I’ve been a lurker here for quite some time and figured I would start a log to hold myself a bit more accountable for the new year.
In the past I have struggled with staying put on a program for too long as I grapple with the decision to “bulk up” or “cut down.” It would seem that whenever I go down either route I end up doubting my decision either because when I’m focused on cutting I start to feel too small, or when I focus on gaining I start to feel chubby and fat. I went on SS a few months ago and managed to stay on for a bit prior to being injured playing baseball. At that time I had gained 20 lbs on my 5RM bench (235 → 255), and 20 lbs on my 3RM press (155 → 175).
Squatting has been an issue for me ever since tweaking my knee a few years ago. I used to olympic lift and had decent squat numbers, but ever since hurting my knee I haven’t really found the groove again, maybe because I am apprehensive of re-injuring myself. I have found that front squats put less stress on my knees, and will use these for the SS, albeit light to begin with.
I am hoping to stay put on SS and build some solid strength in my last semester at college, and could certainly use some help from you all in keeping myself accountable and keeping me from slipping into the “I’m going to get too fat” mindset. I have found that some assistance work helps me mentally stick with a program like this for longer, and will be doing weighted dips, chin ups and pull-ups, along with some rows to keep things interesting. Additionally, due to my knee injury I am going to start off only squatting 2x a week (Monday and Friday) and see how it goes prior to adding in a third day (Wednesday).
All this being said, below are my current numbers. I will back off the weight for the first week and build back up to my current maxes in the first few workouts.
Nutrition wise I will be trying to push calories, but will be trying to keep roughly 25% of my daily intake peri-workout. I will start with a goal intake of 4000 kcal / day and make adjustments as my weight or strength changes. With this, I am aiming for 1000 kcal peri-workout. My current pre/during/post workout drink covers 670 kcal (2 scoops each of Anaconda, MAG-10 and SWF). This leaves 330 kcal which will come from chocolate milk roughly 45-30 minutes pre-workout.
As I get back to the normal swing of things at school I will begin setting up my daily meal schedule based on what is available to me. Morning meals will consist of mostly P+C whereas night-time meals will consist of P+F. I am hoping to have a fairly straightforward meal plan set so that I will be able to post my daily consumption here as I progress.
you are already way stronger than a beginner! are you going to go back to back squatting ever again? also, did you find your front squat helping your squat at all?
Ideally I want to get back into back squatting and olympic lifting once I feel more comfortable with my knee and get back in the groove. I never was big into “powerlifting” type squatting, so I typically go with a narrower stance and full depth for transfer to the clean and snatch. While I do want to get stronger overall, I’d like the strength in my squat to translate into the olympic lifts so I think I’ll stick with that style for now.
Front squatting really forces my form to be perfect and I obviously also like it because of its transferability to the clean.
I’m off to workout now – I’ll post some more later today.