Flatware Rebooted

So, after lurking for some time I decided to take the plunge and start a training log. My hope is that I can use this as an accountability tool to keep myself pressing forward. Should anybody read this and want to give suggestions along the way, I’m certainly not above learning from someone more knowledgeable.

Training history: I have roughly 5ish years of dedicated lifting over the last decade. To say I was inconsistent would be an understatement. The bulk of the time I actually trained was spent training like a complete tool using the bodybuilding mags as guide. I managed to make a little progress despite that. I got bit hard by the iron bug after a 1.5 year lay-off a couple months back, and didn’t know where to begin again. So, I read Starting Strength…man, was that an eye-opener. After doing a bit of digging here and elsewhere I decided to start with a beginner Bill Starr 5x5 since I’m essentially starting all over.

Goals: I’m not really all that concerned with hypertrophy or looking like a bodybuilder any more. So long as my wife can tolerate the way I look that’s good enough for me :). My goal is to work back to my best numbers, and then smash the hell out of them.

My best lifts (done at a bodyweight of about 220):

Squat: 405x8 (wraps and a belt, depth was probably crap)
DL: 425x1 (I rarely if ever DLed, so this is a guess at best)
Bench: 315x3 (raw, off one board)

Planning: My current plan is to milk the linear gains of the 5x5 plan as long as I can, and then re-evaluate my weak points once I’ve stalled. I’m truly a beginner when it comes to proper training routine planning and application, so I’ll probably have to ask for help eventually. I do want to add in some GPP (I’m dying to do tire flips for whatever reason), strength endurance, and plyo/speed work just for variety down the road.

Diet/Supplements: I eat every 2.5-3 hours and make sure I get a good protein source at each meal. I try to get at least 1gm protein per lb of bodyweight each day, but I don’t always make it. If I want Oreos I eat effing Oreos…I hate calorie counting, and I love to eat. I take in a post-workout protein/carb powder, and a low carb whey protein at bed time. Other than that it’s a cup of coffee before I train and my Leydig cells doing the rest.

WALL OF TEXT…if anybody actually read this you’re a trooper

Currently:
Age: 31
Ht: 5’8"
Wt: 197lbs
BF%: Really don’t care

Here’s the routine I’ve been using.

Monday:
Squat 5x5
Bench 5x5
BB row 5x5
Hypers 2x8-12
Weighted Swiss Ball crunches 1x12, 1x10, 1x8

Wednesday:
Squat 4x5
DL 4x5
Standing Military Press 4x5
Decline sit ups 3x15
Grip work (varies)

Friday:
Squat 4x5, 1x3, 1x8
Bench 4x5, 1x3, 1x8
BB row 4x5, 1x3, 1x8
Weighted dips 3x5-8
Barbell curls 3x8
Tricep pressdowns 3x8

I’m in the 5th week of this routine, so I’ll use my current 5 rep maxes as my starting points for log purposes:

Squat: 272.5 x 5
DL: 282.5 x 5
Bench: 191 x 5

I had to push this workout up a day as my gym is closed tomorrow.

Squat:
139x5
176x5
209x5
244x5
279x5 (Put my head down on the last rep, but managed to arch it out)

Bench:
97.5x5
121x5
146x5
171x5
194x5 (Bar speed was pretty decent)

BB Row:
89x5
112x5
136x5
156x5
179x5 (Cheated the last two reps a bit too much :confused: )

Weighted Hypers
bw+23.5 x 12
bw+30 x 12

Crunches on Swiss Ball
bw+35 x 12
bw+37.5 x 12
bw+42.5 x 10
bw+47.5 x 10

All in all a decent session. I feel like my upper back strength is lagging somewhat. I’m considering subbing out barbell curls for parallel grip pull-ups during my Friday routine. Going to use Friday’s BB rows as an indicator for this.

Squat:
5x139
5x176
5x209
5x209

Standing Military Press:
5x82.5
5x98
5x116
5x131 (I did dip a bit on the last rep, but I really didn’t need to…frustrating)

Deadlift:
5x181
5x217.5
5x254 (mixed grip)
5x289 (mixed grip)

Sit ups:
bw+10 x 15
bw+26.5 x 15
bw+29 x 15

DB holds:
80sx 60 sec
100s x 50 sec

The DLs felt great, and really seemed to fly off the floor. This workout, in general, had a weird feel all the way through since it was between a drug screen for school and a NIN concert. I was really having a hard time focusing, but didn’t feel too bogged down during any of the reps.

A total aside: Driving to the concert was an eye-opening experience. It was odd to see how old most NIN fans are now (myself included). It really hit home when I was talking to my wife about how funny it was to see married couples with “baby on board” and “I <3 my boxer” bumper stickers driving mini vans into the parking lot. Great show, though.

Squat:
139x5
176x5
209x5
244x5
286x3 (again with the excess forward lean on my last rep…need to correct this ASAP)
209x8

Bench:
97.5x5
121x5
146x5
170x5
199x3 (not really difficult, but the bar speed felt agonizingly slow)
146x8

BB Row:
89x5
112.5x5
136x5
156x5
184x3 (I need to film my form on these because the reps came up well, but it felt like I cheated WAY too much)
134x8

Dips:
bw+35 x 8
bw+55 x 8
bw+75 x 8

BB curls
92.5 x 8
105.5 x 8
106 x 8 (reps were kept pretty strict)

Triceps ext
65 x 8
90 x 8
110 x 8 (slight cheat on the last two reps)

Squat:
144x5
179x5
214x5
251x5
286x5 (These reps felt really good)

Bench:
101x5
126x5
149x5
176x4 (These reps were easy, but I felt a mild strain in my left pec tendon on the 4th rep. So, I decided to skip my last set at 199 and add some shoulder external rotator prehab and back off of the bench/dips for the week.)

BB rows:
92x5
114x5
137.5x5
161x5
184x5 (S-L-O-W reps with some cheat on the last two. I need to make upper back strength a priority)

Weight hypers:
23.5x12
31.5x12

Weight crunches on swiss ball:
+30x12
+40x12
+45x10
+50x10

External rotator prehab with 5 lb DBs:
2 sets - 10reps standing, then 10 reps lateral recumbant

I’ve been sidelined by a strained left pec before, and decided to play it safe this time when I things felt off. To test the waters I stripped the weight off and just did some reps with the bar with some discomfort…sort of a pulling feeling that was a little too familiar. I had done some dynamic as well as static stretching prior to the injury. I don’t feel any soft tissue irregularities in terms of balling/knots which is reassuring. I’ll just RICE the hell out of it for now, and add in some massage in a couple days. It’s a bit of a blow to the ego that I didn’t even have 200lbs on the bar when it happened. It might be a blessing in diguise though since it allows me to focus a little more on my upper back strength which has been lagging.

My plan as of now is to do overhead presses on Wed so long as it’s not uncomfortable, and to substitute pull-ups for bench presses on Friday. I’ll probably omit dips all together this week. Next week I’ll test the waters, and if things feel good I’ll attempt this week’s bench weights again.

Squat:
144x5
179x5
214x5
214x5

Standing military press:
84x5
101x5
119x5
136x5

Deadlift:
186x5
222.5x5
259x5 (mixed grip)
296x5 (mixed grip)

Sit-ups at 45 degree incline:
bw+13 x 15
bw+28 x 15
bw+35 x 15

DBell holds:
85s x 60 sec
100s x 60 sec

My left pec was surprisingly limber during the overhead presses. I did feel a little tightening at the insertion at the very bottom of the movement when pressing off of my upper chest, but nothing truly painful. I was pretty religious with the ice the first 24-36 hours, and have started gentle massage/stretching of the area. Hopefully I’ll be able to get back on the bench next Monday. Deads continue to feel strong through the entire range of movement.