Return of the Muskrat

Training Logs
1

Hey folks!

TL;DR

21 year old 190 lb guy tries to be healthy and somewhat strong.

Training History

I’ve been lifting weights for two years (beginning in September 2015). I have run, in this order, Stronglifts 5x5, Bigger Leaner Stronger (by Michael Matthews), the Texas Method, and 5/3/1. After running the Texas Method for a couple of months, I injured my back and took a break from movements that involve spinal compression (i.e. squat, deadlift, press, power clean, etc.). This gave me some time to work on bench press and chin-ups.

I started to get burned out with lifting in May of 2017, so I decided to take a break in June and July to focus on conditioning (which had not quite gone down the shitter but needed work). After this break (which included a study abroad in England during which I enjoyed a significant amount of beer), I decided to go on a 10-15 lb cut because I wanted to be around 180 to 190 lbs. After this, I ran Building the Monolith. I finished the last workout of Building the Monolith on Friday, November 24 (bodyweight went from 183 to 190).

Best Lifts (all for 1 rep):
Press: 175
Bench Press: 255
Squat: 335
Deadlift: 365
Power Clean: 195
Power Snatch: 145
Chin-Up: bodyweight + 100 lbs

Current Bodyweight: 190 lbs
Age: 21
Height: 5’ 10”

Most of my best lifts were done around March of 2017 at a bodyweight of around 200.

Goals

  1. Health during old age
  2. Vegetables and fruits every day
  3. Maintain a good level of conditioning
  4. Don’t look fat with a shirt on
  5. Press 200x1 (and eventually 225x1)
  6. Bench Press 315x1

Diet

I use MyFitnessPal to track calories and protein. I am going to try to hit around 2500 calories per day (maybe more if I am hungry) with 200 grams of protein per day. During Building the Monolith, I ate a lot more than 2500 calories. However, I am now looking to sit more or less at my current weight for a while. I also try to eat fruits and vegetables because I feel better when I do.

Current Program

I will be running a simple full-body linear progression, Starting Strength style.

I would love any comments or advice from anyone.

Thanks for following!

-MuskratLifts

4 Likes
2

In for progress! Let’s see some lifts. :facepunch:t3:

2 Likes
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Sunday, December 3

Press 115-3x5
Front Squat 135-3x5
Deadlift 185-5
Barbell Curl 65-9,8,7
Dips 10,10,10

Tuesday, December 5

Bench Press 185-3x5
Front Squat 145-3x5
Romanian Deadlift 95-3x8
Lying Tricep Extension 75-10,6,6
Chins 14,9,8

Thursday, December 7

Press 120-3x5
Front Squat 150-3x5
Power Clean 135-5x3
Barbell Curl 70-10,8,8
Dips 11,10,10

I also do 3x20 band pull-aparts and about a minute of isometric ab work after my workouts.

1 Like
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Sunday, December 10

Bench Press 190-3x5
Front Squat 155-3x5
Romanian Deadlift 115-3x8
Tricep Pushdown 85-10,10,8
Weighted Chins 25-3x5

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Tuesday, December 12

Press 125-3x5
Front Squat 160-1 (Tweaked the shit out of my back)
Dips 11,11,10
Chins 8,8,8

At this point, I am ready to buy a Prowler. I’ve read that the Prowler can provide leg work without much wear-and-tear on the back. If I’m already having some back pain at 21, I definitely don’t want to push it and have a completely fucked back at 50.

I will read some more and decide what I want to do, but I’ve been thinking about getting a Prowler for a while now.

6

Thursday, December 14

Incline Bench Press 175-3x5
Lat Pulldown 140-3x10
DB Overhead Press 50-2x10
Tricep Pushdown 77.5-2x10

I’m going to get a Prowler as soon as I get done with exams (two more tomorrow!).

7

Saturday, December 16

Decided to try out a little bit of deadlift today. Since my back has never hurt when I do deadlift, I’m going to try deadlifting once a week or so.

Deadlift 225-5x1 (nice slow warm-up to this)
Chest-Supported Row
1 plate - 10
2 plates - 5
3 plates - 5

Exercise Bike: 30 minutes

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Sunday, December 17

Bench Press 195 - 3x5
Chest-Supported Row 3 plates - 3x5
Tricep Pushdown 150 - 40 total reps
Barbell Curl 85 - 8,6

Ordering my Prowler tonight!

This workout went well even though I’ve got some kind of cold right now. Hopefully I will be over it by Tuesday.

9

Tuesday, December 19

Press 130-3x5, 145-1, 155-1
Dips (rest pause) 18,4,2,2,2
Face Pull 30 reps

The 130 press went up nicely, so I decided to hit a couple of singles to see where I am. I think I might have gotten 165, but I didn’t want to try it since I was just testing. I feel like I have almost gotten my strength back up to where I was in March, but at a bodyweight 10 lbs lighter.

I think my diet is making my lifts feel smooth. I have been eating on average 4000-4500 calories per day for the past seven days (according to MyFitnessPal inputs), which is a decent bit more than I normally eat. And to think I was planning on eating 2500. That definitely would have been too low to get stronger.

1 Like
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Thursday, December 21

Incline Bench Press 180 - 3x5
Chest-Supported Row 2 plates - 4x10
DB Incline Bench 70 - 3x10

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Friday, December 22

Deadlift 225 - 8x2
Leg Press 9 plates - 5 reps, 7 - 15, 6 - 2x15
Barbell Curl 95 - 5x3

Exercise Bike: 30 minutes

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Sunday, December 24

Bench 200-3x5
Chest-Supported Row 135-3x5, 160-3, 180-3
Tricep Pushdown 50 reps
Rear Delt Raise 50 reps
Lateral Delt Raise 50 reps

The trap and delt pump from this workout was unholy.

13

Merry Christmas

1 Like
14

Monday, December 25

Empty Prowler (85 lbs) on grass
4 x 40 yards
1 x 100 yards

I have not yet bought plates for this thing, but it was a good workout even with no extra weight.

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Tuesday, December 26

Press 135-3x5
Chest-Supported Row 90-10x6
Dumbbell Press 60-10,6, 45-15
Barbell Curl 25 lb bar x 100 reps

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Thursday, 28 December 2017

Incline Bench 185-3x5
Chins 3x10
Tricep Pushdown 3x10
Romanian Deadlift 155-5, 185-2x5
One-Leg Squat / Lunge Hybrid 60-5, 70-3x5

Trying to find a nice leg combo that doesn’t load the spine too much. For now, my plan is to do nice, deep Romanian deadlifts for my posterior chain and one leg squats for my quads. The Prowler will help round everything out.

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30 December 2017

Empty Prowler (85 lbs) on grass
6 x 40 yards

1 Like
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31 December 2017

Bench Press 205-3x5

Assistance Circuit (50 reps each):
Chin-Ups
Tricep Pushdowns
Hanging Leg Raises
Back Extensions
Single Leg Squats
Band Pull-Aparts

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1 January 2018

Happy New Year!!!

If you’re reading this, I hope you have an awesome 2018 (both with fitness and with relationships).

Exercise Bike: 30 minutes

1 Like
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2 January 2018

Press 140-3x5

Assistance Circuit (50 reps each):
Dips
Face Pull
Curls
Hanging Leg Raises
Back Extensions

Volume PR for press (I’ve never done anything above 135 for sets across). 145 is the most I’ve ever done for 5 reps, so I’m excited to attempt it for 3 sets of 5 next week. Weight has gone up to about 193 first thing in the morning. Calories staying consistent at approximately 4000, protein staying consistent at approximately 200. I will probably dial back the calories a bit when I go back to school.