"For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream."
Squat: 3×5 @ 295 lbs.
Overhead Press: 3×3 @ 125 lbs.*
Deadlift: 1×5 @ 330 lbs.
Body Weight: 201 lbs.
*I switched to 3×3 on the overhead press because I wasn't able to get all five reps on my first set. But afterward, I realized that I should have done 5×3. I'm going to try that next time. Wish me luck.
Squat: 3×5 @ 290 lbs.*
Bench Press: 5×5 @ 165 lbs.
Barbell Row: 5×5 @ 185 lbs.
Body Weight: 203 lbs.
*I finally got shoes! While I can see the advantage of them, I've been lifting for over a year without them, and I feel that breaking them in is probably best not done while breaking PRs. So, I'm dropping the squats back to 290 lbs and working back up. And I suspect I'm to the point where I have to start thinking seriously about intermediate programming. More on that later.
Oh, and I don’t know if I am going to continue the power cleans…
Squats: 3/3/3/2 @ 315 lbs.*
Overhead Press 3×5 @ 122.5 lbs.
Deadlift: 1×5 @ 325 lbs.
Body Weight: 200 lbs.
*I finally squatted three full plates (per side)! I almost stopped after my third set, but I was curious to see how far I could go. I probably could have completed that last set, but since I already reached my original goal of 3×3, I just wasn't all in and I gave up. So, I'll do 3×3 for as long as I can as I continue to add weight. Wish me luck.
Also, after watching this video, I improved my form on the overhead press by keeping my elbows forward instead of letting them flare out as I have been doing. Perhaps as a consequence, the weight went up very easily, and I didn't have any of the twisting problems in my left arm that I sometimes do. Thanks, Barbell Logic!
Finally, I am still getting used to those deadlifting straps...
Squat: 5×3 @ 310 lbs.
Bench Press: 5×5 @ 162.5 lbs.
Barbell Row: 5×5 @ 182.5 lbs.
Power Clean: 5×5 @ 95 lbs.*
Body Weight: 200 lbs.
*I think it's pretty apparent that I don't know how to power clean. The action is technically challenging, I've never been personally coached on it, and some argue that I shouldn't even waste my time doing it. But alas, I want to be able to do it. For reasons. So, I plan on keeping it up at 95 lbs. until I am satisfied with my own technique. And maybe at some point, I will have money to hire a coach.
Squat: 5×3 @ 305 lbs.
Overhead Press: 3×5 @ 120 lbs.
Deadlift: 1×5 @ 320 lbs.
Body Weight: 200 lbs.
I missed my last squat set last time, so apparently, doing five reps per set is too much right now. The next level in StrongLifts is to go 3×3. But that's not enough for me, so long as I can do 15 reps total. So I tried 5×3 instead, and it worked! I also loaded 305 lbs. on the bar, forgetting that I should have done 300 lbs. since I didn't get all 15 reps last time. But oh well, I made it. And I will continue with this scheme until I cannot. Then, hopefully, I will be able to switch to 3×3 and continue making progress. We shall see.
I am frankly surprised that I was able to get 3×5 on the overhead press. Those things are hard. When I do start missing reps, I am going to do the same thing I am doing with my squats.
This is the first time I have used straps on the deadlift. I have lifted 325 lbs. without them before, but just barely. And last time even 315 lbs. almost slipped out of my hands. This time the straps made it downright easy! Through the loose earbud was an unwelcome distraction.
Squat: 5/5/4 @ 300 lbs.*
Bench Press: 5×5 @ 160 lbs.
Barbell Row: 5×5 @ 180 lbs.
Power Clean: 1 @ 130 lbs.**
Body Weight: 200 lbs.
*So, I missed the last squat. That sucks since 300 lbs. is where I plateaued last time. And the time before that. And also the time before that. But I'm not letting it happen this time. Based on my past experience, the best way to break through a plateau is to just go for it: lift heavier than you got stuck on, even if it means fewer total reps. Your volume might go down, but your intensity will go up. And at the end of the day, expressing greater force by lifting more weight is the definition of strength, no? Onward.
**After my first attempt at a power clean work rep, I felt a little wonky, as I do before I pass out. Then, after my second attempt, I felt even worse. So I figured it was time to stop. I'll try again next time.
Squat: 3×5 @ 295 lbs.
Overhead Press: 3×5 @ 117.5 lbs.
Deadlift: 1×5 @ 315 lbs.
Body Weight: 200 lbs.
Squat: 3×5 @ 290 lbs.
Bench Press: 5×5 @ 157.5 lbs.
Barbell Row: 5×5 @ 177.5 lbs.
Power Clean: 5×5 @ 125 lbs.
Body Weight: 200 lbs.
Squat: 5×5 @ 285 lbs.
Overhead Press: 3×5 @ 115 lbs.
Deadlift: 5×5 @ 310 lbs.
Body Weight: 197 lbs.
Since I finally broke new ground with my overhead press, I decided to reduce the volume to 3×5. I doubt I would have made 5×5, anyway.
Wish me luck for next time…
Squat: 5×5 @ 280 lbs.
Bench Press: 5×5 @ 155 lbs.
Barbell Row: 5×5 @ 175 lbs.
Power Clean: 5×5 @ 120 lbs.
Body Weight: 197 lbs.
Squat: 5×5 @ 275 lbs.
Overhead Press: 5×5 @ 112.5 lbs.
Deadlift: 1×5 @ 305 lbs.
Body Weight: 197 lbs.
Behold, my best overhead press performance, ever!
At least I am making progress somewhere…
Squat: 5×5 @ 270 lbs.
Bench Press: 5×5 @ 152.5 lbs.
Barbell Row: 5×5 @ 172.5 lbs.
Power Clean: 5×5 @ 115 lbs.
Body Weight: 197 lbs.
The idea of squatting 3×5 when I was able to do 5×5 @ 295 lbs. didn’t sit well with me. I was worried that if I didn’t keep up the volume, I might de-train and find myself unable to do 5×5 @ 295 lbs. Perhaps that is not something I should worry about, as I am trying to increase my squat intensity by breaking through my 300 lb. plateau, but reducing my total squat tonnage just made me feel bad. Of course, the point of deloading and reducing volume is to give more time for your body to fully recover so that it can push through a plateau since one reason why we plateau is that we have accumulated more stress than we can recover from before out next workout. So, reducing the total stress reduces the time needed for recovery, which hopefully means you will be recovered enough to go beyond wherever you got stuck.
But de-training during deloads is also a problem and not something you want to let happen. So, I had an idea: stick with 5×5 early on in the deload, and then switch to 3×5 as I approach 300 lbs. We’ll see how that goes.
Wish me luck!
Squat: 3×5 @ 265 lbs.
Overhead Press: 5×5 @ 110 lbs.
Deadlift: 1×5 @ 300 lbs.
Body Weight: 194.6 lbs.
Whelp, I deloaded my squats. Even if the reason I missed reps was because I had a cold, my lungs were still filled with mucus, and I felt a deload would be in order while that crap cleared itself out.
Furthermore, if you follow StrongLifts to a tee, then any deload after the first should be accompanied by a reduction in sets/reps. However, I haven’t exactly been following this program to a tee. I have actually increased my sets/reps from what they were a few months ago. Last October, I plateaued at 1×3 @ 290 lbs. (One set of three reps at 290 lbs. followed by two lighter “back-off“ sets.) From here, it was not possible to decrease sets and reps at all. But it was possible to eat more. So, I started doing that, I deloaded, and I increased lifting volume to 3×5. Then, in November, I plateaued at 3×5 @ 300 lbs. I also missed a lot of gym time due to life events and Thanksgiving. So, I deloaded again. But this time, I switched to 5×5 and started eating more protein. That got me all the way up to 5×5 @ 300 lbs., as seen here. So now it’s time to start reducing sets/reps. Normally, one does that as soon as they deload, and that is what I did here.
Squat: 5/5/3/3/3 @ 300 lbs.
Bench Press: 5×5 @ 150 lbs.
Barbell Row: 5×5 @ 170 lbs.
Body Weight: 200 lbs.
I didn’t train Friday, January 11th because I spent the whole day on the road. Then, I didn’t train Saturday or Sunday because I felt like garbage. Apparently, I brought a cold home with me from NYC. I didn’t train Monday, January 14th because it was the first day of UC’s Spring ‘19 semester. I don’t remember why I didn’t train that evening, but I probably felt like crap. But I made it back on the 15th, though I seriously under-performed on my squat. It’s hard to squat when you can’t breathe because your lungs are full of mucus. I did what I can, but alas, I still have to deload.
Also, for some reason, I skipped the power cleans. I think the gym was closing. Just as well—power cleans require a lot of oxygen, and I probably would have died.
Squat: 5/5/5/5/3 @ 300 lbs.
Overhead Press: 5×5 @ 107.5 lbs.
Deadlift: 5×5 @ 295 lbs.
Body Weight: 202.6 lbs.
Still in New York!
And I still missed reps on my squat?!
Damn.
Squat: 5/5/4/5/3 @ 300 lbs.
Bench Press: 5×5 @ 147.5 lbs.
Barbell Row: 5×5 @ 167.5 lbs.
Power Clean: 5×5 @ 115 lbs.
Body Weight: 200.6 lbs.
I’m in New York!
This is the first time I have recorded a video at any not-my-usual-gym. For that matter, it’s the first time I have trained at any other gym in a very long time. I wonder if that had any influence on the fact that I missed squat reps?
Squats: 5×5 @ 285 lbs.
Overhead Press: 5×5 @ 102.5 lbs.
Deadlift: 1×5 @ 285 lbs.
Body Weight: 200 lbs.
If you’ve been following along, you notice that I have not updated this log in about a month. That’s not because I haven’t been training! Instead, the first week of January saw me visiting relatives in New York City, and after that, classes started again at UC, so I’ve been a bit preoccupied. But whenever possible, I have been uploading my training videos to YouTube, and I an just now caught up. So, it’s time to update the log.
Unfortunately, the apps I am using to program and track my chinups and pushups don’t tag data points by date. Instead, they use days since I started. In principle, it is possible to convert these values into dates, but in practice that is more trouble than it’s worth. Moreover, these logs record the total number of reps and not reps per sets, which I find more valuable. Because of this, I am going to omit these exercises from my reports, at least while I am playing catch-up. Maybe I will include them in the future, maybe not. Maybe I’ll just present the results of my “tests.“ I don’t yet know. Meanwhile, enjoy my progress with the bar.
Squat: 5×5 @ 280 lbs.
Bench Press: 5×5 @ 142.5 lbs.
Barbell Row: 5×5 @ 162.5 lbs.
Chinups: 4 @ BW
Pushups: 10 @ BW
Bodyweight: 200 lbs.
I didn’t have time for power cleans! So I’ll do them next time.
Squat: 5×5 @ 275 lbs.
Overhead Press: 5×5 @ 100 lbs.
Deadlift: 1×5 @ 280 lbs.
Chinups: 2/2/2/2/1 @ BW
Pushups: 5/4/4/4/3 @ BW
Bodyweight: 200 lbs.
Squat: 5×5 @ 270 lbs.
Bench Press: 5×5 @ 140 lbs.
Barbell Row: 5×5 @ 160 lbs.
Power Clean: 5×5 @ 105 lbs.
Bodyweight: 199 lbs.
Pushups: 4/4/3/3/3 @ BW
Chinups: 2/2/1/1/1 @ BW
Santa Claus was good to the weight room—they got new plates! Now if they could just get a new bar and another rack…