Homer's Quest for Strength

[homerj742]

Well, I've been doing SS for a few months, and decided to log my stuff here as a means to share and learn. I've never done this before, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Height - 5''10
Weight - 204lbs
Age - 28

Lifting Status - Novice
Program - Practical Programming Novice (also known as Wichita Falls Novice)

Wed 2/17/10

Squat - 290 3x5
Bench - 200 2x5 (stall on the last set)
Cleans - 105 5x3

The squat felt a bit high on the last few reps of the 3rd set. I also have a tendency to exaggerate my hip drive, causing me to lean over, and the bar moving away from the mid-foot position. Thinking of widening my stance, and trying to keep my back more vertical. currently resting 7-10 mins b/w sets.

Bench - stalled on the last set, don't know why, I just didn't have any gas. Maybe more rest is needed. Currently rested 5mins b/w sets.

Cleans - felt pretty good, The technique got better with each set, and the last one was pretty spot on.

[TartanEagle]

Nice squat and bench numbers. I'm also 5'10" and about 205, and am 30 and 40 pounds behind you, respectively.

What's up with the cleans? Don't worry too much about form, as more weight should clear up a lot of form issues (at least that's what Rip says in the Q&A section).

[homerj742]

I had some inflammation in my arms (referenced in your log) that made cleans difficult to do after squatting and press/bench. Today was my first day on the clean in about 4 weeks, so I'm just slowly getting back into them.

[TartanEagle]

Gotcha. Hope the pain goes away. I just ordered elbow sleeves, so I hope those help me. Keep up the great work. Those squats must be getting real heavy.

[homerj742]

Thanks! Elbow sleeves helped me a lot in recovery.

The squats feel heavy every day I "progress". But I'm still a long way. GOMAD also gave me quite the love handles lol. I've cut back though, no need to overdo the calories now that I'm 200+lbs.

[homerj742]

Fri 2/19/10

Squat - 295 2x3, 1x2 * (please see below)
Press - 140 2x5, 1x4, 1x1
Pullups - 8, 5, 3


Squat - I realized, yesterday, after some reading, that I was doing more of a high bar squat these past few weeks (unknowingly). With that in mind, I went to the gym knowing that going for a new PR was going to be difficult as I was changing the high bar to a low bar, but wanted to see where I stood. It turns out I basically have to re-learn the low bar squat. I was leaning forward WAAAAYYY too much and the bar was going in front of the mid foot, making it difficult to lock out at top.
I'm going to reset to 265. If all goes well, I'll be back to 295 in three weeks.

Press - I just couldn't lockout the last rep. I did an extra one afterwards just so I can say I did 15 reps! haha but it still doesn't "count". Will try again next wed!

I hate not making PR's, but it's life and I gotta learn.

[homerj742]

Mon 2/22/10

Squat - 265 3x5
Bench - 200 3x5
Chins - 9,5,4

Squat - Forgot my camera! But still felt pretty good. I think I kept a good back angle, but feel like my VS Dynamos have too high of a heel. I'm going to get them cut down to .5 inch heel. Also, the IT band on my right leg feels tight as hell, I'll have the chiro do something about it when I see him later today.
Also, I felt I have gotten a good low-bar position, and my shoulders are as flexible as they've ever been. Still some inflammation, but it's getting much better!

Bench - Felt really good, finally got a 3x5 200lbs after struggling so much. Though I noticed I was bouncing it a little harder on my chest on the last set. I will keep a close eye on this.

Chins are actually helping my arm/shoulder inflammation.

[homerj742]

Wed 2/24/10

Squat - 275 3x5
Press - 140 2x4 (stall again)
Deadlift - 345 5x1

Squats - I've been having some major tightness in my IT bands (especially on the right leg). My wife gave me a vicious massage, I'm almost ashamed to admit that I almost shed a tear while she was grinding her knuckles into the IT bands lol, she seemed to enjoy that part a bit too much!
But low and behold, my squats felt awesome! Thank you wife.

Press - this is the second time I'm stalling at 140. I wasn't surprised so I don't feel too bad about it. I will be resetting and will try microloading!

Deadlift - I love deadlift day. The reason I put 5x1 instead of 1x5 was because I took a little bit too much rest between reps, resulting in a cluster rather than a set. But I'm still pretty happy about it, and will increase the weight on my next session.

[IWillLiveFreeOrDie]

Nice press! My sticking point is 140 as well. :D

[homerj742]

It's a pain in the arse huh? Are you microloading?

[homerj742]

Friday 2/25/10

Squat - 285 - 3x5
Bench - 205 - 3x5 (but had help from a spotter on the last reps so I will try this again next week).
Chins - 9,5,4

[homerj742]

Squat - 295 1x3
Chins- 9,5,4

Squats - I got greedy with another 10lb jump! Wed, will be 290. Also, my arms hurt like hell today, my form probably got screwed up at some point. So I skipped the press.

[homerj742]

3/3/2010 Wed.

Squat - 290 3x5
Press - 125 3x5
Deadlift - 355 5x1

Squats - I felt I was a bit high on the first and last reps of each set. I don't know why that is. Also, while I kept things tight on my descent, I kind of "lost" the bounce (which could contribute to why I felt I was so high on the reps). Other than that, I felt pretty good.

Press - this was a reset, I hope to break the 140 plateu soon. I plan on microloading as I get to 135.

Deadlift - This was tough! As always I take too much time resetting my positioning due to the hexidecimal plates so I do a 5x1 instead of a 1x5. So far so good.

[Robertus]

"Deadlift - This was tough! As always I take too much time resetting my positioning due to the hexidecimal plates so I do a 5x1 instead of a 1x5. So far so good."

I've been doing the same. I let the bar down, and do a conscious reset of form and tightness. I'm not trying to do any foolishness like deadlifts for time, so I don't think my 10 secs of "rest" between reps will kill me. I'd rather have good form on each of my five reps.

I also have the non-round non-bumper rubber coated plates, so I also end up repositioning the bar each time. My gym membership is about $15 a month, so I can deal with a few of those issues.

[homerj742]

I took like a 20-30 second breather before the 5th deadlift. lol

[homerj742]

3/5/2010 Fri

Squats - 295 1x5, 1x2
Bench - 205 3x5 (PR)

Today was such a bullshit day. I was happy to hit the 205 mark on the bench, but the squats are really pissing me off. My IT bands are wound up so tight, it's hard to reach depth and when I do, I have ZERO bounce. I'm not sure where to go from here.

I"m going to try and get a vicious massage on the IT bands tomorrow, and maybe take it easy on the squats for a week.

[TartanEagle]

I bombed out on my squats today, too. This is getting weird.

[homerj742]

Mon 3/8/2010

Squats - Warm up Sets
Press - 130 3x5
Chins - 10, 5, 4

My IT Band was very tight, so I wasn't expecting worksets. I used the warm ups to gauge how I felt. I bougth a PVC pipe and a lacross ball. I"m going to give my legs a vicious massage for the next 4 days, and hopefully by friday I'll be able to squat properly again.

Presses - felt good! After 135, I'm going to microload and hopefully be able to nail 140.

Chins felt great too.

[Tim Lofton]

...Presses - felt good! After 135, I'm going to microload and hopefully be able to nail 140.

Chins felt great too.

If 135 felt good, then you should do fine going to 137.5 next session, and hitting 140, all other things being good/normal, shouldn't be a problem. Nice work!

[homerj742]

If 135 felt good, then you should do fine going to 137.5 next session, and hitting 140, all other things being good/normal, shouldn't be a problem. Nice work!

Thanks Tim, I appreciate the encouragement! :)

[homerj742]

3/10/2010 Wed

Squat - 265 2x5 (light day on purpose, while my IT bands loosen up).

Bench - 210 3x5

Deadlift - 365 5x1

Squats - I find that I'm raising my hips faster than my chest. My chest isn't staying up on the decsent. This is causing the bar to move in front of mid-foot making the squats into a good morning. I have to work on this big time. I know I can push 295 3x5 if I just fix this!

Bench - felt great! My bicep/shoulders have been so much better since my 2 visits to the massage therapist.

Deadlift - everything was pretty good, except, the last rep I felt my hips raise faster than my lower back. I will keep an eye on this.

[TartanEagle]

Nice deadlift. I am going for 365 on Friday. I am afraid!:eek:

[homerj742]

Thanks man!

The only advice I can give for the deadlift, is to look at it when it's fully loaded up. Think to yourself "The only thing preventing me from getting strong is not lifting that fucker 5 times". When you're ready, you grab that bar, get your form perfect, and tell yourself that you will own this. Deep breath and PULL!

[homerj742]

Fri 3/12/2010

Squats - just did warm ups, as my IT bands are tight and sore. I taped my squats, and noticed I was high on all reps by about 1-2 inches.

Press - 135 2x5, 1x4 I got about 4 hours sleep last night. I think I'll blame that haha.

Chins - 10, 6, 4 these are actually going up! good stuff :)

[homerj742]

Wed 3/16/2010

Squats - 225 3x5
Bench - 215 1x5, 1x4, 1x3
PowerClean - 115 2x3 (ran out of time!)


On paper, this workout looks horrendus, however my legs are feeling so much better. After taking a squat video last week, I realized I wasn't hitting depth at all. My knees weren't being shoved out properly. It seems my feet aren't screwed on right and I have to angle them out a lot more than most people. I did that, and narrowed my stance a bit, and hit depth without a problem. It seems like a huge setback, but in the long run I'll be much better off.

Bench felt great eventhough I had to bail out twice. The fact that my arms aren't hurting is a very good thing. I think i'm going to start microloading the bench. Next week I will try for 212.4.

I'm still a bit gun shy with the power cleans, as my arms are finally feeling better after so damn long. And this irrated the hell out of them last time. I'll slowly get back into it.

[TartanEagle]

My arm pain is all but gone, although I did irritate today with a crappy PC. Not having to dread my entire workout due to the pain I knew would be coming is a big relief. Glad to see you are getting back in the groove.

[homerj742]

Thanks John, arms felt good again today post workout. whew!

Fri 3/19/2010

Squat - 235 3x5 felt good! The newly found stance has made depth so much easier. I will progress in 10lb increments until I stall, then will go back to 5lbs increments.

Press - 135 3x5 - Wow, it was so hard last time, but felt great today. I'm very happy about this.

Chins - 10, 5, 4

Overall good workout, and hopefully things will progress smoothly.

[homerj742]

Went on vacation this week, but snuck in a workout on Sunday. Too lazy to reach for the logs at the moment lol but I will update today's:

Thurs 3/25/2010

Squat - 255 3x5 - starting to hit the forward lean towards the end of the last 2 sets. Will have to work on keeping the chest up throughout the entire set. Also, I think my knees are sliding forward at the bottom (solving this will probably solve the forward lean as well, I will record next squat session).

Press - 137.4 3x5 - these felt good, no complaints.

Chins - 10, 4, 3 - these felt really tired.

All in all, not bad, especially considering I didn't eat so well on vacation.

[homerj742]

3/30/2010

Squat - 265 3x5 - I recorded these, depth is a bit high still. Will post the video when Ig et home. Damn.

Press - 140 3x5 - felt good, a couple of hard spots but I was able to push through.

No PC's as my bicep was getting a bit inflamed and PC's definitely make it A LOT worse.

[homerj742]

4/5/2010

Squat - 235 3x5 - After some video last week, it looked like I wasn't making depth. Deloaded and worked in some new cues - chest up, deep breath, and stick my ass out and sit back. We'll see how it goes when I get back to 265.

Bench - 212.4 3x5

Chins - BW+30 3x5

[homerj742]

4/7/2010

Squat - 245 3x5

Press - 142.4 3x5 - The last 2 reps in the last set were so hard. I didn't think I was going to make it, and I had horrible technique, extreme lean back and shakiness all around. Once I hit the last rep I held it up for a few seconds just to make sure i counted the rep lol

Deadlift - 385 5x1 - I wouldn't have been able to do this without the belt. Took a long rest on the last 2 sets. Might switch to 5lb jumps, we'll see....

[homerj742]

4/9/2010

Squat - 250 3x5 - Took video. Second set had knees going forward, and it was fixed by the third set :) Will post them tonight.

Bench - 215 - 4,3,4 - Wasn't feeling very strong with this today. Will try again next wed.

Pullups - BW+30lbs 5,5,5 I favor my left side (even though i'm right handed).

[homerj742]

Forgot to post video this weekend. oh well, it wasn't too bad.

4/12/2010

Squat - 255 3x5 a few reps weren't so great (knees forward). Most of them felt good.

Press - 145 3x5

Chins - BW+35 - 3x5

[TartanEagle]

Nice job! Especially on the press.

[homerj742]

Thanks Tartan, appreciate it :)

4/14/2010
(* note changing my notation from 3x5,to 5x3 to indicate 3 sets of 5 reps)

Squat - 260 5x3 - I was lazy today, had a sinus infection and crap sleep. Probably should've skipped, but I was already awake lol. I had a few reps that allowed the knees to go forward, and some forward lean. I think most of the reps were ok though.

Bench - 215 - 5x3 - I was surprised this went well. I had kind of a bounce on the chest on the last rep, but I think it would've went up anyway.

That's it! I wasn't feeling so hot, and i ran out of time, so now it's back to work. Hope to feel good on friday.

[homerj742]

4/16/2010

Squat 265 5x3 - Knees went forward on the first set (I recorded it). But I fixed it on the other sets.

Press - 147.4 4,3,3 - I knew on the first rep that my shoulders didn't recover. I was battling a sinus infection and didn't eat enough to recover. Will regroup this weekend and hit it hard next week.

Deadlift - 395 - 1x5 - This felt good as it progressed. Again, I'm not doing one set, rather 5 sets of 1 rep. So I was taking 20 to 30 second pauses. I blame the hex plates.

[jameson]

Good progress! We've got similar stats/numbers if I could just keep my elbows healthy and start deadlifting on a regular basis. I'll keep an eye on your log to see if I'm falling behind...

Best,
J.

[homerj742]

Mon 4/19/2010

Squat - 270 5x3
Bench - 217.4 5x3
Chins - BW+40 - 5,5,4

[homerj742]

Wed 4/21/2010

Squat - 275 5x3
Press - 147.4 5x3
Deadlift - 405 1x5 - Pretty much the same as my last deadlift session. Doing 5 sets of 1 rep, took some long rests in the last 2 sets. Must consume lots of food before next session!

[TartanEagle]

That press keeps moving up! Good job. You've jumped back ahead of me there.

[homerj742]

Thanks man, just gotta keep eating right and sleeping when I'm not in the gym.

[jameson]

Congrats on the 405 deadlift! That's one of my short-term goals...mainly to scare away kids who want to work in with SLDL's...

[homerj742]

Thanks jameson!

4/23/2010 Fri

Squat - 280 5x3 - Didn't sleep well, and these felt a lot heavier than they should have. Knees went forward on the first set. I fixed them in the 2nd and 3rd set, but missed depth by an inch on couple of reps.

Bench - 220 5,5,4 - Lack of sleep hurt me, I should have annihilated this! Can't wait for next wed.

Chins - 11 - Ran out of time

[homerj742]

4/26/2010 Mon

Squat - 285 - 5,4,6 (wtf???) On the second set, for whatever reason I lost my balance as I leaned too far forward and just rolled the bar off on to the rails. Shit happens I guess. Then I hit 6 reps for my last set without a problem. I might do 285 on Wed again just make sure all is kosher.

Press - 150 5x3

Chins - BW+37.5 - 5x3

[homerj742]

4/28/2010 Wed

Squat 285 - 5x3

Bench - 220 5x3

Deadlift - 415 TSC challenge 70's big.

[homerj742]

4/30/2010 Fri

Squat - 290 -5x3 (almost bombed out on my very last rep. For whatever reason, all the air just came out of me at the bottom. I deflated like a balloon. Perhaps the belt was too tight?? either way I was able to "power up" out of the hole).

Press - 152.4 5x3

Chins - 12

[TartanEagle]

Great job Homer. You are really moving some weight! Keep it up.

[homerj742]

Thanks Eagle! Appreciate it mucho!

5/3/2010 Mon

Squat - 295 - 5x3

Bench - 222.4 - 5x3

Ran out of time, so no chins.

[homerj742]

Wed 5/5/2010

Squat - 300 5x3

Press - 155 - 5,5,4 - Will try again next wed.

Deadlifts - 425 1x3 - I felt my chest cramp up on the third lift. It was very unusual, and I was feeling like I was going too pull a pec. So I put my ego in check and stopped. I think starting next week, I will program power cleans into Wed. and alternate with deadlifts.

[homerj742]

Fir 5/7/2010

Squat - 305 - 5x3 - A bit high on a few reps. Will have to examine the video later on.

Bench - 225 - 5x3

Chins - 40 6x1

[homerj742]

Mon 5/10/2010

Squat - 310 - 5,4,2

Press - 155 - 4

Chins - 40 5x3

Gravity kicked my ass today. I don't know why it was such a pitfall since friday. Maybe lack of sleep and food? I wasn't nearly as psyched this morning as I normally am. Almost felt like I was asleep during my workout.

[homerj742]

Wed - was just a light day. 80% of the last workset, nothing new to report.

Fri 5/14/2010

Squat - 310 - 5, 3 (bailed on the fourth rep). I'm not maintaining good back angle, it's usually a sign that my back is too weak. I will deload by 10% and work my way backup.

Press - 155 5x3

Chins - 45 5x3

[homerj742]

Mon 5/17/2010

Squat - 280 5x3

Bench - 227.4 - 5,5,4

Chins 45 5,5,4