5
Deadlift - 245 lbs. - 5,5,5

My hams were pretty sore from the last workout, I don't think I warmed them up enough last time. I would describe the feeling in my legs on the last few reps as fairly uncomfortable muscular pain. I've gotta ramp up the calories bigtime, I used to warm up with this weight. Bench and deads were fine.

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 195 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 115 lbs. - 5,5,5
Power Cleans - 110 lbs. - 3,4,3,3,3 (added one accidentally)

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 200 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 165 lbs. - 5,5,5
Deadlifts - 255 lbs. - 5

Much better. My eating is improving a bit. My squat form is almost exagerratedly smooth and deep (and correct, as far as I can tell), which is going to pay off in the long run. Feels good to be back on track.

And now, true to form, I have to take 2 weeks off from lifting. :rolleyes:

[WatsupHannity]

Sitting around, waiting to get back to the lifting. Somewhat depressed. My physique is a joke today. I mean sure, I wasn't born with a mesomorph build, but at various times in my life I've had the fortune of having a non-zero quantity of muscle on my frame with fairly little fat to go with it. Unfortunately I basically have no ability to hold on to that if my effort level slips.

Time to assess the situation. In the 3 months since jaw surgery, I'm lighter (5 pounds or so), weaker, chubbier. Cardio is shot. Eating habits are mediocre.

OK, that's the bad of it. The good news is, I can deal with this. My jaw is getting stronger and stronger and eating is becoming less of a chore. I won't be having any more surgeries or tests like the one I'm having next week (the reason I can't lift right now) so from here on out, I "should" be able to hit the gym whenever and wherever. I like (scratch that, love) Starting Strength, which will form the core 3x per week workout routine that I will follow indefinitely. I am also considering adding something for cardio, just to get my energy levels up, and I also find my cardio capacity definitely improves my powerlifting performance.

But what kind of cardio to do... low, medium or high intensity? When I did Crossfit for two months my cardio performance was through the roof; however, I'm pretty sure Crossfit will interfere with my overall progress. Perhaps I could do light cardio a couple days a week for like 10 minutes, and one full-out Crossfit day per week.

Like this:

Su- SS
Mo- light cardio
Tu- SS
We- light cardio
Th- SS
Fr- Crossfit
Sa- Rest

Is this good? Sucks?

My near-term goal is I would like to be in banging-good shape by next May/June, my 5-year college reunion. My mindset until that time is, I can't go wrong bulking up and doing the SS, but I don't want to be a fatass either and I want to be actually athletic. Whatever happens though, SS is a must every week, 3x, no mistakes. Cripes I've got a lot of ground to make up. Again, my scores before jaw surgery at 218 lbs.:

Squats - 230 lbs. 3x5
Deadlifts - 315 lbs. 1x5
Bench Press - 185 lbs. 3x5
Press - 135 lbs. 3x5
Pendlay Rows - 180 lbs. 3x5

Back to the gym in a little over a week.

[Mr.City]

Good luck, man.

[WatsupHannity]

Thanks Mr. C.

Got back in it today. From here until the reunion, I won't be missing any workouts. I will only reshuffle them if something extremely important comes up, but always 3x per week. Today felt good. Finally got the Chucks and immediately I can notice the difference in stability on squats. A no-brainer purchase. I reverted back to last workout's numbers just to get back on track. Power cleans feel easy as hell, maybe I'm doing them wrong-- well it's almost certain I am, so I'll figure out how to videotape them and post it up here.


Squats - 195 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 115 lbs. - 5,5,5
Power Cleans - 110 lbs. - 3,3,3,3,3

[misspelledgeoff]

Power cleans feel easy as hell, maybe I'm doing them wrong--

if you got the bar to your shoulders for 5s x 3r then you must be doing something right!

Good to see you back. Looking forward to following your log.

[WatsupHannity]

Thanks Geoff. You know, I'm thinking-- screw it, I'm just going for it. I'm going to just bring a top-tier level of effort from here on in and that's all there is to it.

[WatsupHannity]

Just did ~10 minutes of cardio activity-- some burpees, mountain climbers, rowing on my Concept II, and sit-ups on a decline bench.

[Mr.City]

Congrats on your new Chucks. I can't live without em'

[WatsupHannity]

I can feel it in my muscles, I'm not eating enough... recovery is all about the calories. But I'm getting back to bulking levels.

Squats - 200 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 165 lbs. - 5,5,5
Deadlift - 255 lbs. - 5

[WatsupHannity]

I've sucked it up and modified my old diet into one that I can manage with my jaw being at 20% strength. Here it is:

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/3700/dietc.jpg

I can then tweak it from here. Last time I started at about 3500 and found that I was still hungry and needed to nudge it up to 3800, then 4000. I can add tablespoons of natural peanut butter, olive oil, and milk to bump the calories up if need be.

I don't necessarily eat these meals in order. I usually start the day with the egg+oats+protein+banana meal, which is actually a banana pancake recipe that you cook up. After that I may make up the rice, chicken, hamburger and eggs, and then sort of eat that whenever's convenient. The nuts, oats, berries, yogurt and protein is a shake I make up based on a recipe by John Berardi. The milk and cottage cheese are basically "snacks". The goal is to get all this food down over the course of a day, in any order. Oh, and with basically every meal I take down some spinach or leafy salad mix as the veggie. Alternatively I down some V8.

In addition, on lifting days I make a shake with 3 scoops of whey and 1.5 scoops of greens powder, that I drink partially before, during and after my workout. After the workout I also drink 250 mL of 1% chocolate milk. That works out to:

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/5685/workoutdiet.jpg

Comments, suggestions, and insults on my diet would all be greatly appreciated.

[K.Diesel]

I don't know how active you are outside of SS and CF, but my gut (no pun) says you may need to add another 1L of milk, or the caloric equivalent. If you're over 200 lbs now and trying to gain, that would put you at 4500 on training days and 4000 on rest/light cardio days.

My opinion is likely swayed from the bias of my personal experience with myself and training/advising others. Most seem to underestimate their caloric needs, so I've been trying to err on the side of abandon rather than caution.

That being said, congratulations on getting back in the game so strong after your surgery! Diet looks well-planned and if you're feeling energetic and recovering well, the macro balance is probably fine.

[WatsupHannity]

Thanks for stopping by Dies. To answer your question I basically sit on my ass all day, hence why I need to manually add the cardio activity 3x a week. I'm not active with CF any more, but I'm considering 1 session of CF per week, probably on my own rather than at the local affiliate, and with an aerobic focus rather than strength as SS has that more than covered in my programming.

I agree with you that I will almost certainly have to end up at 4k on non-training days; hell I was pretty much there before the jaw surgery. I find I have to transition into it. It might sound crazy, but to me eating a lot every day requires the same focus and discipline as eating a calorie-restrictive diet does for an obese person. I have to ease into it, same as them, or I'll "relapse" into only eating 2000 calories. Sick eh?

[WatsupHannity]

Wild, my strengthmill journal is here too... though stuck in the past apparently. I'll update both journals from now on.

[WatsupHannity]

The missing posts are here (http://strengthmill.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5292&page=7) if anyone was wanting to read them.
(http://strengthmill.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5292&page=7)

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 220 lbs. - 5,4
Press - 125 lbs. - 5,5,5
Pull-ups - 5,3


I dumped a set of squats. Brutal. I'll chalk it up to sleeping 4 hours on Friday night and not really recovering from that, and the fact my legs still feel burny from Crossfit. I can't rejoin the Crossfit affiliate, I can see that now. I want to do intense CF-style training at least once a week, but I'll have to do it on my own and with exercises that don't directly overlap/interfere with my lifting. Oddly enough I thought my squat form was pretty nice before the dump.

Then I ran out of time and couldn't do PCs. Did some pullups at the park near my house. I'll swing by the gym in the morning to do the cleans.

[WatsupHannity]

Power cleans went better than during any other workout; I may be on my way to getting the form down. I picked up a cue from a youtube video about treating your arms like ropes and that helped a lot. I think I'd be capable of a healthy amount of weight once my form and explosiveness are optimized.

Power Cleans - 115 lbs. - 3,3,3,3,3

[Mr.City]

Cleans are tricky. I feel scrapping my knees on when I do them.

[WatsupHannity]

Hit the gym focused on avenging my previous squat failure. After watching some Gary Gibson videos, I decided to thrust my body under the bar all hyped-up-like on the unrack, rather than dicking around the bar for 3 minutes before settling in leisurely as I previously was. I also focused on executing a deep Valsalva, getting air into my belly for the first time ever. My stomach felt like someone had lightly punched it afterward, which was a new feeling. The sets were basically a huge success. Everything was smooth, rhythmic and my form was about as good as it's ever been. Just peachy.

Swung over to bench, decided to go straight to 180 (eff microloading, who's with me ;)) and the sets went pretty damn well, only missing the final rep. Of course, I had guys with sticky fingers spotting me (one for the first set and a different guy for the last two). I can't be more clear with my instructions, and there's even a low rack-point on the bench setup that you can rack to if necessary, that makes it basically impossible to actually get pinned... but despite all this they still put their damn hands around the bar. If they treat the iron this way I'd hate to see them in a "bar" bar. Luckily they actually didn't touch my shit so the lifts count, but I had to separately tell both of them mid-rep to stay away. Picture me working through the crushing fifth rep of a set, using every ounce of strength in me to get it up and having to say "AHGODIDAHGODIDAHGODIDAHGODID" (4 ahgodid's) with my Valsalva-addled lungs.

Deadlifts was a miss. Disappointing after a good performance on the first two exercises, but I'll get it next time. I think I a) lowered the bar too slowly the first reps and wasted energy, and b) didn't activate my hamstrings enough.


Squats - 220 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 180 lbs. - 5,5,4
Deadlifts - 285 lbs. - 4

[WatsupHannity]

Today's workout: handled 225 on squats with relative ease. The hyped-thrust-unrack combined with focused Valsalva is resulting in a lot more strength. Feeling great about that. I kicked up the weight on PCs midway through the sets cuz I just wasn't getting enough resistance. I can fling the bar up simply enough but I'm just not sure how good or bad my form really is. Gotta get a video camera or hang at Daniel's gym on cleans day.


Squats - 225 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 127 lbs. - 5,5,4
Power Cleans - 125 lbs. - 3,3,3
- 135 lbs. - 3,3

[WatsupHannity]

Ha ha, ha ha ha. Ha. That's what I am today. A joke. Bench press, utter fail, DL, utter fail. Squats worked out somehow.

Squats - 230 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 180 lbs. - 3,3
Deadlift - 285 lbs. - 3

[Mr.City]

It might be time to cut down on those deadlifts.

[WatsupHannity]

Heh: http://www.wimp.com/strongguy/

[WatsupHannity]

It might be time to cut down on those deadlifts.

You might be right; I'll give it one more try since I've failed 285 twice so far. What's bothering me is it just doesn't make sense. I deadlifted increments all the way to 315 for 3x5 before the surgery, without failing once. I could have DLed more at that time too. Now I weigh a little more than I did then, my squat is back to my PR (and with relative ease I might add). I just don't get what's going on with the DLs. The only factor I can identify as potentially being responsible, besides outright muscle-wasting or some such, is that I may have a significant lack of flexibility. Alternatively, my form may be wrong as well. In fact, if form is off, it'd be due to flexibility in my opinion.

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 235 lbs. - 5,5,5 - new PR
Press - 126.3 lbs. - 5,5,5
Power Cleans - 115 lbs. - 3,3
- 135 lbs. - 3,3,3,3

Solid workout, save for PCs somewhat, which I am still fiddling around with. I stayed at the same weights but added a set which we'll call progression for now. I can fling the bar up easily when I do what is basically a snatch-clean, but if I touch the bar to my mid-thigh on the ascent I lose momentum and it's a sloppy mess. MUST visit Daniel next power clean day.

[WatsupHannity]

Was feeling extremely tired for unknown reasons so opted to skip squats and do them separately tomorrow morning. Swapped the order of DLs and Bench.

Deadlifts - 285 lbs. - 5
Bench Press - 180 lbs. - 5,5,5

I feel almost 100% confident that the issue with deads is flexibility; however not only in the hams but in the glutes and lower back. When I'm in the setup position I can't readily get my back arched, I have to almost force it. This ends up ruining my ability to comfortably hold the bar in its path and exert maximum force with all the involved muscle groups. It's possibly related to the flexibility, but I'm leaning waaaay too far forward. I discovered this by deadlifting parallel to the wall of mirrors and looking to the side to watch myself lift. I feel confident if I can resolve these issues I'll be back to DLing 315+ in no time.


Bench press was a breeze... It's all about mental focus and adequate preparation. And not jabbering with your spotter. That was easy since I didn't use one today.

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 240 lbs. - 5,4
Pullups - 2,2,2,2,2,2,2,1

Going to eat more, sleep more (and earlier) and I'm seeing a professional massage therapist on Tuesday. I need to eat more calories before, and possibly during, my workout and not be afraid to have fat-containing food half an hour before working out.

[WatsupHannity]

Workout Dec. 7- Was simply exhausted and it reflected in my performance.

Squats - 240 lbs. - 4,3 - 225 lbs. - 4
Press - 130 lbs. - 5,5,5
Power Cleans - Just not getting it http://strengthmill.net/forum/images/smilies/mad.gif... may toss them out of the program altogether. Did Pendlay Rows at 135 lbs. instead.

[WatsupHannity]

Yesterday I did one hour of massage therapy, and soaked in an epsom salt bath. Hopefully that will produce some flexibility.

[WatsupHannity]

Hey everyone. Haven't checked in in a while. Did a handful of workouts to finish out 2009 but missed a bunch. I just sort of crumbled; not just in training but in everything. Honestly, I just had a total breakdown. I'm totally burned out and life isn't coming together the way it should be. I hopped on a plane to Australia where I'm hanging out with a girlfriend of mine for a few weeks while I collect my head and figure out what I'm doing with my life.

I've been trying to juggle three completely different businesses, and I'm really doubting now whether taking all these projects on will bring me net happiness. I'm already successful in my first business, financially comfortable and free to do whatever I want, yet I've been forcing myself to tackle these additional opportunities just because they are there. On top of that I'm living in a city I don't even think I actually like, which features a brutally cold winter, when I could live literally anywhere in the world. Did I mention I have overwhelming anxiety issues that I've never properly dealt with, issues that have prevented me from getting quality sleep for years? Yeah, they're pretty much what caused my breakdown last month.

Anyways, this isn't Reader's Digest, and I'll get my shit sorted out one way or the other. I have a couple ideas in the pipeline.

As for lifting, I've been doing some ad hoc exercises here the last few days until I could use a proper gym, which I did today. Pullups, pushups, basic stuff. One exercise I thought was ingenious: had my girl sit on my shoulders while I did squats. I did several sets of 10 with her 132 lbs. on top; it was much more challenging than that number would indicate. I really felt it in the mid-back and abs. Today at the gym I got:

Squats - 105 kg - 5,3
Press - 60 kg - 5 - 62.5 kg - 5,3
Pendlay Rows - 75 kg - 5,5,5

I'm chucking power cleans and going with trusty old pendlay rows for now on. I have also been dabbling with decreasing overall intensity to reflect my tentatively-novice status and the fact that I can't make gains for crap at the current pace. Basically I'm looking at making day 2 a front squat/bench press/deadlift day. That way heavy back squats and deadlifts never appear on the same day. I had some success with deficit pulls before Christmas, doing 2x5 deficit pulls at 235 followed by 5 regular deadlifts at 285. I wasn't expecting to do much powerlifting out here but I found a pretty good gym with a reasonable daily rate so I will do my best to get in 3 workouts per week.

[WatsupHannity]

Good workout yesterday; highest scores in 6 months:

Deadlift - 132.5 kg - 5
Deficit Pulls - Some singles and doubles around the 120 kg range
Bench Press - 82.5 kg - 5,5,5
Front Squat - 75 kg - 5,5,5

[WatsupHannity]

Weights felt slag heavy today.

Squats - 105 kg - 4,4 - 102.5 kg - 4
Press - 62.5 kg - 4,4,2
Pendlay Row - 77.5 kg - 5,5,5

I'm up a couple pounds since I've been out here, but I need to eat more.

[WatsupHannity]

Improvement all around yesterday. Lifted over 300 lbs. on DL, hit an all-time PR on bench and successfully bumped up front squats.

Deadlift- 137.5 kg - 5
Bench Press - 85 kg - 5,5,5
Front Squat - 77.5 kg - 5,5,5

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 107.5 kg - 5 - 105 kg - 4,5
Press - 62.5 kg - 5,4,3
Pendlay Rows - 80 kg - 5,5,5

Issues with squat form. Not a lot can be done for now at least, until I return home next week. I could meet with a strength coach at that point. I vary too much from set to set and even rep to rep, probably resulting from my fairly bad kinesthetic sense.

[WatsupHannity]

Deadlift - 140 kg - 3+1
Bench Press - 87.5 kg - 4,3 - 85 kg - 4
Front Squat - no attempt

Didn't feel strong or energetic at all. Seems 75% of my workouts are this way, and I haven't been gaining a great deal of strength like this. I deadlifted up to 315 successfully in July. The fact I am failing at 308 is disconcerting. My lower back felt tanked today, before even starting the workout, probably from the (poor) way I squat, and that was what mostly affected the deadlifts. The bench press was a 5.5 pound jump, (no microloads) so failure is not shocking.

I'm not as worried about the lack of improvement as I am with the way I feel the majority of workouts: flat and listless. I'm speculating that it might have to do with the fact I never sleep more than 3 consecutive hours, and wake up an average of 4-5 times per night. As for diet I'm eating constantly, almost exclusively whole milk, peanut butter, chicken, pork, rice, and bananas with some veggies at most meals, and I'm up another 2 pounds this week (to 231). Having said that I could certainly stand to gain at a faster rate.

Whatever, this journal is becoming a tale of mediocrity; so be it. I'm going to elect to be not-worried for now, as I've been out of the country this month and out of my normal routines, and I did improve my scores nicely on deadlift and bench press while out here. But if I can't get into a good pattern of results next month back home I'll have to reevaluate my whole approach.

[WatsupHannity]

Back in Canada this week. Extremely jet-lagged, tired and fighting cold-like symptoms. Decided to reset the weights one increment in order to ensure success and get some momentum.

Saturday's workout:

Deadlift - 300 lbs. - 5
Bench Press - 185 lbs. - 5,5,5
Pullups - some

Sets were relatively easy but I was too tired to continue.

Today:

Squats - 225 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 135 lbs. - 5,5,5
Pendlay Rows - 185 lbs. - 5,5,5
Barbell Curls - 45 lbs. - 10,10
Chinups - 4,2

Squats felt very heavy, I was struggling to finish each set. Not sure why I can't break out of the low 200s on this exercise. I will see Daniel Pare this week for some coaching; my hope is that something is awry with my form that can be corrected.

I did the sets of Pendlays with a little english on the last reps, but that english means I do a Barbell Row as per Rippetoe, raising my back about 20 degrees to finish the reps. Basically I do strict Pendlay for the first 4 reps and a Barbell Row the 5th rep. I think this will be a good approach in order to get the poundage higher on this exercise.

[WatsupHannity]

Deadlift - 305 lbs. - 5
Bench Press - 187.5 lbs. - 5,5,4
Front Squat - 185 lbs. - 5,5,5 assisted by spotter
Neutral-Grip Pullups - 5,4

Gym was super-busy and I had to work in with a guy on squats, and he decided to assist me lightly on the bar. There wasn't much I could say. I likely wouldn't have been able to complete the set on my own. He actually had very good squat form and got up to 315 for a single, which makes him quite unusual compared to the rest of the quarter-squatters. Deadlifts felt better than they had in 6 months.

Bench fail was a minor surprise but I'll get it next time. I had to do the last two sets unspotted. This was because I grabbed a guy to help me on the liftoff on the first set. I said, "Can you give me a liftoff? Just a liftoff, I'll be fine after that." We all know how this story ends. He was dying to get his fingers on the bar by the 5th rep. No one else looked trustable for spotting so I went it alone after that. While I was doing my second set a 14-year old kid ran over at the 5th rep and said, "Are you OK??" with his hands hovering around the bar. GMAFB.

[Mr.City]

Deadlift - 305 lbs. - 5
Bench Press - 187.5 lbs. - 5,5,4
Front Squat - 185 lbs. - 5,5,5 assisted by spotter
Neutral-Grip Pullups - 5,4

Gym was super-busy and I had to work in with a guy on squats, and he decided to assist me lightly on the bar. There wasn't much I could say. He actually had very good squat form and got up to 315 for a single, which makes him quite unusual compared to the rest of the quarter-squatters. Deadlifts felt better than they had in 6 months.

Bench fail was a minor surprise but I'll get it next time. I had to do the last two sets unspotted. This was because I grabbed a guy to help me on the liftoff on the first set. I said, "Can you give me a liftoff? Just a liftoff, I'll be fine after that." We all know how this story ends. He was dying to get his fingers on the bar by the 5th rep. While I was doing my second set a 14-year old kid ran over at the 5th rep and said, "Are you OK??" with his hands hovering around the bar. GMAFB.

I'm sorry to hear your training session was ruined by overzealous spotters.

[WatsupHannity]

Thanks. Unfortunately it's totally standard. I'm contemplating joining a powerlifting gym full-time, or perhaps going down to Wichita Falls for a month...

[WatsupHannity]

Due to commitments I could only get my sets of squats done on Friday so I returned Saturday morning to do press and rows. I made a fantastic adjustment on squats by dramatically lowering where I'm positioning the bar on my back. Unfortunately I may have got the wrong cue from Daniel in that my low bar was too high. As soon as I made the change it was like a totally different exercise.

Squats - 230 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 137.5 lbs. - 5,5,5
Rows - 187.5 lbs. - 5,5,5 with english, will repeat

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 235 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 187.5 lbs. - 5,5,5
Deadlift - 310 lbs. - 5

Considering I didn't sleep all Saturday night this was a damn good result. I was visiting another gym to boot. Very positive indicators. I inadvertently used a fat-bar for deadlifts and my grip felt challenged for the first time ever... for whatever reason my grip is very strong and I haven't yet faced failure from it. I switched to mixed-grip for the 5th rep.

[WatsupHannity]

Wednesday's workout:

Squats - 237.5 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 140 lbs. - 5,3
Kroc Rows - 80s - 15,15,12
Decline-Bench Situps - +30 lbs. - 7,7
Dumbbell Curls - 30s - 10,10

Press felt alarmingly hard on the first set and I barely got the 5th rep up for some reason.

[misspelledgeoff]

Looking through your log since October and your strength is progressing nicely. Good work.

[WatsupHannity]

Thanks Geoff. Looking back I certainly have advanced, although I have been feeling generally disappointed with where my strength levels are, especially in comparison to where they were in July. I'm also 20 pounds heavier now than I was then. It goes to show that recovering from major surgery is no walk in the park.

On a positive note, I dusted my workout today. I have been contemplating doing RFL in order to trim some fat and stay below 20%, but I think I will try to eat at maintenance for a few weeks and consolidate some of the strength gains I know I have in me. For instance, I think I can deadlift 335 and bench 200 by the end of the month while holding my weight at 238.

Deadlift - 315 lbs. - 5
Bench Press - 190 lbs. - 5,5,5
Front Squat - 175 lbs. - 5,5,5

[K.Diesel]

Wednesday's workout:
Kroc Rows - 80s - 15,15,12

Suggestion on these: go to absolute failure on 1 set with at least 20 reps, and no more than 2. So if 15 was all you could muster on set 1, then drop to 75 or 70. Up the weight when you get to 30+. If you could do more than 15, keep pulling until you can't and lose the last set or 2.

That aside, it looks like you're coming along nicely.

[WatsupHannity]

Ah, I see, that makes sense, thanks. In general how often should one be doing these? I swapped them in for barbell/pendlay rows because I did them at home with my dumbbells.

[K.Diesel]

It looks like you're rowing every other workout, so I'd switch rows every other rowing session. So it might look like this...

Mon.
Ex. 1
Ex. 2
Pendlay rows 3 x 5

Fri.
Ex. 1
Ex. 2
Kroc rows

Next Wed.
1, 2, then Pendlays

Next Mon.
1, 2, Krocs

I would do it like this because I wouldn't give up the low rep back work altogether.

[WatsupHannity]

Nice, I like the sound of that.

Another question, since I've got your experienced attention: I add chinups/pullups as an assistance exercise from time to time (sometimes forgetting to log it here); is it a good idea to keep these in addition to the two types of rows I'll be doing, and if so how often?

[K.Diesel]

I'd do them on deadlift day, 2-3 sets max. Try to increase the total number of reps from one session to the next.

[WatsupHannity]

Okay, this is what my routine will tentatively look like:

Day A

Squats
Press
Barbell Rows/Kroc Rows alternating
Weighted Decline Situps

Day B

Deadlift
Bench Press
Front Squats
Chinups or Pullups

[WatsupHannity]

I brought a buddy to lift with me today. He's almost the same height as me at 6'6, but weighs a freakishly-thin 180 lbs. He has always done a lot of sports but has a severe need to bulk up and strengthen his frame. The gym was super-busy, and I wanted to get him to establish his starting weights so we ran late. With a time commitment (house party we agreed to go to) I could only get to squats and press. I'll do some Kroc rows and weighted situps in the morning to finish the workout.

Squats - 240 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 140 lbs. - 5,5,5

The workout went really well and I'm feeling good and strong and ready to add to my numbers this month. The best part of the workout for me happened at the end: on our way out, my buddy saw the basketball court and wanted to shoot some hoops. I haven't played ball in probably 2 or 3 years, but I decided to try some dunks. At 240 lbs., I dunked with more ease than I ever did when I weighed 195 lbs. in college. We're talking self-alleyoops, behind-the-backs, and two-footed tomahawks. And all this after squatting a 3x5 PR. It was awesome.

[WatsupHannity]

Weird week. I've been staying up way late every night, in a social groove which is actually a good thing for my life right now. I connected with a pretty dynamite chick this week and we hung out late last night and then again today. Unfortunately I was pretty sleep deprived and the date was sort of lame, which was mostly the fault of me, and the relationship is pretty much DOA now. I took some adderall and coffee to be as fresh as possible but it didn't prevent lameness. However, the stimulants were enough to make my trip to the gym in the evening productive (see, that's the workout connection to the story).

Front Squat - 180 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 195 lbs. - 5,5,5
Deadlift - 325 lbs. - 5
Narrow Neutral-grip Pullups- 7,3

5-pound jumps on F Squats and B Press, 10 pounds on deadlift and success across the board. Can't argue with that. One dilemma I'm facing is a nagging inflammation-like pain in my right elbow that has been present for about 10 days, sometimes on the outside and sometimes on the inside. It flares up especially on rowing movements and a bit on bench press too. It was really pronounced on the pullups today. I think I may have caused it during vigorous Kroc row action, and I feel taking a break from rowing temporarily may be in order. I've tried to search the boards because I believe I've seen this problem referred to, but to little avail.

[WatsupHannity]

Yesterday's workout:

Squats - 242.5 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 141.3 lbs. - 5,5,5
Weighted Decline Situps - +25 lbs. - 10,10
Pendlay Rows - 120 lbs. - 5 - 160 lbs. - 5
Barbell Curls - 60 lbs. - 10

I got DOMS from my first sets of weighted decline situps a couple weeks ago, but since then it's not returned so I suppose I'm adapting to them a bit. I took it easy on rows for a day; my elbow felt absolutely fine until I got to the gym, but it started to burn from the first set of squats. Could it be squat-induced? As the workout proceeded it throbbed and felt pretty sore. I tried to "dig out" the tendons as per Dave Tate and that may have helped. It already feels fine today.

[WatsupHannity]

Did half a workout tonight and will do half tomorrow, due to there being a holiday and the gym closing early.

Deadlifts - 335 lbs. - 5
Bench Press - 197.5 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bicep Curls - 65 lbs. - 12,8

Deadlifts were dare I say easy. Contrast this with struggles at 285, 295, 308 etc. over the last few months. Flexibility and form are better but other than that it's not clear what drives the intricacies of performance on these lifts. I'm far from consistent and that's difficult when you have the same exercises and the same increases to attempt each time. Bench was a struggle and almost a fail on rep 15. Seriously, my elbow really throbs and burns through these workouts. Yet now, 4 hours later, my arm feels 100% fine. Perhaps doing bicep work, which I haven't really ever done, might be what's necessary.

[WatsupHannity]

Second half of yesterday's workout:

Chinups - 6,3
Front Squats - 182.5 lbs. - 5,5
Bicep Curls - 70 lbs. - 8

I am experimenting with a hunch I have by only doing 2 sets of front squats. My elbow killed afterwards, yet again, except this time it was exclusively on the outside of the joint. It was caused by the chinups. I'm wondering if it's the case that pulling motions create a pain on the outside, and pushing movements cause the pain inside.

[WatsupHannity]

Blech, I procrastinated today and didn't resolve to go to the gym until 9pm... I was on the fence about pushing it until tomorrow but I was like naw gotta get in there and stick to the plan... unfortunately my calorie consumption was low today, and I had no caffeine in me during my workout (coffee is my go-to with my pre-workout shake).

Squats - 245 lbs. - 5,4
Press - 145 lbs. - 4,4,4
Bicep Curls - 75 lbs. - 8

The first set of squats was one of the uglier things I've ever done in a gym. I actually swayed on the fifth rep of the first set and had to take a step on the way up. I read a post on here by someone who said, "It took me two years to learn how to squat." And I can honestly say I don't know how to squat yet. What I am doing probably looks very much like a squat, but I am not nearly comfortable kinesthetically, like I am with, say, deadlifts and bench press.

For press I didn't have my microplates and was forced to jump to 145. My first set's form was sloppy and I bumped my chin on the 4th rep. I could also use better kinesthetic sense on this exercise. I foresee a pass on this next time around, however. As long as I've consumed enough stimulants.

My weight is holding steady at 236-237, yet I look and feel like I'm getting softer. My strength has also jumped a fair bit while holding at this weight. I'm not sure what it all means.

[WatsupHannity]

Forgot to add, I did the second half of the workout last night at home:

Kroc Rows - 65 lbs. - 26L, 22R
Weighted Decline Situps - +35 lbs. - 10 - +45 lbs. - 5

[WatsupHannity]

Deadlift - 345 lbs. - 5
Bench Press - 200 lbs. - 5,4
Incline DB Press - 90 lb. DBs - 6
Front Squat - 185 lbs. - 5,5,5
Pullups - 6, 2
Inverted Rows - a few
Farmer's Walk - 100 lb. DBs - half the track

I like to do deadlift warmups to about 225 with deficit pulls, but I learned something today: when my lower back already feels tender and strained (from failed squat attempt on wednesday), don't do the deficit pulls on deadlift day. It was just taking too much out of my back.

My elbow is realllly starting to hurt a lot, to the point of interfering with my strength output. I believe I failed bench press as a result.

[WatsupHannity]

Elbow is much improved. I guess I have been flaring my elbows on many of the push-pull exercises and when I focused on correcting this last night I felt 95% less pain.

Squats - 245 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 145 lbs. - 5,5,5 (cleaned the first rep of each set because the power rack was occupied)
Rows - 190 lbs. - 5,5,5
Weighted Decline Situps - +45 lbs. - 5 - + 50 lbs. - 5,5
Barbell Curls - 75 lbs. - 10,8


I think my squats were better and I feel hope that I will now be able to make some actual reasonable gains on the lift. I kept my whole body really tight through the bottom and the explosion upward, including my lats, abductors etc., and I felt more control over the power output.

[WatsupHannity]

I am currently driving across Canada (4600 km) from southern Ontario to Vancouver, where I am relocating. I had hoped to keep progressing this week, but realistically, strength maintenance would be the most ideal goal. I have been sleeping very little the past week or so as well, and sleeping in strange hotels doesn't help this. I hit the YMCA in Sault Ste. Marie yesterday morning.

Deadlift - 355 lbs. - 2 - 315 lbs. - 4
Incline DB Press - 85s - 5 - 90s - 5 - 95s - 4

The only barbells they had were fat bars and my grip failed spectacularly on 355. Since I had barely slept the night before I didn't feel like embarrassing myself on bench press and went to the DBs. My elbow definitely hurt a lot during this workout :(

[WatsupHannity]

Weird workout today. Working out in a Y in Calgary so of course there's some unfamiliarity from the get-go. Got squats successfully at 250. Then attempted press at 145... I made this lift last time, but with a clean to start each set, and combined with the travelling I felt I should re-do the weight, presuming it would be an open-shut case. Unfortunately I failed miserably. No idea why this happens sometimes, but it does.

Squats - 250 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 145 lbs. - 4,2
Rack Shrugs - 315 lbs. - 5 - 365 lbs. - 4 - 315 lbs. - 10
Incline DB Press - 90s - 6
Barbell Curls - 80 lbs. - 7

I added some rack shrugs and the incline dumbbell press because I feel like I'm not getting enough work in, and I may not be able to work out again until Tuesday. I wonder if doing incline DB press instead of bench press last workout contributed to the fail on press.

[WatsupHannity]

Settling in in Vancouver... not eating the way I want yet and sleep has suffered a bit too. That can't explain the epic fail of my workout today though. My elbow hurt so incredibly much during bench press, I have to resolve this ASAP. I am considering doing 3 days of squats a week and weighted situps, and just giving my elbow a rest for a week or two?? I want to get started on RFL (I'm bursting out of my dress shirts) but there's absolutely no way if my elbow is damaged.

Deadlift - 355 lbs. (fat bar again, sucks) - 2,1
Bench Press - 185 lbs. - 2,2 - 195 lbs. - 1,2,3

[WatsupHannity]

Friday - Just did 3 sets of 5 on squats, attempting to rest the inflamed elbows (it's both of them now :()

Squats - 255 lbs. - 5,5,5

[WatsupHannity]

Last night:


Press - 45 lbs. - 25,25
Deadlift - 355 lbs. - 2+1 - 315 lbs. - 3+2
Weighted Decline Situps - +45 lbs. - 5,5

Tried some Starr-style rehab, elbows and bicep didn't really feel anything, but shoulders were of course on fire by the end.

Deadlift was another big fail, and it's clear why. My bicep tendons are just raging with pain on these sets... that's why my grip is failing too, I believe, because the sequence of force, from my posterior chain through the shoulders, then arms and hands, is broken by the weak link at the bicep and elbow. My arms felt pain, not a muscular pain, just a steady, ferocious pain that feels wrong.

Seriously, if anyone has some insight I'm all ears. It's not a muscle belly injury. Should I just be doing squats, front squats, back extensions and weighted situps for a couple weeks, with some Starr rehab say on bench? Or should I get X-rays?

I posted a question about it in the Ask Rip forum but Rip deleted it without answering. Guess he didn't like it. I'll try again today. I've tried the search function but I'm getting nothing.

[WatsupHannity]

Tuesday's workout - took 2 advil ahead of time and found it really reduced the pain in the arms; strength is quite down still though. I partied a little hard on Sunday and Monday so that's likely the explanation. My arms felt so good that I attempted 200 pounds on bench, which did not pan out. Now as per Rip's advice I'm going to take a week off from everything. I contemplated doing front squats, back extensions and weighted situps but I think just resting the entire system is the best choice for recovery and repair.

Medium-term plan is to heal this up, get back to lifting and my peak numbers and then do RFL for a month while maintaining those poundages.


Squats - 260 lbs. - 4,3 - 245 lbs. - 3
Bench Press - 200 lbs. - 3 - 185 lbs. - 5

[WatsupHannity]

Took a true week off- even more actually, 8 full days of rest. Weighed in at 242 so that means my weight held dead-steady.

I tried cutting my previous work weights by about 5-6%, to safely test the condition of my arms.

Everything generally went well, though I did feel "flat" during the exercises. For no good reason, I failed the last squat rep. I was just sort of lightheaded, feeling flat, and swayed a bit at the bottom of the rep and I was done. As for the upperbody exercises, I took advantage of the lighter weights to really get my form nailed down. This meant controlling flaring, ensuring proper hand position on the bar and stabilizing the wrist on bench press, rather than letting it get folded over by the weight.

I have to reiterate that I have some sort of chronic sleep-slash-anxiety issue. I just don't sleep well at all and it is really hampering my progress, not to mention my life. I'm at a loss; I would easily pay $100,000-- no, $500,000-- to be able to sleep normally, and be my regular, energetic self again.


Squats - 245 lbs. - 5,5,4
Bench Press - 185 lbs. - 5,5,5
Barbell Rows - 180 lbs. - 5,5,5

[WatsupHannity]

Wow, I've got some serious sleeping disorder. I've been a bad sleeper for almost a decade now, but my recent decision to move to Vancouver and put a lot more on my plate seems to have ramped up the insomnia. I can literally feel the adrenaline flowing through my body all, the, time. As I lie in bed and stare at the ceiling, I feel the knot in my stomach and my heart shaking my whole torso with its pounding (though at a regular pace). I wake up several times, fully alert, until finally I can't sleep any longer, usually about 5 or 6 hours after I went to bed. This just isn't normal. I feel like I need comprehensive psychiatric help for this issue. It's really lowering my quality of living; poor lifting performance is like the 4th worst effect.

So... yeah. Hey, this journal's about reality, I tells it likes it is. I'll get through it... I hope. I'll hit up a psych.

On the positive tip, my arms feel a lot better, although I did get a twinge of pain by the last reps of deadlifts today. Gotta keep with the RICE and ibuprofen and I should be all right. I continued with the reduced poundages in order to get back on track. Missed a rep on press, but I didn't need to really... I was tinkering around with very tucked elbows, which makes it a rather different exercise. I think there's a happy medium.


Front Squat - 185 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 135 lbs. - 5,5,4
Deadlift - 315 lbs. - 5,5,5

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 255 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 190 lbs. - 5,5,4
Pendlay Rows - 185 lbs. - 5,5,5
Barbell Curls - 80 lbs. - 5,5,5


Note to self: Keep foot placement on squats a little closer than you have been.

[WatsupHannity]

Well, so much for my arm getting better. Yesterday it hurt like holy hell. The pain was so bad I very nearly vomited. It's hurting quite nicely right now as I write this. The pain all came pouring in on deadlifts; I'm thinking maybe I should scrap these for the time being. I'm also gonna see a doctor about this today. It goes without saying, but getting tied up with this type of injury sorta defeats the whole purpose of SS and gaining strength "quickly".

I threw in the towel on a weight I've easily done before. My legs and back felt fine; it was purely my grip and my arm that felt tortured and I had to dump it. I then tried a set of squats and then got the hell out of there.

Deadlifts - 335 lbs. - 2
Squats - 265 lbs. - 4

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 265 lbs. - 4,2
Press - 135 lbs. - 5 - 145 lbs. - 3 - 135 lbs. - 4

Going to take another week off.

[WatsupHannity]

After more than a month away my journal is still on page 2 somehow! To summarize what's been going on: my right elbow has been giving me a great deal of trouble, to the point that I've had to basically shelve Starting Strength for a while.

I took almost 2 weeks off without working out at all, then returned and found there was still pain during certain movements. To cope I've been wearing a neoprene elbow brace, and avoiding the exercises that cause me the most pain (pullups/chinups, deadlifts). I've learned what seem to be the triggers of pain: doing pressing movements with bent-back wrists (now I focus fully on keeping my wrist locked at 90 degrees); overhand deadlifts (after a month off DLs I tried double-underhand all the way up to 305 for 2 sets of 5, and to my shock there was no pain at all); and horsing around/play-wrestling with my girlfriend for some reason.

So, I'll avoid the triggers, wear the elbow sleeve and hopefully my arm will get better over the next few months.

My weight is at about 237-238, down from a peak of around 243; my strength is off a bit too (though I have modified/improved my form quite a bit on most movements, which improves my long-term health at the expense of some short-term strength). My diet has just been in a holding pattern as I tried to resolve what was going on with my arm and how to proceed.

After mucking around for most of the last month, I now want to proceed with some sort of reevaluated gameplan.

Firstly, I want to assert some goals. These goals may be somewhat different than a lot of the other journals around here; but they may be somewhat similar to a lot of guys' actual desires.

I want to be bigger, period. I'm 6'7, and no longer outright-skinny, but some more quality mass will let me fill out very nicely. I want to be a leader of men, in business and in the community. A strong frame provides confidence and physical appeal which well help me achieve this goal.

I don't want to load myself up with just any sort of mass, though. I know the health risks of carrying a lot of weight. Therefore, I want to manage my bodyfat over the long-term. I also don't want to carry around "show muscle". If I'm going to carry around extra weight at the cost of my longevity, I want it to be maximally useful.

I'd like to be able to deadlift 500 and bench 250 for reps, but at the same time be able to run 3 miles in 20 minutes if need be. I like the idea of being a well-rounded athlete, not in the Crossfit mold per se, but in a way that is more informed by good training research and more in line with my personal lifestyle. But really, this is a longer-term goal. In the near future I want to continue gaining strength and muscle, and at some point go on an RFL fat loss routine to trim some of my lard.

[WatsupHannity]

I am also insanely busy. A YMCA just opened yesterday downtown, like 3 blocks from my office, so that will really help me get to the gym a lot easier. I believe I'm at the point where I need to leave SS and modify my training, but I'm really not sure how at the immediate moment. There's a zillion directions my training could take.

For now I am cruising a bit, doing work a little under my all-time maxes and holding the fort.

[WatsupHannity]

I'm now working out on a by-feel basis. I can't apply a rigid workout scheme because I'm frequently sleeping 4-6 hours in a night and eating less or more on given days. I'm making huge gains in my professional life, and I can't be flawless in each part of my life (even though I'd love to). So I'm taking the workouts as they come. Sometimes an extra day off, sometimes a different exercise scheme.

One major major problem with the new Y is that the barbells they use have NO knurling in the middle 2 feet of the bar. I back squatted with it once... total fiasco. Falling down my back once I hit two plates, just an injury waiting to happen. I may have to tape the barbell when I'm there with some removable tape or something.

Yesterday's workout:

Front Squats - 190 lbs. - 5,4,5. Missed the 5th rep due to pure cardio fatigue and nothing else. My lumbar hurt a lot after these. I may invest in a belt, and I certainly need to work on posterior chain flexibility. I will also add light knee wraps for support; I've been feeling some gentle pain in my knees.

Bench Press - 190 lbs. - 5,5,5. Dusted it. Hope to get up to 205 shortly.

Kroc Rows - 80 lb. DBs - 26 L, 25 R. I hope my form is okay for this. I definitely bounce at the bottom and control the descent less than Kroc does. I love the exercise though.

[WatsupHannity]

Sunday:

Deadlift - 315 lbs. - 5
Bench Press - 195 lbs. - 5,5,5
Pendlay Rows - 190 lbs. - 5,5
Kroc Rows - 85 lb. DBs - 26L,25R


Today:

Squat - 245 lbs. - 5,4,5
Press - 135 lbs. - 8,7,6
Kroc Rows - 90lb. DBs - 20L,21R

Weighed 245 wearing about 2 lbs. of clothes.

[WatsupHannity]

Saturday:

Deadlift - 315 lbs. - 5
Bench Press - 185 lbs. - 8,6,7
Bicep Curls - 80 lbs. - 8,6

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 255 lbs. - 3,2
Front Squats - 185 lbs. - 5
Press - 145 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bicep Curls - 90 lbs. - 6,5

I was tired, sleep-deprived and down a couple pounds from not eating enough, which I guess explains the squats. Upperbody work doesn't seem to suffer as much from fatigue.

[WatsupHannity]

Deadlift - 325 lbs. - 5
Bench Press - 200 lbs. - 5,4,4
Kroc Rows - 90 lb. DBs - 22L,22R


My biceps failed on bench press... yes, that's right. Note to self: never do bicep curls again. They hurt more than they help.

[WatsupHannity]

Short one today.

Press - 135 lbs. - 8,8,7
Kroc Rows - 95 lb. DBs - 20,20

[WatsupHannity]

Deadlift - 335 lbs. - 2,1

Disappointing. Perhaps I've been deading too often. I can't backsquat at the Y downtown though, or I'm gonna trash my shoulder/elbow.

Front Squat - 185 lbs. - 5
Bench Press - 200 lbs. - 5,5,5

Butt came off the bench on the final rep but it's a pass in my books.

Kneeling Ab Cable Crunch - 130 lbs. - 5,5,5



My lower body numbers are not going that well lately. It's really funny how sometimes you just have it for a month, and then you don't have it for two months on a given exercise. I had it on deadlifts in Februrary, smoking every workout; I would have gotten 355 and 365 for 3x5 for sure. Now I can barely get 335. Such is life.

Next plan is do Lyle's RFL and once 30 lbs. lighter mix a bit of conditioning with the strength training, in order to get higher numbers all the way around. For me conditioning can help me a lot on these exercises and my conditioning is currently atrocious.

[WatsupHannity]

Friday: Lil underslept and no coffee in me; not my best performance. Was hoping for 3x3 on Press. Squats just felt flat; my whole system was weak. Whatever.

Squat - 245 lbs. - 3,3
Press - 160 lbs. - 2,1 - 135 lbs. - 7

Today:

Felt about 85% today. Lil sleep deprived and calorie deprived. Weighed 242 lbs.

Deadlift - 335 lbs. - 4,2
Bench Press - 185 lbs. - 8,8,7
Kroc Rows - 90 lb. DB - 22L,23R

Really thought I should have got 8,8,8 on bench but no big deal; this time I wasn't feeling as well. I was feeling sorta rubbery, if that makes sense. Not as much in the tank. I'm going to try something like 3x5, 3x8, 3x3, 3x8, repeat, on consecutive workouts; this means I get 3x5 every fourth workout. I'll see how it goes.

[WatsupHannity]

Yesterday:

Press - 150 lbs. - 5,5,2,5

Almost blacked out on the third set so stopped and regrouped. This weight was eminently doable. I'm pleasantly surprised with my strength on this exercise. Listening to my body and giving myself extra days when I need it has really helped my progress.

Front Squat - 195 lbs. - 5,5,4

Should have gotten this.

[WatsupHannity]

Wasn't at 100% but worked out anyway for logistical reasons.

Deadlift - 335 lbs. - 2 - 315 lbs. - 1

Pure form issue. Pulling off 355 lbs. for 5 reps is just a matter of getting the right form. I'm tinkering.

Bench Press - 205 lbs. - 5,3

Yeah, needed more rest.

I'm really in tune with my body lately; really happy about that.

[WatsupHannity]

Gonna start a 2-week cycle of RFL. I will use the scale in my building to gauge weightloss; I don't think it's super-accurate, but it will be sufficient to measure 10-20 pounds of weightloss.

Wearing workout pants, t-shirt and sandals, I was 248 on it today.

[WatsupHannity]

Today was day 2 of RFL; so far so good. Feeling like shit doesn't bother me. I did a workout today, cut down to sets of 2x5. I bought the glucose pills and wow, were they effective in fighting fatigue. I had some of the best sets I've ever had, despite eating barely any calories the last 2 days. I will definitely be continuing with them after RFL is over with, I anticipate with great results.


Press - 150 lbs. - 5,5
Front Squat - 195 lbs. - 5,5
Pendlay Row - 190 lbs. - 5,5

[WatsupHannity]

Just weighed in at 241. Surprised my weight hasn't plummeted 10-15 pounds, as it has in the past when I've run a caloric deficit; perhaps it's due to the fact that I'm consuming an inordinate amount of salt as per Lyle's recommendations.

[WatsupHannity]

Was 240 last night.

Last night's workout:

Deadlift - 325 lbs. - 4
Bench Press - 200 lbs. - 5,4

[WatsupHannity]

Today: carb refeed and workout.

Press - 150 lbs. - 5 - 145 lbs. - 5
Squat - 245 lbs. - 5,5


Weighed 238.5 before the refeed.

[WatsupHannity]

Weighed in today post-refeed at... 239 lbs., for a gain of merely 0.5 lbs. Looking significantly leaner and healthier. I like this. Though now that the novelty has worn off the diet I feel I may get bored of it sooner rather than later. In any case, I think doing a 2-week RFL every 3-4 months is going to be a phenomenal strategy.

[WatsupHannity]

238.

[WatsupHannity]

Was 239 this afternoon. Went to the gym.

Bench Press - 200 lbs. - 5,5
Front Squat - 195 lbs. - 5,5
Pendlay Row - 190 lbs. - 5,5

[WatsupHannity]

238.

[WatsupHannity]

234 somehow.

[WatsupHannity]

Back in Ontario for 2 weeks. Did a workout a couple days ago involving incline bench of some sort. Today I did press and DL.

Press - 150 lbs. - 5,5,4 - 135 lbs. - 7
Deadlift - 315 lbs. - 3+2

[WatsupHannity]

Bench Press - 200 lbs. - 5,4 - 185 lbs. - 7
Pullups - 6,3
Kettlebell Swings - 70 lbs. - 20 or so
DB Shrugs - 90 lb. DBs - 12,18 - did these SS-style
DB Curls - 40 lbs. DBs - 9,8

[WatsupHannity]

Did a workout on Monday involving squats, press and pullups. Under recommendation of some powerlifter acquaintances I am experimenting with sets of 3 on squats, at a slightly lower poundage, in order to practice explosiveness; my squat reps have been slow grinders and I want to address this.

Yesterday's workout:

Squat -
95 lbs. - 3
135 lbs. - 3
155 lbs. - 3
175 lbs. - 3
195 lbs. - 3
215 lbs. - 3
235 lbs. - 3,3,3,3,3

Bench Press - 190 lbs. - 7,6,7

Some Pullups to finish.

[WatsupHannity]

Weighed 239 on the scale in my building (which I think is high)... same scale had me at 248 before the RFL so for my efforts this month I've managed to drop a bit of weight and my strength seems to have held.

[mikeylikey]

Weighed 239 on the scale in my building (which I think is high)... same scale had me at 248 before the RFL so for my efforts this month I've managed to drop a bit of weight and my strength seems to have held.

Cool. Can you elaborate on the diet?

[WatsupHannity]

Essentially 1100 calories per day, almost 100% protein, no carbs to speak of besides some green veggies for 2 weeks. One carb refeed per week and some low-volume strength training to retain muscle. In principle one can lose great deals of fat in short amounts of time without losing any muscle by doing it correctly, but it's not necessarily a cakewalk. Effective but tough mentally.

Buying the book is a must in order to do it IMO. Look up Lyle McDonald Rapid Fatloss Diet.

[WatsupHannity]

Press - 140 lbs. - 8,7,6
Front Squat - 205 lbs. - 3
Light Speed Deadlifts - 135 lbs. - 15 or so
Pendlay Row - 195 lbs. - 5
Kroc Rows - 90 lb. DB - 20L,20R


Fell very flat on front squat.

[WatsupHannity]

Hmm, was positive I had done 3x5 at 200 lbs. on front squat but looking back at my log it seems 195 was actually my best weight. That explains things.

[WatsupHannity]

Bench Press - 205 lbs. - 5,5,5
Deadlift (triples for speed) -
225 lbs. - 3
245 lbs. - 3
265 lbs. - 3
285 lbs. - 3
305 lbs. - 3
325 lbs. - 3
Bicep Curls - 100 lb. EZ-curl bar - 5
40 lb. dumbbells - 9

Happy with the bench results, considering I was a little sloppy on form and had less-than-perfect mental focus. The last rep was the slowest rep of bench I've ever put up. Took like 6 or 7 seconds and possibly went down at one point. My butt was slightly off the bench but in hindsight it didn't need to be if my form had been a little better on the rep.

[WatsupHannity]

At the gym with the no-knurling barbell. Decided to do backsquats anyway. Sucks.

Squat -
185 lbs. - 3
205 lbs. - 3
225 lbs. - 3
245 lbs. - 3,3
225 lbs. - 6

Fumbling around for the most part. Couldn't attack with full confidence using a smooth bar.

Press - 160 lbs. - 3,2,2 (tried for 3x3)
135 lbs. - 7+2

Kroc Rows - 95 lb. DB - 23L,23R

[WatsupHannity]

Driving across Canada again. Worked out in Winnipeg today.

Decided to reset squats and do an increasing run-up again.

Squats - 205 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 190 lbs. - 8,8,7 (failed and dumped the bar for the first time in my career)

[WatsupHannity]

Had a rough week. Slept very little, ate under maintenance (though I made sure to get 200-250g of protein every day). Had a feeling my bench performance wasn't going to be 100% so I decided to repeat 3 sets at 205.

Squats - 215 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 205 lbs. - 5,4,4
Deadlift - 315 lbs. - 5
Hammer Curls - 50 lb. DBs - 8
55 lb. DBs - 5,5

Deadlift stance and form felt a lot better. Like back on track to my previous maxes. Squats were explosive.

[WatsupHannity]

Squats - 225 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 150 lbs. - 5,5,6
Pendlay Rows - 195 lbs. - 5,5
Neutral Grip Pullups - 8

[WatsupHannity]

Monday -

Squats - 235 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 205 lbs. - 5,5,4
Kroc Rows - 95 lb. DB - 28L,28R



Wednesday -

Squats - 245 lbs. - 5,5,5
Press - 140 lbs. - 8,7,6

[WatsupHannity]

Front Squat - 200 lbs. - 5,5,5
Bench Press - 205 lbs. - 5,4
Deadlift - 335 lbs. - 5

[WatsupHannity]

Started 5-3-1 today with a coach. Gonna make a new log in the intermediate section. I'm not sure why this stayed in the general section anyway since I was following SS for most of the way, but whatever, I don't run the site. To be sure, I don't make these logs for anyone but myself; in that way it's been a great way to track my progress.