My starting strength log

[nydude1814]

Bench press:
45 x 10
85 x 5
105 x 3
115 x 1
120 x 5/5/8 +5 (-5 from reset) bar speed slow/very slow

For some reason no matter how wide grip I use (my pinkies are rigt on the legal bench marks on the bar), it seems that I feel it in the triceps much more then in pecs, and when I can't get one more rep, its because of triceps exhaustion not pecs. On the chest press machine I feel the pecs much more.

Squats:
45 x 5
85 x 5
115 x 4
140 x 2
165 x 1
185 x 5/5/6 +5 back to reset point, bar speed slow

Dips:
-100 x 8/8/6 +0/+1+0

Triceps very exhausted from benching already.

Deadlift:
135 x 5
185 x 3
215 x 5 +10 new PR bar speed medium

215 felt easy everywhere except in the grip starting to give out as in on 5th rep the bar almost rolled out of my hands on top. Will attempt 2 plates next workout A with mixed grip.

TeknoGym Chest Press
90 x 8 +0rep
100 x 7 +10lb -1rep
90 x 7 +7rep

Above machine is only place where I feel my pecs being worked (that and db bench press) Maybe I have unusually long forearms or something, but bench press just seems to be mostly triceps workout for me.

Cardio
27 min stationary bike HIIT. 1min/3min intervals 200/450 watts. Two times I did 2 min rest instead of 3 min rest...Heart rate 150 doing recovery 165-170 doing the sprint.

Overall a great workout. I was afraid of squats so I loaded up on carbs and protein all day long, and squats were ok, and DL just excellent.

[nydude1814]

Friday Cardio

24 mins HIIT, 450/200 watts 1/3 min
20 mins cooldown at 200/220 watts maintaining 150 HR.

One thing about HIIT is that TV viewing is impossible with it. I have no problem with doing 60 min at 250 watts, at avg heart rate 155/160, and enjoy some TV show at the same time. But with HIIT its next to impossible.

Was watching Battlestar Galactica episode, and I had to rewind multiple times because doing 1 min all out effort and first 30 sec of recovery TV is the last thing on my mind.

Anyway, did the last 20 minutes steady state instead of HIIT so I can enjoy the episode.

Weekly Measurments

Weight: 206.6 (-3.4)
Waist: 38.5 (-0.5)
BF%: 28mm or 26.3% (-4 mm or -1.5%)
Chest: 41.5 (+0.5)
Shoulders: 45 (+0.3)

[nydude1814]

Standing press:

45 x 5
60 x 4
75 x 1
85 x 5/5/6 +5lb new PR bar speed extremely slow, 6th rep helped with legs a bit

Squats:

45 x 5
85 x 5
115 x 4
140 x 3
160 x 1
190 x 5/5/6 +5lb new PR bar speed med/med/slow

Very happy with the squats today. Could have done more then 6 reps in last set if had adequate rest, but some guy was pestering me to hurry up..So only around 2 min rest between sets 2 and 3. Of course the guy went ahead and did 10lb biceps curls later. (Yes I was in my right to just ignore him, but I hate it when someone just hangs around waiting you to free up the squat rack).


Power Cleans:

95 x 5
130 x 1/2/3/2/3 +5lb bar speed very very slow

I either need reset or was just tired.. If I concentrate mentally enough I can do it with what I feel is at least adequate form, but on missed reps it was just coordination problem I think not luck of strength. Definitely can't do these like DL as in "just rip it", have to think and control all the phases of it, concentrating hard, otherwise timing just not there and I miss the rep.

Will give it a try with same weight 2 more times, if can't do 5 sets of 3 then will reset.

Assistance:

Parallel grip chin-ups: -35 x 7/7/7 +0/0/1
HS shoulder press: 110 x 9/9/5 (+10lb -0/0/4 reps)
DB Biceps curls:: 20 x 15/12 +0/2


Cardio:
28 mins HIIT (well 21 mins actual HIIT and 7 min cooldown).

Just to give breakdown these are actual minutes:
4 mins 200 watt
1 min 450 watt
3 mins 200 watt
1 min 450 watt
3 mins 200 watt
1 min 450 watt
3 mins 200 watt
1 min 450 watt
3 mins 200 watt
1 min 450 watt
7 min 200 watt

[nydude1814]

Cardio

25 min HIIT the usual 200/450 watts. 3/1 min. Did 2 intervals with only 2 min rest, trying to shorten the rest because it seems body is adapting and heart rate drops into 135-140 now at the end of 3rd minute of recovery.

Also had a cheat day yesterday diet wise, non-intentional but as in "oh well screw it, got a good book and no baby carrots handy, so I'll have a can of honey roasted cashews". Did not even wanted to look into the back of the can for calorie info, coz I knew it would be like 2000+ cal.

Decided to start EC stack again, since that seem to just turn the appetite right off.

Today will finally be deadlifting 225, hopefully all these calories going to fuel the workout.

[padrote]

That was a fun read. Good luck in your goals.

[nydude1814]

That was a fun read. Good luck in your goals.

We strive to entertain :-) thanks for reading

Now this has nothing to do with your post, just don't want to post two messages withing minutes of one another, but this is the funniest thing I had seen all year.



"It looks like a flying..." "Johnson, get me British Intelligence stat!"

(Warning above video has a flying dick in it)

Will post workout later

[nydude1814]

Bench Press:
45 x 6
85 x 5
110 x 3
125 x 5/5/7 +5 new PR bar speed slow

Hard fail on 8th rep, could not get it off the chest, slided the weights off.

Squats:
45 x 5
85 x 5
120 x 3
155 x 2
180 x 1
195 x 5/5/8 +5 Booya! Bar speed slow

Some form problems on the squats, I think I'm rounding my back a bit..Its so heavy hard to concentrate on tightness. After 4th rep of the 3rd set thought I could not do 5th, but then forced myself to do it, and used the "think up! up! up! while lowering myself" mental que instead of whatever else I was thinking before, and I made it. Encouraged by that win, I decided to try 6th rep, and made it, and then the 7th and then 8th. Though took maybe 5-10 seconds to catch my breath on the 7 and 8.

Must be the EC stack (started today) having an effect already on energy level.

Dips:
-100 x 8/8/6 absolutely no progress on these, triceps were dead from the benching

Deadlift:
135 x 5
185 x 2
225 x 5 +10 New PR, bar speed slow/very slow

Used mixed grip on the work set. Got myself extra tired putting 2nd 45s on the bar. Before I just slided smaller diameter plates right on top of the 1st 45, but 2nd 45s I have to lift the bar with 1 45 on it already with 1 hand, and slide 2nd one with another, and it does not slide right on, have to wiggle it, so took like 10 seconds for each side, and tired my back and quads by just doing that. EDIT: re-reading my own post realized that I should have just put a plate under the 1st 45, and then 2nd one would have just slided on. Doh!

TeknoGym chest press:
100 x 9/9/7 +10/0/10lb +1/2/0 reps

Cardio:
200/450 watts, 1 minute is the one at 450.. Increase to 3 number of intervals with 2 min recovery.

Minutes: 4/1/2/1/2/1/2/1/3/1/3/1/3 Total 25 minutes.

Overall an excellent workout, only dips disappointed, maybe I should switch dips/chinups on workouts A/B around.

[nydude1814]

Measured my blood pressure first thing after waking up to see how EC stack affects it and it wasn't good. 136/69.. I had hit "start" again and tried to think happy thoughts, and 2dn time it came out as 122/65.. 3rd time came out as 124/68.. Donno what to think. I used to have hypertension when I was >250lb but it normalized and 2/3 month ago I was worried it was too low, coz it was like 110/58.. Maybe its just the fact that I did it right after being woken up by alarm, coz I heard right after a sudden wakeup body releases adrenaline in a fight-or-flight response.

Thinking about what lifestyle changes I did, I used to almost give up coffee, was down to 1 cup a day..With my BP normal I kind of slowly got addicted to coffee again, up to the point where i have 2 huge cups each morning and then around 4 doing the day. In fact I don't take caffeine for EC stack, I calculated I get all the 100 mg caffeine from each cup of coffee and I already do 6 a day.

Anyway, will drop coffee after EC stack cycle.

Cardio:

6am empty stomach, 28 mins HIIT 200/450 watts minutes 4/1/2/1/2/1/2/1/3/1/3/1/6

Heart rate spiked into 174 a few times, had to stop myself from pedaling harder. EC gives insane energy boost, and I'm still only ramping it up, on 1/2 of full dosage so far.

[padrote]

maybe I should switch dips/chinups on workouts A/B around.

Don't do that, they're supposed to be on the same days as the compounds using the same muscles. Otherwise you wouldn't be giving your muscles enough recovery time, with dips and bench you'd hit your tris and chest every other day. They're just accessories, don't worry too much about them.

[nydude1814]

Don't do that, they're supposed to be on the same days as the compounds using the same muscles. Otherwise you wouldn't be giving your muscles enough recovery time, with dips and bench you'd hit your tris and chest every other day. They're just accessories, don't worry too much about them.

Yea I know. Just frustrating not making much progress on my upper body. I see other people who doing SS and squatting 155-160 but their bench is 135+, and I'm stuck at 125.

[nydude1814]

Exactly same situation as before my vacation, EC stack to 2/3 of a full dose, and I simply forgot to eat anything at 3pm. So my pre workout intake was 6am 2 apples, 9am 250g grilled sea bass, noon 200g chicken breast with cauliflower and thats it. I took a few ounces of blueberries right before workout at 7pm, since my rule is not to have a big meal just before workout, it just feels weird and leads to accidents to squat and deadlift with a lot of bulky food in ones stomach.. I estimate around 1000 cal whole day before the workout.

As you can see below, it really showed.

Standing Press:
45 x 5
65 x 5
90 x 5/4/3 +5 bar speed extremely slow

Had to clean the bar from the floor for the warmups and 1st work set, due to squat rack being busy.

Squats:
45 x 5
85 x 5
120 x 3
155 x 2
185 x 1
200 x 5/5/3 +5 bar speed slow

Funny thing bar speed was slow but not glacial, but just could not raise of the hole. I always get funny looks from people when i fail the squat, they are unsure about if I'm about to die or they should come to my rescue etc. To avoid someone jumping in and "helping" I kneel forward to drop the weight on the squat rack guard rails pretty fast if I fail the rep.

Backout set: Angled/incline leg press machine: 225 x 8-3-3 rest paused (10 sec pause) (180 as in 2 45's each side, forgot to look up how much empty machine is, prob at least 45?)

Power Cleans:
45 x 5 hang cleans, practicing the jump
115 x 3/3/3/3/3 reset -15 bar speed medium and I actually jumped on o few reps

Given how the other lifts and how I felt decided to reset and work on form instead of repeating 130

Assistance:
Parallel Grip Chin-ups: -35 x 8/8/5 (+1/+1/-2)
HS Shoulder Press: 120 x 9/9/5 (+10 lb +0/0/0)
DB Biceps Curs: 20 x 16/8 (+0/-4)

Cardio:
23 mins HIIT 200/450 watts, 4/1/2/1/2/1/2/1/3/1/5. I forgot to mention before my warmup I do not start at 200 watts, but i start at 120/150 and increase every 30 sec until I get to 200, but I log it as 200 since too lazy to remember the exact level and at what time I upped it.


Overall same story again, under EC stack I think I'm not taking in enough food, and it shows in the workout.. I would have probably aced 200 lb squats had I loaded up on food all day like I did for a few previous workouts.

See next post for my thoughts/planning for the future.

[nydude1814]

It seems that I am at the point where I'm stalling again because I'm cutting. Ie I no longer can have a daily calorie deficit of 1000 calories and increase my lifts at the same time.

I got to make a decision and that is do I continue to cut with EC stack and do HIIT, or do I increase my food intake and continue increasing my lifts? I absolutely ace the squats if i eat a lot.

But. I also really want to finish transforming my body and have 6-pack and all of that..

Therefore I think I'll compromise and continue with the EC stack and continue with HIIT until I got to at least 10%-12% bodyfat, but will try to eat more while still maintaining the deficit. I think tomorrow weight-in and measurements will show >3 lb loss, which 1500 cal a day deficit, i should shoot for 2 lb/week max or less.

I shall also religiously adhere to 6 meals a day protocol, which is my problem area. I ordered some protein bars on BB.com and will bring some to work with me, so that I can always eat a 2 protein bars at 3pm if there is no alternative or I'm stuck with emergency.. I'll also set up alarms on both my home and work computer to remind me of the meal times. (i have problem with forgetting to eat if I'm busy working on something, I usually remember breakfast, after workout, and before sleep meals with no problem)

With regards to lifts, I will be switching my workout to DC system.

Reasons why are:

1. I like the fact that its 3 days a week schedule similar to SS

2. I like the concept of rest-pause set. It can be viewed either as a one long set of 20 or so with breaks, or 3 sets with very very short breaks between sets... Saves times comparing to SS 3 full work sets with 3-4 mins rest between them.

3. I like that you got to use different excersisez and switch them around. Every person is different, and if I try different excersizes, and for each of them different set/rep schemess, I have a greater chance to find the combination that makes progress in my problem area (upper body)

4. Its pretty much linear progression system similar to SS, except its more flexible and gives one more choice over what you consider progress, but you have to increase either weight or reps each workout, or you have to switch to a diff lift.

Anyway, my next workout Sunday, I'll do regular SS workout A, except, instead of the assistance exersizes I'll try out all the other lifts that I want to use with DC, to select my favorite 3 lifts for each body part..

Below is a list of recommended lifts for DC for me to select from.. In case anyone wondering , my info is from http://dc-training.blogspot.com/.

CHEST
incline smythe
decline smythe
hammer strength press (incline and decline)
other good machine press
incline barbell
decline barbell
incline dumbbell press
flat dumbbell press
decline dumbbell press

SHOULDERS
smythe presses to front
smythe presses to back of head
hammer strength press
other good machine press
barbell press to front
barbell press to back of head
dumbbell shoulder press

TRICEPS
close grip bench in smythe
reverse grip bench in smythe
skull crushers
dips (in upright position)

BACK WIDTH
rack chins to front
rack chins to back of head
reverse grip rack chins (close grip)
assisted pullups
hammer strength "pulldown" machines
other good "pulldown" machines
pull downs to front
pull downs to back of head

BACK THICKNESS
deadlift
rack deadlift
T-bar rows
smythe rows
barbell rows

BICEPS
barbell curls
alternate dumbbell curls
barbell preacher curls
hammer strength machine curls
other good machine curls
cable curls
incline db curls
close grip ez-bar preacher curls
standing medium grip ez-bar curls

FOREARMS
hammer curls (alternated)
pinwheel curls (alternated)
reverse grip one arm cable curls

CALVES
calves on a leg press
standing calf raises
calves in hack squat
seating calf raises
any calf machine with a good range of motion

HAMSTRINGS
seating leg curls
standing leg curls
lying leg curls
stiff leg deadlift
sumo presses

QUADS
squats
smythe squats
hack squat
leg press

[nydude1814]

Weight: 207.6 (+1) doh? I started taking creatine 2 days ago, could it be creatine weight? All other subjective measures like belt going up one notch etc show fat loss

BF: 27 mm (-1) or 25.5% (-0.8%)
Waist: 36 (-2.5) explains the belt
Chest: 41: (-0.5) hopefully fat loss from man-boobs
Shoulders: 46.5 (+1.5)
Arms: 14 (unch)
Thighs: 24 (-0.5) expected this to go up, quads seems visually more defined
Hips: 42.5 (+0.5) legs getting thinner and ass bigger, not good :-) will not worry for now

Overall I feel thinner, and got comments at work "did you lose weight" etc, so IMHO the scales going up 1lb is water weight from creatine. I would have freaked out and did 60 min cardio before, but now that I do measurements I just go by the waist and bodyfat, as long as these go down I'm happy.

[Bugsy_Malone]

Weight: 207.6 (+1) doh? I started taking creatine 2 days ago, could it be creatine weight? All other subjective measures like belt going up one notch etc show fat loss

BF: 27 mm (-1) or 25.5% (-0.8%)
Waist: 36 (-2.5) explains the belt
Chest: 41: (-1) hopefully fat loss from man-boobs
Shoulders: 46.5 (+1.5)
Arms: 14 (unch)
Thighs: 24 (-0.5) expected this to go up, quads seems visually more defined
Hips: 42.5 (+0.5) legs getting thinner and ass bigger, not good :-) will not worry for now

Overall I feel thinner, and got comments at work "did you lose weight" etc, so IMHO the scales going up 1lb is water weight from creatine. I would have freaked out and did 60 min cardio before, but now that I do measurements I just go by the waist and bodyfat, as long as these go down I'm happy.

So your weight has gone up, and bodyfat % gone down.

It's either water weight or muscle then..no?

Earlier you said your bench was hitting your tri's more..has this been resolved? If not it must be a form issue..do some more reading on bench form, especially arm placement/angle and see what happens.

Finally, how long have you been on SS now? And when you say you want to "get a six pack", when do you want to? Try to think long-term, like 12 months or more into training consistently. I've always messed up by thinking short term, and then stopping after a few months.

Bugsy

[nydude1814]

Earlier you said your bench was hitting your tri's more..has this been resolved? If not it must be a form issue..do some more reading on bench form, especially arm placement/angle and see what happens.

Finally, how long have you been on SS now? And when you say you want to "get a six pack", when do you want to? Try to think long-term, like 12 months or more into training consistently. I've always messed up by thinking short term, and then stopping after a few months.

I've been on SS since middle of Jan, so around 5 month now. I had 2 weeks break and reset everything after the break, now stalling again after reset (well not exactly stalling, just press and squat so far, and I can probably squeeze another +10 on both but I can feel a stall coming up)

With regards to bench, I still have the problem with triceps being worked more the pecs, if I limit myself to a legal grip width. IMHO its not the form, I just have long arms. For my forearms to be vertical at the bottom of the bench press, my grip needs to be around 5 inches wider then legal grip on each side.. Maybe I should just do that.

So I am thinking long term, but IMHO cutting first and then doing a clean bulk later would do more good to me psychologically then eating a lot and gaining strength. I can gain strength later when I'm more happier with the way I look.. Getting a 6-pack is a long term goal, I do not expect it to happen this summer, but would like to have one for the next one..

[nydude1814]

42 minutes steady state 250-260 watts, avg heart rate 155 no HIIT, wanted to watch BSG episode without interruptions. With everyone having all kind of visions I hope they don't do the matrix style "it was all a simulation/dream copout".

Altho ending with a fat Baltar and Chief sitting in a cubicles with a demotivator poster on the wall and a dialog like:

"Simulation went nuts again, cylons rebelled and they all killed each other...We'll have to do it all over again"

"Lets give Adama syphilis in this one"

woild be hilarious in a bad way.

[nydude1814]

Bench Press:
45 x 10
95 x 5
115 x 3
130 x 5/5/6 +5 bar speed glacial

Squats:
45 x 5
85 x 5
120 x 3
155 x 2
185 x 1
200 x 5/5/7 same weight bar speed very very slow

Had some problems last 3 reps of 3rd set, thankfully no GM, but instead knees buckling in and heels leaving the floor, a bit of sideways bent (corrected immediately when noticed but scary). It literally took me 7-8 seconds of very slowly pushing it out around midpoint of 7 rep, I did not care at that point if my knee buckle in, or whatever was happening to the feet, coz all the effort was on pushing it and not giving up.. I'm not worrying too much, because form breaks down when going for PR's is a fact of life.

Deadlift:
135 x 5
235 x 5 +10 bar speed very slow

Gym was closing early and I only had 3 minutes left I had to do these immediately after the squats and in the hurry.. No rest between warmup and work set, just the time it took to add the weight.

I could feel my lower back rounding a bit on a few reps, donno how bad it was, it did not feel like too much rounding subjectively, but i was afraid to look sideways into mirror to check, coz its a sure way to screw not only your back but neck as well.

Did not had time to try out any new lifts for starting the DC program, coz of gym closing at 7 instead 8 because of holiday.

Cardio:
Decided against cardio today, as not to overdo it. My initial plan was to do cardio only on non-lifting days anyway, but as always I got greedy and last week did it almost every day..

Food intake:
I took 6 meals a day yesterday and today with no more then 30 mins from the allotted times.. 6am 9am noon 3pm 6pm 9pm. No carbs after 3pm and 9pm food intake always being 2 scoops whey in a glass of skim milk + half-glass water + tablespoon of creatine.

On a few occasions meals had been just a protein bar, when i had nothing else handy.. I bought 3 kinds from BB.com store, here is my taste impressions of them:

Detour low sugar caramel/penaut: 370 cal, taste 9/10 tastes like sneakers bar

Optimum Protein Toasted Coconut: 190 cal, taste 7/10 above avarege taste

NitroTech Hardcore bar: 270 cal, taste 4.5/10, tastes like your average protein bar, acceptable but not great.

[nydude1814]

Standing OH Press:
45 x 5
60 x 4
75 x 3
90 x 5/4/3 same weight, no improvement :-\ bar speed extremely slow

OH press feels very heavy, and my spine feels like its going to snap backward, especially when I'm taking a long time to push the rep out.. Funny thing everyone worries about hurting the back with squats or DL, I have absolutely no back problems with these, but I'm worried I'm going to hurt my back badly from OH press...Its not lower back, its mid-way between lower back and shoulder blades where it feels like its going to just snap backward for me.

Squats:
45 x 5
85 x 5
120 x 3
155 x 2
185 x 1
205 x 5/4/3 +5lb bar speed slow

2nd set was either 4 or 5, i lost count. I think it was 5 but can't be sure therefore will count as 4..3rd set was a hard fail on 4th rep, raised to about parallel from ATG, pushed, no mas, and just sunk back down

Power Cleans:
45 x 10 hang cleans practicing jump and shrug
120 x 3/3/3/3/3 -10 bar speed medium

Worked on form and I'm liking it.. I shrugged on every rep, and IMHO even jumped on a few reps...Also my fluidity/speed on these is up, its like prepare..prepare...BAM! bar is racked..

Instead chin-ups and curls etc I sampled some lifts for use with DC system 3 lifts per body part rotation.


Smith machine

Seated shoulder press to front of the head: 50 x 10+5+3 rest paused, 10 sec rest pause..

Seated shoulder press to back of the head: 50 x 8+3+1 rest paused.

Tried to do the above DC style, 5-6 second negative and explosive positive.

Above weight are just 2 25'th, coz I donno how much smith machine bar weights, so for smith machine I'm going to use just weight of the plates as the weight used.

I actually really liked this excersize.. Being seated eliminated the back hyperextension problem from the picture.. Going to failure on the smith machine really feels much different then failure with standing OH press...I feel it in my delts/shoulders much more. Also the last rest pause definitely helps to kill the muscles... Also back of the head is harder, and more similar to OH press feel then front of the head.

Rack pullups (wide grip)
BW x 6+3+0 rest paused

These are much easier then regular pullups (I can't do >2 wide grip ones).. I positioned the bench and bar in such a way that if I for rest pause I relaxed my hands a bit and my ass touched the floor taking around 70% of BW, thus resting..Ass did not touch the floor doing the set tho... Donno if my form is off? My hips are bent at around 30 degree angle, should I be more parallel to make it harder?

Planned to do cardio today, but had to handle emergency call from work, will do tomorrow morning on empty stomach.

Overall pretty happy with the workout, even tho stalling again.. Will still try to get 205 x 5/5/5 next workout and will try benching 135 finally.. That would make me +20lb on squats from my reset.. After that will go DC

[nydude1814]

Empty stomach, 40 mins HIIT 200/450 watt minutes

4/1/2/1/2/1/2/1/2/1/3/1/3/1/3/1/2/1/8

Increased number of 2 min recovery intervals to 4 + 1 at the end.. Heart rate 150 recovery 170 high intensity

Breakfast 7am instead of 6 due to time taken for cardio

[nydude1814]

Empty stomach again 30 minutes HIIT (well 21 minutes reallly with a long cooldown), 200/450 watts, minutes:

4/1/2/1/2/1/2/1/2/1/3/1/9

Kept 1 3 minute recovery period, will remove it tomorrow and only do 1min/2min, then will introduce 1.5 min recovery periods.. Eventual goal is to have same length recovery and all out intervals. Cooldown had to do at 230 watts to keep heart rate 150, otherwise it drops into lower 140's at 200 watts.

Belt down another notch this morning, I feel optimistic about sat measurments showing improvement with BF%.

Breakfast at 7:30 instead of 6 coz I started my cardio late. I have my first dose of EC stack right after waking up, with the C part being 2 cups of coffee, and I can't help but indulge a bit in web surfing while I have the coffee, and sometimes lose track of time..

[Bugsy_Malone]

So I am thinking long term, but IMHO cutting first and then doing a clean bulk later would do more good to me psychologically then eating a lot and gaining strength. I can gain strength later when I'm more happier with the way I look.. Getting a 6-pack is a long term goal, I do not expect it to happen this summer, but would like to have one for the next one..

If you want to lose weight first, and not too interested in gaining strength, maybe "starting strength" isn't the right program!

Why not start high intensity, lower weight workouts?

I found the best way to lose weight and get in good shape was boxing training. You don't have to actually get in the ring and fight people, just join a club for the aerobic training.

[nydude1814]

If you want to lose weight first, and not too interested in gaining strength, maybe "starting strength" isn't the right program!

Why not start high intensity, lower weight workouts?

I found the best way to lose weight and get in good shape was boxing training. You don't have to actually get in the ring and fight people, just join a club for the aerobic training.

My problem is not losing weight, I kind of lost a lot of weight already and got to the "skinny fat" stage.

The most amazing "skinny fat to spartan" transformations I've seen were from people following p90x like program. I almost went to purchase their tapes, but they had a page "you should be able to do this before you can start the program" and it was like 10 pullups, 10 pushups etc. At that point I could not do a single one, so I started lifting weights by myself first (with db's) and then joined the gym and did SS instead.

By now I can probably do p90x, but I'm a bit concerned about not doing any compound lifts for 3 months, and that I would lose all the gains I've made strength wise..

Your post got me thinking, maybe I should do p90x now instead of switching to DC system.. Wondering if doing heavy squat/deadlifts once a week doing p90x would be enough as not to let my lifts deteriorate too far.

[nydude1814]

Bench press:
45 x 10
85 x 5
105 x 3
120 x 2
135 x 5/4/2 +5lb bar speed glacially slow

Did not attempt 5th rep of the 2nd set, and could not raise 3rd rep of 3rd set off the chest, slided the weights off.. I did not used 45's, because when I slide weights off I prefer them go slide off slowly plate by plate in a controlled fashion.

Squats:
45 x 5
85 x 5
120 x 3
155 x 2
185 x 1
205 x 5/5/6 same weight bar speed very slow

Deadlift:
135 x 5
185 x 2
245 x 4 +10 bar speed extremely slow

I concentrated on my form, and I'm pretty sure (as sure as can be by feel) that my back did not round 1st 3 reps. It rounded a bit on the 4th rep, towards the middle of the lift, but I finished it. On the 5th rep, when bar was around 3 inches off the ground my knees straightened out, but bar did not move and i felt lower back round a lot.. I could have pulled it off by just craning with the back, but decided against it and dropped the weight.

Did not do any assistance, instead tried out the following:

Max Rack parallel squat 245

Note maxrack is kind of a weird power rack with a bar on rails like a 3-d smith machine, but without ability to lock the bar with a wrist flick... I have no idea what is the point of that machine, but my gym only has that and does not have regular power rack. And I wanted the safety rails set to a about parallel or a bit above parallel position.

http://www.startracusa.com/ps-14-2-max-rack.aspx

Anyway the reason I wanted to do this are psychological, just wanting to feel how heavy 245 would feel on my back under safe conditions. I had previously 1-repped 225 parallel squat on that machine for the same reason, but i bounced it off the rails a bit.

Well I descended with 245 in a controlled fashion, but could not stop myself descending and just dropped it on the rails. Tried again with 225, same thing.. 245 felt incredibly heavy just to unrack.. Oh well.

Selecting chest excersizes for DC system

Smith slight incline bench press:
50 x 8
100 x 3+3+1 rp

Smith 45 deg partial range of motion bench press:
100 x 3+3+1 rp

Partial ROM because I set safety rails so that bar stopped on them around 2 inches above my chest.. Did very slow and controlled descent, until I hear a very slight click of the bar touching the safety rails, and then trying to explode up.

I used as wide grip as possible on that one, felt it a bit more in the pecs, but nothing like DB press or machine chest press.

So far it looks like my favorite chest excersizes are DB bench press, machine chest press, and then I would guess pushups..

I was doing DC style extreme stretching for chest with 22.2 db's, and did 8+5+2 db flys, and then 15 db presses, (could have done more).. It seems that flat bench definitely does not work the pecs, I should not be able to do these if flat bench really worked the pecs?

Cardio:

28 minutes HIIT 200/450 watts, minutes:

4/1/2/1/2/1/2/1/2/1/2/1/2/1/5

All recovery periods 2 minutes now.. Cardio was very hard due to muscles exhausted by lifting, but I kept reminding myself that hopefully it pumps the fat right from that ugly gut and pushed myself thru it.

Overall pretty happy with the workout. Lifts are stalling because of cutting I think, bar speed extremely slow on everything. Will evaluate tomorrow measurements and maybe up calories a bit, or drop cardio frequency.

Food intake ok, frequency wise not so good. Came from work at 5pm, did errands until 6 (next scheduled meal time) but did not wanted to eat right before gym. Went to gym, came back at 7:30, cardio, shower, take the garbage out, post workout in the log, and its 9+ already..Had dinner at 9:30, so basically ended up skipping 6pm meal... Will still take whey before sleep. Its seems tricky to schedule gym+cardio time with 3 hour interval between meals in a such way, so that: a) Stomach is not full when going to gym b) Cardio is done immediately after lifting without taking meal in between.

[nydude1814]

Weight: 205.4 (-2.2)
Body Fat: 26mm (-1) or 25.5 (unch)
Waist: 38.5 (+2.5) WTF!@#$%
Chest: 40.3 (-0.7)
Shoulders: 46.7 (+0.2)
Arms: 13.8 (-0.2) hopefully underarm fat going
Thighs: 23.8 (-0.2)
Hips: 42 (-0.5)

Body Fat is tricky one to measure. Not only one have to use the same exact spot, which I by now ok with, but also depending on how hard/far the skinfold is pulled out, I can get anywhere from 20mm to 30mm.. I went with "ok this feels like pulling it as hard as last time" measurement, but honestly I could have choosen any # I wanted.

The only explanation I got for the waist measurement is that I had a bulky dinner 9:30pm yesterday (big packet of french cut green beans (5 servings/150 cal) + fried chicken breast cubes), and its definitively not out of me yet at 6am). Anecdotal evidence is that its actually down, since I had to tighten the belt another notch this week.

Anyway, measurements being what they are, can't be mad about them, since it just shows whats there. Based on measurements will not up calories or reduce cardio, instead will keep things roughly the same.

[nydude1814]

Procrastinated all day (at least gotten some day nap time), finally forced myself to do cardio right after midnight. 41 minutes steady state at 240 watts, heart rate 150+

HIIT increased my endurance, so I have a funny feeling, HR is 150 and I'm sweating like crazy, but I barely breathing hard. Have to stop myself from increasing the load, as I want to stay more in the fat burning zone..

[nydude1814]

Feeling very tired, a lot of DOMS in my chest (I think I take back that smith machine presses did not work the pecs), and no energy all day, decided to introduce the "light day" with front squats.. (Usually people make it Wed but my schedule is Fri/Sun/Tue, so for me its Sunday). Was a right decision as you can see from below:

Standing press:
45 x 5
60 x 4
75 x 2
90 x 5/4/2 same weight, got 1 less rep on last set

This is 3rd time I can't get 15 reps, so resetting. Since I did not felt like I worked shoulders at all, I did backout as follows (to failure), super-setted with ramping up front-squat to find my starting weight.

45 x 10
65 x 7
75 x 4

Front Squats:
45 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 5/5/10 bar speed very fast, 9/10 reps felt fatigue in quads a bit, could have done 15-20 reps if pushed myself

I used the grip with bar at the end of fingers and elbows out in front. Surprisingly I had no discomfort whatsoever in my wrists, but some discomfort as bar pushed on a windpipe a bit, felt like choking myself, but just very mild discomfort, not affecting breathing

Since I did not felt much in my quads on front squats, decided to try hack squats with 115, since I was setting the bar on the floor anyway for power cleans.

Hack Squats
115 x 3 Failed on the 4th rep

Wow, these are incredibly hard, and very quad dominant for me, the muscles that gave out were quads.. Also I have to get on my toes a bit to get started with the rep.

Power Cleans
125 x 0 -5 from reset, doh, quads giving out
115 x 3/3/3/3/3 -15 from reset bar speed fast

What a difference 10lbs makes, I felt like my form was very good, with a shrug, and explosive.

Overall observations:

My lifts except for squat are all stalled, and squats now take 2 workouts to increase 5lb.. Comparing to my previous reset point I'm +20 on squat, +35 on deadlift, +5 on press, and +10 on bench.

Body image wise, my legs look ok, if I were to look at photo of my legs, I would be like "This guy does his squats".. My upper body looks like ****, skinny fat way.

I've re-read p90x fit test, and I'm confident I can do it now, so ordered p90x DVD's.. I think I'll do p90x next, and then will either do DC or get back on Rippetoes.

[f4k]

I have been logging rip's since april and in just 2 months I moved from 45-135 squats, I see plenty of people take rip's well past 225-250 on the squat, I think you can do it!

In the beginning I tried adding 10lb per workout like suggested. this worked until about 120... then things got weird. My bench press would fluctuate madly one day I could do 115x5 the next 115x1 was hard. It took a while but I think I figured out that my diet/sleep schedule was screwing me up, long hard hours bent over a car fender was doing me in.

perhaps you just need to watch your diet/sleep a little better. I forced myself to sleep now and force down a large breakfast and so far I am back on track... It really made a huge difference in how I feel at the gym. Today I am going for 125x5 (again!) bench and hopefully I will nail that 155x5x3 squat! I cant wait *runs out the door, runs back in grabs the protein powder runs back out again*

[nydude1814]

I have been logging rip's since april and in just 2 months I moved from 45-135 squats, I see plenty of people take rip's well past 225-250 on the squat, I think you can do it!

....

perhaps you just need to watch your diet/sleep a little better. I forced myself to sleep now and force down a large breakfast and so far I am back on track... It really made a huge difference in how I feel at the gym.

Yes I know I can get my squat to 225-250 if I eat calorie surplus. I like to eat and don't have to force myself, in fact I have the opposite problem (being a fatty).

But my goal is not a number such as 275 squat, but instead to change the way my body looks, which I think would be better accomplished by dropping the bodyfat first, which requires calorie deficit. I'm ok with my lifts stalling, can't do anything about it.. I eat good, 6 times a day, mostly protein (keto/atkins type diet), but I maintain around 1000 cal deficit daily..

Hopefully my lifts would stay in place instead of deteriorating as I lose bodyfat. I will do p90x program, but will lift heavy once a week to try to maintain the squat/bench/deadlift from going down.

[nydude1814]

40 minutes, 25 HIIT 15 steady state cooldown.

I think I was doing HIIT incorrectly. I have read some articles and the point was mentioned several times that idea of HIIT is that:

1. When one does low intensity cardio (not breathing heavily) most of energy comes from burning fat.

2. The burning of carbs/muscle is done by the body when intensity of work goes higher and more energy is required then burning fat can provide.

3. There is a delay in the body mechanism starting to burn carbs/protein for energy.. For first few moments of highest muscle output (sprinting doing explosive type movement) energy comes from whatever thing is stored in the muscles (glucogen? etc) and not burning any fuel. Only if high workload continues after that, then body switches on to burning carbs/proteins, and thats when you start panting heavily, coz burning these require oxygen.

4. Idea of HIIT is that one likes to stay in the low intencity work zone, and periodically "buzz" the muscles with the maximum effort, but having these maximum effort intervals brief, so that body does not switch to burning carbs/protein.

5. The way I imagine its supposed to work, is like idling an engine, and periodically pushing the gas pedal very briefly to keep it going.. If you keep your gas pedal push too long, engine start to really revving up, which you don't want.

So anyway, I was doing HIIT like this.. Pedal at 85 rpm at 200 watts. Increase the load to 450 watts at the minute bondary and pedal at same 85 rpm (but much harder load) for full minute... By 40 second mark I was panting like a locomotive, but pushed myself to finish my minute. Now I think that was wrong.

So what I did instead, I changed my intervals to be 30 seconds, at 450 watts, but now really "all out" effort trying to max out the RPM meter.. So I waited until minute:30 mark, then changed to 450 watts, and tried to pedal as fast as possible, the highest I got was 130 RPM. If I felt a need to start breathing hard before the 30 second ended, I stopped right there, but mostly 30 seconds was not enough to get me panting.

Surprise: pedaling as fast as possible really spiked the heart rate into 165 by the 20 second mark, and 170 by 30 second mark. Doing the recovery my heart rate was 165 first minute and never dropped below 155.. So my average heart rate was 155+ instead of 150+, even when my intervals were 30 seconds shorter then before. I also was not panting as much, which I think is a good sign meaning the body burns mostly fat, and not carbs/protein.

Also it seems that 30 second all out effort at 130 RPM is still easier to do then 60 seconds 450 watt at 85 RPM.. I hate being out of breath, being out of breath is where discomfort is to me, as long as its just muscle fatigue I can push through it.

So anyway, above is how I changed the way I do HIIT, and its a win-win, higher overall heart rate, and is actually easier then before.

[nydude1814]

Bench press:
45 x 10
85 x 5
105 x 3
120 x 2
135 x 5/4/2 same weight, no improvement on the reps, bar speed glacial

Will reset, obviously i have gotten ahead of myself there, should have microloaded after 130.

Squats:
45 x 5
85 x 5
120 x 3
155 x 2
185 x 1
210 x 5/5/5 +5lb bar speed very slow

Surprised myself there by finishing all 5 reps.. I was reading "squatting for tall guys" thread, and implemented some of the suggestions there, specifically "working thru the stalling points". On my warmups, I've tried to determine exactly where I slow down the most (right slightly above parallel after initial elastic bounces is over), and tried to accelerate the bar as fast as i can prior to that point, and it seemed to help.. A few reps had a slight GM, but nothing serious.

Since I felt i did not worked chest enough, I did

Smith slight incline wide grip bench press:
100 x 8+3 rest paused

Kind of embarrassing but I had a hard failure on the 12th rep and ended up with smith bar locked right on top of my chest. It was not resting on my chest, but I had less then 1/3 inch clearance. Since one can't slide the weights off on a smith machine, had to wiggle and get off the bench sideways. It was either that or yelling for help :-)

Flat bench DB press
35 x 15+3 rest paused

Kind of hard to rest pause DB press without a spotter, I rested them on the negative on my chest, and its no rest at all. Got off 3 more reps barely (shaking etc) and dropped them on the floor.. Maybe should try rest pausing by going back into seated position with DB's on my thighs, but I tried that and could not get myself upright because of DB's weight, need legs hooked into something for that.

Deadlift:
135 x 5
185 x 3
245 x 5 same weight +1 rep, bar speed very slow

Will reset this as well, as I think my back rounded again.. Will reset to 215 or so and go up in 5lb increments..

No cardio:

Overall pretty happy with workout, amazed with myself that I got all the squats. Diet in check, altho I tried to eat a bit more today to get energy for the workout..