Cleave's Log - A new Beginning

[Cleave]

Hello guys! First post as I started the 5x5 today.

A little about myself: 42 years old, 237lbs, been lifting for a few months.

September 07 I got on the scale and looked down at 307. I was fat, and couldn't get up a flight of stairs without getting winded. My joints hurt and my 42 waist pants were tight. I was miserable and decided I had had enough. At my wife's insistance we joined a gym (I just didn't want to sign a contract and waste a bunch of money, not that I didn't want to join) and started working out. I changed my diet to NO fast food or pre-made processed foods. I started eating breakfast, which I used to skip. I eat low-carb with lots of veggies and meats, fish and dairy with a few berries and nuts. Not exactly Atkins, but my own diet of no sugar, no bread, no potatoes, etc...but a lot more variety than a lot of low-carbers.

At first in the gym I could barely do 20min on the treadmill and lift fairly low weights on the machines. There were a few machines I couldn't even fit on. My gym offers a circuit room with a very similar setup to a "Curves." I spent a lot of time in there early on building some basic fitness while dropping pounds. When I got to about 260 I realized I wanted more from my workouts and needed to get to the free weights and work a plan with some goals rather than just messing around with the machines I liked. I've done a lot of web surfing and for the last couple of months I've been following a fairly common 3 day a week body seperation program. I discovered stronglifts while surfing for information on squats. I started squats on the Smith machine on advice from another gym buddie, but shortly realized I should be doing full squats in a power rack. My squat and dead lift form suck. My lower-back is one of my weak points and I'm looking to follow the 5x5 to a much better level of fitness.

This morning

Squats - 45Lbs Full deep bar only (sad, but bar only was really all I can do of a deep proper squat)
Overhead press - 65Lbs
Deadlift - 95Lbs - use the power rack with the bar set on the lower bar setting for proper height since I'm using 25Lb plates
Pullups - I can't even do one. I jumped to about half way and held as long as I could ( a few seconds)

Any help appreciated on how to work on my pullups. My gym doesn't have a pullup assist machine.

As you can see, even though I've come a long ways with my weight loss and I thought I had some fitness, I'm basically starting from scratch on the 5x5. For this reason, I'm hoping the 5x5 will be a good fit for me.


Cleave

[Sylvor]

For pull ups I have the same issue.

My suggestion is to keep performing them and measure yourself a different way. Count how long you are holding yourself up for. Fight as hard as you can to hold on, engage all the muscles needed to hold on. It will help you get stronger and eventually you'll be able to get a couple off. I returned to the gym about a month ago and couldn't do a pull/chin up or a dip.

I started SL 5x5 2 weeks ago, I can now do 2-2-0 chins, 1-1-0 pull, and 7-6-0 dips. Now these are not perfect form yet but they are getting there, and the progress has come from just hanging on / pushing it as much as I can with no assist machine used.

[baughmjk]

Hey Cleave

Congrats on the weight loss. Don't worry about starting with light weights. I rushed the weight on a few of my lifts and missed the oppourtunity to really get solid on my form.

Good luck to you, and I hope you find the stronglifts community as encouraging as I have.

[Cleave]

Thanks guys............yea, 70lbs feels pretty good. I'm wearing 38 pants and they are loose. I figure by the time I hit 225 I will be comfy in 36's

I can't do full body dips either but I've been doing dips between two benches with my legs propped up. It works for me. After a little searching I found a similar setup for pullups where you prop your legs on a bench and set a bar on a power rack about squat height and pull-up with your legs supported by the bench.

[Cleave]

Goals

I'm here to burn fat, get strong and improve my life. I'm a 42 year old guy that let my weight & fitness get out of control and I'm getting a handle on it. My origional goal was to get control of my spiraling health & weight and be able to run and play with my kids and be strong. I think I've gotten out of the danger zone by dropping 70lbs and I'm working on fitness and continued weight loss now. I'd like to be able to look like a guy on the cover of "Mens Fitness." I think that is totally reachable. But what I really want is improved life through strength and fitness. My goal is to be the fittest guy among my friends and peers.

Fitness
Currently @ 236 and my goal is to reach 200
Committed to SL 5x5 three mornings a week M,W, F (possible a Sunday afternoon, if it's raining)
Bicycle twice a week - 20miles on a fixed gear bike either Tues or Thurs afternoon - 30 plus road ride on Sat or Sun

Diet
Continue to follow my low-carb lifestyle while including a variety of veggies, meats and fish. I also incorporate complex carbohydrates such as Natural Quaker Oats to aid my muscle growth. I do include carbs, but it's all about quality. NO, NEVER any pre packaged foods!
My typical daily diet:
Post workout breakfast - Two eggs cooked in coconut oil and 1/2 cup oats - Non workout mornings two eggs and a meat
Lunch - Mixed lettuce salad (spring mix) feta crumbles, slivered almonds, grape tomatoes and a meat (usually leftover steak, chicken, tuna, etc...) no dressing
Dinner - a grilled or broiled piece of meat along with a green veggie; broccoli, asparagus, spinach, zuccini.......
Snacks, two planned snacks during the day, often a hard boiled egg or beef jerky, or almonds around 11am and 3:30pm
Supplements - I take a multivitamin 3 times a day (Adam by Now Foods) and Fish Oil twice a day.
I DRINK A LOT OF WATER

Lifting Goals
I want to bench, squat, and dead lift my weight, whatever that might be when I get there. Let's say 225 for a nice round #, 4 plates and a bar
WITH PROPER FORM
I want to be able to do 10 pullups and 10 dips with my own weight

Time?
This is a tough one. I'm going to say September 1 for my weight loss and Thanksgiving for my lifting goal. I think this will be tough to meet, but possible. But if I can reach 207lbs on September 1, that will be 100lbs in a year. So I'm going for September 1.

Reading through this board I think I've found a lot of other like minded guys that I can learn from and hopefully contribute to. Through my weight loss journey I've read and studied everything I could get my hands on and now I'm doing the same with lifting. Everyone has to find their own path with diet and exercise but I've found what works for me. I'm a believer in low-carb and in a natural "hunter/gatherer" way of eating that man lived for thousands of years until we got lazy in the 20th century and started making CRAP. I've made mistakes in the gym. I wasted time on the Smith machine. I got results from the machines but knew I needed more. Isn't it amazing how it comes down to some of the simpleist things when it comes to diet and exercise. The 5x5 is about as basic as it comes but I'm confident I will have success with the program. The thing about the 5x5 is that it will focus on my weakest areas. I've never been very good a squats. Never could do a pullup or a dip. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Cleave

[Mouse]

Cleave
Good effort with the weight loss.
Take it steady with the routine and you'll smash through your squat and deads goals before you know it.
Happy lifting

[Scottymouth]

Welcome Cleave.

This is the best forum and blog you could have possibly landed on. I found it in January and it has changed my life. Congrats on your accomplishments. I did notice that you did not mention your height.

Anyway - the knowledge here is priceless, use it and you'll reach your goals before you know it.

Cheers,
Scott

[Cleave]

Scotty,

Sorry about that. I'm 6'1.

[danmarmu]

Cleave,

I have been doing Stronglifts for about a month now and still can't do one so don't be discouraged. Just make sure you are working as hard as you can at pulling yourself up. If you want, go buy powerlifting bands from Iron Woody or some other dealer and look here on how to use them as an assist for your pullups. Keep up with the entire program as is and don't worry about the weights, they'll be up there soon enough

[Cleave]

Thursday after work was a beautiful day here in Tennessee. I did a 25 mile ride on my fixed gear bike on my towns greenway bike trail. I kept my heart rate up and had a great ride.

This morning's workout.
Up @ 5am, One tall glass of ice water and a togo cup of coffee and I'm out the door to the gym. I have my coffee pot on a timer set to go off at 5. And it's a grinder so it makes a lot of noise. The workout started rough. I had very little energy and was sore. Apparently my bike ride took more out of me that I thought. I did my normal warmup and started squats. I was having a really tough time and decided to take a break and go do a few more warmup exercises. I did 15min on the treadmill, about 40 body only squats, and 3 sets of lat pulldown on the cable machine and a bunch of push ups. I finally felt good after about 30min and started the 5x5

Squats 50Lbs
Bench 135Lbs
Barbellrow 50lbs
Dips 3x10 Assisted

I've always been pretty strong on the bench. Do you think I'm starting too high to keep up with the proper progression of the 5x5? I know I can do 5 plus for a good while where I am on the bench.

[mjh]

Up @ 5am, One tall glass of ice water and a togo cup of coffee and I'm out the door to the gym... The workout started rough. I had very little energy and was sore.

You have to eat before a workout man.

[Cleave]

Up @ 5am, One tall glass of ice water and a togo cup of coffee and I'm out the door to the gym... The workout started rough. I had very little energy and was sore.

You have to eat before a workout man.

Yep. Don't disagree. But it's tough to eat for my early am workout. I sometimes have a protein shake or an EAS drink along the way to the gym. I've been doing early morning lifting for several months now so I'm comfortable on my schedule and nutrition. This particular day I'm sure it was my bike ride the night before that slowed me down.

But that being said............Saturday, another bike ride. Early morning coffee social ride to the local Starbucks with about 8 others. About 22 miles at a social (able to talk) pace on the fixed gear. Taking the rest of Saturday and Sunday off from any lifting or riding. Supposed to be 95 here today. Looking for a good Monday morning lift.

A note on my bike rides....I know there's lots of talk on cardio, when to do it, if at all. I know we're basically talking about lifting and getting strong here. But, I'm still looking to lose more weight and I love cycling. Ten years ago before I got married and put on all the pounds, I was a competitive recreational cyclist. I always hated to run but I love to ride. Don't know if I will ever be putting in the miles that I used to since weight lifting has become a new passion for me, but I hope cycling will always be a part of my overall fitness lifestyle.

Cleave

[Cleave]

Good 5x5 this morning.

Squat @ 45
Bench @ 115
Barbell Row @ 45
Dips 1 Full and 3 x 10 assisted

Had a good workout this morning. I backtracked slightly. Although I started the 5x5 last Wednesday, I kind of half assed it working it alongside my previous workout. And then I was weak on Friday, so I decided to start fresh and right this morning. I also backed off the bench 20 lbs. I want to be sure I give the program a chance to work as designed.

[Cleave]

I had a really good workout this morning and feel like I made some progress. The free weight rooom was empty so I was able to crank up the ACDC. Squats are a weak area for me due partly to a bad/weak lower back. My first few workouts on the 5x5 have been difficult. I was sore, just not feeling good, even with just the bar on squats I was having trouble getting my form right. But this morning I felt like I had much better form and squatted lower, touching my calves. Funny thing though, my first rep of a set is always hard and my form is not quite right, but by the 4th and 5th rep I've got good form and the squat is easier. Anyone else experience this?

SQUATS 5X5 @ 50lbs
OVERHEAD PRESS 5X5 @ 50lbs
DEADLIFT 3X5 @ 95lbs
PULLUPS/CHINUPS 3X5
- I did inverted rows as described in the current article as a substitute for pullups. I still can't do a full pullup nor can I do a full inverted row, but I pulled my self up as far as I could and held for a couple of seconds.

- I also did 3 sets of dead lifts where the program only calls for one set. Dead lifts, as with my squats are a weak point for me, I'm starting with a relatively low weight really concentrating on proper form.

The big positive of today is the good set of squats I got in. This mornings squat workout is one I can build on. The first good feeling squat workout so far, confident that I completed my sets on good form doing things right.

[Cleave]

Another Awesome Workout

I skipped Friday mornings workout in favor of more sleep. The kids had a swim meet and I didn't get in bed until midnight. I was up this morning at 5:30am for my Saturday morning Starbucks ride with the fixed gear guys: 25 miles and feeling good.

After a good breakfast and a good snack I hit the gym for my 5x5 about 12:30.

Squats 5x5 @ 55lbs
Bench 5x5 @ 135
Rows 5x5 @ 65lbs
Dips 3x10 and one set (16) to failure - assisted between two benches

I'm really making progress! My back felt great today! The soreness and tenderness was gone and I feel like I had really good form throughout the whole session. This thing really works. I've always had a weak lower back and I am already so much improved in a short amount of time. I can't wait til Monday.

More good news. The wifey took me shopping today for fathers day. She said all my pants were too big and I needed something that fit better. I'M NOW WEARING 36 WAIST PANTS!!!!!! AND I'M DOWN TO 234LBS!!!!!!