Sully13's Training Journal

[sully13]

Welcome to my novice strength training/weightlifting journal.

History:
After 5 years of sitting on my ass and weighing more then I ever have, I re-started going to the gym in Februrary, 2007. I did some lifting and alot of cardio. My weight went from a fat 230lb. to a much better looking and feeling 215lb. With the workout and some minor diet tweaks I lost 15 lbs and made some strength and muscle gains.

Losing fifteen pounds and feeling better was pretty much my 3-4 month goal. I also started to realize that my workout was too complex and took too long so I poked around and found the Rippetoe/Starting Strength guide here on bb.com. Reading that guide lead to me buying and reading the books Starting Strength and Practical Programming. I am sure I did not understand everything I read but as I gain some more experience I will be able to use some more of knowledge in those books.

A note: Pretty much everything I know about weightlifting programs comes from Starting Strength and Practical Programming so I will be using the terminology from those books.

Goals:
Short-term: Milk the novice level program for all its worth.
Long-term: Get my weight under 200lbs.

Workout:
I started this program two weeks ago: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224

After I finished reading Starting Strength, Practical Programming and this thread http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=2281631 I decided to switch to the novice program that is on page 155 of Practical Programming.

Monday:
Squat
Bench Press/Press
Chin-ups

Wednesday:
Squat
Bench Press/Press
Deadlift

Monday:
Squat
Bench Press/Press
Pull-ups

The Bench Press and Press alternate every workout. I am going to be doing some ab work everyday and back-extensions on Monday/Friday. I do not plan on adding any other accessory work for at least a month. I plan on doing about 10 minutes of cardio warmup. And each day after lifting I am going to do about 15 minutes of cardio and then some stretching.

Progress:
My two week progress:
Squat 135lb -> 180lb
Bench Press 105lb -> 125lb
Deadlift 145lb -> 165lb
Press 55lb -> 65lb


Wish me luck.

[sullly]

Good luck fellow Sullivan

[jjface1390]

good luck man!

JJ

[sully13]

Monday June 4th, 2007.

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 3x5x185 (up 5lb)
Bench 3x5x135 (up 10lb)
Chinups 2x6x-45lb (up 10lb)

The -45lb means that I am doing assisted chinups.

15 weighted inclined situps.
15 Captain chair leg raises.
15 minutes of cardio.
10 minutes of stretching.

[sully13]

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 3x5x190 (up 5lb) - Last one was hard.
Press 3x5x70 (up 5lb) - Still pretty easy.
Deadlift 5x185 (up 20lb) - That is the last 20lb jump I make. Next Jump will be 10lb.

15 weighted inclined situps.
15 Captain chair leg raises.
10 minutes of stretching.

[sully13]

Friday June 6th, 2007.

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 3x5x195 (up 5lb)
Bench 3x5x145 (up 10lb)
Pullups 3x5x-55lb

2x10(+25lb) weighted inclined situps.
2x15 Captain chair leg raises.
10 minutes of cardio.
10 minutes of stretching.

[sully13]

Today was a little different. I had a softball game to play before I got to the gym. So, I was curious as to how softball would effect my lifts. I was certainly not quite as fresh but I seemed to make it through. Anyway here is my work out.

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 3x5x200 (up 5lb) - The last one was HARD.
Press 3x5x75 (up 5lb) - These are still not too difficult.
Chinups 1x5x-40lb, 1x5x-40lb, 1x4x-40lb - Failed on the last one, I was pretty tired.

2x15 Captain chair leg raises.
2x15xBW back extensions, I can kind of do a 1/2 glute-ham-raise on the back extension stand.
10 minutes of cardio.
10 minutes of stretching. My right Hammy was tired and sore after I was done with all the work and softball. The stretching definitely felt good.

[sully13]

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 3x5x200 (no change)
Bench Press 3x5x150 (up 5lb)
Deadlift 1x5x195 (up 10lb)

2x15 weighted inclined situps.
10 minutes of cardio
10 minutes of stretching.

Notes:
This is the first time I have not added weight to something. The squats did not change. I was not happy with my form on Monday so I decided to go with 200 again. My form was much better, so I'm going to 205 next time. The Bench Presses are starting to get heavy (finally, haha). The deadlifts did not seem particularly hard today. I was still a little sore from softball and lifting on Monday and I did not sleep well last night but I seemed to make it through the workout anyway.

[sully13]

Monday June 18th, 2007.

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 2x5x205 and 4x205 (up 5lb)
Military Press 3x5x80 (up 5lb)
Pullups 3x5x-45lb (up 10lb)

2x10(+25lb) weighted inclined situps.
2x15xBW+14lb Back Extensions
15 minutes of cardio.
10 minutes of stretching.

Notes:
I missed the last rep on the squats. I got the weight up but it was ugly. Definitely doing 205 again. Everything else was okay. I missed Friday's workout because some friends came in from out of town.

[sully13]

10 minute Elliptical warmup.
Then 5 minute bike warmup because the 3 squat racks were being used. 2 of the 3 squat racks were being used for curling.

Squat 3x5x205 (up 5lb)
Bench Press 3x5x155 (up 5lb)
Deadlift 1x5x205 (up 10lb)
Chinups 3x5x-35 (up 5lb)

2x15 crunch machine (I wanted to try something different)
10 minutes of cardio (cool down)
10 minutes of stretching.

Notes:
I won't be able to go to the gym on Friday so I wanted to get in every exercies at least once this week so I added Chinups to this workout. After missing a rep the first time I tried 200lb for squats I was able to do 205 without too much of a problem. All the sets and weights for this workout are PRs. Feels good to set PRs across the board. My back is sore right where my rib cage ends. Not too sore but it is a new spot for me. I guess the deadlifts found a weakness that needs to be strengthened.


For those keeping track, I have been doing this program for a month and made the following increases:
Squat 135lb -> 205lb (up 70lb)
Bench Press 105lb -> 155lb (up 50lb)
Deadlift 145lb -> 205lb (up 60lb)
Press 55lb -> 80lb (up 25 lb)
Chinups -50lb -> -35lb (up 15lb)
Pullups -60lb -> -45lb (up 15lb)

I have been able to keep my body weight in the 215lb-218lb zone.

[sully13]

10 minute Bike warmup.

Squat 3x5x210 (up 5lb)
Military Press 3x5x85 (up 5lb)
Chinups 5x-25lb, 4x-25lb, 3x-25 (up 10lb)

15, 12(+25lb) weighted inclined situps.
2x15xBW Back Extensions
10 minutes of cardio.
10 minutes of stretching.

Notes:
My workout went pretty good. I hurt my neck this weekend but it did not effect any of my lifts. I went up to much weight for chinups but I will try it again next week.

[sully13]

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 3x5x210 (no change)
Bench Press 3x5x160 (up 5lb)
Deadlift 1x5x215 (up 10lb)
Assisted Dips 2x8x-55

2x15+25 Weighted decline situps
2x15 Captain's Chair leg raises
10 minutes of cardio (cool down)
10 minutes of stretching.

Notes:
No change in my squats. My form was not so good on Monday so I stayed with the same weight. It was much better today. I am going to 215 next time. Deadlifts were good. Bench Press is getting hard. I finally decided to add dips to see if they can help the BP before it stalls. This was the first time in about 10 years that I have attempted dips. So I started with the assisted dips.

Everything except the deadlift is starting to slow down. Squats have slowed, bench is getting hard, mil press is getting hard, I guess the pull and chinups are doing ok.

[TheKansan]

I will have to pick up the books because I haven't actually seen the workout program you are using. I am guessing the chin-ups/pull-ups are taking the place of the power cleans/pendlay rows? I actually would think that would be a more advanced program, especially since many novices can't even complete one chin-up/pull-up.

Anyway, good luck to you.

[north19701]

awesome job, keep it up!

[sully13]

Originally Posted by TheKansan

I am guessing the chin-ups/pull-ups are taking the place of the power cleans/pendlay rows? I actually would think that would be a more advanced program, especially since many novices can't even complete one chin-up/pull-up.

I am doing assisted chinups/pullups that is what you see with the '-' signs in front of the numbers. I am getting close to doing bodyweight ones, it is still going to take awhile. My BW 215lb-25lb of assist = 180lb chinup. It helps motivate me when I think of it that way.

I thought about the power cleans/pendlay rows thing a little more. I would have to say that power cleans and even the rows are way more advanced lifts compared to chin and pullups. Unless I find a competent instructor I don't think I will ever try Power Cleans.

[TheKansan]

Originally Posted by sully13

I am doing assisted chinups/pullups that is what you see with the '-' signs in front of the numbers. I am getting close to doing bodyweight ones, it is still going to take awhile. My BW 215lb-25lb of assist = 180lb chinup. It helps motivate me when I think of it that way.

Oh, I see, still you are doing a great job. I need to join a gym so I can use these machines too. Good luck.

[sully13]

5 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 3x5x215 (up 5lb)
Military Press 3x5x90 (up 5lb)
Pullups 3x5x-40lb(up 5lb)

15, 15(+25lb) weighted inclined situps.
2x10xBW+25 Back Extensions
8 minutes of cardio.

Notes:
Gym closes at 8pm on Friday during the summer so I had to speed my workout up a little more then usual. Everything went pretty good and everything went up. The 215lb squats were hard but I got them done. The presses were hard but I got them done.

[mtsepulveda85]

hey good luck i hope u reach ur goals. i see that u keep improving ur stats evry week wich is very good. i also jus started 5x5 workout and journal hopefully i see sum gains. how do u like the workout so far

[sully13]

Originally Posted by mtsepulveda85

hey good luck i hope u reach ur goals. i see that u keep improving ur stats evry week wich is very good. i also jus started 5x5 workout and journal hopefully i see sum gains. how do u like the workout so far

I like the program alot. 3 days a week is perfect. I play softball on Tuesday and beach volleyball on Thursdays so only having to go to the gym 3 days a week is perfect.

[sully13]

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 5,4,5x215 (no change)
Bench Press 3x5x165 (up 5lb)
Chinups 3x5x-25lb(no change)
Assisted Dips 8,7x-50 (up 5lb)

2x15x50 Crunch Machine (I don't know what else to call it)
10 minutes of cardio (cool down)
10 minutes of stretching.

Notes:
I don't count reps when form breaks down. So I missed 1 squat in the second set. Squats are ready to go up again the last set was at a good speed with good form. I did not realize it until today but I am pretty much squatting my own bodyweight.

Bench Press is getting heavy. I almost did not get the bar up on the last rep. The bar never stopped but it was going real slow. I finally found a comfortable grip width on the bench press, my ring fingers on the marks. Anyone know what those marks are called?

I completed all the chinups, which I had a problem with last week.

Not happy with my dips, but they are new, so I expect lots of improvement.

[sully13]

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 3x5x220 (up 5lb)
Standing Mil. Press 3x5x95 (up 5lb)
Deadlift 1x5x225 (up 10lb)

2x15+25 Weighted decline situps
2x12 Captain's Chair leg raises (straight legs)
15 minutes of cardio
10 minutes of stretching.

Notes:
Yesterday was obviously a holiday so I did not get to the gym. I plan on going Saturday too to get back on schedule. I am off of work this week. So today I planned all of my meals around lifting this afternoon. What a difference it made in how strong I felt compared to going after a full day of sitting on my ass at work.

Anyway, all of my lifts went up today. And they all seem ready to go up next time.

So far I have been going slow but I have not had to reset anything yet. Squats are the only thing that I had to repeat a weight on so far.

[sully13]

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 3x5x225 (up 5lb)
Bench Press 3x5x170 (up 5lb)
Pullups 2x5x-35, 3x-35(up 5lb)
Assisted Dips 8,8x-50 (no change)

2x25 Swiss ball crunches
2x12xBW+25 45deg Back Extensions
15 minutes of cardio
10 minutes of stretching.

Notes:
I am really happy with the squats, 4 plates finally!

Everything went better then I expected. I had a looong day yesterday. I went golfing and I carry my clubs when I golf so it is still exercise. Then went out to eat and ate too much and then went out and drank quite a bit. I did manage to get a good amount of sleep so maybe that helped.

[sully13]

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 3x5x225 (no change)
Military Press 3x5x100 (up 5lb)
Chinups 3x5x-20 (up 5lb)

2x12+35lb Weighted decline crunches
2x15xBW 45deg Back Extensions
10 minutes of cardio
10 minutes of stretching.

Notes:
The squats were harder today then Saturday. My meal plan when I have to work sucks. I need to have a bigger meal a few hours before my workout. It helped alot in the previous two workouts when I planned my meals around my workouts.

I have a desk job so I will have to see what I can do to tweak my meal timing.

Military Presses felt damn near impossible but I got through them.

Next time I do chinups (next Monday) it will be body weight. I will do as many sets as it takes to get to 15 reps.

Workouts still progressing pretty good. Just getting kind of tiring. Especially with having to go Thursday->Saturday->Monday->Wednesday->Friday to stay on schedule. I am thinking of trying Front Squats on Wednesday just to do something a little lighter (and different). I am not quite up to doing 5 heavy squat workouts in 9 days.

[Anywhereman]

Nice progress so far...

Sub'd

[sully13]

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Front Squat 5x3x115 (first time)
Bench Press 2x5,1x4 x175 (up 5lb)
Deadlift 1x5x230 (up 5lb)
Assisted Dips 8,8x-45 (up 5lb)

2x25 Swiss Ball Crunches
10 minutes of cardio
10 minutes of stretching.

Notes:
I wanted to try front squats because I did not want to do 5 back squat workouts in 9 days. I liked them. I don't think I will incoporate them consistently yet but I needed something lighter to do. Bench Press was real hard, I think I will stay at 175 for one more workout, form really broke down on the last rep. Deadlift felt pretty good I will probably bump it up 10lb again.

[sully13]

5 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 1x5x230, 2x4x230 (up 5lb)
Military Press 2x5x105, 1x3x105 (up 5lb)
Pullups 3x5x-35 (no change)

2x15+35lb Weighted decline crunches
5 minutes of cardio
5 minutes of stretching.

Notes:
Well, today did not go well at all. I went to a concert last night and had to still get up for work. So I did not get very much sleep, 4ish hours. I also did not eat well this afternoon. I really thought I would still be able to hit some of those weights. The gym closes at 8 on Friday during the summer. So I usually move a little faster for everything but the weight lifting on Friday. And this was my 5th workout in 9 days.

The result of all of those little and not so little things. A bad workout. Monday will be better. Wow that was alot of excuses.

[TheKansan]

Too many excuses, still at least you worked out today.

[sully13]

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 3x5x230 (no change, other then completing the reps)
Bench Press 3x5x180 (up 5lb)
Deadlift 1x5x240 (up 10lb)
Chinups 4xBW, 4xBW, 3xBW (up from 20lbs assistance)

Weighted decline situps 2x15x+35lb
15 minutes of cardio
10 minutes of stretching

Notes:
I will be out of town until Sunday night. So no more workouts for me this week. I changed the Monday workout because I will not be here the rest of the week. I added the deadlifts because I wanted to make sure I got them in. I did not do the accessory dips because of the deadlifts.

I was able to do the squats that I had a problem with on Friday.

I was able to go up in bench press even though I missed a rep when I did them at 175lb.

Deadlifts were very tiring as usual. I think I will only go up 5lb next week.

My big accomplishment for the week was the bodyweight chinups. I did sets of 4, 4 and 3. I did much better then I thought I would. I will admit that I cheat on the first rep because I do not start from a dead hang. I use my momentum from jumping up and grabbing the handles to do the first rep. Anyway bodyweight chinups from here on out. My bodyweight was 217lb after my workout.

See everyone next Monday.

[sully13]

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 5x235, 4x235, 4x235 (up 5lb, missed reps due to bad form)
Military Press 3x5x105 (no change, but completed all reps)
Chinups 5xBW, 4xBW, 3xBW (finished an extra rep for the first set)

Weighted decline situps 2x16x+35lb
15 minutes of cardio
10 minutes of stretching

Notes:
I am back from my vacation. I had a good time. I did get some exercise but it was not in the form of lifting. Back to work and the gym yesterday (posting on Tuesday).

Nothing of note really. I moved squats up but suspected I may not be able to complete them to my satisfaction. I finished all my sets of the 105lb Presses and they were a little easier then I remember them being when I failed my reps last time.

I am thinking about adding another set of chinups, I would like to get to a total of 15. Maybe I will wait a week or two to see if I can progress to 3 sets of 5.

[sully13]

10 minute Elliptical warmup.

Squat 3x5x235 (no change, other then completing the reps)
Bench Press 3x5x180 (no change)
Deadlift 1x5x245 (up 5lb)
Dips 2x8x-40lb (up 5lb)

Swiss Ball situps
10 minutes of cardio
10 minutes of stretching

Notes:
I finished the reps on the squats this time. They were very hard. During warmups for bench press I did not think I could go to 185lb. So I did my work at 180 again. Deadlifts are really tiring but fun....maybe fun isn't the right word.


2 Month Progress:
Well, it is a little over two months.

Squat 135lb -> 235lb (up 100lb)
Bench Press 105lb -> 180lb (up 75lb)
Deadlift 145lb -> 245lb (up 100lb)
Press 55lb -> 105lb (up 50lb)
Chinups -50lb -> BW (up 50lb)
Pullups -60lb -> -35lb (up 25lb)
Dips -55lb -> -40lb (up 15lb)

I have maintained my bodyweight between 215lb and 219lb. I am definitely leaner then I was.