Starting a new thread, with the advice of T Nation I’m looking to add muscle to my legs mostly. Many have helped so far, and I thank you!
Monday Feb 4 08
First day, Starting Strength numbers
I don’t know if its because I did this so early in the morning, but I just didnt feel very strong at all today. I never workout in the mornings - but on this program I am going to have to
Anyways heres some numbers:
Squat 3x5 80lbs
Bench press 3x5 70lbs
Deadlift 3x5 70lbs
it seems my suspicions are totally right, in that my legs are weak as hell. But this is the first day, maybe things will change in the coming weeks.
My form on the deadlift is going to need a lot of work, I feel a bit wobbly, but its all new to me so I’m sure its just a matter of repetition.
Wed Feb 6 08
second day training
Today I felt very good. I made sure I went to bed early. I also had my morning shake first thing, so as to digest a little better before I started working out…thanks lordstorm88
numbers:
3x5 squat 80lbs
3x5 military press 50lbs
3x5 pendlay rows 70lbs
my military press was a little more weight than I wanted to start reps on - but I didnt really see another alternative, besides I still did it!
Any advice on pendlay rows about keeping my hips from kind of “bouncing” a little…it seems my hips would drop a bit as I went for the pull…then kind of come back up when the weight hit my chest… ? maybe I’m not quite standing right
I know Pendlay rows are recommended, but I have yet to find anybody agreeing on the actual form. Stick with regular bent over barbell rows if you’re uncomfortable or unsure of the Pendlay form.
Heh, uh. Aren’t you suppose to increase the squat poundage every workout? 
You could probably go up 10 lbs a workout. When that starts getting difficult, do 5 lbs.
I increase my military press weight much less than anything else. Military I increase 5 lbs per session, bench 5-10, squat 5 each session (3xweek is a 15 lbs increase, not bad for anybody), and dealift 10-20 depending on how I feel.
Somewhere in Starting Strength or on the bb forum it mentions that military will stall first, then bench, squat, and deadlift.
It’s hard to say much about the rows. I’d have to see a video. 
However, make your rows look like this: Pendlay Rows 250 X 5 - YouTube
Let the bar rest on the ground every rep, just like the deadlift. Pull it up as explosively as possible.
Since you’re not using the 45’s, you’re not going to be able to get in a good rowing position. Let the bar rest on the safety pins in a power rack at the appropriate hieight (height the bar would be if it had 45’s on it) instead of the floor.
Oh, and how come you said you wanted to go lighter on the military presses, and implied that you couldn’t, but 50 lbs was listed as the weight used? Is your bar 50 lbs? Most bars weigh 45 lbs …
i think thats natural. as you pull with force its only natural for your body to rise up a bit hence your hips will rise too.
[quote]goochadamg wrote:
Heh, uh. Aren’t you suppose to increase the squat poundage every workout? You could probably go up 10 lbs a workout. When that starts getting difficult, do 5 lbs.[/quote]
I just wasnt comfortable putting more weight on just yet…I know you are “supposed” so and all, but I would rather be safe than sorry…
I know that after today I can start adding weight to my squat - I just wanted another day of training my form
[quote]goochadamg wrote:
Since you’re not using the 45’s, you’re not going to be able to get in a good rowing position. Let the bar rest on the safety pins in a power rack at the appropriate hieight (height the bar would be if it had 45’s on it) instead of the floor.
[/quote]
I was using the lowest spot on the rack as a starting point…its maybe 1 inch higher than sitting the bar on the ground with 45’s on it…
I cant wait till I can use some 45s that is going to be a big motivator! and I think its going to come quicker than I originally thought…
[quote]
Oh, and how come you said you wanted to go lighter on the military presses, and implied that you couldn’t, but 50 lbs was listed as the weight used? Is your bar 50 lbs? Most bars weigh 45 lbs … [/quote]
I’m not including the weight of the bar in any of my numbers. I put 50 pounds on the bar… 2 25lb plates
[quote]TheDudeAbides wrote:
I increase my military press weight much less than anything else. Military I increase 5 lbs per session, bench 5-10, squat 5 each session (3xweek is a 15 lbs increase, not bad for anybody), and dealift 10-20 depending on how I feel.
Somewhere in Starting Strength or on the bb forum it mentions that military will stall first, then bench, squat, and deadlift.[/quote]
hmmm thanks for all your advice, Dude
Its encouraging to have so nice people helping out, who don’t even know me!
Thanks to everyone else too! Dont want to leave anyone out…lol
Holy moly, I thought you were just like very weak or starting very very conservatively.
Include the weight of the bars on your numbers!
[quote]goochadamg wrote:
Holy moly, I thought you were just like very weak or starting very very conservatively.
Include the weight of the bars on your numbers! [/quote]
hahaha I didnt know how much the bar weighed…so I just left that ouf of the equation…
I’ll probably keep the bar out of the equation too…I know how much the plates weigh, they never really change, and they are near new so they arent bangged up
There are several different bars I’ve used - they seem to weigh about the same but there is no telling for sure, unless I throw them on the scale!
=)
[quote]tueighty wrote:
goochadamg wrote:
Holy moly, I thought you were just like very weak or starting very very conservatively.
Include the weight of the bars on your numbers!
hahaha I didnt know how much the bar weighed…so I just left that ouf of the equation…
I’ll probably keep the bar out of the equation too…I know how much the plates weigh, they never really change, and they are near new so they arent bangged up
There are several different bars I’ve used - they seem to weigh about the same but there is no telling for sure, unless I throw them on the scale!
[/quote]
As long as you’re consistent, then do what you want. I don’t mind ego boosts, so I always include the bar. Even if the plates are new they can be slightly off the imprinted weight. So if you’re really anal you could weigh them all. If you use the same plates all the time, then it really shouldn’t matter. Anyway, who cares, do what you want!
[quote]tueighty wrote:
hmmm thanks for all your advice, Dude
Its encouraging to have so nice people helping out, who don’t even know me!
Thanks to everyone else too! Dont want to leave anyone out…lol[/quote]
As long as you listen (or consider) advice then you’re going to make friends here. There are lots of knowledgeable, more experienced people. You’re never too old to learn.
[quote]TheDudeAbides wrote:
As long as you listen (or consider) advice then you’re going to make friends here. There are lots of knowledgeable, more experienced people. You’re never too old to learn.[/quote]
Its nice that people are willing to share their own experiences and knowledge.
I always consider advice if the person is honestly just giving advice, but if they are stupid (you know theres enough stupid people) I won’t bother with it…
Everybody here has been awesome though, and I’m learning every day!
Theres always something to read on here too during recovery time so that super cool
Fri 8 feb 08
numbers:
Squat 3x5x90lbs
Bench press 3x5x75lbs
Deadlift 3x5x90lbs
supps:
3x8 chin ups
3x10x40lbs single leg calf raises with dumbbell
3x10x15lbs tibialis raise
4x10 decline bench sit-ups
Today I fet VERY strong in the deadlift. All of a sudden the 90lbs seemed easy. I probably could have added another 10 lbs to it easily. I found out that by imagining I’m pressing my lower back in to my belly button, while imagining I’m squishing my belly button in to my spine, I ended up with a nice strong center. The pull felt easy every time I did this. It also helped me realize I was getting my hips up faster than my shoulders, making me slouch before…
I could go a bit higher in my bench too - I think that its mostly my tecnique that improved, not strength.
Squat was comfortable - I’ll go up another 10 on that next time around
My body seems to handle this extra workload just fine, so I added in some suplementary excersises, outside of the Rippetoe program. I’ll see how good I feel tommorow and sunday and decide if the supplmentary stuff is okay to leave in…
actually you SHOULD breathe into your stomach and then try to push your stomach out.
as for the deadlift, personally i just think … TIGHT EVERYTHING and then i think of pushing the floor with my heels and trying to screw the wall in front of me(thats the movement really hahahaha)
[quote]lordstorm88 wrote:
actually you SHOULD breathe into your stomach and then try to push your stomach out.
as for the deadlift, personally i just think … TIGHT EVERYTHING and then i think of pushing the floor with my heels and trying to screw the wall in front of me(thats the movement really hahahaha)[/quote]
hahaha thats the funniest damn advice ever - but I’m definately going to try it hahahaha
Mon 11 Feb 08
numbers:
Squat 3x5x100lbs
Military press 3x5x40lbs
Pendlay Rows 3x5x75lbs
decline situps 3x10xbw
Felt pretty good this morning, albeit a little groggy. I was slow to get out of bed. Other than that I felt strong in all the lifts.
Not really much to report, I dropped the weight on my military press, felt 50lbs was too high to start with on Wed last week. I’ll bump it up to 45 probably on Fri this week.
I’m excited to see my numbers going up already - its not much but its a small victory, and one I will take any day!
Wed 13 Feb 08
numbers:
Squat 3x5x110lbs
Bench 3x5x90lbs
Deadlift 3x5x95lbs
supps:
2x5 hand over hand chin ups
2x10 chin ups
1x10 pull ups
3x10x40lbs single leg calf raises
1x20xBW calf raises
I cannot lift on Friday as planned - I am getting ready to summit Mt. Massive here in Colorado on Saturday, I need to start reserving my energy. I wonder if this is going to affect my progress for the better or worse.
It should be one hell of a leg workout, gaining over 8,000 ft in elevation with 40lbs on my back, and then coming back down all in the same day.
I just hope I have enough time to recover by Monday.