IzzyT - Starting Strength

Training Training Logs
41

I have grown 1.5" since starting Starting Strength. I measured my height before I started just out of interest of what it actually was. I came up with 5’5.5" (midday/night time). Turns out I’ve grown.

I just measured myself this last night/this morning because Moms called me out for frauding my height. She is 5’2". She said it looks like I’ve grown. I denied this. I said I was 5’5.5". She calls me out for lieing/being unaware. Then I said, well, the doc did measure me at 5’6.5" a couple of weeks ago when I went to get my blood test, but I assumed they were just including my hair. So, then I measured last night and was ~5’6.5" with no hair advantage. After sleeping in my bed, and in the morning, I’m a tiny bit above 5’7".

The fuck? Weird. SS, it makes you grow, brahs (lol).

42

Nice work in here man, glad SS worked well for someone. (I’m a weight class athlete and it never really occured to me that I would have such trouble unless I tried to put on significant BW)

And just throwing it out there, you look much better now than when you started.

43

[quote]PlainPat wrote:
Nice work in here man, glad SS worked well for someone. (I’m a weight class athlete and it never really occured to me that I would have such trouble unless I tried to put on significant BW)

And just throwing it out there, you look much better now than when you started. [/quote]

Thanks man. I’m sure the looks thing all comes down to opinion, but I prefer how I am now as well. I think after I drop 10-15lbs of fat, I will look wayyy better. I’ve put on a ton of legitimate size. I’m up 30lbs and my waist, as of two weeks ago, is only up 3.5" from where I started. I’m going to remeasure on Monday and hopefully I’ve lost even more off of my waist. I’m not really sure, for my body anyway, how many lbs correlates to an inch on my waist.

Yeah, as soon as I stopped consuming a huge caloric surplus, my squats gains evaporated over night. Madcows seems to be working thus far, but I’ve only been doing it for one week. On Monday, I’m going for 367.5x5, which should be a good test of how well this programming will work on a deficit.

I still seem to be doing just fine with cleans, press, bench, and deadlift on SS.

44

Just saying, Texas method is another option other than just Madcows.

Oh and how do you like the Rip shoes? I’m looking at getting a pair of adidas power perfect 2’s and I was wondering how much the heel helps with balance and such.

45

[quote]PlainPat wrote:
Just saying, Texas method is another option other than just Madcows.[/quote]
Yeah, I will try TM, and even 5/3/1 if necessary, if I start failing to gain strength while cutting.

[quote]
Oh and how do you like the Rip shoes? I’m looking at getting a pair of adidas power perfect 2’s and I was wondering how much the heel helps with balance and such.[/quote]
My balance is incredibly improved and it is much easier to hit depth without sacrificing form.

46

Morning Weight: 193.2
Cardio: 23min @ ~3.5mph on the elliptical
Est. kcal Burned (by the machine, lol): ~140kcal

Gonna take measurements tomorrow because it’s been two weeks of “dieting” and maybe new pictures just to have a set at the start of every month.

47

Starting Strength:
Workout B: 10/31/11

Squats:
367.5x5

Holy failure to keep my back in extension batman! My legs are just way stronger than core. I’m hoping that Front Squats will help strengthen my abs and upper back and allow me to improve my squats even further. Like most, I’m fairly sure my quads overpower my posterior chain. On warmups, I have no problem keeping back, but when the weight gets heavy, I generally go onto my toes and this makes everything feel lighter. I’m pretty sure this is a sign of quad dominance. For this, and other reasons, I’m throwing in GHRs on Wednesday (forgot to do them last week). I’m sure getting my deadlift to a respectable level would help too.

But… all that said… FUCK YEAH. PR. All-time heaviest weight I have ever repped (fucked around and hit 375 for a single a month ago during warmups)! Going for 375x3 on Friday. I think I can do it. I am going to focus on back extension harder than anything else and I think this will make my reps easier.

Press:
140x5
140x5
140x5

Not the greatest form of all time and I had a really uneven one in there on my final rep, but who fucking cares because this is another ALL-TIME PR.

Power Clean:
160x3
160x3
160x3
160x3
160x3

I missed a rep during my second set. Then I got pissed, chalked my hands more, and stopped thinking about technique so much. The result was a little sloppiness, surprisingly, a little better form than last time (maybe), and a weight that felt pretty damn light.

Still some troubles with my catch. I think I’ve got the rack fixed, but, weirdly, I now have a few reps in all my sets where I seem to be jumping forward. I’ll have to analyze these in slowmo to figure out wtf is going on. I think once I fix my feet in the catch, I’ll be able to add a tremendous amount of weight. I’m still clearing the ground by a few inches even with 160. So, I figure I’m getting the bar, probably, up to my face at its highest point. If I can even add a slight squat to my catch, I’ll be doin’ good or at least not embarrassing myself.

Oh, btw, this was an all-time PR, too.

Pullups:
217.5x5
217.5x5
217.5x5

I was in the fuckin’ zone by the time these rolled around. I crushed 'em easily.

And… this was an all-time PR.

Overall:
Fuck yeah. I All-Time PR’D every damn lift and I’m down 1lb or so from last week. Feelsgoodman.jpeg.

So, I also took measurements and pictures today. I’m not going to post the pictures because it’s only been two weeks and I’m too damn fat for ~2lbs to show anything.

But the measurements were encouraging:
Weight: 193.0
Neck: 16.25" (same)
Chest: 40.75" (same)
Shoulders: 49.5" (down 0.5", but I think I was measuring them wrong last time)
Waist: 38" (down 0.25")
Thigh: 27" (down 1", the fuck? probably had to do with me being carbed up last time or something, but this IS one area I store a lot of fat)
Hips: 42.75" (up 0.25", lol wut?)
Upper Arm: 15" (same)
Calves: 14.5" (same)
Forearms: 11" (same)

Most importantly, my waist is going down and my strength is going up. That’s what matters. Hopefully, I can be a little more precise in the following weeks with my diet to make sure my deficit is at ~1lb/wk from now on.

48

Got these #s from another thread, but I definitely have my eyes on these records:
Cutting to 148/165 going for: ~1100+ total @ 148 or ~1200+ total @ 165.
USAPL WA State 148ers*:
Junior Records: 325/226/424/959
Men’s Open Records: 358/259/438/1036
USAPL WA State 165ers*:
Junior Records: 360/320/413/1090
Men’s Open Records: 457/320/496/1207

My 1RM Est. Using Wendler’s Formula: 429/239/425/1093

*Wraps allowed and used, I’ve never used them… yet.

If I can make 148, I know I can take the Men’s Open records.

49

Morning Weight: 193.4
Cardio: 24min on elliptical @ ~3.5mph, 1.3mi, ~145kcal

50

Thanks for everyone who has helped me out and encouraged me in my short time here. I’m not going to be keeping a log on or posting on this site any longer. Well, at least for now. I’m going to go without the internet for a good 30 days and see how much it improves my productivity/life. If it is significant, I won’t go back. I did a similar experiment with TV and haven’t watched any since. I have a feeling the internet will be the same.

Thanks again. I’m still going to upload my workouts to youtube. If you want to follow along, please, feel free.