BaatzR's Training Log

[baatzr]

Hello,
So here goes with my first ever training log - I'm excited to see how it'll help me in my training. I'm into my second week of 5x5 and the weights are slowly increasing while my technique is (hopefully) improving.
My Stats:
Age: 27
Weight: 84
Height: 184

My last workout (Wednesday 18th Sep 09):
Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 32,5

Bench Press: (I have benched quite a bit in the past, and felt starting on 30% of 5 rep max would do - 55 kg roughly)
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 40 kg
5x5 - 60 kg

Inverted Rows:
11-7-7

Dips:
15-12-10

Reversed crunches:
12-12-12

So, it's now public. Any comments or suggestions are appreciated - I'm still very new to the Stronglifts programme. In the past I've mostly trained with dumbbells without a real idea of what was actually best to increase weights. But with the help of my bro, and finally being in a well equipped gym, I'm looking forward to see where it'll take me. I'll consider my goals shortly.

[Mouse]

Glad to be back in Denmark and away from Goole I bet !!

Great to have you back and posting your training log.

Good lifting

[baatzr]

Thanks Mouse - it's great to be back in Denmark, and awesome to be training again.

Log for Friday 18th Sep

I'm still quite low in weights, so am not really facing any problems. It's very motivating though that the weights are constantly increasing, and everytime I go, I'm excited to see if the increases will cause problems. I'm excited to see when the first stalls come.

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 35 kg

OHP:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 30 kg

Deadlifts:
1x5 - 60 kg
- should probably have started with a warmup set of abt. 50 kg - maybe not so much for the actual warm up but to increase reps and technique - will change next time.

Pull ups:
8-6-6

Prone bridges
3x30 sec

Already looking forward to today's training. (Monday)

[baatzr]

Monday 21st Sep '09

All is still well with the program - getting more familiar with the techniques but still there's so much to focus on. Can definitely see the pros of starting so low in the excercises I am new to. I suppose my I.R's and dips are high repped, but I'm sure that'll go down as soon as my squat etc. get heavier.

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 37,5 kg

Bench Press:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 40 kg
5x5 - 62,5 kg

Inverted Rows:
3xF

Dips:
14-12-10

Reversed crunches:
12-12-12

[baatzr]

Wednesday 23rd Sep '09

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 40 kg

OHP:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 32.kg

Deadlifts:
1x5 - 50 kg
1x5 - 65 kg
- am struggling a bit with the technique, which doesn't feel right. Will look at more videos and read instructions for next time. I did, however, try to apply the hard lock style in the last few reps, which seemed to really help.

Chinups:
9-6-4
- man, I was completely drained on the last two sets.. There was a buffalo breathing down my neck too, so I couldn't focus properly and rushed it. My bad!

Prone:
3x30 sec - they can be long 30 secs!

Another great day in the gym!!

On Friday I'm off to get a US visa at the embassy, so wont be able to train. Have a surfing championship in the weekend too, so next session will be on Monday. Will compensate by going to a class at my gym using kettlebells - Supposed to be killer!

[baatzr]

Thursday 24th '09

Went to the kettlebell class. Not to whine, but I thought I was gonna pass out at one point. It really made me realise the terrible shape I'm in. I'm still very new to all the different exercises so I can't remember their names, but it was a thorough full body workout that left traces all the way to my session on Monday. Very motivating, I suppose..
Ate some of my 10% junk food Friday night and it made me sick all weekend.
Note to self: don't ever eat at a certain big American burger junk-restaurant with a one letter logo again!

Monday 28th '09

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 42.5 kg

OHP:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 35 kg

Deadlifts:
1x5 - 50 kg
1x5 - 70 kg
-I've been watching some very instructive videos and compared to last time it went way better. The 70 kg went up quite easily.

Pull-ups:
8-7-6

Prone:
3x30 sec

Tuesday 29th

Went to a MaxFit class today based on kettlebells again. It's more focused on cardio than strength as Thursday's training was. We did swings, bw squats, push-ups and v-ups - 5 rounds of 45/15 sec. Was quite tough and again I was reminded of my bad shape. Feel great now afterwards, though!

Tomorrow will be another good day at the gym

[baatzr]

Wednesday 30th '09

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 45 kg

Bench Press:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 42.5 kg
5x5 - 65 kg

Inverted Rows:
3xF

Dips:
12-11-10

Reversed crunches:
3x12

Have appointments Friday, so will have to postpone my next training until Saturday.

[saukkis]

You really should set yourself a goal, it really helps with your motivation. Otherwise you seem to be doing ok - you benchpress more than I do and I've been lifting since June For the deadlifts I suggest you get a friend or someone else at the gym who knows what they are doing to observe your technique. Way better than just watching videos. If however you can't get anyone then I can recommend this and this video. They helped me to fix my balance issues and my 1RM jumped 20kg.

[baatzr]

Saturday 3rd Oct

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 47.5 kg

OHP:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 37.5 kg

Deadlifts:
1x5 - 60 kg
1x5 - 75 kg

Pull-ups:
8-7-6

Prone:
3x30 sec

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, Saukkis. Actually the video I've been watching is Rippetoe's Starting Strength. My brother trains at the same gym as me and is good at giving hints during our workouts. Other than that our gym instructor is very capable and often gives advise etc.
At the moment my motivation is very high, but yeah, I guess in the long run it helps to have goals. I'm just struggling a bit with setting realistic 3 month goals, I suppose. I know what I would like to achieve, but at the same time I need to be realistic. However, to give it a go, I'd say I'd like to able to do bw squats, 110 kg deadlift and 90kg bench. OHP 55kg. I'm beginning to feel the weight on the press and squat, but still feel like I have more to give.

[baatzt]

Hello bro, good process there, keep it up!

Your goalsetting definitely seem achievable for You, but are they for 3x5, 5x5 or "just" 1x5 or even 1x1?

[baatzr]

Monday 5th

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 50 kg

Bench Press:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 45 kg
5x5 - 67.5 kg

Inverted Rows:
12-11-9

Pushups:
25-22-15

Reversed crunches:
3x12


Wednesday 7th

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 52.5 kg

OHP:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 40 kg

Deadlifts:
1x5 - 60 kg
1x5 - 80 kg

Pull-ups:
9-8-7

Didn't do prones today - had an exam shortly after my gym session, so skipped that exercise.

The weights are starting to get heavy now. I'm still getting through without too many problems though. Am excited about when the first stall hits.
I'm probably gonna put in another small warmup-set on the squats on Friday.

Goal-wise, I'm really quite unsure. I was hoping to be doing my above-mentioned goals on 5x5. Next week I'm going on holiday though - surfing in Portugal, so I'll have to see what it's like the week after. To be honest, though, I'm not too fuzzed with goals. It's a lifestyle for me, and the goal itself is not to lift XX kgs but rather the good feeling I have during and after I work out. Thus my motivation is very high. I realise, when I start stalling and it gets tough, it'll be different, but I think I'll see it more as challenges. Another big motivator for me is seeing all the buffed people in my gym (doing it wrong in my opinion). I'm very competitive, so I wanna grow stronger than them.

[saukkis]

That's a good amount of push-ups. Maybe you should start doing them with additional weight?

[baatzr]

Oi,
Been a while since my last post. I've been on a weeks surfing-holiday in Portugal. Surfed about 4 hours everyday so I reckoned that'd substitute my training. While not being too worried about missing a week of training, I was excited to see what my form would be like when I got back into it on Wednesday. And I was thrilled to experience I hadn't had a set-back. Obviously my muscles were sore Thursday, but no biggie.

Anyway, have some posting to catch up with:

Friday 9th

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 40 kg
5x5 - 55 kg

Bench Press:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 60 kg
5x5 - 70 kg

Inverted Rows:
11-8-8

Dips:
15-14-13

Reversed crunches:
3x12


Wednesday 21st

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 40 kg
5x5 - 57,5 kg

OHP:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 42,5 kg

Deadlifts:
1x5 - 60 kg
1x5 - 85 kg
Was pretty thrilled about lifting more than my bodyweight for the first time. Had thought it'd be harder, but I did great.

Pull-ups:
9-8-7
Again, was pretty excited about getting 9 reps on my first set here. 8 has for a long time been my max physically (maybe also mentally), so having these numbers two sessions in a row feels good.

Prone bridge:
3x30 secs


Saturday 24th

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 40 kg
5x5 - 60 kg

Bench Press:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 60 kg
5x5 - 72,5 kg

Inverted Rows:
12-10-8

Push-ups:
25-20-17

Reversed crunches:
3x12

I was thinking about adding weight when I do push-ups, as you suggested Saukkis. I think I'll wait just a little while longer and see what reps I get after I have stalled on my bench for the first time. You know, see how well I do on the push-ups after that. If I still do good, I'll add some. I've found it works good to vary between push-ups and dips every second time.

Anyway, I'll enjoy my weekend with good conscience.

Have a nice w/e!

[baatzr]

Meh, was about to update the log, but found out I forgot my notebook at home, blasted..

Will update tomorrow or so. However, no stalls yet, hurray!

[baatzr]

Must admit that I'm really slacking on keeping the log updated. But, I'm without Internet still (how can one live without internet in today's society?!?) Anyway...

Monday 26th

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 40 kg
5x5 - 62,5 kg
My hamstrings felt a bit tight today, but when I focused on pushing my knees out around parallel, the pain eased..

OHP:
1x5 - 20 kg
5x5 - 45 kg
Received a few comments from this guy today. He was doing sets between mine, and thus followed what I was doing. First he started out by pointing out that doing standing OHP put extra pressure on my lower back... So, I explained that, that was kinda the purpose; doing a compound exercise etc. He accepted.
Then on my 2nd last set, he made ready to spot me (I must've seemed struggling), but when I managed all 5 reps myself, he said I should've taken a few more. Well.... he then proceeded to do his 1/4 squats and I rigged up the bar for DL:

Deadlifts:
1x5 - 60 kg
1x3 - 80 kg
1x5 - 90 kg

Pull-ups:
9-7-6

Prone bridge:
3x30 secs


Wednesday 28th

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 40 kg
5x5 - 65 kg

Bench Press:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 60 kg
5x5 - 75 kg

Inverted Rows:
12-10-8

Dips:
15-13-12

Reversed crunches:
3x12


Friday 30th

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 40 kg
5x5 - 67,5 kg

OHP:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 40
5x5 - 47,5 kg

Deadlifts:
1x5 - 60 kg
1x3 - 80 kg
1x5 - 95 kg

Pull-ups:
9-8-7

Prone bridge:
3x30 secs


Monday 2nd Nov

Squat:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 40 kg
1x3 - 60 kg
5x5 - 70 kg

Bench Press:
1x5 - 20 kg
1x5 - 60 kg
5x5 - 77,5 kg

Inverted Rows:
13-10-10

Push-ups:
20-15-14

Reversed crunches:
3x12

There it goes. Facing a new and exciting day tomorrow, attempting to lift 100kg DL which will be interesting and further 50 kg OHP. I think I'll manage!