Strong is more useful than weak.

Squat

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x80
• 1x3x120
• 1x2x160
• 3x5x205

Wow. Broke the 200# barrier. OK sure, in the grand scheme of things it’s not some massive weight, but it’s still a barrier I have NEVER broken before. The bar is moving a little slower, but still moving at a fair pace. Sure it’s a little tougher, it requires a lot more tightness of the abs, really working that Valsalva maneuver, minding every element of form. I’ll tell you, I wasn’t a believer in warm-up sets before, but I am now because there’s no way I could just jump to that weight without moving my body through the motions and getting it ready for the stress ahead of it.

It does feel heavy, every time I put the bar on my back it feels like heavy, a new heavy. But then the second set? It feels lighter than the first set and somehow a little easier to do.

I am wondering when I’m going to hit my limit, when I’ll miss a rep and want to consider dropping down to 5# increments. But I’m not psyching myself out about it, nor am I really caring because it will happen when it happens, and either way I’ll still be progressing, so… who cares. I will say, a belt has been ordered and once it gets here I’ll start using it (see no reason not to). We’ll see how that affects my progression.

Bench Press

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x70
• 1x3x95
• 1x2x125
• 3x5x140

Here I felt strong. I don’t feel as near my “limit” as I do with squats. I was able to really power the 3 work sets, and didn’t even take a full 5 minutes rest before the last set. Felt no problem. I do feel I could jump up in greater than 5# increments, but there’s no real need to… it just means I’ll progress along this route longer, which is fine. Better to train well and recover and grow, than stall or overwork myself. One thing I really like about this program is how it works with ego. Oh sure, you could let your ego get greedy and jump up quickly in weights, but what does that gain you? you stall out faster. If you just to the program, be patient, you’ll get there — it has to be a long-term pursuit. You can always tell yourself that the weight numbers don’t matter… because you’ll get there, maybe not tomorrow, but you will, because that’s how the program works and the proof is in the pudding. It’s very cool.

Deadlift

• 2x5x95 (warmup)
• 1x3x105
• 1x2x150
• 1x5x180 (work)

The biggest thing I noticed here was my grip. First, I know the “right way” to grip is to acknowledge the weight is heavy, that it will hang down and end up in the “hook” of your fingers just due to gravity and the physiology of things. That also helps to avoid the pinch calluses that can form on the pads of your palms. However, I was a little too “hooky” with things and so the pads were still getting bunched up, just in another way and that didn’t let me have a full closed grip. I did a little more adjusting today so there’s still hook but the pad is a little more flat against the bar and I can get a more closed grip. This should serve me better.

This deadlift felt a little heavier, but good. I certainly felt worked here. I’ll do another 15# jump next week. I mentioned before that it bugs me that my deadlift is lagging behind my squat (since the deadlift should normally be more than the squat), but it makes sense when you consider the math (deadlift goes up 15#/week, squat is going up 30#/week). Like I said above, gotta put the ego away and just do the program. It should all even out. I’ll be more concerned, I guess, if numbers haven’t “normalized” say 2-3 months from now.

Commentary

If I total up my 3×5 work set weights, I’m doing 525# total. That’s not even 5RM or 1RM. In theory, my 1RM total would be around 600#. Kinda neat, and watching that number grow makes me keep thinking that yeah, joining the 1000# club  might be neat… just to say I can do it, because I’m only getting older, I obviously got a late start in life on strength training, and I can’t say if it’ll be something I can do at age 70 (tho, it’d be even cooler to do it then). Just one of those “hey, that’s cool” sorts of things.

Results are good. Strength goes up. Hypertrophy is up. And I’m just feeling really good in life, better than I’ve physically felt in a long time. I look forward to the gym. Heck, I just heard the gym will be closed Monday for the holiday and that news really sucked! How odd for me to feel that way… but I’ll go on Sunday instead, no big deal.

The journey of life is interesting, so long as you’re willing to make it so. 🙂

Today’s workout was a little odd.

Squat

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x75
• 1x3x115
• 1x2x155
• 3x5x195 (work)

I struggled a bit on the first work set but got the 5 reps. Ensured a good 4-5 minute rest between the other work sets and actually felt more powerful and stronger in them. Not sure if I just needed a little more rest between warmup and first work set, or if perhaps it was just a neuromuscular adjustment/adaptation to the weight.

I’m kinda stoked tho. Next workout I do 205#… breaking the 200# mark is kinda cool. No it’s not grossly strong, it’s not even my bodyweight. But it’s just a cool milestone/barrier to pass. 🙂

I also think that it’s time to get a belt. I’m not sure I’ll start using it right now, most recommendations seem to be to wait on using a belt until you’re doing more than bodyweight. Nevertheless, I see no harm in getting it ordered now because it may take time to make, ship, and so on. Plus doing some manual break-in work. Might as well get the ball rolling so I’ll have it when I need it.

Press

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x45
• 1x3x55
• 1x2x70
• 3x5x85 (work)

Biggest thing I noticed here was I’m not pressing the bar up in a state where the bar is constantly parallel to the ground. It’s worse with lighter weights, so the fix is to lift heavier. 😉  Still, it’s there and something I’ll need to keep aware of.

Chin-ups

• 1x9xbw
• 1x6xbw
• 1x5xbw

I noticed on my very first rep that my chest was going all the way to the bar, but subsequent reps did not… chin over the bar, but chest was dropping. That is not good. The chest needs to come to the bar to get a proper full range of motion, especially the back muscles squeezing at the top. I worked to combat that, tho it still wasn’t as ideal as it could be. So, reps didn’t go up, but form improved… but needs more.

I’m thinking about perhaps dropping the reps and trying to go uber-strict on form, because I cannot see how I’ll work my way to full-on proper chins if the final bit of the concentric motion isn’t there and is weaker than the rest of the movement.

Commentary

This workout was good and bad.

Good: tickling the 200# mark with squats. That every workout I think damn this weight is going to be crazy, and nailing it every time. It’s really cool. Seeing progress is motivating.

Bad: distraction.

Instead of the usual rock music over the stereo, the gym was playing… NPR. WTF? The thing is, music is something I can tune into the background. But the sound of people talking distracts me. The people in the gym I can usually tune out because their conversations are usually chit-chat and something I don’t care much about. But when you hear news, inevitably you’ll hear a trigger word that keys something in you, some issue or some news topic that perks your interest. And try as I might to filter it out, I can’t. So, my brain wanders… the hard part being that then I’ll recognize I’m losing focus and then actively try to filter things out, but that’s still a problem because now I’m focused on being focused, not on lifting. *sigh*

So it threw me a bit, and is perhaps one reason why my lifts felt a little off. Nevertheless, you adjust, you deal with it, and you still get your work done and get out of the gym.

I’m not sure I want to put the iPod earbuds in. We’ll see.

Anyways, I still feel overall good and am enjoying the progress on this program. This marks week 4 of following this “Starting Strength”-inspired program. I’ll reflect back on my first month come Friday.

Here’s today’s workout.

Squats

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x70
• 1x3x110
• 1x2x145
• 3x5x185 (work)

The bar speed was slow today. I’m not 100% sure what to attribute it to. My sleep has been horrible since the prior workout so I’m thinking I may not have recovered well enough. As well, I was at the gym almost an hour earlier than usual, and I did get a fair sleep last night. I had to go early because I have something time-sensitive to do today… could my body have not been fully awake and firing on all cylinders yet? Don’t know. But the weekend is here, so that’s an ‘extra’ day of rest, plus I plan on eating a shit-ton of protein over the weekend (took a couple of steaks out of the freezer this morning).

One thing that I focused on, beyond just hip drive, was overall form. I was flipping through the “Mean Old Mr. Gravity” book and there was something in there that resonated with me and reminded me about keeping my chest up. That helped.

Really tho, while things are getting heavier, I’m meeting every challenge and setting a new PR every day. Tis awesome.

Bench Press

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x65
• 1x3x90
• 1x2x120
• 3x5x135

OK. A little male ego happiness here, to be doing my bench pressed with the 45# plates. 🙂  First time the bar went down, my peripheral vision caught the plates moving up and down and threw me off a bit — it’s a different visual landscape than the much-smaller 25# plates. But this feels cool. It’s just weight, but when you’ve spent most of your life only moving little weight around, it just feels nice to break through that barrier.

I felt very powerful on these, comparing to how I felt on the squats. Not sure why. Was there a bit of adrenaline happiness from using the big plates? Maybe my body and mind was woken up a bit better? Maybe I’m just not closing in on my limit like I am with squats? I don’t know. But whatever… things felt good and powerful here.

Earlier this week I started watching Dave Tate of EliteFTS “So You Think You Can Bench” series of videos. I worked on putting my weight on my traps, which really does require a “from the ground, up” working of your whole body. I don’t think I kept it there and didn’t keep my legs tight and so on, but it’s a first time and I’ll get there.

Pull-ups

• 1x10xbodyweight
• 1x8xbodyweight
• 1x7xbodyweight

I only rest about 2 minutes between each set of these, and so long as I continue to improve, that’s fine, even if it’s only 1 total rep per workout. I admit that I’m considering switching up and just doing something like 5 sets of 1-3 reps of real pull-ups (instead of these inverted row things) and seeing how well that does for me… but no, I need to stick with how I want to get to 3×15 first.

Commentary

I didn’t feel so hot this workout. Sure, I had some good moments and there’s a lot of good things I can take… like even during the squat, there’s a lot of little things that I just can’t relay here but that are filed away in my head about movement and being explosive, driving, form, etc.. So, I do feel there’s constant improvement, so I’ll take it. Just need to rest up this weekend and hit the gym hard this Monday.

 

Squats

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x70
• 1x3x105
• 1x2x140
• 3x5x175 (work)

The work set felt heavy. I say that each time, but this felt a lot heavier than usual. I’m not sure why. Could it simply be that weight is increasing? Or that it’s increasing and getting closer to the threshold my body is presently able to handle? Maybe lack of sleep, since my sleep has been a bit crappy lately — made worse last night by the thunderstorms, which were so welcome but after they woke me up I couldn’t get back to sleep because I was just enjoying the sound of the rain too much. 🙂 So I don’t know, but no real worries.

In fact, it was kinda nice to feel that heavy, because it really emphasized the need for the hip drive. Good thing!

Press

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x45
• 1x3x55
• 1x2x65
• 3x5x80 (work)

All I have to say here is, the shrug at the top of the press is vital in keeping the bar balanced. 🙂 No, I didn’t drop it, but yes there was a little sway if I wasn’t shrugged/tight, and no problems if I was shrugged/tight.

Deadlift

• 2x5x95 (warmup)
• 1x3x95
• 1x2x140
• 1x5x165 (work)

I’d be lying if my brain and its love of statistics and numbers wasn’t a little bothered that my squat is outpacing my deadlift (generally speaking, deadlift weight should be greater than squat). But I look at it this way: deadlift is done once a week, squat three times. Squat is going up 10# each workout, deadlift 15#. So when you do the numbers game, of course deadlift is eventually going to lag, given where they both started. But I have to remind myself to not care about that, because it will even out and settle in. The 10# increments on squats probably won’t last through the end of the month, but I betcha deadlifts will keep up 15# increments; plus when I drop down I’ll drop to 5# increments on squats and 10# on deadlifts, so the gap will narrow. I am not focusing on it nor am obsessed with it, but hey… it’s there and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care. 🙂

That all said, these felt really good. I was able to watch the Staring Strength DVD again and am really minding my form, especially with regards to back and chest. As far as I can tell, the bar is being pulled straight up… lowering is a little off still, but improving.

Commentary

The workouts are starting to feel heavier. As I mentioned above, not sure if it’s simply a matter of yes the weights are increasing or the lack of sleep. But by the same token, I’m getting used to things. My body and neuromuscular system is getting used to the idea of lifting heavy stuff. It’s cool. I’m liking the results, both in terms of pure strength increases and also the evident muscular hypertrophy.

I really like this program. I like that there’s daily records and mini goal milestones being met each day. But I also like seeing the long haul, that it’s a program with vision and ultimately a goal of long-term results. Looking forward to seeing where I stand at the end of next week!

Another day, another workout. I tell you tho, my motivation is so high that it’s hard to not want to just go into the gym. I think that’s a good sign that I’m so high on this. No idea if it’s just novelty of it all, if it’s because every workout sets a PR, if the program makes it so easy to see constant improvement and progression. Can’t say just what it is, but I tell you, I like it.

Squats

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x65
• 1x3x95
• 1x2x135 (should have been 130 but the way the gym was this morning it was easier to just slap the 45# plates on and be done with it)
• 3x5x165

Weight continues to increase in 10# jumps, which is good from all indications of how the program is to progress. Yes, they continue to feel heavy, but nothing about today’s weight felt “scary” — it felt conquerable. When I was done, it felt awesome… and I could only think about Wednesday’s workout going to 175, and that if this rate keeps up I’ll break 200# before the end of the month. I don’t need to break 200# before the end of the month, because if I keep on the program, I’ll break it eventually… and that’s far more important, to just have constant progression.
Bench Press

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x65
• 1x3x90
• 1x2x115
• 3x5x130

I’d be lying if I didn’t say my ego wanted me to just put 45# plates on the bar and do 135#… I mean come on, it’s just 5#, right? But no, greed is the enemy of this program. Be steady. Follow the program. I’ll be doing 135# on Friday anyways, right? So who cares. Long-term results, constant progression.
Chin-ups

• 1x9xbodyweight
• 1x7xbodyweight
• 1x5xbodyweight

If you compare these numbers to last Monday’s numbers, it was an increase of only 1 rep. However, I finally remembered to really focus on the negative portion of the rep. So focusing more on the negative means more work/exhaustion to the muscles, and if even with that I did 1 more total rep than last time? That’s progress in my book.

I did look at the regular chin-up bar today and wondered if I should give it a try instead of doing these “inverted row” things. But no, let’s stick to the program… stick with the inverted rows until I’m hitting 3×15. I’ll get there.

Commentary

Nothing really much to add here. I’m finding my motivation high, my progress good. Strength is going up, my weight feels about steady but my belt feels a little looser. There’s no question I’m gaining strength and also muscle mass (I can see and feel it), so if the scales are about steady and the belt is looser I’m also losing some flab, which is desired. Just continuing to shovel the protein, eating some fruit, a lot of veggies, fat is adequate, and avoiding “empty” carbs (no pasta, almost no corn or potato chips, etc.). A quasi-paleo diet, tho I’m not excluding salt or dairy; in fact, dairy is a primary source for me. I’m not strict about that, but that’s the easiest way to describe what I’m eating.

All in all, going well and really enjoying this journey. It’s a fun ride.

Remember how I mentioned a mental shift? Just more evident today as I put 10# more on my squat.

Squat

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x60
• 1x3x90
• 1x2x120
• 3x5x155 (work)

These felt heavy, heavier than ever before and I felt it. But, instead of the brain going “oh shit, this is heavy! what the hell are you doing?! you’re going to kill yourself” the brain was going “Oh shit, this is heavy! That’s awesome! You’re going to pound out those reps and when you rack that bar you’ll have set a new PR (personal record). Hell yeah!”. It starts the same, but finishes in a much better state of mind. I came. I saw. I lifted more weight than last time. 🙂

The bar moved a little slower than the last workout, but not much that I’m going to care (I slept a little crappy last night); I’ll still bump up 10# next workout. It was a little more challenging for sure, but it really forced me to mind form — especially the hip drive, lifting the butt up first, keeping chest up, and so on. It also forced me to think about exploding and driving harder. All good things.

Press

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x45
• 1x3x50
• 1x2x60
• 3x5x75 (work)

These work sets didn’t get much rest between them. I know I’m far from my “potential” in the press, but I think that’s good. I can feel that while I have the gross idea of the movement down, it’s just not wired well into my body yet, but that stands to reason since I haven’t done a lot of presses in this workout yet and furthermore I haven’t done presses in this style well… ever. So my neural pathways are still adapting and adjusting, and frankly, using moderate weights at this stage is good because I’m seeing how it becomes more critical as the weight gets heavier (relative to what I can lift, see my squats). So, slow and steady progress here is fine.

Pull-ups

• 1x9xbodyweight
• 1x8xbodyweight
• 1x6xbodyweight

Someone else was using the Smith machine so I just put a bar on the lower pegs of the squat rack at about the same height as I’d use on the Smith machine (i.e. the lowest I can go that still allows me to hang from the bar and not have my back touch the ground). Not sure if that made any difference in things, but there we go.

Felt good, more explosive on these. I did realize I was exploding up and just “coming down”… forgot to focus on the negative reps. Dang it. Oh well.

Commentary

The workout felt good. Things are getting heavier, but not too heavy. I’m still progressing at what appears to be a good rate. I’m still learning the motions. I’d like to make some time this weekend to watch through the Starting Strength DVD again to catch any form details and refresh myself on some things, especially regarding the press. Hopefully I’ll be able to make some time to do this, but it’s a busy weekend ahead.

I do like my mental paradigm shift. It’ll play well into everything in life.

I like my diet too. Heck, Wife bought me a bunch of steaks, not rib eyes or other top top cuts, but still good sirloin and such. Just a simple seasoning, then cook it, and cut it into about 6-8 oz portions and into the fridge it goes. Won’t last me long, but it’s sure a nice break from shoveling down cans of tuna. 🙂  I’m also wondering if I have lost a little fat weight. I see my weight dropped a bit on the scale, but more importantly my waistband feels a little looser than it was feeling. This is a tough line to walk, where I’m trying to ensure I build muscle and strength but letting my flab be fuel so it gets burned off. I also am needing to find a new multivitamin. I was just taking the store brands, like the Costco general multi and right now Centrum… reason is that before, that’s all that was needed and geez, the Costco bottle is 500 tablets so it lasts you a while.  As well, we were trying to find adult vitamins for the kids to take (i.e. beyond Flintstones, something more complete) but they were hard on their stomachs so that’s why the Centrum was lying around. I’m too cheap to discard them, but coming to the end of it. And I know working like this, I need something more than just your “100% RDA” junk. So I’m trying Universal Nutrition’s Animal Pak (1 packet a day). Yeah yeah, don’t give me any shit over it. The composition is reasonable and the price really isn’t all that bad. I’ve been curious to try their products and so let’s see how this does for me (took first pack this morning). If it doesn’t pan out, I’ll probably switch over to AST 32x or even Beverly’s Super Pak (which is actually kinda expensive). I want vitamins, minerals in doses more appropriate for the workload, I don’t want lots of herbal whatnot gimmicky stuff (e.g. lots of GNC stuff, Opti-Men). We’ll see. No harm in experimenting and finding what works for me. If it all winds up being 6 of 1 and half-dozen of the other, I’ll go with what’s cheapest.

Strong is useful.

Today’s workout was kinda fun because it was comprised solely of “the big 3 lifts”: squat, bench press, deadlift.

Squats

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x55
• 1x3x85
• 1x2x115
• 3x5x145 (work)

The bar felt heavy today. Not in a bad way, just in a “wow, never squatted this much weight before” way. I’ll discuss this more at the end.

Form continues to improve, and that stands to reason given I squat every workout so it just gets more reps, more time to condition that muscle memory. I did also play around with stepping back from the rack. The gym doesn’t have a full power rack, it’s one of those “half rack” sort of incline peg things. It’s certainly sufficient for the task, but because of the incline and that I have to start with the bar pretty high I have to step back a little further to ensure when I’m in the hole I don’t bang the bar into the rack. But I found I don’t need to step back as far as I thought I did, which is good, especially as the weight gets bigger. Plus, I’m trying to work on minimizing my steps, just step one foot back and plant it, then step the other back and plant it and that’s that… no step back, another couple steps, shuffle, etc. because that’s a waste of energy and only gets more difficult as the weight gets heavier.

Bench Press

• 2x5x45 (warmup)
• 1x5x60
• 1x3x85
• 1x2x120 (should have been 110# but sometimes I suck at “plate math”)
• 3x5x125 (work)

Remember how I mentioned that I was having a rough time with waiting for 4-5 minutes between sets? Well, that’s getting easier to manage with the squats. Here on the bench I didn’t wait so long, maybe 3 minutes at most between my work sets. Basically tells me that I have a lot of strength still to go, a lot of room to improve. So that’s all good.

Gripped the bar  hard, but my right wrist still feels the pressure. We’ll see how this pans out for my wrist. A little discomfort is one thing, but sheer pain is another. I can’t afford hand injury due to my line of work.

Deadlift

• 2x5x95 (supposed to be 60#)
• 1x3x95 (supposed to be 90#)
• 1x2x125
• 1x5x150

The initial warmup sets are supposed to be at a calculated low weight, but it’s just not practical to do since I lack the bumper plates or very high blocks on which to stack things. So, 95# (i.e. a 25# plate on each side) is going to be my minimum until I of course improve beyond that weight.

I really felt like I could do more here, but I’m going to be patient. Rip talks about how 1 set is enough since deadlifts take a lot out of you so better to get some work then rest rest rest. Furthermore, I do the math and if I progress on the route I’m on…. well, back up. In theory, your weights should be deadlift > squat > bench press > press in terms of weight you can move. Presently that’s the case for me, however at my rate of progression that’s going to change with my squat overtaking. But, that’s only based upon simple math predictions, not reality. I know that eventually I won’t be going up 10# per squat session but I betcha I’ll continue to do 15# deadlift jumps for a little while longer. I figure the stats will be all wonky while my body comes to terms with everything, but it’ll all even out at the end. What matters more isn’t what I have now, but what things will be like when I’m done with this SS/PP-based program months from now.

Commentary

This was the first workout where I started to feel like gosh, everything feels heavier. So I know I’m getting closer to what I can actually lift. It’s all pretty cool, but it’s creating an interesting internal dialogue.

I’ve never done this before. I’ve never lifted heavy like this. Oh sure, it’s not heavy compared to the big boys, but for me it’s heavy and heavier than I ever did. And what’s more, the nature of the program makes me always lift heavier. I am constantly having to push myself. This starts to create massive internal “fear” dialogue. From the fears of overprotective mother not wanting me to get hurt, to Wife not wanting me to get hurt, to me just growing older and getting more conservative and not wanting to get hurt… all that sort of “holy shit that’s heavy! what the hell are you doing!” that enters my head. So there’s that whole thing… and I reckon it’ll still come. But what’s cool is that it’s starting to change, or at least to give way to another dialogue. One that says “holy shit, that’s heavy! but damn, that’s awesome!” because I know I’m going to move it, because I know I’m going to set another Personal Record (PR) this workout. That’s a neat thing about this sort of program because you get tangible results constantly. You get constant feedback (and ego gratification, let’s be honest) that you are better than you were just 2 days ago… you are stronger, you are more capable, you are able to break through barriers, you are tougher, you are more disciplined, whatever and everything. It really feeds and makes for a positive experience. I swear, I want to go to the gym more! Of course I know that’s NOT useful, nor is it useful to stick around and fiddlefart in the gym — get in, do your work, get out, eat and rest. But geez if it isn’t an interesting mental and internal change of mindset.

I was telling Wife about this and she thought it was pretty cool. She asked me how long I’m going to be doing this and I said that I don’t know… but I’ll deal with it when I get there. Yes, part of me thinks joining the 1000# club would be cool, but I’m not sure how much I care. I’m not doing this to be a lifter, I’m doing this to be healthy, strong, and useful. So where I end up? We’ll see. It’s just a fun journey and it’s starting to wander a path that I didn’t expect but am quite enjoying.

Got to the gym early this morning, lots more people (to be expected at that hour). A quick look around and everyone was either on cardio machines or weight machines. The squat rack was collecting dust. Excellent! 🙂

Squats

• 2x5x45 (empty bar warmup)
• 1x5x50
• 1x3x80
• 1x2x105
• 3x5x135 (work)

OK, silly male ego time, but it felt cool to be squatting with the 45# plates on the bar. 🙂 Rest between warmup sets was just enough to change plates. Rest between work sets I didn’t time, but was around 3-4 minutes… not much but still a little more than I usually do. For me, to consider a 5 minute wait between sets is difficult to do because geez… what do you do during that time? I don’t go to the gym to socialize, I want to stay in my mental zone, I do poke a bit at my iPhone to check Facebook or Twitter or something, but that’s “light” and doesn’t bug me much. One can only pace the gym so much or just sit and stand around… but I guess I’ll learn to get over it. 🙂  I mean, I’m making it to 3-4 minutes now so I guess that’s progress. 😉  Just not used to it, just breaking old habits.

Press

• 2x5x45 (empty bar warmup)
• 1x5x45 (formula calculated this to 35# but that’s not going to happen, so I just used the empty bar again)
• 1x3x45
• 1x2x55
• 3x5x70 (work)

I couldn’t remember if I did 2 or 3 work sets, so I just pounded out another to be sure. In doing the presses I found not only better form than last time, but I also was exploding upwards. That pointed out to me that I wasn’t as explosive as I should have been during squats.

I’m noticing in both my squat and my press that I was favoring my right side. Stands to reason, but being aware of it I can work to stop it and work to have my form more balanced.

Chin-ups

• 1x8xbodyweight
• 1x7xbodyweight
• 1x5xbodyweight

Since I’m still doing the inverted rows hanging off a low-pegged Smith machine bar, I’m finding better body positioning. That is, in that setup the body doesn’t have much room to move or adjust itself since you have hands on a bar that doesn’t rotate and feet (heels) in contact with the floor. But I’m working on the mechanics a bit, finding a better position that works through the whole range of motion. So that said, I was able to get just about every rep with my chest to the bar and chin above the bar, save the last rep of each set which I just pushed out because, as I mentioned previously, I’m remembering the negative… when I go down it doesn’t need to be uber-slow, just a bit slower than the up and that I’m still focusing on the muscles during that motion.

Overall, the workout felt good. Yes, squat weights are feeling heavier and there’s some mental games going on in my head saying “whoa… you shouldn’t be doing this… that’s fucking heavy!” but it’s only heavier than I’ve done before and in the end my body can handle it. It’s all in my head. I need to ensure I keep focused on form, especially during the warmups. I know when I came into the gym I was a little distracted because on my walk to the gym I was thinking about my day ahead and didn’t start thinking about the workout until I was almost there. But once I got into things I was there and good and frankly, if I hadn’t figured out my day that would have nagged and distracted me during the workout. It’s just me, so I got it out of the way up front.

I keep feeling like I could do more weight, more sets, more reps, but that’s not the point of the program. Just be slow and steady, slow and steady. Hell, if I can keep up this 10# increase per workout in my squats, I’ll be squatting over 200# for reps by the end of the month. No idea how I will progress and if that’s a realistic expectation, but even if not by the end of the month, it’s not like it’s years away or even months… maybe month or two. So, just stay slow and steady, in into the gym, do my business, get out of the gym, feed myself well, and lots and lots of rest.

Next workout… deadlifts. Can’t wait!

Back from the gym. Good day. Gym was a bit busier than usual, but it was no problem for me. Most people there were using machines or cardio stuff. Squat rack and bench were all mine. Works for me!

Here’s the breakdown:

Squat

• 2x5x45 (bar only warmup)
• 1x5x50 (warmup)
• 1x3x75 (warmup)
• 1x2x100 (warmup
• 3x5x125 (work)

Set felt good. I remember on the previous workout that I put the bar on my back and felt “whoa! that’s heavy”. This time, yes I felt weight up there, but it just didn’t feel “heavy”… no dialogue in my brain going “oh shit! what are you doing!”. 🙂

Form is feeling good. I’m getting more comfortable with the form and style, especially the low-bar squat. I still have a way to go on form, but I’m getting there. Will watch the DVD again to pick up on things I missed the first time around, refine, etc..

Bench Press

• 2x5x45 (bar only warmup)
• 1x5x75 (warmup – I screwed up, should have been 60 but my “plate math” wasn’t working)
• 1x3x75 (warmup – Should have been 80, but I couldn’t get to the 2.5# plates and at just 5# of difference and this was a warmup set? Meh… just went with it)
• 1x2x100 (warmup)
• 3x5x125 (work)

My first work set wasn’t kind to my right wrist. I’ve banged up that wrist pretty bad over the years (martial arts), but I know what the problem was: I wasn’t setting the bar correctly in my hand. I corrected and was just fine on the last 2 sets.

Another habit to break? You’re supposed to hold your shoulders back, like the shoulder blades touching as if trying to hold something between them. Well, I used to try to push my pecs forward, like doing a shrug, in an effort to really work the pectoral muscle. That’s not desired here, and while I wasn’t working on doing that, certainly my arms and body are used to pushing further out (there’s range of motion still in there, technically). Of course, with heavier weights this will stop on its own. 😉 Still, it’s a form issue that I am aware of and will just have to work to break the habit.

So: mind bar position in the hands, squeeze the bar with the hands, keep shoulders back.

Pull-ups

• 1x9xbodyweight
• 1x6xbodyweight
• 1x5xbodyweight

Note: Monday was chin-ups (palms towards you) and today is pull-ups (palms away). This is intentional.

These actually felt a lot easier than Monday’s chin-ups, not sure what that says. One thing I noticed was how fast I was moving. I need to slow down… at least, going down. When I pull/chin up, sure, explode up there. But on the way back down, I need to go slower than I did going up. If I focus a little more on the negative motion, that’s going to help build the strength. I’m not dropping down (my shoulders and elbows would hate me), but I should slow down more.

And again here, squeeze the bar with my hands.

So that’s really the big thing from this workout: form is becoming more comfortable, but still a long ways to go. I’ll watch the DVD again and re-read the relevant pages from the Starting Strength book to mind my form details. I’m aware of my grip, but not aware enough… squeeze the dickens out of the bar, leave fingerprints in it. And don’t forget the negatives on the chin-/pull-ups.

Feel good!