Chronik's Beginner Log

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

Hey guys, I just recently started up training, I have been on and off for a while, I figured its time to start for serious (this site has done a lot to motivate me).

About Me:
Age: 18
Weight: ~190
BF: ~18 (not too sure)
EDIT: (forgot height) ~ 5ft 10-11 inches

Well, today I started the “Rippetoe” program, it seems to be perfect to fit what I want. My main goal is functional strength with a secondary goal to get bigger (I don’t care much about being cut, yet…) and get those numbers up.

Right now I’m pretty weak, I don’t know my 1RM, but I do know some of my 5RMaxes.

I started today with this plan:

Workout A:
Squats - 3x5
Bench - 3x5
Deadlift - 1x5

Workout B:
Squats - 3x5
Standing Press - 3x5
Rows 3x5 (Pendlay)

Today (3/21) I started with Workout A, heres what I did:

Squats - 3x5 (I did these with a smith-type machine as I didn’t realize my gym had a squat rack until I was on set #3)
155x5
155x5
155x5
Bar Speed: Medium

Bench - 3x5 (By the way, for some reason I did the math wrong and thought I was doing 115 and then 105… I feel really dumb now, but not quite so disappointed…)
135x4
125x4
125x1
Bar Speed: Slow

Deadlift - 1x5
150x5
Bar Speed: Very Fast

As you can probably guess, my bench is on the weak side…
The squats were good, I think if I can get proper form on the squat rack this will be a good weight. Deadlifts were way too easy, I guess I picked too low of a weight to start. I figure the first few workouts I can figure out where I should be at weight wise, then I should (hopefully) start to see some big gains.

Alas, I didn’t read this part of the Rippetoe FAQ I found: “The way the “first day” is explained in Starting Strength, the trainee warms up with the bar, then adds a bit of weight and does a set of 5. Continue to add weight and do sets of 5 until form/technique breaks down. Keep the weight there, correct the technique problems/weak points, and perform 2 more sets with this weight. That is your first “3 sets of 5” workout for that exercise.”

I think that I’ll try that the next couple times to get it right.

Rippetoe also said “for young males that weigh between 150-200 lbs., deadlifts can move up 15-20 lbs. per workout, squats 10-15 lbs., with continued steady progress for 3-4 weeks before slowing down to half that rate. Bench presses, presses, and cleans (edit - and rows) can move up 5-10 lbs. per workout, with progress on these exercises slowing down to 2.5-5 lbs. per workout after only 2-3 weeks.”

I think I can get deadlift up at that rate, and maybe squats, but I definitely can’t get bench up 5-10 lbs per workout… This makes me think I should start with a much lower weight maybe? If you have any input on this, let me know.

Alright, thats it for my first post, hopefully my stay here will be long!

2

There is no reason why any of your lifts cannot progress at least 5 lbs/workout. I was ‘unbeliever’ went I first started as well. I finished 8 weeks of Rippetoe, two weeks ago. Fantastic program if you stick with it and the guidelines. Don’t add anything to it or change the program because you don’t like the results. Just be patient, work hard, and eat a healthy caloric excess.

This is my log for reference, results are at the end. Post in my thread if you have any questions.

http://www.T-Nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=1893072

3

Today (3/24) Workout B:

Squats - 3x5 - I thought I was gonna be short on time today, so when I finished my warm up set (the 155) I was gonna use 155 as my work set, but I decided to increase it (and rightfully so it seems)
155x5
165x5
165x5
Bar Speed: Medium

Military Press(I guess I mean seated overhead press) - 3x5 - This is SUPPOSED to be a standing press, however I found out today that they won’t let me lift barbells overhead unless I am sitting on a bench… how lame is that? (also, military press seems to be more difficult than standing presses… strangely)
65x5 (Might have been 90, I don’t remember if i had 10s or 25s on there XD)
65x5
65x5
Bar Speed: Medium

Pendlay Rows - 3x5
115x5
115x5
115x5
Bar Speed: Medium

Bar was going up at a decent speed for each exercise, I will definitely be able to go up the recommended weight for Workout B on Fri.

This is my progression plan as of now:
Deadlift +15-20 lbs. per workout
Squats +10-15 lbs. per workout
Bench Press +5-10 lbs. per workout
Overhead Press +5-10 lbs. per workout
Row +5-10 lbs. per workout

So the plan for Wed is currently:
Squat 3x5x175
Bench Press 3x5x125
Deadlift 1x5x205

4

military press is a standing overhead press, you are standing at military attention. You’ll have to change gyms if you ever want to start olympic lifting.

5

increase the load if you can without breaking form. thats the idea.

right now you probably are using too little weight in squat and deadlift because of form and stuff.

but after 4 weeks or so when you’ll get the hang of it, if you squatted 2005 last time and you can do 2055, go for 210. if you can do 5, go for 215 unless you are sure you cant, then do another 210 then.

there is no reason as a beginner not to increase the weight as much as you can without breaking form/technique.

one more advice would be to do a lot of good stretching, mostly for your hips/hamstrings. you WILL need it.

stretch every day now that the weight is light, you’ll need it later

6

btw if you want strength, and you feel safe to do, do some singles sometimes. you’ll progress faster that way. strength is all about maximal loads

but i wouldnt advise doing maximal singles yet on anything but the bench press(with a spotter of course)

7

[quote]lordstorm88 wrote:
btw if you want strength, and you feel safe to do, do some singles sometimes. you’ll progress faster that way. strength is all about maximal loads

but i wouldnt advise doing maximal singles yet on anything but the bench press(with a spotter of course)[/quote]

I deadlift whith each rep as a single kinda sorta grouped together in sets, I think t’s the best way to deadlift.

8

yes. do singles on the deadlift (i just doubt he’s ready for truly what he can pull max)

my deadlift has gone up from 242 lbs to almost 400 in 4 months, with a lot of rest and not the perfect diet/training every time by pulling singles. sometimes not even 5. it depends how i feel.

9

Wednesday’s (3/26) Workout A:

Squats - 3x5 - Almost Body Weight!! (BTW, my gym is evil, after I am done with my workout, I get another workout, I have to go up a set of stairs, down another set, then up three sets to get to my car…)
185x5
185x5
185x5
Bar Speed: Medium

Bench - 3x5 - I was going pretty slow on the last couple reps of each set…
125x4 - I stopped, didn’t think i could get #5
125x5
125x4 - failed on last rep
Bar Speed: Medium

Deadlift - 1x5 - I am still finding this easy, I guess I’ll be going up even more next time.
205x5
Bar Speed: Fast/Easy

This is my progression plan as of now:
Deadlift +15-20 lbs. per workout
Squats +10-15 lbs. per workout
Bench Press +5-10 lbs. per workout
Overhead Press +5-10 lbs. per workout
Row +5-10 lbs. per workout

Plan for Fri is:
Squat 3x5x195
Press 3x5x75
Row 3x5x125

10

Today (3/28) Workout B:

Squats - 3x5 - Slow on last set, I’ll probably only go up a little bit next time. (Although I have the whole weekend to rest.)
195x5
195x5
195x5
Bar Speed: Medium

Press - 3x5 - Pretty easy, it felt hard on sets 1/2, but on set 3 I really felt like I could of kept going.
75x5
75x5
75x5
Bar Speed: Medium

Pendlay Rows - 3x5 - I’m going to stay the same or only slightly increase next time, I was having trouble getting the bar all the way up on my last couple reps of each set.
135x5
135x5
135x5
Bar Speed: Medium

Same progression plan:
Deadlift +15-20 lbs. per workout
Squats +10-15 lbs. per workout
Bench Press +5-10 lbs. per workout
Overhead Press +5-10 lbs. per workout
Row +5-10 lbs. per workout

Next Monday’s plan:
Squat 3x5x205
Bench Press 3x5x125
Deadlift 1x5x225

11

i’m starting the “Rippetoe” tonight and I can’t wait.

12

Man reading this gets me pumped, your doing pretty good man keep it up.

13

Squats - 3x5 - Form got sloppy on a couple of reps, I’m planning on staying here next workout.
205x5
205x5
205x5
Bar Speed: Medium-slow

Bench - 3x5 - I focused on form and control, I am very satisfied
125x5 -
125x5
125x5 - Victory is mine!
Bar Speed: Medium

Deadlift - 1x5 - Still fast speed, but slightly difficult (slightly)
225x5
Bar Speed: Fast

Progression Plan:
Deadlift +15-20 lbs. per workout
Squats +5-10 lbs. per workout
Bench Press +5-10 lbs. per workout
Overhead Press +5-10 lbs. per workout
Row +5-10 lbs. per workout

Plan for Wed is:
Squat 3x5x205
Press 3x5x85
Row 3x5x135

14

Today (4/2) Workout B:

Squats - 3x5 - I was planning on staying at 205, because I had trouble last time, but I was feeling great, and decided to up it.
205x5 Easy, so I went up
215x5
215x5
215x5
Bar Speed: Medium

Press - 3x5 - The real problem for me is unracking it, as it is above me and behind me.
85x5
85x5
85x5
Bar Speed: Medium

Pendlay Rows - 3x5 - Stayed at 135, I didn’t have my notebook in the gym, so I forgot what weight I was supposed to go at, 135 worked though, I got a really great workout in.
135x5
135x5
135x5
Bar Speed: Medium

Same progression plan:
Deadlift +15-20 lbs. per workout
Squats +5-10 lbs. per workout
Bench Press +5-10 lbs. per workout
Overhead Press +5-10 lbs. per workout
Row +5-10 lbs. per workout

Friday’s plan:
Squat 3x5x225 (I like the way 4x45 plates look :D)
Bench Press 3x5x135
Deadlift 1x5x245

(Second time posting this, didn’t seem to work the first time, hopefully I am not double posting)

15

4/7 - I missed Friday’s workout, I didn’t have ID on me, and couldn’t get into the gym, so I did Workout A today instead.

Squats - 3x5 -
225x5
225x5
225x5
Bar Speed: Medium

Bench - 3x5 -
135x5 -
135x5
135x5 - Victory is mine!
Bar Speed: Medium

Deadlift - 1x5 - Its starting to get difficult, however, I still feel I could have gone higher
245x5
Bar Speed: Fast

Progression Plan:
Deadlift +15-20 lbs. per workout
Squats +5-10 lbs. per workout
Bench Press +5-10 lbs. per workout
Overhead Press +5-10 lbs. per workout
Row +5-10 lbs. per workout

Plan for Wed is:
Squat 3x5x235
Press 3x5x90
Row 3x5x140