My strength training log

GedR

Im starting this log to track my progress on the gym, my weight gain and my strength gains.

I joined the gym a nearly 3 months ago and was following the stronglifts 5x5 programme. I was making good progress and my weight had increased from 140lbs to 152lbs by using this programme and GOMAD.

Unfortunately after about 5 weeks i pulled ligaments in my wrist at work and then got a bad viral infection 2 weeks ago and lost nearly half a stone.

I had froze my gym membership and i am starting back tommorow morning using a mixture of starting strength and stronglifts. The following will be my goals:

• I want to be 168lbs/12stone by the end of january (currently 147lbs @ 5ft7)
• Bench: 90kg x 1
• Deadlift: 100kg x 1
• Press: 55kg x 1
• Squat: 100kg x 1

I think these goals are realistic and i would welcome any comments or feedback you may have.

This is the diet i followed for a month that helped me put on a stone but i have now included protein and creatine:

5.30am: poridge,milk,boiled egg

7.30(Post gym): protein and creatine shake

11am: fruit,milk

1pm: chicken breast,pasta,milk

3pm: milk

Dinner: usually meat,veg and potatoes

9pm: protein creatine shake

4litres of milk a day until i reach my goal weight. It does put on a bit of fat but that is to be expected

Workout A
Squat: 3x5
Bench press: 3x5
Inverted rows: 3xf
Pushups: 3xf
Ab work

Workout B
Squat: 3x5
Press: 3x5
Deadlift: 1x5
Chinups: 3xf
Ab work

Note i have excluded power cleans as i dont have a clue of the technique and i have subbed inverted rows for barbell rows as i feel i havnt enough strength to do them properly yet.

Wel tommorow morning at 6.30am i begin so wish me luck

Burkatron

GedR wrote: »

[*]Bench: 90kg x 1
[*]Deadlift: 100kg x 1
[*]Press: 55kg x 1
[*]Squat: 100kg x 1
[/LIST]I think these goals are realistic and i would welcome any comments or feedback you may have.

OP, I'm bored & nosie (& rambling)! What are your current lifts? Your bench goal is way higher then your squat & deadlift goal in terms of ratio! Then again you're probably just further ahead with your bench at the moment!

GedR

ya my bench goal is a bit high but im going to try and get as heavy as i can will probobly not reach 90kg but you never know! These are just goals i set in my head im fairly new to lifting weights so iv never realy hit high weights on any exercise

GedR

Was in the gym at 6.30 this morning but was told the freeze on my membership isnt up until tommorow so that was a wasted journey up at half 5 for nothing! Well tommorow will have to be my start day now.

Burkatron

GedR wrote: »

ya my bench goal is a bit high but im going to try and get as heavy as i can will probobly not reach 90kg but you never know! These are just goals i set in my head im fairly new to lifting weights so iv never realy hit high weights on any exercise

It's good to have goals. As I said, it seems high in comparison to your other lifts but some people are just better at benching then they are squatting or Deadlifting! Have you had someone look at your form & make sure it's spot on in your lifts?

I can't really comment on benching as I gave it up. I'm a swimmer & I already have ridiculously internally rotated shoulders so it's not a good lift for me at present.

GedR wrote: »

Was in the gym at 6.30 this morning but was told the freeze on my membership isnt up until tommorow so that was a wasted journey up at half 5 for nothing! Well tommorow will have to be my start day now.

That's ridiculous they wouldn't let you train!

GedR

No i could have trained but i would have lost the month that i had froze. My lifts are pretty pathetic to be honest i will be starting low again probobly something like:

Bench: 40kg
Squat: 50kg
Deadlift: 40kg
Press: 30kg

I have lifted much heavier then this but with the wrist injury i picked up i dont want to aggravate it by lifting too heavy.

Iv never had anybody check my form on the lifts it would be worth looking into

Burkatron

GedR wrote: »

No i could have trained but i would have lost the month that i had froze.

Ah I get ya, thats still a tight pack of feckers who'd do that over 1 day! Where do you train? I'm guessing it's a big chain gym!?

GedR wrote: »

My lifts are pretty pathetic to be honest i will be starting low again probobly something like:

Bench: 40kg
Squat: 50kg
Deadlift: 40kg
Press: 30kg

Everyone has to start somewhere! Make sure your form is correct & your numbers will fly up!

GedR wrote: »

I have lifted much heavier then this but with the wrist injury i picked up i dont want to aggravate it by lifting too heavy.

Did you get proper treatment & rehab excercises for the injury? A set of wrist supports/taping COULD help

GedR wrote: »

Iv never had anybody check my form on the lifts it would be worth looking into

This could be the difference between hitting your goals & improving in the future! Do it asap!

GedR

Squat: 40kg x 3 x 5
Bench: 40kg x 3 x 5
Inverted Rows: 3 x f
Pushups: 3 x f

Could have lifted way more inverted rows were hard enough as i havnt done them before. Felt i could have lifted alot more but going to keep increasing gradually as i dont want to stall too early and lose motivation

GedR

Had to go to Dublin for work since i last posted which as you can see has messed up my programme big time. Im back home friday evening so getting back to the gym monday. Have been reading up alot on Reg Park he was Mr Olympia and a strongman before steroids were invented and he always believed in the basic movements squat,deadlift,bench and presses and used drink a load of milk. Squats and milk are def the key to gaining weight and strength i gained over a stone in 5 weeks by doing this and i'll be sticking to it for the next few months

marathonic

From the date of your OP (25/09) to the end of January is 18 weeks, your goal of a 21 lb increase seems doable. That's 1.2 lbs per week. I've read estimates that the max muscle gain a person can have is about 1lb per fortnight - so you'd be gaining near 50/50 fat and muscle.

Most people aim to be in top shape for summer so, if you have the same targets, you could probably continue bulking up until March or April and then go on a cut to cut the fat that you will have gained. You could try a lean bulk but that would take a lot longer - and at 10.5 stone, you're pretty light now anyway.

I agree that you'll probably find that the ratios of your lifts will vary greatly from your goals in January.

The weights that I’ve read are a good standard for a person weighing 12 stone that has been lifting for 3-9 months are about the following:

Press: 47.5kg
Squat: 95kg
Bench: 70kg
Deadlift: 115kg
Powerclean: 67.5kg


My goal weight is 178lbs and, by the time I reach that, I’ll have been lifting for up to 24 months. I’m just putting this here for reference as there’s a chance it’ll become your goal next year. The ideal weights I should be lifting as someone that’s been lifting for 1-2 years at 178kg are about:

Press: 62.5kg
Squat: 120kg
Bench: 92.5kg
Deadlift: 142.5kg
Powerclean: 87.5kg


The above information is taken from the tables on http://www.crossfit.com/cf-journal/WLSTANDARDS.pdf (weights here are in lbs) and rounded up or down.

GedR

Thanks for the info marathonic. Ya i agree that i will put on alot of fat aswel as muscle but being so thin i dont mind at all. Have you ever tried that gomad diet or what would be your usual diet?

Are you doing the same lifts for the last 2 years i.e squats,bench deadlift etc? I really hope i can hit near to twelve stone by end of january. I find that the gym is the easiest part its eating enough every day thats the hard part

marathonic

GedR wrote: »

Thanks for the info marathonic. Ya i agree that i will put on alot of fat aswel as muscle but being so thin i dont mind at all. Have you ever tried that gomad diet or what would be your usual diet?

Are you doing the same lifts for the last 2 years i.e squats,bench deadlift etc? I really hope i can hit near to twelve stone by end of january. I find that the gym is the easiest part its eating enough every day thats the hard part

I went the slow route. Started last September (my 2 year comment was regarding that's how long I'll have been lifting by the time I reach my target weight) and was using mostly machine weights. My gym didn't have a squat rack or olympic barbell - just machine weights and dumbbells.

I (stupidly) used the machine weights for around 6 months before moving onto the dumbbells. My gym membership ended last month and I bought a Power Cage, Olympic Weightset and Bench for home and cancelled my membership.

I then started the Squats, Deadlifts, Bench, Press and Bent-Over row (I tried the Power Clean, sprained my wrist and gave up on it).

I didn't bother the gomad - just ate a lot. I'm on holidays in 6 weeks and am bulking for another 2-3 before cutting down - I want to lose 7lbs of fat which I'd say will take 4 weeks.

I agree with you about the food. I'm eating a ton of peanut butter these days. I order peanut butter in 1kg tubs from www.myprotein.com. I order 4 at a time to save on postage and get the bulk discount. You can also get 1kg tubs in Holland and Barrett.

Peanut Butter, like nuts, is high in calories and high in good fats – which is what I need. The difference is, the peanut butter works out a lot cheaper and I love it

GedR

How much did the power rack etc cost you? Ya i have heard peanut butter is great stuff And do you think you are making good gains since you started squat bench etc? Do you do any ab work?

marathonic

GedR wrote: »

How much did the power rack etc cost you? Ya i have heard peanut butter is great stuff And do you think you are making good gains since you started squat bench etc? Do you do any ab work?

Yeah, I definately notice the compound lifts are having a big impact on gains. I paid a little under 1,000 euro for all my stuff (Power Rack, Bench, Lat Pulldown/Low Pulley, 235kg Olympic weights set).

You can get much cheaper though. For example, this package will work out at about 780 euro including postage to Ireland (which costs 42 pounds) if you go through FatCheese.ie to get your discount.

They're pretty flexible and, if you don't want the Lat Pulldown/Low Pulley and ask them to remove it and up the weights set from the 145kg set to the 235kg set, they'll probably do it for the same price.

Regarding ab work, at the moment, I do some weighted crunches and oblique twists - but only because I've a beach holiday in 6 weeks When I come back, I'll probably remove these as the compound lifts hit the abs anyway.


EDIT: The only difference between my routine and your routine at the moment is that I do dips instead of pushups

GedR

Havnt trained at all since i last posted here that is up until around 5 weeks ago when i purchased a proper olympic weight set and bench which i can squat off also. I have been making good progress and again started off light. My weight is still around the same but i have decided to give up the smokes this week and start eating properly. All the lifting in the world wont help me get big if i dont start looking after my diet. Decided to stay clear of gomad got a lot of belly fat from it the last time so just going to eat lots of healthy food

Again my goal weight is to be 12 stone by xmas and i am going to do it this time fairly sick of being skinny to be honest.

My lifts for 5x5 look like this currently at 148lbs/62.5kg:

Squat: 72.5kg
Bench: 60kg (form not great on bench)
Deadlift: 90kg (1x5)
Overhead press: 50kg

The above is after 5 weeks of training

Im going to make a big effort to keep this log every time i train and to track my weight gain. Any of you lads out there that have struggled to put on weight but have reached there ideal weight id appreciate your comments!

Next training day is this friday.

GedR

Fridays session


Squat: 20kg x 10 x 1
50kg x 5 x 1
60kg x 5 x 1
77.5kg x 5 x 5

Bench: 20kg x 10 x 1
40kg x 5 x 1
50kg x 5 x 1
60kg x 5 x 5

Pendlay rows: 50kg x 5 x 5

No trouble with any of these weights squats feel very strong hope i can hit 100kg on these within another few months.
Switched to evenings instead of mornings i wrecken its the best time to lift weights

GedR

Squat
20kg x 10 x 1
50kg x 5 x 1
60kg x 5 x 1
80kg x 5 x 5

Overhead press
50kg x 5 x 5

Deadlift
50kg x 5 x 1
60kg x 5 x 1
80kg x 5 x 1
90kg x 5 x 1

Bicep curls pyramid set
20kg x 15 x 1
25kg x 10 x 1
30kg x 5 x 1
35kg x 2 x 1

Struggling a bit with the overhead press. After the first set i had to begin using my legs more going to try the same weight again next week. Squat and deadlift still going strong

KABLOOEY

Lifts look good for your weight, keep it up!

I've just started bulking too & have done a good bit of research into it so I said I'd share some of the things I learnt.

-Basmati or brown rice before & after (within 1 hour) of working out is very beneficial & easy calories (Lidl do packs of microwavable basmati with no added crap that comes in at 360 kcals so I just split this between the 2 meals)
- Milk is an easy gainer but I'm like you & don't want to increase fat as much as milk tends to do. Instead peanut butter on rice cakes & nuts fill up the calories I don't get from from my 3 meals.
- Besides that I plan to eat a **** ton of meat (3 fillets of whatever meat for lunch & dinner).

Good luck with it, I'll keep an eye out & hopefully we both gain some kgs over the next few months!

GedR

wel kablooey

Thanks for the info. Eating a good bit of chicken myself around 2 fillets a day and lots of eggs. Using protein shake after working out too but not for much longer as i cant afford it at the moment. Best of luck to you also with your weight gain!

GedR

wednesdays session

Squats
50kg x 5 x 1
70kg x 5 x 1
82.5kg x 5 x 5

Bench press
40kg x 5 x 1
50kg x 5 x 1
62.5kg x 3 x 5
62.5kg x 1 x 3
62.5kg x 1 x 4

Pendlay rows
52.5kg x 5 x 5

Widened my grip on the bench didnt feel like i was realy hitting my chest the way i have been gripping the bar. Found the bench tough enough my upper body strength is v.bad have to keep at it. Squats and rows were no problem

Squatman

GedR wrote: »

wednesdays session

Squats
50kg x 5 x 1
70kg x 5 x 1
82.5kg x 5 x 5

Your good for a 110kg squat based on those numbers!

GedR

Squatman wrote: »

Your good for a 110kg squat based on those numbers!

Thanks for the vote of confidence if i can hit 100kg il be happy! thats almost 1.5 times my bodyweight

GedR

Fridays session

My brother came with me he has never touched weights before so i was showing him what i knew it was a bad session better off doing it on my own

Squat
50kg x 5 x 1
70kg x 5 x 1
85kg x 5 x 1

Press
50kg x 5 x 1

Deadlift
60kg x 5 x 1
80kg x 5 x 1
95kg x 5 x 1

Spent most of my time showing my brother the ropes hence no volume in my own lifts. Happy with the deadlift though. Will prob repeat the same weight for squats monday

GedR

Said i would try some 1 rep max lifts today just to see where i was:

Squat: 100kgx1 (easy)
Deadlift: 110kgx1 (easy)
Press: 60kgx1 (hard just about got it)
Bench: 70kgx2 (form good but hard)
75kgx1 (form bad did alot of wriggling but got it up)

Find my legs and back are strong but upper body strength is cat needs serious work

GedR

Bench press
50kg x 5 x 1
60kg x 5 x 1
65kg x 5 x 1

Squat
60kg x 5 x 1
80kg x 5 x 1
85kg x 5 x 5

Pendlay rows
55kg x 5 x 2

Form was poor on the rows will go back to 52.5kg i think next session. Bench felt v.strong which is weird. Got 5x5 @ 65kg no bother and the last session i struggled with 62.5kg. Squats are still feeling good. I remember when i started squating 40kg 2 months ago i was so sore i nearly had to call the mother to throw me a rope to pull me off the jacks.:)

Squatman

GedR wrote: »

Said i would try some 1 rep max lifts today just to see where i was:

Squat: 100kgx1 (easy)

Find my legs and back are strong but upper body strength is cat needs serious work

I expected so, should be fit for a good bit more in the squat!

GedR

Squatman wrote: »

I expected so, should be fit for a good bit more in the squat!

You were spot on squatman. Il stick with 5x5 until i hit 90kg then i think il go to 5 sets of 3 as its taking a good bit of recovery between sets

GedR

Overhead press
52.5kg x 4 x 5

Squat
60kg x 5 x 1
80kg x 5 x 1
90kg x 5 x 1
100kg x 4 x 1
110kg x 1 x 1

Deadlift
80kg x 5 x 1
90kg x 5 x 1
100kg x 5 x 1
110kg x 1 x 1
120kg x 1 x 1

Delighted with training today. Press is starting to feel stronger again. Compound lifts are the only way to go i think. Deadlift has to be my favourite its the one lift that drives the sweat out through me more then any other. Changed things around today from the usual 5x5 just to make it interesting

GedR

Weighed myself this morning iv put on 3 pounds so i am now 150lbs.

Not bad but my diet is a scandal. Im not eating enough by far out of pure lazyness. Hoping to be 12 stone by xmas so thats 18lbs until i reach my goal weight. If i can get my diet in check now from monday on i think i can achieve that

Quick summary of where i am now:

Weight: 150lbs
Deadlift: 120kg x 1
Squat: 110kg x 1
Bench: 75kg x 1
Press: 60kg x 1

Have to start eating a ton more from tommorow on.

GedR

Squat
60kg x 5 x 1
80kg x 5 x 1
90kg x 5 x 3

Press
52.5kg x 5 x 3

Deadlift
90kg x 3 x 1
100kg x 3 x 1
105kg x 5 x 1

Very poor session today. Felt really weak today for some reason, even struggled with the squats. Dont think my head was in it today. Press felt strong which is something i suppose. Going to keep at this programme for another 2 mayb 3 weeks then im moving on to a new programme i think

GedR

Ok so today my diet looked like this:

Breakfast (9am)
Bowl of porridge
3 scrambled eggs on 2 slices of brown bread
Pear
Glass of milk

Post workout (1pm)

Protein & creatine shake (Wont have this much longer as going back for my final year of college and cant afford it)

Lunch (3pm)
Around 100g of pasta
chicken breast
3 eggs

Dinner (6pm)
Pasta bake with chicken and bacon (wasnt planning on having pasta and chicken twice never usually happens)

Snack (9pm tonight)
1 litre of milk

Thats around 3125.4calories i still dont think thats enough for me to put on weight anybody out there got any comments on this id appreciate it.

Also was thinking of switching to joe defrancos built like a badass programme in a few weeks as im getting a bit bored of the stronglifts 5x5 anybody tried this programme?