Bluebirds, Butterflies, and Barbells - A Starting Strength Journal

[PeterGibbons316]

225x3 bench hard? Damn big guy, whats happening with the pressing. Is it from the cut?

Yeah, bench is always the first to go when I cut, but I think the bigger issue was that my shoulder was injured for almost all of my bulk, so I think my bench only got up to 275x5 at the end of my bulk in the first place.

Oops. lol You'll get 255x5 next time man.

I have no intention of getting 255x5, I've been doing triples with 255 for months now, and will be very pleased just to maintain that strength for the next couple months. I'm not worried about it. Prediction: If my shoulder stays healthy I'll be benching 350 by the end of the year.



Also, weighed in at 213.8 this morning.

[MatTheCur]

Says 225 is hard.

Says 225 is hard while on cut.

Still does more than I can on any given day!

Props Jason. Props.

[jshaw5]

225x3 bench hard? Damn big guy, whats happening with the pressing. Is it from the cut?

I was wondering the same thing. When you came back from your shoulder issue, your bench flew up so damn fast. Didn't you bench 315 for a single and 285 for a triple not that long ago?

Conditioning - Week 15 Max Effort

Good stuff man. Is it just me, or do you just keep repeating the same weight/reps each max effort day?

[PeterGibbons316]

I was wondering the same thing. When you came back from your shoulder issue, your bench flew up so damn fast. Didn't you bench 315 for a single and 285 for a triple not that long ago?

Yeah, end of my bulk I hit a single with 315 and it looked like I had more, but then failed 325. That was at least 15 weeks ago though.

Good stuff man. Is it just me, or do you just keep repeating the same weight/reps each max effort day?

lol, yes. Always the same boring workout. I'll get an extra rep here and/or lose a rep there, but for the most part I'm just doing the same thing every week. Not even trying to increase strength, and avoiding grinders/failure. At first I tried a 5/3/1 type of progression, but very quickly hit a wall and was grinding out heavy singles. I decided that was counter-productive and switched to 1 set of a heavy triple each week. I've been consistently hitting everything since while the weight has continued to drop, so I'm happy.

[Juggernaut0]

Yeah, bench is always the first to go when I cut, but I think the bigger issue was that my shoulder was injured for almost all of my bulk, so I think my bench only got up to 275x5 at the end of my bulk in the first place.


I have no intention of getting 255x5, I've been doing triples with 255 for months now, and will be very pleased just to maintain that strength for the next couple months. I'm not worried about it. Prediction: If my shoulder stays healthy I'll be benching 350 by the end of the year.



Also, weighed in at 213.8 this morning.

Wait, why not go for 255x5? Is your approach to simply do triples while cutting? And then after your cut, progress then?

[adamdavidson47]

Congrats on the 213 man! When's the last time you weighed that?

[PeterGibbons316]

Wait, why not go for 255x5? Is your approach to simply do triples while cutting? And then after your cut, progress then?

My approach while cutting is to avoid failure, because I'm not eating enough to recover and grow anyway. I like triples because they are heavy enough to maintain strength, but not so heavy that an off day is going to cause crazy grinders. If I have an off day, I just drop a rep. If I am really feeling it, I can add a rep.

[PeterGibbons316]

Congrats on the 213 man! When's the last time you weighed that?

Hmm, probably around this time last year. My bench was a lot stronger then (290x4), but my squat/dead were weaker. Pretty sure my BF was higher too, although I no longer have a consistent method to measure it.

[nakolody]

Conditioning - Week 15 Max Effort
BW: 215.8

Color code:
Estimated 1RM PR (weight + 0.033 x weight x reps)
PR for reps/weight

Squat
45x5
45x5
135x5
225x3
315x2
405x3

Easier than I was expecting. Had a long day at work, then had my son's swim lesson, so I was pretty tired when I started, but nailed these.

Bench Press
45x5
45x5
135x5
185x3
225x3
255x3

Screwed up and did 3 reps of 225, which was embarrassingly hard. Still got all 3 with 255 though.

Deadlift
135x8
225x5
315x3
405x1
455x3

Did my 315 with a hook grip and really just wasn't feeling it. Straps on final set.

Seated DB OHP
20s x 10
35s x 5
50s x 3
70s x 3

Awesome. Pretty sure this would be a PR for these if I were keeping track of them.

Vid:

No vids.

Notes:
Super busy day today - almost forgot to update. Need to go in to work early tomorrow and it is already and need to get to bed.

Best part of the day was after leaving the gym my wife called and we met some friends at our new house. They wanted to go out to dinner afterward, but I had already had almost 2000 calories for the day. So I just went home and had a protein shake instead.

Nice work out bro. Subbed. By the way, have you noticed any improvement with speed and agility due to weight loss? I play ultimate a lot, too, and when I was at 202, I used to be one of the slower players. But now at 182, I can pretty much keep up with the "faster" players.

[PeterGibbons316]

Nice work out bro. Subbed. By the way, have you noticed any improvement with speed and agility due to weight loss? I play ultimate a lot, too, and when I was at 202, I used to be one of the slower players. But now at 182, I can pretty much keep up with the "faster" players.

The massive leg strength has already made me surprisingly fast for my size. I suppose the weight loss will help even more. The bigger factor that I have noticed is my ability to change directions quickly. Again the leg strength helps in this area, but bodyweight in always a huge factor when it comes to momentum.

[Woody-5]

Nice triples all around my man!
grats on the BW- it's getting down there! Is there a goal weight for this cut?

[PeterGibbons316]

Nice triples all around my man!
grats on the BW- it's getting down there! Is there a goal weight for this cut?

Not really. Sub-200 is always a nice target for me, but really I kind of just want to cut until I can dunk......might be a while

[PeterGibbons316]

Conditioning - Week 16 Dynamic Effort
BW: 213.8

Color code:
Estimated 1RM PR (weight + 0.033 x weight x reps)
PR for reps/weight

Power Clean
135x5
145x5
155x3
165x3
175x3
175x3
185x2
185x2
195x1
205x1
225x0
185x1
185x1
185x1

Was tired of the same old box squats, so I did some power cleans.


Basketball
~45 minutes

Played two games and did pretty well. It's obvious that I have never played on an organized team before as I rarely have any idea what I am supposed to be doing. But I do well under the basket grabbing rebounds and taking it back up. Definitely had 10+ points and 10+ rebounds over the two games.

Vid:

No vids.

Notes:
Was incredibly busy with mother's day happenings this weekend and am just now updating. After going to the gym on Saturday I had to go buy cards and gifts, then find a way to get my son to sign them before the part we had on Saturday. We were also celebrating my sister's birthday Saturday night. Then Sunday I spent the day with the wife.

We are playing Frisbee both Tuesday and Wednesday this week, so I think I am probably going to push Thursday's ME day to Saturday. At some point I need to carry the 200 lb rolls of rubber flooring from the garage at the new house down to the basement too - that will be a workout by itself.

[jshaw5]

Nice job on the weight loss, making it tough for me to catch you haha.

When is the last time you did power cleans? Is 205 a PR for you?

[MatTheCur]

Nice PC workout there Jason. Also, glad to hear that the weekend kept you busy. Can't always be a beast; they need to take rests too!

[PeterGibbons316]

Nice job on the weight loss, making it tough for me to catch you haha.

When is the last time you did power cleans? Is 205 a PR for you?

Thanks man.

I'm pretty sure I got 205 the last time I did them, and yeah - it was a PR. I think that was a couple weeks back. I suck at racking the weight. Next time I do them I am going to just stay right around 175-185 for all my worksets and focus on the technique. I don't know why, but when it got heavier I started just catching the weight in a press position and not getting my elbows under and racking it at all. I think I'm afraid of hurting my wrists. If I keep doing these I will get much better pretty quickly.

Nice PC workout there Jason. Also, glad to hear that the weekend kept you busy. Can't always be a beast; they need to take rests too!

Thanks man, I do probably need some time off - I don't think I have missed a day all year.

[jshaw5]

I suck at racking the weight. Next time I do them I am going to just stay right around 175-185 for all my worksets and focus on the technique. I don't know why, but when it got heavier I started just catching the weight in a press position and not getting my elbows under and racking it at all. I think I'm afraid of hurting my wrists. If I keep doing these I will get much better pretty quickly.

I have the same problems. I think it's a combination of poor flexibility and my brain just not allowing me to release my grip so I can catch the bar with my shoulders and not my hands. I need to get more consistent though. I'll start to do them, decide it's a good idea to cut the weight back a bit to work on form, then I'll let them fall out of the routine for a bit.

[PeterGibbons316]

Conditioning - Week 16 Ultimate Frisbee
BW: 215.2

5/14:
Avg Heart Rate: 155 bpm
Max Heart Rate: 180 bpm



5/15:
Avg Heart Rate: 154 bpm
Max Heart Rate: 181 bpm



Notes:
So we actually played Frisbee two days in a row this week! Today was some kind of special healthy living day at work where they were encouraging healthy diets and exercise, and we got them to showcase Ultimate Frisbee. We ended up with a larger crowd - like 16 people, so there was a lot less running involved. Overall I'm doing very well - didn't lose a game either day. It's nice being able to jump higher than pretty much everyone out there, but I really don't get to take advantage of it that often. The biggest advantage I have seen from my training has actually been my defense - I'm much better at exploding to catch people and changing directions.

[PeterGibbons316]

Conditioning - Week 16 Max Effort
BW: 214.0

Color code:
Estimated 1RM PR (weight + 0.033 x weight x reps)
PR for reps/weight

Squat
45x5
45x5
135x5
225x3
315x2
405x3

Had more.

Bench Press
45x5
45x5
135x5
185x3
225x3
255x3

Had more.

Deadlift
Skipped

Seated DB OHP
20s x 10
40s x 5
60s x 3
75s x 0
70s x 5

Odd that I wasn't able to get the 75s once, but hit 5 with the 70s. This is a PR.

Vid:

No vids.

Notes:
I moved five 200 lb rolls of rubber flooring from the garage down to the basement of the new house, and my back is feeling just a little off from it. I skipped deads and have been pounding the ibuprofen. Hopefully it clears up soon

I have a vid and pic that I will try to upload later.

[Woody-5]

Strong triples my man! And excellent work tossing up the 70s!

[Juggernaut0]

Can't remember the last time I did DB OHP. lulz

Always a good workout when you break a PR. Nice.

[Ironlife]

Nice DB pressing mate, hard to get up when they get heavy no edit

[mstatefan91]

Where are you at with the weight loss? Hope the back gets to feeling 100% again

[PeterGibbons316]

Strong triples my man! And excellent work tossing up the 70s!

Thanks Woodrow!

Can't remember the last time I did DB OHP. lulz

Always a good workout when you break a PR. Nice.

Yeah, mostly CNS adaptation at this point, but I'll take it.

Nice DB pressing mate, hard to get up when they get heavy no edit

twss?

Where are you at with the weight loss? Hope the back gets to feeling 100% again

Thanks man, back is about 90% today. I was hurting just to bend over Saturday afternoon, but yesterday wasn't too bad. A big part of the problem is the stupid bed I am sleeping on. I just scheduled movers to come June 5th, so a little over two more weeks until I can sleep on my nice firm mattress again

Weight loss is going OK, down 12 lbs in 16 weeks. Need to eat less.

[PeterGibbons316]

Conditioning - Week 17 Ultimate Frisbee
BW: 214.0

5/14:
Avg Heart Rate: 157 bpm
Max Heart Rate: 179 bpm



Notes:
Frisbee was terrible last night, and I was too upset to write about it. I played well, and afterward my friend was saying that I really played with a lot of energy. He also commented on my jumping and how I always look so much more powerful than everyone else when they jump So I'm very pleased with that. But the actual games were not fun. I lost all 3 games, and it was all because of one guy. It was the equivalent of a guy in a full court pickup basketball game that doesn't play any defense - or even go on that side of the court, and the only time he puts forth any effort is to get open on offense so that he can immediately throw up a brick or pass the ball to someone on the other team. Just incredibly frustrating to play with.

I was doing my best not to just start screaming at him. There is a fine line between coaching/constructive criticism and yelling at someone for playing poorly. If I cross that line, people don't come back - and that isn't what I want. So hopefully this guy comes back and I can solve my problems by making sure that we aren't on the same team.

BW has been 214.0 for a couple days in a row now. Not great, but not bad either. Been sticking to the diet pretty well recently.

[PeterGibbons316]

Future gym:

[12ccopeland]

Weight is down since I've last been in here; good job PG!

Edit: So fukking jealous about gym you're building. Can't wait for it to be my turn .

[HunterMC6]

Future gym:

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/YrggthS.jpg[/IMG

Ahh yeah so stoked to see this fully "furnished" if you will!

[Ironlife]

Cant wait to see future gym when its all done up! Looking good J