Day 29

Workout A:

• Box squat: 235 pounds 3x5 - RPE 7
• Bench Press: 205 pounds 3x5 - RPE 6
• Barbell Row: 185 pounds 3x5 - deload due to elbow injury - RPE 8

Box squats are difficult! They have definitely helped me correct some form issues in only a couple of training sessions, but they are hard!

The bench press moved really easily today and my elbow is only feeling a little stiff right now. 

Barbell rows seem to move at a RPE of 8 no matter how much weight I use. 

I'm working late shifts this week, so we'll see how this effects my training. 

Day 28 - Staying with Box Squats

Workout B

• Box Squat: 230 pounds 3x5 - RPE 6
• Press: 130 pounds 3x5 - deload due to elbow injury - RPE 7
• Deadlift: 310 pounds 1x5 - RPE 8

On my first set of box squats, I was definitely leaning to the left. This was corrected by the third set. I deloaded the press because of my elbow. The deadlift is still progressing, but I feel like I'm struggling more than I should with this amount of weight. At least it isn't stalling like it did the last time I was around this same amount of weight. 

Day 27 - Merry Christmas...and an elbow injury

Workout A

• Squat (box): 225 pounds 5x5
• Bench Press: 200 pounds 3x5
• Barbell Row: not done due to elbow injury

First off: Merry Christmas to everyone.

A few days ago, I tried squatting in the low-bar position and had something pop in my left elbow. I decided not to workout that day and rested until today. When I tried lifting today, the pain was bad but the lack of strength in that arm was worse. Since my squat form hasn’t been acceptable, I did box squats. I deloaded on the bench press and was able to get through those sets without elbow issues. The barbel row was a no-go because I had no grip strength in that arm. I’ll need to use straps on rows and deadlifts for the time being, but I’m not sure how much weight I’ll be able to use even with the assistance.

For Christmas, my family gave me a pair of Adidas 4.0 weightlifting shoes. I will let you know if they make a difference in my training.

Day 26 - I finally did it! Low-bar squats!

Workout B

• Squat 135 pounds 5x5, RPE 5
• Press 145 pounds x5, 5, 1
• Deadlift 305 pounds 1x5, RPE 8

I finally got the bar in a low-bar position without too much discomfort. I was a little worried about adding too much weight today, so I kept it light with the plan to add 10-20 pounds per session to work my way up to a reasonable weight over the next few weeks. 

Work has been really busy this week and I didn't have much energy for the press. I surprised myself with my success on the deadlift. This is probably due to the easier weight I used on the squat. 

Day 25 - Frustration

Workout A

• Squat 305 pounds 2x5, skipped the last set because of poor form
• Bench Press 220 pounds 3x5
• Barbell Row 190 pounds 3x5

I recorded my second squat set today and was not happy with what I saw. The weights were leaning to the left, I had significant butt wink at the bottom, and my hips were shifted to one side. Even I completed all of the reps, I think I'm just asking for trouble if I keep adding weight at this point. I've been high-bar squatting until my shoulder mobility allows me to do low-bar squats. This session shows me that I need to change something, whether I finally try low-bar or drop the weight, so that I don't hurt myself. In November 2018, I pulled my right groin on a set of squats and I'm pretty sure my form then was similar to my form now. Pushing forward with more weight or even the same weight doesn't make sense because any injury due to poor form will only set me back. 

Day 24 - Changing diet goals

Workout B

• Squat 300 pounds 3x5, RPE 8
• Press 140 pounds 3x5, RPE 9
• Deadlift 305 pounds 1x2

The squat moved a lot more easily than last session, even though I had a long shift at work today and very little sleep last night. I was able to grind out the press, but the deadlift was just too much for me at the the end. 

My diet has changed a little bit in the last few days because my weight goals are now different. I've been persevering a lot lately on my diet, my weight, and I don't like how it's effecting me and how it may effect my kids. I don't want my kids do be obsessed with weight, but I do want them to be mindful of health. While I still keep a daily log of my caloric intake, I don't talk about calories with my kids. Instead, I keep the conversation focused on healthy food choices, exercise, staying active, etc. I'm still trying to eat 200-230 grams of protein a day and to stay away from desserts and treats. We'll see where my weight and waist measurements go from here. 

Day 23 - Ready for a Deload?

Workout B

• Squat 300 pounds x 2,3,3
• Bench Press 220 pounds x 5,5,4
• Barbell Row 190 pounds 3x5 - RPE 7

My legs were jelly today! I worked last night and just couldn’t get it going today. I can wasn’t too surprised that I missed the last rep on the bench press, but my performance on the squat really surprised me since I didn’t struggle with it at all during my last training session. I’ve got some long shifts coming up so I don’t know if I’ll be successful with this same weight on Monday. 

Day 22 - Missing Reps

Workout B

• Squat 295 pounds 3x5
• Press 140 pounds x 5,5,4
• Deadlift 305 pounds 1x4

I missed the last rep on both the press and deadlift. I played basketball this morning and it did tire me out for the day. The recommendation to continue to make progress with this program would be to eat more and to stop playing basketball to allow for optimal recovery. I fully understand that my progress will be slower because of basketball, but I’m okay with that because I LOVE to play basketball! We’ll see if I need to deload in the near future.

Day 21 - slowing down

Workout A

• Squat 290 pounds 3x5 - RPE 8
• Bench Press 215 pounds 3x5 - RPE 9.5
• Barbell Row 185 pounds 3x5 - RPE 7

The last set on the bench press was tough. We’ll see how I my next sets go at the end of the week.

I’ve still not been eating well. Since I’ve lost some weight, it’s been difficult to want to eat more food each day. I know my numbers will stall really soon because of this issue.

Day 20 - RPE

Workout B

• Squat 285 pounds 3x5, RPE 7
• Press 135 pounds 3x5, RPE 7 
• Deadlift 295 pounds 1x5, RPE 8

I came across a podcast on what to document in a training log and I decided I needed to add some more information. One piece of information that I will now include is the RPE for each exercise. RPE is the “rate of perceived exertion” and is a subjective measure of the effort needed to complete a set at a given weight. This should help me keep track of my levels of fatigue and if I need to change to facilitate better recovery. For example, if I notice my RPE fluctuating up and down during linear progression, I may notice a pattern in my diet or sleep that could contribute to some training sessions  being harder than others

Day 19 - In the Groove

Workout A

• Squat 280 pounds 3x5
• Bench Press 210 pounds 3x5
• Barbell Row 180 pounds 3x5

Right now, all of my lifts are feeling smooth. I hope to keep this up as the weights continue to increase.

Day 18 - Switching Deadlift Grip

Workout B:

• Squat 275 pounds 3x5
• Press 130 pounds 3x5
• Deadlift 285 pounds 1x5

Even though I only pulled 4 reps on my deadlift last time, I still went up by 10 pounds because the failed set was due to grip pain and not a lack of strength. I switched to an alternating grip with my left hand pronated and my right hand supinated. I was able to pull the weight without any pain doing it this way. Next time, I'll switch so that my left hand is supinated.

Both the squat and press went well today. 

Day 17 - better day

Workout A:

• Squat 270 pounds 3x5
• Bench Press 205 pounds 3x5
• Barbell Row 175 pounds 3x5

No problem with any of the weights today. 

For my squats, I've gone back to something I used to do to make sure I hit proper depth. I put a rolled-up sleeping bag under me that is at the right height that allows me to go right below parallel when my glutes touch it. 

I've realized that I need to set some goals for myself. On my first post, I wrote some predictions of where I would be in two months, but I need to set goals that will stretch me beyond the novice phase and into my intermediate training:

• Squat 450 pounds
• Deadlift 450 pounds
• Press 185 puonds
• Bench Press 305 pounds

We'll see how this goes. 

Day 16 - trouble introduces itself

Workout B:

• Squat 265 pounds 3x5
• Press 125 pounds 3x5
• Deadlift 275 pounds 1x4

My left Achilles’ tendon was stiff going into my last workout session, but it really stiffened up yesterday. I really worried that I wouldn’t be able to squat much today because of the pain and stiffness. I’ve had previous issues with that Achilles and had to have a steroid injection in the past few years. However, I put up the weight on the squat without any issues. The press also moved well. On the deadlift, grip pain was an issues again and I only got 4 reps because of it. I may try an alternating grip next time. 

Day 15

Workout A:

• Squat 265 pounds x2,3,3
• Bench Press 200 pounds 3x5
• Barbell Row 170 pounds 3x5

My legs were jelly today. I’ve had a long stretch of shifts at work and haven’t been eating or sleeping as well as I needed to. I did make a bigger jump on the weight from last session, but 260 would have been a struggle, too. I still have long shifts the next 2 days, so I may struggle this next session, too.

No struggle with the bench press or barbell row.

Day 14

B workout:

• Squat 255 pounds 3x5
• Press 120 pounds 3x5
• Deadlift 265 pounds 1x5

My squat form didn’t feel right. I felt off balance on the first set, but it felt great on the last. I’m not sure how to explain it other than it felt weird. Both the press and deadlift felt good.

Day 13

Today was another A workout:

• Squat 250 pounds 3x5
• Bench Press 195 pounds 3x5
• Barbell Row 165 pounds 3x5
• Hang Jump Shrugs 45 pounds 3x3

All the weight moved pretty easily today.

Day 12

Another Workout B:

• Squat 245 pounds 3x5
• Press 115 pounds 3x5
• Deadlift 255 pounds x5 

I’m getting closer to being able to do a low-bar squat. Because of poor shoulder mobility, I’move had to high-bar squat. I perform these shoulder stretches between each set of squats, including warmup sets, and I’be seen improvement over the past few weeks.

Day 11

Another Workout A:

• Squat 240 pounds 3x5
• Bench Press 190 pounds 3x5
• Barbell Row 160 pounds 3x5

All of the reps moved easily today.

Day 10

I completed a B workout today:

• Squat 235 pounds 3x5
• Press 105 pounds 3x5
• Deadlift 245 pounds x5 reps

My legs felt like gelatin while squatting. I played basketball this morning and my legs definitely felt the effects of my Monday squat session. When it came time to train, I spent longer warming up because my legs, especially my knees, were so tight. The second set of 5 reps was hard, but the first and third sets moved quickly. The press and deadlift moved well today. My hands are still feeling great since I changed how I grip the bar.

I haven’t been able to lift with my son because of our schedules, but he’s still making good progress. He may have an early stall, though, because he hasn’t been eating a whole lot.

Day 9

Here are my lifts for today:

• Squat 230 pounds 3x5
• Bench Press 185 pounds 3x5
• Barbell Row 155 pounds 3x5

I was pretty tired from work today. On my squats, I went really deep because I had a harder time controlling my descent. Squatting up wasn’t hard, though. I think it was a combination of being tired physically and mentally, and really wanting to make sure I hit depth. I also under up being fairly upright and having my knees travel farther forward than they normally would. Hopefully my knees don’t ache over the next couple of days.

Day 8

I finished another B workout:

• Squat 225 pounds 3x5
• Press 100 pounds 3x5
• Deadlift 235 pounds x5 reps. I didn’t have any pain in my hands this time after using the grip technique recommended by Mark Rippetoe (see my Day 6 post to see a video on this technique).

The weights are moving easily enough and my joints feel great. I increased my squat by 10 pounds because of how easy it’s been, but I’m going to stick to 5 pound increases on all the exercises with my two-month goal in mind. The exception is the ready, which will increase by 20 pounds until I hit 300 pounds, and then I’all increase by 5 pounds at that point.

My son finished an A workout:

• Squat 160 pounds 3x5
• Bench Press 105 pounds 3x5
• Barbell Row 105 pounds 3x5

Day 7

Today was another A workout. I was tired and switched to 3x5, as per the recommendations on the Stronglifts app, because of my age:

• Squat 215 pounds 3x5
• Bench Press 180 pounds 3x5
• Barbell Row 150 pounds 3x5
• Hang Jump Shrugs 45 pounds 4 sets for 3 reps (4x3)

I added hang jump shrugs to have some power movements in my training. I may never get back to dunking a basketball, but I still want to move around the best I can on the basketball court.

My sons’s numbers today:

• Squat 155 pounds for 3 sets of 5 reps
• Press 55 pounds for 3 sets of 5 reps
• Deadlift 155 pounds for one set of 5 reps

Day 6

Well, I have now completed six workouts. This is what I did today:

• Squat: 210 pounds 5x5
• Press: 95 pounds 5x5
• Deadlift: 225 pounds x5 reps

The squat and press felt pretty easy. On the deadlift, the weight wasn't difficult but my hands hurt as the bar rubbed down against my callouses. Starting Strength, 3rd ed., talks about placing the bar lower in the hand, closer to the fingers, where the bar will end up during the lift to help prevent pain, blistering, and tearing of the callouses during deadlifts, chinups, etc. Here is a video explaining how to do this. 

Diet

What got me thinking about Stonglifts again were the idea of training with my son and this YouTube video I found about Terry Hollands and how he lost weight. He is a strongman competitor from England who was quite large and decided he needed to lose weight for health reasons. My biggest takeaway from this video was that you have to cut calories if you want to lose weight. I've read too many articles and blogs that said it's more about the types of food you eat and that counting calories is not healthy. The bottom line is: You have to cut calories to lose weight and you have to eat the right amounts of the macronutrients to have the right body composition.

I've been using the Livestrong MyPlate app on my phone to track calories. My goal was to lose 1 pound per week and get down to 210 pounds. I used an online caloric intake calculator at https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html and used that estimation to set my intake goals. I ate under this goal for a week and then had a few days where I was really under this goal because of stress (I had turned from a "stress-eater" to someone who didn't have an appetite when stressed). I dropped a lot or weight really fast and I've since tries to slow it down to my initial goal of 1 pound per week.

Starting Again

Starting Again

StrongLifts is a program that I used in the past and liked it at the time. I felt good, I looked good, and I was dunking a basketball easily. I stopped using it when I strained my right hip squatting 275 pounds for 5x5. I switched to a lot other programs over the years because I would stall or get bored.

The main reasons I’ve switched back to StrongLifts are:

• I am too heavy. My knees hurt a lot and I hope less body weight with strong legs will make the difference.
• I have hypertension. 
• And, the biggest reason: I wanted to start a program with my son. He was using the program a couple of years ago but only running 3 sets of 5 reps. He increased from 150 to about 165 pounds, could squat 245 for 3 sets of 5, deadlift 265 for 5 reps, press 105 for 3 sets of 5, and bench press 145 for 3 sets of 5. It was fun watching him get stronger and spending that time with him.

My best lifts over the past year were:

• Squat: 410 pounds
• Bench Press: 290 pounds
• Deadlift: 390 pounds

My current stats:

• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: I started dieting on September 22nd and dropped from 235 pounds to 219 pounds. 

So, this is where I started back on October 24 for workout A:

• Squat 185 pounds 5x5
• Bench Press 165 pounds 5x5
• Barbell Row 135 pounds 5x5

Workout B two days later was:

• Squat 190 pounds 5x5
• Press 85 pounds 5x5
• Deadlift 205 pounds for 5 reps

This is all pretty light compared to what I’ve been doing, but I based the numbers on where I wanted to be in 2 months. I’m expecting to need to change to 3x5 work sets along the way. If I can make the progress, these will be my future numbers:

2 months

• Squat 305 pounds 5x5 or 3x5
• Deadlift 325 pounds x5
• Bench Press 225 pounds 5x5 or 3x5
• Press 145 pounds 5x5 or 3x5
• Barbell Row 195 pounds 5x5 or 3x5

Let’s see how this goes.