Smokindavis' Training Log

STARTING STRENGTH UPDATE

I’ve now finished my first month of Starting Strength. Here is my progress:

BW - 183 lbs —> 181 lbs

SQUAT - 155 lbs —> 230 lbs

BENCH PRESS - 135 lbs —> 160 lbs

DEADLIFT - 90 lbs —>165lbs

MILITARY PRESS - 75 lbs —>105 lbs

POWER CLEAN - 45 lbs —> 65 lbs

BW -2
SQUAT +75
BENCH +25
DL +75
MP +30
PC +20

I’m really happy with the progress so far and I can’t wait to keep going.

SESSION #13 - 3/26/10

SQUAT
3x5 235

BENCH PRESS
1x4 160
1x3 160
1x2 160

DEADLIFT
1x5 170

The squat was really heavy today. My final rep was long. I was almost stuck just above the hole but I was able to push through. I missed 160 for the bench press for the third time. That means it is time for a reset. I’ll drop 10% for my next bench workout and then build up again. Deadlift was very heavy as well. Even though it is only one set, deadlift is one of the harder exercises for me.

SESSION #14 - 3/31/10

SQUAT
3x5 240

MILITARY PRESS
1x4 110
1x2 110
1x3 110

POWER CLEAN
5x3 70

The squat continues to move up and has been going well. I missed quite a few reps on the military press though. I’ll have to attempt 110 lbs again next time. The power clean is starting to feel heavy, but as the weight goes up, I can really feel the explosiveness of the lift. I love it.

My diet will be a little different this week and this week only. Normally the majority of my food intake is based around eggs, meat, pasta, and protein shakes. But the gas in my apartment was shut off until Monday. So, I will still have protein shakes and all the other extra stuff, like beans, soup, nuts, but I won’t be able to cook eggs, meat, or pasta until it is turned back on. I plan on eating a lot of turkey sandwiches, ordering chicken breast at Subway, and ordering Thai food from this place that makes some good chicken dishes.

I’ve been stalling pretty hardcore in bench, and now other exercises are starting to stall. I’m still not getting low enough in my squat form. I’ve started doing the “third world squat” to increase flexibility. It’s definitely a challenge. Hopefully it helps in the long run.

Starting Monday, I’m going to start Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1. I like the idea of going to the gym 4 days a week, but only hitting each major exercise once a week. The current frequency of Starting Strength is really wearing me down. 5/3/1 also has a built-in reset every 4th week which I think will help with getting run down.

I used a calculator to get my current one-rep maxes. I tried to stay super conservative on these by taking a couple pounds off the estimate:

Squat - 270 lbs
Bench - 170 lbs
Deadlift - 185 lbs
Military Press - 115 lbs

Wendler recommends you only use 90% of your 1RM for the 1st cycle. So, I will be basing all my percentages off of these amounts:

Squat - 243 lbs
Bench - 153 lbs
Deadlift - 166 lbs
Military Press - 103 lbs

My plan starting Monday is:

Monday - Military Press
Tuesday - Squat
Wednesday - Off
Thursday - Bench Press
Friday - Deadlift
Saturday - off
Sunday - off

Cycle 1, Week 1 - 4/5/10

BW - 187.4 lbs

MILITARY PRESS
1x5 65 lbs
1x5 75 lbs
1x10 85 lbs

DIPS
BW x 7, 10, 8, 7, 7

CHIN-UPS
BW x 3, 3, 2, 2, 2

The military press was pretty easy today. I like how the final set is for max reps. It felt weird going to the gym and not doing squats. That won’t last long though, because squat day is tomorrow. I was excited to see 187 on the scale. That’s the heaviest I’ve ever weighed.

Cycle 1, Week 1 - 4/6/10

SQUAT
1x5 155 lbs
1x5 180 lbs
1x7 205 lbs

LEG PRESS
5x15 135 lbs

LEG CURL
broken machine?

It looks like all that stretching is paying off. I went below parallel on every one of my squats today. I’ve never done that before. It definitely made it harder, but I’m so glad I’m fixing this now. The leg press was giving my legs a HUGE pump. It was crazy. The workout was going so well until I got to the leg curl machine and found out it was broken. My hamstrings feel so neglected. I know my hamstrings will get killed on Friday’s workout so hopefully that will make up for today. That machine better be fixed by next week.

Cycle 1, Week 1 - 4/8/10

BENCH PRESS
1x5 95 lbs
1x5 110 lbs
1x10 130 lbs

DB PRESS
5x15 20s

DB ROW
5x10 20s

The bench press was really easy. Not much to say. I went light on the dumbbell movements because of the volume. I got a decent pump. I might move these up next time, but I don’t want to focus too much on the accessory movements, so we’ll see.

Cycle 1, Week 1 - 4/9/10

DEADLIFT
1x5 105 lbs
1x5 120 lbs
1x9 140 lbs

GOOD MORNINGS
5x12 45 lbs

LEG RAISES
5x15

The deadlift went well. The drop in weight allowed me to work on form. Between the deadlifts and good mornings, my lower back was pumping like crazy. I can probably add a little weight to the bar on the good mornings because they were too easy. I’m not sure how well the leg raises were working my abs. I could feel them much more in my hips than anywhere else. I’ll see how the rest of the cycle goes before I consider switching them out. This was the end of the first week. I’m looking forward to next week where the weights will be a little heavier, this week gave me some much needed rest, but was pretty easy.

4/12/10

BENT-OVER ROW : 85 x 9
LAT PULLDOWN : 90 x 10
SEATED ROW : 90 x 10

CURL : 50 x 10, 50 x 8
ALTERNATING CURLS : 25 x 5, 20 x 5

TRICEP PRESSDOWN : 90 x 9
OVERHEAD TRICEP EXTENSION : 20 x 12, 20 x 12

This clearly is not 5/3/1. I realized over this weekend that I like going to the gym, and that includes going to the gym as much as possible. I’m going back to a body part split for the final month of the school year. I’m starting off with 5 days a week, repeating Back/Arms day twice a week. I’ll still be using the 5/3/1 percentages and progression for my main lifts though, because I really like those.

4/13/10

BENCH PRESS
1x3 105 lbs
1x3 120 lbs
1x10 135 lbs

INCLINE BENCH PRESS
1x10 75 lbs
1x9 80 lbs
1x8 80 lbs

PEC DECK
3 max sets of 70 lbs

The Bench press was once again pretty easy this week. I was surprised I got 10 reps on 135. It should be interesting to see how I do on max week next week. I’ll hopefully be able to put up some nice numbers. This is the first time I’ve ever done Incline Bench Press with a bar. I definitely liked it and will continue to use it.

4/14/10

SQUAT
1x3 170 lbs
1x3 190 lbs
1x5 215 lbs

GOOD MORNINGS
3x10 45 lbs

SEATED CALF RAISE
3x12 45 lbs

Squats were fine. I would have liked to have gotten at least another rep or so, but I’ll take five. I’ve been focusing on depth in my squats, so that made 215 a little harder than it was when I first lifted the weight a few weeks ago. The Leg Curl machine is still broken at my gym, so I did Good Mornings to hit the hamstrings instead.

4/15/10

MILITARY PRESS
1x3 70 lbs
1x3 80 lbs
1x6 90 lbs

LATERAL RAISE
2x10 10s
1x9 15s

REAR DELT RAISE
2x10 10s
1x9 15s

SHRUGS
2x15 20s
1x15 25s

Military press went fine. No issues. My accessory work was only challenging on the final sets. I’ll continue to slowly increase these.

4/16/10

DEADLIFT
1x3 115 lbs
1x3 130 lbs
1x10 145 lbs

LAT PULLDOWN
1x10 50 lbs
1x10 60 lbs
1x10 90 lbs

SEATED ROW
1x10 50 lbs
1x10 60 lbs
1x10 90 lbs

My deadlift was rocking today. I did ten reps on my max set, which I was not expecting at all. I may have been able to get another rep or so but I didn’t want to grind any reps. I repeated my other back work from Monday. Since I do back twice a week, I’ll increase my weights on the first workout each week.

4/19/10

DEADLIFT
1x5 120 lbs
1x3 140 lbs
1x10 155 lbs

LAT PULLDOWN
1x6 105 lbs

SEATED CABLE ROW
1x7 105 lbs

CURLS
1x4 55 lbs

ALTERNATING CURLS
1x10 20s

I completely surprised myself today by getting 10 reps with 95% of my 1 rep max. Clearly I’ve gotten stronger at least in the deadlift over the past three weeks. The difference between this deadlift workout and the last one, is that I was completely done after that 10th rep. I didn’t leave anything in the tank. I think this is a good sign for the rest of the week, and I hope to put up some good reps with my other exercises.

4/20/10

BENCH PRESS
1x5 110 lbs
1x3 130 lbs
1x6 145 lbs

INCLINE BENCH PRESS
1x9 85 lbs

PEC DECK
3 sets with 70 lbs

TRICEP PRESSDOWN
1x10 100 lbs

OVERHEAD DUMBELL TRICEP EXTENSION
2x10 25 lbs
1x8 25 lbs

Nice and quick workout. I had a pump across my chest and down my arms. I’m glad I got this in and did well because it was difficult getting up this morning. That deadlifting yesterday really killed me. I was exhausted last night as well.

4/21/10

SQUAT
1x5 180 lbs
1x3 205 lbs
1x4 230 lbs

GOOD MORNINGS
3x10 55 lbs

STANDING CALF RAISE
3x12 60 lbs

I was a little frustrated after squats. I should have gotten at least 5 reps. I think I ran into a mental block for some reason. I racked the weight after the 4th rep and instantly regretted doing so.

4/22/10

MILITARY PRESS
1x5 75 lbs
1x3 85 lbs
1x7 95 lbs

LATERAL RAISES
3x9 15s

REAR DELT RAISE
3x9 15s

SHRUGS
2x15 25s

The military press wasn’t any trouble at all. The hardest part of the workout was probably the lateral and rear delt raises. I’m pretty weak in those. I had planned on my top set of shrugs to be with the 30 lb dumbells but I could only find one on the rack, despite the fact that no one else in the gym was using dumbells…

I’ve been sick lately, but it actually turned out to be good timing. It hit the day before deload week, so I basically used my deload week as a get caught up on sleep and recover week. I didn’t go to the gym at all. I’m still not 100% healthy, but I’m close. I really feel well rested and giving my body a break was good too. I noticed a small amount of muscle growth, which always seems to happen after a little bit of time off.

Now it’s time to go into my second cycle using the 5/3/1 percentages. My new 1 rep maxes for this cycle will be:

Squat: 255 lbs
Bench: 160 lbs
Deadlift: 180 lbs
Military Press: 110 lbs

I’ll pick things back up tomorrow morning with my deadlift workout.

5/3/10

DEADLIFT
1x5 115 lbs
1x5 135 lbs
1x10 150 lbs

LAT PULLDOWN
1x10 105 lbs

SEATED CABLE ROW
1x9 105 lbs

CURLS
1x5 55 lbs

ALTERNATING CURLS
1x3 25s

Deadlifts were great. I’ve been rocking these so clearly I’m stronger in my deadlift than I’m giving myself credit for. Assistance work all got stronger. I still feel weak in curls, but that can be expected as I just started doing that stuff for the first time last month. And I am progressing so I can’t complain too much.