Matthew's Starting Strength Journal

[matthew johnson]

Today was my first workout ever using Rippetoe's starting strength program. I am 5'11 and weight 144 lbs. I hope to gain strength and mass. Here's what i did today:

Hack Squat (can't do normal squats due to insufficient funds for a gym and the lack of a squat rack): 65 lbs three sets of five.

Military Press: 44lbs three sets of five.

bent over rows: 55lbs three sets of five

Chin ups: two sets of five

These were not my maxes and i felt that i could have done much more, but many forum users advised me to start light. For my PWO meal i had 1 cup milk, 1 banana, and 1 /2 cup oats. I think i did the rows wrong though, because my back kind of hurt afterwards. Also, am i supposed to pretend that my arms are just hooks and not actually use them in the rows?

[Blau]

Hey man! Good luck with this! I'm on my very first week of my very first workout program, so I know what it's like to be starting out a program. Where do you find Rippetoe's though? Tons of people do it, but I don't know where to find it. Anyway, I'm going to watch this thread and see how it works out for you. Best of luck man!

[matthew johnson]

You can find the program in the workout programs forum. Just search Rippetoe's starting strength, and you'll find a detailed writeup thread that someone did. Apparently, this program has given many people great results, and i hope to see similar gains. Today, the 23rd, i rested, and I'm excited about tomorrow's workout when i will increase my squat five pounds. I still have to figure out how many calories i have been eating a day and add around 500 to that to get my bulking caloric intake.

[trikidiego]

Hey!! good luck!!!

I've also just started the Rippetoe's program. I have to say that the first 2 days my legs really sore but now that is gone.

Here is the link to my journal if you want to take a look!

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=824348

[matthew johnson]

Today was my second workout:
Hack Squats three sets of 70
Bench Press: three sets of eighty
Deadlift:three sets of 70
Dips: two sets of eight.

I plan to increase hack squats by only five next time because they were quite difficult today, but i will increase deadlift by ten, as well as bench. I started low because it was my first time deadlifting. I would also appreciate any tips on deadlift technique because my back(not my back muscles, but actually my spine) sort of hurt afterwards and i think i may be doing something wrong.

[matthew johnson]

Today and yesterday were rest days, and I'm excited about increasing my lifts tomorrow. I really need to get my diet in check though. Right now i have no idea how many calories i consume daily, though i know that to bulk, since i weigh 144, i should be eating around 2660 calories a day.

[matthew johnson]

Today I was able to increase all of my lifts by 5 pounds, and I even increase my rows by ten pounds.

Hack Squats: three sets of 75 by 5
Military press: three sets of 50 by five
Rows: Three sets of 65 by five
Chin-ups two sets of six.

I'm still not too confident about my form on rows. It feels like i'm hurting my back. My post workout meal was one half cup of oats, one banana, and 1 cup of milk.

[matthew johnson]

Crap! I missed two workouts! This was because of time constraints, not lack of motivation. However, today i started right where i left off.

Hack Squat: three sets of 80

Bench Press: three sets of 90

Deadlift: one set of 90

I was amazed that even after skipping workouts i was still able to increase the weight. I plan to increase deadlifts and bench 10 pounds and increase hack squat five pounds for the next workout. I am determined to never miss a workout again!

[matthew johnson]

Yesterday was a pretty good workout. All sets consisted of five reps, as always.

Squats: three sets of 85lbs.

Mil. Press: three sets of 55lbs.

Rows:three sets of 70lbs.

PWO meal: 1 banana, 1 Cup milk, 1/2 Cup oats.
These rows have really been bugging my lower back, and I'm thinking of doing power cleans instead. Also, does anyone know what pendlay rows are?

[JoshuaD]

Nice man. I'll be keeping an eye on your thread as well. Good luck, stay motivated!

[trikidiego]

Hi!
If you still have problems with the deadlift's try searching in video.google.com

As for the meals you should read this article:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=272067

For the rows take a look here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhdsSUtwA20&search=rane


good luck!!

[matthew johnson]

Today was probably my most intense workout yet! All sets consist of five reps.

Hack Squats: three sets of 95lbs.

Mil. Press: three sets of 60lbs.

Rows:three sets of 75lbs.

Chin-ups: two sets of three (bodyweight).

I don't think that next time I will be able to increase squats by five. My PWO meal was the same as before. My back always hurts after rows, so i posted a question about it in the exercises section.