I decided to start a new log for my progress through Rippetoe’s Starting Strength program. Anyone interested in my background and my previous log could visit this link: http://www.T-Nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=1951608
My previous attempt at Rippetoe involved a number of weeks simply trying to perfect my form. So now that I feel I have my form down, I’m ready to start with a brand new log.
I haven’t lifted for about 10 days, and I tried to pick up where I left off. I am now squatting in my new power cage, and it makes a big difference for me. Pre-power cage days, I definitely would’ve stopped a rep earlier on all sets. This time, I went to failure on all sets. Dips felt very difficult this workout. Overall, I felt like I worked myself to the limit this session, and I’m hoping that I’ll start seeing progress soon…
That is a link to my FitDay journal. Here are the days which best describe my dieting.
Feb 19 was a workout day. Non workout days were similar in terms of nutrient composition, only I skipped the PWO shake.
More recently, I’ve tried changing my diet around according to an article Berardi put out, basically making fruits and veggies my main carb sources, except in the morning and PWO. Mar 31 and Apr 1 are a good indication of what I’ve been eating. My total calories have obviously dropped. Not sure if this diet will work or not, because I’ve only been following for a couple days.
Back Squat ------- 145 lbs: 4/3/2
Military Press — 80 lbs: 5/5/2
Bent Row --------- 110 lbs: 5/5/4
Pullups ---------- BW: 4/3
Decline Situp ---- 10 lbs: 12/8/7
Another good workout. Small progress on the squat. I wonder if starting at 145 lbs for me was too much, but as long as I’m making some form of progress, I’ll keep with it. On my last rep of my last set for the Bent Row, my back felt fine, but my arms could not bring the weight up to my chest, so I only gave myself credit for 4 reps. Next week I’ll continue with 110 lbs.
Felt real good after this workout. I still didn’t knock out all 15 reps of the squat, but total volume is increasing. In fact, I made progress on all lifts. New PR with the deadlift. Can’t wait to hit 200 lbs on the DL, that will be a big motivator for me. I feel as if my bench is the weakest lift right now. Volume-wise, I completed a total of 9 reps today, compared to 8 a couple days ago. Small progress, but still in the right direction.
Back Squat ------- 145 lbs: 5/5/4
Military Press — 80 lbs: 5/5/5
Bent Row --------- 110 lbs: 5/5/5
Pullups ---------- BW: 3/3
Decline Situp ---- 10 lbs: 15/15/15
Today was a productive session. I completed all sets on Military Press, Bent Row, and Decline Situps. Made more small progress with my squat at 145, and used Biotest Surge for the first time PWO (Wild Raspberry flavor, it’s amazing, but that’s for another forum).
I have one question, even though my squat is improving slightly from session to session (total volume is increasing), is there any explanation behind why my progress is so slow? I know it could be a number of factors like diet, sleep, etc., but I follow Berardi’s principles in 7 Highly Effective Nutritional Habits, and I get 8 hours of sleep a night. Just wondering if others face a similar progression rate.
I’m doing Rippetoe as well right now, and my guess is that you started too heavy on the squat. I found that when I started with a weight that seemed light it would ensure steady progress from session to session. Well since you are already stuck on the squat why not “de-load” the lift by 10% and see if that helps you nail all 15 reps.
You can check out my blog here to see my Rippetoe log. I had started it earlier, progressed well and then came down with program A.D.D and essentially made no progress, so its my 2nd time around on this program so if you ever need some help man let me know.
Also I would drop the extra work and simply stick to the core program. So I’d drop the pullups and dips (if you are doing those, can’t recall). Abs are okay, but remember that squats and deads are nailing those hard. Add extra stuff once your work capacity has increased and you feel that you can handle it.
[quote]slimsaw00 wrote:
I’m doing Rippetoe as well right now, and my guess is that you started too heavy on the squat. I found that when I started with a weight that seemed light it would ensure steady progress from session to session. Well since you are already stuck on the squat why not “de-load” the lift by 10% and see if that helps you nail all 15 reps.
You can check out my blog here to see my Rippetoe log. I had started it earlier, progressed well and then came down with program A.D.D and essentially made no progress, so its my 2nd time around on this program so if you ever need some help man let me know.
Also I would drop the extra work and simply stick to the core program. So I’d drop the pullups and dips (if you are doing those, can’t recall). Abs are okay, but remember that squats and deads are nailing those hard. Add extra stuff once your work capacity has increased and you feel that you can handle it.
*Sorry for the long post, haha!
-Matt[/quote]
Matt, thanks for the pointers. I checked out your blog, impressive, very motivational, exactly what I needed!!
I have my mind set on completing the 15 reps of squats at 145 lbs tomorrow. I’m only 1 rep off. But I agree with you that I may have started too high. See, I also did Rippetoe before, but my form was horrendous. I was squatting 185 lbs, only to find out that I didn’t even reach parallel. Needless to say, I started again, and this time around I have the form down. As far as the extra work goes, I could definitely cut it out. The reason I went with the dips and chin-ups was to force myself to work to my limit.
Thanks again… and no need to apologize for the long post, as you can see, I’m no better!! haha
I was contemplating adding in the dips and chins right from the start, and am glad that I didn’t. At this point I’m concentrating so much on the core lifts that just 2-3 weeks in I would not be able to put much effort into any extra accessory work. As my strength/work capacity improve I will SLOWLY (like on Friday’s just to start) add in some extra work, but not just for the sake of doing more work. We should be able to get by on the basic program for quite some time.
Wow! What a feeling after I completed my 5th rep on my 3rd set of the squat. About 10 days ago I was only able to bang out 7 reps, now I’ve done all 15. That pumped me up big time for the remainder of this workout!!
Progressed on all exercises this week. Very close to completing all reps on my bench. Next time I deadlift, I’ll be attempting 200 lbs, never imagined that would happen!
[quote]slimsaw00 wrote:
Definitely man, nail all 15 reps tomorrow!!!
I was contemplating adding in the dips and chins right from the start, and am glad that I didn’t. At this point I’m concentrating so much on the core lifts that just 2-3 weeks in I would not be able to put much effort into any extra accessory work. As my strength/work capacity improve I will SLOWLY (like on Friday’s just to start) add in some extra work, but not just for the sake of doing more work. We should be able to get by on the basic program for quite some time.
Best of luck, and I’ll be watching this one.
-Matt[/quote]
Matt, thanks for the encouragement, believe it or not, I psych myself up before my lifts, telling myself that not only do I not want to let myself down, but I don’t want to let down those watching me here on T-Nation!!!
For some reason, after my core lifts, I felt like I still had some energy in me, so I went ahead and did the dips today, actually knocked out 7 on my first set, that’s a first for me. Don’t know if this means my rest time is too long? I’m resting between 2-3 minutes between sets, which I believe is what was mentioned in the Rippetoe thread.
With my squat, after each rep, I waited a couple seconds before starting my next rep. I did this today, but in the past I would start a rep immediately after finishing one. Is there anything wrong with that?
Occasionally, I notice while squatting, the outer part of my feet starts lifting off the ground. My heels stay on the ground, but it seems as if the sole of my feet start shifting inward. is this normal? The lift is very minimal, and doesn’t happen all the time, but nonetheless, I was curious if this could be due to my stance or simply because I start struggling with a given weight.
I’m also doing Rippetoe’s (without the accessory work), and just wanted to let you know not to stress over the weights. It’s probably because you started a bit too heavy. For me, with a previous back injury, I started on the low end, and have been adding about 5 lbs each day (if I can) until I find what feels right. So far, my lifts are at:
Squat: 110
Dead: 120
Bench: 60
Military: 50
Bent Row: 40 (which I know needs to be much increased - I had been doing them quite wrong, lol).
I’m having steady improvement in all areas, and haven’t had a single twinge in my back. One of these days I’ll be able to lift with the big boys, but at least I’m progressing!
Wow! What a feeling after I completed my 5th rep on my 3rd set of the squat. About 10 days ago I was only able to bang out 7 reps, now I’ve done all 15. That pumped me up big time for the remainder of this workout!!
Progressed on all exercises this week. Very close to completing all reps on my bench. Next time I deadlift, I’ll be attempting 200 lbs, never imagined that would happen![/quote]
Keep it up man, seeing progress will definitely keep the motivation going.
Back Squat ------- 150 lbs: 5/5/5
Military Press — 85 lbs: 5/5/3
Bent Row --------- 115 lbs: 5/5/5
Pullups ---------- BW: 4/4
Decline Situp ---- 12.5 lbs: 15/15/15
It’s amazing how I struggled for days to complete all reps of the squat at 145 lbs, and today, the first day I attempt 150 lbs, I get all 15 reps without much struggle. I think Matt said it earlier, but actually completing all reps at a given weight must give you a mental boost for your successive workouts.
I always have difficulty with the military press. When I start to struggle, I feel my back arching as if I want to bench the weight. If I can’t keep my back fairly straight and lift the weight, then I stop the set there. That happened today on my 3rd set, at rep#3.
I hit a new PR on my bent row! One thing I notice with the bent row, and I’m not sure if this is common, but as I increase the weight, it feels like my arms (biceps) work harder, as opposed to my back. Is this normal? Also, as I’m lifting the bar to my chest during the row, I noticed that sometimes I try to yank it upwards towards my chest, instead of following a slow and steady motion. I think this is because with a slow and steady motion, my arms would give out on me. Does this mean my biceps are under developed? I was going to continue increasing weight the next time I use bent rows, does anyone disagree?
Nice work man. . . I think some nice progress is on the horizon provided you put in the work, sleep enough and eat enough.
Bent rows felt like that for me too, but it was mainly because I had a pretty narrow grip; now its almost on the rings of the bar and it allows me to actually use my back muscles to move the bar. That’s what has worked for me anyway.
