We built this city on rock and swole

Right knee felt kind of funny towards the end of the day so I was going to skip the squats and just do the rest of the workout. However after doing some stretches and then some bodyweight squats, bar squats and then light squats all seemed well. So the following happened:

Squats:
WU
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
40kg x 5
55kg x 3

WS
67.5kg x 5 x 5

These are starting to feel good and I can feel myself getting into a good pattern with the movement and breathing.

Seated barbell press:

27.5kg x 5 x 5

These still feel a bit light. However I'm purposely taking a run up at them as they are usually the first exercise where I and indeed most hit a wall with...

Deadlift:
WU
60kg x 5
72.5kg x 5

WS
85kg x 5

These went up pretty easy but the movement feels a bit odd. I'll try and film the next set for you guys to take a look at.

Wide grip pull-ups:
Couldn't get the 1 still and just did around 10 slow negatives. Or as slow as I could go... I'm surprised these aren't responding like the dips but then again I've never been brilliant at them... Still, onwards and upwards :)
 
So I had a massive migraine yesterday and wasn't feeling the workout hence I did it today as I didn't want to miss it altogether...

Squats:
WU
bar x 3
bar x 3
40kg x 5
55kg x 3

WS
70kg x 5 x 5

Bench:
WU
bar x 5
bar x 5
35kg x 3

WS
50kg x 5 x 5

Barbell Row:
40kg x 5 x 5

Dips:
10 @ BW
10 @ BW
6 @BW

The squats felt nice and solid and the weight progression is going well. I'm really looking forward to getting triple digits on the squats. :)

Oh and since starting stronglifts and cutting out the rubbish from my diet, fizzy drinks, sweets, chocolates, crisps etc.. My weight has been a constant 101kg. Today I tipped the scales at 102kg? So hopefully we have some noob gainz re-kicking in? Well, that's what I keep telling myself... More than likely its water retention from the creatine I suppose.
 
Squats:
WU
Bar x 5
Bar x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 3

WS
72.5kg x 5 x 5


Seated barbell press:
WU
Bar x 5
Bar x 5

WS
30kg x 5 x 5


Deadlift:
WU
60kg x 5
80kg x 5

WS
90kg x 5 x 5

So the squats a still feeling good. Nice and deep and I'm starting to feel like I actually need the 1:30 rest between sets. OHP felt pretty heavy for some reason but the 5 x 5 went fine. With the deadlifts I've gone against the advice of the Stronglifts creator and decided to 5 x 5 them from this point forward. (I did the same before but for whatever reason didn't until this point.) Either way I felt a lovely pump at the end of the Deadlifts so they obviously did more for me today. I'll probably regret it tomorrow though...
 
Wasn't feeling the workout last night as I was still ruined from the extra Deadlifts Monday... :D It means I'll be working out tonight and tomorrow but at least I get the weekend off.

Squats:
WU
bar x 5
bar x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 3

WS
75kg x 5 x 5

Business as usual

Bench:
WU
bar x 5
bar x 5
40kg x 3

WS
52.5kg x 5 x 5

These are definitely getting harder but I don't think I'll hit any real problems until 60-65kg

Barbell Row:
42.5kg x 5 x 5

Rows are still row like

Dips:
BW+2.5 x 5
BW+2.5 x 5
BW+2.5 x 5

I forgot this was going to happen!! Got to dips on the app and was met with BW + 2.5 x 5. Looked hilarious dangling that tiny 2.5 off myself but it all starts with a 2.5 I guess? It was nice to dust off the dipping belt even if it did take me ages to work it out.. :o:p:D
 
The sad thing is the dip bars are rated to only 136kg... Add my current 102kg of girth into that and I've only got 34kg to go before I break them. Haha! :p:cool:

(Obviously I wont be hitting that for a while...:()
 
So this session was supposed to be last nights but I was still feeling Thursdays so did this today. However I was at a work 'fun day' for most of the day and then I said I'd do a family BBQ.. So once all that was out the way and I'd eaten too much meat and bread I decided to do the workout.

It seemed a lot tougher than I thought it would be...

Squats:
WU
Bar x 5
Bar x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5

WS
77.5kg x 5 x 5


Seated barbell press:
WU
Bar x 5
Bar x 5

WS
32.5kg x 5 x 5


Deadlift:
WU
60kg x 5
80kg x 5

WS
95kg x 5 x 5

Still, onwards and upwards! :)
 
Squats:
WU
bar x 5
bar x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 3

WS
80kg x 5 x 5

Getting heavier, (as obvious as that sounds) although felt pretty comfortable still.

Bench:
WU
bar x 5
bar x 5
40kg x 3

WS
55kg x 5 x 5

These felt tough on 2nd set but kind of got easier..

Barbell Row:
45kg x 5 x 5

I hate barbell rows. Seem to put unnecessary strain on my lower back. Might swap to one arm dumbbell rows if they start to feel worse.

Dips:
BW+5 x 5
BW+5 x 5
BW+5 x 5

The last dip was quite tough so we could be looking at our first failure next dipping session. Come at me dips!!! :D
 
So I've just bailed out of today's workout and am now logging from a warm bath.. :( So today at work I abandoned my normal role of datacenter supervisor which involves pretty much drinking tea and sitting down all day to getting hands on in our warehouse trying to sort through loads of old kit that needs to be sold/weee wasted/binned. This obviously didn't agree with me too much as by the time I got home I was having quite the lower back pump. (Similar to what the squats on Monday gave me) unperturbed by this I decided to hit the gym this evening anyway and consequently after the squat warmup and two sets of 82.5 x 5 I decided it was best to live to fight another day/play the long game/it's a marathon not a sprint etc etc. So bearing this in mind, what do you non mobile/ex non mobile guys do out there for mobility? I've got the feeling where I have been concentrating on getting low I'm been doing it at the expense of my lower back, I.e. Getting low but rounding the lower back/not keeping it neautral. I think it was delvis that shared a t nation video about the very thing the other day: squat depth/spine neautrality

TLDR What do you guys do for increasing lower back/hip mobility? I'm going to get some vids up so you guys can confirm or deny it but that's what I believe my problem is from the feel of it and watching the t nation vid.
 
I can't believe its been 6 months since my last update... :(

A lot has happened in the last 6 months. Hurt my back a bit as per the last posts, had a baby (well, the wife did..) and consequently turned to eating too much as a source of energy due to not getting a massive amount of sleep. However, the baby is now doing better and starting to sleep through the night, i'm battling the tasty food of the world in an attempt eat healthier/cut out the rubbish and most importantly my back is now in a far better place since i hurt it due to working on my flexibilty. :) So i'm now ready to enter the breach once more (Garage gym) and lift some weight! (Do some curls)

I've decided to change one thing though. I'm not setting goals anymore. I just want to lift regularly using Stronglifts and just get where i get. That isnt to say im not motivated, i just think i need a change in my approach. For example, if i set myself a goal of hitting 450 and it starts to slip i may start vanity lifting or lifting with bad form just to hit the figures im after. Although fun at the end of the day lifting is just a hobby for me. I have enough goals and tasks in my working life and everyday life that putting another one on myself in the form of a lifting target is just too much. And in my case i believe it does the following:

* Set goal
* Lifting going well and feeling good
* Miss a milestone/a few sessions and get behind on my goal
* Try to make it up by compromising form and or weight
* Get a slight niggle/injury and set yourself back
* Miss more milestones
* Get annoyed at progress and stop

I've seen the above happen to me a few times over the last few years so maybe this new approach where i just lift what i lift and thats it is the way forward? If i hit 450, i hit 450. If i only hit 400 i only hit 400. I mean i'm not a professional lifter and i'm not aiming to be a professional lifter. At the end of the day lifting is just a hobby to me albeit a fun one. So maybe i should just treat it as fun like it should be rather than pressuring myself to hit goals that are obviously too much for me.

TLDR: I'm making excuses and setting no goals so i can't then fail as theres nothing to fail. :o :p

I look forward to posting my workouts again soon. :)
 
So I'm back in the lifting game again but my updates wont be terribly interesting as by Stronglifts 5x5 app has got me starting at half the unimpressive weights i was on before..

So my view from looking in the Gym threads and the Logs section. Where has everyone gone!?! I couldn't believe my log had only dropped(fnar fnar) to the second page?! :( Obviously i was aware of all the non lifters on the FB group but it seems very quiet here apart from Wolls.

Regardless, I'm going to become part of team "attempting to lift" now so hopefully with a good run behind me i can get back to my old numbers fairly soon. :) (The leg DOMs i have right now from my first session back squatting two days ago are ridiculous by the way but at the same time a suitable punishment for me forsaking the iron for so long.. Having my gym down the end of the garden means i have zero excuses not to lift.)

However, i do have some requests for anyone who can help. (Stares at MrThingy and the usual suspects) I need some exercises to try and fix myself. Being a desk monkey my posture is bad and although i try to be wary of it and sit up straight etc i don't think that's enough. There is some history of people in my family with Dowagers Hump and i really want some exercises to try and prevent myself going in that direction. Dreamforger also posted some videos above but now they don't seem to work for me.. They were of a bald guy doing about 8-10 flexibility exercises for sorting out a range of tight things. I know that's not a lot to go on but i cant remember his name or the name of the exercises. It was definitely some sort of snappy name like Flexible 8 or something. Anyone help a brother out? :cool:
 
Well i hope to join you soon with some postage.

I'm three workouts down now with some rowing sessions thrown in here and there. Right now the weights are frankly rubbish from a personal point of view/previous weights so i doubt many would be interested. I'll start the logging in a few weeks i think once the weights have ramped up. :)
 
Finally back in the saddle/gym after a long time out. Here are my last workouts:

09/01/2017
Squat 50kg x 5 x 5
Bench 32.5kg x 5 x 5
Row 35kg x 5 x 5

11/01/2017
Squat 52.5kg x 5 x 5
OHP 25kg x 5 x 5
Deadlift 65kg x 5 x 5

13/01/2017
Squat 55kg x 5 x 5
Bench 35kg x 5 x 5
Row 37.5kg x 5 x 5

16/01/2017
Squat 57.5kg x 5 x 5
OHP 27.5kg x 5 x 5
Deadlift 70kg x 5 x 5

18/01/2017
Squat 60kg x 5 x 5
Bench 37.5kg x 5 x 5
Row 40kg x 5 x 5

20/01/2017
Squat 62.5kg x 5 x 5
OHP 30kg x 5 x 5
Deadlift 65kg x 5 x 5

23/01/2017
Squat 65kg x 5 x 5
Bench 40kg x 5 x 5
Row 42.5kg x 5 x 5

25/01/2017
Squat 67.5kg x 5 x 5
OHP 32.5kg x 5 x 5
Deadlift 65kg x 5 x 5

27/01/2017
Squat 70kg x 5 x 5
Bench 42.5kg x 5 x 5
Row 45kg x 5 x 5

30/01/2017
Squat 72.5kg x 5 x 5
OHP 35kg x 5 x 5
Deadlift 65kg x 5 x 5

Started very light and resisted the urge to go mental and start throwing plates on so that i could ease myself back into it and it all seems to be going well. Bloody freezing though and the bar takes a few sets to stop freeze burning my hands. :cool:

Goals wise this year i have a Tough Mudder in June and that's about it. I'm aiming to do Stronglifts Monday, Wedensday and Friday and then some rowing HIIT sessions on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday depending on my recovery from the weight lifting. The main reason for the rowing cardio is that i can't really be bothered to run right now as I'm 101keegs and my knees don't enjoy me running fat. I'll probably throw in some runs closer to May albeit 4-6 miles max. To be honest i doubt i'll have a problem with the running anyway as I've done loads in the past and in the TM the most you run between obstacles is a mile or two at most.

I'm not setting a hard lifting goal but it would be nice to get back to my 365 total by the end of the year. (I know that's not a lot but it was 2-3 years ago when i was training far more. :) )
 
Last edited:
1/02/2017

Squat
WU:
bar x 5
bar x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5

WS:
75kg x 5
75kg x 5
75kg x 5
75kg x 5
75kg x 5


Bench
WU:
bar x 5
bar x 5
30kg x 3

WS:
45kg x 5
45kg x 5
45kg x 5
45kg x 5
45kg x 15 (This isn't part of the program but i just thought I'd do it to see where i am?? :p:cool:)

BOR
WU:
40kg x 5

WS:
47.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 5

I know the BOR is higher than my bench.. But for whatever reason this happened when i chose my starting weights. To be fair this will stall before my bench anyway so its all good. :)

Dips
WS:
5 x 3 BW

I had added a 2.5kg plate to myself on the last A session but didn't this time as my dipping bars are only rated for 130 and me plus 2.5kg after a day of eating isn't doing it any favours now as it is as they already look like they are starting to bend. :D Hopefully as my weight drops we can whack these back in. Otherwise I'll just up the reps.
 
3/02/2017

Squat
WU:
bar x 5
bar x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5

WS:
77.5kg x 5
77.5kg x 5
77.5kg x 5
77.5kg x 5
77.5kg x 5

These felt ok. Still concentrating on depth and form. I was supposed to get my mate to film one of the sets so i could check my form. It feels alright to me but until i watch it i don't know. (I.e. trying to hinge ankles, knees and hips at same time, bracing, pretending i'm trying to point my ass at the ceiling/crimp one off to maintain back straightness etc)

Seated Press (Don't have room in garage for OHP...)
WU:
bar x 5
bar x 5

WS:
37.5kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
37.5kg x 5

I don't think i'm too far away from a failure with these. I'd be happy getting to 42.5/45 before that happens though.

Deadlift
WU:
60kg x 5
80kg x 5

WS:
90kg x 5
90kg x 5
90kg x 5
90kg x 5

I love deadlifts and these feel lovely. :)

Pull Ups
4
2
5

These were assisted by a big rubber band stretched between the catchers on my rack. Without these I'm just doing **** poor negatives so this way at least i get to kind of feel a pull up... :o I'm sure one day I'll be able to do them unassisted. I.e. when I'm lighter or stronger. LOL!

I'm also about to order some more weights/plates and a bar for the garage gym and some selectable dumbbells. (10-32.5kg i believe?) They seem to have good reviews and they are far cheaper than the £2k rack of dumbbells I'd really like. :cool:
 
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