Randy's Log

[RandallH1989]

Starting a log here to track my progress and ask questions.

My stats: M/19/6'4"/170lb.

Training/Nutrition: I am a Crossfitter who decided to do SS. I am self-trained and have almost 0 formal coaching. I have learned by reading Starting Strength, downloading videos, and reading online. I am not doing GOMAD because I am deployed in Afghanistan and do not have access to whole milk. I am tracking my nutrition via Fitday and am shooting for Zone ratios of 40/30/30 while keeping myself in a caloric surplus. I understand that gains will not come as easily without massive amounts of calories, but I will experiment. If my gains stall and I think it is due to my nutrition, I will adjust where neccessary. I have a shake with creatine and whey protein religiously after every workout.

My goals: My goal is pretty simple. I want to be able to complete the Crossfit main site WODs without having to scale the weight.

[RandallH1989]

Week 1 - A

Squat 3x5
w1(2x5@45)
w2(1x5@65)
w3(1x3@95)
w4(1x2@115)
WS (3x5@165) - Felt like this was a good weight and I should be able to add 10lbs. to my next workout.

Bench Press 3x5
w1(2x5@45)
w2(1x5@65)
w3(1x3@95)
w4(1x2@115)
WS (3x5@135) - Only made 4 reps on the last set. I blame this on the fast pace of me switching out with my spotter at the gym. I needed more rest time and will take more next time.

Deadlift 1x5
w1(2x5@95)
w2(1x3@155)
w3(1x2@215)
WS(1x5@255) - I thought this set was fairly easy and I do not think I will have any problems adding 10lb. to next workout.

Extra Work
Chin Ups 3xF (9,9,5)

Note: I know I should not mess with the SS program, however I wanted to know if anybody has found an effective way to incorporate 20 rep squats. I was thinking about doing then on Friday (the last workout of the week) since I will have 2 days of recovery afterwards.

I am also adding in metcons as my recovery allows and will note them in my log.

[RandallH1989]

Weight: Did not weigh myself this morning
Nutrition: 2,718 calories (according to FitDay). I think I am underestimating a little bit so probably more in the 3,000 range. 44% carb, 33% fat, 24% protein. This is on the low side for me.

I will weigh myself on Fridays before my workout.

[KSC]

Randall,

Do not insert 20 rep squats into the SS program, it will screw the whole thing up.

Just put yourself on autopilot and run the thing as laid out. I am a strength coach in Houston and I have literally run SS on dozens and dozens of clients. The way rip has it laid out is the best way.

Also, if you are getting to eat in one of the big chow halls over there you should be fine. Three huge meals a day plus one or two protein shakes will be fine.

I was deployed to Iraq twice and am very familiar with the big chow halls there. I'm assuming there is a similar set up in Afghanistan. You should be fine. Of course when I was there we spent most of our time out on patrols and living out in the dirt so MRE's were the main fare for both of my deployments. Even with MRE's though, there is a shit ton of calories in each of them so you'll be okay.

Be safe.

Andy

[WatsupHannity]

Hey KSC,

In light of your experience training SS on so many students, I'm interested to know what's your take on supplemental work, like chinups, situps etc.?

[KSC]

Hey KSC,

In light of your experience training SS on so many students, I'm interested to know what's your take on supplemental work, like chinups, situps etc.?

They are good to do but not absolutely essential at the early stages. I don't put the chins and situps on a rotation like the other work though. We do chins on Monday and Friday and Sit ups on Wednesday.

[WatsupHannity]

Thanks!

[RandallH1989]

Week 2 - Wednesday, 7/15/09

Workout B
______

Squat 3x5 @ 180 (Good)

Press 3x5 @ 95 (Good)

Power Clean 5x3 @ 135 (Good.. Getting form down)

[RandallH1989]

Week 1 - Friday, 7/17/09

Weight: 176.5

Workout A
______

Squat 3x5 @ 185 (Good)

Bench Press 3x5 @ 145 (Good.. Felt Easy)

Deadlift 1x5 @ 265 (Good)

Notes: Yesterday was another 4,000 calories or so. I'm pretty sure a lot of the weight gain is water but there must be some decent muscle coming along. Trying not to rush it!

[RandallH1989]

Week 1 - Saturday, 7/18/09



"1/2 Cindy"
______

As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:

5 Pull Ups
10 Push Ups
15 Squats (Scaled to 10.. My legs are dead)

Total: 7.5 rounds (extra 5 pull ups and 10 push ups. Did jumping pull ups for probably the last 3 rounds)

Notes: Afterwards I did some snatch / OHS practice and some boring elliptical tabatas. Also, cleaning up diet. I am gaining WAY too fast. The scale said 178 today, and it's only been a week! I'm going to drop back to ~4000 calories per day and see what happens.

[RandallH1989]

Week 2 - Monday, 7/20/09

Workout B
______

Squat 3x5 @ 190 (Good)

Press 3x5 @ 100 (Easy-ish!)

Power Clean 5x3 @ 140 (Good.. Form is getting progressively better.)

Notes: Short term goal is to see 2 plates on the squat bar. I'm getting there.

[RandallH1989]

Week 2 -Wednesday, 7/22/09



Workout A
______

Squat 3x5 @ 195 (Form breaking down, need to focus)

Bench Press 3x5 @ 150 (Good)

Deadlift 1x5 @ 275 (10lb. jump this time. Bar moved slow as hell)

Notes: I need to eat more. I also need to focus on my squat form more. I drank the "milk" at the chow hall today (please pray for me and those around me). Got 8 hours of sleep last night. Trying to maximize rest time.

Got about 5,000 calories today. Thank you Burger King!

[charlie karnick]

whats up Randy. I gotta say SS is everything it's cracked up to be. I did nothing but the strict program and saw great results. I was eating a ton a lot of my diet was fast food and milk (Just burgers and shakes at the fast food places no fries or anything terrible, relatively speaking). I definitely put on some fat but I also packed on a lot of muscle mostly on my legs but you could definitely see it in my upper body as well. I got up to 220 then switched to CF with pretty strict paleo and dropped 20lbs in 1 1/2 months lost some strength but definitely still had more than what I started with before SS. here are my stats just let me know if you have any more questions and good luck!

(5 rep maxes)
Weight: 187 - 220

Squat: 135 - 250

Press: 75 - 110

Bench: 95 - 160

Clean: ? - 125

Dead: ? - 280

[RandallH1989]

Week 2 - Friday, 7/24/09

Workout B
______

Squat 3x5 @ 200 (Brutally slow and form faltering)

Press 3x5 @ 105 (Good)

Power Clean 5x3 @ 145 (Good)

Notes: Eating and resting. No Cindy tomorrow. Need full recovery.

[RandallH1989]

Charlie, thanks for the information! I like seeing what other peoples' results were and what they did to achieve them so I can plan accordingly. I can't do milk because they don't have it in Afghanistan (deployed military), but have been eating plenty of other stuff! I net about 4.5k-5k calories per day. I have decided to cut out the 2x week metcons completely because I feel I need more recovery.

Thanks for following along. Any advice is appreciated, man.

[RandallH1989]

Week 3 - Monday, 7/27/09



Workout A
______

Squat 3x5 @ 205 (Form breaking down, very slow bar speed)

Bench Press 3x5 @ 155 (Good.. Bar is getting slow)

Deadlift 1x5 @ 280 (Good.. Also very slow)

Chin Up 3xF @ bodyweight - 11,6,4

Notes: Not really anything else to say.. The weight is getting heavy but i'm still progressing. Had about 4k calories yesterday. Chin Ups are staying the same as I get heavier, which means I am getting stronger.

[RandallH1989]

So today I realized that I have a major "butt wink" issue on my squats. I am working to correct it.

..Been working on it for a couple of hours and I seem to have fixed the majority of the problem. After reading some of Coach Rippetoe's words on the issue I am pretty convinced that all will be fine as long as I focus on keeping the whole torso "tight". Maybe I shouldn't worry about it too much.

In other news my schedule has recently opened up a bit to allow me to go to the gym twice a day. I think I will use my second gym session for some occasional sprint work or something.

Today's nutrition: 4,373 calories

50% fat
30% protein
20% carb



Last weigh-in was 183lbs. Hell yeah.

[RandallH1989]

Week 3 - Wednesday, 7/29/09

Workout B
______

Squat 5,4, @210 then dropped weight. See notes.

Press 3x5 @ 110 (Good)

Power Clean 5x3 @ 145 (Good. Forgot to go to 150lb. until the last 2 sets. Oops)

Notes: My squat form really sucks. I felt a tearing sensation in my left lower abdomen on the way up on the second set. I have no idea what it was but I am worried I could have a hernia or something. After I only got 4 reps on the second set, I dropped the weight to 185lb. and did 2 sets. I think 210 is just too heavy for me right now. Looking in to a reset if this happens on my next workout. Until then, i'm going to eat eat eat.

I will repeat this weight for squats next time around. I think I might need some coaching on the lift anyways. I will think about bringing a camera with me next time.

Also, I think my squat issues might be caused partially by very tight hamstrings. I am working on flexibility.

Later on: Okay, so I have been stretching the hamstrings and just one session of it has seemed to improve my situation already. Also the active shoving out of the knees really helps. I will be in the gym on my next workout day (and possibly tomorrow) to work on my form.

Things I need to remember:

-Actively shove knees out
-Keep knees over toes
-Maintain lumbar arch
-Drive up with ass

[Pain]

I had the same problem with the butt wink thing. I believe it comes from mainly from relaxing the hamstrings. What helped me was dropping down slower then I was used to, focusing on keeping the chest up, having someone watch me to let me know the bar was over midfoot (lean forward or backward more), and not going too far below parrallel.

I think it helps bigtime to either have someone who knows proper low bar squat form watch you or just taking videos of your sets to see what your doing wrong and correct it yourself.

[RandallH1989]

Thanks, man. I'm really working to correct it and hopefully i'll be putting up good numbers again soon.

[RandallH1989]

Today I spent my workout working on my squat form with a more experienced person than I, so I am not going to post my numbers as they are kind of irrelevant. I am going to lower my squat weight to 190 lb. as of Monday, and continue with the progression on all of my lifts. My squat is fixed now.

[RandallH1989]

8 more workouts until 225x5 now, which has been my short-term goal. It's only a slight setback considering how close I am to the goal as it is, and I am far away from the end of my 4 month SS cycle.

[RandallH1989]

Week 4 - Monday, 8/3/09

Workout B
______

Squat 3x5 @ 190 (Good)

Press 3x5 @ 115 5,4,drop to 110x5

Power Clean 5x3 @ 155 (Almost missed a couple towards the end)

Notes: Press stall doesn't surprise me. Reset on squats was a good idea. Also, I did 3x15 decline situps with a 4kg and the last set with a 5kg medicine ball. Also did 1x15 situps on the floor.

No more fucking resets because of flawed form. Going +5 every workout from now on.

[RandallH1989]

Week 4 -Wednesday, 8/5/09



Workout A
______

Squat 1x5 @ 205, 2x5 @ 195 (A shit ton better than the last time I did this weight)

Bench Press 3x5 @ 160,155,155 (Had to drop to 155)

Deadlift 1x5 @ 275 (Better than last time at this weight)

Weighted Chin ups 4xF (Aim for 5 reps) - 25lb.x3, 20lb.x4, 10lb.x5, 10lb.x5

*Played around with 1x5 @ 175 after my deadlift set*


Notes: My form is improving a ton and I don't foresee any problems adding weight.

It was suggested to me to do 2x5, and then on the last set to get as many reps with the weight as I can. I will do this on my next workout w/ 200lb.

Later: Hit about 5,000 calories today for the first time in a while. Honestly I am thinking this might have been why I was having trouble. Going to shoot for this number on a regular basis now.

[RandallH1989]

Week 4 - Wednesday, 8/7/09

Workout B
______

Squat 2x5 @ 200, 1x6 @ 200, 1x3 @ 200 (Good.. Nice and heavy)

Press 3x5 @ 115 5,4,drop to 110x5 (No improvement)

Power Clean 5x3 @ 155, 150, 145 (Was not getting these today..)

Notes: Still have not made progress on the press. If the next workout looks the same, I will reset the weight. I wasn't feeling the power cleans today. I couldn't rack it properly at 155, and then at 150, so eventually I went to 145. Squats felt good. I need to remember to shove my knees out, though.

Weight: 186.0

[Peter Andersen]

Randy, why do you drop the weight on your press sets? Why not just take 5/4/3 x 115# and then next time try for 5/5/5 x 115#? That's the prescription to my knowledge (if you're not going to microload, that is).

[RandallH1989]

I suppose that would be the right thing to do. My strategy was to create an overload by volume (I actually did 2 more sets at 110).

Next time I will do 3 sets of 115 and see what happens.

I don't know why I am stalling at these weights.

[RandallH1989]

Note to self: Shove knees out on squat, keep back arched, bounce off hamstrings at bottom.

[Pain]

maybe try to microload the press, use some chainlinks, washers, or you can order 1.25lb plates

[Peter Andersen]

maybe try to microload the press, use some chainlinks, washers, or you can order 1.25lb plates

+1 on this.

I just took a look back at my log, and I started microloading the press at 50kg or 110# as well.

[RandallH1989]

I am pretty much convinced that the reason I am only squatting 200x5 is because I have not been shoving my knees out this entire time. I think it makes a world of difference and is the source of 99% of my squat problems. We will see on Monday.

[RandallH1989]

Week 5 -Monday, 8/10/09



Workout A
______

Squat 3x5 @ 205 (Tried to keep knees out. Made a huge difference.)

Bench Press 3x5 @ 160 (Finally got this weight.)

Deadlift 1x5 @ 280 (I feel like 285 is going to be pretty easy.)

Weighted Chin ups 3xF @ 12.5 - 6,5,5


Notes: Knees out on the squat was a huge help. Need to focus on this from now on. I can tell my adductors aren't up to par but they will get there.

PR on the chins as I still keep getting heavier (186 now)

[RandallH1989]

Week 5 - Wednesday, 8/12/09

Workout B
______

Squat 3x5 @ 210 (Hard as hell but got them..)

Press 3x5 @ 115 5,5,4 (This is an improvement over 5,4,x)

Power Clean 5x3 @ 150 (Reset weight on these. Form is obviously the limiting factor in the weight racking here. Just barely missing it.)

Sit Ups 5x12 @ 11lb, 25lb, 35lb (The ones described in the article "Abdominal Intensity" by Aasgard. You hold the weight above your chest and do the crunch / sit up. Found that 35lb is a good working weight for me. I will do this weight for sets across on my next B workout.)

Notes: Today I worked out after work because I couldn't sleep. This means I only had one night of sleep between workouts. I still PR'ed though so that's great. I will consider working out after work more often now. The gym is nice and empty and my energy seemed fine. Hopefully I wore myself out enough to catch some shuteye now.

..Looks like I will be up for a total of 26 hrs or so before I get some sleep. This night shift is killing me. I took 4 Benadryl.. Nothing.

[RandallH1989]

Week 5 -Friday, 8/14/09



Workout A
______

Squat 3x5 @ 215 (These felt really solid compared to the past few weights. I think my form is finally getting decent.)

Was not able to do the rest of my workout because we got hit by a rocket attack right as I was warming up for the bench press. So I did a bunch of push ups in my room and a few sets to failure of pull ups at work.

Weighed in at 191 lbs.

Notes: I got a box of paleo kits and my diet was entirely paleo yesterday save for some cheese and a protein shake post workout. I feel like I could do this for a long time but we will see what happens to my recovery. I still ate ~4,00 calories.

Also today is my birthday so unfortunately I am not a teenager any more. :(

[Pain]

Good work with those squats. Happy birthday and careful of those rockets.

[RandallH1989]

Yeah well shit happens. They are a real annoyance. I am beginning to think they are just firing bottle rockets at us to wake us up and mess with our gym time.

If Rip ever had a good reason to turn Chuck Norris and massacre some Taliban, that would be it.

[RandallH1989]

Really can't wait to squat 220x5 tomorrow. Some new things I am keeping in mind:

*Drink at least 2 protein shakes every day


*Eat at least 4,000 calories of REAL FOOD every day


*Remember my cues while doing my lifts, particularly while squatting, and don't forget to hit the weights with all of my intensity. Ass back, back arched tight, shove knees out, drive up with ass. Keep my weight on my heels and don't fall forward on the way up.

I want to ramp up my protein intake a lot and 2 more shakes should give me an extra 44g of protein per day. The 4,000 calories will be a minimum for me and I will shoot for more than that (more like 5,000).

I know a have a lot of linear progress left in me at these weights so I am enjoying it while I can. This is the shit.

I've got some VS Athletics weight lifting shoes in the mail and can't wait to get them here. For now I am taking my shoes off while I lift and then putting them back on between sets.

[RandallH1989]

Week 6 - Monday, 8/17/09

Workout B
______

Squat 3x5 @ 220 (Heavy as hell.. My form broke down and I simply just need to remember to keep my chest up and the weight on my heels. I still tend to come forward on my toes and lean over too much as I drive up. Hopefully my new shoes will help this a bit when they come in but until then I am concentrating on cues..)

Press 3x5 @ 115 (Finally got this weight!)

Power Clean 5x3 @ 155 (Getting much more efficient at these)

Crunches 5x12 @ 35 (40 next time should not be an issue)

Notes: Hot as hell in the gym and no chalk so the power cleans were slipping out of my hands. Can't wait to squat 2 plates on Wednesday.

I left a nice sweat angel on the gym floor from the crunches. The room with all of the mats was full of people attending an "abs class". Really?..

[RandallH1989]

So since I have the proper amount of food at my disposal to do this now, I am making it official that:


I am going paleo.



I have paleo kits, lara bars, and trio bars, in addition to the meat and vegetables and eggs that they serve us.

[RandallH1989]

Week 6 -Wednesday, 8/19/09



Workout A
______

Squat 3x5 @ 225 (Brutally slow. Really need to fix "hips rising faster than shoulders" problem that I have.)

Bench Press 3x5 @ 165 5,5,3 (Missed last 2 reps.. shit happens. trying this weight again next time)

Deadlift 1x5 @ 285 (My form wasn't flawless on these but I got the reps just fine)

Weighted Chin ups 3xF @ 15 - 5,3,2 (Starting to stall out on these as my body weight gets heavier AND I increase chin up weight. I might consider using a standard weight and letting the increase in body weight account for more resistance)


Notes: My eyes almost popped out of my head on squats. The issue where the hips rise faster than the shoulders is very pronounced at high weights for me and I really need to find out what I need to do to fix this. When I drive my ass up, my chest falls forward and leaves me doing a Good Morning at the top.

Any help is welcome.

Edit: It was suggested to me to wear a belt and take an even bigger breath while squatting. I will try this on Friday and hopefully it will help a lot.

[RandallH1989]

Week 6 - Friday, 8/21/09

Workout B
______

Squat 3x5 @ 225 (did not up the weight because I wanted to try keeping my chest up.. Well it didn't work. Kept leaning over. Dropped the weight to 205 on the last set and it looked better but still messed up.)

Press 3x5 @ 120 (Got 4 reps @ 120, dropped to 115 and did 1x5, then 115 1x3, couldn't get the last 2 reps on the last set)

Power Clean 5x3 @ 160 (Wouldn't rack right so dropped until I hit 145 and that worked well.)

Crunches 5x12 @ 40

Notes: So today was a pretty shitty gym session. I am getting discouraged with the squats and as I do not have a coach I am not sure how much longer I can continue to do this. My lower back is stiff and hurts like hell after every workout because of what happens to me on squats. I used a belt and that helped a bit but I still had issues.

Not sure if I am going to continue with SS. I weigh 191.5 lbs. now and don't have a whole lot to show for it.

[RandallH1989]

Monday, 9/7/09
______________

Squat 3x5 @ 185,195,195,195 - Wore a belt for the last 2 sets and that helped tremendously. I am focusing on keeping my chest up but still seem to come forward on to my toes. I am considering switching to the high bar back squat but hoping that will not be necessary. I will continue to add weight as I fix my issues.

Press 3x5 @ 110 - These felt pretty good. Struggled on the last rep of the last set as usual but it got up there.

Pull Ups 3xF-1 - 9,6,6 (3xF-1 in this case is 3 sets to 1 rep below failure)

Weighted Crunch 4x12 @ 35 - Went well. Will use 40lb. next time

Push Up 3xF-1 - 30,19,10

______________


Pre-Workout Weight - 181.6

Post Workout: 2 Scoops Syntha 6 (Unbelievably good.. I reccomend Chocolate Peanut Butter)

Notes: Did not get very much sleep at all today. Hoping to rest up tomorrow.

[RandallH1989]

I think I honestly finally fixed my back squat, and the culprit was OVER-extension of the back. I am going to test this theory tomorrow - have a flat, tight back instead of so much curvature. I think the excessive curve made it impossible for my abs to do the job of stabilizing me.

If this is the case, I will probably go back to straight SS, squatting 3x a week as it will be likely that squatting will become easier.

[RandallH1989]

Just got back from the gym and yes, that was pretty much the reason my chest was caving over. I was in too much of an extension, rather than just having a flat back.

Also, this is the second time i've been told by random people in the gym that leaning over while squatting is dangerous and i'm going to hurt my back.

I proceeded to explain the difference between high and low bar squatting, and how as long as the bar stays over the mid foot, leaning over is not a problem.

[RandallH1989]

Wednesday, 9/9/09



Workout A
______

Squat 205x4,205x3,200x3,155x5,135x5 (See notes.)

Bench Press 2x5@155,1x10@155 (Reset and max reps on last set)

Deadlift 1x1@300,1x1@295,1x5@225

Chins - 7,4,4
Dips - 10

Notes: I had some pretty extreme DOMS and only slept for 3 hours. Lately my calorie intake was less than 3k. All 3 of these factors together made for a real shitty workout. I couldn't keep my back tight during squats, bench went really good surprisingly, and the deadlifts were terrible. I now realize what Fluxboy as talking about when he said that people cut back on the eating to drop fat, and their lifts go to shit. I am going to take it easy until Monday. Probably do some light skill work on Friday or something, nothing major. Until then, I am off to Burger King.

[RandallH1989]

Recently I did some soul searching and came to the conclusion of WHY I have to "stick to the program" and do SS as prescribed:

1 - I have to be able to back up me saying that I lift weights. It's MY hobby and if I am going to do it, I might as well be good at it. There is no reason to mix it with "hypertrophy" crap. All that will do is slow my strength gains down.

2 - I have to lift more than the average joe. I know that I am more knowledgeable than most people in this field, and I need to be able to back that up. A 165x5 bench is what a lot of people do the first time they ever touch a weight. I must be able to lift more weight than everybody else.

Point is, if you're going to do something, do it well. Don't half ass it. This is a lesson I had to teach myself.

[RandallH1989]

Friday, 9/11/09

Workout B
______

Squat 3x5 @ 175 (Awesome.. Loving the high bar position)

Press 1x5@110,1x7@110,1x5@110 (Accidentally did max reps on second set instead of last. Lift felt strong. I can foresee 115x7 easily)

Power Clean 4x3 @ 145, 1x5 @ 145 (Pretty solid, decent weight)

Weighted Crunches 4x12 @ 40 (Good.. Will use a 45 plate next time)

Tabata 20 seconds on 10 seconds off x8 on elliptical @ lvl 7, then 5 min LISS

Notes: Awesome workout today. The high bar position is treating me well and I can say goodbye to the back pain I used to have. The reason I switched to high bar was because of the size ratio of my legs to my torso. I have really long legs and a pretty short torso and it makes the low bar very awkward.

I am timing 5 minutes between sets for all exercises except power cleans, which get 3 minute rests.

Also I am making sure to take in 5g of creatine pre and post workout. I also drink a 5 hour energy shot thing before I go to the gym, and it helps to wake me up.

[RandallH1989]

Monday, 9/14/09



Workout A
______

Squat 5x5@185

Bench Press 5x5@160

Deadlift 1x5@295

Chins - 8,6,6

Weighted Crunches 4x12@45

Notes: Great workout despite lack of sleep. Eating like a champ, though. I should be able to rest a lot more in the coming weeks.

Also I switched to doing 5x5. I like the volume a lot. I'll continue like this until I stall.

A big power lifter dude in the gym complemented me on my 1x5 pull, which was pretty cool.

[RandallH1989]

Did 500m x 5 on the rower yesterday for some active recovery. I didn't record my times because it was my first time using the rower.

[RandallH1989]

Wednesday, 9/16/09

Workout B
______

Squat 2x5@195, 3x5@190 (Something wrong today, falling forward again even though in high bar position. W T F)

Press 2x5@115, 1x4@115, 1x5@115, 1x4@115

Power Clean 5x3 @ 150


Notes: What the hell?! I was falling forward and just was not in the zone today. Hopefully Friday will yield better results. I had such a great workout on Monday, I just don't know what was wrong with me. If I don't fix this on Friday, I think it's time for a change in programming. Maybe squatting every other day is bad for me.

Maybe I just cannot handle the rowing in between workout days. I did no cardio today and won't do any on Thursday. We will see what goes down on Friday.

[RandallH1989]

After examining a bit more, I think what I was doing wrong today was remembering by habit my low bar cues, which was throwing me off. I forgot to keep my torso vertical, and was leaning over as if to go in to a low bar squat. When I squatted down with a vertical back after remembering this, my problem was fixed. Will squat 195x5x5 Friday.

[Jethro]

Randall,

I started reading SS but I haven't gotten to the program yet. Does the program have you backing off at all? You shouldn't be taking your lifts to almost failure at every workout. Not at your level of strength and youth. You should be keeping a little "gas" in the tank each workout and shouldn't have to worry about failure for months!

Take smaller weight jumps or "wave" the weights. I think all of those 10 pound jumps you made was too fast.

Don't move up in weight until you nail down your form or you will injure yourself and it ends up effecting your whole lifting career.

Example for next 8 squat workouts:

180
185
190
195

185
190
195
200

Like I said I don't know how SS has you backing off. Got to cut back on reps, weight, or workout frequency every once in a while.

[RandallH1989]

I did reset a couple of times because my squat form was horrendous, and moved to doing high bar squats. However I was told that at these stats, I should still be able to make 10 lb jumps on deadlift and squat. Obviously I am not, though.

And yes, SS has you backing off once you think you're going to stall, but why the hell should I be stalling at such light weights? Surely it's a technique issue on my part.

But not to worry - i'm done f*cking around and have pretty much nailed down my form on the lifts, so it should be smooth sailing from here.

[RandallH1989]

So right now i've decided that I have enough healthy foods to make my weight gain more clean now. I just had a pizza as my last junk food for a long while.

Some rules I am setting for myself:


*No starchy carbs
*Keep protein to AT LEAST 40% of total caloric intake
*Eat 4,000-4,500 calories per day

[RandallH1989]

Had another pretty shitty workout today. Was not able to get 5 reps on any set past the 1st on bench.

Also, I cannot stop falling forward on squats and coming on to my toes, even though the bar is as high as I can get it. I watch videos, think about cues, practice w/ light and heavy weights, and it just seems inevitable.

The only thing good about today's workout was that I was able to deadlift 300x5.


I think it's time for me to try something else for a little while. It's a good idea to change things up and I think it could help me here, as I seem to be stuck.

What I am going to do is maintain the diet I posted in my last post, and my workout will look like:

Monday - Strength Upper
Tuesday - Strength Lower
Wednesday - Off
Thursday - Hypertrophy Upper
Friday - Hypertrophy Lower

I will be maintaining a log on the bodybuilding.com forums. Don't worry, i'm not about to go prance around in a speedo or anything, I think that place is just more suited for something like this.

I am still going to maintain an active membership on these forums.

[Jethro]

...and don't give up, that's what training is all about!

You can't go wrong investing in learning how to squat. Mark Berry said it took him two years to learn to squat correctly (as told in his periodical Physical Training Notes in early 1930).

1 Squat from the heels, slowly at first if you have to.
2 Squat straight down, not back in your stance.
3 Don't initiate the forward lean on the descent. Bend at the knees and the lean takes care of itself. If you think about the forward lean at all you will automatically screw up the rep.
4 At the bottom, focus should be on the hip drive (power from the glutes)/while looking at the floor in front of you.

Did I mention stay on heels?

[RandallH1989]

I want like hell to continue strength training.. I just can't seem to nail the back squat down, and my lower back is getting fucked up as a result.

Not sure what the opinion on this is, but I am going to replace back squats with front squats, since I have no problems with these squats. I tried searching all over the place to see if it was an acceptable substitution until I get a coach, but I didn't find anything. I'd appreciate some input. I don't know what weight to start at with these but I am assuming it'll be somewhere around 165 lbs. I did 135 the other day to play around and it was pretty easy (this just goes to show how messed up my BS technique is, since the FS weight is so close).


70sbig.com is the shit.

Doing workout B tomorrow.

[fluxboy]

Hi Randall,

I just returned to civilization and thought I'd swing by and see how you were doing. Struggling a bit, huh?

Been there. And returned. More often than I care to remember.

I've noticed that you've really been focusing on form issues. While this is a fine past-time, my personal view is that anything obsessed with tends to ultimately become a hindrance. For instance, in the squat one could spend a lifetime working on it's nuances, but the focus should really be on get bigger and stronger. The squat is just a tool.

Now, given that you are putting forth a mighty effort, and I hope that Rip forgives me for this comment, you should be getting bigger and stronger regardless of whether high, low, or whatever whacky bar position you chose for the squat. You have placed a heavy weight upon youself, gone down, and come up. Your body should get bigger from this.

If it isn't, something is amiss.

I'd start with the essentials, forget the routine.

1) Air : Are you breathing?
2) Sleep: Are you sleeping soundly?
3) Water: Are you drinking enough fluids?
4) Food: Are you eating enough calories?
5) Stress: Are you relaxed?

Any significant difficiency in this chain will cause you gains to grind to a halt. The importance of your muscles is generally outweighed by about a factor of a gazillion to one by your body's need to live. If it feels threatened, which will happen if it's dehydrated, tired, undernourished, or stressed out, you can pretty much forget any muscular development. It's not the time or place. You body is too busy keeping the heart pumping, or preparing to keep the heart pumping, to allocate any resources to look 70s big.

Anyway, that has been my experience. The routine is no more important than any other single factor (air, sleep, water, food, stress). If one is lacking, muscle growth will not take place.

Okay, gotta fly.

Take care Randall.

Best,
Flux

[RandallH1989]

Flux, thanks for your help.

I believe I have fixed my squat and I even made a thread with a video in the Mark Rippetoe Q/A forum. He said that there wasn't anything too bad with it, and if he is happy with it than I am. I just had to focus on some cues that worked for me in particular.

Anyways, I am now calling my log "Randy's journey to 70s big". I aspire to be 70s big. However, it's kind of difficult balancing it with the military. In the event that my schedule starts to mess with my training too much, I have a backup plan.

I might have to commit to spending the rest of my time (about 2 months) in Afghanistan doing Crossfit WODs and eating a steady healthy paleo diet. I will choose to do this because my schedule is just too inconsistent out here, and it is going to get worse before I go home.

Upon my return to the states, I plan on..will.. do the following:

1) Start novice linear progression @ 135# on the squat, weight to be determined for the other exercises

2) Work up to drinking a gallon of milk a day

3) Eat and sleep enough to recover and grow

Mainly the thing that will help me is the consistency of my schedule while I am stateside. I will be able to hit the gym at the same time every day and go to sleep at the same time every day and ensure that I get enough rest, something that cannot be done out here. This is why I might have to delay my training. I do not want to be inconsistent. Also, I don't have milk out here.

Anyways, I am absolutely determined to follow my plan.