Starting Strength... Let the Fun Begin

marathonic

Well I think it's time to start a new log because the old one is a bit bloated and all over the place - from cardio, moving onto isolation machines for a long time and, finally, onto free-weights (dumbbells only# with inconsistent gym sessions and multiple 1-2 week gaps.

As I say, my previous routine was dumbbells only because my gym didn't have a power cage or olympic weights set - just dumbbells and smith machines #which I decided to stay clear of#.

I've recently purchased and set up my home gym. It consists of

• BodyCraft F430 Rack with dip attachments and lat pulldown, low pulley,
• F602 Bench,
• 185kg Olympic Weights set #soon to be 235kg when I get my 25kg plates#
• Gym Rings

I do a lot of cycling to and from work which will probably last until November #that's when the icy conditions stopped me last year#. That works out at about 65 miles per week.

I cut my bodyweight down from 85KG to 74KG between September '10 and May '11 and have been on a bulk since. However, my current bodyweight is only 76KG which is the result of my inconsistency with the gym.

Regarding bodyfat percentage, the Jackson/Pollock 3 Point test gave me 9.5% and the Superailiac test gave me 10.6%.

Hopefully the Starting Strength program, together with more consistent workouts should help fast-track my results.

My current weights on the main lifts are as follows #I feel like I'll stall on most of them pretty quickly but we'll soon see what happens):

Squat 42.5kg
Bench 35kg
Pendlay Row 40kg
Deadlift 70kg
O/H Press 30kg


I'm going to do the workout as follows:

Workout A

Squat
Bench
Deadlift
Dips

Workout B

Squat
O/H Press
Pendlay Row
Chinups


I replaced the Power Clean with the Pendlay Row for now because I sprained my wrist attempting to do the Power Clean.

I'll also add some CORE work to the above by doing one of the following at the end if the time is available:

Weighted Situps
Oblique Twists
Seated Good Mornings
L-Sits on the Gym Rings


My main goal is a bodyweight bench which I aim to achieve by the end of the year. The other weights should rise by a similar proportion too.

marathonic

I've also got the Starting Strength book. I haven't read it fully yet and it's a lot to take in. I'm going to read it a chapter at a time on days off and try to apply technique lessons I've learned in the next session.

After I read it, I'll probably reread it as it seems pretty good and I won't pick everything up the first time.

The next step, when I get a video phone, will be to post videos to see if I can improve my form - it's hard to get everything right when working out at home.

I'll be replacing the chinups with Lat-Pulldowns until my sprained wrist is fully healed - it's almost there now.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 3 * 5 @ 45kg
Bench 3 * 5 @ 37.5kg
Deadlift 1 * 5 @ 75kg
Dips 3 * 10
Weighted Crunches 3 * 15 @ 5kg, 10kg, 15kg

The dips I found tough for the last couple of reps of the last set. The plan there is to build up to 3 * 12, then add 5kg to the last set until I can do 12, then 5kg to the second set until I can do 3 * 12 again, then 3 * 12 with 5kg added to all sets. I’ll continue to build it up like that.

Aside from the dips, I found nothing particularly difficult and was considering adding extra weight. However, I decided against this because:

• The weight will increase quickly enough anyway
• I’m reading the Starting Strength book and making adjustments to correct my form, I’m better doing this at a lower weight
• Adding the lower weights will allow me to continue without resets longer

I’m going to make homemade 0.5kg weights to make increases easier when I get further into the program. These will be made out of chain and carabiners. Other options are micro-plates (expensive) or, if you have them, wrist/ankle weights – which can be slid over the end of the bar.

Molly

Go to a hardware store. You should be able to get washers that fit nicely onto an Olympic bar. I think they come out at half a pound each.

marathonic

Thanks Molly. I've looked into this and those M48 size washers (needed for an olympic sized bar) are pretty expensive. As I train from home, I don't need it to look pretty so I think I'm going to go down the carabiner/chain route as it'll offer more flexibility.

Also, I was thinking I should set some longer term goals based loosely around these standards


Basically, I took an approximate weight for the intermediate standard for those of a bodyweight at the level above me (82kg) and come up with the following longer term goals.

I've no idea how long they'll take to achieve but I'd be very happy if I reached them in mid-2012.

I'll base my shorter term goals around improving whatever lift I'm lagging in.

Squat 120kg
Bench 90kg
Deadlift 140kg
Press 60kg

Note: The PDF linked to above is based on 1 rep max but I'm setting the above goals as 'for reps' goals.

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 50kg
OH Press 35kg
Pendlay Row 45kg
Lat Pulldowns 1 * 12 @ 40kg, 2 * 12 @ 50kg
Weighted Crunches 3 * 15 @ 10kg, 15kg, 20kg


I decided to jump a little considering how I'd no difficulty with the last workout - I thought that maybe I started to low.

I'd no problem completing all 3 sets of 5 in the main lifts but they were quite heavy so I'm going to go back to the standard 2.5kg jumps. I'll probably increase the deadlift by 5kg per session for the next two and then, depending on how I feel, drop back. I'll also add 5kg to the bench on Friday and then drop back to 2.5kg increases. That should make the workouts tough enough that I feel I've accomplished something.

I considered starting back at the chinups today but my wrist, although not painful, is still a little tender. By skipping the chinups today, I get to rest the wrist until the next scheduled chinup day - which is Monday. With an additional 5 days rest, I'll be more confident that, not only has it healed, but it's strong enough to handle the chinups.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 3 * 5 @ 52.5kg
Bench 3 * 5 @ 42.5kg
Deadlift 1 * 5 @ 80kg
Dips 2 * 12 + 7
Weighted Oblique Twists 3 * 15 @ 5kg, 10kg, 15kg

Comments:

Bench and deadlift were fine. For the dips, I only managed 7 of the third set. If I can manage the 12 next time, I'll be starting to add weight.

The squat is the one I found toughest of all today. Some of the reps were quite difficult and my form probably suffered (I must get that video phone so I can review what my form was like). I've to add another 2.5kg on Monday which is worrying but I suppose, in theory, I should be 'slightly' stronger at that point. We'll see how it goes.

marathonic

I checked my weight today and I'm only 75kg. I think I need to up the level of calories I eat in order to avoid stalling early.

I don't mind that I've dropped weight for now - as I'm lifting light, am progressing and it will make things easier during my eventual cut.

However, this will become a problem within a week if I don't resolve it. Therefore, I'm going to track my calories and stick to a boring enough diet to start with before starting to vary it.

I'm going to ensure that I eat 3,000 calories per day and 3,500 on any day that I cycle the 8 mile each way trip to work. I'm not going to eat less on non-training days as I reckon I'll need the calories for muscle repair.

My diet will be something like:

06.30: 30g Whey Protein mixed with 100g fine Oats - 500 calories (33g Protein)

08.30: 60g MP Max Hurricane Evo - 220 Calories (35g protein)

09.00: 50g Porrige with 200ml semi skimmed milk - 280 calories (12g protein)

11.00: Piece of fruit and 30g cashews - 280 calories (8g protein)

1.30: 170g Chicken Fillet and Vegetables - 200 calories (35g protein)

3.30: Piece of fruit and 30g cashews - 280 calories (8g protein)

6.00: Dinner (could be anything. Usually meat, potatoes and veg): estimated 600 calories (30g protein)

9.00: Whey shake: 120 calories (25g protein)


On counting the above, it's only 2,480 calories so I'm obviously undereating. It's 186g of protein which is okay but I'd like to increase it. I think I'll add a protein shake when I arrive back from work and add some seeds to the porrige.

marathonic

Just a couple of random things today:

3 * 12 Dips
2 * 10 Lat Pulldowns at 40kg
2 * 8 Chinups

I've a rest day tomorrow and, over time, the dips should help with the bench press.

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 55kg
OH Press 37.5kg
Pendlay Row 47.5kg
Lat Pulldowns 3 * 12 @ 45kg


I found todays workout pretty tough but I've got the tail-end of a hangover so will just put it down to a bad day. I don't think it'll be too long before I have to reset on one or more of the lifts.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 3 * 5 @ 57.5kg
Bench 3 * 5 @ 45kg
Deadlift 1 * 5 @ 85kg
Dips 2 * 12 + 10

Comments:

Bench was fine. Deadlift is getting a little heavy but was still okay. For the dips, I managed 10 of the third set this time - so a slight improvement.

Again, the squat is the one I found toughest of all today. For the last rep of the third set, I actually semi-failed. What I mean by that it I was halfway back up and couldn't push any more - then I dropped back down, got that bounce-affect at the bottom and finished the rep (but probably with very bad form).

I'm very dissappointed with this as I had big ideas at the start that the squat would be plain sailing right through to bodyweight. I'm going to try the 60kg on Saturday to see how it goes - perhaps I just didn't sleep enough last night or something (these excuses will only last so long).

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 60kg
Press 40kg
Pendlay Row 50kg
Chinups 8, 8, 6
Oblique Twists 3 * 12 using 10kg, 15kg and 20kg plate
Crunches 3 * 15 using 10kg, 15kg and 20kg plate


Comments

Today was a really tough workout and I'm pretty happy with it (I'm still weak but every step is a step closer).

I didn't do the semi-fail that I done in the last session with the squats - albeit they were very difficult. I'm happy to have two 20kg plates on the bar now and look forward to the 25's.

I actually found the O/H press more difficult than the squat this time. The bar was very slow and it was tough pushing out those last few reps. Again, it's good to have the bigger, 10kg plates on the bar.

Pendlay Rows were fine. I used a 10kg and 5kg plate on each side because I didn't think the bar was supposed to touch the ground for every rep - it would if I used the wider, 15kg plates. I done a search and found a post by Hanley from a long time back that states that the bar is actually supposed to touch the ground (thanks again Hanley ).

I'm quite happy with the chinups/oblique twists and crunches. I'm not going to do two CORE excercises most sessions but it's Saturday and I've a pretty free day

I must get cracking on learning the form for good mornings soon - the plan is to alternate oblique twists, crunches and good mornings for the CORE (until they get in the way of the main lifts).

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 2 * 5 / 1 * 2 @ 62.5kg
Bench 3 * 5 @ 47.5kg
Deadlift 1 * 5 @ 90kg
Dips 3 * 12
Crunches 3 * 20 using 10kg, 15kg and 20kg plate

Comments:

I failed in the squats. I was training a lot later than usual and didn't eat as much as I should have today. That's probably the main contributing factor and I've read varying advice on what to do next - some say eliminate the contributing factors and increase the weight whilst others say you're going to stall eventually anyway so keep the weight the same as there's no rush. I guess I'll decide depending on how I feel on the day.

Bench was fine. I should manage another 1-2 weeks before running into difficulties.

Deadlift is getting tougher and I'm not too sure on my phone. I'm getting a camcorder this week so will be able to video myself.

I've now managed the full three sets of 12 on the dips - last rep was VERY tough. I'm getting a dip belt in the next 1-2 weeks so will just try increasing reps until then.

The crunches aren't too bad with the 20kg plate. I don't want to increase the reps past 20 as I've seen to many articles saying it's a waste of time when compared to increasing weight. I'll be getting 25kg plates along with my dip belt so that'll help there.

dartstothesea

I'd really have expected squats to be plain sailing, as you say, in this program. Something's seriously wrong if you're failing on several days already. Not eating enough is the guess that I would guess.

marathonic

dartstothesea wrote: »

I'd really have expected squats to be plain sailing, as you say, in this program. Something's seriously wrong if you're failing on several days already. Not eating enough is the guess that I would guess.

Well today is the first day I've failed - although I have been finding them the toughest. I think it's a combination of insufficient calories and incorrect form.

I don't think I've been getting that 'bounce' affect at the bottom. The sooner I get the camera to check form the better.

I also worked pretty late today so tiredness may have had a small impact too.

Pace2008

marathonic wrote: »

Thanks Molly. I've looked into this and those M48 size washers (needed for an olympic sized bar) are pretty expensive. As I train from home, I don't need it to look pretty so I think I'm going to go down the carabiner/chain route as it'll offer more flexibility.

How much do the collars on your bar weigh? Mine are 900g together so I with alternate collars on/off on the press, which allows me to progress consistently. If yours are in any way near the same weight that could be an option in the interim.

marathonic

Pace2008 wrote: »

How much do the collars on your bar weigh? Mine are 900g together so I with alternate collars on/off on the press, which allows me to progress consistently. If yours are in any way near the same weight that could be an option in the interim.

Good idea. Thanks for the tip - mine seem to weigh about the same.

On another note, I think that all the cycling might be having an impact on my squat (16 miles per day). I can't cut out the cycling as it's my mode of transport to work so I must try to arrange my gym sessions around the cycling so that I get as much rest as possible before the gym - will probably mean doing the gym session in the morning before leaving the house.

d'Oracle

marathonic wrote: »

Good idea. Thanks for the tip - mine seem to weigh about the same.

On another note, I think that all the cycling might be having an impact on my squat (16 miles per day). I can't cut out the cycling as it's my mode of transport to work so I must try to arrange my gym sessions around the cycling so that I get as much rest as possible before the gym - will probably mean doing the gym session in the morning before leaving the house.

Is the cycling just getting to work or are you training for some sort of cycling achievement?

marathonic

d'Oracle wrote: »

Is the cycling just getting to work or are you training for some sort of cycling achievement?

Hi,

It's just getting to and from work. I'll probably do two things:

• train in the mornings so that I've had a good 12 hours rest from last being on the bike;
• lower the gears and just spin easily to work on the evenings before a gym session

Any other ideas?

d'Oracle

marathonic wrote: »

Hi,

It's just getting to and from work. I'll probably do two things:

• train in the mornings so that I've had a good 12 hours rest from last being on the bike;
• lower the gears and just spin easily to work on the evenings before a gym session

Any other ideas?

I have read some stuff that suggests that squatting is not a great thing to be doing in the morning from a spinal health point of view. You might check it out. Because you are suggesting doing a lot of morning squatting.


I reckon you need to eat more.
There are people who work manual jobs all day and still train.

Basically, you should eat enough to fuel your day to day life, training and recovery.

Your body should be able to adapt to the demand of cycling to work to a point where it does not effect your recovery, provided you eat enough to fuel the cycle. That would be your day to day life.

Your training then imposes demands beyond that. So you need to eat for that too.

marathonic

d'Oracle wrote: »

I have read some stuff that suggests that squatting is not a great thing to be doing in the morning from a spinal health point of view. You might check it out. Because you are suggesting doing a lot of morning squatting.


I reckon you need to eat more.
There are people who work manual jobs all day and still train.

Basically, you should eat enough to fuel your day to day life, training and recovery.

Your body should be able to adapt to the demand of cycling to work to a point where it does not effect your recovery, provided you eat enough to fuel the cycle. That would be your day to day life.

Your training then imposes demands beyond that. So you need to eat for that too.

You make some very good points. I've read those studies too. Supposedly the spinal risks reduce by a large percentage after 30 minutes and by 90% after an hour. I usually get up, eat, get ready and then excercise if I'm doing it in the morning. This gives about 30 - 45 minutes before squatting but I suppose, if you can eliminate a risk entirely, why not do it.

I have been cycling daily since March so my body should be well used to it by now.

You're more than likely correct that insufficient calories is the sole cause of the failure - I'd really need to be eating at least a 1000 calorie surplus over an average diet after taking cycling and excercising into consideration.

Edwardius

marathonic wrote: »

Hi,

It's just getting to and from work. I'll probably do two things:

• train in the mornings so that I've had a good 12 hours rest from last being on the bike;
• lower the gears and just spin easily to work on the evenings before a gym session

Any other ideas?

What sort of bike do you have? What kind of tyre pressures are you running? Is it well maintained? This can make a massive difference to the effort. Also, if you slow down and use lower gears you'll be surprised about how little it affects your commuting time. For me a two minute difference in cycling time is the difference between a nice relaxed cycle and utter hell. that should make some difference in the gym anyway.

marathonic

Dead Ed wrote: »

What sort of bike do you have? What kind of tyre pressures are you running? Is it well maintained? This can make a massive difference to the effort. Also, if you slow down and use lower gears you'll be surprised about how little it affects your commuting time. For me a two minute difference in cycling time is the difference between a nice relaxed cycle and utter hell. that should make some difference in the gym anyway.

It's a road bike running at proper tire pressures. In fairness, the chain could do with a little oil and all (I've two bikes and use the cheap one for commuting - the expensive one won't be used until next summer - if even).

I will be slowing down a little - at least on training days anyway.

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 65kg
Press 42.5kg
Pendlay Row 52.5kg
Chinups 8, 8, 7
Oblique Twists 3 * 15 using 10kg, 15kg and 20kg plate


Comments

Today was another really tough workout.

With the squats, I managed the 3 sets of 5 but definately found them really difficult and noticed myself "good morninging" it on at least one rep - I need to concentrate on keeping that chest up. However, I'm happy that I completed it and, if anything, at least it means I won't need to reset for another couple of workouts. One final thing about the squats - on the last set, I took a few breaths at the top instead of the usual one and it seemed to help. I'll give that another go next time.

I also found the O/H press difficult and, again, the bar was very slow. However, I should be able to add another 2.5kg next time at least before I start finding it ultra-tough.

Pendlay Rows were fine. I've a while to go there before I stall. Looking forward to videoing myself doing this (and the others) to compare my form to youtube videos.

I'm quite happy with the chinups and oblique twists. I'm going to build up to 3 sets of 12 chinups before adding weight and I've 25kg plates being delivered in 2 weeks that I can use for the oblique twists.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 3 * 5 @ 67.5kg
Bench 3 * 5 @ 50kg
Deadlift 1 * 5 @ 100kg
Dips 2 * 12 & 1 * 11
Crunches 3 * 15 using 10kg, 15kg and 20kg plate

Comments:

I'm still finding the squat toughest of all.

Bench wasn't too bad but the deadlift was heavy. I'll probably start the 2.5kg rises there to avoid stalling too soon.

I didn't manage the last rep of the dips today but I'm not too worried as it's only a supplementary excercise.

Edwardius

marathonic wrote: »

I'm still finding the squat toughest of all.

Are you slowing down a lot on the reps or does it just feel heavy? The squat is a complete mind**** (for me anyway because I'm a wuss), you could feel like the thing is about to crush you, but to an outside observer it may look really easy. Video some of your sets and look back over them to see if it confirms what you're feeling, you might be surprised.

Also, when you're unracking the bar, do it quickly and stay tight, don't ease into it. It's your first interaction with the bar and if you unrack it limply it'll be in your head. If you have someone to shout at you it helps too!

marathonic

Dead Ed wrote: »

Are you slowing down a lot on the reps or does it just feel heavy? The squat is a complete mind**** (for me anyway because I'm a wuss), you could feel like the thing is about to crush you, but to an outside observer it may look really easy. Video some of your sets and look back over them to see if it confirms what you're feeling, you might be surprised.

Also, when you're unracking the bar, do it quickly and stay tight, don't ease into it. It's your first interaction with the bar and if you unrack it limply it'll be in your head. If you have someone to shout at you it helps too!

Thanks for the advice. I will be starting to video myself in the next week or two which may help. I had a weird session today which I'll be posting about shortly.

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 70kg
Press 45kg
Pendlay Row 55kg
Chinups 3 * 8
Oblique Twists 3 * 15 using 10kg, 15kg and 20kg plate


Comments

Unusual change today - I found the squats tough but finished the sets and feel I'll be able to do the same at 72.5kg next session. Not too sure on form and will be starting to video myself soon.

The O/H press was a nightmare. I only managed 4 reps of the first set at 45kg and knew I was going to get nowhere with the second set. Therefore, I dropped to 40kg and only managed 3 reps on the 2nd set. I repeated 40kg and managed 5 reps on the last set (just about). It may have been rest periods so I'm going to repeat 45kg next time concentrating on rest periods to see how I get on.

Pendlay Rows were fine. I've a while to go there before I stall.

I'm quite happy with the chinups and oblique twists. I was aiming for going to failure on the last set of chinups (just in case you're reading and think I was just going for 3 sets of 8). I'm not sure whether to build up to 3 * 12 before adding weight or just start adding weight to the last set of 8 as soon as I receive my dip belt. Time will tell.

marathonic

A beering session last weekend and no gym from last Friday to today (Saturday).... sickened with myself :mad:


Workout A

Squat 1 * 4 @ 72.5kg and 2 * 5 @ 65kg
Bench 3 * 5 @ 55kg
Deadlift 1 * 5 @ 105kg
Dips 3 * 12
Crunches 3 * 15 using 10kg, 15kg and 20kg plate

Comments:

The squat was bad so I decided to reduce for the last 2 sets - I'll increase back to 70kg on Monday as todays session was just a poor one after a week break and I think the failure was all in the mind.

I increased the bench by 5kg instead of 2.5kg so am happy with that.

I had intended to increase the squat by 2.5kg this time round but increased by 5kg instead. It was tough but I'm still happy with it.

Dips and crunches were fine as always :-)

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 72.5kg
Press 45kg
Pendlay Row 57.5kg
Chinups 2 * 8 and 1 * 5


Comments

I went back up to 72.5kg on the squats and managed the 3*5 so I'm happy with that.

There was a slight improvement in the O/H press. Again, I only managed 4 reps of the first set at 45kg. This time, I didn't reduce the weight in further sets and managed two further sets of 4. I'm going to stick with the 45kg next time as I should be able to knock out 5 reps in at least one of the sets.

Pendlay Rows were fine. I've a while to go there before I stall.

The chinups were a bit dissappointing as I only managed 5 in the last set instead of the 8 that I got last time. However, they're only a supplementary excercise so I'm not TOO worried about that.

I didn't bother any direct ab work as I didn't have time. The ab work is what I'll be removing if I'm short on time as, supposedly, the other compound lifts hit the abs fairly well anyway.

marathonic

It’s now 9 weeks until my beach holiday so I thought I’d come up with a bit of a plan (whether it works out or not is a different story but it’s always good to have something down on paper).

Current Stats

Weight: 170lbs
Bodyfat %: 11%
Bodyfat: 18.7lbs

Target (based on gaining 3lbs muscle and 3lbs fat during 5 week bulk and losing 8lbs fat during 4 week cut)

Weight: 168lbs
Bodyfat: 13.7lbs
Bodyfat %: 8.2%


I work out my maintenance calories at 2,600. I burn around 300 calories per day via cardio giving a 2,900 calorie requirement. I also need to eat a calorie excess of 500 per day for my 5 week bulk giving a 3,400 calorie requirement.

After the bulk, I need to create a calorie deficit of 1,000 per day for a 2lb per week loss. At a maintenance of 2,600, this would give 1,600 but I will increase the cardio to 500 per day at that point and lifting weights 3 times per week will burn around an additional 1,050 per week (I used this figure for handiness as it works out at 150 per day). That gives a calorie requirement during the final 4 weeks of 2,250.

The above targets require a weight increase of 1.2lbs per week during the bulk and loss of 2lbs per week during the cut. I’ll adjust the calories during both phases based on the scales.