Lofton's Log - SS in north Puget Sound

[Tim Lofton]

Well, I've been at it for exactly four weeks now, finishing my 12th workout of the SS original novice program. I enter training as a 43 y.o. male, 6' tall, weighing 165#, 10% BF (caliper measured). My recent athletic background has been grounded in running, especially ultra distance trail running.

Beginning stats are as follows:

Squat: 100#
Bench: 85#
Deadlift: 135#
Press: 75#
Pwr Clean: 50#

I have two gyms available to me. One is at my work facility. Small, many machines and aerobic thingies like treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, and some sort of roller blading simulating device (I politely refused when asked to try it out). However, they do have a rack, one oly barbell, lots of free weights and dumbbells. I'm usually by myself back there. The staff, friendly enough, pretty much leaves me to myself.
The other gym that, unfortunately, I visit less frequently is a local gym with a separate free weight room and a nice power rack. This room is separate from the cardio and machine room and always has the better music being played. The machine room looks like a Terminator wasteland there are so many devices. They are pretty open to folks doing what exercises/lifts they feel they can handle. They don't formally allow chalk, but I take a bag in, use it with reasonable care and haven't had anyone say anything to me.
Anyhow, I'm here to lift and learn. My sincere appreciation goes out to all who put in the effort to keep this forum going and for the publications it is centered around.

[Tim Lofton]

12/18/09

Friday BW measurement: 171# (up six pounds in four weeks)

Squat: 3x5 @ 190#

Press: 3x5 @ 100#

PC: 5x3 @ 75#

Actually, I've been experimenting with doing presses first after some reading of Stacey's (nisora33) blog, in an attempt to be a bit more fresh when doing these, as opposed to following the squat. A week ago I repeated at 90# when I felt sloppy finishing off the last set. Ninety-five went well on Monday, but I'll have to admit I was a bit worried about 100#. I know it's not heavy for most, but it's all relative, hopefully. At any rate, I had to give myself several pep talks throughout those sets. I was really happy to reach 100 on the press. Squats were a repeat after failing to extend and lockout on my last rep on Wednesday. Today they went much better. Funny how much difference 48 hours makes. PCs were okay and I'm really enjoying doing these, though it is surprising how fatiguing these are.
I think it is hard to believe when people read that strength gains and weight gains go hand-in-hand. After stalling last year during a less than full effort at SS, I am gaining that appreciation (even if just in it for a month). I know the progressions won't last indefinitely, but I'm enjoying the work all the same - even if I do get a bit nervous when stepping under the bar to squat.

[kittenSmash]

Good to see another guy from WA here. I'm a little bit south of you out towards Mt. Rainier.
Wow, you are going quite the 180 coming from the ultra distance stuff. Are you using SS to compliment the running, or just trying something new?

[Tim Lofton]

Wow, you are going quite the 180 coming from the ultra distance stuff. Are you using SS to compliment the running, or just trying something new?

At this point in time, I am going to forego most running as I would really like to maximize my strength training and gains at this point. I don't think an approach that "accessorizes" running with SS is paying much respect to SS or myself, or gives my the optimal opportunities to reach some of my goals. I think I will do some maintenance running through the winter and spring and do a bit more trail running when they are melted off most of the way. Living in this area, it's just too hard to pass up getting out on the trails. Anyhow, good to hear from you. Thanks.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

12/21/09

Well, qualitatively, all I can say is I'm surprised at how easy things went today. Again, easy is relative, as what I'm currently lifting would be easy for the majority here. After presses and squats on Friday, I noticed a bit of a "zinger" in my lower back. Nothing debilitating, but enough to make me take notice, especially when my 100+ pound daughter (who's a swimmer and is pretty muscular for her age) comes running and jumps to hold on to me. Thank goodness for these lifts! Anyhow I was kind of worried about today's lifts and how my back would respond. I figured I probably got just a little sloppy with form on Friday, or perhaps arched the back too much on the presses. Today I was focused on locking in good form, every rep and, well, things went really well. That's probably one of the best "A" sessions (sq, bp, dl) I've had. Warm-up on C2 rower for 1000 m, warm-up progressions for each lift, then:

SQ: 3x5 @ 195#

BP: 3x5 @ 115

DL: 1x5 @ 180

DL felt really good and the pulls all went up very strong. What a difference two days of rest makes. Oh, and we've been making a lot of chocolate chip cookies at home, which go really well with ice cold milk. Weight gain should follow nicely.
Wednesday will see me move up to 200# for squat, which probably doesn't mean much other than just being a nice round number. Still looking forward to it though.

tim

[Bergie]

Good progress. Keep up the good work!

[Tim Lofton]

Good progress. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the good word Bergie. I have a feeling these days don't come around often enough.

[Tim Lofton]

12/23/09

As stoked as I was about how Monday's lifts went, today kind of went the other way. Today was session B: squat, press, pwr cln. The past several sessions, I've been doing the press before the squat in order to be more fresh for the press. Well, either that backfired on me today and I wasn't warmed up enough, or I just wasn't as focused as I should have been. Now that I am writing this, I think it was a combination of both. I think lack of focus was partially fatigue related as I could not stop yawning today. I think a nap is in order this afternoon. Luckily, I'm off work until the 4th, so I can sneak in a few naps during the day. The press is still a mother f&#$er! and I'm not even approaching heavy yet.
At any rate, I did not progress on the press today, and actually failed to get full reps at the weight I did on Monday. Other than that, things went reasonably well. I hit 200# for the squat, despite still being a bit upset about the press. Power cleans were good except that I really need to put some more oomph in my jump now. Here's the damage:

Press: 105# x 3, 100 x 4, 100 x4 (WTF!)

Squat: 200x5x3 (yea!)

Pwr cln: 80x5x3

Still grumbling about the press, but I will reset to 100# the next time I do session B, just to get that weight up a second time before attempting 105 again.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

12/26/09

Weekly weigh-in: 174.5#

Squat: 205# x 5 x 3

Bench: 120 x 5 x 3

Deadlift: 185 x 5

Nice warm-up, several minutes on the treadmill, dynamic arm & leg stretches, jumping jacks x 50, several air squats. Wife got me some low cut Chuck Taylor's for Christmas for strength training. I know, I know, they're not weightlifting shoes, but I will be getting these in a couple of months. They felt noticeably better than my running shoes that I have been using. At least the Chucks I can wear around when not in use for lifting. I do need to be a bit careful now as I found myself raising my big toes a little too much and getting out on the ball of my foot a little.
Squats went pretty well, though I think in my eagerness to "hit" the bounce that I came really close to missing below parallel on a couple of the last reps. On Monday, I'm going to have my son take some lifting videoes so I can do some critiquing. Bench and DL moving right on up as scheduled. Must be all of the prime rib, taters, and sweet potato pie yesterday :)

tim

[Tim Lofton]

12/28/09

Squat: 210# x 5 x 3

Press: 105 x 4, 105 x 3 x 2

Pwr cln: 85 x 3 x 5

Press was the issue again today. Decided not to reset at 100# and try sticking with 105 for one more workout. In the first set, the first three reps went up pretty well, then #4 was like someone threw some extra weight on the bar. Same thing with the first two reps of the next two sets. Based on this, I think I will get some washers or find some one or two pound ankle weights to put on the bar and try something between 100 and 105 on Friday.

Cleans were lacking sufficient power in the jump over the last couple of sets. Tempted to stick with this weight for one more workout to reinforce good form practices without progressing the weight. Slowly, but surely, the cleans are catching up with my press. Which maybe is good since I clean the weight for my presses, at least for now. Pretty fatigued overall from today's workout though. Trying to get in a nap soon after a big lunch.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

12/30/09

Squat: 215# x 5 x 3

Bench: 125 x 5 x 3

Deadlift: 190 x 5

Squat went reasonably well. As usual, the first set was kind of rough. Maybe I need to consider a bit longer warm-up. Found the bounce really well over the next two sets though.
Bench progressing nicely. No notable issues.
Deadlift went up surprisingly well today. I seemed to find and hold good form and pulled very comfortably for all five reps.
Two days off now, then session B, with press. Will try to microload with washers or an ankle weight on the bar and go to 102 or so.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

1/3/10

Session 18

Weekly weigh-in: 175#

Squat: 220# x 5 x 3

Press: 105 x 5, 105 x 4, 105 x 3

Pwr Clean: 90 x 3 x 5

Body weight hasn't moved, so I guess that means I need to up the calories quite a bit. I thought I was eating like a pig over the holidays, but I'm actually starting to find myself hungry at times now. This wasn't happening over the past few weeks as I found myself having to stuff myself.

Squats were squats. Back is just slightly sore, maybe not sore, but really tight as I was really trying hard to keep tight and in extension. Mentally, right now, every time I come in to squat, I get a bit shakey on the first set as it is a new weight. The subsequent sets seem to go much better though. I'm not sure how you all do it when things start getting really heavy on the bar.

Press is still laboring at 105#. I did get a full set of five the first set, and thought I was going to get it on the second, but the bar just froze just about forehead level. Though I'm not increasing the weight, this is still one rep more on each of the first two sets over the last time I did press, so the volume increased at least. I'm not ready to microload yet and hopefully on Thursday I'll get full reps at 105.

Power clean is getting harder. Today I had a bit more problem with the arms bending right before the jump. Most went well, but some not so.
I'm going to go through 24 sessions (six more to go) then I will add in chin/pull-ups to provide some help with the press.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

1/5/10

Session 19

Squat: 225# x 5 x 3

Bench: 130 x 5 x 3

Deadlift: 195 x 5

Squat was a bit shakey today. The last couple of reps of each set were slow to ascend for sure. The last two reps were really hard to drive up and I'm not fully certain I achieved proper depth. I will probably repeat this weight again on Thursday.
Bench went well overall, but felt noticeably heavier, and I'm not even close to BW yet.:( Nonetheless, it went for 3 x 5, so move on.
Deadlift went very well. Anxious to get into 200 territory next DL.

Going to try to pick up some 2" washers today or tomorrow for microloading my press on Thursday.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

1/7/10

Session 20

Squat: 230# x 5 x 3

Press: 102 x 5 x 3

Pwr Cln: 95 x 3 x 5

Three cheers for microloading! I had struggled with 105# on the press for the last three press sessions, the last going 5-4-3 reps. So I decided to microload by adding a 1# ankle weight to each side of the bar with 100 already on it. I also focused on tightening the glutes properly as well as the upper spinal erectors to help keep the chest up. What a difference! From the first rep, there was no doubt that I would get all reps. The last set was a tad sloppy as I tried a different breathing pattern in order to cycle through the five reps more quickly. I haven't decided if I will go straight for 105 next press session.
Squat went better today than 225 a couple of days ago. I had someone monitor my last work set to ensure that I was dropping the hip below parallel and he said I was going plenty deep on all five, so that was encouraging. Again, I focused on staying tight and lumbar extension. Things felt really good. A happy squat day!
Power cleans went well as I focused on an explosive jump and snapping the hips through. I'll finally be into triple digits for the next pwr clean session. I'm also cleaning the weight for my presses too, so I'm getting a little help there.
All-in-all, a good training day that saw me focused on doing the work that needed to be done, staying positive, and moving on.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

1/11/10

Session 21

Squat: 235# x 5 x 3

Bench: 135 x 5 x 3

Dead: 200 x 5

Wasn't real psyched for today's workout for some reason, maybe being off since Thursday had something to do with that. I was looking forward to reaching 200# for the DL, but not much beyond that.

Squat was really tough form-wise and I know the last set was marginal as I can feel it in my back. I felt locked and super at 230, but 5# more felt like a ton. A lot of slow reps today. Hopin' for some good recovery by Wednesday before going to 240 with presses to follow. Starting to consider a belt.

Bench was strange as I re-read that chapter in SS last night and was really focusing on trying to pinch the shoulder blades and raise the chest and head. I almost felt impeded when pushing the bar up. I do think the bar descent speed was a bit more controlled, but there were some slow ascents too.

Deadlift went really well. I actually used chalk for the first time today, though grip-wise I didn't feel the necessity to, but the bar felt like it was cemented to my hand, like it wasn't going anywhere, and all five reps were pulled nicely. I had someone observe my work set and what criteria I wanted them to watch for with my back. They provided a good report and I could tell as I felt really locked in. It was good to end the session with this lift as it seems to be going up very well - for now.

Readying the Icy Hot for the back this evening...

tim

[metermanja]

My number on the squat is exactly the same. I know what you mean by saying the additional 5 pounds feel real heavy.

Good luck. I am doing SS here in Everett, south of Marysville.

[Tim Lofton]

Hey meter,

Yeah, I'm using the Icy Hot on the back tonight. A little stiff, but the soreness is dissipating. I'm really looking forward to (hopefully) hitting the 250 mark next Monday, but don't want to get too optimistic yet.
I work in Seattle and am fortunate that the facility I work at has a fitness center with a rack, barbell, and a modicum of free weights. That is my primary gym. My secondary, here in Marysville, is Power Alley Fitness (Smokey Point area actually). Where are you training?

tim


My number on the squat is exactly the same. I know what you mean by saying the additional 5 pounds feel real heavy.

Good luck. I am doing SS here in Everett, south of Marysville.

[Tim Lofton]

1/13/10

Session 22

Squat: 240# x 5 x 2, 240 x 4 x 1 (missed last effing rep!)

Press: 104 x 5 x 3

Pwr clean: 100 x 3 x 5

This would have been a very nice workout overall had I not missed the very last rep of my squats. It actually started before that though. The third rep in set two saw me get just very slightly off balance and had to do a slight good morning to get square again and get back up. This brought about a slight pull in the lower back which was with me for the remainder of the squats. The last rep just felt weak and I just dumped it not wanting to further eff up the back, especially with presses to follow. I'll repeat 240# on Friday. I don't think it's a stall, just lack of focus in that middle set that flustered the remaining reps. Lesson learned hopefully.
Press went up great today. Focused hard on clenching the glutes to help keep the lower back safe and locked. The weight went up really well as a result. Hope my 2" washers arrive soon. Microloading is my friend.
Power cleans feel really weird with the warm-up weights now, not that I'm really heavy or anything, but the bar or a bit more is kind of awkward feeling. Nothing special today; things seemed to move pretty smoothly. Next power clean will catch up with my press.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

1/15/10

Session 23

Weekly weigh-in: 180#

Squat: 240# x 5 x 3

Bench: 140# x 5 x 2, 140 x 3 x 1

Dead: 205# x 5

After a back tweak on Wednesday and missing the very last rep at 240, I was a bit tentative going into today and prepared to bail during the warm-up sets if I felt anything going on back there. Well, the squats went about as well as I could have expected. No adverse signals from the lower back and mission accomplished. Maybe the 14 reps that I did get in on Wednesday provided enough impetus for the redo today.
Now the bench. It has been getting progressively more difficult the last two bench sessions. Today it caught up to me. I'm probably not eating enough and thusly, not putting on enough muscle. I missed on rep #4 of the last set as I couldn't get it but about two inches from my chest and had to let it drop to the spotter bars. I'm not even at BW yet! One thing I'm questioning is my breathing pattern at the top in that I'm doing a quick exhale/inhale, but this does keep the weight in the up position for probably a second or so. This adds up over the course of five reps. Does this extra time holding the weight up really sap enough to prevent pushing up in the final reps? I need to re-read more and watch some good video. I really don't want to start microloading the bench yet; seems too soon.l
Deadlift was not a problem and is moving up well. Chalking making a difference and still using double OH grip, which you would expect at this relatively low weight. Back not an issue here either and it felt good to pull this up with moderate ease. It's now the weekend! Time to eat and recover.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

1/18/10

Session 24

Squat: 250# x 5 x 3

Press: 105# x 5 x 3

PC: 105# x 3 x 5

Well, I guess I'm getting to the point where the scheduled weight is just not going to feel real good anymore, so I'm going to stop saying that this was hard today.

Squats were shakey at times, but really focused today on "knees out." This helped to reinforce the feeling of having a solid base under me. I was in my secondary gym, as I had the day off of work, so it felt just a little weird and took a set or two to get comfortable.

Press was not overly difficult as I only increased by one pound over last press session in order to get 105# on the nose. My washers are supposed to arrive tomorrow, so I will look to make 2.5# increases from session-to-session. Focus next time on complete lockout/active shoulder at the top too.

Power cleans went reasonably well, with a few lacking the requisite hip explosion but progressed nonetheless.

I have completed 24 sessions of the original SS novice program, so this puts me about ten weeks in (a couple of weeks with only two sessions due to travel and illness) and I feel committed to strength/weight gains at this point.
I plan to add chin/pull-ups on the squat/bench press/deadlift day or I may look to utilize one of the schedules (probably the PP novice schedule) on the Excel sheet found on the SS wiki site. I don't think I want to add GHRs, back extensions, or Roman chair sit-ups just yet, as I want to see how the chins/pulls work in and/or affect recovery. I really hope to see a little help with the press by adding these. Small steps...

tim

[Tim Lofton]

1/20/10

Session 25

So after the first 24 sessions, or approximately 8-9 weeks, I'm going to the PP novice program as outlined in v.2 and on the Excel spreadsheet on the SS wiki site. This is mainly to allow inclusion of chin-ups and pull-ups. This routine does not include power cleans, so I will do chin-ups every week as scheduled, but will alternate the pull-ups every other week with power cleans as I really want to keep these in the program. I will utilize this for the next 36 sessions, which will get me to 60 sessions total, or approximately 20 weeks.

Squats: 250# x 5 x 2, 250 x 4 (missed last rep)

Bench: 140# x 5 x 3

Chin-ups (3 sets to failure): 4-4-3, 3 minutes rest between sets.

I missed the last rep on my squats, I believe, due to a form failure. I'm pretty sure I allowed my torso to get a bit too upright and the bar too far behind midfoot and I just couldn't push through, so I dumped the bar behind me. Frustrating but I don't believe it was purely a strength thing, but will repeat 250 on Friday. There are just no more easy squats...

Bench went really well and the repeat of 140 is complete. I did not breathe at the top of each rep and, instead, took a big breath at the start and completed the set. This really helped (obviously) to keep tight with a big chest. One pick though, last rep of second set, I took the bar to the rack with the push up nearly in one motion. Just a reminder...

Chins. God. Harder than I remember. This time last year I was doing 10 to 15 reps, but I'm also 17 pounds heavier now even though I am stronger overall. These are just plain hard, especially after benching. Goal was to adhere to good deadhang form and go to failure. That didn't take too long today but, hey, I know many people that can't do one - fresh. All part of the training.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

1/22/10

Session 26

Weekly weigh-in: 183# (3# gain this week)

Squat: m-effing suckfest! - 250# x 2, 250 x 2, 245 x 3

Press: 107.5# x 5 x 3

Dead: 215# x 5

Squats. They've really been nailing me lately and I'm really wanting to get past 250#. Though today was very unexpected after doing 250 for all but the very last rep on Wednesday. I figured a repeat today would be complete. I don't think I was overconfident about it. All I can come up with is little to no recovery this week. I mean there was no push in the legs AT ALL today. Dropping to 245 was probably a joke as a 2% drop when you're checking to see if there's any gas in the tank is meaningless, in hindsight of course. I think I would have needed to go down to around 225 or so to get a good set of five, so I decided to take the warm-up (which went fine BTW) and what few reps I did and move on.

Press went well after trying to refocus from the disappointing squat session. I got my washers on Tuesday and am now able to microload in 1.25# increments. Focus was on elbows forward and the weight went up pretty well. A couple of reps where the bar got a bit too forward but otherwise, on to 110!

Deadlift had been going well enough that I went back to 10# progressions. Today still pulled really well and I don't anticipate much issue with 225 next week.

Rest and recover this weekend and be ready to attack the 250 squat on Monday. 300# seems very far away right now.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

1/25/10

Session 27

Squat: 250# x 2, 250 x 5 x 3

Press: 110# x 5 x 3

Chin-ups: 5-4-3

Seventeen squats? Yep. A repeat at 250 was in store for today. Warm-up went great and the first two reps went well, then I got stuck at the bottom and I dumped it. So I raised the BS flag, reloaded the bar, and decided that I AM GOING TO DO THIS! So I did three sets of five. It was hard but it went. After the first two work reps I knew it was just in my head at that point. It took a little chat with myself but now it's time to move on. I did decide that Wednesday's squats will be 80% of Monday's, then progress on Friday. I don't know if I'll stick with this format, or try it for a couple of weeks, then go back to the straight MWF progression. So Wednesday is 225.

Press was fine except a bit sloppy on the last set. Didn't pull my head fully through the window on a couple of reps as I think I was pressing a bit too fast.

Chin-ups were unremarkable, just hard, but at least I picked up another rep.

tim

[Strato]

I'm cursed with a need to always check math (I'm an engineer). I think you mean to do 200 lbs on wednesday (80% of 250 = 200). :)

[Tim Lofton]

I'm cursed with a need to always check math (I'm an engineer). I think you mean to do 200 lbs on wednesday (80% of 250 = 200). :)

Yep, that's what I have in my log book, but my typing mind wanted 10%. Doesn't speak much to my proofreading either. Thanks for the check.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

1/27/10

Session 28

Squat (80%): 200# x 5 x 3

Bench: 145# x 5 x 3

Dead: 235# x 3 x 2

Overall a pretty unremarkable day.

Back-down day for squats. Trying to focus on tightness.

Bench went well. A couple of slow ascending reps and having a hard time keeping a breath and full chest through all five reps. Really can't wait to get this up to BW. Patience...

Deadlift was hard, and not hard at the same time. Dbl overhand grip with chalk no problem. On to 245 next week.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

1/29/2010

No session today. Had a tremendous wrenching of the back Thursday evening when, very innocuously, I bent over incorrectly, which locked me up in a severe cluster of spasms for most of the night. I'm not sure I've ever experienced this kind of pain before. By Friday morning, after a non-existent night of sleep, things had calmed some. The muscle in the lower right portion of my back, down into the glutes were very sore due to the repeated spasms. This was bad enough that I missed work on Friday for fear of a repeat incident.
Today (Saturday evening) things feel much better and I am moving around fine. I've been doing some air squats and other light stretches in an attempt to keep things loose back there. Some residual soreness, but very minor and not worth taking anything for.
Next workout is supposed to be on Monday, 2/1, but I'm really thinking about skipping to try to allow some additional recovery. We'll see if maybe I can do a light warm-up series with the scheduled lifts and call it good with that. Gotta be real careful now.

tim

[metermanja]

nice job working your way up linearly.
my numbers are pretty identical.

good luck on recovering from your back injury.

[Tim Lofton]

2/1/2010

Session 29

Squat: 250# x 5 x 3

Bench: 150# x 5 x 2, 150 x 4

Chin-ups: 5-4-3

I think squats can finally move on from 250 now. Back felt fine today with no twinges or sensations so 80% on Wednesday, again, then up to 255 on Friday.
Bench, well all of the reps felt great, then I up and miss the very last rep because I couldn't keep my breath and chest up after the fourth. I took a quick, deep breath and lowered #5, pushed it about 2-3 inches from the chest and their it sat. Even a semi-loud "pushhhh!" couldn't get it up, so back down to the safeties it came and now I have to repeat the weight. I probably should have tried harder to hold the breath and get the last rep; no telling if it would have worked but what I did didn't work either. I just want to get to BW in the bench - is it that frickin' hard?!
Chin-ups: I know these are meant to be assistance exercises but I was hoping to have progressed a little. Oh well as long as bench and press keep going up then I guess they're helping.
Overall I'm pleased that I kept the back in good shape and not so much as a glimmer of soreness during squats. Looking forward to deads on Wednesday!

tim

[Tim Lofton]

2/4/2010

Session 30

Squat: 200# x 5 x 3 (80% day)

Press: 112.5# x 5 x 3

Dead: 245# x 3 x 2

Well after being around the 250 mark for the squat for what seems like a month (not really, but a couple of weeks anyway), I think the slight stall and the back twinge is behind me. We'll see on Saturday how 255 goes. I'm anticipating a good squat day.
Press went well and I don't know if it's just overall strength gains, or maybe the chin-ups I'm doing are helping, but I about pressed the weight right out of my hands at the top a couple of times. Heard the weight rattle on the bar a bit. Not that it was real easy or anything, but a few reps went up really well. Funny, as chins haven't really progressed (and as an assistance exercise, I guess that is not primary) but I felt like I was handling the press weight much more strongly and confidently.
Deads were fine. On my warm-up when I went from 165 x 3 to 205 x 2, it felt a bit heavy and I'm thinking, "shit, this isn't good." But I took a nice rest, cleared my head, chalked up, and double overhand gripped a couple of decent sets. It tried hook grip on a couple of reps, but it felt like the thumbs were getting crushed. Anyhow, it feels good to have a lift where things are going well and movement is unimpaired.
Secondary gym on Saturday as I'm off by a day due to donating blood on Wednesday; didn't want to pop the clot where the draw was made and get a bunch of bruising.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

2/6/2010

Session 31

Weekly weigh-in: 187#

Squat: 255# x 5 x 3

Bench: 150# x 5 x 3

Pull-ups: 5-4-3

Workout at secondary gym today due to one day shift in this week's workouts. Better music at least. I'll probably never pay for satellite radio, but it is nice having a rock/metal channel with no commercials. This was a really good session overall and not what I was expecting. It's been a while since I've had squats go up like this. While not necessarily featherlike, I never felt like I was going to be stuck at the bottom or had exceedingly slow ascent speed.
Bench went well except for a bit of wobble with the left (non-dominant) arm on a few reps. Breathing and chest tightness was much better and the left arm thing was controlled by squeezing the bar tighter with that hand. The very last rep was a bit of a dig, but it went up and racked.
I'm a bit surprised that I couldn't get more out of my pull-ups than my chins. I figured I'd be good for an extra rep or two. I was definitely a bit fatigued from the bench and a spot of shoulder soreness from playing MLB 2K10 on the Wii with my son. Damn video games!
One day of recovery tomorrow watching my daughter at her swim meet, then back to the regular schedule on Monday.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

2/8/2010

Session 32

Squat: 260# x 5 x 3

Press: 115# x 5 x 3

Chin-ups: 5-3-3

Right knee caving in a bit on squats. Last set had a couple of reps that were very close to not being below parallel. Otherwise the weight was hard but doable.
Press went well with exception of some sloppy power cleans to get the weight up into press position. Good thing I'm doing PCs on Friday to get some more work in and try to clean them up a bit. Switching to breathing at the top, but still need to keep glutes tight. Weight not a tremendous problem though. 120# by the middle of next week looks realistic.
Lost a rep on chins. Tough go as the press sapped me and I probably didn't rest enough. Very close to an extra rep on the first set. Next week maybe...

tim

[Tim Lofton]

2/10/2010

Session 33

Squat: 210# x 5 x 3 (80% day)

Bench: 155# x 5 x 3

Dead: 255# x 3 x 2

Focused on knees out and hip drive with the lighter squat day.
Bench went well the first set, difficult the second, and damn near didn't make it but did for the third set. The very last rep wanted to park it about six inches or so going up from my chest but I willed it up from damn near a stopped bar. Really hoping to get to BW bench sometime this millenia; jeez is that weak.
Deadlift felt pretty good. Getting a tripod this weekend so I can video next week's deads. I really want to check that the knee and hip angles are opening in the proper sequence, among other things. Pulls are feeling good otherwise.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

2/12/2010

Session 34

Weekly weigh-in: 190# (PR!)

Squat: 265# x 5 x 3

Press: 117.5# x 5 x 3

Pwr cln: 100# x 3 x 5

Felt strong in everything today. Fueled, maybe, by the fact that some f$%!er stole my Chuck Taylors that I use for lifting out of the locker room at work. Serves me right I guess as I'm the one the left them there, although in seven years of leaving running shoes and other stuff, I have never lost anything. They'll live in my bag from now on.
Squat went well and depth was good. Press went well and good lockout at the top across all reps. Breathing at the top getting easier and makes a difference. All of a sudden the press has gotten a bit easier; can't explain, won't complain.
I reset PCs, from 110 down to 100, since I hadn't done them in almost a month. Good thing as it was a bit sloppy. Found myself donkey kicking a few times. Last set of three was a good one though and a good way to end the week.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

2/15/2010

Session 35

Squat: 270# x 5 x 3

Bench: 160# x 5 x 2, 160# x 2 :mad:

Chins: 5-4-3 (varying grip)

Had today off of work, so lifting was at my secondary gym. I'm always a bit uncomfortable there for the first 30-45 minutes or so. Started first set of squats with feet too close together. I should know better by now. A bit shakey getting them up. Next two sets went much better.
Bench is getting to be a real pisser as the weight seems way too low to be having this much trouble. I knew my upper body was terribly weak, but I thought I would progress a bit better. Anyhow, will repeat 160 on Friday. I expect that will go much better, just like 150 did. I don't want to consider microloading just yet, but am keeping it on the back burner.
I mixed each set of the chins up today, so actually one set of normal grip chins, one set of pull-ups, and one set of narrow grip chins with hands turned in.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

2/17/2010

Session 36

Squat: 215# x 5 x 3 (80% day)

Press: 120# x 5 x 3

Dead: 265# x 3 x 2

Squats were squats. It was a light day.
Press was a bit wobbly today; so much so, that one rep actually had me off balance and I had to step forward a bit. Left arm is lagging the right just a bit too; same thing for the bench. I've had some slight soreness on the inside of my left scapula, so not sure if this is contributing. Press reps were a bit harder today and I missed some reps on Monday's bench, so I don't know if there is some incomplete recovery going on here or what. Sleep has been less than optimal, so contribution there? Still, I got all reps but if the next press session next Monday is this shaky, I will probably hold at the weight for another session.
Deadlift went very well. Just a slight bit of drift of the bar away from the legs at the start of a couple of reps, otherwise pulled just fine.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

2/19/2010

Session 37

Weekly weigh-in: 195# (5# gain this week)

Squat: 275# x 2, 275 x 5, 275 x 4, 270 x 5

Bench: 160# x 5 x 3

PCs: 105# x 3 x 5

I was pretty surprised to step on the scale this morning and see 195#. That's a weight PR for me. Scary, in a way, to think I could be at 200# in the next week or so. Then things kind of spiraled from there.

Squats were godawful tough. The first two reps went okay, then I bent a little too far forward at the bottom of the next rep and felt an unwanted good morning coming if I didn't dump the bar forward. Okay, just a form thing; rest and go for 3x5 again.
One full set down; second set, well every rep was a bit of a fight and I just could not drive the last rep up, and I tried hard. I wanted to try for one more complete set, so I dropped back to 270 and did this. From then on I felt like somebody backed a garbage truck over me as I was really sapped.

This fatigue carried over into my bench which, despite its sucky low weight and a repeat from missed reps on Monday, took a bit of vocalizing to make all of the reps. My back was very tired from the squats and even more so now from trying to hold the arch during bench. I'm pretty envious of dudes who come in that don't look that much bigger, if at all, than myself and bench 225 like it's being lifted from above. Just get to BW and then go from there...

So, of course, power cleans were next. I felt as though any explosiveness that were in my legs was surely gone into the abyss by now. I took an extended rest, spent a bit more time than usual on the warm-up reps, and completed the PCs in reasonably better shape than I would have anticipated. It probably helped that the spin class in the adjacent room was in progress and I didn't want to look like an eff-up doing these things, so I think I regained some focus.
I'm pretty damned fatigued overall now and am really looking forward to the next two days off. Hopefully someone will have moved the garbage truck off of me by Monday.

tim

[Tim Lofton]

2/22/2010

Session 38

Squat: 275# x 5 x 3

Press: 122.5# x 5 x 3

Chins: 6-4-3

Phewww! Glad to get through that squat set. Found resting a bit more between reps helped despite standing there with the weight on my back; just a few seconds but it made a difference. A bit of twinge in the distal portion of my left hamstring, but it only makes me aware of it when going down stairs. Didn't bother me at all during squats; probably residual ache from squatting behind the plate catching my son's pitches as he prepares for baseball tryouts.
Press was hard for the first set, then the next two went much better. Had a bit of layback in later reps and needed to tighten the glutes better to prevent.
Got one more rep on the first set of chins. That's good for now. Felt strong enought to get an extra on the second set but I hung too long and couldn't get back up past about halfway.
Hungry...!!

tim

[Tim Lofton]

3/1/2010

Session 38 repeat

Session 38 was one week ago today. Everything went well, but I felt it was probably one of the hardest lifting days I'd had and felt thoroughly spent afterwards. Thirty-six hours later I'm in the grips of one of the nastier colds I've had in some time. I missed the next 2.5 days of work and two lifting days. I'm better now, but recovery is not complete as noted by the numbers below:

Squat: 275# x 5, 275 x 2, 275 x 5, 275 x 3

Press: 122.5# x 5, 122,5 x 2, 122.5 x 3

Chins: 7-5-3

Well, the positive is that I put one more rep on each of the first two sets of chin-ups. Otherwise, I'm looking at a repeat for both the squats and the press on Friday as Wednesday will be an 80% squat day plus bench and deads.
Both lifts were hit-and-miss as far as completing and there's definitely still not a full recovery in place yet. I think the severity of the cold was, in part, due to improper sleep duration. I feel pretty confident that, all else going well this week, I will get both of these full sets on Friday. A bit disappointing since I actually completed these last Monday but felt a redo was in order after a full week away with sickness. Better to be sure with the weight before moving on.

[Tim Lofton]

3/2/2010

Have been wanting to try working lightly on learning snatches. I figured the day before my light squat day would be okay, at least for now. So I only plan to do this once per week; maybe on a Saturday eventually or instead of during the week. The idea is not to do anything that approaches heavy or hard with this so as not to screw up recovery from my main work days. Practicing the partial movements will be the theme for now. So today was:

Snatch grip shoulder dislocates - 3 x 10 with a 22# bar straight bar. Didn't see a reason to do this with a barbell as the purpose isn't to do with weight. The bar I used was the only bar long enough to do with a snatch grip. Maybe I'll look for a mop handle next time. This actually felt very good to do as I progressively worked farther back. I did not go fully around to my backside, but to about 30 degrees or so past vertical. It's a nice stretch for the shoulders.

Snatch grip behind the neck press - 45# x 5 x 2, 55 x 5, 65 x 3, 85 x 2, 95 x 5; probably should have left the last set @ 95# off

OH squat - 45# x 5 x 2, 55 x 5, 65 x 3, 85 x 2

Snatch balance - barbell only - 3 x 5

The residual soreness that I had in my legs earlier today from yesterday's work day seems to have diminished to nothing now. Hopefully some advantage to facilitating an increased blood flow.

[Tim Lofton]

3/3/2010

Session 39

Squat: 215# x 5 x 3 (80% day)

Bench: 165# x 4, 165 x 2, 160 x 3

Dead: 275# x 3 x 2

Squat ended up being 78% day as it was supposed to be 220#. Oh well, the way things have gone this week I probably would have failed.
Bench is a bit of a wreck right now. Due to illness, I hadn't benched in over a week, when I hit all sets at 160#, barely. Given I'm still recovering from a cold that is trying like hell to hang on and crappy sleep patterns for the past month, I'm going to drop back to 160 next bench session and make sure I get through this point again. I might consider microloading after that, which doesn't make me happy as I was hoping to at least get a BW bench before having to consider that.
Deadlift was really hard, but I expected no less, again, given how the last week or two has transpired. Still using double overhand grip, so that isn't an issue. I do need to attend to a couple of developing calluses before they get too much bigger. More chalk next time too.
All-in-all, I think (hope) this is just a big rough patch that I need to grind and recover my way through. I don't have a lot of optimism for Friday's workout based on how I feel right now, but that might change. I think next week will be a good week after one more lift day this week and some rest days. It will be interesting to get to November and look back on my first full year of strength training, but it's a long, climbing road to that point.

[Tim Lofton]

3/5/2010

Weekly weigh-in: 197#

Session 40

Squat: 275# x 5 x 3

Press: 122.5# x 5 x 2, 122.5 x 4

PC: 110# x 3 x 3

Squats went surprisingly well; got 275 and it didn't feel like a max effort. Not much else to say.

Press was disappointing as I felt strong throughout and a lack of good form/tightness on the last set had me doing some somewhat excessive layback and I couldn't push the last rep up. This has been a rough week and, even though I did this weight a week ago Monday, I was glad to get this far today. Will repeat this weight next press session and get it.

Power cleans were sloppy as I was kind of pressed for time. Very little explosiveness. Will repeat the weight again next Friday.

Overall I'm happy to move past the 275 squat. It was a bit of a fight but worth it. Maybe 200# BW by next week?!

[Razor]

Squat numbers look goo , being sick sucks and can be as hard on you mentaly as physicaly. your bench will come around fast once you fully recover from being sick

[Tim Lofton]

Squat numbers look goo , being sick sucks and can be as hard on you mentaly as physicaly. your bench will come around fast once you fully recover from being sick

Thanks for the good words Razor. Being sick does suck, and this one dragged on more than usual. I hope you're right regarding bench, but it has been tough for quite a while. Coming from a running background, my upper body strength was/is absolutely pathetic. Trying like everything to rectify that though.

[Tim Lofton]

3/8/2010

Session 41

Squat: 280# x 5 x 3

Bench: 160# x 5 x 3

Chins: 5-4-3

First set of squats went very well and, at that point, I knew (well, with reasonable confidence) I would get all three sets. Form was right on and no right knee caving like I had been experiencing a little of recently. This didn't feel like an all-out effort either, so recovery allowing this week, Friday's effort should go well (Wednesday is 80% day). It's like each progression is a small celebration.

I was a bit cynical about the bench today as I had already done this weight for sets before, but have had issues with 165#, being sick recently, etc. So it was decided that I would drop back to the last safe weight and progress from here. I'm still not convinced that I need to microload yet. I'm brutally weak up top, and today was hard but, again, not at a maximum effort. So I will shoot for 165 again on Friday.

Very tight and stiff up top and felt like benching muscles were filled - is this the "pump" that everyone talks about? If so, it sure made doing chin-ups hard today as I actually regressed from the last two times. Oh well, it's assistance anyway.

Very happy overall and hungry as hell right now. Time to eat!

[Tim Lofton]

3/11/2010

Session 42

Squat: 225# x 5 x 3 (80% day)

Press: 122.5# x 5 x 3

Dead: 285# x 3 x 2

Normally this workout would have been performed yesterday, but I was doing leukopheresis, so no lifting after that. Squats felt really good, no residual soreness today, form felt fine, all was well, as it should be on a lighter day.

The first work set of the press was a bit sloppy as I think I was accelerating the bar a bit too quickly to the top, where I then hold for a breath, then start the next rep. I actually got off balance by a half step but held it up and finished. Next two sets were much cleaner and I'm happy to move on to 125.

Deadlift still movin' on up, still with double overhand grip and chalk, had someone watch my back and shoulders and gave them cues as to what to look for. Nothing remarkable to note.

All-in-all a very straightforward day of lifting.

[Corey]

I looked at some of your posts and noticed you are having good results with mass gain. I see that you started at 12% BF. Do you mind if I ask what that BF% is now?

[Tim Lofton]

I looked at some of your posts and noticed you are having good results with mass gain. I see that you started at 12% BF. Do you mind if I ask what that BF% is now?

Hey Corey,

Actually at the start of things I was at 9-10% but, right now, I don't actually know. I don't have my own calipers and probably wouldn't trust my use of them anyway. I'll have to see if one of the staff at my work's fitness center can do some measurements. I was trying not to really worry about it for a while and just stick with gaining weight. I'm hoping to to be, at least, 200-205 by the end of the month.
At any rate, sorry I don't have that data right now. I will let you know when I find out if you would like. I would guess around 13-15% maybe; I was pretty damn lean (skinny) from running ultramarathons.

[Tim Lofton]

3/13/2010

Weekly weigh-in: 198#

Session 43

Squat: 285# x 5 x 3

Bench: 165# x 5 x 3

PC: 115# x 3 x 5

Lifted at my secondary gym today. Always feels weird as I only get in there maybe once a month or so if I have to lift on a weekend/holiday/vacation day. Thusly, the first set or two of squats are always a bit tenuous and I have no idea why. Just takes a while to settle in.

However, squats went pretty well regardless. A bit of the right knee caving in again on a few reps. I did experience a slight pull in the lower back during the second set, but it wasn't enough to call it a day. Just got folded over a bit more than I would have liked, and this has happened more than I want lately, so it's time to refocus on chest up and driving the hips. I think I got a bit too nonchalant. At any rate, finished the work sets and am now knocking on the 300# door.

I was somewhat questioning going to a microload for the bench, but something in my gut said to go for the five pound jump one more time, so I did. Am I glad I did! The sets went well, tough and slow at times, but I never felt like I was going to dump the weight. On the last rep of my second set, another guy there doing much upper body stuff came up behind to provide a spot as the bar slowed on the ascent, but I quickly said, "got it!" and surged the bar upward. He wanted me to get one more rep and I indicated that I am doing sets of five and that was it. I thanked him though and told him I didn't want to miss a rep due to a spot. Fortunately he didn't touch the bar and I told him that's why I'm benching in the power rack. Onward with the bench in search of a BW workset.

Power cleans went reasonably well, despite my back starting to tighten and occasionally spasm slightly. I managed to find some extra limberness as the arms rotated up nicely and the bar hit the delts every time.

It sure felt good to have a week like this after poor sleep weeks affecting recovery and a sick week that dragged out way too long. Things are progressing again, just when I was thinking I was really stuck a bit. I'm hoping to hit a BW of 200# by the end of next week - maybe more as that would only be a two pound increase from this week. Time for a day or two off.

[Tim Lofton]

3/16/2010

Session 44

Squat: 290# x 2, 290 x 5, 290 x 2

Press: 125# x 5 x 2, 125 x 4

Pull-ups: 6-4-2

Several things bit me in the ass today. Sleep has been crap the past couple of nights, my back that got slightly tweaked on Saturday was still in my head, and I looked past the current work set weight.

Nothing is more important than what is currently in front of you. I was getting a little psyched about shooting for a 300# squat in a week and not remembering that I still need to get through the current week first. My back, which physically didn't bother me, but is just a bit tight, stuck in my head and I think I was also a bit worried about tweaking it again and being set back a few days - again, wanting to get to 300.

The first set of two reps had me feeling plenty strong enough to do the full set but I actually rolled the bar backward and let it down behind me onto the safeties. Oh, I was videoing too as I don't want to cheat depth as I approach 300 and want to ensure that I getting it right. I tend to be less than focused when the camera is on and it showed on this set.
The second set was fine, as was depth. The third set was basically a repeat of set one. Two reps and I felt myself unable to drive the hips. My lower back immediately came to mind and I let the bar go down to the safeties again. It wasn't a crash as I lowered myself and let the bar go backwards. Just a really bad work set of squats today and I got what I deserved.

Press went well overall really, just missed the very last rep. Lack of willpower, fatigue, elbows behind the bar? Haven't watched all of the video of these yet, but I'm not overly concerned about not getting 125# next press session.

Eighty percent squat next session, 170# bench, and 295# deadlift, then refocus on 290...

[Tim Lofton]

3/19/2010

Weekly weigh-in: 199# (terrible week for eating and not a big appetite)

Session 45

Squat: 230# x 5 x 3 (80% day)

Bench: 170# x 5 x 3

Dead: 295# x 3 x 2

Not much to say on squats. Focused on depth as my 290 attempt the other day seemed to be missing adequate depth on a few reps.

Bench went well, and felt like there was just a little in the tank at the end, so progression continues. Still chasing the BW bench; problem is I keep gaining weight - well, not so much this week.

Deads. This is the first time in a very long time, if ever, that deads felt very hard. It took some extra focus today. Used double overhand on last warm-up set and first work set. The bar slipped just slightly and opened a small callus, so switched to hook grip on the last set and this went very well with no stress on the calluses. Last rep a tad difficult to stand with but I don't feel I was ever at risk of missing.

Strange week as things at work hit a small peak and had to shift the schedule a bit. Since today turned out to be the light squat day, I will probably go to my secondary gym on Sunday and go for 290# on the squat again. A day to rest and watch some NCAA hoops.

[Tim Lofton]

3/22/2010

Session 45a

Warm-up sets, then only one work set at last weight performed

Squat: 290# x 5

Press: 125# x 5

Pull-ups: 6-4-2, 2 x 30 sec hangs in active shoulder position

After a few weeks of poor sleep patterns and diminished appetite, I posted to the Recovery board and received some advice (thanks to Stacey/nisora33). I will take the week to do only warm-up sets plus one work set at currently established weight with no progression.

This should be an easy week that will, hopefully, allow me to slip back into some better eating habits and, more importantly, get more than four to five hours of sleep per night.

No commentary other than everything felt as it should. I did think I would get a few more pull-ups given the lighter overall workload, but I think only doing them once per week is keeping them at bay for now.

[JStrong]

Your log is encouraging Tim, #300 is coming!

Same size as me, a few months ahead, and my physical opposite (I have twiggy legs and a relatively developed upper body--I tend to only run away from things). I'm gonna pass you on the press soon but damned if I ever get to a 290 squat, good work.

[Tim Lofton]

3/24/2010

Session 45b

Warm-up sets plus one work set only

Squat: 230# x 5 (80% day)

Bench: 170# x 5

Dead: 295# x 5

Another crap night of sleep last night and, while I wasn't feeling real tired, I definitely wasn't as fresh as I thought I should be today. Everything went fine overall, just felt a bit heavier than I was hoping for. Oh well, have a good lunch and get a better night of sleep tonight.

[Tim Lofton]

3/26/2010

Weekly weigh-in: 200# (most I've ever weighed!)

Session 45c

Warm-up sets plus one work set only

Squat: 295# x 5

Press: 125# x 5

PC: 120# x 3

Last session of holding lifts at last week's weights and performing one work set. Monday will kick things off again.
I did cheat a bit and tried 295# on the squat as I got my lifting belt in the mail yesterday, so I thought I'd bump up a bit with the belt on. Rolled the belt and tried to get a little break-in last night while watching the Huskies take a dump against West Virginia. Belt felt okay and so did the squat, but I couldn't really tell much from one warm-up and one work set.
Otherwise, nothing remarkable. PCs popped up pretty well but, again, it was only one set. This was a feel good week, though I don't think my sleep issues are totally fixed. I did get to a BW of 200# though. Time to get back to work next week.

[Tim Lofton]

3/29/2010

Session 46

Squat: 290# x 5 x 3

Bench: 175# x 5 x 2, 175 x 4

Chins: 5-4-2

Back to regular work sets today. All squat worksets will be belted from this point forward unless otherwise noted. I still had a fairly decent amount of residual soreness in my right arm, each side of the elbow, from the almost 200 fly balls I hit on Saturday during my son's baseball practice.

Squats went really well; almost felt like a cheat with the belt on. All sets felt good, hard, but good, and the belt fits well with no problems at all. Very much an increased feeling of trunk stability and I comfortably achieved full depth with no problems ascending.

I missed the very last rep on the bench lift today. After a reduced volume week last week, I really should have been able to progress today. Maybe the arm soreness played a factor and I'm disappointed to have missed. Given this, I'm going to go to 2.5# microloads now. It's way lighter than I was hoping to have to do so, but I've been having too much trouble for too long. So 172.5# on Friday. I was pretty spent after this lift.

Chins were abyssmal, but not too surprising after being fairly fatigued on the bench. I'm really not sure if one set of chins/pulls per week are doing me much good. I need to evaluate either dropping them or adding another set or two during the week to further benefit from them, if that is possible right now. Last year, at a BW of 165#, I could do 15 to 20 deadhang reps straight. Granted the strength training takes a lot out of me and I'm 35# heavier now, but I would have thought a little progress would be possible by now. At least the squat moved up today...

[Tim Lofton]

3/31/2010

Session 47

Squat: 230# x 5 x 3 (80% day, no belt)

Press: 125# x 5 x 3

Dead: 305# x 3 x 2

Good way to send March out. Everything went well today. Light squats today and, again, focused on really good depth.

Felt very strong with press today, though the last rep of my first set I actually got off-balance slightly and had to take a small step to regain. Some mild layback during the last workset.

Was looking forward to deadlifts as I would be surpassing 300#, and this actually felt a bit easier than 295# last week. Really focused on pushing against the floor. Used hook grip on both worksets. Get to add another wheel to each side next week.

[Tim Lofton]

4/2/2010

Session 48

Weekly weigh-in: 200#

Squat: 295# x 5, 295 x3, 295 x 5 x 2

Bench: 172.5# x 5 x 3

PC: 120# x 3 x 5

Squats felt good first workset, then I wobbled just a bit during the second set and let the bar go forward. Felt it wasn't a strength thing, so reloaded and planned for two more sets to complete things. Did so and am glad to be on the doorstep of 300#.

Started microloading the bench today. Glad I did as I don't think I had 3x5 at 175 in me. I really dislike bench; slow but sure I guess. Did much better holding breath through at least four reps but couldn't do it for all five.

Power cleans felt good with the exception of some weak drives on the last few reps.

Overall a good week. Last week's single workset sessions provided a good enough break without having to deload, and sleep/appetite have been much closer to normal. Thanks again to Stacey/nisora33 for his input.

[Tim Lofton]

4/5/2010

Session 49

Squat: 300# (PR - 1.5x BW!)

Press: 127.5# x 5 x 2, 127.5 x 4

Pull-ups: 5-4-3

Pretty nervous going into squats today, and I'm not sure why really, other than the number being "300". I mean really, it was only five pounds more than I did on Friday and those, I felt, went really well. Nonetheless, I had a few grunt moments, but completed all sets with little issue. One rep during the second set did have the bar roll "up" my back and towards my neck a bit and I thought I was going to dump, but I was not going to let this ruin getting "300" today.

Given all of that, I was a bit let down after missing my very last rep on the press today. I let the bar travel downward too low, fought hard just to get it back to a decent press position, but couldn't seal the deal. So I'll be repeating this weight on Friday.

I honestly don't know how folks are increasing their chins/pulls after doing squats, then bench or press. I am pretty damned fatigued by the time I go to do these and have not seen an bit of progress. I've only been doing them on Mondays, so I think I am going to add them in a bit more during the week as well and see what happens.

Glad to hit somewhat of a milestone for 1.5x BW squats and, today is opening day for the Mariners as well as my son's baseball team. Mondays aren't all bad.

[JStrong]

Great job on the squat Tim!

[Tim Lofton]

4/7/2010

Session 50

Squat: 240# x 5 x 3 (80% day)

Bench: 175# x 5 x 3

Dead: 315# x 3 x 2

Nothing remarkable with squats, so on to bench. I think I realized today that my hands have been overextending at the wrists, causing me to lose support for the weight after a few reps. I actually looked at my right hand mid-rep today (don't ask me why) and straightened things out at the top. Bench is still hard for me, but this just made things a tad easier. Still going to continue the 2.5# microload; don't think I helped myself out that much.

Deadlift was a mo-fo, but still, not much problem in getting it pulled up, still with double hook-grip. Our fitness center here at work only has a total of six 45# plates, and I'm using them all for deadlift, and will soon for squats. Still a ways to go, for now, until I'm ready to add another, but at least I can use a 35/10 combo when I get there. Anyhow, a bit a tough go, but overall today went really well. Gotta get to work on a power rack for home.

[Tim Lofton]

4/9/2010

Weekly weigh-in: 201#

Session 50a

Squat: 305# x 2, 305 x 5, 305 x 2

Dips: BW for 7-10-8

Chins/pulls: Three various sets

Well, not your textbook SS workout. It was supposed to be squat, press, and PCs, but after a couple of so-so nights of sleep and not super enthusiastic about things, I thought about trying some 3RM lifts. Standard warm-up found me feeling fairly lackluster, so I decided today was not a day for 3RM.
Thought it best to, at least, try to get my squat sets. Felt strong enough on the first set but got a bit off-balance and put the bar down. Second set complete but with a shakey couple of last reps that came very close to not happening. Third set, legs kind of twitchy and head not in the game, so after the second rep, I racked the bar and stopped. Obviously, this weight will be repeated on Monday.
From this point I just decided to get some assistance exercises in. I hadn't done dips in almost a year, so I thought I'd see what I could do. I'd like to work these in, but am not sure where or if I'm at a point where I could benefit versus hampering recovery.
Chins/pulls were a mixed bag with some neutral grip, narrow grip, and somewhat lame form L-sit pull-ups.
Had a study to get completed at work that had been worrying me about the time involved, so this somewhat shorter workout still got me in to do some work and out again to get back to reality. It was nice to have a little variety in there as well. Back to it in a couple of days.

[Tim Lofton]

5/12/2010

Session 59

Squat: 225# x 5 x 2

Bench: 150# x 5 x 2

Dips: 10 sets of three, bodyweight

Returning to linear progression as running just wasn't taking off with me and the 5/3/1 program was driving me crazy. I will still do some trail running throughout the summer, but am going to temper some of the initial plans I had for really long distance stuff. Ready to get back to steady strength training.
After the 70sBig 225 challenge on Monday, I felt a fairly light day was in order. My hamstrings were pretty sore, so I opted out of deadlifts today. Friday will be a slightly higher day as I prepare to realign back into the linear track again. Looking forward to it.

[Tim Lofton]

5/14/2010

Weekly weigh-in: 200#

Session 60

Squat: 260# x 5 x 3

Press: 105# x 5 x 3

Chins: 4 sets of 3, 1 set of 2; one minute rest between sets

Getting back on the linear progression track. Re-entry weights felt about right, though I'm still a bit sore from the 20-rep squats on Monday. Was shooting for five sets of three chin-ups; not quite. A couple of days off then back to it.

[Tim Lofton]

5/17/2010

Session 61

Squat: 265# x 5 x 3

Bench: 160# x 5 x 3

Kroc rows: 45#, 17 right, 16 left

Plowed right through everything. Heard some music in the gym I use at work and it took me back a bit to an old girlfriend of days gone past and how we parted ways. The weight has never surged so forcefully.

[Tim Lofton]

5/19/2010

Squat: 215# x 5 x 3 (80% day)

Press: 110# x 5 x 3

Dead: 275# x 3 x 2

Return to linear progression at appropriate weights I guess as everything was pushed, pulled, and squatted in good shape. Not much to comment on.

[Tim Lofton]

5/21/2010

Session 63

Squat: 270# x 5 x 3

Bench: 165# x 5 x 3

C&J: 95# x 1 x 10, rep every 2 min.

Squat and bench went fine. C&J was a bit tough over the last five as I started lacking some oomph in the clean portion. Lots of little form things to work on with empty bar and/or lighter weights. Tis' the weekend however.

[Tim Lofton]

5/24/2010

Session 64

C&J (5 heavy singles): 95#-105-115-125-135

Snatch (sets across, on the minute): 85# x 10

First week of blending in O-lifts with SS linear progression so, yes, I'm NDTP. I'm still squatting heavy twice per week, taking out the 80% day on Wednesday; bench and press 1x each per week; and deadlift once per week, which isn't a change. So a bit of deviation from advanced novice program I was using, but not much and still going to maintain linear progression, so I will continue to log here.
As expected, form a bit sloppy here and there though the 135 C&J went very well I thought. Still trying to work out between split and squat snatch, so doing both at the moment.

[Tim Lofton]

5/25/2010

Session 65

Squat: 275# x 5 x 3

Press: 115# x 5 x 3

Chins: 5 x 3, on the minute

Initially, I wasn't looking forward to squats today as I had some residual soreness/fatigue in the hips and legs. I took a protracted warm-up and took it a little easier than usual, which seemed to work. Set-by-set they didn't get easier, as usual, but they weren't all that hard either. Yeah I had to grit through a couple, but was never that close to failing.
Press went well, especially as I realized last press session that my bar path was an inch or two forward of center or midfoot. It was just enough to make things hard, but now that I've corrected, all sets went fine.
Chins were tough, especially after press, and the last couple did not have my chin completely clear the bar.
Looking forward to a good night of sleep tonight with an off day tomorrow.

[Tim Lofton]

5/27/2010

Session 66

Snatch (work up to heavy single): 75# - 85 - 95 - 105 - 115

C&J (sets across, every 2 min.): 100# x 8

Need to do some technique work this weekend on the triple extension portion of the snatch; probably some more Burgener warm-up as well. Also need to work on dropping under the bar faster on the jerk. Squat, bench, dead tomorrow...

[Tim Lofton]

5/28/2010

Session 66

Squat: 280# x 5 x 3

Bench: 170# x 5 x 3

Dead: 285# x3 x 2

Not much to say. I haven't had a day where all three lifts went this well - almost easy - in a while. Had the day off of work today, so didn't have to get up at 4:15 a.m. to get in to work. Slept in, good breakfast, relaxing morning, then into my secondary gym. Lot of dudes in there doing cable work, bench press, tricep skull crushers, etc. Not once in the nearly two hours I was there did anyone need the power rack. Good for me I guess. Did feel a bit sheepish with my 285 dead just after one of the regulars, who is back from Iraq for a while, was pulling around 500 to 550#.
Will do some O-lift technique work with the bar this weekend including some Burgener warm-up.
Thanks to all who have, or are, serving. My sincere condolences to those families who have lost someone in service to our communities and country.

[Tim Lofton]

5/31/2010

Session 67

C&J (heavy singles): 125# x 5

Snatch (sets across, on the minute): 90# x 7

First real workout at home. Finally got a small portion of the garage cleaned up enough to do this type of workout. Really need to get a different bar for O-lifts as this one has a pretty generous diameter and is hard to grip for this work. Can't wait to get a rack either; still scanning Craigslist.
Anyhow everything felt heavy today and my shoulders and upper back are letting me know about it. May keep this weight for the next session as well as I feel some more technique work is needed and it's pointless to progress unless I do so. Not the prettiest workout, but it was still nice to get some work in for the day.

[Tim Lofton]

6/1/2010

Session 68

Squat: 285# x 5 x 3

Press: 120# x 5 x 3

Chins: 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1, 1' rest per chin-up ascending, 30" rest per chin-up descending

Good session today. Focused on knees apart, mainly to have something to think about. Worked well and squats were done in good rhythm.
Press was slightly difficult after yesterday's O-lifts. Got off balance by a small step once or twice, in part because I think I was bringing my torso forward too hard once the bar cleared my forehead. Otherwise things went well.
Chins went well until the set of five, where I only did about a 3/4 rep. This held true on the sets descending, where the last rep of each was a partial, except for the final chin-up, which was complete. I wanted to stick with it and complete the ladder to the best of my ability.
Rest day tomorrow; arms and shoulders will appreciate it.

[Tim Lofton]

6/3/2010

Session 70

Snatch (heavy singles): 95# x 5

C&J (sets across, every 2'): 105# x 7

Snatches went better today than on Monday. I like doing the split snatch and so will probably stick with that technique.
C&J were okay, though I did manage to clean the bar up into the bottom of my chin once - not sure why I did that, a bit over zealous maybe. Will continue to work technique/Burgener warm-up sequences with light bar over the weekend.

[Tim Lofton]

6/4/2010

Session 71

Weekly weigh-in: 202#

Squat: 290# x 5 x 3

Bench: 175# x 5 x 3

Dead: 295# x 3 x 2

Nothing of significance. Arms a bit sore from bench as I think I had the bar a bit too low and unracking was a bit more challenging; nothing serious though. Deads went well; hook grip and no chalk. Time to rest with a bit of light O-lift technique work over the weekend.

[Tim Lofton]

6/7/2010

Session 72

C&J (heavy singles): 105# - 115 - 125 - 135 - 145

Snatch (sets across, on the minute): 85# x 7

Dropped sets across snatch back to 85 as this is really for technique work and shouldn't be real close to what I do for the heavy singles. Glad I did as I felt a bit sharper doing these.

[Tim Lofton]

6/8/2010

Session 73

Squat: 295# x 5 x 3

Press: 125# x 5 x 3

Chins: 5-5-3, last three with 10#

Well after about a five to six hour night of sleep last night, I expected to be a bit flat today. As expected things were definitely tougher today than in recent workouts. No specific comments as everything, across the board, was hard today - and that's okay. I finished all sets, though the last two press reps were close to not going.
I've got a fair amount of soreness in my arms, especially around the biceps which, I'm guessing, is from the O-lifts yesterday. I need to make sure I'm not jerking my cleans with my arms and producing some strain that way. I don't think I am and maybe it's just residual soreness.
A good night of sleep and a scheduled rest day tomorrow will, hopefully, have things right again.

[Tim Lofton]

6/14/2010

Session 74

Squat: 300# x 5 x 3

Bench: 180# x 4, 177.5 x 5, 177.5 x 3

Assistance: Mix of Kroc rows and pul-ups

Missed some days towards the end of last week, so I felt a bit off today. Ran some trails for a couple of hours on Saturday but still felt pretty rested. Squat went well, though I got a bit too upright on a few of the later reps, and a bit of knee cave. Now that I'm back to 300, I need to concentrate on pushing the knees out again.
Bench was as I kind of expected. Last time at 175, it was a bit challenging on the last few reps. I probably should have microloaded to 177.5 right off today but really wanted one more five pound increased. Not to happen today and felt really fatigued on the last set. Repeat this weight next week.
Assistance was fun but tiring.

[Tim Lofton]

6/18/2010

Weekly weigh-in: 202#

Session 75

Squat (80%): 240# x 5 x 2

Press: 130# x 5 x 3

Dead: 305# x 3 x 2

Squat easy; press hard, but will try to get through 135# before microloading; deads went very well, looking forward to 315# next week. A couple of hours of hilly trail running tomorrow otherwise rest up.