Just getting back into weightlifting after not lifting since January 2015. Started about 2 weeks ago. I have always been interested in getting stronger and staying in shape, however, life has had a habit of getting in the way of this. After being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder 1 last year and having extra weight on me for the past few years, I decided that it was time I stop making excuses and get back into shape. My wife has been my biggest help and motivator to do this, especially with the changes she has made in her journey to get fit. We made a deal to stick with this for five years together so we could look back and see all the changes that we have made. Since June I have lost 18 lb, although some has been gained back in water weight from starting creatine. Following Starting Strength with some modifications here and there. Current weights and stats are:
Body weight: 208 lb
Age: 28
Height: 5 ft 10 in
Bodyfat: ~ 22%
Squat: 185 lb x5x3
Bench: 195 lb x5x3
Press: 95 lb x5x3
Deadlift: 255 lb x5
Weight goals:
Wanting to drop down to 15 % bodyfat slowly for now and focus on getting stronger. Then I will cut lower once strength gains slow.
Strength goals:
Looking to get to 500 dl/400 sq/300 bench/200 press in the long term and just get back to old strength levels for the short term ( hopefully in the next 3 months). Previous PRs were:
Squat 345 lb 1rm
Bench 285 lb 1rm
Deadlift 305 lb x 12
Press 135 lb x 7
Pullups 22
Nutrition:
Since I am about 22 % bodyfat, I am keeping my calories around maintenance and planing to recomp until the strength gains slow then I will start cutting. This has my calories at a daily average of 2850 with around 220 Pro 240 Carb and 110 Fat.\
Today’s workout:
Squat 185 lb x5x3
Press 95 lb x 5x3
DL 255 lb x 5
Squat 195 lb x 5 x 3
Bench press 185 lb x 5 x 3
Deadlift 265 lb x 5 belted
Pullups 7,3,3
Pullups were a lot harder after deadlifts. Usually can get 12. Tweaked my back a little last workout so tried to pay attention to deadlift form this workout. Ended up not breathing the whole set. Not a great idea.
Squat 205 lb x 5 x 3
OHP 100 lb x 5 x 3
PC 135 lb x 3 x 5
Pullups 8, 5, 2
Ab Roller from knees 6, 5, 4
Squats felt great today. Looking to ride 10 lb increases all the way to 295 lb x 5 x 3 which would have me at my previous weights in 3 weeks, but we will see. Overhead presses were hard but not a grinder on any reps. Not sure how long I can maintain 5 lb jumps, but going to try to hit 125 lb before I drop down. Power cleans were terrible. Easy to lift, but I do not have the form down at all. I guess my pullups went down from not doing them for around 2 weeks, so I will have to keep these in. Hopefully they increase quickly.
I prefer mixed over hook grip because hook grip distracts me too much during the set. I focus too much on my thumbs instead of the actual rep quality lol
Do you use chalk when you’re deadlifting?
Yeah, but I workout outside in 95 degree heat and Louisiana humidity so by the time I get to deadlift I’m drenched in sweat. So not sure if it helps much lol. Also I find my thumbs just go numb during hook grip.
Ah I see, if it becomes too much of an issue and mixed grip doesn’t work then using straps would be a viable option since you’re not holding on to the actual bar imo
Yeah, I’m hoping to not have to resort to that though. I have a friendly competition in January and we agreed no straps so I cant have my grip lagging behind.
Squats 235 lb x 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench 195 lb x 3 sets x 5 reps
Deadlift 305 lb x 5 reps
Pullups BW x 10 , 7 , 5
Ab roller from knees x 10 , 5, 5
Felt easy today, especially bench. Took a video and back seems to round just slightly on dl but I can’t seem to straighten it out. Need to work on this.
Squats 255 lb x 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench 205 lb x 5, 5, 8
Deadlift 325 lb x 5
Squats felt hard. Feels like I’ll probably fail in the next 20 to 30 lbs. Need to take a second between deadlift reps to reset back. I am going to fast and back is rounding slightly, especially towards end of set. Had to skip pullups and ab roller since I was running late for school.
Squat 265 lb x 3 sets x 5 reps
Overhead press 115 lb x 3 sets x 5 reps
Bent over rows 135 lb x 10, 10 , 8
Pullups be x 4, 3, 3
Squats are really slowing down. Decided against power cleans till I can get a coach. Did rows and pullups today but will only do either or in the future since they both work biceps and lats.
Squats 270 lb x 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench 210 lb x 5, 5, 7
Deadlift 335 lb x 1 , 274 lb x 7
Reinjured my back today on deadlifts. Have been working on fixing the slight rounding so today I worked up to ths heaviest weight I could manage where my back just started to round which was 335 and then dropped down from their to work on form. I guess the last rep was still slightly rounded and I felt a pop as I completed the movement. Going to be working on rehab for a little while i guess and slowly work my way back into it being more mindful of my back position. Really disappointed since i was getting closer to my old 1rm in squat ( about 30 lb away) and was still progressing pretty fast. Oh well. just gotta adjust and keep at it I guess.
Very difficult to get out of bed today and yesterday. A lot of pain. I have been trying to extend the limits of movement without going into pain though and that seems to be helping. Worked up to some Romanian deadlifts with a PVC pipe and then a 55 lb kettlebell yesterday. Did some rdls with a 75 lb kettlebell today without any pain so that’s good. Movement definitely helps as long as I dont push it. Hurts the most when I step wrong or twist.
My plan is to try suspend doing deadlifts and back squats for a while and instead do zercher squats and rdls with a low weight and high reps and eventually work my way up in weight with lower reps based on how I feel. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to work up to 95 lb or so without any pain. This will allow me to address two things that may have caused the injury in the first place: weak core and weak/tight hamstrings.
1 September 2019 Monthly Update
Even though I m injured, I realized it has been a month since I started working out and I wanted to make a post to track the progress.
Start
Squats 135 lb x 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench press 155 lb x 3 sets x 5 reps
Overhead press 75 lb x 3 seat x 5 reps
Now
Squat 270 lb x 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench press 210 lb x 5, 5, 7
Overhead press 115 lb x 3 sets x 5 reps
Granted my starting weights weren’t the highest that I could achieve with 3x5 at the time but they were close to maybe a 10rm for me so I’ve definitely progressed a lot. Especially on squats since 135 lb felt heavy for the first workout.
My two primary goals for upper body are increased bench and increased bw pullups. With this in mind, I am going to try increasing the number of times a week I bench to 3x while still progressing linearly and only using ohp as an assistance exercise. If thos is too much to recover from, I will drop to Monday and Friday bench with Wednesday ohp.
I am seeing a slight increase in body weight, but at the moment it is slow enough that I am not concerned about it. If and when I start reaching 38" waist I will then lower my calories a bit to continue with recomping.
Zercher squats 135 lb x 15, 12, 10
Bench 215 lb x 5, 5 , 6
Rdl 135 lb x 10, 8, 6
Pullups x 8, 5, 4
Was really disappointed in the number of reps completed on zercher squats and rdl. Still a win so soon after an injury and no pain so that is good. Really feel everything working on the zercher squats. Also I have come to realize I really need to work on grip strength.
Zercher squats 145 lb x 10, 10, 15
Bench 220 lb x 3 sets x 5 reps
Superset
Rdl 135 lb x 10, 10
Bent over row 135 lb x 10, 10, 12
Felt a cramp coming on in my back so I didn’t do the last set of rdls. No pain during lifting, only while arching or twisting my back. Probably wasn’t anything too major, but I am still going to be very careful moving forward. My wife isn’t giving me much of a choice though lol.
Zercher squat 155 lb x 10, 10, 15
Bench press 205 lb x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 7
Rdl 145 lb x 3 sets x 10 reps
Pullup BW x 5, 5, 5, 5, 7
Barbell curls 55 lb x 8, 45 lb x 8, 8
Gripper x 3 sets x 75 reps each hand
Ab roller from knees x 10, 6, 5
Third workout in a row that I got 15 for my amrap on zercher squat. Hoping the strength gains I make here will carry over to back squat and dl. Biceps are weak as hell. Estimated 1rm for bench has been stalled for a couple of weeks so I added more volume to see where that leads me.