GSDog's Training Log

[GSDog]

Hello everyone,

Firstly, a little about myself.

Age: 20
Height: 6'1 / 185cm
Weight: 10.5st / 66KG / 146lb
BF: Not sure, probably around 13-14%.

I'm very skinny and unfit at the moment due to being ill for 6 years with Lyme disease and CFS (Chronic fatigue syndrome). I am pretty much over it now but I'm left feeling very weak, skinny and generally unhappy with my body. My self confidence is also at an all time low because of this. Before my illness I was quite athletic and did loads of sports so the last 6 years has been extremely hard for me. I was so ill that I was unable to continue with school/college and had virtually no social life.
I was sleeping 12-16 hours a day, eating nowhere near enough (probably under 1500 kcals a day!) and I was generally feeling awful. As you can imagine this resulted in me losing weight and that is the reason why I am so skinny now.
Roughly 18 months ago I started getting better after treatment and about 6 weeks ago I completely changed my lifestyle by altering my sleep patterns and getting a healthy 8-10 hours sleep as well as eating a proper breakfast, lunch and dinner with snacks in between. As a result of this I gained about 9lb in 6 weeks and went from 9.10st to 10.5st which is where I am now. I was also doing bodyweight exercises (push ups, pull ups, chin ups, crunches, etc.)
I then found StrongLifts 5x5 about a month ago and decided to invest in a home gym. A few days ago I set up a power rack, bench and 110KG olympic weights in a dis-used barn and I now can't wait to get started!

I haven't set actual weight goals for 5x5 yet but I will update this as soon as I have an idea of what I am a capable of and what is realistic.

My goals:

Get stronger, build muscle and fix my bad posture.
Target weight: 85kg / 187lb.
Keep body fat between 10-15%.

First mini goal (3 months / by 1st December 09):
Target weight: 73kg / 160lb.

My plan:

I will basically be following StrongLifts 5x5 by the book and work out days will be Mon, Wed and Fri. During rest days I will do stretching exercises, etc. to help with my posture.
For the first 1 -2 weeks I will be using an empty bar (except 40KG for Deadlifts) just to get a feel for it and make sure my technique is correct before adding weight. I will also be adding a video on the forum to make sure my technique is right when I do start adding the weights. This means that for the next 1 - 2 weeks there might not be much written in this log but that's only because I am not increasing weight just yet so there won't be much to write about! As soon as I start adding the weight things here will really get going.
I definitely need to start preparing more meals in advance because I have trouble deciding on what to eat and I am getting a little tired of chicken, pasta and rice now!

I do feel very positive and motivated and I am sure I will stick to this program.

Thanks for reading.
Chris

[kidsoftheblackhole]

hello GSdog, nice username/avatar
i'm new to sl too, and have similar goals, only i'm aiming at 73-75kgs BW.

[GSDog]

hello GSdog, nice username/avatar
i'm new to sl too, and have similar goals, only i'm aiming at 73-75kgs BW.

Hey, thanks!

And good luck, I'll be keeping an eye on your training log too.

[atypical1]

Welcome to the forum! Congrats on starting a log and getting back into the swing of things again.

james

[GSDog]

Welcome to the forum! Congrats on starting a log and getting back into the swing of things again.

james

Thanks.

I just completed my Friday workout, still not using weights yet until my technique is better.

Squat
5x5 @ bar weight (20KG). I'm getting better at these every time I workout. I think my technique is OK and will post a video next week when I start adding weight.

Bench press
I've got a slight problem with these. The safety pins on my power rack stop the barbell when it's about 2 inches above my chest so I don't think I'm getting the full range of motion.
The problem is that if I lower the safety pins any further they'll be too low and the barbell could crush my chest if I can't lift the weight - obviously this isn't good because I'll be working out on my own!
Any ideas on what to do about this? It seems there aren't enough holes in my power rack.

Inverted rows
7, 5, 3
I had difficulty finding a place to do these but ended up doing them on my parallel bars in the garden.

Push ups
7, 6, 5.
Definitely finding these easier. When I first started doing these about 6 weeks ago I could barely do 2.

Reverse crunch
I tried these for the first time today and found them really uncomfortable. I think I'm doing them wrong so will have to learn the correct technique for next session.

[atypical1]

Regarding the power rack, you could try a different bench or you could raise your existing bench by an inch (or whatever you need to) by using some wood sheets under the bench.

james

[kidsoftheblackhole]

Reverse crunch
I tried these for the first time today and found them really uncomfortable. I think I'm doing them wrong so will have to learn the correct technique for next session.

you'll probably get used to them, i much prefer them over sit-ups. make sure you use your abs, not legs.

Inverted rows
7, 5, 3
I had difficulty finding a place to do these

have you considered trying barbell rows? it's easier to add weight, too.

[GSDog]

Regarding the power rack, you could try a different bench or you could raise your existing bench by an inch (or whatever you need to) by using some wood sheets under the bench.

james

Thanks, I will try putting something under the bench next time.

have you considered trying barbell rows? it's easier to add weight, too.

Yeah, I have considered trying those. I spoke to someone who has exactly the same power rack as me last night and he explained how he does them so I will give it another try on my next workout.
If I still can't do it then I will try barbell rows.

[GSDog]

Ok, I've started adding the weight now. So far so good.

Squat:
22.5KG
5X5
Pretty easy, think my form is getting better.

OHP:
22.5KG
5X5
These are harder than expected. First few sets I think my grip was too wide but once I used a closer grip and started using my hips a bit for the last sets it got easier.

Deadlift:
42.5KG
1X5
I couldn't recommended how much weight to add on deadlifts. I think I could add 5KG each workout as it feels pretty easy at the moment.

Chin ups:
5, 5, 3.
I opted for chin ups because I can barely do a single full pull up yet... definitely need to work on those.

Prone bridges:
3x30secs.

[GSDog]

Can anyone recommend some exercises that I can do on non-workout days to help with flexibility and posture? I'm currently only doing shoulder dislocations but I don't really know of any others...

I noticed I made a spelling in my post above and I can't seem to edit my post, why is that?

[atypical1]

If you do a quick search for mobility you'll come up with some really good exercises that Mehdi has posted. Is there an area in particular that you feel is tight?

james

[kidsoftheblackhole]

I noticed I made a spelling in my post above and I can't seem to edit my post, why is that?

I think you cannot edit your post if someone has posted after you, in this forum.

[GSDog]

If you do a quick search for mobility you'll come up with some really good exercises that Mehdi has posted. Is there an area in particular that you feel is tight?

james

Thanks.
I found some articles about thoracic and hip mobility work written by Mehdi so I will definitely give those a try.
My shoulders seem to be the worst, they feel tight and they often click and clunk as I move them around. It's also quite difficult to do the low bar squat. I am doing shoulder dislocations which I think is helping but I'd like to do some more work on those.

My hamstrings also feel a bit tight so I will be following some of the exercises that Mehdi recommends for that.

[GSDog]

Squat:
25KG
5X5
My hips felt really tight today when doing the squat. I definitely need to do some stretches to help with my hip mobility.

Bench press:
22.5KG
5X5
I sometimes have trouble lifting the bar in a straight line for some reason...

Inverted rows:
9, 9, 7
These are pretty hard and I could feel my arms seriously worked afterwards. I did these by leaning from the barbell on the power rack, it seemed to work well.

Push ups:
7, 6, 6

Reverse crunch:
3X12
I think I'm getting the hang of these now.

[GSDog]

Squat:
27.5KG
5X5

OHP:
25KG
5X5
Almost stalled on the last rep of my last set. I'm finding these difficult already!

Pull ups:
3, 3, 2
Finally managed to do a complete pull up, definitely getting stronger. It's strange that on Monday I couldn't do one but today managed 8 in total...

Prone bridges:
3 X 30secs.