Starting: 5'11, 106 lb. Ending: Let's Find Out

Training Logs
21

Tuesday’s post didn’t come through for whatever reason.

I’m going to use the program outlined for me by Train4sport until the end of the term (11 weeks) working out Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Tuesday:

Recorded Weight: 117.1 lb - 117.6 lb
Time: 4 PM
(this’ll help me when dealing with water weight and such)

Squats: 115 lb
3 x 8
Bump up the weight.

Dumbbell Bent over Rows: 35 lb
3 x 8
Poor mind muscle connection, do this exercise with lower weights until you figure it out. Also, don’t do it after squats, the knees shaking are just a pain in the ass. Make sure form is proper.

Bench Press: 75 lb
3 x 8
Bump up the weight.

22

Deadlifts: 135 lb
3 x 8
Need to bump the weight up on these too, apparently.

Overhead Press: 55 lb
3 x 8
I’m surprised I did it, actually.

Chin Ups: 10/4/3
I might need to give these longer rest periods.

23

Awesome work!

I gained a little over 20 lb in these last three months with something very like the program Train4sport recommended. Not a very impressive gain, but it’s another testimonial for that kind of basic workout.

Keep it up and stuff your face every day. I found that I would eat a lot one day and then fall back a bit the next so that the total calories for the week would average out at maintenance levels. You gotta eat big all the time.

Keep it up. You’re doing great!

24

Thanks for the comment, it really helps. Looking around and seeing guys benching more than I do when it’s their first time at a gym can be discouraging, but posts like these really help.

I think a 20 lb gain in three months is fantastic, that’s what, 80 pounds in a year? That’s incredible. I’m envious. Not impressive? Not impressive my ass.

Dumbbell Bent over Rows: 40 lb
3x8
Did these with 15 lb dumbbells first to get the mind-muscle connection going. This one was actually a lot of fun when I “got it”

Bench Press: 85 lb
1x8, 1x7, 1x5
I almost got the eighth rep on the second set, but failed halfway up. 95 lb has always been my standard “high” press, so I’m surprised I’m getting as many reps as I am.

Squats: 125 lb
3x5
The fact that I got three sets at the same rep count is a testament that I wasn’t lifting as hard as I could’ve. For whatever reason my feet (especially the left one) don’t point the same direction as my knees, and it started really bothering me on these three sets, so my form started gimping a bit, and more and more after the first few reps. Hopefully that doesn’t happen too frequently.

25

Recorded Weight: 118.0 lb - 118.0 lb (I sweated everything I gained, I do all of these exercises in the squat rack so I tend to not drink as much doing this workout as the other one)
Time: 3 PM

Deadlifts: 145 lb
3 x 8
Holy shit. I did it. And now I have to bump up the weight again. I’m going to miss my calluses.

Overhead Press: 65
3 x 5
A couple weeks ago, I would not have been able to do this.

Chin Ups: 11/5/4
I want to be able to do more on my second and third sets, but an improvement is an improvement and I’m not going to bitch too much about it.
Bump up the weight.

26

You’re improving fast!

You’re in college, right? You might already know this, but getting enough sleep (AT LEAST 8 hours) is a big deal. In the words of Mark Rippetoe, “You don’t get strong by lifting heavy weights. You get strong by RECOVERING from lifting heavy weights.” So eat and sleep big. Keep it up!

27

those first few posts were like a Noob Epic, very entertaining. Good luck!

28

Thanks! Yeah, I’m in college. When I was sick I had trouble falling asleep before 5AM, but that’s over now, and I’ve organized my class schedule so I get up at approximately the same time every day so that I wake up at around the same time every day, I find that helps.

Noob Epic, I like the sound of that.

I hate not making any progress on any given day, so I always try to get at least a couple reps more than the time before. Part of the “improvement” so far though might be that I had to guess my starting point on this program, and that I might not be getting stronger so much as getting to my proper lifting point. I’d like to think the weight gain is helping too though. I like the higher rep goals. On one hand, individual reps feel a lot harder, but on the other hand I push myself a lot harder to reach them.

Bench Press: 85 lb
2x8, 1x6
There was one weird rep where I felt my lats fire like a motherfucker, drowning out my triceps and chest altogether like they were stupid bitches. It was awesome. I think I might be able to get to 3x8 on Tuesday.

Dumbbell Bent Over Row: 40 lb
3x8
I tried 45 lb and it didn’t go well. I’m going to try again next time, and if that fails I’m going to work on making sure I’m doing it properly. My abs were working incredibly hard which makes me really happy. Although I 'm not sure if they’re supposed to.

Squats: 125 lb
3x8
I felt like I was trying a lot harder than the last time, where I only got 3x5 (which shouldn’t happen if I’m giving it my all.) 135 lb scares me a bit, the 45 lb plates are like… well they’re legitimate plates. I’M ALMOST A BIG BOY DADDY. My time doing front squats actually paid off, I feel like the form on my back squats improved because of it, and I’m feeling my quads work a lot more like they did on front squats than back squats.

29

To say I’m disappointed in myself today doesn’t even begin to capture the way I feel. Today’s visit was an absolute failure. My eating has been sub-par for the last week, and it’s clear I need to bring that up again. I’m absolutely certain that when Tuesday comes around it’ll reveal that I lost a pound or two.

Deadlifts: 145 lb
3x5
Not only did I not progress up, but I did fewer reps- I’m sure I could’ve hit 3x8. I had tried to lift the bar at 155 lb before scaling back down, when I realize that the bar was not leaving the ground. At all. I noticed that the second set was easier than the first, which means I might just have to do heavier warm ups, the bar clearly isn’t satisfactory.

Overhead Press: 65 lb
1x5, 1x3, 1x2
I felt a pain in my left shoulder, close to the lats actually, by just gripping the bar. There was no pain during the actual lift though, so I’m not sure what’s going on. What I am sure about, though, is that my rep count is dreadful. That was more humiliating than my deadlift failure.

Chin Ups: 12/6/5
I felt like I could’ve done more than 12 reps on that first set, so what should have made me feel better as an improvement actually just pissed me off.

30

Great work. Consistency is key. I trained on and off for two years, gained about 25 lbs. (probably half fat) and my bench went up about 80 lbs. (HA that was the only core lift i was doing)
Anyways, after about 9 months of consistent lifting (doing all core lifts) and dieting, i gained 40 lbs. (and lost fat) almost doubled my bench, and actually felt decent about myself.
Keep it up.

31

Crappy days happen. But like strengthcomes1st said, be consistent and you’ll gain overall. For every nasty day there’s a bunch of good ones to outweigh it.

So you didn’t eat enough last week? Stuff yourself this week (and next week, and the week after that…)! I try to gain at least 2 pounds a week. If I’m not doing it, then I add another 300 calories or so into my day.

I know you already know all this, but I hope it’s helpful to get a reminder now and then.

Also, how much do you rest between sets?

32

Thanks again, every comment helps. :slight_smile: It gives me that little bit of motivation that keeps me going to the gym the next time and the time after that.

My rest periods depend on the lift. For something like rows, only about a minute. For bench, around two - three. For squats, three - five. etc.,

This Week’s Weight Records: 117.5 lb - 118.2 lb
Time: 4 PM
Last week’s: 118.0 lb - 118.0 lb

I may or may not have lost weight- and if I did, it’s not by much, so it’s safe to say I’m currently eating around maintenance then. It is clear that I didn’t gain weight though, so the eating’s going to take a jump, I’ll do everything I can to increase it.

Rows: 45 lb
3x8
Not only did I completely feel it for once, but I also strained to finish it. I don’t think I’ll be able to advance past 50 lb, but I’m honestly impressed I can pick up the damn dumbbell.

Bench Press: 85 lb
3x8
That last rep was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. There’s something about realizing you’re on rep 7 and struggled to get it to the top, and knowing that if you can just get in that one, last, final rep you can justify moving up to the 95 lb weights that’s incredible. Bringing down a weight you’re positive you can’t lift, straining hard enough that you practically forget your arms exist and your face is red and the only thing in the world is that bar, and then realizing a second later that you made the lift in the ridiculous adrenaline rush and you did what you didn’t think you could do.

There’s something about that that’s just fucking beautiful.

I love this fucking sport.

Squats: 135 lb
3x8
Usually when doing squats, I’ll find that my shoulders get so sweaty that I’m afraid the bar will slip off and hit the ground, and that’s how I know I did a good job. This usually happens at the end of my third set, it’s kind of like my “fuck yeah” indicator.

This happened to me halfway through my first set.

I’m surprised I did it. I’m finding I squat better when I’m not in front of a mirror, I tend to worry about my form less and focus more on the lift than analyzing every damn thing I do. I also found that my first rep or two is “bad.” This could be a problem with my warm ups- I may need to advance past the bar for squats like deadlifts (and probably bench presses too) and so the first rep or so becomes my unofficial warm up. Unlike benching, there isn’t the same burning sensation (not the burn as in “I did 100 sit ups” burn, but the “holy shit I can feel all of my muscle fibers in my arms and they are disintegrating” burn) and numbness combination to tell me I’m going to fail- my legs tend to be a lot number and then burn only at the bottom of the lift.

My lower back, right above my left glute has been bothering me since I went deadlifting, and it kind of spiked up during those one or two warm up reps, but then it stopped. I’m a little worried, but it’s probable I just borked my form a bit on Saturday, and it is getting better- but it’s something I’ll keep tabs on. I might need to stretch or warm up more.

tldr; My lifts are all better and I feel like a fucking unicorn king today. I am slightly thinner, but I can deal with a mass to power conversion.

33

Deadlift: 155 lb
3x8
Didn’t think I could do it with my lower back still bothering me a bit. What I do feel is important that I’ve forgotten to say is that in Dixon (the gym I go to) the only place we can DL is in the squat rack, and as a result the bar levitates about around an inch (between an inch to two, I’m not sure what the exact number is) off the ground. When I go back home over the summer, my DL should plummet a bit as I start lifting it from the actual ground.

Overhead Press: 65 lb
1x7, 2x5
I had to cheat a bit on a rep or two on the last two sets, using my knees to kind of boost the bar up. The second set was hardest, meaning I probably didn’t rest enough.

Chin Ups: 13/7/6

34

[quote]Reygekan wrote:
The only place we can DL is in the squat rack, and as a result the bar levitates about around an inch (between an inch to two, I’m not sure what the exact number is) off the ground. When I go back home over the summer, my DL should plummet a bit as I start lifting it from the actual ground.[/quote]

Try standing on some plates. That way you’ll be on the same horizontal plane as where the bar rests. You can also use smaller plates so the bar won’t be as high up if you’re more comfortable with that.

35

Keep it up brother. I started as a rake in college too. Graduated at a solid 220.

Good to see you sticking to mostly compound movements.

If you want beginner advice on lifting or diet, check out Coach Mark Rippetoe. The guy is a legend, he’s got some articles on the site as well as some amazing books. He prescribes lifting 5 sets of 5 of the compounds and drinking a gallon of milk a day. Best mass-gaining dietary advice I’ve ever gotten.

You’re doing well.

36

I like the standing on plates idea, it’s a good one. I’ll try it out on Tuesday.

I’ve read some of Rippetoe’s stuff. I found one of the student stores on campus sells milk- not quite a gallon but still more than I’m getting. I’ll be able to free myself from juice.

Bench Press: 95 lb
1x7, 2x5

Rows: 50 lb
3x8
I’m feeling and liking these guys more and more as I increase the weight. I love it.

Squats: –

I tried doing two sets at 145 lb, but I found that I couldn’t lower the bar all the way, and furthermore, my lower back would flare up on a rep or two. I could essentially feel the weight travel down my spine, reach where my back has been bothering me (not as much today as previously, so it’s getting better and I 'm not too worried about it but…) and then flare up. I lowered the weight to 135 lb but the same problems persisted so I stopped. I really hate stopping, if I’m doing only 3 exercises I’d like to be improving them every day and trying my hardest, but I don’t want to risk making my back worse when it’s only just now getting noticeably better. I’ll compensate, on Thursday I’m going to live that 145 lb bar like a motherfucker.

37

Weight check day! I fucking love this damn day.

This week’s weight: 119.5 lb - 120.0 lb
Time: 4:15 pm
Last week’s weight: 117.5 lb - 118.2 lb

Dear bitches. Fuck yes.

120 lb was my first target weight (120 lb, 140 lb, 160 lb, and 180 lb have been my goal weights) and I finally reached it. That first week of March I was about 10 lbs lighter than I am right now. This is fucking fantastic. I shouldn’t get so excited about it, but I am. This is the goal, the first step. When I was in high school, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever reach it. I probably wouldn’t have if I hadn’t done the reading that I had here, or gotten the advice I did from the people in this thread. So thanks to everyone who commented.

Let’s try to gain another 10 lbs before the term ends (in about 6-7 weeks. Definitely doable.)

Today’s Lifts

Deadlifts: 135 lb
3x8
I lowered the weight because I 'm standing on plates now. Was easier than I thought, but the range of motion makes it feel like a completely different exercise. By next week I should be back to 155 lb, assuming I don’t get stuck somewhere along the line.

Overhead Press: 65 lb
1x8, 1x7, 1x5
So close to advancing. Two weeks. I’m going to give myself two weeks to start overheading 75 lb.

Chin Ups: 14/8/7
My forearms feel like they’re going to burst. It’s wonderful actually. I think I can do more than 14 reps on my first set. For those who’ve noticed, I’ve been steadily forcing myself to add just a single rep to every set on this exercise every time I go, so that I have a definite goal to work for (I tend to work harder with a goal, I’m finding.) It might soon be that I can’t add 3 reps every time, and while that upsets me, I do realize that I’m getting about 30 of these guys in at this point, and I might have to start weighting them soon.

38

Nice freakin job, dude! Keep it up!

39

Thanks!

Bent Over Rows: 55 lb
3x8
Every time I up the weight on rows and actually finish the sets, I become worried that I’m doing them wrong. I always think I’m reaching my limit and then do a bit more, but maybe I’m compensating? I really do think I’m reaching my limit though. It’s getting hard for me to put the damn dumbbells away.

Bench Press: 95 lb
1x8, 1x5, 1x3
I got distracted by my breathing. I tend to hold my breath at the bottom of the rep, and it throws me off sometimes. Then I got too focused on my breathing rather than the weight… and well… you can see how the reps really took a plummet. I’m going to try and work on my breathing more on the warm ups.

Squats –
I did a few successful warm ups, but when I loaded the bar with 145 and began to squat, I felt the spot in my back fire. Not an awful pain, but definitely a pain. My knees bothered me a bit too but they were just being pussies. I did feel the weight in my quads, and I think I can do it, but I don’t want to prolong whatever’s going on with my back. I think deadlifts might be aggravating it, as my back bothered me more yesterday (and got better today). I’m going to stop squats and deadlifts (anything that fires it too much) until it’s better. I felt in in my arch a little while benching today, which is part of the reason it’s bothering me so much. I’ll try and replace them with leg presses for now (I hate the leg press so much.) I wont log the leg press here because I’m distrustful of machines and don’t appreciate added weights on them.

I’m going home for the weekend, so the numbers for Saturday might be a little wonky, because my friends will most likely not let me sleep much and because I might have to reorder things when I’m there (we only have 1 squat rack there.)

40

Yesterday’s Log

Overhead Press: 65 lb
1x8, 1x6, 1x5

Chin Ups: 15/9/8