Caphel's Training Log

[Caphel]

I have just started Strong Lifts 5x5 and thought I would keep a training log on the site as added motivation.

Some background first. Growing up I was never an overweight child, if anything I would have said I was a skinny child. It took me a long time to fill out and I was never a particularly strong person, though that could be due to the fact I never did any training.

In January this year I was an out of shape, overweight smoker. I am 29 years old and I weighed in at 221 pounds at 6’1. Now I am nearly 30 and weigh in at 190 pounds, though there is still quite a bit of fat on my belly. Hopefully that will slowly go as I keep working out.

On January 15th I quit smoking and have not had one since. In the middle of February, full of excess will power and determination I decided to get fit as well. I bought a copy of Wii Fit and discovered I could not even do one lousy push up.

I have not really used Wii Fit since then, so in a way a waste of money, it was however a massive wake up call and got me going.

I started a routine of Push-Ups, Crunches, and Curls three times a week for a few weeks until I bought myself a pull up bar and replaced the Curls with Chin Ups. I also replaced the Crunches with Reverse Crunches some time ago. I also started squatting a month or so ago. Just with 20kg on an old York barbell set I had. This was mainly to practice form.

To start with I had to do my push-ups with my knees on the floor. Now I am able to do 12 real ones in the first set.

Chin-ups were a bit more of an issue. I could not do any. I slowly built up by doing negatives three times a week. Now I can do 5 in my first set. Pull-ups are still more of a challenge but I can just about do two now.

I have been doing the reverse crunches for quite a few weeks now, maybe a month or more. I started with a 20kg counterweight and have not reduced this at all, though I have been making sure I am doing my best not to rely on the counterweight as much as possible.

While looking around for routines to build some muscle I came across Strong Lifts and thought it sounded like a great idea. I loved the idea of just using a barbell without any of those machines you see in gyms.

I did not fancy joining a gym due to the fact that my free time is limited enough as it is without adding in travel time to and from the gym, plus any time waiting to use equipment, so I have put off starting Strong Lifts till I bought myself a power rack, bench and Olympic barbell.

Well that all arrived the other day so no more waiting, time to get going. Other than the simple body weight exercises above, I have never been to the gym / lifted weights before so I started with an empty bar.

[Caphel]

One last thing before I get started.

Starting Stats:

Sex: Male
Age: 29
Height: 6’1
Weight: 190 lbs


Goals:

My overall goal is to get big and strong. I also want to lose my belly fat.

My initial strength goals are (in lbs):
· Squat - 200
· Deadlift - 300
· Bench Press - 150
· Overhead Press - 100

[Caphel]

So two thirds of a week done. I started on Wednesday and also worked out on Friday. I will do Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week.

I started with the empty Bar and everything felt fine. Ending Stats for the week:

Squat – 5x5 at 22.5kg
Deadlift - 1x5 at 40kg
Bench – 5x5 at 20kg
Press – 5x5 at 20kg

Chins - 5,4,4
Pushups - 13,10,10
Inverted Rows - 7,5,5

Reverse Crunch 3x12 with 10kg counterweight.
Prone Bridge 3x30 seconds. Harder than they look.

Seeing as I have been doing reverse crunches for quite a few weeks now with a 20kg counterweight I tried it with 10kg and it was fine, I will reduce it each time now like on the spreadsheet.

I think I will give some pull-ups a go next time instead of the normal chins. Hopefully will be able to bang out at least two.

No muscle soreness this week, I guess that is due to my past body weight workouts in the prior months.

I am really looking forward to getting some more weight on the bar but I plan to only add the recommended 2.5kg each workout to make sure my form is good and I build up slowly.

[Caphel]

Today's workout went well. Everything felt fine, though the inverted rows are quite tricky. I am finding it hard to touch my chest to the bar.

Squat – 5x5 at 25kg
Bench – 5x5 at 22.5kg

Pushups - 15,13,13
Inverted Rows - 7,5,5

Reverse Crunch 3x12 with 7.5kg counterweight.

I also did 20 minutes of jump rope an hour or so after. It was a bit stop start but getting better.

[Caphel]

Another fine workout on Wednesday. I think I have been doing my squats more High Bar up until now so I was trying it lower on my back. Felt a bit odd to start with but I think it was better in the end.

Squat – 5x5 at 27.5kg
Press – 5x5 at 22.5kg
Deadlift 1x5 at 45kg

Pull-ups 3,3,2
Prone Bridges 3x30 seconds.


All in all it was a good workout. Quite happy with the pull-ups, though I hope to see some progress in the coming months.

My legs were quite sore from Tuesday when I tried some Tabata dumbbell thrusters but I worked through it. My legs are still a little sore today. I think I will keep to Tabata squats for now, just my body weight and no extra weight, maybe try some dumbbell thrusters again in a few weeks.

I also started doing 20 minutes of jump rope but my rope sheared off at the handle 10 minutes in. That’s what you get for buying a cheap rope. Will see if I can find a new rope at lunch today.

[Caphel]

Another good workout today. I decided to do the pushups with my feet elevated on the bench today and that went quite well.

Squat – 5x5 at 30kg
Bench – 5x5 at 25kg

Inverted Rows – 7,4,4
Pushups – 10,9,8 (feet elevated)

Reverse Crunch 3x12 with 5kg counterweight.

I also did 20 minutes of jump rope, but it was even more stop start than normal. My new jump rope seems to swing much slower than my last one and I am having trouble adjusting.

[sgi4950]

Hi Caphel,

Welcome to SL's! I enjoyed reading your "how you got here story". Good for you to have the will power to stop smoking and start training. You lost 30 lbs +, by doing the body weight exercices you talked about? Did you change your diet too?

Nice job getting started and on the 20 minutes of jump rope.

Good Luck and I look forward to following your progress!

[Caphel]

Hi,

Thanks. Yeah I have cleaned up my diet quite a lot which no doubt helped while losing 30lbs. I try to eat whole and healthy foods most of the time. I was also trying to do some cardio three or more times a week.

[muddy]

Hey Caphel - impressive story, especially deciding to dive in and get your own gear. I did SL for several months in a gym, and then the wife and I decided to build up our own gym. We're very glad we did.

Tabata dumbbell thruster? Wow... brutal stuff.

[Caphel]

Yeah, I think you got it spot on when you said brutal. I will lay off of these for a week or two, build up with some Tabata squats.

[Caphel]

Another good workout today, though the press is already proving to be the lift that is hardest. I am not having much rest between sets at the moment, maybe a minute. Might have to up that soon on the press, we will see.

Squat – 5x5 at 32.5kg
Press – 5x5 at 25kg
Deadlift 1x5 at 50kg 

Chin-ups 6,5,4
Prone Bridges 3x40 seconds.

Nearly got 7 chins today, it was more a 6 and a half in the first set. I am looking forward to being able to do 10.

[Caphel]

It was a late workout last night as it was my Dad’s birthday so went around to see him in the evening. Did not start my workout till 22:30.

Squat – 5x5 at 35kg
Bench – 5x5 at 27.5kg

Inverted Rows – 7,4,4
Pushups – 10,7,7 (Feet Elevated)

Reverse Crunch 3x12 with 2.5kg counterweight



It was a much harder workout than normal today. Squats were fine, still loving these at the moment. The bench felt heavier, still fine, but I might have to start leaving some rest between sets. I struggled a lot more on the push ups compared to last time, not sure if this is due to the bench.

Inverted Rows, I am not properly touching my chest to the bar, so I am going to raise the bar slightly and work from there. I will lower it when I feel I am able to. I was thinking of starting off at a height on the rack where I can do 7 with good form, and then work till 12 in the first set, then moving it down a hole.

Reverse Crunch. These are getting very tough with only 2.5kg of counterweight. I will stick to 2.5kg next time. Maybe lower it to 1.25kg in the next few workouts.

[Caphel]

A bit of a rushed workout on Friday as I was going out for a mates birthday and I wanted to fit it in before I went out.

Squat – 5x5 at 37.5kg
Press – 5x5 at 27.5kg
Deadlift – 1x5 at 55kg

Pull-ups 3,3,3
Prone Bridges 3x40 seconds.


It all went well again. The press was the hardest as usual, but still room for a little more weight before a stall I think.

I think I have had my butt / hips too high in the air while doing prone bridges so I tried them a little different today and they were even harder than normal, I think that must be the right position.

My lower back muscles were quite sore on Saturday, I am guessing that is from the deadlift. Everything is ok now so I will be back at it later on today. Looking forward to the 40kg squat.

[Caphel]

Another good workout last night. Again was a little late as I had some things to do, but I still got it done.

Squat – 5x5 at 40kg
Bench – 5x5 at 30kg

Inverted Rows – 8,8,8 (8th hole from the top)
Pushups – 8,8,7 (Feet Elevated)

Reverse Crunch 3x12 with 2.5kg counterweight


Squat was good, felt a little heavier than in the past, but still very doable. I might have to focus on making sure I am driving the hips.

The bench felt a lot better than last time. I took a quick break between sets, maybe 30 seconds, which I have not been doing in the past so maybe that helped.

So the inverted rows then. I have started doing these higher up as I was not really doing them properly when the bar was lower down. I have started at the 8th hole from the top on my power rack. I will move it down a hole when I can do 12 with good form in the first set.

A little disappointed with the pushups this time around, but I think I had my hands to far forward of my shoulders in the first set.

The Reverse Crunch was even harder than last time. I think in the past I have been crunching really hard and relying on a bit of momentum to keep the move going. Last night I was trying to do them at a slower pace and it was a real struggle.

[Caphel]

Another day, another workout.

Squat – 5x5 at 42.5kg
Press – 5x5 at 30kg
Deadlift – 1x5 at 60kg

Chin-ups 6,5,5
Prone Bridges 3x40 seconds.


All was fine again. Squat was good, but really concentrating on trying to get the form correct.

The press, as always, was the hardest of all the lifts. 5x5 but not sure how much more there is left on this lift before a stall. Would be nice to hit 40kg.

The deadlift was good. My form seems good when picking up the bar, I struggle with putting it down with good form. Must make sure I concentrate on this part of the lift. It did feel good to be putting the big boy plates on the bar though.

Chin-ups. Meh. An extra one in the last set, so some progress, though I was hoping for an extra in the first set, maybe next time.