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.