jshaw's Starting Strength log

[BabyOilBrah]

strong stuff, I bet the squat is going to skyrocket past where you were. Where do you think you're at in the 1RM territory, close to mid 4's no doubt?

Nice work all around, just sucks to be feeling sick in your stomach, especially on volume day lol.

Also cool that your gym got more bumpers, I like it. I haven't done any oly lifts in a while now.

[jshaw5]

strong stuff, I bet the squat is going to skyrocket past where you were. Where do you think you're at in the 1RM territory, close to mid 4's no doubt?

Nice work all around, just sucks to be feeling sick in your stomach, especially on volume day lol.

Also cool that your gym got more bumpers, I like it. I haven't done any oly lifts in a while now.

Thanks Mike. I'd say I'm good for ~445-455 right now, but like you said, I'm hoping for that to shoot up over the next month or two.

Yeah I haven't done any oly lifts in a while either. I'd like to get back to it, I might dabble here and there over the winter, but I don't see getting consistent with it again until spring time.

[jjeane]

That pre workout business is no good!
Very excellent stuff on the squats! How far out are you from the meet you wanted to do?

[jshaw5]

That pre workout business is no good!
Very excellent stuff on the squats! How far out are you from the meet you wanted to do?

Thanks Jani. Yeah the pwo issue sucked, of all the pwo's I've tried, I've never had that issue.

The meet I was planning is 8 weeks out, but I'm waiting to see how the schedule lines up for a couple other, possibly more like 10-12 weeks out.

[dopamine72]

That's happened to me before. Everyone reacts to drugs differently. Seems some people get over stimulated and that's when the sick/pukey feeling starts happening. Props for continuing through everything. I have yacked many times before from this and it sucks lol.

Also. I'm wondering if conventional deads would be a better fit to this program. Forgot if you have an issue with them or not...

[jshaw5]

That's happened to me before. Everyone reacts to drugs differently. Seems some people get over stimulated and that's when the sick/pukey feeling starts happening. Props for continuing through everything. I have yacked many times before from this and it sucks lol.

Also. I'm wondering if conventional deads would be a better fit to this program. Forgot if you have an issue with them or not...

In hindsight, the sickness might've actually been some kind of stomach bug. My stomach felt off all day yesterday, then I hit a fever of 101.5 last night. The fever is gone today, but the stomach still isn't quite right, I have like no appetite.

I've always though the program was a better fit for conventional deads, but I'm much stronger pulling sumo and that's how I pull in meets. I have been alternating ID's between sumo pulls and different conventional variations to work on my weaknesses. I'm getting closer to a possible meet now though, so I'll be focused more on sumo variations until then.

[jshaw5]

Texas Method – Intensity Day

I got hit with some kind of bug this week, which may have even been at least part of the cause of the pwo issues on VD. My stomach felt off all day Tuesday. Tuesday night I hit a fever of 101.5. The fever was gone the next morning, but my stomach is still a bit off. I've pretty much been forcing myself to eat this week because my appetite just isn't there.

Squat
45 lbs x 5 reps
105 lbs x 5 reps
165 lbs x 3 reps
225 lbs x 2 reps
275 lbs x 1 rep
315 lbs x 1 rep
355 lbs x 1 rep
405 lbs x 3 reps
I already wasn't sure what to expect since it's my first ID with a straight bar in over 6 weeks. Before I switched to the SSB, I hti 410x3, then 415x2. My theory was that I would be able to pick up where I left off, but the carryover from the SSB progress would give me more room for progress. I decide to go a tiny bit conservative and go for 405 instead of jumping right back in at 410 or 415. I thought maybe if things went well enough, I'd hit another rep or two. That all went out the window with the bug. I could feel my body was tired, especially my legs, as I was warming up this morning. Needless to say, 405 was more challenging than I had hoped. On the bright side, I'm very happy with how I kept my chest up despite the set being near max effort.

Bench
45 lbs x 10 reps
95 lbs x 5 reps
135 lbs x 3 reps
175 lbs x 2 reps
210 lbs x 1 rep
240 lbs x 1 rep
272.5 lbs x 2 reps
Close, but just didn't quite have it today. The dude that walked in front of me did distract me a little bit, but I don't think it made the difference anyway. I'll smash it next week. It's funny, the guy that tried to run and save me as I was failing my third rep, I never even realized he was there until I played back the video haha.

Stiff-Legged Deadlift
135 lbs x 5 reps
185 lbs x 3 reps
235 lbs x 2 reps
285 lbs x 6 reps
Back to dead stop reps, tng just feels too awkward.

Press
85 lbs x 5 reps
115 lbs x 3 reps
145 lbs x 1 rep
172.5 lbs x 3 reps PR
First time pressing in like 3 weeks, kept skipping it for various reasons. Last rep was a hell of a battle, but I got it.

[jjeane]

Strong azz workout for having a stomach bug this week for real!! Chest up is good as well! nice work!
That guy was in a hurry to save you too! LOL! Guess he didn't see the safeties! Hope you have a great weekend J!

[Woody-5]

No regular bar squats in weeks, stomach bug and still smashing 405 for a triple is fukkin badass dude, I love it

You'll wreck that bench as soon as you're healthy. Maybe with the extra week you'll smash 4-5 reps

Feel better soon!

[pyaarawala]

Good work man. lol at the guy running to save you, haha

[dopamine72]

Nice fawking squats bro

[xRequiem]

squats didnt look too difficult!

strong ass ohp too

[jshaw5]

Strong azz workout for having a stomach bug this week for real!! Chest up is good as well! nice work!
That guy was in a hurry to save you too! LOL! Guess he didn't see the safeties! Hope you have a great weekend J!

Thanks Jani. I've had a few situations over the years where someone tried to come running, but this was definitely the funniest lol.

No regular bar squats in weeks, stomach bug and still smashing 405 for a triple is fukkin badass dude, I love it

You'll wreck that bench as soon as you're healthy. Maybe with the extra week you'll smash 4-5 reps

Feel better soon!

Thanks wood man. I'll get it, but I'll be happy with 3 reps.

Good work man. lol at the guy running to save you, haha

Haha thanks man.

Nice fawking squats bro

Thanks Colin.

squats didnt look too difficult!

strong ass ohp too

Thanks man. They were more difficult than I was hoping, though next week should be better with this stomach bug out of the way.

[BabyOilBrah]

405 looked pretty tough but I bet it'll feel better and better as the weeks go on. Bench and press looking awesome, congrats on the Press PR.

[jshaw5]

405 looked pretty tough but I bet it'll feel better and better as the weeks go on. Bench and press looking awesome, congrats on the Press PR.

Thanks Mike. That's what I'm hoping for.

[jshaw5]

Texas Method –Volume Day

Squat
45 lbs x 5 reps
105 lbs x 5 reps
165 lbs x 3 reps
225 lbs x 2 reps
275 lbs x 1 rep
330 lbs x 5 reps x 5
I had planned on doing 335x5x5, but since my recovery was poor due to sickness that's still not completely gone, I went a little more conservative. I'm trying out a pinky-less squat grip now. After only a week of squatting with a straight bar again, my forearm issue is acting up again Thumbless feels weird on my wrist, so I'm giving pinky-less a shot. I know a few people over in the PL section use it and it came up as a suggestion when a few people were describing similar issues as mine.

Bench
45 lbs x 10 reps
95 lbs x 5 reps
135 lbs x 3 reps
175 lbs x 2 reps
205 lbs x 1 rep
235 lbs x 5 reps x 3
This was tough, I'm probably going to keep the volume here for a bit.

Face Pulls
85 lbs x 10 reps x 3

Hyper Extension
BW x 10 reps
I decided to drop these after the first set, stay a little fresher for the rest of bench volume and give my lower body a better chance for recovery this week.

Close Grip Sling Shot Bench
235 lbs x 5 reps x 2
I was going to superset these with the hammer curls for 3 sets of each, only resting for the amount of time it takes to walk to the DB rack and back to the bench, but after the second set, I was spent.

Hammer Curls
25 lbs x 15 reps x 2
Since my forearms were acting up again, I decided to go lower weight and higher reps.

[BabyOilBrah]

nice squats big guy, interesting on the grip change, I've never heard of pinkyless. Who knows give it shot though, whatever will help. bench and acceossry work continues to look good. How long does something like that take, you're doing a lot of work in this volume workout. I wish I had a machine to do hypers/reverse hypers. Kinda hard to mimic in my gym.

also I this is the best I could find on an explanation of the pause squats on the way down

In a nutshell it's to help with form. The paused squat in the middle makes it really easy to check your form. The half way point is a landmark and you should be in a particular setup position when you get there. It would also be hard to maintain the paused position if the barbell had traveled away from the plane over the middle of your feet.

looks like just a technique builder, to make sure you're in the right position as you get lower.

[jshaw5]

nice squats big guy, interesting on the grip change, I've never heard of pinkyless. Who knows give it shot though, whatever will help. bench and acceossry work continues to look good. How long does something like that take, you're doing a lot of work in this volume workout. I wish I had a machine to do hypers/reverse hypers. Kinda hard to mimic in my gym.

also I this is the best I could find on an explanation of the pause squats on the way down



looks like just a technique builder, to make sure you're in the right position as you get lower.

I've actually tried it in the past. The article below is what made me try it last year, but that was when my squat was going down the toilet and I probably didn't give it much of a chance. I know I've seen at least a couple people from the PL fam thread use it, including isaku. Dropping the pinky rotates the hand so it's more in line with the wrist and forearm. I've noticed similar forearm pain from hitting weird angles with my wrists when working on my car, so perhaps it's actually a wrist mobility issue rather than a shoulder mobility issue. Regardless, we'll see how it feels.

http://articles.elitefts.com/trainin...to-squat-huge/

I suppose that explanation makes sense. I'd say there's potentially a benefit of learning how to get a good rebound out of the bottom without dive bombing the descent, kinda like how Bryce Lewis descends slowly until he's almost at the bottom, then bounces out of the hole.

[jshaw5]

Texas Method - Recovery Day

High Bar Squats
45 lbs x 5
95 lbs x 5
135 lbs x 5
185 lbs x 5 x 2
Quick recovery session last night. Kept the squats lighter than usual RD weight. I'm still trying to shake this cold, it's not bad at all, but I do think it's still cutting into my recovery.

Reduced cals aren't helping either. After half-assing it for quite a while, I finally have some momentum going on getting the weight back down. I was as high as 223.6 with Thanksgiving bloat, but a couple weeks of consistency in the diet has me at 217.0 this morning. I'm about 10 weeks out from the meet I'm thinking about doing. I'd prefer to lift in the 205 class. I know I could easily cut down to 205 by then, but I'm need to be careful how aggressive I cut because I don't want to stall out my progress. I'll probably try to get under 210 by the end of January, give my body a couple weeks to settle in at maintenance, then water cut for the meet.

[BabyOilBrah]

Nice, seems like a good plan for the body comp.

[jshaw5]

Texas Method – Intensity Day

I had a cold a few weeks ago. Just as that was starting to go away, I got some kind of stomach bug last week. Then as that went away, a cold started to creep back in. I still feel like poo. As such, today's session was full of poo. I'm going to do a reset on all lifts next week.

Squat
45 lbs x 5 reps
105 lbs x 5 reps
165 lbs x 3 reps
225 lbs x 2 reps
275 lbs x 1 rep
315 lbs x 1 rep
355 lbs x 1 rep
410 lbs x 1 rep
I know I had another rep in me, not sure if I had the 3rd, but I just didn't have the energy to try and grind it out. I felt like the SSB squat cycle had me primed for a solid run of progress and this bug/cold just robbed me of that. Oh well, I'll drop the weight, get some momentum, and blast past this into PR territory again.

Bench
45 lbs x 10 reps
95 lbs x 5 reps
135 lbs x 3 reps
175 lbs x 2 reps
210 lbs x 1 rep
240 lbs x 1 rep
272.5 lbs x 2 reps
Warmups actually felt solid, and even unracking on the top set didn't feel too heavy. My bar path was all over the place though, making the 2nd rep feel like a 3rd, so I just racked it. I had a strong run going, but again a reset will do me some good.

Skipped deadlifts and press.

[BabyOilBrah]

Good numbers hit regardless. How much do you drop the weights?

[jshaw5]

Good numbers hit regardless. How much do you drop the weights?

I haven't decided yet. I'm thinking 20 lbs on squats and deads, 10 lbs on bench and press. That will have it so it takes 4 weeks to get back to where I am now.

[wishiwasdivin]

nice lifts on your vid brotha

[jshaw5]

nice lifts on your vid brotha

Thanks bro.

[jshaw5]

Texas Method –Volume Day

Squat
45 lbs x 5 reps
105 lbs x 5 reps
165 lbs x 3 reps
225 lbs x 2 reps
275 lbs x 1 rep
315 lbs x 5 reps x 5
Doing a reset to give myself some time to recover and get some momentum for some more progress into the new year. Pinky-less grip seems to be the solution to my forearm issue, it didn't act up at all today.

Bench
45 lbs x 10 reps
95 lbs x 5 reps
135 lbs x 3 reps
165 lbs x 2 reps
195 lbs x 1 rep
225 lbs x 5 reps x 3
I was pushing the volume pretty hard, I think a little too hard given the poor recovery lately. The drop in volume feels good.

Face Pulls
70 lbs x 12 reps x 3
Decided to go light on these, nice and easy.

Close Grip Sling Shot Bench
225 lbs x 5 reps x 2
225 lbs x 10 reps
The drop in volume on bench had me a bit fresher for these, I probably could've hit a couple more on the last set.

Hammer Curls
40 lbs x 10 reps x 3
These were surprisingly easier than I expected, was planning on 8x3.

[jshaw5]

Texas Method – Intensity Day

Another shitty ID. On the bright side, my cold seems to finally be just about gone. However, between battling through the cold/bug for the past few weeks, plus trying to drop a few lbs, my strength is down a bit.

Squat
45 lbs x 5 reps
105 lbs x 5 reps
165 lbs x 3 reps
225 lbs x 2 reps
275 lbs x 1 rep
315 lbs x 1 rep
355 lbs x 1 rep
390 lbs x 2 rep
Should've reset back a bit more. Watching the video it looked like maybe I could've grinded out a third rep, but my legs just didn't have the energy. I'm thinking about taking next week off from squats, maybe just do some moderate weights to give my legs a week of recovery, then come back with a bigger reset.

Bench
45 lbs x 10 reps
95 lbs x 5 reps
135 lbs x 3 reps
165 lbs x 2 reps
195 lbs x 1 rep
225 lbs x 1 rep
255 lbs x 3 reps
I had planned on doing 260, but given how squats felt, I played it safe. It was a relatively easy triple, probably about as difficult as I thought 260 was gonna be.

Deadlift (sumo)
145 lbs x 5 reps
195 lbs x 3 reps
235 lbs x 2 reps
285 lbs x 1 rep
325 lbs x 1 rep
375 lbs x 1 rep
415 lbs x 0 reps
No surprise here, just like squats, my legs felt so weak I couldn't break it off the floor. I'll do a bigger reset and get some momentum going again.

[BabyOilBrah]

nice work anyways, DL for sure wasn't gonna go based on skwats. Get on that organo oil time to help pass the cold.

[Woody-5]

Still moving some nice weights dude

Cold, trying to cut, holiday season... That's a tough mix, especially with TM.

[yoojungl]

Damn! Nice squats! Keep up the great work!