jshaw's Starting Strength log

[ddog171]

Good looking workout! Couple of things.

1. Watch your knees during squats; they're trying to cave in when you hit the hole. Keep them shoved out/tracked along the angle of your feet..

I agree. You can really notice it in the video of the second set. The other ones, I could not tell.

Depth looks good.

[jshaw5]

Monday’s Workout

I’ll start off by saying last night was probably the worst night of sleep I’ve had since I started doing SS again. Alarm woke me up at 5:20, my initial reaction was no f’in way. After a couple snoozes on the alarm, I dragged myself out of bed, knowing that I couldn’t push this week’s workouts back a day and I wasn’t about to skip a workout. I thought I was going to fall asleep driving to the gym, I had no motivation, no confidence I was going to get all my reps, and I was fairly certain I was gonna say FU to power cleans. However, once I got to the gym and started my squats, my mood just changed, two scoops of jack3d kicked in, and I was more motivated than ever.

Barbell Squat:
45 lb x 5 reps (+31 pts)
45 lb x 5 reps (+31 pts)
95 lb x 5 reps (+44 pts)
150 lb x 3 reps (+51 pts)
205 lb x 2 reps (+62 pts)
260 lb x 5 reps (+134 pts)
260 lb x 5 reps (+134 pts)
260 lb x 5 reps (+134 pts)

After receiving some feedback from ddog and farley about the depth of my squats, I went back and watched my past couple squat videos several times. Previously, I had been going by the fact that my knee is higher than the support bar on the squat rack, and my ass is dropping down below the support bar, so I must be going below parallel. Upon further review, looking at the top of my quads, I saw what they were talking about and I realized my depth was borderline at best. So I decided to really focus on depth this morning. I thought about dropping down in weight a little bit, thinking a 5 lb jump might be too difficult if I also increased my depth, but I decided to just give it a shot first and just lower the weights on the 2nd and 3rd sets if needed. These were definitely the hardest work sets I’ve had since starting, but I was able to stick with the 5 lb jump. Someone was working out where I set up my camera for my 2nd set, so I set it up from behind to get a different view.

Standing Barbell Shoulder Press:
45 lb x 5 reps (+40 pts)
60 lb x 5 reps (+44 pts)
75 lb x 3 reps (+39 pts)
90 lb x 2 reps (+37 pts)
110 lb x 5 reps (+62 pts)
110 lb x 5 reps (+62 pts)
110 lb x 5 reps (+62 pts)

These felt great. I was so pumped after hitting my squats, I just wanted to throw the bar through the ceiling. I think I’m going to stick with 5 lb jumps for maybe 2-3 more workouts, then start microloading. I picked up a couple small chains at Home Depot that weigh 1 lb 4.2 oz each, perfect for 2.5 lb jumps.

Power Clean:
45 lb x 5 reps (+27 pts)
65 lb x 5 reps (+30 pts)
90 lb x 3 reps (+29 pts)
110 lb x 2 reps (+28 pts)
135 lb x 3 reps (+39 pts)
135 lb x 3 reps (+39 pts)
135 lb x 3 reps (+39 pts)
135 lb x 3 reps (+39 pts)
135 lb x 3 reps (+39 pts)

Ended up doing these anyway. I’m still not very confident in my form on these. I think I’m gonna post this video over on the SS forum, see if I can get some more feedback on them.

I’m also contemplating squeezing back extensions and pull-ups into a separate workout (i.e. cleans Monday, back extensions and pull-ups Wednesday, deadlifts Friday). At some point I also need to figure out how I want to starting mixing in some rows as well.

new page bump

Good looking workout! Couple of things.

1. Watch your knees during squats; they're trying to cave in when you hit the hole. Keep them shoved out/tracked along the angle of your feet.
2. Again, your knees are moving forward a tad at the bottom of your squat. Try sitting back a touch more, not much.
3. Press is wonky. You're moving the bar all over the place. Move your face away from the bar, not the bar around your face. That happens a couple of times, and gets more apparent when you start getting tired. Slow down your reps.
4. When you're cleaning, keep your lower back tight, as if you were deadlifting.
5. It's tough, I know, because I did it too, but start stretching out your shoulders more, because it looks like you're catching the bar with your arms/wrists, and not on your delts.

Yeah, this was the first time I shot from behind, so I never noticed that before. I definitely see what you're saying with the presses, I was just too pumped, need to slow it down. Shoulder flexibility is definitely something I need to work more on, plus I think it's a mental adjustment to not try to catch the bar with my hands.

[MatTheCur]

new page bump


Yeah, this was the first time I shot from behind, so I never noticed that before. I definitely see what you're saying with the presses, I was just too pumped, need to slow it down. Shoulder flexibility is definitely something I need to work more on, plus I think it's a mental adjustment to not try to catch the bar with my hands.

Yeah, it's a HUGE mental checklist for power cleans, I totally get you on that.

Sometimes you don't notice what you're doing, though. There's one good stretch that you can do for that.

Basically, after you're done squatting, keep the weight/bar where it is on the rack, and then set yourself up as if you've just caught the bar on your delts from a PC. Slowly push/stretch your shoulders up and your elbows out. Nomsaiyan'?

[jshaw5]

Yeah, it's a HUGE mental checklist for power cleans, I totally get you on that.

Sometimes you don't notice what you're doing, though. There's one good stretch that you can do for that.

Basically, after you're done squatting, keep the weight/bar where it is on the rack, and then set yourself up as if you've just caught the bar on your delts from a PC. Slowly push/stretch your shoulders up and your elbows out. Nomsaiyan'?

Yeah I know exactly whatchoosayin, Ill give that a shot.

[jshaw5]

Thursday's workout

Baby had a 103.9 fever and vomiting yesterday, so I had to delay yesterday's workout to today. I also went to the gym straight from work and forgot to bring my camera, so everyone will just have to take my word that my form was absolutely perfect on every rep haha.

Bodyweight - 229.8 lbs

Barbell Squat:
45 lb x 5 reps (+31 pts)
100 lb x 5 reps (+45 pts)
155 lb x 3 reps (+53 pts)
210 lb x 2 reps (+64 pts)
265 lb x 5 reps (+138 pts)
265 lb x 5 reps (+138 pts)
265 lb x 5 reps (+138 pts)
Damn these are getting heavy. I really watched myself in the mirror while doing these. I kept the same depth as last time, but really focused on shoving my knees out. Wish I had my camera, I really felt like my form was the best it's been. I'm also starting to feel like I need a belt. Pushing out of the hole, as I'm keeping my core tight, I can just feel how I would benefit from pushing my gut into a belt. I'm gonna order one as soon as I get my tax refund. Probably going to go on the cheaper side for now, since my plan is to lose quite a few inches off my gut, don't want to drop the money on a real good belt and have it not fit 3 months down the road.

Barbell Bench Press:
45 lb x 5 reps (+36 pts)
85 lb x 5 reps (+47 pts)
120 lb x 3 reps (+48 pts)
160 lb x 2 reps (+53 pts)
195 lb x 5 reps (+99 pts)
195 lb x 5 reps (+99 pts)
195 lb x 4 reps (+90 pts)
In addition to not having my camera, I also forgot my 1.25 lb chains, so I tried to jump 5 lbs again. I got the first 2 sets, but on the last rep of the 3rd set, I had nothing left, needed a spot most of the way up. I'm going to stick with 195 next time, then definitely drop to 2.5 lb jumps.

Barbell Deadlift:
135 lb x 5 reps (+57 pts)
185 lb x 5 reps (+81 pts)
225 lb x 3 reps (+85 pts)
275 lb x 2 reps (+100 pts)
325 lb x 5 reps (+207 pts)
Holy schnitt that was heavy. My form felt good on the first four, but my back rounded a bit on the last rep. Again I wish I had my camera, I think I did a much better job locking out at the top. I'm dropping to 5 lb jumps from now on.

[Bumpus]

Nice work today. Gonna have to keep an eye on you, not let you pass me in bench/squat/press and catch you on the deadlifts.

Hope the kido is doing better.

[jshaw5]

Nice work today. Gonna have to keep an eye on you, not let you pass me in bench/squat/press and catch you on the deadlifts.

Hope the kido is doing better.

Thanks, he's getting better, there's no worse feeling than seeing your kid sick like that.

You got me in bench/press by a long shot, so can't you just let me have squats and deads haha

[MatTheCur]

Sounds like a fantastic workout that was! Wish you had a cam, too, but if you're FEELING your form helping, then you did done good son

Good to see your lifts comin' up!

[jshaw5]

It was a great workout. Despite being exhausted I still wished a I had more time so I could do some pull ups or something.

Starting next week I'm going to start alternating in pendlay rows. I'm thinking it should be like this:

Squats all 3 workouts
Bench / press every other workout
Deadlift Monday, power cleans Wednesday, rows Friday

Would it be better to do deadlifts before the weekend so I have 2 days off after or better to have the two days off before the deadlifts? I also want to add pull ups to one of the days but should I do them after power cleans or rows?

[ddog171]

If you are feeling you need more recovery from the deads I would move it to Friday. I liked it on Wednesday though, that way if and when you go to light or no squats on Wednesday your deadlifts are already there, aka advanced novice program.

[jshaw5]

If you are feeling you need more recovery from the deads I would move it to Friday. I liked it on Wednesday though, that way if and when you go to light or no squats on Wednesday your deadlifts are already there, aka advanced novice program.

That's a good thought, I'll keep that in mind. How long were you on SS before you switched to the advanced novice program?

[jshaw5]

No gym today. First the baby was sick, now my wife is sick with a 104+ fever. Not wanting to completely take the day off, I dusted off the old gymnastic rings and did a workout with them. I forgot how much harder it is with these things, especially the pushing exercises. Fitocracy didn't have all the options I need, so I did the best I could with that. This was a nice changeup from the SS, and I think my knee will appreciate the extra rest (it's been feeling a bit weird lately). Back to the gym and SS for more PR's on Monday.

Ring Pull-Up:
5 reps (+49 pts)
4 reps (+36 pts)
4 reps (+36 pts)

Ring Dip:
2 reps (+17 pts) plus 1 negative
2 reps (+17 pts) plus 1 negative
2 reps (+17 pts) plus 4 negatives

Body Weight Ring Row:
5 reps (+11 pts)
5 reps (+11 pts)
5 reps (+11 pts)

Body Weight Ring Push-Up:
6 reps (+9 pts)
6 reps (+9 pts)
6 reps (+9 pts)

Ab Wheel (kneeling): Fitocracy doesn't ring rollouts
6 reps (+10 pts)
6 reps (+10 pts)
6 reps (+10 pts)

[ddog171]

That's a good thought, I'll keep that in mind. How long were you on SS before you switched to the advanced novice program?

I switched over after about 4 months. Getting rid of squats on Wednesday helped with recovery for me.

[ngolsen]

Feet too wide/10. Shoulder width or a touch more. And keep shoving knees out

[jshaw5]

Feet too wide/10. Shoulder width or a touch more. And keep shoving knees out

Thanks for the feedback. I'll narrow the stance a bit tomorrow.

I'm officially switching my schedule from MWF to TuThSa. I liked having the weekends off, but this just works much better for the wife and baby, plus it allows me to sleep in later (yay more rest) and go to the gym after work. Since there's no workout to post, I'll throw up some food porn instead. First is a whole wheat stromboli with chicken, low fat mozzarella, and buffalo sauce. Tastes delicious and fits my macros on my high card days. Second is Kashi waffles with sludge, which is becoming one of my favorite snacks

[ddog171]

What is sludge? And what are the macros on those waffles? They look tasty.

[mellowmarshall]

OMFG NUTELLA WAFFLES?!?!?! I'm barack obama and i approve this meal.

[jshaw5]

What is sludge? And what are the macros on those waffles? They look tasty.

Sludge is a recipe created by the owner of Scivation. I think the original recipe calls for almond butter, chocolate Scivation whey, and just enough water to get the right consistency. I make mine with vanilla protein (only flavor I have), PB&Co Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter, and a splash of low calorie chocolate milk. The waffles and sludge are roughly 18g fat, 38g carbs, and 35g protein, which comes out to about 450 calories. Not exactly a low calorie snack, but if it fits your diet, it's amazing

OMFG NUTELLA WAFFLES?!?!?! I'm barack obama and i approve this meal.

Hahaha it's not quite as good as nutella. I wish there wasn't so much sugar in nutella, because tastes like...

[LiftingObjects]

^ lol @ nutella description..

Those waffels look damn tasty, never heard of stromboli but that's look good 2.. good work on your lifts as well.

[jshaw5]

Tuesday's workout

Barbell Squat:
45 lb x 5 reps (+31 pts)
45 lb x 5 reps (+31 pts)
105 lb x 5 reps (+47 pts)
155 lb x 3 reps (+53 pts)
210 lb x 2 reps (+64 pts)
270 lb x 5 reps (+143 pts)
270 lb x 5 reps (+143 pts)
270 lb x 5 reps (+143 pts)

Felt sh!tty and heavy. Gym was real busy, couldn't tape my first set, and there was no room to get a shot from behind. I did narrow my stance a bit, and really focused on shoving my knees out. Definitely noticed my knees going forward at the bottom though, especially on the second set. I also think I GM'd the weight up in the later reps, but it didn't look quite as bad on camera as it felt. My right knee has been feeling real weird lately, but it did feel better yesterday, and it didn't seem to bother me much during the squats. It's pretty tender today, and it gets stiff and sore when I'm sitting with my knee bent for extended periods. I'm not sure what I should do, I don't want to stop doing squats while I'm still progressing, but at the same time I don't want it to turn into something that I can't work through.

Standing Barbell Shoulder Press:
45 lb x 5 reps (+49 pts)
60 lb x 5 reps (+54 pts)
80 lb x 3 reps (+50 pts)
95 lb x 2 reps (+47 pts)
115 lb x 5 reps (+79 pts)
115 lb x 5 reps (+79 pts)
115 lb x 4 reps (+72 pts)

Just wasn't feeling these today. Warmups actually felt pretty decent, shoulders felt fresher than usual, but as soon as I put up the first rep on my work set, I knew there was a strong chance I was going to miss some reps. I only missed one rep, but I know my form got a little sloppy at the end of each set. I'm going to try 115 again next workout, then drop to 2.5lb increments.

Power Clean:
45 lb x 5 reps (+27 pts)
70 lb x 4 reps (+29 pts)
95 lb x 3 reps (+30 pts)
120 lb x 2 reps (+30 pts)
145 lb x 3 reps (+42 pts)
145 lb x 3 reps (+42 pts)
145 lb x 3 reps (+42 pts)
145 lb x 3 reps (+42 pts)
145 lb x 3 reps (+42 pts)

These actually didn't feel too bad. I know my form still has plenty of room for improvement, but the rack felt a little better this time through.

Overall just wasn't feeling the workout last night. I went at night to fit my wife's schedule better. I thought that maybe going at night would be better, since I was actually awake and had some food in my system, but I think if anything, I had less energy from working all day, even though I sit at a desk all day. Or maybe it just felt that way since the weights are getting real heavy. Plus the gym is busy as hell at 7pm. I'm far from a morning person, but I'd much rather hit the gym first thing in the morning. Battery on my camera died and I can't find the charger, so I'll have to wait until I find that before I can upload the videos.

Song of the day

[Cy4]

My right knee has been feeling real weird lately, but it did feel better yesterday, and it didn't seem to bother me much during the squats. It's pretty tender today, and it gets stiff and sore when I'm sitting with my knee bent for extended periods. I'm not sure what I should do,

Icing up to 15 minutes plus an aleve/advil may reduce inflammation.

[jshaw5]

Icing up to 15 minutes plus an aleve/advil may reduce inflammation.

Thanks, I'll definitely give that a shot. I also just ordered some TK knee sleeves, hopefully the added support will help a bit as well.

[MatTheCur]

Icing up to 15 minutes plus an aleve/advil may reduce inflammation.

Thanks, I'll definitely give that a shot. I also just ordered some TK knee sleeves, hopefully the added support will help a bit as well.

Watch out with the knee travelling... It might be that you're unconsciously shifting the weight to your toes, which = all the weight being taken up by your knee. I hurt my left knee doing that. I ordered oly shoes, worked on shoving my knees out, and made sure that I was sitting back/driving through my heels. The sleeves will definitely help keep your knees warm, but they won't fix a problem caused by bad form.

Be careful!

[jshaw5]

Quick bench question. When I go to the gym in the morning, I'm usually the only person in the freeweights section, so it can be difficult to find a spotter at times. The spotter bars on the squat rack are just a tad too high to roll the bench in there. I was thinking about rolling an adjustable bench in the squat rack, set it to the lowest incline level, which should bring it up just high enough to use the spotter bars. I would assume I would have to drop a little weight off my bench to start, but would the strength increases with a slight incline transfer to the flat bench, or does even a slight incline alter the exercise too much?

[dk240t]

Quick bench question. When I go to the gym in the morning, I'm usually the only person in the freeweights section, so it can be difficult to find a spotter at times. The spotter bars on the squat rack are just a tad too high to roll the bench in there. I was thinking about rolling an adjustable bench in the squat rack, set it to the lowest incline level, which should bring it up just high enough to use the spotter bars. I would assume I would have to drop a little weight off my bench to start, but would the strength increases with a slight incline transfer to the flat bench, or does even a slight incline alter the exercise too much?

Just bench without a spotter. If you are going to fail, drop it back down on your chest, slide it down your chest to your legs, sit up, and drop it off onto the floor. There are videos on youtube of how to safely dump a failed bench. The key is, you need to start with proper form, locking out your elbows when you unrack and rack (when you pass it over your neck) so that you aren't at risk of dropping it on your neck.

Plus, the fear of failing and having to do this will force you mentally to give everything you have to getting out those reps.

[Cy4]

Just bench without a spotter. If you are going to fail, drop it back down on your chest, slide it down your chest to your legs, sit up, and drop it off onto the floor. There are videos on youtube of how to safely dump a failed bench. The key is, you need to start with proper form, locking out your elbows when you unrack and rack (when you pass it over your neck) so that you aren't at risk of dropping it on your neck.

Plus, the fear of failing and having to do this will force you mentally to give everything you have to getting out those reps.

I don't know man. Risk/Reward assessment there. Not sure the reward of benching is worth the risk of an unexpected bad failure. I'm kinda with him on this. I'd rather wiggle into some weird slight incline in the rack if that's the best position he's got, to be on the safe side. That's my view anyway.

[LiftingObjects]

Perhaps you could try asking a member of staff to spot you?

[MatTheCur]

Just bench without a spotter. If you are going to fail, drop it back down on your chest, slide it down your chest to your legs, sit up, and drop it off onto the floor. There are videos on youtube of how to safely dump a failed bench. The key is, you need to start with proper form, locking out your elbows when you unrack and rack (when you pass it over your neck) so that you aren't at risk of dropping it on your neck.

Plus, the fear of failing and having to do this will force you mentally to give everything you have to getting out those reps.

This is a good motivator

I don't know man. Risk/Reward assessment there. Not sure the reward of benching is worth the risk of an unexpected bad failure. I'm kinda with him on this. I'd rather wiggle into some weird slight incline in the rack if that's the best position he's got, to be on the safe side. That's my view anyway.

If you're failing on bench, you're not letting the weight come crashing down that's for sure. There are, seriously, safe ways to roll the weight off your chest that won't damage you in any way. Incline isn't flat, and starts to work in different muscle groups I'm pretty sure.

Perhaps you could try asking a member of staff to spot you?

There's this, too.

[Cy4]

If you're failing on bench, you're not letting the weight come crashing down that's for sure.
There are, seriously, safe ways to roll the weight off your chest that won't damage you in any way.

That is, of course, assuming that you have any say in the matter when the bar comes down. There's a difference between a semi-controlled descent and 'unexpected bad failure'. It's not the normal rep failures that are the problem, it's the potential for the unforeseen catastrophic failure due to something that's not within our control. If there are reasonable and easy-to-use safety measures to lessen that risk, why not use them?

Incline isn't flat, and starts to work in different muscle groups I'm pretty sure.

He said "a slight incline." I doubt he's talking 40+ degrees here. Pecs, deltoids, upper back, triceps, forearms, etc; they'll all still get worked. Ideally he'll figure out a way to continue a completely flat bench safely; but barring that a slight incline in the rack, in my opinion, is a perfectly fine compromise.

Said my peace on it. I'll hush now.

[mellowmarshall]

ive had to bail out with as much as 195 on an old max attempt in high school...it wasnt comfortable rolling that over the soft tissue of my stomach but other than a little soreness nothing happened. bailing out isn't the worst thing in the world. some people who lift alone avoid using clips so they can just dump the weight, which is also an option.


the chance of "unexpected catastrophic failure" is equally likely and dangerous with or without a spotter. if you flat out drop a barbell loaded with 200+ lbs on your neck no spotter in the world is going to save you.