ex3e1989's nutrition & Bill Starr 5x5 strength gain journal (4.5k+ reps, gtfih)

[ex3e1989]

Welcome everyone!

I started doing Bill Starr 5x5 about 4 weeks ago so I will be logging my lifts and my diet in this journal every day. I will rep all helpful comments.

Previous Hypertrophy Specific Training (HST) Log:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=115928401
(go here for the results http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...&postcount=174 )

About me and my goals
-I'm weak as sh*t and need to gain strength

Routine:
I will be following Bill Starr 5x5 program until I completely stagnate on my lifts.
You can read up about the program here:
http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow...Linear_5x5.htm
I plan to do 20mins of HIIT on off-days and/or 25mins of low-intensity cardio after lifting

Diet
Ever since I stopped logging, my diet has been inconsistent which is why I haven't made much progress since the end of my HST log.
I plan to log my diet every day and eat clean a minimum of 3000cals a day.

Current Stats (Sep 20 2009):
Height- 5'9"
Weight- 158.4lbs
BF% - about 14%

I don't expect to gain much size on this program, I'm hoping to be a lot stronger though.

I've only been doing squats for a few months now, deadlifting for 1/2 year, only just started doing barbell rows now.
Here are my 5 rep maxes for major lifts (taken from 4 weeks ago when I first started):
Front Squat- 110 lbs
Deadlift- 220 lbs
Barbell Row- 110 lbs
Bench Press- 132 lbs
Military Press- 88 lbs

Wish me well!

[ex3e1989]

Current Progress from Week 1-4

Like I mentioned earlier, I've already been doing this program for a full 4 weeks. Here is my progessive results over that time:
the brackets indicate (1 week gain / overall gain)

Week 1 (5RM):
Front Squat- 110 lbs
Deadlift- 220 lbs
Barbell Row- 110 lbs
Bench Press- 132 lbs
Military Press- 88 lbs

Week 2 (5RM):
Front Squat- 113 lbs (+3/+3)
Deadlift- 226 lbs (+6/+6)
Barbell Row- 113 lbs (+3/+3)
Bench Press- 135 lbs (+3/+3)
Military Press- 91 lbs (+3/+3)

Week 3 (5RM):
Front Squat- 116 lbs (+3/+6)
Deadlift- 226 lbs (+0/+6)
Barbell Row- 116 lbs (+3/+6)
Bench Press- 138 lbs (+3/+6)
Military Press- 99 lbs (+8/+11)

Week 4 (5RM):
Front Squat- 121 lbs (+5/+11)
Deadlift- 231 lbs (+5/+10)
Barbell Row- 121 lbs (+5/+11)
Bench Press- 140 lbs (+2/+8)
Military Press- 110 lbs (+11/+22)

As you can tell, my increments are not consistent week to week, I increase the weight depending on how I'm feeling. I actually went on a 1week test cut during week2 and week3 (dropped 2kg, lulz), hence the lack of strength gain on the deadlift- I simply had no energy. Don't worry though, I'm back to bulking!

[Master.D.]

1st!

GL brah you'll smash it

[ex3e1989]

Originally Posted by Master.D.

1st!

GL brah you'll smash it

thanks brah! already smashing it =p

[ex3e1989]

Week 5 - Workout 1

the brackets indicate (1 week gain / overall gain)

Front Squats
77lbs x 5
88lbs x 5
99lbs x 5
110lbs x 5
132lbs x 5 (+11/+22)

Bench Press
88lbs x 5
99lbs x 5
110lbs x 5
121lbs x 5
143lbs x 5 (+3/+11)

Barbell Row
77lbs x 5
88lbs x 5
99lbs x 5
110lbs x 5
132lbs x 5 (+11/+22)

Thoughts:

Excellent work out. I increased my squat and barbell row by 5kg this week. I felt I could do more reps on the squat and the benchpress during my final set, so some good strength gains this week. The last rep on the barbell row was tough, so my next increment will only be 2.5kg

Diet today:
didn't record my diet on this day.

[ex3e1989]

Week 5 - rest (cardio)

HIIT
cycle: 30s sprint, 60s slow pedal
Duration: 20mins

Thoughts:

Good old rest day. I got up very late today (1.30pm) and got to sleep at about 1am so I wasn't able to eat as much today.
I managed to do some HIIT about an hour before I went to sleep. My legs were still sore from yesterday so it was a tough session, I had to reduce the resistance on the stationary bike.

Diet today:

Meal 1 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 2 - 3000kJ
-slice of a pistasio/nuts cake
-mi-goreng noodles (only added the sauces)
-2 eggs

Meal 3 - 2000kJ
-2 slices of wholegrain bread
-2 lean beef sausages

Meal 4 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 5 - 1500kJ
-snacked on some potato chips

Total energy for today = 12,500kJ (3,048cals)

[micro wave]

subbed!

[ex3e1989]

Week 5 – workout 2

the brackets indicate (1 week gain / overall gain)

Deadlifts
154lbs x 5
176lbs x 5
198lbs x 5
242lbs x 5 (+11/+22)

Military Press
82.5lbs x 5
93.5lbs x 5
104.5lbs x 5
115.5lbs x 3 (+0/+11)

Front Squats
88lbs x 5
99lbs x 5
110lbs x 5
110lbs x 5

LISS (post workout)
cycle: maintained by HR around ~140bpm
Duration: 20mins

Thoughts:

Today's workout was good and bad. I managed to hit 110kg on the deadlift for 5 solid reps which I'm stoked about. For the first time ever I felt my grip strength weaken...I felt like the barbell was going to fall out of my hands on my last rep.
Military press was a bit of fail. I tried to increase the weight by 2.5kg this week but only managed 3 reps. I think I was still a bit worn out from the deadlifts and should have rested a bit more. Next week I'll go for 1.25kg lower than today's weight to hit a full 5 reps.
Also, I was happy to get some cardio in after my workout. I normally attend the gym an hour before closing time so I run out of time to do cardio. It was low intensity, but still felt good to get some form of cardio in today.
Diet was clean today, but I didn't get enough into me because I woke up late and went to sleep early so I wasn't awake for too long.

Diet today:

Meal 1 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 2 - 4000kJ
-30g of whey (PWO)
-300g brown rice (measured cooked)
-chicken breast and vegetable stir fry (home made)
-2 small sugary dumplings

Meal 3 - 1500kJ
-can of tuna
-large banana

Meal 4 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3 weet-bix all blended together


Total energy for today = 11,500kJ (2,804cals)

[ex3e1989]

Week 5 – rest

Horrible day today in terms of my diet.
Didn't do any cardio, and didn't eat well enough today and had too much alcohol for my liking. Things will change tomorrow.

Diet today:

Meal 1 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 2 - 3000kJ
-1 large banana
-mi-goreng noodles (only added the sauces)
-vegetable+chick stir fry from yesterday

Meal 3 - 1500kJ
-brown rice
-chicken and vegetable stir fry

Meal 4 - 3000kJ
-random junk (lollies, chips etc)
-2 slices of white bread
-chicken wing and 1/2 sausage
-4 premixed drinks

Meal 5 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3 weet-bix all blended together

Total energy for today = 13,500kJ (3,292cals)

[ex3e1989]

Week 5 - workout 3

Front Squats
77lbs x 5
88lbs x 5
99lbs x 5
110lbs x 5
138lbs x 3
110lbs x 6

Bench Press
88lbs x 5
99lbs x 5
110lbs x 5
121lbs x 5
146lbs x 3
121lbs x 8

Barbell Row
77lbs x 5
88lbs x 5
99lbs x 5
110lbs x 5
138lbs x 3
110lbs x 8

Thoughts:

Not a bad workout. I was able to increase the weight on all 3 exercises comfortably. My last set of squats was fail, only got 6 reps, I was still a bit fatigued from my 3rep set before. Why is my squat so ****!!! explain this bull****.jpg
My diet was pretty good today, I could have eaten more though.

Diet today:

Meal 1 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 2 - 3000kJ
-bought a chicken pasta from work. It was quite oily

Meal 3 - 1800kJ
-1 Carmens muesli bar
-3 eggs

Meal 4 - 2000kJ
-homemade seafood pasta

Meal 5 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3 weet-bix all blended together

Total energy for today = 12,800kJ (3,121cals)

[ex3e1989]

Week 5 – rest

Diet wasn't great today, I had a very busy day. I had to help my friend out all day for his wedding so I went straight from breakfast to dinner!
McDonald's fail too.

Diet today:

Meal 1 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 2 - 4000kJ
-1 big mac
-2 mcchicken patties

Meal 3 - 3000kJ
-ravioli in a red sauce
-chicken breast
-small slice of cake
-glass of sprite

Meal 4 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3 weet-bix all blended together

Total energy for today = 13,000kJ (3,170cals)

[ex3e1989]

Week 5 Summary

the brackets indicate (1 week gain / overall gain)

pretty happy with this weeks strength gains minus the military press ofcourse. I tried to increase the weight by too much this week whilst still being a bit fatigued from previous sets. I only managed 115.5 lbs x 3 Next week I'll go for 112.5 instead and try to hit a full 5 reps.

Week 5 (5RM):
Front Squat- 132 lbs (+11/+22)
Deadlift- 242 lbs (+11/+22)
Barbell Row- 132 lbs (+11/+22)
Bench Press- 143 lbs (+3/+11)
Military Press- 110 lbs (+0/+22)

[Ironwake]

Nice log you got going on here, I'm thinking about doing this type of program when I finish a few more months on Starting Strength. I'm Subbed and will be following along!

[micro wave]

Originally Posted by ex3e1989

Week 5 Summary

the brackets indicate (1 week gain / overall gain)

pretty happy with this weeks strength gains minus the military press ofcourse. I tried to increase the weight by too much this week whilst still being a bit fatigued from previous sets. I only managed 115.5 lbs x 3 Next week I'll go for 112.5 instead and try to hit a full 5 reps.

Week 5 (5RM):
Front Squat- 132 lbs (+11/+22)
Deadlift- 242 lbs (+11/+22)
Barbell Row- 132 lbs (+11/+22)
Bench Press- 143 lbs (+3/+11)
Military Press- 110 lbs (+0/+22)

MP press gains were slow for me as well, stepped it up only by 2.5 pounds at a time. Otherwise looking good!

[ex3e1989]

Week 6 – rest

I don't think I ate enough food today. However, I did no physical activity today. Just every day walking around and bumming at home.

Diet today:

Meal 1 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 2 - 3000kJ
-1 Carmens museli bar
-seafood pasta

Meal 3 - 2000kJ
-bowl of vegetables (brocolli, asparagus and carrots)
-200g salmon

Meal 4 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 5 - 1000kJ
-baked beans

Total energy for today = 12,000kJ (2,926cals)

[ex3e1989]

Week 6 – rest

HIIT
cycle: 30s sprint, 60s slow pedal
Duration: 20mins

Thoughts:

Today was meant to be the first workout for week 6 but the AFL grand final was on today so I couldn't miss that! Tomorrow I'll be back in the gym for sure.
Managed to do some HIIT. I actually don't like doing HIIT because the feeling of exhaustion after a solid sprint does not feel that good. Especially when I'm half way through the thought of doing another 10mins makes me go fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. I'd rather lift the iron.
Diet was good today! Managed to get a solid amount of food in me today keep it quite clean too.

Diet today:

Meal 1 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 2 - 2000kJ
-2 slices of wholegrain bread
-2 lean beef sausages
-onions and tomato sauce

Meal 3 - 3000kJ
-2 rotis (indian bread)
-homemade lamb curry

Meal 4 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 5 - 1500kJ
-corn chips

Total energy for today = 12,500kJ (3,049cals)

[ex3e1989]

Week 6 – workout 1

the brackets indicate (1 week gain / overall gain)

Front Squats
77lbs x 5
88lbs x 5
99lbs x 5
110lbs x 5
138lbs x 4 (+0/+22)

Bench Press
88lbs x 5
99lbs x 5
110lbs x 5
121lbs x 5
146lbs x 5 (+3/+14)

Barbell Row
77lbs x 5
88lbs x 5
99lbs x 5
110lbs x 5
138lbs x 3 (+6/+28)

Thoughts:

Not happy with today's workout because I didn't hit all 5 reps on the squat. I don't know why my squat is so ****...maybe because I'm doing front squats? i dunno.
I managed to hit my 5RM on the bench press easily, had a few more reps in me i reckon. Same with the barbell row. It was only the squats that let me down.
Diet was alright today, I need to eat more food during the first half of the day, I find that I eat a lot at night time.

Diet today:

Meal 1 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 2 - 2000kJ
-3 slices of home made pizza

Meal 3 - 2000kJ
-scoop of whey
-1 small banana
-half a cup (measured raw) brown rice

Meal 4 - 2000kJ
-white rice
-chicken curry
-some noodle cake thing
-small yogurt sauce

Meal 5 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 6 - 1000kJ
-3 eggs

Total energy for today = 13,000kJ (3,171cals)

[Ironwake]

Nice workout man. I'm curious why you choose front squats instead of back squats

[ex3e1989]

Originally Posted by Ironwake

Nice workout man. I'm curious why you choose front squats instead of back squats

I only started squatting about 3-4months ago....and the back squats felt really unnatural to me even thought I was only squatting the bar, lulz. I found that my form was much better doing the front squat. But now that I'm comfortable doing squats I feel that I should try doing back squats again.
I'm going to doing back squats on workout3 this week and see how it goes this time.

[micro wave]

Originally Posted by ex3e1989

I only started squatting about 3-4months ago....and the back squats felt really unnatural to me even thought I was only squatting the bar, lulz. I found that my form was much better doing the front squat. But now that I'm comfortable doing squats I feel that I should try doing back squats again.
I'm going to doing back squats on workout3 this week and see how it goes this time.

You have anyone to check your form? If not post it here or have said person watch some good instructional vids

[ex3e1989]

Originally Posted by micro wave

You have anyone to check your form? If not post it here or have said person watch some good instructional vids

I'll see how I go on it. If I still feel weird doing back squats I'll post a vid fo sho.

[ex3e1989]

Week 6 – rest

HIIT
cycle: 30s sprint, 60s slow pedal
Duration: 20mins

Thoughts:

Good day today. Got some HIIT done, ate enough food. Also forgot to mention that I weighed myself the other day and I was 161.7lbs (73.5kg). tomorrow is deadlift day, can't wait!

Diet today:

Meal 1 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 2 - 2000kJ
-half a cup (measured raw) brown rice
-1 banana

Meal 3 - 4000kJ
-chicken breast stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese
-potato chips

Meal 4 - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 5 - 1500kJ
-half chicken breast stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese

Total energy for today = 13,500kJ (3,292cals)

[ex3e1989]

Week 6 – workout 2

the brackets indicate (1 week gain / overall gain)

Deadlift
154lbs x 5
176lbs x 5
198lbs x 5
247.5lbs x 4 (+0/+22)

Military Press
82.5lbs x 5
93.5lbs x 5
104.5lbs x 5
113lbs x 4 (+0/+11)

Front Squats
88lbs x 5
99lbs x 5
110lbs x 5
felt mad so i didn't do a final 4th set

Thoughts:

Horrible horrible workout today. Felt really mad afterwards. Didn't hit any PRs.
I had only eaten 2 meals all day before my work out (at 9pm). I came home and also napped for an hour about 30mins before going into the gym. I knew I hardly ate enough but I felt pumped after I woke up so I decided to get in any way.
Bad idea....started off with the military press, all was good until the last set where I only managed 4 reps and the ROM was ****.
Moved onto the deadlifts and on my final set my legs just started shaking and gave up on me. My legs are always a little bit sore, they let me down today.
At this point I was pretty mad, did some light squats and left the gym feeling like crap.

I really need to fix my meal timings. I think I'm eating enough since my weight is going up...but my meal timings aren't great.
From 11am in the morning till 9pm I had only consumed 7000kJ (1707cals). My remaining 1300ish cals comes in between 10pm-3am. Is this bad? I can't figure out why I failed today. Could it be my constant leg soreness or not eating enough food?
I think I'll start recording meal timings too now.

Diet today:

Meal 1 -11am - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 2 -3.30pm - 2500kJ
-home made fried rice (vegetables and eggs included)
6pm
-1 banana

Meal 3 -8pm - 1500kJ
-left over fried rice from meal2
-home made chinese chicken dish (with vegetables)

Meal 4 -10:30pm - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 5 -1am - 3000kJ
-white rice
-more of the chinese chicken dish from earlier


Total energy for today = 12,500kJ (3,048cals)

[Ironwake]

I'd say the meal thing isn't a problem, as long as your hitting your daily goals you should be fine. Unless you don't have enough energy going into the workout from lack of food before it, might be a problem.. what are you eating pre workout?

We all have bad days, don't let it get ya down

[ex3e1989]

i hardly ate anything preworkout...
left over fried rice from meal2
-home made chinese chicken dish (with vegetables)

[ex3e1989]

Week 6 – rest

I was at a friends house for most of the day for some wedding ceremony thing. Diet wasn't great at all.

Diet today:

Meal 1 -12pm - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 2 -4pm - 1500kJ
-1 can of soda
-1 glass of coke
-small finger food

Meal 3 -6pm - 1500kJ
-entree foods:
-chicken pieces, tandoori ricotta cheese, potato balls
-1 glass of rasperry juice

Meal 4 -10pm - 3000kJ
-3 naan breads
-small serve of rice
-butter chicken
-lamb dish
-slice of cake

Meal 5 -12am - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Total energy for today = 12,000kJ (2,926cals)

[ex3e1989]

Week 6 – rest

Today was meant to be workout 3, but I was too busy today and with daylight savings kicking in today, the gym was closed by the time I was free.
Again, diet wasn't great today, went out again. I really need to get more serious with my diet.

Diet today:

Meal 1 -12pm - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 2 -4pm - 3000kJ
-pasta salad (boiled pasta with sundried tomatos, olive oil, cucumbers etc)
-half a chicken (no skin)
-2 tim tams

Meal 3 -7:30pm - 4000kJ
-whole wood oven pizza (with the lot)
-slice of cake

Meal 5 -12am - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Total energy for today = 13,000kJ (3,170cals)

[ex3e1989]

Week 6 - workout 3

Bench Press
88lbs x 5
99lbs x 5
110lbs x 5
121lbs x 5
149lbs x 4
(did an extra rep because I felt like it)
forgot to do the last set of 8!

Barbell Row
77lbs x 5
88lbs x 5
99lbs x 5
110lbs x 5
140lbs x 3
110lbs x 8

Front Squats
77lbs x 5
88lbs x 5
99lbs x 5
110lbs x 5
138lbs x 3
110lbs x 7

Tricep Pulldowns
39lbs x 12
44lbs x 10
50lbs x 8

Dumbbell Skull Crushers
39lbs x 12
44lbs x 10
50lbs x 8

Barbell Curls
39lbs x 12
50lbs x 10

Thoughts:

Got up nice and early today so I managed to eat a ****load of food.
Gym session went well, managed to hit all the weight increases. I kept the squat the same weight as last week since I failed. I forgot to try back squats, I'll make sure I give it a go next workout.
And I also forgot to do a final set on the bench press. Lastly, I have been forgetting to include the assistance exercises that I do at the end of the workout 3 each week! Yes, very forgetful.

Diet today:

Meal 1 -7.30am - 3000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together

Meal 2 -11am - 3000kJ
-1 banana
-1 muffin
-1 tandoori chicken breast

Meal 3 -3:30pm - 3000kJ
-3 eggs
-mi-goreng noodles
-2 tim tams

Meal 4 -8:00pm - 2500kJ
-2 rotis (indian wholemeal bread)
-3 pieces of fish

Meal 5 -10pm - 4000kJ
-scoop of whey, 500mL milk, 30g of peanut butter, 3.5 weet-bix all blended together
-some more tandoori chicken breast

Total energy for today = 15,500kJ (3,780cals)

[Ironwake]

Still alive in here?

[micro wave]

Originally Posted by Ironwake

Still alive in here?

Poor guys probably exhausted, all that hard work.