From beer & buckets...back to basics

colman1212

I've basically spent the last four months in SE asia drinking pretty much every day and eating pretty crap food. Before I left I had been gyming consistently for about three years aside from time off with injuries. My max lifts looked something like this in December:

Deadlift x 1: 150kgs
Bench x 1: 90kgs
Squat x 5: 107.5kgs
Press x 1: 65kgs

However I arrived back in the gym today (4 months later) and squatting was like trying to learn to walk again! So i've decided to get stuck into starting strength again and try and keep a log here

I'm in brisbane @ the moment and just going to try and train consistently while looking for work & job before hitting the world cup in NZ in October.

Current weight:79kgs
Height: 5ft 10.5

So todays session was:

squat: 60kg x 3 x 5
press: 40kg x 3 x 5
powerclean: 40kg x 3 x 5
chinups: BW x 3 x 8
Curls: 30kg x 2 x 8

colman1212

Legs were really sore hitting the gym today. Eating loads of food at the moment. One of the best things about oz is the quality of meat over here. Steaks are actually quiet cheap and great quality. Haven't bought any supplements yet as I'm still looking for work here in Brisbane.

Anyway todays session was:

Squat: 65kgs x 3 x 5
Bench: 60kgs x 3 x 5
Deadlift: 90kg x 1 x 5
Dips: 10kg dumbell x 3 x 5
Curls: 32.5kg x 2 x 8

Session felt good, still not pushing myself that much as I'm looking for linear progression so starting off at lower weights than my maxes.

Feels so good to be back doing proper gym work again....

colman1212

Squats 70kg x 3 x 5
Press 42.5kg x 3 x 5
Powerclean 42.5kg x 3 x 5
Weighted chins: 5kg x 3 x 5
Curls: 35kg x 2 x 8

Session went well today. Eating loads and defo feel like Im getting back into it. A guy spent about ten minutes with me helping me sort out my powerclean technique the last day, so the form on them is much better now than it ever was. Always had trouble getting the bar to rest on my shoulders.

greenman667

Talkin' to yourself dude?

Good stuff with the progress - just make sure plenty of protein, quality fats & buy some glutamine when you get a job.

Got myself some of this stuff last week - bloody brilliant as it doesn't taste like feet and you get the goodness of BCAA
http://www.scivation.com/products/xtend.htm

You know who this is

colman1212

greenman667 wrote: »

Talkin' to yourself dude?

Good stuff with the progress - just make sure plenty of protein, quality fats & buy some glutamine when you get a job.

Got myself some of this stuff last week - bloody brilliant as it doesn't taste like feet and you get the goodness of BCAA
http://www.scivation.com/products/xtend.htm

You know who this is

Hey Niall!

Yeah it's a log, you're supposed to talk to yourself! Keeps me honest!
You using xtend and then taking a protein shake afterwards too yeah?!
Is that the stuff Mick picked up for ya?

greenman667

That's the stuff - well good.

I like this log idea - saves the trees compared to my notebook - might go with it for strength sessions

colman1212

Yeah you defo should man. Great for tracking progress too, I'd been meaning to do one for ages, always used notebooks and sheets etc but just kept losing them...

colman1212

Squats 75kg x 3 x 5
Bench 62.5kg x 3 x 5
Deadlift 95kg x 1 x 5
Pull ups BW x 3 x 5
Weighted dips: 12.5kgs x 3 x 5
Curls: 35kg x 2 x 8

Added in pull ups as it seems as if starting strength has nothing for the upper back. Going to do these on deadlift day from now on. Todays session was grand.

colman1212

Still staying in a hostel at the moment and didn't sleep the best last night due to some old lad snoring the place down. Anyway session went like this:

Squats 80kg x 3 x 5
Press 45kg x 3 x 5
Powerclean 45kg x 3 x 5
Weighted chins 7.5kg x 3 x 5
Curls 35kg x 2 x 8

Squats felt a little tough today but that could be due to the sheer lack of sleep. Everything else felt fine really.

colman1212

Squats 82.5kg x 3 x 5
Bench 65kg x 3 x 5
Deadlift 100kg x 3 x 5
Weighted pull-ups 5kg x 3 x 5
Weighted dips 15kg x 3 x 5
Curls 37kg x 8, 37kg x 6

Bodyweight exercises coming along well, going to increase the squats in 2.5kg increments every session. Starting to feel a little tougher.
Need to stop doing curls at the end of every session!!
Also want to start including a lot more foam rolling.
Can't wait to get some supplements..

colman1212

Squats 85kg x 3 x 5
Press 47.5 kg x 3 x 5
Powerclean 50kg x 5 x 3
Weighted Chins: 10kg x 3 x 5
Curls: 35kg x 2 x 10

Everything went quite well today. I've changed the powercleans to do 5 x 3 instead of 3 x 5. Saw a lad benching 170 in the gym today! Biggest bench I've ever seen anyone do.

colman1212

Squats 87.5kg x 3 x 5
Bench 67.5kg x 3 x 5
Deadlift 105kg x 3 x 5
Weighted Pull ups 7.5kg x 3 x 5
Weighted dips 17.5kg x 3 x 5

Squats and pullups were quite tough today.
Bench, dips and deadlift were easy enough.
Think I need to start eating more. need to get supplements asap.

colman1212

Squats 90kg x 3 x 5
Press 50kg x 3 x 5
Powerclean 52.5kg x 5 x 3
Weighted chins 12.5kg x 3 x 5
DB curls 35kg x 2 x 8

Squats felt strong today, think doing an evening session makes a big difference.
Everything felt quite strong today to be honest. Weight seems to be up too. Weighted myself for the first time since I started and was 82.8kg today so I'm on the right track. Drinking lots of milk at the moment and eating plenty, although still not as much as I'd like to be. Surprised at how quickly the strength is coming back, still not there but getting there.

colman1212

Squats 92.5kg x 3 x 5
Bench 70kg x 3 x 5
Dead lift 110kg x 1 x 5
Weighted pull ups 10kg x 3 x 5
Weighted dips 20kg x 3 x 5

Everything felt fine today, squats were tough as always but got through them, feel I could do a lot more on the bench and deadlift. i'll just keep going as I am though.

colman1212

Squats 95kg x 3 x 5
Press 55kg x 2 x 5, 52.5 kg x 1 x 5
Powerclean 55kg x 5 x 3
Weighted chins +15kg x 3 x 5
Curls

Forgot what weight I was on for the shoulder press and went up to 55kg by accident, should have been on 52.5kg, I'll just do 55 again the next night.
Tough session tonight, was pretty tired going into the gym.

Was checking out Ironside gym on facebook, when I move back to Dub I'll defo be joining up. Looks unreal.

colman1212

Squats 97.5kg x 3 x 5
Bench 72.5kg x 3 x 5
Deadlift 115kg x 3 x 5
Weighted Pull ups +12.5kg x 3 x 5
Weighted dips + 22.5kg x 3 x 5

Had two days off training and felt a lot stronger today for it. Squats went well. Bench went well. I can defo move up a lot more on the deadlift, that felt easy. I was in a bit of a rush in the end and had to rush through the pullups and dips so just about got them. They were really tough though. Not sure how much more I'll be able to move up on the pullups realistically. Happy enough though, Strength is coming back a lot quicker than I thought it would.
Oh yeah I'm up to 83.2kg aswell so I'm managing to put the weight back on.
Diet at the moment is very basic as I still havent got work sorted here in brisbane

Breakfast: 2 slices whole meal toast, 4 jumbo eggs, tin of beans, cheese
Lunch: ham, cheese, peanut butter, 2 slices of wholemeal toast
Dinner: lots of meat, sweet potato, vegtables
Drinking about 3 litres of milk to help put the weight on too.

colman1212

Squats 100kg x 3 x 5
Press 55kg x 1 x 5, 55kg x 1 x 3, 50kg x 1 x 6
Powerclean 57.5kg x 5 x 3
Weighted chins 17.5kg x 3 x 5
Curls

Happy with the squats tonight but the press was ****e.
Messed it up when I skipped 52.5kg last week and its just going nowhere for me. Really struggled on it tonight so I'm going to try and put it back to 52.5 the next night and see how it goes. Just about got the weighted chins, can't see myself getting 20kg the next night! but we'll see how it goes...

colman1212

Terrible session tonight. Head wasn't in it

Squat 102.5kg x 5, 102.5kg x 3, 100kg x 4
Bench 75kg x 3 x 5
Deadlift 120kg x 1 x 5
Weighted pull-ups +15kg x 2 x 5, +15kg x 1 x 3
Weighted dips +25kg x 5, BW x 15

Wasn't feeling great going in and session just fell apart. first set of squats looked more like good mornings.
Deadlift was the only thing I found easy tonight. Even the bench was tough going. Really annoyed with the squats though. Hopefully they'll come right.

colman1212

Squat
100kg x 5
102.5kg x 5
102.5kg x 5

Press
52.5kg x 3 x 5

Power clean
60kg x 3 x 5 PR

Weighted Chins
20kg x 2 x 5 PR - (I think)
20kg x 1 x 4

Curls

Session went well today. Happy days. Power cleans were tough. Still don't think I've perfected the form.

colman1212

Squat
105kg x 5
105kg x 5
105kg x 4

Bench
77.5kg x 3 x 5

Deadlift
125kg x 1 x 5

Weighted Pullups
+15kg x 5, x 4, x 3

Weighted Dips
+25kg x 3 x 5

Happy with tonights session. Getting close to PR's after a month back training. It's amazing what staying off the beer for a month can do. Havent even been taking supplements so I'm pretty surprised with how fast my strength has come back. Looks like I'll be starting work monday so I'll pick up some protein & creatine and that should get an extra couple of kilos on the bar.

Session went well, was in bits by the time I finished the deadlift. Grip seems to be gone to ****e so going to go back to the mixed grip for the 130kg next week and see how it goes. Really happy with the squats cos I felt like I was stalling big time last friday.

Oh yeah my weight is up to 84.5 kilos, that was after the session though so some of that is water

colman1212

A lot of messin tonight

Squats
107.5kg x 5,x 4, x 3

Press
55kg x 3 x 5

Superset powercleans with BW chins

Head wasn't in it tonight really, but happy enough with the squats and the press
Powercleans all over the place

colman1212

Just went down to the gym in my apartment complex(small gym) and did a superset today before dinner

A1 Curls 32.5kg x 8 x 10
A2 Dips BW x 8 x 10


Not exaxtly part of the starting strength routine but felt like doing something

colman1212

Squats
110kg x 3 PR
105kg x 5
105kg x 3

Bench
80kg x 3 x 5

Deadlift
130kg x 1 x 5

Weighted Pullups
+15kg x 5
+15kg x 3
BW x 6

Weighted dips
+27.5kg x 3 x 5

An A.M session today, never seem to lift as well in the morning as the evening. Happy enough with most things today. Thinking about dropping the pull ups as its probably better to focus on 4 exercises when strength training.
Weighted myself too. 84.5kg.

colman1212

Squats
107.5kg x 5
107.5kg x 4
107.5kg x 4

Press
55kg x 5
55kg x 5
57.5kg x 4

Powerclean
60kg x 1, x 1, x 1, x 3
62.5kg x 3
65kg x 3 PR

Weighted chins
BW +20kg x 5
BW +20kg x 4
BW +20kg x 3

Curls

Finally cracked the powercleans. I wasn't getting deep enough at the start so feeling much better about them now. Felt a little dizzy and My right arm went numb after my first set of squats - no idea what that was about!!!!!

colman1212

Squats
110kg x 4 PR
110kg x 4
110kg x 3

Bench
82.5kg x 5
82.5kg x 4
82.5kg x 4

Deadlift
135kg x 5

Weighted Dips
BW+30kg x 3 x 5


Tough session this morning. Dissapointed I didn't get the bench out but reclon I might get it next time. Squats are coming along bit by bit. Deadlift was tough enough but 135kg is never going to feel easy I reckon. Just about got through the dips. Left out pullups today. Didnt have the time. Good session I think. Really really want to get past the 110 mark on the squats. My goal at the moment is to get the following:

1 rep max goals:
Bench 100kg x 1
Squat 130kg x 1
Deadlift 160kg x 1

I don't think they are that unrealistic and if I train hard over the next two months or so I should be there.

colman1212

Squats
110kg x 5PR
110kg x 4
110kg x 3

Press
57.5kg x 3
55kg x 4
50kg x 5

Powercleans
60kg x 1, x 1, x 2
65kg x 1

Weighted Chins
BW+17.5kg x 3 x 5

Curls

Happy with getting the 5 110kg squats. just about got them all the same. Was a ****e session besides that. Everytime I think I have the powercleans figured out, i mess them up the next night. Press was all over the place too. Maybe its just cos its monday.... Ordered protein & creatine online so should have them in the next few days. Hopefully sorting out my diet will bring me on a bit.

colman1212

Squats
110kg x 5
110kg x 5
110kg x 3

Bench
82.5kg x 3 x 5

Deadlift
140kg x 1 x 5

Dips
BW x 19 - was too tired to do 3 sets of weighted dips so just did these and left.

Finding my sessions are taking forever at the moment. Was in the gym for over an hour today and only did 3 exercises. I just need the recovery time between the sets. Obviously plenty of warmup sets aswell. Working away at the moment, protein & creatine arrived today so they should help me along the way. Going to keep going with starting strength for another couple of weeks anyway I reckon.

colman1212

Squat
100kg x 1
110kg x 1
112.5kg x 1
117.5kg x 1
120kg x 1PR

Press
50kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
55kg x 4

Powerclean
60kg x 1, x 1, x 1
65kg x 1
70kg x 1, x 1 PR

Chins
Curls

Was a messy enough session tonight, squats felt very strong. Getting good depth and coming up strong on the 120kg which is something I never thought I'd squat to be honest. Press is a load of sh1te at the moment. need to focus a bit more on it. First powerclean on 70kg felt quite good. second one wasn't great.

colman1212

Squats
112.5kg x 5
112.5kg x 4
112.5kg x 3

Bench
85kg x 4
85kg x 3
85kg x 2

Deadlift
145kg x 4

Weighted Dips
BW + 30kg x 3 x 5

A1 Standing Curl 27.5kg x 3 x 10
A2 Skullcrushers 27.5kg x 3 x 8
A3 Closegrip press 27.5 kg x 3 x 10


Bench was a disaster tonight, all over the place. I have a long standing issue where my bench is stronger on my left hand side. Saw an S & C coach before and he did out a program to help sort it out. It included some one armed shoulder presses & some rotator cuff work so might add in some of that if it doesnt sort itself out. Everything else was fine. Only got 4 on the deadlift but I'm sure I'll get them the next night. Could do with some chalk. I'm 85.5 kg now so the weight is going on. Don't care for the moment. Just want to get stronger.

colman1212

Squats
112.5kg x 5
112.5 kg x 3
100kg x 7

Press
52.5kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
52.5kg x 5

Powerclean
60kg x 3
65kg x 3
65kg x 3
65kg x 3
65kg x 3

Weighted Chins
20kg x 5, x 4, x 3

Curls
30kg x 12, x 12, x 12

Need to move past 112.5 on the squats. just not happening for me. form was poor. Cleans were good. Press finally feeling strong again. Struggling on them recently. Hopefully I can start moving up in these again. Chins - I'm putting on weight all the time so even though I'm using the same weight, I'm lifting heavier. I weighted 86kg today. Think the creatine is making me put on water weight.

colman1212

Squats
110kg x 5
110kg x 5
110kg x 4

Bench
85kg x 4
92.5kg x 1 PR
80kg x 5

Deadlift
145kg x 5

Weighted Dips
BW+32.5kg x 5
BW+32.5kg x 5
BW+32.5kg x 4

A1 Standing Curl 27.5kg x 3 x 10
A2 Skullcrushers 27.5kg x 3 x 8
A3 Closegrip press 27.5 kg x 3 x 10

Bench form was very poor. Managed to get a PR but just about and don't think my form is great. Going to have to drop weight a bit and try and correct it, maybe using a wider grip.