End of Week Seven

[icenine]

After starting Stronglifts 5x5 beginner routine with just the oly bar on January 1st (No new year's resolution, the date is just how it worked out), relearning the core lifts all over again and sucking in all the info I could over the past couple of months I've now finished week 7 of the routine. Stats as of this morning after going under the bar are as follows:

Squat - 150lbs 5x5
Deadlift - 185lbs 5x5
Bench Press - 100lbs 5x5
Overhead Press - 95lbs 5x5
Pullups - up to 5 consecutive on first set, could barely do one at the beginning (probably not a complete one at that)
Chinups - 7 on first set (could do around 2 at the start)
Pushups = 32 first set (up from around 20 at the start)

I haven't failed on any of the lifts yet, though the overhead press will probably be the first one. The squat feels like it'll happen soon too. I wonder if I'll be able to make it through week 8. Time will tell.

Bodyweight has gone up from about 177lbs to 189lbs (5' 9" - mid 30s). Bodyfat is probably over 20%, though I don't have calipers to measure so this is a wild guess. The belly has grown a fair bit, but I think a fair part of the waistline growth is from bigger abdominal muscles. The fat I've gained I plan on losing once I achieve a 1.0x bodyweight squat. Wearing pants that were baggy before I started stronglfits are starting to feel tight around my upper legs and glutes. They actually don't fall down if I don't wear a belt, there's muscle holding them up now. I've gone up about one notch on my belt, however as I said earlier, my abdominal muscles seem to be bigger. Shirts are getting tight around the chest/upper back and arms too. Not one set of bicep curls have I performed, and my arms are filling out!

Mental changes all on the positive side. I've got more confidence these days, taking more of an assertive/less passive stance on regular every day things. The confidence is not just because of the added strength/size I've obtained, but also because I've committed myself to something and have tried to be true to the commitment. I look forward to going up under the bar each and every work out day, knowing that one of these days I'll leave the bar on the safety pins during a set of squats (though I keep getting stronger I'm not sure how long it'll be before maxing out). Quite frankly, failing during a squat is something I've never done before and actually fear it to a certain extent. Having the safety pins on the power rack will come in handy some day.

Diet wise. I eat too much!! heh, that's how it works. That's where the strength comes from. I try to make sure my meals are protein rich, but every now and again someone brings in a dozen donuts into my office and I just have to have one, or two.. or three.

Sleep: I find I have no problem sleeping for 9-10 hours. Good solid sleep for the most part (unless I've been drinking beer the night before, this really creates restless sleeping for me), I'm waking up refreshed if I get enough rest sometimes waking up before the alarm goes off, though if I end up only having about 6-7 hours, I notice the lack of sleep in how I feel. Sleep is a major factor in repairing and recuperation, and I must admit, one of the more enjoyable parts of life.

Buying that power rack, the 300lb Olympic barbell set and turning my wife's junk room/spare bedroom into a home gym has generated no regrets so far (from me or my wife). Working out at home has totally been a positive experience. No waiting, no attitude to deal with except my own. And finding the stronglifts 5x5 beginner routine, progressively adding 5 lbs to the bar each workout has given the feeling of constant progression, constant slow betterment of self.

And the best part of all, the kneepain (poorly tracking kneecap/rough cartilage due to weak Vastus Medialis) I've been dealing with for the past few years is nicely distancing itself. And as my strength increases, the muscle imbalance is lessening.

Anyways, thought I'd share my experience over the past couple of months.

ice-nine

[canoeguide]

Good story. As someone a few weeks behind you on the program it's nice to hear.

As for failing on the squat (and needing the safety pins), I haven't seen this mentioned but why not practice it? Put a good weight on the bar, no more than your current 5x5 max (maybe even less), and squat down like normal but do not come up. Practice controlled relaxing at the bottom and letting the safety pins do their job. Consider your form while doing so.

Once you have done this and are comfortable with it, you may find a higher level of confidence on the squat, knowing that you can fail safely.

[sealclubber]

Good story icenine, glad to see your making progress!

As far as the kneepain goes, I too have been noticing small injurys Ive picked up in the past few years start to lessen/go away (kneepain, hand, wrist, forarm pain)

Keep up the good work

[guru]

Nice progress icenine,

One more solid case in favour of SL, & a good motivator for the newbies.

[MikeD]

Great job. It's true that strength training doesn't simply build confidence in the a-hole, macho way. You're choosing to do something that's bloody hard and you have no one but yourself to rely on. You're doing things you never imagined you could, and you've made a committment that's given you some purpose.


And I don't have pins (aside from these things that are great for the bench press but not so for squats...) or bumper plates, so basically if I felt like the last rep was ungodly hard and I have another to do, I'll just rack it. Only happened like 2-3 times so far.

I actually got stuck once, tried to rack it on the little crappy bench press catches, fell foward with the weight on me. Luckily I had 45's on and I'm not that big, so I kind fit between the bar and the floor, haha. Never again though!