Gamefreak501s training log & form check - Stronglifts 5x5

Gamefreak501

Gamefreak501

Gamefreak501

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Joined
7 Aug 2003
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Bedfordshire
Hi everyone,

I found a gym a walk up the road from me - it's small, it's cheap but has everything I need for a Stronglifts program: 5 foot and 6 foot olympic bars, good selection of weights, 2x power cages.

I will be doing Workout A on days one and three and workout B on day 2.

-------------------------------------

Workout A

BB Squats; 5x5
Flat benchpress; 5x5
Barbell row; 5x5

Workout B

BB Squats; 5x5
Overhead Press; 5x5
Deadlift 1x5

--------------------------------------
Today I did Workout A:

BB Squats: 50kgx5, 50kgx5, 50kgx5, 50kgx5, 50kgx5
Flat Benchpress: 50kgx5, 50kgx5, 50kgx5, 50kgx5, 50kgx5
Barbell Row: 50kgx5, 50kgx5, 50kgx5, 50kgx5, 50kgx5

I intentionally stuck to the same weight for a few reasons – mainly so I could video my form on each set and so I could ease myself back into lifting having taken a break for around 2 years due to life and a now ex-girlfriend getting in the way of it. I didn’t take long rest breaks between sets because the working sets were light - but if I felt a bit tired, I did spend a few seconds catching my breath.

Here are some poorly shot videos of my first ever Strong lifts session. Any feedback greatly appreciated.

BB Squat Form Check

https://youtu.be/Zvo6rjb-K0Y

BB Bench press form check

https://youtu.be/XJpHXY7i2Gw

Heres to a brand new program and diet :)

Had a protein shake after the workout and will be having a roast in the next half hour.

Plan is to have a good combination of protein/fats/carbs in my diet every 3-4 hours, which means I will be eating 5 medium sized meals a day and a last bedtime snack (probably half a pot of cottage cheese). I'll go in to diet specifics on my next post here.

I did find the squats, despite the low weights noticeable when I left the gym and started walking back home haha!
 
Thanks for your replies.

Really sorry about that, videos should now be viewable. Managed to also lose my master car keys as well today. Not a good day Haha!

I didn't realise that I had to alternative workout a/b as well - I'll do so now that I've been advised, thanks :)

I did 3-4 warm up sets with just the bar before I recorded, didn't want to use too much space on my phone or on youtube.

Here is what my meals were today

Breakfast

Orange juice
Porridge with s/s milk
Wholemeal toast with blueberry soft cheese

Post workout

1 scoop Pharma whey with s/s milk

Lunch

Chicken roast with potatoes and veg

4pm meal

Chicken curry with white rice

Dinner

Beef steak with chips and veg

Bedtime snack

200ml glass of semi-skimmed milk
 
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Thanks for your reply mrthingyx,

I didn't realise my form was quite that bad, so thanks for pointing that out! I watched a few videos on squat form and they also confirm what you've posted. Room for improvement then!

I'll video my next squat exercises as well so that I can see my form improvements.
 
Thanks for your replies Cookeh and mrthingyx,

I think if I widen my stance a little more it will give my knees and hips a little more movement, something I learned with my roller derby training as well.

Really bad doms today haha - especially on my quads and chest. A little bit on my traps. I forgot how difficult steps and getting out of office chairs is! I'm walking round like...I won't say ha ha

Todays meals:

Breakfast

Porridge with s/skimmed milk and pharma whey
Wholemeal toast, with soft cheese
100ml of orange juice

Morning snack

Apple
Handful of salted cashew nuts
Wholemeal sandwiches with Salmon & soft cheese

Lunch

Coronation chicken fillet with salad
Chinese chicken and leek soup
Orange

Afternoon snack

White pasta with tomato sauce, chicken and black olives

Dinner

Chicken with tomato and onion sauce and veg

Late dinner

Whole pepperoni pizza because I'm still very hungry and my portions have been quite small all day. I may need to bolster my breakfast somewhat. As of just now, started feeling the doms in my arms now haha.
 
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Thanks for your replies,

I did have a diet plan in an excel spreadsheet so I might need to refer to that to keep my diet in check. I'm going to see if MyfitnessPal is good for android as well.

I'm going to have 3 weetabix biscuits to bolster my carbs for the day as a bedtime snack, hopefully it's enough for the day! Ideally I should be having brown bread/rice/pasta with each snack or small meal I have and might explain why I am very hungry today.
 
I can also vouch for MyFitnessPal as well. Very useful app.

Today I managed the following:

219g Protein
3350 kcals
401g Carbohydrates
86g total fats broken up as 27g saturated, 10g poly, 20g mono, 0g trans.

Not bad going really. I think 247g/day of Protein is my absolute highest though, based upon my current body weight of 165 lbs.

I think my carb ratio needs to be higher.

If the pie chart is anything to go by:

49% carbs, 24% fats, 27% protein, though it's not labelled.

I'm celebrating a friends birthday today, but will be training tomorrow night without fail :-)
 
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Hi all,

I had a late night at work yesterday and the evening before was also far too busy as well.

But I managed to get this lot done:

Workout B

BB Squats: 5x5 @ 50kg

BB Over head press 5x5 @ 30kg

BB Deadlifts 1x5 @ 60kg

The weights are a bit all over the place here; but I've never, ever done over head presses before and even 30kg with a 6ft Olympic bar felt a little heavy, but I pushed on and kept my form in check.

The deadlifts are a ludicrously low weight, but it forces good form if I do a lower weight. I can always add weight on next week.

Workout A will be my last session for this week - I'll probably go on Saturday.

Come next week, I'll add 5kg to each exercise.
 
The routine that Freefaller is on is mental haha!

I think after a couple years of lifting, I could probably start something similar at lower weights, but right now, I consider myself weak and in need of some practice!

Edit: Thanks for that advice about OHP Cookeh - I'll take it on board and make sure I only add 2.5kg to it every week.

I hit my plateau very quickly when I went to the gym a few years back - ended up lifting the same weights over and over then I got bored... with a better diet and routine, shouldn't be the case now :)

My macros weren't so good the last few days:

Wednesday:

55% Carbs
27% Fats
18% Protein

Thursday

46% Carbs
41% Fats
13% Protein

Friday

40% Carbs
43% Fats
17% Protein

Hopefully I can bring back up my protein ratio by tonight.

I want to try to go for 50% carbs, 30% protein and 20% fats. But I'm sure those numbers can move a little bit still for a balanced diet. I'll be doing some shopping over the next few days, to make sure I'm hitting my macro goals.
 
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Today was my last session for this week.

Workout A

BB Squats - 5x5 @ 50kg

BB Benchpress - 5x5 @ 50kg

BB BOR - 5x5 @ 50kg.

For some reason my benchpress didn't feel very strong. Despite the weight being the same as last time it seemed to weigh more :confused:

Still, I completed my set.

At present my macros look like this:

42% Carbs
21% Protein
37% Fats

I should be able to get this to 45% carbs, 25-30% protein and 25-30% fats by the end of today, which is what I want to try and get - whilst maintaining 3300 kcals. I've still got 1827 kcals to gain today!
 
It's still quite difficult to get my macros where they need to be but I'm trying to stick to around about the following:

45-50% Carbs

20-25% Protein

25-30% Fats.

As of Saturday and Sunday, macros were as follows:

Calories: 3310 | 2486
Carbohydrates: 324 | 134
Protein: 166 | 87
Fats: 118 | 83

I think I need to make a good meal plan on a weekly rota - I had such a busy weekend that I haven't been able to do proper food shopping or fit in all my calories on the Sunday.

This week is looking like this:

Day 1 - Workout B

BB Squats 5x5@55kg
BB OHP 5x5 @ 32.5kg
BB Deadlifts 1x5 @ 65kg

Day 2 - Workout A

BB Squats 5x5 @ 55kg
BB Bench Press 5x5 @ 55kg
BB BOR - 5x5 @ 55kg

Day 3 - Workout B

BB Squats 5x5@55kg
BB OHP 5x5 @ 32.5kg
BB Deadlifts 1x5 @ 65kg

I've added 5kg to each weight and 2.5kg to my OHP as that's my weakest exercise at the moment.

If I stick to 5kg a week and maintain 3300kcals a day - am I likely to reach my plateau or might I be better off adding just 2.5kg to each exercise?

Thanks and regards,
 
Thanks Cookeh - I do struggle to get more than 6 hours of sleep at night. I want to try to get that to 7.5 or 9 hours. I may need a sleeping aid to help me.

I'll stick with 2.5kg instead just to be on the safe side. Hopefully I won't reach my plateau for quite some time :)

Going to go for these weights instead:

Day 1 - Workout B

BB Squats 5x5 @ 52.5kg
BB OHP 5x5 @ 32.5kg
BB Deadlifts 1x5 @ 62.5kg

Day 2 - Workout A

BB Squats 5x5 @ 52.5kg
BB Bench Press 5x5 @ 52.5kg
BB BOR - 5x5 @ 52.5kg

Day 3 - Workout B

BB Squats 5x5 @ 52.5kg
BB OHP 5x5 @ 32.5kg
BB Deadlifts 1x5 @ 62.5kg
 
Thanks Cookeh,

I should reach 85kg on squats by week 15 if I add 2.5kg each week and maintain more than 3000kcals daily :)

I'm going to chart my progress with Excel.

I have some whey left, but that will need restocking again soon. I currently use Pharma HT+ strength and size, so will probably be looking to replace that with something quite similar!

Thanks mrthingyx,

Usually my body naturally wakes up around 06:15 on weekdays 15 mins before my alarm goes off. Whether I get enough sleep or not, I always wake up at 08:30 without fail on weekends.

I'm reducing my nights out to once a month or less so that I don't wreck my sleep too much and I don't plan on getting in later than 10pm anymore when I am out - which should guarantee me 8+ hours of sleep on weekdays.

It's mainly disciplining myself that's the issue. I like to play my guitars or keyboards quite late though if I'm not seeing friends and I do start to get a little yawn around 9pm to 10pm which I think I should listen to more.
 
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So today, I've got almost perfect macros yay :)

50% Carbs
23% Protein
26% Fats

Made up of

3158 kcals

334g Carbohydrates
154g Protein
77g Fat; 29g saturated, 1g poly, 5g mono, 0g trans.

I did workout B today as well as part of my SL routine as follows:

Workout B

BB Squats 5x5 @ 52.5kg
BB OHPs 5x5 @ 32.5kg
BB Deadlifts 1x5 @ 62.5kg

I found it quite tough mid way through my OHP set, then I took slightly longer breaks in between sets and they felt a lot better.

So tomorrow I get to have a rest day before I do workout A on Wednesday.

Todays diet was:

Breakfast

1x Bowl Porridge, semi skimmed milk, 1x teaspoon honey
2 slices wholemeal bread with salted butter and marmalade

Snack

Sliced pork, in wholemeal sandwiches with mayonnaise and mint sauce

Lunch

3x slices of wholemeal pitta bread, packet of turkey breast tikka chunks, 150g Cottage cheese, 60g 30% less fat Humous

Afternoon meal

100g white pasta with tin of tuna and mixed veg

Post workout

Protein bar

Dinner

Chicken Roast with veg incl. broccoli, and tomato & onion sauce

Snacks

50ml Orange juice
100ml semi-skimmed milk
1/4 can of carrot and coriander soup

I don't think there is a great deal wrong with my diet today really so feeling positive :) Would have liked to add a bit more fruit, so will have that tomorrow with breakfast.
 
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Owing to my consistent numbers the last time I did a strong lifts routine, I'm thinking of doing the following tonight:

Workout A

BB Squats : 5x5 @ 55kg
BB Benchpress : 5x5 @ 55kg
BB BOR: 5x5 @ 55kg

And the following on Friday/Saturday

Workout B

BB Squats : 5x5 @ 57.5kg
BB OHP : 5x5 @ 35kg
BB Deadlift : 1x5 67.5kg

I think if I stick to the same weights on a 5x5 every week, I could be affecting my progress. I've read that I should be adding 2.5kg more weight per workout if I manage a consistent 5x5 at a given weight and 5kg on my deadlifts as well if I mange this consistently. What are everyone else's thoughts on this?
 
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Hehe thanks GSVBagpuss!

Well today I managed Workout A at 55kg so I'm happy :)

BB Squats 5x5 @ 55kg
BB Benchpress 5x5 @ 55kg
BB BOR 5x5 @ 55kg

Funnily enough, I found the barbell rows easier than the benchpresses.

I got to set three on the Benchpress and thought that I might not make it to the five, but I took a rest and then found the last 2 sets very easy.

So my numbers can go up again for my workout B yay :)
 
I've been maintaining my 3300kcals/day diet, and I think it's paying off - no plateaus and I'm still making gains

Workout B

BB Squats : 5x5 @ 57.5kg
BB OHP : 5x5 @ 37.5kg
BB Deadlifts 1x5 @ 70kg

I had to make a bit of a jump on Deadlifts, from an intended 67.5kg to 70kg because the lower-weight plates were all used up and I was running late - I promised to help someone move today but I'll do another 70kg next time so that my body has time to get used to it before I go up to 72.5kg.

All the lifts felt strong and although the OHP felt a little tough after set 1, I managed it. So thats it for this week, next workout will be Workout A on Monday, so should see 60kg on the squats.

I'll be back to where I was before in no time at all :)
 
So today's session wasn't that great.

I managed to injure my shoulder and back with my roller skating yesterday so my bench press suffered the most.

Workout A

BB Squats 5x5 @ 60kg
BB Bench press 5x5 @ 57.5kg
BB Bor 5x5 @ 57.5kg

The numbers look okay but my bench press sets were challenging I had to take a break during my last and first sets with my shoulder complaining so much.

Hopefully by Thursdays session my shoulder will be mostly better.
 
After taking roughly a week off weight lifting after pulling the muscles on my rotator cuff (I fell backwards on my skates, all my weight went on my right shoulder) and letting my diet slip for a couple of days, I'm now back in the game.

Today I did Workout B

BB Squats 5x5 @ 62.5kg
BB OHP 5x5 @ 40kg
BB Deadlifts 1x5 @ 75kg

Overall it was a good workout. I managed to get all my weights up and only my very last rep on set 5 of my over head press was a bit of a struggle. A sign I might be reaching my plateau in this particular exercise.

Still want to combine this with my roller skating practice and might get in to amateur boxing as this runs in the evenings and will keep my mind off things.

I'll probably go up to 3,500 to 4000kcals on the boxing/roller skating days. My legs and skills aren't strong enough to meet minimum standard for the roller derby team yet, so as disappointed and annoyed as I am, I must push on! I just need to put more practice in.
 
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