Sun., July 27th. Workout B:
squat - 5,5,3x81kg (178 lbs)
OH press - 5,4,3x44kg (97 lbs)
deadlift - 5x92kg (202 lbs)
chins - 4,4,2xbw
elbow plank - 3xfail
Not a thrilling session. I’ll hold on squat and press. I’ve been staying up late recently. Hopefully this is the only cause for the slowdown.
I did the shoulder work TheDude recommended just after the mobility work. This seems to help. My shoulder is still aching a bit, but its MUCH better than last session.
If my squat stalls out after 2 more sessions I’m considering changing up the program. I did Madcow’s 5x5 for a bit before this SS, but I felt like the progression was a a bit slow then. However, it might be spot on now.
Wed., July 30th. Workout A:
squat - 4,3,4x81kg (178 lbs)
bench - 5,4x56kg (123 lbs)
Man, I’m all shot to hell. It took me 50 mins to get through all the warmup and 5 total work sets. I needed a helluve a lot of rest to manage anything. I felt like I was under a ton of bricks today.
I’m going to take a week off from lifting. I need to recover. My shoulder and elbow can use the rest too. In a week I go out of town for two weeks for conference so I’ll be scrounging for time to lift. This is not optimal, but I need the rest now. I’ll probably be able to get in a few sessions (or at least some running), but I won’t be sticking to a program yet.
When I get back I’ll probably start a variant of Madcow 5x5 I have in mind. It’s been 8+ weeks of SS. I could use a change. I’ll post the new program later if anyone has feedback.
Fri., Aug. 1st:
No lifting today, but I was restless and decided to go to the track (it’s been awhile).
Did 5 laps of straights and corners. Felt good.
Since I’m done with this session of SS here are some stats for the 11 weeks:
squat - 5x81kg (21kg increase)
bench - 5x56kg (6kg increase)
press - 5x45kg (5kg increase)
deadlift - 5x105kg (15kg increase)
max bw dips and chins rose a bunch too.
bodyweight - 84kg (3kg increase)
This may not be amazing progress (especially the upper-body lifts), but I’m totally happy with the gains. I should be able to continue to keep up this rate too; which is good cause I’ve still got a ways to go!
Here is the program I’m planning to start in two weeks (I’ll continue with Rippetoe when I have time until then). It’s basically a Bill Starr or Madcow 5x5 with deadlifts substituted for power cleans (this is offered as a possibility in Starr’s program I believe). Note that “ramp up” means something like 5x20kg, 5x25kg, 5x30kg, 5x35kg, 5x40kg and “across” means same weight for all sets. Increases on the core lifts will be by 2.5% per week.
Workout A (heavy day):
squat 5x5 (ramp up)
bench 5x5 (ramp up)
deadlift 5x5 (ramp up)
hyperextension 2x8 (across)
abs
Workout B (light day or power day):
front squat 5x5 (ramp up) or squat 4x5 (A’s first 4 sets)
push press 3x3 or 5x3 (across) or military press 5x5 (ramp up)
power clean 3x3 or 5x3 (across)
pull-ups
abs
Workout C (medium day):
squat 4x5,1x3,1x8
bench 4x5,1x3,1x8
deadlift 4x5,1x3,1x8
(The triple is 2.5% more than Workout A’s top set. The 8-rep set is a back-off)
dips 3x8 (across)
curls 3x8 (across)
triceps ext 3x8 (across)
(the beach work here will probably be done in a circuit with relatively little rest)
Basically the idea is to work mostly on the 3 PL lifts. Workout B is a lighter day and a chance to mix it up. The actual rep/set makeup for B is still in the air. I power clean more than I bench and push-press is close too, so if I’m not careful about it, Workout B won’t be a “light” day at all.
Any comments are very welcome!
Workout A (heavy day):
squat
5x40 5x50 5x60 5x71 5x81kg (178 lbs)
bench
5x28 5x35 5x42 5x49 5x56kg (123 lbs)
deadlift
5x46 5x58 5x70 5x81 5x93kg (205 lbs)
2x8xreverse hyper (ball)
4x8xlying leg raise
Good to be under the bar again. Probably this will not be the beginning of this program as I can’t get in 3 days a week yet. Soon.
The pain in my shoulder and elbow is gone. Huge relief. Apparently I needed the rest. I’m still gonna do the extra prehab (?) shoulder work at start though.
So far it seems like this is gonna be a good program. The squat and bench volume felt just right. The DL is more work than I’m used to, but I think that’s gonna be good.
Sat. Aug. 16th:
squat
5x40 5x50 5x60 5x71 1x81kg 5x71kg
bench
5x28 5x35 5x42 5x49 5x56kg (123 lbs)
deadlift
5x46 5x58 5x70 5x81 (178 lbs)
2x8xreverse hyper (ball)
4x8xlying leg raise
Finally have time to get into the new program. I held back the last lower body sets as I’ve had 8 days off. Hopefully I’ll get back up to full volume quickly. On the other hand, the bench felt as good as ever.
I was just wondering instead of changing programs altogether, why you didn’t just move on to the next level(advanced Novice)? Or maybe you needed a reset…
http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ#Stalling.2C_Resetting_and_Progressing
Just trying to be helpful! I just started this program myself 
GL!
[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
I was just wondering instead of changing programs altogether, why you didn’t just move on to the next level(advanced Novice)? Or maybe you needed a reset…
http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ#Stalling.2C_Resetting_and_Progressing
Just trying to be helpful! I just started this program myself
GL![/quote]
I considered moving to the next level, but I was in the mood to mix things up a bit more. I was getting a little tired of the program day in day out. I’ll probably jump on the advanced novice when I finish this program though (in 6-8 weeks).
Thanks for keeping an eye out. Do you have a log on here? I’d be interested to see.
Mon. Aug. 18th:
squat
5x40 5x50 5x60 5x71 4x81kg (178 lbs)
bench
5x28 5x35 5x42 5x49 4x57kg (125 lbs)
deadlift
5x46 5x58 5x70 5x81 5x86kg (189 lbs)
chins - 4,2,2
elbow plank - 60,60,40 secs
I’m ready to get in the new program. I wanted to put in two sessions to see where my lifts were at after the 2 week break. I’ll start on Wed with my top sets reduced slightly from today. Gotta be sure I hit all the reps in the first week.
In other news, I got to watch Aramnau bust up the 105kg WRs today. Awesome. Can’t wait till the 105+s (although, I guess there won’t be any WRs, boo).
Thanks!
I keep a log in powerful women.
Workout A (heavy day):
squat
5x40 5x50 5x60 5x70 5x80kg (176 lbs)
bench
5x28 5x35 5x42 5x49 5x56kg (123 lbs)
deadlift
5x54 5x65 5x76 5x87kg (191 lbs)
reverse hyper (ball) - 2x8x2.5kg (5 lbs)
lying leg raise - 4x8x2.5kg (5 lbs)
First real day on this program. Everything was fine. I dropped the weights back a bit to be sure I didn’t miss reps the first day. I’ll be increasing roughly 2.5% per lift per week. My rough goals over the next 6-8 weeks are to hit 90kg squat/60kg bench/100+kg deadlift (again).
No records in the 105+s, but I did see a 210kg snatch. Incredible. Actually, it was as good a competition in the super heavyweights as I’ve ever seen.
Workout B (power day):
box squat - 3x5x50kg (110 lbs)
push press - 3x3x50kg (110 lbs)
power clean - 3x3x60kg (132 lbs)
(circuit)
dips - 2x5xbw
BB curl - 3x8x28kg (62 lbs)
DB triceps ext - 3x8x17.5kg (39 lbs)
Good session. These lifts were pretty fun, but no cakewalk. The box squats were done to a 26 cm (10 in) box. Maybe a bit higher would be good. Hopefully these will further improve my squat form.
I’m not sure I’ll stay with the push presses. It’s good to get a fair amount of weight over my head, but I might just turn these to standard OH presses.
The last three lifts were done in a circuit without much rest. This was surprisingly difficult. I couldn’t do a single dip after the second set of tri exts. I won’t increase the weight on any of these last 3 as I missed the last few reps. I’m not too concerned with maxes on these lifts, just wanna what impact this has on my arms.
Workout C (medium day):
squat
5x40 5x50 5x60 5x70 3x82kg (180 lbs) 8x60
bench
5x28 5x35 5x42 5x49 3x57kg (125 lbs) 8x42
deadlift
5x54 5x65 5x76 3x89kg (196 lbs) 8x65
(superset)
elbow plank - 60, 50, 40 secs
chins - 5,3,2 @ bw
Another good workout. Nothing really ‘medium’ about this session though. Maybe it was a bit less difficult than workout A.
None of the top sets were too nasty so I’m hoping to hit all 5 reps on Wed. We’ll see.
Workout A (heavy day):
squat
5x41 5x51 5x61 5x72 5x82kg (180 lbs)
bench
5x29 5x36 5x43 5x50 5x57kg (125 lbs)
deadlift
5x56 5x67 5x78 5x89kg (196 lbs)
(superset)
reverse hyper (ball) - 3x8x2.5kg (5 lbs)
lying leg raise - 3x8x2.5kg (5 lbs)
Solid session. Hit all the reps without much trouble. Hopefully this keeps up!
After some serious considering, I’ve decided to start eating meat again. It’s time for a change. I’m eager to see how this impacts my strength/size. It will probably take a bit to alter my diet, but it will be nice to not have to make compromises! I had some salami today. Jeez I forgot how good that stuff was!
Workout B (power day):
box squat (30cm/12in)
5x41 5x51 5x61 5x61kg (134 lbs)
OH press
5x29 5x34 5x40 5x46kg (101 lbs) (last 3 reps pushed)
power clean - 3x3x61kg (134 lbs)
(circuit)
push ups - 3x8x4kg (8 lbs)
DB curl - 3x8x15kg (per DB) (33 lbs)
BB skullcrusher - 3x8x15kg (33 lbs)
Another good session. Moving the box up a bit was good. Could really focus on hip extension at this height.
The last few OH presses were pushes. I’ll have to drop the weight on those a bit. Naturally, I’ve lost a bit of pressing strength.
Again the circuit at the end was brutal. I think I’ll rest a bit more at the end of the triple. I missed a the last few reps, so I’ll stick with this weight for now.
Workout C (medium day):
squat
5x41 5x51 5x61 5x72 3x84kg (185 lbs) 8x61
bench
5x29 5x36 5x43 5x50 3x58kg (128 lbs) 8x43
deadlift
5x56 5x67 5x78 3x92kg (202 lbs) 8x67
(circuit)
elbow plank - 90,60,40 secs
chins - 5,3,1 @ bw
Promising medium session. The top DL triple was easy. The bench and squat triple were on par with last week. Good sign for the next heavy session.
Workout A (heavy day):
squat
5x42 5x52 5x63 5x73 5x84kg (185 lbs)
bench
5x29 5x37 5x44 5x51 3x58kg (128 lbs) 8x44
deadlift
5x57 5x69 5x80 5x92kg (202 lbs)
(circuit)
lying leg lift - 3x8x2.5kg (5 lbs)
reverse hyper (ball) - 3x8x2.5kg (5 lbs)
Tough session. Hit the reps on my squat but I’m getting the bad habit of pushing my knees in at the bottom of the lift. As soon as I push them out it is easy to complete the lift, but for some reason I’m having trouble keeping them out as I hit bottom. Gotta work on that.
Only could get 3 reps out of the bench. That surprised me. My grip was a bit uneven on the bar. That didn’t help. I think I’ll try for all 5 on the next medium session (this will mix up my medium vs heavy days - but so what).
The deadlift felt like a lot of work. I guess it’s just tough to ramp up like the other lifts as 5 reps is pretty intense right away.
I haven’t been paying much attention to my scale lately. I weighed myself this morning. Only 81kg! That is a let down. I think I have lost a bit of fat, but I’m trying to gain weight. I’m going to have to take a more serious approach to my diet.
Workout B (power day):
box squat (30cm/12in)
5x42 5x52 5x63 5x63kg (139 lbs)
OH press
5x28 5x33 5x39 5x44kg (97 lbs)
power clean - 3x3x62kg (136 lbs)
(circuit)
push ups - 3x8x4kg (8 lbs)
DB curl - 3x8x15kg (per DB) (33 lbs)
BB skullcrusher - 3x8x16kg (35 lbs)
Good session. Knees were in the right place on the box squats. Hopefully this will carry over to regular squats. These are pretty tough, but I can really feel my hips and hamstrings get involved.
The last rep on the press was not pretty. I might hold out on this weight next week. Compared to my bench this is still a strong point.
Cleans were easy. Still a strong point.
I took a min between rounds of the circuit. This was helpful. Kept me a bit further from the vomit-border. Curls were to failure and I missed the last 3 reps. Got all the push-ups and skullcrushers though. I’ll do more weight next week.
Workout C (medium day):
squat
5x42 5x52 5x63 5x73 3x86kg (189 lbs) 8x63
bench
5x29 5x37 5x44 5x51 4x58kg (128 lbs) 8x44
deadlift (sumo)
5x57 5x69 5x80 3x94kg (207 lbs) 8x69
(circuit)
elbow plank - 90,60,60 secs
chins - 2,3,4 @ bw
band pull-apart - 3x10
Pretty excellent session. I really focused on hip extension on the squat. Some of the sets felt very close to perfect. The heavy triple was a bit shaky, but I probably had another rep in the tank. I’ll be happy to hit all 5 on Wed.
I could only get 4 of 5 on the bench. My hip started to cramp (sometimes this happens to me) and I didn’t try a 5th. Not sure I would have had it anyway. Hopefully next time!
I decided to try a sumo stance for the DL. I really liked this. Seems better for my build. It was not a ton easier, but my back felt a lot more solid. Especially when returning the weight to the floor. I also felt my hammies more involved in the pull. Good.
Planks were good. Chins started off hard (not much rest after the last DL set). I’ll add the pull-aparts to the circuit next time. I added these randomly, but they were good.
Workout A (heavy day):
squat
5x43 5x54 5x65 5x75 5x86kg (189 lbs)
bench
5x29 5x37 5x44 5x51 5x58kg (128 lbs)
deadlift
5x59 5x71 5x82 5x94kg (207 lbs)
(circuit)
decline sit-ups - 4x8
ball hyper - 4x8
band pull-apart - 4x10 (doubled blue)
Great. I was dubious about the top set of the squats, but it was not too bad. I’m still having trouble keeping my knees out. It’s crazy. I hit the bottom with knees out then for some reason I push them in and manage to get a few inches out of the hole. Then as soon as I push my knees back out I finish the rep easy. I gotta work on this. I think I could squat more if I kept my damn knees out. Only happens on the heavy sets. Gotta find some assistance to help this.
Last bench rep was not pretty, but it’s mine. Finally. DLs were pretty tough too.