Workout Log, no program, hip rehab week

Monday (2-20-2012)
squat 225 lb 3x5
press 115 lb 3x5
deadlift 275 lb 1x5
chinups 10, 7, 6

Wednesday
squat 235 lb 3x5
bench 195 lb 3x5
deadlift 285 lb 1x5
dumbbell row 100 lb 3x6 each side

Friday
squat 245 lb 5, 3, 2
press 120 lb 5, 3, 2
pullups 10, 8, 6

Weight (Friday): 179 lb

Notes: Just getting back in the gym habit and re-learning some of the basics with better form now that I've read Starting Strength, 3rd Edition.  Plan for next week is to try out a Berkhan-style RPT split routine.  I hate splits (mostly due to the DOMS), but I'm not sure I have the recovery capacity necessary to progress any farther with full-body routines.

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Workout Log, PPNP, week 4

Monday (3-28-2011)
squat 265 lb 3x5 (terrible form, hurt my lower back)
press 115 lb 4, 3, 2, 1 (failed at 3x5)
chin-ups 12, 8, 6

Wednesday
squat 265 lb 5, 5, 3 (better form, first try at third set was a down-only)
bench 200 lb 5x3
deadlift 295 lb 2x3

Friday
squat 240 lb 3x5 (10% deload to improve form and rest my back)
press 115 lb 5x3
pull-ups 10, 6, 6

Weight (Friday): 191 lb

Notes: I spent most of the week in pain from a bad rep in the last set of Monday's squats. I also ate, heartily. Switched to 5x3 on presses for the week because it seemed safer (at least for bench) and because I suspected I might actually be able to complete that many reps/sets for the overhead press at 115 lb.

At this point, I really wish that I'd started with this routine back in May of last year, rather than StrongLifts. I think I'd have made vastly more headway with a lot fewer resets and off weeks if I'd started with 3x5 as a goal rather than 5x5. That said, I think this is the right time to quit doing this, too.

Why? Because I'm strong enough. By the standards from Starting Strength, I'm "intermediate" or better on deadlift, squat, and bench press, and very near it on the overhead press. I tried a few cleans this week (tricky because my gym lacks bumper plates), 135 lb was no trouble, and I'm pretty sure I could hit 165 lb without much effort, and surely 195 lb with some training in the movement (and a bar I'm allowed to drop). Anyhow, what this means is that it's time to stop procrastinating and actually drop some of this ballast I'm lugging around.  I know for sure that I'm either at or past the point where I can realistically add weight to each barbell exercise every workout.  Time to slow down and find my abs again without losing all this beastly new muscle, if possible.

A follow-up post will detail my planned cutting-and-maintaining program, as well as my goals for the cut. As recommended by the Starting Strength wiki, such goals should and will be SMART:

Specific
Measurable
Action-Oriented
Realistic
Time and Resource Constrained

More to come shortly.

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Workout Log, PPNP, week 3

Monday (3-21-2011)
squat 255 lb 3x5
bench 190 lb 3x5
chin-ups 10, 8, 6, 6

Wednesday
squat 260 lb 5, 5, 1, 2
press 115 lb 5, 5, 4
deadlift 285 1x5

Friday
squat 260 lb 3x5
bench 195 lb 3x5
pull-ups 9, 7, 5

Weight (Sunday): 190 lb
Update: Weight (Monday): 186 lb
That's the power of water retention, folks.  All I did was skip breakfast and eat in for lunch.

Notes: I felt less than fully recovered on Wednesday, and it showed in the number of failed reps.  Anyhow, after that I went on a bit of a consumption bender (gained 4lb in 9 days, there's pretty much no way that's all muscle).  I was more than recovered by Friday, and my second attempt at 260 lb on squat went far better than the first.  Benching 195 lb also went easier than I was expecting, didn't even need a spotter (okay, okay, I probably should have had one, but I'm not dead).  Essentially, I went on a quick bulk and replenish for the tail end of the week.  At this point, I think I've just about put off a real cutting cycle for as long as I can.  So, one more week of trying to raise my lifts and eating as needed, then I focus on fat loss, and let the weights stay more-or-less static for as long as it takes.

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PPNP, Week 2

Monday (3-14-2011)
squat 240 lb 3x5
press 105 lb 3x5
chin-ups 12, 8, 6

Wednesday
squat 245 lb 3x5
bench 185 lb 3x5
deadlift 280 1x5
hanging leg raise 3x20

Friday
squat 250 lb 3x5
press 110 lb 3x5
pull-ups 10, 7, 6

Weight (Friday): 186 lb

Notes:  Pretty good week, made all my lifting targets.  Weight is stable week-over-week without any attempt at AM IF (even without coffee), so I'm planning to start my morning fasting again Monday.  I'd really like to drop some weight now that the weather's warming up, so cutting back on my total intake has got to happen one way or another.  That or I start biking to work (7 miles through Ypsi and across I-94, no thanks).

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PPNP, Week 1

Monday (3-7-2011)
Squat 225 lb 3x5
Bench 175 lb 3x5
Chin-ups: 12, 7, 5

Wednesday
Squat 230 lb 3x5
Press 100 lb 3x5
Deadlift 275 lb 1x5
Hanging leg raise 3x15

Friday
Squat 235 lb 3x5
Bench 180 lb 3x5
Pull-ups: 10, 7, 5

Weight (Sunday): 186 lb

Notes: This was not a hard week, as I'd expect from taking a de-load and cutting down on volume (from ~175 to 200 reps a week down to ~90 reps, at least on the barbell work).  My squat form is better at these weights now than it was the first time around, and I've got to strive to maintain that as I add weight.  There's no sense in turning them into Good Mornings just so I can put more weight on the bar.

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Rest Week, PPNP

Took the last week off, starting Mark Rippetoe's novice program from Practical Programming for Strength Training today.  It's not terribly different from StrongLifts:

Monday
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press / Press (Alternating)
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

Wednesday
3x5 Squat
3x5 Press / Bench Press (Alternating)
1x5 Deadlift

Friday
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press / Press (Alternating)
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

So barbell rows are deleted, deadlifts are once per week only (Wednesdays) and chin-ups/pull-ups are done twice every week.  I'd do the original Starting Strength routine but power cleans aren't permitted at my gym (yes, my gym sucks like that; no chalk either, but it's really convenient to get to, and cheap), and I don't have a coach to teach them to me.  They'll have to wait until I build my home gym and can spend the time learning to do them properly.

Weight (Monday): 186 lb

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