Jfh26's Training Log

[jfh26]

Hello all,

Here's my story:

I'm 19 years old and I live in Dover, NH and study mechanical engineering at the University of New Hampshire. I'm 19 years old, 5'10, 190lbs, ~18-20% BF. The first time I lifted, about 3 years ago, I could only squat 70lbs for 2x10, and had a 1RM of 110 for benching. Since then, I've been lifting fairly regularly, but have finally hit the big plateau and have been searching for the best way to overcome it. I've been reading about StrongLifts for the past week or so, and I must say it looks like the real deal. I decided to join StrongLifts today. My current 5RM stats are:

Bench: 185lbs(84kg) x 5
Deadlift: 275lbs(125kg) x 5
Squat: 165lbs(75kg) x 5

My ultimate goal is to get my squat caught up with my other lifts, as it is very obviously lagging behind my others. In addition, I would like to get to a point where my working sets for the Big Three are in the 200+lb range. Finally, I need to take control of my diet. I eat fairly well, but I need to work on taking the time to make substantial meals. Right now I'm only eating 3-4 times a day, and that's a small breakfast, average lunch, medium to large dinner, and a snack here and there. anyway, I hope that by maintaining this log, I can motivate myself to stick with the program and diet and get my lifts to where I want them. In addition, I hope you guys can all benefit from seeing my progress as much as I will.

With that, here is my first day:
Wednesday 7/16/09

Squat: 95lbs 5,5,5,5,5
- after applying the tips from the How to Squat article, I feel like in this day alone my squatting technique has already improved tremendously - looking forward to continuing

Bench: 115lbs 5,5,5,5,5
- easy and good technique.. I've always generally been OK with my benching technique

Inverted Rows: BW 8,7,7
- haven't done these in a LONG time...

Pushups: BW 21,16,11
- these are much harder at the end of this workout...

Reverse Crunches: 10,10,10
- For some reason I had in my head that the goal was 3x10 - will be doing 3x12 now.. Nonetheless, after applying the techniques in How to do Reverse Crunches, I felt a better burn than I EVER have with this exercise

Overall good day. I like the program thus far and plan on sticking with it. Felt a lot better coming out of the gym than I have in a long time. Lets just hope I can get my eating in order.

[jfh26]

Friday 7/17/09

Squat: 100lbs 5,5,5,5,5
- Still feeling good

OHP: 65lbs 5,5,5,5,5
- Really improved my technique with these

Deadlift: 195lbs 5
- A little difficult after doing squats, but doable. We'll see how it goes...

Pull-ups: BW 5,4,4
- I've always been better at chinups...

Prone Bridges: BW 30s,30s,30s
- Done these before so not too bad. I went across two benches so I could see how straight my back was in the mirror - difficult and effective!

Another good workout.

[jfh26]

Monday 7/20/09

Had a nice relaxing weekend at my sister's in VT, so I was looking forward to getting back in the gym and getting back to work.

Squat: 105lbs 5,5,5,5,5
- That first set always sucks, but smooth sailing from there

Bench: 120lbs 5,5,5,5,5
- Not bad but kind of feels like my back is arching too much.. will work on that for next time

Inverted Rows: BW 8,9,7
- Getting my form together on these

Pushups: BW 25,13,16
- A few more reps that last time.. might start adding weight or switching to dips soon

Reverse Crunches: BW 12,12,12
- Remembered to do sets of 12 and not 10 this time

Still going strong. Finally convinced my cardio/carb-obsessed girlfriend to give the 5x5 a shot, so it looks like I have a new training partner! The only conditions were that she be allowed to kickbox on off days and eat oatmeal in the morning..

[jfh26]

Wednesday 7/22/09

Back to Workout B..

Squat: 110lbsx5,5,5,5,5
- Still good

OHP: 70lbsx5,5,5,5,5
- Felt much better than last week

Deadlift: 200lbsx5
- Still good on this as well

Chin-ups: BWx6,6,4
- A little bit better than pull-ups... really concentrated on pulling my chest to the bar (and felt it in my biceps for the first time in a while!)

Prone Bridges: BWx30s,30s,30s
- I think I may start to add weight on these

Still going strong with these workouts.. hopefully I can keep it up! My girlfriend finally started 5x5 yesterday so I think I may be able to get her to stick with it. She HATED deadlifts, but I think it was because I started her with 65lbs, so the bar felt weird to her. I put it up on some plates, but it still may not have been high enough. I think she'll do well, though - she's pretty strong as it is. Although, being a nutrition major, she's still not too keen on the nutrition plans that go with 5x5... But oh well!

[jfh26]

Hey guys - had a busy weekend and didn't get to update my log until today. Here's my workout from Friday:

Friday 7/24/09

Squat: 115lbsx5,5,5,5,5
A little harder, but it was a long week.. should be good to go on Monday

Bench: 125lbsx5,5,5,5,5
Still going

Inverted Rows: BWx10,9,8
Getting better with these

Pushups: BW+10lbsx10,10,10
I think weighted pushups are supposed to be in sets of 5, bit I couldn't remember. Will clear it up for next time.

Reverse Crunches: BWx12,12,12
Actually remembered to do 12 again..

Another good day. I had a pretty relaxing weekend, along with a couple cheat meals, (but they weren't that bad ) so I should be good to go again tomorrow.

[jfh26]

Monday 7/27/09

Squat: 120lbs 5,5,5,5,5
- A little difficult but still going

OHP: 75lbs 5,5,5,5,5
- doing OK

Deadlift: 205lbs 5
- Fine

Pull-ups: BW 6,4,5
- A little better than last time

Prone Bridges: BW 30s,30s,30s
- Check. I think I will add weight next time

Still doing well with 5x5. I have a feeling the squats will be getting harder for me pretty soon.

Also, my girlfriend is still doing 5x5 with me. She's not on the site, but I assure you she's doing fine!

[jfh26]

Wednesday 7/29/09

Squat: 130lbsx5,5,5,5,5

Bench: 130lbsx5,5,5,5,5

Inverted Row: BWx13,10,9

Pushups: BW+15lbsx5,5,5

Reverse Crunches: BWx12,12,12

making progress on IRs, squats are getting harder

[jfh26]

Friday 7/31/09

Hey guys, here's my log from Friday:

Squat: 135lbsx5,5,5,5,5

OHP: 80lbsx5,5,5,5,5

Deadlift: 215lbsx5,5,5,5,5

Chinups: BWx8,6,4

Prone Bridges: BW+2.5lbsx30s,30s,30s

Squats are getting hard..

[jfh26]

Monday 7/3/09

Squats: 140lbsx5,5,5,5,5
first 2 sets were hard, cranked them out after that

Bench: 135lbsx5,5,5,5,5

IR: BWx15,10,9
Still doing well with these

Pushups: BW+20lbsx5,5,5

Rev. Crunch: BWx12,12,12

[TempestTenor]

Glad to see you're making good progress!

[jfh26]

Thanks - hopefully it stays that way!

[jfh26]

I just noticed I skipped 125 on squats. Maybe that's why 130 seemed harder than usual... Oops

[jfh26]

Wednesday 8/5/09

Squat: 145lbsx5,5,5,5,5
Getting closer to my original 5RM (165)!

OHP: 85lbsx5,5,5,5,5

Deadlift: 225lbsx5,5,5,5,5
Going to switch to 5lb increments now

Pull-ups: BWx6,5,4
These suck. Period. But I'm progessing, and that's all that matters.

Prone Bridges: BW+5lbsx30s,30s,30s

Still going strong with the 5x5. Squats are getting a little harder, but I'm still able to push through them. Hopefully my short term goal of 200lb+ working sets will be reached a bit sooner than I expected!

[jfh26]

Friday 8/7/09

Squat: 150lbsx5,5,5,5,5
15lbs shy of my old 5RM!

Bench: 140lbsx5,5,5,5,5

IR: BWx9,6,5
Moved to elevated feet for these

Push-ups: BW+25lbsx5,5,5
-May switch to dips fairly soon

Reverse Crunches: BWx12,12,12

Squats are getting more and more difficult. So far I've managed to avoid stalling, though!

[jfh26]

I have a terrible sunburn on my back after a weekend at the beach, so I have a feeling lifting is going to suck today. Going to try and push through it though!