el_varouza's training log

[eLvarouza]

Hi all!

I'd been doing some random programs as a complete newbie before deciding to do Stronglifts 5x5 after about 2 months of random training after never having stepped foot into a gym before. I found this site through my research into how to weight lift properly and found the site to contain a vast wealth of amazing tips, information, and inspiration. I could go on and on about how amazing Stronglifts is, but I'll save that for another time. In short though, Stronglifts has not only helped me craft my technique and form on certain exercises, but also inspired me to become dedicated to my training, and it has also shown me how to become dedicated and disciplined in other facets of life as well. I have nothing but absolute praise for this site.

Background

Here's some small background from before I started Stronglifts 5x5:

August 2007: Entered college as a freshman. 6' 2" 150lbs. Never worked out a day in my life. Skinny as a twig. Mom had been at me for a year or two to go to the gym and "put some meat on your bones".

October 2007: Cannot curl a 40lb dumbbell with two hands.

January 2008: Start ice skating seriously. I had skated a lot and played some hockey (but never for a team) from age 5 to 12 or so. Skated 3-4 times a week for 60-75 mins a day.

February 2008: Decide I want to play ice hockey. Realize I need to be big and strong to play, or at least not 6' 2" 150lbs.

March 2008: Notice that campus food has put my weight up to 6'2" 170lbs (gain in fat, no muscle). I actually have love handles for the first time in my life.

Early March I sprain my ankle badly and can't skate. My ankle doesn't fully heal until early May. I haven't skated since then since the rink closed for the summer. Right as this happened I had decided to start running/biking, lifting weights, and getting in shape.

Also during this month, I start going to the gym maybe twice a week and do 1-2 sets on a bunch of the different machines they have there, hitting each body part separately. I do squats for the first time. I do them in a smith machine with 65lbs by squatting down about 1ft coming up on my toes. I wonder how people can support 65 lbs on their back: it feels like a ton!

April 2008: I find some hockey workout routine at bb.com. It focuses on muscle hypertrophy for 4 weeks first. I start this and complete it at the end of the month, and feel terribly wiped out, although I notice my muscles are much bigger (at least to me) than they were before. I used the 45lb plates for the first time ever for a 135lb squat and felt very proud that I was able to use the big plates.

May 2008: The next part of the workout is training for strength. I start this, and find out that although I could barely squat 65lbs in a smith machine before, I can squat 175lbs for 4 reps, although my form probably wasn't perfect. I can also deadlift 185lbs for 4 reps. I never thought I'd be able to lift that much weight.

I realize the program I'm on is geared toward people who are already strong. I drop it and start Stronglifts 5x5 with much enthusiasm. I am entering week 3 of 5x5. I didn't start with the recommended weights, as I had already been working out a bit.

Goals

Starting weights on 5x5:

Squat: 135lbs
Deadlift: 155lbs
Bench Press: 105lbs (started a bit high here, will have to deload soon)
BB row: 85lbs (not flexible enough to pull from floor, so I do bb rows bent over at about a 45 degree angle like I've seen a lot of people do)
Press: 45lbs
Dips: 10xBW
Chin-ups: 6xBW
Pull-ups: 0xBW

Current stats:

Squat: 5x5x155lbs
Deadlift: 1x5x165lbs
Bench press: 5x5x115lbs
BB row: 5x5x95lbs
Press: 5x5x50lbs
Dips: 3x5x15lbs+BW
Chin-ups: 7xBW
Pull-ups: 2xBW (Very happy about this! I can finally do some pull-ups!)

I'm increasing all weights by 5lbs per workout except chins and pullups, and increasing deadlifts by 10lbs per workout.

Current height/weight: 6'2" 162lbs. I lost most of the fat I had gained through the shitty campus food and gained some weight back in the form of muscle. I didn't lose all the fat, but I definitely gained a bunch of muscle.

Goal stats by end of August, 2008:

Squat: 5x5x225lbs
Deadlift: 1x5x275lbs, 1RM: 315lbs (1RM is already 225lbs and I'm feeling confident!)
Bench press: 5x5x175lbs
BB row: 5x5x175lbs
Press: 5x5x95lbs (this one will be a killer but I'm confident I can do it by the end of the summer)
Dips: 3x5x45+BW
Chin-ups: 3x5x35+BW
Pull-ups: 3x5x15+BW

Height/weight: 6'2" 175lbs



Thanks for reading! I'll update the log with my successive workouts.

[eLvarouza]

Tuesday May 27th 2008

Squat: during my warm up sets I noticed my right knee was hurting. I couldn't get this to stop hurting during my warm up sets. I have no idea what's wrong with my squats. It felt like the outside of my right knee was being crushed whenever I got to parallel and below parallel. I can't figure out what the problem is. My squats don't feel right at all. When I try to break at the hips first it's hard for me to go beyond a quarter squat without feeling like I'll fall over backwards. My right knee hurts if I use even 95lbs, which is nothing to me at this point. I decide to stop doing squats before I mess up my knee, and decide to give them another shot next time. I'm incredibly, incredibly frustrated, although I think that was just a bad day.
Press: 5x5x55lbs
Deadlift: 1x5x175lbs (this set felt shitty. It was difficult for me to pull 175lbs even though I normally have no problem with it. I had a really shitty day at the gym today. I barely slept the last night and had forgotten my lunch during the day so I felt like shit.)
Chin-ups: 9/7/6xBW (really felt it in my back on these and not so much my arms, which is good. Thank you bb rows)

[eLvarouza]

Forgot to update this the last couple times. News:

I can now do 4 pullups! I'm sure I can hit 5 next time. Hell yea! I deloaded on squats to work on form as I was having knee pain, and I'm going to deload on deadlifts, as I'm having trouble keeping my form. Here's the three workouts I didn't add:

Thursday May 29th 2008

Squat: none, resting knees
Deadlift: 5x5x180lbs (to make up for lack of squats)
Bench press: 5x5x120lbs
Barbell row: 5x5x100lbs
Dips: 10/10/7xBW (didn't have a dip belt, didn't feel like fucking around with a dumbbell)

Tuesday June 3rd 2008 (gym closed early on Saturday, couldn't make it. Usually go MWF but gym was closed Monday for Memorial Day.)

Squat: none, resting knees
Deadlift: 1x5x185lbs (shitty, need to deload)
Overhead press: 5x5x60lbs (my form on this sucks so much because I have no shoulder mobility; I can't get my torso under the bar at all)
Pull-ups: 4/3/3xBW (I can do 4 pull-ups! Hell yea!)

Thursday June 5th 2008

Squat: 5x5x135lbs (felt pretty good. Will stick with 135lbs or a bit less next time to make sure form is good, unless I can bang out a perfect 5 reps with 135lbs, then I'll move to 140lbs and see what happens).
Bench press: 5x5x125lbs (still haven't stalled! Hell yea! I think I can handle 130lbs next time. These were much better than May 29th; I was bouncing the bar off my chest a bit on the 29th, but I was much more controlled this time)
Barbell row: 5x5x105lbs (it feels like it doesn't really hit my left side but really hits my right side. I can't tell if this is an imbalance or if my form sucks. I'm guessing imbalance. I'm doing these at 45 degrees bent over instead of 90 degrees because I lack the flexibility to pull from the floor. I think I hold my left trap muscle higher than my right one, taking some of the load off my lats/rhomboids on the left side)
Dips: 5/10/7xBW, 6x10lbs (new gym I'm at doesn't have dip bars that aren't on some dumbass assist machine so I can't hold a dumbbell between my legs, which is why I just finished with BW dips. I need to buy a dip belt)

[mr.boggle]

Excellent stats! Keep up the excellent work!

So jealous you can bench press 125 and bb row 105... My stats are horrible..

"Chin-ups: 9/7/6xBW " in 3 WEEKS?!?!?! Oh my god. O_O

[KIB]

Yeah, great history and improvements, el_v.
I am 6'1" and couldn't break 155lb for years (till I started eating meat after 17 years )
Stronglifts has given me the kinds of gains you are experiencing.
It's a big day when you can add another pull-up, chin-up or dip to your stats, huh?
You've got great accomplishments so far and definitely realizable goals.
How's the knee?

[eLvarouza]

I keep forgetting to update my log

Thanks for the encouraging words guys, I really appreciate it.

So jealous you can bench press 125 and bb row 105... My stats are horrible..

"Chin-ups: 9/7/6xBW " in 3 WEEKS?!?!?! Oh my god. O_O

My form probably isn't the best to be honest. I have a hard time keeping good form on bb rows because of a lack of flexibility. Also, during those chin-ups if my body started to sway I stabilized it, which helped. I was also really pissed off that day too . I did some the other day with lesser results (but about the same, whew) from a bar without stabilizing my body. Also, I started with being able to do 5-6 chin-ups, so it's not really that crazy . And hey, you'll definitely get there; I remember barely being able to bench the bar!

It's a big day when you can add another pull-up, chin-up or dip to your stats, huh?
You've got great accomplishments so far and definitely realizable goals.
How's the knee?

Yea it is a big day, especially with pull-ups . I couldn't do a single pull-up until the beginning of May, and I'm hoping to get 5 tomorrow. I'm really excited to try to hit 10 chin-ups too. I only managed 9 last time and I thought I could get 10, but I'm confident I can get 10 next time. Also, the first time I tried doing dips I only got 2, so being able to do 3x5 with some weight added is pretty cool.

My knee has been feeling fine, although I have deloaded on squats (I did 145lbs last time). As I keep increasing the weight we'll see what happens. I haven't noticed any pain or discomfort though, so I'm confident I can keep increasing the weight. The only thing I'm worried about on squats is my lower back rounding at the bottom, which is pretty bad, but I'm stretching a lot, so we'll see what happens.

Thanks again for the encouragement. Now, on to the log:

Saturday June 7th 2008

Squat: 5x5x140lbs: I remember these felt really good. I was using my glutes on each rep and had absolutely no trouble knocking these down.
Overhead press: 5x5x65lbs: Starting to get difficult. Noticed I was hyperextending my back on each rep because I can't get my arms straight over my head due to lack of shoulder mobility. Will start doing more shoulder dislocations, and I will just raise the bar as far back as I can while keeping a neutral spine (probably about 70-75 degrees from the floor: freaking horrible). I might go with a wider grip to compensate.
Deadlift: 1x5x135lbs: Felt really shitty. Will stay at 135lbs next time. Had trouble keeping my loewr back straight on the pull, which is pretty weird considering I've done 185lbs with a neutral spine. These just felt off; next time will be better.
Chin-ups: 9x5x5xBW: See above comments as to how these are lower than last time. I was hoping to get 10 chin-ups on the first set, but my upper back felt really tired and weak today for some reason, so I used my biceps too much, and they're weak as hell. I'll get 10 for sure the next time.

Tuesday June 10th 2008

Squat: 5x5x145lbs: No knee problems. It felt like I was using my hamstrings a lot more than my glutes, which is really weird. I'll have to assess this tomorrow and see if I get the same feeling. I think I simply wasn't concentrating hard enough.
Bench press: 5x5x130lbs: Wow I actually hit 5x5x130lbs, and they were all with good form, except for two. I think I can get 135lbs next time for 5x5, especially if I actually get a spotter. That would be awesome, as I've never been able to use the 45lb plates for bench press before (I'm not saying that because it'll be 'impressive' to other people: it's just pretty awesome to me).
BB row: 5x5x110lbs: I first tried to do inverted rows, but couldn't find a bench high or a bar low enough to stick my feet on. I'd rather do inverted rows because my form on BB rows is horrible. I'll try to find a better setup next time. The bar was way too high for me to be able to do an inverted row without doing a front lever, which I most certainly cannot do:



I stuck a 25lb plate on my chest and did some as high as I could go with feet elevated, but again the bar was way too high for me to be able to touch my chest to the bar without also lift my feet off the ground. So, I just did some BB rows with shitty form at 110lbs for 5x5.
Dips: 3x5x17.5lbs: I used the method of putting plates inside my backpack (pretty much ruined the already shitty backpack) since I don't know where to find a dip belt. I was really happy to return to weighted dips though instead of just doing BW dips. I think I can hit 25lbs at least without deloading.

More to come after tomorrow!

[eLvarouza]

ROAR I just fucking pwned my workout.

Thursday June 12th 2008

Squat: 5x5x150lbs: noticed my quads were fatiguing pretty fast. Means I need more hip drive. I was concentrating too much on tightening my core. Will be fine next time. I still used my glutes and hams a lot though, so I'm happy.
Overhead Press: 5x5x70lbs: Didn't hyperextend my back as much as last week. Really working on shoulder mobility now, because my form is horrible. Really sick of not being able to lift as much as I can (or as efficiently as I can) because of lack of mobility.
Deadlift: 1x5x145lbs: This is when I started pwning the hell out of my workout. I started out light to work on form during my warmup, and planned to do 135lbs, which is light for me, to work on form. My form was fine the first the first warmup set, and same with the second. When I got to 135lbs, my lower back started to round as I began to pull. I've done 185lbs with good form before, so this really pissed me off.

I said, "go to hell you stupid ass deadlift bar. I've lifted you with good form before and I'll do it now god damnit!" I just did what I used to do: I lifted my chest as high as I could, made sure my back was straight, and ripped the damn bar off the ground with good form. My lower back didn't round at all, and I kept my chest as high as possible the entire rep. I did this for two more reps, then said, "screw this 135lbs BS. I'm going to progress up in weight again."

I added 10lbs to the bar so it was at 145lbs, and completely owned my set. As soon as the bar was above my kneecaps I locked that shit out so hard that if I had gone forward 2 inches more with my hips they'd snap the bar in half. For 1x5 I was really pissed off about my stupid ass lower back trying to round on 135lbs of all things, so I just kept my damn lower back straight as hell and did 5 beastly reps. It was freaking amazing. My lockout speed was shocking to me it was so damn fast. God damn deadlifts, who's your daddy now, BIATCH?

Pull-ups: 6x5 1/2x5: Again, more absolutely ownage. I was hoping to get 5 pull-ups today, but I was still super pumped from destroying those deadlifts. I racked the weight from the deadlift bar, racked the bar, then grabbed the pull-up bar on the power rack and knocked down 6 pull-ups, shattering the 4/3/2 I had done last time. Hell I might've been able to do 7 but I didn't even think of it until I was off the bar.

Now if I had done that another day I probably would have gotten 6/3/3 or something. However, I did 5 1/2 reps on my next set (I say 5 1/2 because I kind of jumped up into the first one, so I count that as a half rep. Normally I'd say that wasn't a rep, but I could've done 6 had I not jumped, so I counted it as a half rep.) then 5 on my last set. Screw you pull-ups I own you. I couldn't do 1 pull-up 1.5 months ago, now I can do 6. Suck on that biatch!

And to cap off a great workout, I found that my gym has foam rollers! I had been looking all over for some of the damn things, and I was psyched that I finally found some of the damn things. Now I can do soft tissue work! Hell yeah!

Grrr I'm still freaking pumped. It's good there weren't many people there, because I was stalking around breathing heavily looking insane and grimacing after doing those deadlifts and pull-ups.

Alright, with any luck next workout can go like that! I'll be aiming for 5x5x135lbs on bench press, and some nice, solid squats with good form. I'll fucking own the squats I'm sure, then I'll go bust out some beastly weight on the bench press. Saturday is too far away...

[eLvarouza]

I weighed myself Saturday night before my workout. Seems I only gained .5lbs or so the past week . Granted the weigh-in can fluctuate because I can't weight myself in the morning, but it's still not what I was aiming for. I'm going to start eating more and see what happens next week when I weigh myself. I was 164lbs yesterday night, and I'm hoping for 165lbs next Saturday, and then a steady gain of 1lb/week until the end of the summer, as I'm aiming for 175lbs by the time the summer ends. Anyway, on to the log:

Saturday June 14th 2008

I had to hurry through this workout because I had to go pick someone up at 11:30, and I started at around 10:30 (it usually takes me 1:30-1:45).

Squats: 5x5x155lbs: these felt good. I pretty much plowed right through these, taking 75s rest between sets. It got difficult to complete some of the later sets because I probably needed more rest, but it felt good plowing through them. I almost fucked up the last rep of my last set because I saw myself making a ridiculous face in the mirror during my 4th rep and almost started cracking up.
Bench press: 5/5/5/4/4x135lbs: I actually repped out three full sets with 135lbs, which is much better than I've ever done before. Although I didn't get 5x5, I'm very confident I will next time. I'm confident I can hit 140lbs for 5x5 before I have to deload. I think I may have been able to get 5x5x135lbs if I had a spotter, because unracking the weight tacks some energy out of me. For some reason I really felt that I could do this before each set, but it felt weird during the reps, sort of if I wasn't recruiting all the muscle in my chest that I could. I don't really know how to describe the feeling, it just felt as if I could've recruited more muscle fibers in my chest. I think the feeling definitely came from my triceps being the weak link. My triceps are growing pretty well right now though, so I'm confident that I'll hit 140lbs for 5x5 before I have to deload.
Barbell row: 5x5x115lbs: Nothing to really report here. I tried inverted rows again and couldn't get them down well and I was in a rush, so I just did my normal bad form bb rows (bent over 45 degrees instead of 90; some people call these "bodybuilder" rows).
Dips: 5/3x20lbs: I had to cut these short because I really had to leave. I also noticed a lot of pain in my left shoulder during my second set after feeling a bit during my first set, so I cut that set short to 3 reps. I think I'm going down too low for my flexibility right now, which is causing me shoulder pain. I'll have to examine this more closely during my next dip session.

[eLvarouza]

My left shoulder is injured. I believe it's the supraspinatus. I can't do any pressing movements without pain. I'm going to rest it and substitute some pulling movements in the meantime.

Tuesday June 17th 2008

Squats: 5x5x160lbs
Press: 5/5/2x75lbs: I had to stop after two reps on the third set because the pain in my left shoulder was too intense. I won't be doing any pressing movements for awhile.
Deadlift: 1x5x155lbs
Chin-ups: 3x5x5lbs: Started adding weight, as I got a dip belt (conveniently hurt my shoulder doing dips right before I got the belt). My form was really good on these (raising the chest to the bar, using the upper back more than the biceps, etc). Looking forward to adding more weight.

Friday June 20th 2008

I didn't have a choice but to miss Thursday night, so I had to make it up on Friday. Threw me off, but whatever.

Squats: 5x5x165lbs: Bodyweight squats finally. I'm keeping strict form so I don't hurt myself again. I hope to hit 185 before stalling, which will put me 40lbs within my goal for the end of the summer.
Bench press: Tried to do limited ROM bench presses but I couldn't due to my shoulder. Decided not to push it and avoided this exercise.
Barbell row: 5x5x120lbs: Really have no clue when I'll stall on these. Don't think it'll happen anytime soon. Wish I could do them pulling from the ground though.
Rack pulls: 3x5x205lbs: Substituted these for dips. It felt good to overload my hamstrings and glutes. This also taught me that I must squeeze the hell out of my glutes to stop my lumbar spine from rounding. It was pretty awesome doing these that night too because there was a powerlifter two racks down (well, a smith machine down, then a rack) from me doing rack pulls. He went up to 495lbs and it was intense as hell. He chalked up his hands, put on a belt, yelled at the top of his lungs, and locked it out. It was awesome to watch.

Gonna head to the gym in about an hour because my schedule is weirded out now (usually go Tues/Thurs/Sa). Will have to update later.

[bigwhat62]

nice man, seeing you are getting some good progression. bummer on the shoulder, i had problems too. i think i finally have healthy shoulders now. do your best to let them heal, maybe do light shoulder work or different hand grips that can allow you to lift. i had put bench on hold and did neutral grip db bench press for a few weeks. it let me lift heavy with no shoulder pain. i never had the pain during OHP but maybe trying dumbells could work for you too.

[nickh]

Hope your shoulder is healing up well man

[eLvarouza]

So as some of you have seen in my rant thread I've decided to take a week off (I'm starting again next Tuesday) and completely deload down to the recommended Stronglifts starting weights. I've said pretty much everything in the rant thread, so I don't really see the need to write it down again here.

I'm going to start stretching everyday to improve mobility. I also have access to foam rollers at the gym every time I go, so I'll do soft tissue work 3x/week. I cannot keep an arch in my back on squats due to tight hip flexors and hip adductors. I cannot keep my back straight on deadlifts due to tight hamstrings. I plan to concentrate mostly on hip mobility in my stretches. However, I also cannot properly execute the overhead press due to piss-poor shoulder mobility, so I've included some upper body stretching as well.

I plan to dynamic stretches when I wake up (this has the added benefit of waking my ass up in the morning and it "gets the blood flowing"), and static stretches in the evening right before I go to bed (no dynamic stretches here because I need to sleep afterwards). Here's my stretching routine, with alternating A and B days:

Dynamic stretching A:

Leg Swings: 3x10 per side
Cradle walk: 3x5 per side
Knee raise walk: 3x5 per side
Crossover reverse lunge: 3x10 per side
Overhead lunge walk: 3x5 per side
Rotational squats: 3x10 per side
Wall ankle mobilization: 3x10 per side
Shoulder dislocations: 3x10
Scap push-ups: 3x12

Dynamic stretching B:

3D Hamstring stretches: 3x10 per side
Lateral squats: 3x10 per side
Spiderman walk: 3x5 per side
Pull-back butt kick: 3x5 per side
Pike calf stretch: 3x10 per side
Split squats: 3x10 per side
Shoulder dislocations: 3x10
Superman: 3x12

Static stretching A:
Good-morning hamstring stretch: 3x20s
Warrior lunge stretch: 3x20s per side
RF/TFL stretch: 3x20s per side
Seated 90/90 stretch: 3x20s per side
Lying glute stretch: 3x20s per side
Seated adductor stretch: 3x20s
Pec minor stretch: 3x20s per side

Static stretching B:
Good-morning hamstring stretch: 3x20s
Warrior lunge stretch: 3x20s per side
RF/TFL stretch: 3x20s per side
Seated 90/90 stretch: 3x20s per side
Lying glute stretch: 3x20s per side
Seated adductor stretch: 3x20s
Sleeper stretch stretch: 3x20s per side

I'll keep updating my log once I start training again on Tuesday. I'll try to videotape my form as much as possible and post some videos either here, the weight lifting section, or both. I don't expect my form on any exercise to be perfect for a few weeks until flexibility improves. As I am now, I cannot do a squat without my lower back rounding even with no bar. I also can't do a proper deadlift with no rounding of the back even with no weight on the bar. Hopefully my flexibility issues will be corrected within a few weeks. I've already made big gains in mobility since I started, so I'm confident my flexibility will increase enough for me to be able to do these exercises very well within a few weeks.

[eLvarouza]

Oh and an update on my shoulder. I think it should be 100% on Tuesday. I've been testing the strength of it every few days by doing one or two push-ups. As of last night and the night before, I can do a couple push-ups with no discomfort. I didn't want to push it and try more. I'll try dips again on Tuesday, and I'll be sure to only go to parallel and not below. If I feel any pain at all I'll stop immediately. Maybe a video of my form will tell me more.

[Tresbien]

Nixe work on the stretching program. If you can stick with it you'll limber up greatly in the next few weeks, not to mention feel much better overall in daily life. You may wish to add a wrist stretch or two to prepare yourself for front squatting and power cleans.

[eLvarouza]

I'm making a slight modification to my stretching program. I'm decreasing the number of sets of each dynamic stretch on weekdays, as I really don't have the time or energy to do more during the week. I also switched up a few stretches in both programs to concentrate on what needs work the most (hip flexors are the tightest thing in my squat right now). I added the squat stretch to each static stretching day. I'm not sure why I didn't have it in there before.

Dynamic stretching A:

Leg Swings: 2x10 per side
Cradle walk: 2x5 per side
Squat to stand: 2x5 per side
Crossover reverse lunge: 2x10 per side
Overhead lunge walk: 2x5 per side
Rotational squats: 2x10 per side
Wall ankle mobilization: 2x10 per side
Shoulder dislocations: 2x10
Scap push-ups: 2x12

Dynamic stretching B:

3D Hamstring stretches: 2x10 per side
Lateral squats: 2x10 per side
Spiderman walk: 2x5 per side
High knee walk: 2x5 per side
Pike calf stretch: 2x10 per side
Split squats: 2x10 per side
Shoulder dislocations: 2x10
Superman: 2x12

On weekends I'll do three sets of each exercise instead of two. Static stretching will still be three sets always.

Static stretching A:
Good-morning hamstring stretch: 3x20s
Pec minor stretch: 3x20s per side
Levator scapulae stretch: 3x20s per side
RF/TFL stretch: 3x20s per side
Lying glute stretch: 3x20s per side
Seated adductor stretch: 3x20s
Squat stretch: 3x30s

Static stretching B:
Good-morning hamstring stretch: 3x20s
Warrior lunge stretch: 3x20s per side
Seated 90/90 stretch: 3x20s per side
Lying glute stretch: 3x20s per side
Seated adductor stretch: 3x20s
Sleeper stretch: 3x20s per side
Squat stretch: 3x30s

Wrist stretches and other stretches will come once I have the basic mobility to do squats, deadlifts, and barbell rows. Once I'm mobile enough to do those with perfect form I'm cutting back on the stretching, as it's a huge pain in the ass.