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.