View Full Version : Recovering from 6 years behind a desk...
Background:
I did a lot of bodybuilding-style lifting between the ages of 15 and around 22. Bodyweight went from 130lb to 210lb. Built up a huge work capacity but relatively low 1rm strength. Then had to put the lifting on hold to focus on school. Took up mountain and road bike racing in school and conditioned myself down to a bodyweight of 175lb. Then graduated, got a job, and led a mostly sedentary life working behind a desk as an engineer for the next six years. Finally got disgusted with being weak and out of shape, and decided to do something about it (still have the job, just ditching the sedentary lifestyle). I might have some residual fitness from my high-school lifting days and cycling, but I'm basically starting from scratch.
Now:
32 years old
6'5” tall
212.2 lb bodyweight at the start of training
Getting around 6000kCal per day from 4 solid meals and GOMAD.
Three weeks into Starting Strength and loving every minute.
I'm really glad this forum is here; it has been a huge help so far.
SS Workouts to date:
3/7/10
bw - 212.2lb, 6'5” tall - 15.5% bodyfat per skinfold caliper measurement
squat - 135x5,5,5
bench - 165x5,5,3
deadlift - 210x5
3/9/10 - Legs so sore I can hardly walk.
bw - 214.2lb
squat - 145x5,5,5 (ouch!)
press - 100x5,5,4
powerclean - 135x3,3,3
3/11/10 - How can my legs be this sore?
bw - 216.6
squat - 155x5,5,5
bench - 170x5,5,5
deadlift - 275x5
3/14/10 - Legs starting to feel better.
bw - 222.2lb
squat - 165x5,5,5
press - 105x5,5,5
powerclean - 155x3,3,3,3,3
3/16/10
bw - 222.0
squat - 175x5,5,5
press - 110x5,5,5*
deadlift - 280x5
*I had some shoulder pain during the second bench press workout, and extreme soreness in my right shoulder joint when I started warming up today; couldn't even bench press the bar comfortably. I'm going to omit the bench press for a while and substitute more overhead pressing. No pain from the overhead presses.
3/18/10
bw - 224.4lb
squat - 185x5,5,5
press - 115x5,5,4
powerclean - 165x3,3,3,3,3
3/21/10
bw - 227.2lb - 16.5% bodyfat per skinfold caliper measurement
squat - 195x5,5,5
press - 115x5,5,6
deadlift - 290x5
3/23/10
bw - 226.4lb
squat - 205x5,5,5
press - 120x5,5,5
powerclean - 175x3,3,3,3,3
3/25/10
bw - 228.6
squat - 215x5,5,5
press - 125x5,5,5
deadlift - 300x5
3/28/10
bw - 231.0lb
squat - 225x5,5,5
press - 130x5,5,4,1
powerclean - 185x3,3,3,3,3
Form checks from today's workout:
squat 225x5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR_ScGuz1U8
press 130x5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhliZn1y7FM
powerclean 185x3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNjbeAKRSwc
Dragar
03-29-2010, 04:17 AM
Most definitely an engineer, that has to be the most precise, concise and effective log opening I've read :)
Sadly can't look at the vids at work, I'm expecting to see continuously chaning knee and hip angles superimposed over your squats, along with max bending moments and deflections
Good on you for starting to be active again, seems like you're making good progress.
I won't comment on the vids because I've got no right critiquing form after only four months of training.
3/30/10
bw - 230.6lb
squat 235x5,5,5 (wooohoooo! finally more than 1x bodyweight)
press 135x5,5,4,3 (tried one more set after a good rest, still no good...)
deadlift 300x5 (no increase today because that's all of the plates I have, time to buy some more)
press 135x4 (couldn't resist one more try at a complete set)
Linear progression is a really odd experience. I don't feel like I should be able to lift the weight, but somehow I am able to try just a little harder than last time.
Squat form check video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pb6GFuh7eU
Deadlift form check video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUQu_aiLiGA
Comments are welcome; I'll post these in the technique forum too.
4/1/10
bw - 231lb
squat 245x5,5,5
press 135x4,5,4
powerclean 195x3,3,3,3,2
I think two days of rest and good eating will allow me to hit the press reps at 135lb on Sunday. Looks like I've reached the end of the 10lb jumps for the powerclean... it was fun while it lasted. 200lb next time.
4/4/10
bw - 233.4lb
squat - 255x5,5,5
press - 135x5,5,5
powerclean - 200x3,2,3,2,3,3,2
First time using a belt today. Squats felt GREAT.
I did powerclean instead of deadlifts today; deadlifts will have to wait until thursday (payday) when more weight will be available. I was thinking about the powerclean too much, trying to clean up the jump-and-shrug portion, and ended up unlocking my elbows too late on a lot of the reps. I'll need a repeat at 200lb.
4/6/10
bw - 235.4
squat - 265 x 5,5,5
press - 140 x 5,4,4
powerclean - 200 x 3,2,0
Powercleans were a disaster today. I messed up my pull in the last workout by trying to isolate and work on it, and in the process acquired some nice bruises on my sternum by not getting my elbows foreword soon enough. The bar landed hard on those bruises during today's second set, and after that I just couldn't commit to getting under the bar. Time for a big reset.
4/8/10
bw - 234.0
squat - 275 x 5,5,5
press - 140 x 5,5,4...1 (rested about 15 seconds and then got one more rep)
deadlift - 315 x 5
I think I have the squats pretty much cleaned up; got rid of the foreword knee movement at the bottom and the horrible hip pain is suddenly gone. That makes me happy - squats were making me feel like a 70-year-old after a really hard life. Just a little tendency toward good-mornings now, but I don't think it's enough to justify a reset. I think the press is ready to move up after two days of big eating and good sleep.
4/11/10
squat - 285 x 5,5,3
press - 145 x 3, 135 x 5,5
high pulls - 135 x 10,10,10,10,10
Not feeling all that great today. Can't tell if it's time for a reset or just a bad day; I'll probably try the same weights for the squat and press on Tuesday.
The rack position still feels messed up on the cleans - sort of an indistinct pain in the outer left collarbone, so I worked on getting the second pull nailed down at low weight. I started these from the hang, just below the knee, progressing gradually to pulls from the floor while keeping the second pull distinct and snappy.
4/13/10
bw - 239.0lb
squat - 275 x 2,3,4
press - 145 x 5,4,4
deadlift - 325 x 5
Looks like it's time to reset the squat and start 5lb jumps.
4/15/10
bw - 237.4lb
squat - 245 x 5,5,5
press - 145 x 4,4,4
powerclean - 145 x 3,3,3,3,3
Squats feel off somehow. Really sore in the thighs and I can't seem to get a decent rebound out of the bottom; still working on it.
4/18/10
squat - 250x5,5,5
press - 145x5,5,5
deadlift - 335x5 (switched to alternate grip for the last rep)
I finally feel like I'm starting to get the squats right. A wider foot placement helped keep the knees from sliding foreword at the bottom. Also trying to fine-tune the downward movement to produce a "bounce" in the right direction to help the ascent. Trying to work through some horrible IT band tightness and pain right now. I never thought learning to squat would be so complex.
I came across something interesting in the press today. During the warmup sets, I tried doing a series of small bounces throughout the range of motion and made minor adjustments until there was no "wobble" at each position, just a bounce. Kind of like faking a stretch reflex at many points through the range of motion. After bouncing through the range of motion a couple of times I followed up with a couple of full range presses. During the work sets, the movement felt much more powerful than in previous workouts.
TartanEagle
04-19-2010, 02:23 PM
Great numbers! Keep up the great work.
Are you foam rolling those IT bands? This should really help you.
Thanks!
I don't have foam rollers yet. I've heard mention of using PVC pipe (3" or so), would that be suitable?
I've been doing some really aggressive stretching and digging under the full length of the IT band with my fingers. Not too pleasant but it seems to feel better after. At least it's a relief to know what the problem is. For a while it was just an ambiguous deep soreness in the thighs that was increasing with each workout, and I was wondering how the hell I could be overtrained so soon.
4/20/10
squat - 255x5,5,5
press - 150x3,3,3
powerclean - 155x3,3,3,3,3
I did a couple of single presses at 155lb at the end of the powerclean sets. That's about a 1RM right now.
Used a heavy 3" cardboard tube to roll my IT bands leaning against a wall between squat sets today. I see now why foam rollers are so popular; legs felt better immediately. I ordered a roller this evening.
I'm waiting for my foam roller to arrive in the mail. The success with briefly rolling my IT bands with a cardboard tube leaning against a wall yesterday inspired me to improvise. I went to work on all areas of my upper legs and glutes with a wood rolling pin this evening. It's amazing how much of a difference it makes. I can move without pain right now and I'm very very happy. Almost giddy. Giggling like a schoolgirl, and my dogs are looking at me like I'm crazy.
4/22/10
squat - 260x5,5,5
press - 150x3,3,3,3,3, 135x8
deadlift - 345x5
zepled37
04-23-2010, 01:02 PM
6'5" tall...keep training and you will be a beast...how much weight are you willing to gain?
6'5" tall...keep training and you will be a beast...how much weight are you willing to gain?
Plenty.
I started at 212lb on 3/7/10 and weighed 239 on 4/13/10... 27lb in 5 weeks without too much fat gain.
I cut the calories a bit recently and have been holding steady around 238lb. Kind of taking a break from big eating to let my strength catch up to my bodyweight and reset the growth-stimulating effects of caloric surplus. I plan on going through at least two more surges of weight gain at 20-30lb each this year.
4/26/10
squat - 265x5,3, 225x3,3,3 (trying to sort out form... these still just feel off somehow.)
press - 135x5 (stopped at the warmup sets... not going to happen today.)
I think this disaster of a workout is a result of the combined effects of WAY too much building of fences and digging of garden beds, and woefully inadequate nutrition this weekend. I'll pretend this didn't happen and repeat next time. Time to go eat now.
4/28/10
squat - 225x5,5,5
press - 150x5,3,3,3,3...1
powerclean - 165x3,3,3,3,3
Something feels really wrong with the squats. I have a persistent pain in the upper quads, around 6" down from the hip joint. I can't get out of a chair without severe pain today. I thought I had the form sorted out, and I was expecting this to start getting better. I'll post a form check in the Technique forum.
4/29/10 squat form check 225x5 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY3COPcvPPQ)
5/2/10
deadlift - 315x5,5,5
press - 135x5,5,5
chin up - BWx3,2,2 (first chins in a long long time; stopped well short of failure to limit soreness)
Observant readers may notice something different. I feel like I'm finally getting the squat form close to right, but in the process of pushing the weight up without perfecting form first I seem to have developed some tendinitis in my upper quads. I need to give my quads some serious recovery time, so I'm replacing squats with deadlifts as the "big-exercise-that-drives-growth" in my program. Temporarily. I realize that I'm fucking with the program and no longer doing Starting Strength, but it's the best I can come up with to still make progress while my quads recover. I've reset the deadlift and press to 315lb and 135lb, and I'm planning on a six-week linear progression of the following two workouts:
Workout 1
deadlift 3x5 (I may drop the DL volume to 10 reps ± if it feels like I'm not recovering well)
press 3x5
powerclean 5x3
Workout 2
deadlift 3x5
press 3x5
chin 3x(F-1)
I have six hens in my back yard churning out a half-dozen eggs per day; realized today that I've been falling behind on my egg-eating duties. Time for some 70's-big scrambles.The fridge photo is after cooking the dozen-egg-and-two-potato monstrosity of a lunch shown next to it. Started out with 50 eggs; since the hens are adding six eggs per day, it will take me about eight days to work through the backlog at 1-dozen per day. I've got a lot of work to do...
edit: holy shit... I just added up the calories and came up with around 2300kCal for that meal...
5/4/10
deadlift - 320x5,5
press - 135x5,5,5
powerclean - 170x3,3,3,3,3
Felt pretty good; the powerlunch did me some real good today. Decided to cut the deadlift volume before they trashed me. Two sets of five for now, then I'll switch to three sets of three when I start approaching a 5RM.
5/6/10
deadlift - 325 x 5,5
press - 140 x 5,5,5
chin up - BW x 4,3,3
press - 115 x 5 x 15 sets after 1 hour rest
Mr.City
05-06-2010, 11:46 PM
If you don't mind me asking, what's up with the increased deadlift volume?
I developed what I assume to be a wicked case of tendonitis at the upper rectus femoris tendon. I'm temporarily replacing squats with deadlifts as "the-big-exercise-that-drives-growth" to give the quads a chance to calm down.
5/9/10
press - 140 x 5,5,5
deadlift - 330 x 5,5
powerclean - 175 x 3,3,3,3,3
5/11/10
deadlift - 335 x 5,5
press - 145 x 5,5,5
chins - BW x 5,5,5
I've been stretching my hip flexors several times a day for the past few days, and it seems to be improving the pain in my upper thighs. Hopefully, a couple more weeks of stretching, foam rolling, and resting the quads will lead to pain-free squats. I may start adding in some light squats after one more week off.
5/13/10
powerclean - 180 x 5,5,5
deadlift - 340 x 5,5
press - 145 x 5,5,5
Experimented with putting powercleans first today as a warmup for deadlifting... they felt great but then the deadlifts were HARD.
Bodyweight has been holding steady at about 238lb for about four weeks - generally smaller meals and about half a gallon of milk per day. It feels like a couple of weeks of large caloric surplus might do me some good.
5/14/10
press - 150x1x10 (around 15 seconds rest between reps)
deadlift - 345x1x5 (around 30 seconds rest between reps)
Quick session to blow off a little steam after work. Singles at Sunday's work set weights. < 20 min including warmup.
5/16/10
deadlift - 345 x 5,5
press - 150 x 5,5,5
deadlift - 345 x 2 (form check video)
chin up - BW+5lb x 5,5,5
Press felt great today, very strong. Deadlift felt marginal, like my back might have started to round a bit on the last rep. I did another couple of reps for a form-check video after the presses. It looks to me like my spine maintains a neutral position, but it feels slightly rounded while I'm doing it. I'll keep an eye on it and deload when it seems to be getting worse. The chin-ups are improving rapidly; I'm enjoying the novice effect while it lasts...
chinup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhfO6MGTGyE
deadlift: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwriZxWnCOQ
press: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC24uEsZWS0
5/18/10
deadlift - 350 x 2,2,2,2,2
press - 155 x 1 x 15
powerclean - 185 x 3,3,3,3,3
One consequence of training alone is that I have a lot of time to think between sets. Today I started thinking about the differences between what I'm doing now and what I've done in the past. I spent about six years training twice per day, six days per week, with high rep sets to failure and short rest periods. I had been taught that the reps right around failure were the ones that stimulated growth. I developed an ungodly work capacity but relatively low 1rm strength.
Now I'm stopping short of failure on every set (except for the one right before a reset) and all I have to do to put on more muscle is eat a surplus of calories. I know I still have a fair amount of novice effect going on, but it's obvious that muscular failure is not required for muscle growth or strength increases.
So... how far does that reasoning go? I think I might fuck with the program a little more and find out. Today's workout took about the same time as usual, but each rep was performed in a rested state, well short of failure.
I made the second rep of each deadlift set touch-and-go to replace the stretch reflex training that I'm missing while I (temporarily) omit squats from my program. I feel like I'm close to needing a reset here, but I'll see how it feels next workout.
The press felt great. I probably would have done something like 5,3,3 if I tried for 3x5. Instead, all 15 reps were fast-moving and powerful. Around 30 seconds rest between "sets".
I'll leave the powerclean programming alone, just to retain some shred of SS in my program...
DustyMillar
05-19-2010, 01:21 AM
Hi NKT on your dead lift are starting off quite high? It almost looks like a stiff leg dead lift, just a question/observation. it may be this giving you the allusion of a soft back?
Or you may just be quite tall hard to tell from the vid.
Hi NKT on your dead lift are starting off quite high? It almost looks like a stiff leg dead lift, just a question/observation. it may be this giving you the allusion of a soft back?
Or you may just be quite tall hard to tell from the vid.
Thanks for the input... I played with form a little during my warmups today, and that's about the back angle I need to get the bar past my knees. Long legs relative to torso I guess. I think the loose pants in the video make my legs look straighter than they actually are.
5/20/10
deadlift - 355 x 2,2,2
press - 155 x 5,5,1x5
chinup - BW+10 x 5,5,1x5
5/21/10
straight leg deadlift - 135 x 10,10,10
press - singles @ 135,140,145,150,155,160,165,170,175
Sort of a recovery and "practice" session today. 175lb felt like just short of a 1-rep-max press, but the workload was very low and I don't feel drained at all.
Working with lots sub-max singles is a really interesting experience already. The workload of 15 singles is the same as 3x5 in terms of weight moved in a workout, but the feeling of it is substantially different. After just a few workouts, there is already a dramatic difference in my presses - it feels like I've been doing them for years rather than just a couple of months...
The feeling is that with singles my brain has to create the movement pattern from scratch for each rep, where with multiple-rep sets it feels like each rep after the first is a copy. So, for 3x5, my brain gets to practice making the movement pattern three times, and I get to practice it 15 times with single-rep sets.
5/23/10
deadlift - 360 x 1
press - 160 x 1 x 15
powerclean - 185 x 2
Dissapointing workout today. I attribute it to inadequate nutrition and a few miles of walk/jogging with 30lb of toddler on my shoulders. I'll repeat these weights next time.
5/25/10
deadlift - 365 x 5
press - 160 x 1 x 15
Chinups were on the menu for today's workout, but my right bicep had other plans. I got about half of the first rep and had a burning pain in the lower part of the bicep. Not in the tendon - all of the pain is in the muscle.
For several weeks it's been feeling like it tends to cramp up if I hold it in a contracted position for too long, like when I'm on the phone. I didn't give it much thought because it didn't interfere with my lifting, but now it looks like I won't be able to make further progress until I get this sorted out.
I thought about posting a question to Rip, but decided to "use the search function" first and came across this... (http://startingstrength.com/resources/forum/archive/index.php/t-9620.html) looks like a minor bicep injury doesn't justify a full rehab - I just have to drop all activity that stresses the bicep directly and do the rehab sets. Looks like chins and powercleans are out for two weeks, and I get to pump up "teh gunz" with 25-rep sets of pink dumbell curlz. Great.
Actually... after feeling around a little bit and looking at anatomy drawings, it seems like the injury is in the brachialis instead of the bicep. So... only exercises that directly work elbow flexion are out for the recovery period... deadlifts and presses are still in. And now the rehab exercise is reverse curlz with pink dumbells.
5/27/10
deadlift - 370 x 3,2
press - 165 x 1 x 15
reverse curl - 45 x 25,20,20
Started losing the grip on the deadlift; switched to mixed grip and got two more reps after around 30 seconds of rest.
Press felt pretty good. Reps started slowing down around ten, so I threw in some fast 135lb singles right after each of the last five 165lb singles; seemed to really help speed up the work reps.
Switched to a regular curl grip half way through the last set and really felt it more - still feels like a brachialis injury though.
Deadlift 370x3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__x19b2teaA)
Press 165x1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjhIN7gsEfA)
5/29/10
curlz - 45 x 20,20,20
squat - 135 x 5,5,5 - Still have the same pain in the front of my thighs.
---------------------------------------
5/30/10
deadlift - 375 x 4
press - 165 x 3,3,3
curls - 45 x 25,25,25
Did a bunch of light front squats as a warmup today, worked up slowly to two sets of five with 135 and the thighs were feeling fine. I tried a few back squats and was still getting the stabbing pain in my thighs. I'm getting a little frustrated with this.
Deadlift and press worksets felt really heavy; might have gone a little overboard on the warmups.
6/1/10
Deadlift - 380 x 5
Press - 170 x 1 x 15
Push press 185 and hold for 30 seconds
(drink a whey protein shake and rest 1 hour...)
Press - 135 x 10,10,10,10
Deadlift - 305 x 5,5,5,5,5,5
Curlz - 50 x 20,20,15
Yeah... I'm probably going to feel that one tomorrow. Needed a little something to break up the monotony, and this did the trick. The deadlift backoff sets were odd: the first set felt really heavy, but the last couple of sets felt light-as-a-feather.
The recovery sets are working wonders for the bicep, probably one more week and it will be back to pre-injury strength.
deadlift - 380x5 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3oL3f5XqXg)
press - 170x1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXW1dN2TWPM)
press - 135x10 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UlPsWSNB00)
6/3/10
Deadlift - 385 x 5
Press - 170 x 3,3,3,3
curlz - 55 x 20,15,15
Spent more time than usual warming up for the deadlift: pulled doubles in 25lb increments starting at 225lb, for a total of seven warmup sets. I usually warm up with about 2-3 sets; the work set felt much better after this more extended version.
The final rep of each press set was a grind; dropped the planned 5th set because it was probably going to be a miss.
deadlift 385x5 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIiazUjFrjM)
press 170x3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ArPm8km2OY)
6/5/10
squat 135lb x 10x10 (AM)
squat 135lb x 10x10 (PM)
Five weeks of rest for the thighs has led to zero improvement in the stabbing pain I get when squatting. So... if rest isn't working, work is the only real alternative. Today I reintroduced the squat with 200 reps at 135lb - trying to find the groove. I think toward the end of the evening workout it started to click; the cues I settled on by the end of the day were:
1. The bar moves is an straight vertical line between the top position and the heels.
2. Position the hips such that the entire effort of lifting the weight happens at the hips, with no conscious effort to extend the knees. The term "hip drive" makes a little more sense to me now.
Comments or advice are welcome if any of this seems out of whack.
6/6/10
squat - 5 @ 135, 155, 175, 195, 225
deadlift - 390 x 3
press - 175 x 3 singles
I felt a little drained today from the yesterday's squats; felt like the strength was there for the deadlift and press but I just didn't have enough energy to make it happen. Squat form started falling apart at 225; plenty of strength to go further, but I couldn't seem to stop myself from shifting onto my toes at the bottom and leg-pressing the weight up.
I'm nearing the end of my 6-week detour away from starting strength, and I've just about reached the goals I'd set for myself: 400lb deadlift and 175lb press. After the next two workouts, I'll do a minor reset on all of the lifts and resume SS linear progression.
6/8/10
Deadlift - 390 x 3
Press - 175 x 1 x 15
Squat - 185 x 5 x 3
Really frustrated with the squats. Can't seem to keep my knees from sliding foreword at the bottom, and I can feel it tearing up my hip flexors and IT bands.
borboski
06-09-2010, 02:28 AM
Great log, matey, and looks like you've been working hard at it so far.
I'm a little bit taller than you - have you had any probles deadlifting? I found I couldn't help rounding my back and so I've raised the bar about 4 inches off the floor which has helped.
How has your body shaped changed over the period of you don't mind me asking? How do you think you've put on muscle v fat?
Great log, matey, and looks like you've been working hard at it so far.
I'm a little bit taller than you - have you had any probles deadlifting? I found I couldn't help rounding my back and so I've raised the bar about 4 inches off the floor which has helped.
How has your body shaped changed over the period of you don't mind me asking? How do you think you've put on muscle v fat?
Thanks!
No problems deadlifting. In fact, it's one of my favorite exercises. Squats, however, are giving me all kinds of problems. Sounds like a little work on hamstring flexibility would help with the back rounding problem you described.
The amount of muscle I've gained seems a little ridiculous to me for such a short time on the program (or an approximation of it). My body weight has increased from 212lb to 247lb in about three months, and the majority has been muscle. I'd highly recommend GOMAD for the first month on the program, even if you're a little doughy to begin with. It's a shame to piss away the tremendous muscle-building potential of the "novice effect" with a timid diet. Eat like it's your job and drink a gallon of milk a day for the first month on the program and you'll be shocked by how much muscle you put on.
Even though aesthetics are not my goal on the program, I've been taking occasional progress photos to get an idea of the effects on body composition. The first photo in the attached image was immediately before my first workout (212lb bw), the second was three weeks in(231lb bw), and the third was at 11 weeks (238lb bw). I lightened up on the food intake when I reached around 235lb, around 5 weeks.
borboski
06-09-2010, 03:48 PM
Looking pretty good (no homo) - and I think my body shape now is quite close to you in the first one, if anything I'm a bit leaner on my hips - which makes me feel happier about drinking all this fucking milk.
What was your diet like other than GOMAD? And did you go full fat milk?
Looking pretty good (no homo) - and I think my body shape now is quite close to you in the first one, if anything I'm a bit leaner on my hips - which makes me feel happier about drinking all this fucking milk.
What was your diet like other than GOMAD? And did you go full fat milk?
Four solid meals per day, and one quart of whole milk with each meal.
I won't touch reduced-fat milk. When I feel the need to reduce calories, I just drink less milk and eat less food. Trying to cut calories by eliminating fat from the diet just leaves the body burned out and pissed off. I have been completely abstaining from refined sugar and limiting starches for just about a year now, and have been pleased with the results.
I kept several easy-to-make recipes ready to go that I knew were around 800 kCal per meal. Examples:
1/2lb hamburger (pre-cooked weight) with a big slab of cheese on top
2 cups of frozen veggies with six eggs poached over the top, topped with a pile of fresh salsa and sour cream.
1/4 of a russian vegetable pie
2 potatoes diced and pan fried, with 4-6 scrambled eggs poured over, topped with a pile of fresh salsa and sour cream.
After a while the checkout clerks at the grocery store laughed when they saw me coming because my cart was filled with the same thing a couple of times per week: gallons of milk, pounds of butter, tubs of sour cream and salsa, and 10-lb bags of ground beef.
lanky
06-09-2010, 05:02 PM
Great log. I enjoy following it. Keep up the great work.
We must be from the same tribe.
I'm 10 years older, an inch taller and about 10 pounds heavier than you.
I'm opposite in that bench doesn't bother my left shoulder but pressing does. I had decompression surgery (Impingement Syndrome) on my right shoulder a couple of years back so it is now my "good" shoulder. Will eventually have the same done to the left.
6/10/10
deadlift - 390 x 1
press - worked up to a single at 180, failed at 185, then dropped weight to 155 for 3x5
pause squat - sets of five at 135, 155, 175, 195, 225
Thanks for the comments; it's nice to get a little feedback in here.
I think lots of near-max deadlifting has caught up with me; feeling drained and my deadlift strength is gradually declining. A reset on all of the lifts and a return to SS will do me some good.
I'm really happy about the 180lb press; that was unimaginable a couple of months ago. I'm going to reset the weight and go back to 3x5 for a while. I'll definitely be returning to lots-of-sub-max-singles training in the future. Played around with the initial "launch" of the olympic-style press while I had the 185lb on my shoulders, and was able to pop it up level with my forehead, but felt like it was too far foreword to get under it correctly. I'll have to work on hip flexor flexibility if I want to adopt the 'olympic' form of press.
I think I may be finally figuring out the squats. I re-read Rip's "active hip" article, and figured out that I didn't have my knees out far enough to clear the ASIS. When the hip angle couldn't close any further, I had to shift my knees foreword to keep from falling over, which shifted the weight onto my toes due to lack of ankle flexibility... what a mess. The pause squats seemed to help me find the correct bottom position; I'll re-introduce the bounce when I get the form nailed down a little more consistently. Also discovered that I can generate an intense pain in my IT band by pushing my knees out too far; directly over the toes at an angle around 30° from straight ahead feels just right. I should probably go back and re-read the squat chapter in SS.
6/13/10
squat 205 x 5,5,5
press 150 x 5,5,5
front squat 150 x 5,5,5
I think my squat might be officially fucked beyond all repair. I just can't seem to make my body do the movement. I checked my form with cell-phone videos between sets, and saw that I was going far beyond the point where I should be stretch-reflexing my way back up. Then I dropped the weight to 135lb and still couldn't stop the downward motion at the correct spot... it's like all of the strength in my legs disappears right at the point where I need it the most. Did some front squats after each press set and they felt comfortable; I was able to bounce off of the hamstring tension just like everyone describes with the low-bar squats. No clue where to go from here. Has anyone out there completely mind-fucked their squat form and then found a way to work through it to a decent squat?
Unfortunately I can't post a video because my camera died a few days ago and my phone video is really bad. I'll be able to replace the camera in a couple of weeks and hopefully sort out form when I can get some feedback on form errors.
6/21/10
squat - 185 x 5,5,5
press - 150 x 5,5,5
powerclean - 185 x 3,3,3,3,3
Missed three workouts due to illness.
Sort of starting over on the squats. Reporting 185lb as a workset is fucking humiliating, but my form falls apart due to bad habits if I go much higher right now. No better time than now to start getting it right.
6/23/10
squat - 195 x 5,5,5
press - 150 x 5,5,5
deadlift - 365 x 5
Still not feeling 100% after being sick for a week, so I wasn't expecting much today, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Squats felt great. No sign of the horrible stabbing pain in my thighs and IT bands. No feeling like an arthritic 80-year-old in the hips. Nice comfortable controlled bounce out of the bottom.
Press felt solid. The last rep of each set was a grind last time but was much better this time. Ready to move up 5lb.
Deadlift felt great. I think a week of rest really did me a lot of good on these after six weeks of deadlifting every workout. I had developed a nagging pain in my low back, right at the top of my hips - no sign of it today. Stuck with the overhand grip for all of the reps.
6/25/10
squat - 205 x 5,5,5
press - 155 x 3,3,3,3,3
powerclean - 190 x 3,3,3,3,3
Squat form cues... "keep the knees from sliding foreword" didn't do it. Seemed like they had a mind of their own, and it was set on going foreword. "Push the ass back" didn't help much either, as it was committed to sitting itself on my heels at the bottom. "Don't regain back angle as you approach the bottom" is the one that finally seems to be working. It also happens to have fixed the knee and ass motion too, because they're all connected. Can't believe such a simple cue has fixed so many form errors.
6/28/10
squat - 215 x 5,5,5
press - 155 x 5,5,5
deadlift - 375 x 5
The last rep of press sets 2 and 3 had a little bit of push to it; I'll repeat 155lb one more time.
Deadlift felt really heavy. I've been noticing that the deadlift performance is very dependent on my current recovery level. I did some yard work on Saturday and cut, split, and stacked a cord of firewood on Sunday, and the only lift that was really affected today was the deadlift. Squats and presses felt normal; I had forgotten all about the weekend's work until I started pulling my deadlift warmups.
6/30/10
squat - 225 x 5,5,5
press - 155 x 4,3
powerclean - 195 x 3,2
Didn't eat enough today.
7/2/10
squat - 235 x 5,5,5
press - 155 x 5,5,5
powerclean - 195 x 3,2,3,3,3
Minor breakthroughs on each of today's lifts. If I combine a cue of "line your body up like you're pulling a deadlift close to your shins" with my "don't regain back angle near the bottom" cue from 6/25, I get what feels like a pretty decent squat. I realized that I was subconsciously trying to eliminate the stretch reflex on the press in an effort to make them extra-strict; it felt a lot better once I regained the "bounce" in the shoulders and eliminated any "push" from the knees. The powercleans really started clicking into place on the last three sets; feels like my body finally knows what to do and I can return the focus to creating a fast powerful pull.
7/5/10
squat - 240 x 5,5,5
press - 160 x 3,3,3,3,3
powerclean - 200 x 3,3,3,2,3
Squats felt stupidly heavy for such a light weight. I guess there's really nothing to do about that other than keep squatting.
Presses are feeling good now that I'm not subconsciously sabotaging my strength. Finding an interesting groove on these, sort of like drawing a bow tight, squeezing a little harder, and then snapping the bar to extension overhead.
The powercleans are getting heavy enough that I can't muscle a rep up if I miss the form. The miss on the fourth set was rep #2; the third rep went up just fine when I got the form back on track.
7/7/10
Squat - 245 x 5,5,5
Press - 160 x 5,5,5
Deadlift - 390 x 5 (mixed grip on last rep)
7/9/10
Squat - 225 x 5,5
Press - 165 x 3,3,3,3,3
Powerclean - 205 x 3,3,2,3,3
7/12/10
Squat - 225 x 5,5,5
Press - 165 x 5,4,3
Powerclean - 210 x 0 (missed the first warmup at 190 and decided to call it a day)
Really not sure what to do about the squats. It feels like my body was not built to low-bar squat. They are just trashing my hips even though my legs have plenty of strength to lift the weight. This exercise is not helping me accomplish what I want to get out of a strength training program: to get stronger, faster, and generally more useful. I'm not feeling very useful recently, just borderline crippled.
7/14/10
Front Squat - 135 x 5,5,5
Press - 165 x 4,4,5
Powerclean - 210 x 3,3,2,3,3
7/18/10
Front Squat - 140 x 5,5,5
Press - 165 x 3,3,3,3,5
Powerclean - 215 x 3,3,3
Press - 165 x 5,5
My hips have been feeling great the last few days. The light weights and more open hip angle of the front squat seems to be allowing the joints to recover. I think I'll try slowly transitioning from the front squats to high-bar to low-bar as I approach stalling points. I'm hoping that gradual transition will give my joints time to adjust to the movement.
Presses were off a bit tonight, until the form sort of clicked into place on the fifth set. I added in two more sets of five at the end for three sets of five this workout, so it's onward to 170lb next workout. Just a little bit of olympic-press-style snap of the shoulders makes a huge difference.
Stopped the powercleans while they were still feeling good and snappy. the next sets would have been a grind and less than productive for a power exercise.
I'm laying off of the deadlifts for a while. I've run out of weight at 390lb and don't want to spend $1/lb on new plates if I don't have to... keeping an eye on craigslist. Seems like I'm making good progress on the powercleans, so I don't mind focusing on that for a while.
7/20/10
Front Squat - 145 x 5,5,5
Press - 170 x 3,3,3,3,3
Powerclean - 220 x 3,3,3,2,3
My legs and hips are feeling great. The lighter weights and different joint angles of the front squat are really doing me some good - I feel like my legs are learning how to work correctly again. I'm going to keep the progress slow at 5lb per workout and wait patiently for it to get heavy.
The powerclean miss was caused by bending the elbows too early. Very close, but didn't quite get under it. 225lb next time will feel like a big milestone. I know it's just an arbitrary weight, but I have a sort of sentimental attachment to seeing two 45lb plates on each side of the bar.
scoppi
07-21-2010, 01:08 AM
i just finished reading through your log. you've made some good gains, keep at it. i just have a couple things to say. first, do you have lifting shoes? i thought i was flexible enough, and had good form, but once i got into a pair of shoes, my squat form (low, high, and front) really came into place. also, if you're able to high bar squat without any pain, then i really wouldnt worry about forcing yourself to low bar. id just high bar, and maybe add some posterior chain assistance work. good mornings or romanian deadlifts would do the trick.
i just finished reading through your log. you've made some good gains, keep at it. i just have a couple things to say. first, do you have lifting shoes? i thought i was flexible enough, and had good form, but once i got into a pair of shoes, my squat form (low, high, and front) really came into place. also, if you're able to high bar squat without any pain, then i really wouldnt worry about forcing yourself to low bar. id just high bar, and maybe add some posterior chain assistance work. good mornings or romanian deadlifts would do the trick.
Thanks. I don't have proper lifting shoes yet; just lifting in converse right now. I'm working on ankle flexibility hoping that I can make it work with a flat sole. I'll probably give the low-bar squat one more chance before sticking with high-bar; I still really like the idea of the low bar squat as an ideally-balanced exercise right in the middle between a deadlift and a front squat.
7/22/10
Front Squat - 150 x 5,5,5,5,5
Press - 170 x 4,5,4,3
Powerclean - 225 x 1,2,1,0
I'm starting to feel like the time for intermediate programming is approaching for the press and pulls. I'll increase the calories and see if I can get things progressing again before doing anything drastic though.... I'm still expecting a nice long conservative linear progression for the squats, so I'll leave that alone.
7/25/10
Front Squat - 155 x 5,5,5,5,5,5
Press - 170 x 5,5,5 (wooohooo!)
Deadlift - 390 x 4
Taking the opportunity to work on form while the squat work sets are still light - trying to get rid of any squishy wiggly movement at the bottom and leave nothing but a nice, concise rebound.
Presses felt good today. The first four reps of each set were very strict, and just a little bit of the olympic-press-heave to start rep 5. I'm really having a good time with these; this is by far the strongest I have ever been on any overhead movement.
Messed around with some more squats while I had the 170lb on the rack for presses. High-bar felt fine as long I kept my knees in a neutral position (not too wide). Low-bar might just be not for me - they caused immediate stabbing pain in my hip joints when I hit the bottom.
7/27/10
Front Squat - 160 x 5,5,5
Press - 175 x 3,3,3,3,3
Powerclean - 205 x 3,3,3
Did a bit of a reset on the powerclean... 225 was just too much of a grind to be productive right now. I'll see how it feels in a few weeks after working back up to it.
I'm taking about a week off of lifting - going on a backpacking trip. The recovery time will probably do me some good; I've been accumulating some gradually-increasing soreness in my low back and shoulders.
8/3/10
front squat - 165 x 5,5,5
press - 175 x 3,3,3,2,3
powerclean - 205 x 3,3,3,3,3
Front squats are feeling great. Concentrating on keeping the form just right and making the movement as explosive as possible. It is a major exercise in patience right now to stick with 5lb increases, but it will get heavy soon enough and overriding shitty form habits is more important to me right now. Worked on a few high-bar back squats with the fs, press, and powerclean weights while they were on the rack; feels like it will be a pretty easy transition from front squat when I begin to stall on those.
Press seems to be just about stalled; I'll try working with singles for a while and increase the weight 5lb every other workout.
A little time off from lifting did me some good. The little nagging aches that had built up seem to have disappeared. The backpacking trip was a little more strenuous than I had planned on, but that just resulted in a little bit of a drained feeling; feeling great otherwise and expecting to bounce back quickly.
8/5/10
front squat - 170 x 5,5,5
press - 180 x 10 singles
powerclean - 210 x 10 singles
Press and powerclean singles were done at one minute intervals.
8/7/10
front squat - 180 x 5,5,5
press - 180 x 10 singles
powerclean - stopped at 185. Don't have the power today...
Everything felt heavy today. Too heavy. Walking felt heavy.
I'm pretty much stalled on the press at 180lb, after stalling at 180 about two months ago. Similar with the pulls.
I'm going to wrap up this log now, because my workouts are now rapidly moving away from the "Starting Strength" program. So, here's a summary of my starting strength experience:
Squats
Started at 135lb work sets and experienced unbelievable muscle soreness. Plowed through that and rapidly worked my way up to 275lb work sets in about five weeks. That was too aggressive, and I ended up with some tendon inflammation problems and poor form habits as a result. I had to drop the squats for a while as a result and am still not fully recovered from that bit of over-reaching. Lesson here: err on the side of too slow rather than too fast when on a linear progression program.
Press
Started at 100lb work sets and worked up to 175lb work sets in about four months. I am thrilled with the results here. I started with a lot of problems with shoulder looseness and instability; I frequently dislocated my shoulders during daily activity and in my sleep, and had a lot of recurring upper back injuries similar to whiplash. The SS program with bench omitted has been nothing short of miraculous here; I feel like I have a brand-new set of shoulders. No pain, no dislocations, no upper back problems.
Deadlift
Started at 210lb and worked up to 390lb work sets. These are feeling good; I feel like the deadlift is a really good fit for my body proportions as a general-purpose strength-building exercise.
Powerclean
Another example of over-reaching here. I worked up to 200lb much too quickly and my form fell apart. Did a huge reset and worked back up slowly and it went great. Ended up at 225lb worksets before starting to stall again.
Physical changes
Bodyweight went from 212lb to 245lb in about five months, with most of that 33lb gain happening during the first month. I was seriously gaining just about 1lb per day for the first month, and not much of it was fat. The novice-effect can be truly shocking when "the program" is done right. Actually, I guess it wasn't done exactly right because of the previously-mentioned over-reaching. But... here's what happened to some of my measurements during that first month of too-aggressive progression, GOMAD, and big eating:
calf: +1"
thigh: +4"
ass: +2.25"
waist: +0.5"
chest: +3.625"
bicep: +1"
neck: +1.25"
Needless to say, that kind of rapid change was fucking bizarre. My pants didn't fit me any more, and all of my shirts suddenly seemed really short.
In summary: I would strongly recommend the SS program to any skinny novice who wants to get big and strong in a hurry. Just don't be in too much of a hurry.
ivankannan
08-14-2010, 07:21 PM
Your progress is makes me feel pretty depressed. My waist is continuously increasing whereas I am struggling to increase lifts. I don't know what to do!
Your progress is makes me feel pretty depressed. My waist is continuously increasing whereas I am struggling to increase lifts. I don't know what to do!
I found that during the first 3-4 weeks of GOMAD and big eating, I put on muscle really fast, but after that I started putting on fat faster than I was comfortable with. It seems like caloric surplus needs to be cycled to keep its strongly-anabolic effects. There is a 1" gain and loss in waist size that doesn't show up in the before-and-after numbers I posted. My (formerly) baggy-fit carpenter jeans were pretty tight for a while.
(Edit: I looked back at my training journal, and I really did only gain .5" on my waist in the first month; between then and now I gained and lost 1" on my waist measurement. That's when I figured out that I have to cycle the big eating to keep getting the anabolic effects without too much fat gain.)
Sounds like a small reset in working weights combined with a mild caloric deficit might do you some good for a few weeks. Sort of "reset" the effects of the big eating and trim a little fat at the same time. I'm still very much a noob at this, so take this advice for whatever it may be worth (quite possibly zero!).
ivankannan
08-16-2010, 02:44 PM
Yeah right, I have also experienced this. I just wanted to get to 160lbs before trying out a small caloric deficit, but since I will be travelling next week, its guaranteed that I will lose weight and strength :(
I want to try ZigZag diet or there was this another diet where you eat in surplus for 14 days and then in deficit for 14 days etc. At the end of deficit, hormone levels drop and then in surplus they increase but saturate at the end of 14 days and so on.
Powered by vBulletin™ Version 4.1.0 Copyright © 2012 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.