Robertus' Training Log

[Robertus]

I've been doing a modified version of SS for about 3 or so weeks now. I do the following program:

Monday:
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench/Press (Alt)
1x5 Deadlift

Wednesday:
3x5 Squat
3x5 Press/Bench (Alt)
3x Chins to failure

Friday:
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench/Press (Alt)
5x3 Power Cleans

I've messed around gyms for the past 10 or so years on and off. I had done Crossfit for a while, and was never able to do most of the strength workouts with the prescribed weight. My goal is the seemingly standard 1/2/3/4 plate goals on press, bench, squat, deadlift. I'm about 210 to 215 lbs now. I'd like to hit these goals by late spring, at which point my 10K bike commuting will start again, and my workouts will suffer.

Here are my progressions so far, with some inconsistencies when I tinkered with the program:

Squat:
3x5x175
3x5x185
3x5x195 (bar slow on 3rd set)
3x5x205 (bar speed normal, watch form)
3x5x215 (watch form and depth)
3x5x225
3x5x235 (bar slow on 14th and 15th reps)
3x5x240 (last rep depth was poor)
5+4+1 x 245 (fail on 2nd rep of 3rd set)
3x5x245
5+5+2 x 250 (fail on 3rd rep of 3rd set)

Bench:
3x5x160
3x5x165
3x5x175
3x5x185 (check depth)
5+5+4 x 190 (same day as squat fail, mental)
3 reps at 195, 2x5 at 190

Press:
3x5x90
3x5x95
3x5x105
3x5x110
3x5x115

Power Clean:
5x3x115
5x3x120
5x3x125

Deadlift:
1x5x185
1x5x205
1x5x220
1x5x235

[Robertus]

10 February

Squats
2x5x45 lbs
1x5x90
1x3x165
1x3x205
1x3x225
--------
3x250
5x250
5x250

Press
1x5x45
1x5x75
1x5x95
---------
5x120
5x120
4x120

Chins
8+7+6

I'm not sure what happened on my first squat workset. I'm guessing my warm-up was a little too heavy or long, and that I suffered from it. The first set was very shaky, with poor form on the 3rd rep. The last two sets felt great, so I think the warm-ups were the problem. My 15th press rep got about half-way up before I got stuck.

[Robertus]

12 February
A day that shall be known forever in Canada as TorchFail Day.
Friday weigh-in: 215.

Squats
2x5x45 lbs
1x5x95
1x3x165
1x3x225
----
5x255
5x255
5x255

Bench
5x45
5x95
3x165
------
5x195
5x195
4x195

Cleans
5x45
5x3x135

The squats felt great, and I took a video of my last set that I'll post soon. I need a decent video edit software to remove some of the superfluous footage, so any suggestion are welcome. I really like my depth, but the bar is certainly not following a vertical line down, more like a shallow D.

The squats are nearing my all-time 1 rep PR of 265. The benches started good. I really had to grind out the last rep of the 2nd set. The last set of the 3rd set was going nowhere, and the spotter had to step in.

[Robertus]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUFrrMK23MI

This is the 3rd set of 255 lbs.

Here's what I notice:

-High bar placement creates uneven bar path
-Long time between reps

Any other comments?

[Colliflower]

You know whats wrong with your squat, get that bar lower. There is no transitional stage between high bar and low bar - you just do it.

Watch your knees, you're bouncing off them at the bottom, try to get them out in the top 1/3 of the eccentric and hold them there throughout. Also focus on keeping your back in full extension from when you unrack the bar until you rack it, you seem to be loose at the bottom allowing your hips to roll under yourself.

All in all nice work though, you seem to be moving the weight pretty easily even with a few things working against you.

[Robertus]

15 February
Just enough snow to make things very greasy on the roads.

Squats
2x5x45 lbs
5x95
5x135
3x185
--------
3x5x225

Press
5x45
3x75
3x95
---
3x125
3x125
3x125

Deadlift
5x135
3x185
5x255
1 @ 315

I knocked back the weight on my squats to work on form, and to bite the bullet and switch to a lower bar position. The bar felt quite awkward and out of place. At 225, I could comfortably do my reps, but I definitely felt new muscles engaged in the exercise, especially in my upper thigh.

My press stalled on 3 reps per set. The 4th rep on each got about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way up before it got stuck.

The deadlifts felt great at 255. I've had the 315 number in my head for a while, and I tried a single rep at that weight just to feel the difference. There's a BIG difference between 255 and 315, but I pulled it up.

[Colliflower]

I'm having problems with my press at right around the same weight. Microloading is in order for myself. Do you have the resources to micro load your bar?


You should video your new squats, too. :)

[Robertus]

I'm planning on buying either washers or 1.25lb plates for microloading. I think I'll need them for the press. I'm still able to add 5lb at a time to the bench, but I'm getting stuck at points, as the next log will show.

More videos are coming once I can find a better way to edit the videos I take from my iPod.

[Robertus]

17 February
Missed a major snowstorm, areas to the south got 10-20cm of snow, and we got nothing. I have no problem with this.

Squat
2x5x45lbs
5x95
3x155
3x185
------
3x5x235

Bench
5x45
3x95
3x155
------
(5+5+4)x195

Pullups
8+8+5

I'm still working on the switch from high to low bar squats. The bar doesn't feel comfortable yet, but it's there to stay. I probably could have done the last bench rep, but I lost my mental focus and began thinking about my lack of spotter. I had the gas, but missed it. Pullups went well, first time I did two sets of eight, but I can never get past the low 20s in total number.

I also tracked my eating yesterday so I can clean that up. Yesterday I ate 3000 cals, of which 50% were carbs, 26% was fat, and 24% was protein. I'll be looking to lower carbs and up protein. I gave up my daily cereal today for two boiled eggs and a glass of milk. I've always had a bit of a muffin top, so I'm hoping that weaning myself off the carbs will help.

[Robertus]

19 February

Squats
2x5x45lbs
5x95
3x155
3x195
-----
5x245
5x245
4x245

Press
5x45
3x95
------
5x125
5x125
5x125

Power Clean
3x95
5x3x135

The squats felt nice and steady. I'm still working on keeping my knees out and driving from the hips. The presses at 125 felt much better than last time, although I am concerned about my form. I feel like I'm cheating by arching my back. I'll be getting my copy of Starting Strength tomrorow hopefully, so I'll be reading the press section closely. The power cleans felt good, but same as the press, I'm concerned with form.

[Robertus]

23 February
Canada 8 Germany 2

Squat
2x5x45
5x95
3x155
3x205
-------
5x250
5x250
3x250

Bench
5x45
3x105
3x145
3x165
------
5x200
3x200
2x200
2x200

Deadlift
5x135
3x225
------
5x275
1x315

My training got pre-empted Monday night by a leaking boiler in my basement. A full expansion tank was causing the boiler to run at higher than normal pressure, and the pressure relief valve was opening onto the basement floor. I drained the tank, and we're back to normal. I'll be Tues-Thurs-Sat now.

The squats went well. I'm confident I could have gotten another rep on the last set, but didn't want to have a fully failed rep. The bench was a dog's breakfast. The first set wasn't nearly low enough. When I started going down to full depth, I was able to squeeze off 3 reps and two reps. I added a final two reps about one minute after the 3rd set to make myself feel like I got a workout.

The deadlifts at 275 felt great. This was a 20lb increase from last week, but I might drop the increase to 15lbs next week to keep my form decent. I get odd looks for resetting my form after each rep, but I feel I'm much tighter on the pull when I do so.

[Robertus]

25 February

Squat
2x5x45
5x95
5x135
3x205
------
5x255
4x255
3x255

Press
5x45
3x75
3x105
----
4x130
3x130
2x130

8+8+7 Chins

Squats poor, press poor, the only thing that saved this workout were the chinups.

[Robertus]

27 February

Squats
2x5x45
5x135
3x175
3x205
-----
5x255
4x255
3x255

Bench
5x45
5x95
3x135
2x175
------
5x200
4x200
5x200

Cleans
------
3x45
3x95
3x5x140

Still pushing on that 255lbs squat ceiling. I'm really working on engaging my posterior chain at the bottom, which is definitely my weak point. I'm quite fast coming from halfway down to full lockout, so I definitely think its the explosion (or lack thereof) out of the hole that's keeping me back.

The benches felt great, although I had to grind out a couple of reps on the 1st and 3rd set. Feels great to lockout after a tough last rep.

[Robertus]

1 March
Stall Day

Squats
2x5x45
3x95
3x175
2x205
--------
5x255
4x255 (Fail on 5th Rep)
2x255

Press
5x45
3x75
2x105
-------
5x130
3x130
4x130

Cleans
3x95
-------
5x3x145

That's a full stall on the squats for me. I'll be knocking back to about 225 on the next workout. Hopefully the reset will also help me with some form issues. I'm still fighting my knees from sliding forward, and keeping my hamstrings tight when I hit the bottom.

The press was THIS close to getting done. I really need some fractional plates smaller than 2.5lbs, because the 5lb jumps on bench and press are killing me.

I switched my Deadlifts from Monday to Friday to help with recovery. I've noticed as the deads get heavier my legs remain tired on Wednesday. I'll be doing Power Cleans on Monday, and Deadlifts on Friday from here on in.

[Robertus]

I've been lazy with my posting, since I lost my notebook, and started a new one, then left that one at work, blah blah blah.

March 5
Squats
2x5x45
5x95
5x145
3x185
-------
3x5x235

Press
5x45
5x75
2x105
------
3x4x130

Deadlift
5x135
3x225
------
5x290

[Robertus]

March 8

Squats
5x45
5x95
5x135
3x195
------
3x5x245

Bench
5x45
5x95
3x155
------
5x205
5x205
3x205

Power Cleans
3x95
------
3x3x150
2x150
2x150


I should have had four on the bench press, but I pushed the 4th rep into the rack instead of locking out, so it doesn't count. The power cleans got ugly towards the end. I missed one rack, and I stepped back on another. I'll try 150 again next week.

[Robertus]

10 March

Squat
2x5x45
5x95
3x145
3x205
------
5x250
5x250
4x250

Press
5x45
5x75
------
5x115
5x115
5x115

Chins
7+6+5

The 5th rep of my 3rd set had very poor form, so I'm not counting that in my total. I reset the press after a stall at 130. 115 felt very light, and I'm working on my explosion out of the bottom. The 3rd set was tight and explosive.

Today I'll be trying for triple PRs to end the week. I've never done a full 5x5x5at 255lbs on the squat. I'm also looking for a PR on bench press at 210lbs for reps. Finally, Friday is deadlift day, and it's 300 lbs today. Can't wait to get some.

[Robertus]

12 March
2 for 3 on PR Friday

Squat
2x5x45
5x95
3x145
2x195
-------
5x255 (shaky on 4th rep)
5x255 (good grind on 5th rep)
5x255
255lbs for reps = PR

Bench Press
5x45
5x135
3x165
------
4x210
3x210
3x210

Deadlift
5x135
3x225
-------
5x300 (change to alt grip on 5th rep)
300 lbs for reps = PR

Friday was a good day. Aside from the fact that I didn't have to use my AK, I hit PRs on squats and deadlifts. The squats felt heavy, but I got them done. I need to work on keeping tight, and keeping those damn knees out. The benches were heavy, and I really need some 1.25 lb plates for microloading. The 5 lb jumps kill me.

The deadlifts were great. They're the only exercise I have had no problems progressing with yet.

[Robertus]

15 March

Squats
5x45
5x95
5x135
3x185
2x225
------
5x260
4x260 (fail on 5th)
4x260

Bench
2x5x45
5x95
4x135
2x185
3x205

Press
5x45
3x95
------
5x120
5x120
5x120

Cleans
3x115
-------
3x150 (shaky)
3x150 (better
3x150
3x150
3x150

Messed up after my squats by doing a full warmup for bench presses on an overhead press day. Basically wasted some gym time, but it didn't cause any problems with my presses or cleans, so no worries. The cleans got better as the sets progressed. Much stronger and quicker.

[Robertus]

17 March
Lifting instead of Drinking

Squats
2x5x45
4x155
3x205
-------
5x260
5x260
5x260
260 lbs for reps is a PR

Bench
5x45
5x95
4x145
------
4x210
2x210 + 4x190
4x190

Pullups (Strict)
5+6+6

Felt good to grind out my reps at 260. The Bench was a dogs breakfast. I've been getting a tightness pain in my shoulder when I finish my last warmup reps and move into work reps. Regardless, I wasn't pressing well at all, and knocked the weights back so I could get reps in.

We have another possible Double PR Friday today, I'll be going for 265 on squats and 315 on deadlifts.