Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers

Training Over 35 Lifter
41

Update 5/18/15

SS ramp-up “A” day

SQ: working set 115x3x5
OHP: working set 75x3x5
DL: working set 135x1x5

trying to take it slow and easy on the lower body…not sure i did that as well as i could have with the squats@115…quads have been a little sore since; but, not so bad that i can’t walk…i can feel it when i get up and move around; but, i’m still alive so i guess it wasn’t that bad a start after almost 8 weeks away from squats and dl

Update 5/20/15

SS ramp-up “B” day

SQ:
45x1x10
65x1x5
85x1x3
95x1x2
125x3x5

BP:
45x1x10
65x1x5
85x1x3
95x1x2
115x3x5

Power Clean - my achilles of lifts
45x2x3
75x5x3

really no idea how (bad) my form is with this…watched videos, read SS book, watched more videos…have not had the luxury of watching somebody in person where i could ask questions/get tips…this may very well suck for a good long while

dinner then church…have a blessed night

Erik–

42

Glad to see you back. The headache stuff sounds scary and then the flu on top of that! It’s great you’re back on the horse, so to speak.

43

Update 5/27/15 – ramp-up w2d1

skipped monday’s workout, so only getting 2 days of lifting in this week…that’s ok because this is still the ramp-up period…monday starts the actual progression lifts

anyhow, to the good stuff

squats:
45x1x10
70x1x5
105x1x3
140x1x2
175x3x5
total: 4020

ohp:
45x1x10
45x1x5
65x1x3
85x1x2
95x3x5
total: 2465

deadlift:
85x2x5
125x1x3
180x1x2
215x1x5
total: 2050

night total: 8535

have a great night, everybody

Erik–

44

[quote]LiftingStrumpet wrote:
Glad to see you back. The headache stuff sounds scary and then the flu on top of that! It’s great you’re back on the horse, so to speak.[/quote]
Thanks for your kind words, LS…glad to be back

yeah, the headaches were/are worrisome…i have since been able to get the knot(s) in my shoulders to loosen up and it’s helped a bunch…but, sometimes i still have little tinges of a headache…fortunately, between prayer and advil, they don’t hang around long

have also been watching what i’m doing at night and making note if i wake with a headache in the morning…trying to pinpoint what might be the cause

problem is, so far haven’t been able to nail it down…so, just moving on and living life

thanks for stopping by, LS

Erik–

45

Update 5/29/15 - “B” day

sq:
2x5x45
1x5x75
1x3x110
1x2x150
3x5x190
total: 4305

bp:
2x5x45
1x5x65
1x3x85
1x2x105
3x5x125
total: 3115

power clean:
2x5x45
1x5x45
1x3x55
1x2x70
5x3x85
total: 2255
session total: 9675

this finishes the ramp-up period…the fun starts monday

food then rest…have a great night and weekend, everybody

Erik–

edit: math are hard

46

Update: 6/1/16 - “A” Day

sq:
45x1x10
75x1x5
115x1x3
155x1x2
195x3x5
total: 4405

press:
45x1x10
50x1x5
70x1x3
90x1x2
100x3x5
total: 2590

dl:
95x1x10
135x1x3
190x1x2
225x1x5
total: 2860
session total: 9855

squats felt good

press didn’t feel so good…3rd set was more of a struggle than i would have thought coming into the session…think it’s got to do with hand placement, ie grip width…might be burning too much in the early sets because hands are not in the correct spot…putting my grip about an inch into the grip or whatever its called on the barbell (knuckle?)…anyhow, the early sets were closer to the end of the grip…something to keep an eye on…gotta figure it out and quick or i won’t be making all 3x5

deadlifts felt ok…watched some Rippetoe videos on this and i think, previously, i had more of a squat-type coming up with the legs rather than more bending over and keeping the legs set…something i need to check on too

sheesh, feel like i haven’t done this stuff before…eight weeks away from the barbell and i feel like i’m lost

post-workout supps, post-workout shake and something to eat, then off to church for dessert/fellowship night…will have to pace myself on the dessert

Erik-

47

Update 6/3/16 - “B” day

nice to see the 10k session total in the review mirror

sq:
45x1x10
80x1x5
120x1x3
160x1x1
200x3x5
total: 4530

bp:
45x1x10
70x1x5
90x1x3
110x1x2
130x3x5
total: 3240

power clean:
45x2x5
45x1x5
60x1x3
75x1x2
95x5x3
total: 2355
session total: 10125

squats felt good

bp felt pretty good, not great but pretty good

power clean is up in the air, no pun intended…sometimes i feel like i have decent form and other times i feel like, well, i don’t…oh well, i’ll keep at it until i get it

post-workout nutrition and then some dinner

Erik–

48

Update 6/5/15 - “A” Day

first time not making all my sets…OHP…/sigh

squats:
45x10
80x5
120x3
160x2
205x3x5
total: 4605

ohp:
45x10
50x5
70x3
90x2
105x4
105x2
105x4
total: 2320

dl:
95x10
140x3
195x2
235x5
total: 2935
session total: 10205

bummed at not making the sets for press…i’m sure i psyched myself out subconciously…being this is my first time i didn’t make the cut, not sure how to progress from here…try it again next week at the same 105lbs? or drop back to 90lbs and work back to 105 using varying sets/reps…maybe go with 6-10reps while at 90-100 to help build up the muscle? anyhow, any suggestions/recommendations would be appreciated…thanks

squats felt ok…think i’ve got the bar low enough to call it low-bar squats; but, not 100% sure without having somebody here to look at it…and, kinda hard to get a pic in by myself…oh well, got the reps in and weight is moving up

deadlifts, same thing…trying to not come out of the hole like a squat and then extend up but moreso set the legs and come up with more use of the lower back/hamstrings and such…still got the weights up…used a mixed grip…didn’t feel comfortable setting up using the normal double overhand grip…not sure why other than to say it just didn’t

wonder if i should invest in a leather belt at this point…definitely do not want to injure my lower back

peri-workout nutrition consisted of some quick carbs via a big donut plus 48g whey protein after i drank my pre-workout mix (called Altius which contains creatine, caffeine, etc)…trying to zero in a good meal plan focused around the workout, especially prior to the workout

anyhow, post-workout nutrition under way…in an hour or so some dinner

Erik

49

Update 6/8/15 - “B” day

week2, day1

sq:
45x10
80x5
125x3
165x2
210x3x5

bp:
45x10
70x5
90x3
110x2
135x3x5 (PR)

power clean:
45x10
50x5
65x3
80x2
95x5x3 (PR)

squats…still feeling out the location on back…for some reason, what i did before, in my mind’s eye, seemed too high on the back…not sure…watching how things feel with this

bp…always nice to hit PRs…everything from here out will be 3x5 PR…have done 145x2 before…but, for a regular working set (3x5) 135==PR

power clean…still not sure about the form…getting the weight up though…same with bp, everything at this point is a new 5x3 PR…a wonderful thing did happen along the way with this tonight…i dropped the bar right on necklace chain across the collar bone…that felt lovely

go team PR

nutrition seems to be #1 enemy right now…really need to buckle down with this and stick to the daily plan i came up with to hit my macros…otherwise, i’m just wasting time trying drop the fat…gotta get that focus back

all the normal post-wo drinks down…dinner then bed in short order

Erik–

50

Update 6/15/15 - “A” day

spent part of my day off watching some of Rip’s videos for sq, press and dl…feel like i have a better vision in my mind’s eye of what i want to be doing with each movement…the hip thrust he’s introducing for press was a little more natural, i guess…but, once the weight got up i got a little uncoordinated…but, that’s the point of lowering the weights - so i can practice on form and re-build up the weights so that when i get the weights up i’m using proper form so i don’t get hurt

anyhow, the numbers

sq:
45x10
75x5
115x3
140x2
185x3x8
total: 5890

press:
45x10
45x5
65x3
80x2
85x8
75x2x8
total: 2910

dl:
95x2x5
120x3
170x2
205x8
total: 3290
session total: 12090

realized after the first working set for the press that the 85lbs was too aggressive for what i was trying to do; so, dropped down so i could focus on form, not worrying about hitting the sets

everything felt better but still plenty to work on

Erik

51

Update 6/12/15 - “B” Day

got the lifts in last friday but forgot to update the log

sq:
45x10
85x5
130x3
175x2
220x3x5

bp:
45x10
75x5
95x3
115x2
140x3x5 (PR)

power clean:
45x2x5
55x5
70x3
85x2
100x5x3 (PR)

had a friend film all sets/reps for my 3 lifts today…what i thought i was doing well, i’m not doing as well as i thought…what i felt were struggles are definitely struggles

so, starting this week and for the next couple weeks, at least, i need to stop adding weight and work on form across the board

squats: not getting below parallel…i’m right at parallel, or the occasional just-below parallel…but, that’s the least of the worries here…back positioning was not great…found myself somehow leaning way too far forward, especially coming out of the hole…could easily see this become an issue that leads to an injury…back to the videos and other materials

bp: hand placement seems to be the issue…think i need a wider grip so that the forearms hang down perpendicular to the biceps…have had hands just inside the knurl on the bar…again, more videos and other materials

power clean: not getting the hip thrust that i’ve seen in the videos…barbell sometimes swings out in front too far versus coming straight up…again, back to the drawing board

not filmed:

press: i know my press struggles getting past the face…that hip action is a little quirky and at times i don’t do it or i completely am off-timed with it, meaning i’ll do it and then when i come back to straight body, then i’ll start the push instead of coordinating the push while the hips are thrust forward

deadlifts, have to watch out that i don’t make it more of a squat coming up than a stiff-legged (bent, but still stiff)

fortunately, time is on my side…have had enough of an issue with my shoulder to know i don’t want to rush any of this in order to avoid another long-term rehab

Erik–

52

Update 6/15/15 - “A” day

spent part of my day off watching some of Rip’s videos for sq, press and dl…feel like i have a better vision in my mind’s eye of what i want to be doing with each movement…the hip thrust he’s introducing for press was a little more natural, i guess…but, once the weight got up i got a little uncordinated…but, that’s the point of lowering the weights - so i can practice on form and re-build up the weights so that when i get the weights up i’m using proper form so i don’t get hurt

anyhow, the numbers

sq:
45x10
75x5
115x3
140x2
185x3x8

press:
45x10
45x5
65x3
80x2
85x8
75x2x8

dl:
95x2x5
120x3
170x2
205x8

realized after the first working set for the press that the 85lbs was too aggressive for what i was trying to do; so, dropped down so i could focus on form, not worrying about hitting the sets

everything felt better but still plenty to work on

Erik

ps: page3…hey, look at me, i’m going places

53

“So sit back and have a cup o’ joe
And watch the wheels go round
'Cause those damned blue-collar tweekers
Have always run this town”

LOL, love the title of this thread, big time Primus fan! I feel ya on the form. Haven’t been able to work out in 8 months due to working 15-18 hours a day. Going to spend the first 4 weeks just re-familiarizing myself with the movement patterns and working on mobility. Hips and ankles are the culprits for us over 40.