Kendall's Training Log

[khildahl]

Stats:
29 year old male
5'11" 180lbs

Background:
I have lifted weights off and on for several years but have always primarily used machines and dumbbells. Chronic lower back problems due to scoliosis have scared me away from most barbell lifts in the past and I have somewhat weak core muscles stemming from these issues. The majority of my exercises have been geared toward muscular endurance.

Goals:
Squat 1.5x bodyweight
Bench Press bodyweight

Plan:
Started on the Beginner's Strength Training Program II last Saturday (finally getting around to starting a training log); I chose this over the original program due to the wider variety of exercises from workout to workout to keep things interesting; additionally the switch between back squats and front squats will hopefully be easier on my lower back until the muscles develop to the level they need to be at. As part of my warm-up I do some core work (bridges, side bridges, planks, supermans, crunches, etc); I've found if I work this in before I pick up any weights I can't wimp out of doing it at the end of my workout. I also do a minimum of ten minutes of cardio after my lifts (more depending on time constraints and how gassed the workout has left me).

The Log (all weights include 45lbs bar):

11/10/2007

Back Squat - 45lbs - 5x5
- Noticed my lower back rounding a little bit when I got below parallel starting in the third set; technique felt very good apart from this

Bench Press - 45lbs - 5x5
- Went very easy

Deadlift - 80lbs - 1x5
- Lower back rounded quite a bit at the bottom of the lift... I may need to start the bar a little higher off the ground... I eyeballed how high it would be if it had a full-size plate on it and proabably had it too low.

Pull-Ups - 90lbs weight assist - 3x5
- Can't do one pull-up yet, will progressively reduce the amount of weight assist on this.

11/12/2007

Front Squat - 45lbs - 5x5
- This got hard starting in the third set; my legs aren't used to this sort of thing. More issues with my back rounding at the bottom. Wrists were extremely sore after the first couple sets, gritted through it.

Overhead Press - 45lbs - 5x5
- Elbows were going out sideways, will try to focus on better technique. Wrists were very sore from the front squats but felt better by the last set on this.

Bent-Over Row - 45lbs - 5x5
- No problems other than accelerating the bar way too fast and smoking myself in the ribs once. Oops.

Dips - 55lbs weight assist - 2x5, 1x3
- Stalled on the third set. Arms were very fatigued at this point and couldn't do anymore.

11/14/2007

Back Squat - 50lbs - 5x5
- Legs were beyond sore from the first two days but gritted through this, pain went away in the first set and felt great after. Still issues with lower back rounding. Read Mehdi's article on this and will be incorporating squat stretches into my warm-up going forward.

Bench Press - 50lbs - 5x5
- Very easy.

Deadlift - 85lbs - 1x5
- Not really any issues doing the lift... Tried to rack it too high when putting the bar up to strip the weights and almost dropped it on my foot, though. Lesson learned.

Chin-Ups - 80lbs weight assist - 3x5
- No issues other than needing weight assist on these.

[Mehdi]

Welcome Kendall.
I've been diagnosed with mild scoliosis in the my upperback 10 years ago. 3° degree deviation. Looking back I think it was just my posture that was not right. Anyway, take it slowly on the barbell, add weight gradually, you'll see what your body can takes & what not. Best approach, it breeds confidence.
Try birddogs, supine bridges, hip flexor stretches & spinal decompressions for the back.
Front Squats. Put elbows higher, must higher. Shoulder support weight, not wrists.

For pull-ups & chin-ups: switch to free weights. Check Dwayne training log, he can't do pull-ups yet & he's using resistance bands. You can also try to use momentum by jumping up. Machines = not good.

[khildahl]

What are your thoughts on kipping pull-ups? I've never tried them but if I understand them correctly the kip generates some momentum to assist with the pull-up.

I run into my problems on pull-ups/chin-ups at the very bottom of my range of motion so I don't want to 'cheat' through this by jumping to skip my problem area.

[Mehdi]

I started doing pull-ups again last week. Weighted pull-ups. When I can't do them "strictly", I start doing weighted kipping pull-ups. I can't involve my hips as much because of the belt + weight, however I am pulling back then throwing my body forward.
Nothing wrong imo. Kipping pull-ups use more muscles than pull-ups: lower back/hips/abs are used. You can use more weight/do more reps. Momentum is just speed. If you get stronger at kipping pull-ups you'll get stronger at regular pull-ups.
 

[khildahl]

11/18/2007

Back Squat - 55lbs - 5x5
- Legs were very tired very quickly, I think the three rest days I had may have made this harder than it should have been. Lower back still rounding, I expect this to improve as the muscles develop more and my hamstring flexibility improves.

Overhead Press - 50lbs - 5x5
- Felt this just below my shoulder blades (thinking I must have been arching my back a fair bit for some reason) and my elbows are still coming out. This is the lift where I have the most problems with technique. Really need to work on this.

Bent-Over Row - 50lbs - 5x5
- No issues, went very easy.

Dips - 55lbs weight assist - 3x5
- Did all sets where I failed last time, probably could have done a rep or two without assistance. Will try bodyweight next time I do these and see what happens.

[Harsh]

Hi khildahl,
are you doing any mobility work ? also its most important to learn how to do exercise properly first before adding weights in order to avoid any problem later. coz as the weight will start to move up a good form becomes a must. My advice would be to read article that teaches squat form and reevaluate by doing bw squats only, maybe ask someone to check your form and perfect them.
 

[khildahl]

Hi Harsh,

My lower back is rounding a very small amount only when I go below parallel on my squats, I'm working on hamstring flexibility to try and fix this. This should take care of the problem as I've noticed it becomes less pronounced and even goes away as I work through my sets. I have no other issues with squats; my weight stays on my heels through the full range of motion and I squeeze my glutes through the whole thing as well... Getting anyone at my gym to critique my form would have them staring at me like I was crazy and telling me to use a smith machine (which I have done in the past and the form I learned on it is completely different and severely put my back out. Twice.)

My real concerns are with my form on the overhead press. I've reread the article on it and am practicing with a broomstick before trying it again as my form is terrible on it and I can see an injury happening pretty easily.

Everything else feels very good and I have no pain apart from general muscle soreness (in a good way). Due to my history the second I feel anything "off" in my back my workout is over and I'm at my chiropractor's office ASAP.

Thanks for your comments.

[Mehdi]

could you give me more info on the overhead press Kendall? What do you mean with "shoulder-blades"?
It's normal to feel it in the lats/upper-back when doing overhaed presses. My upper-back/lats often get sore when doing overhead press. You're using these muscles when pressing overhead. If you feel discomfort when locking the elbows in the overhead position, it could be lack of mobility in the upper-body: shoulder dislocations (lots) is the solution.

Current article on the overhead press suck btw. Info is good, but there's much more on technique that can be said. Expect updated versions of all the articles on the 8 main exercises in the next weeks. I've been working on it during the last days.
Here's a tip of the iceberg of the new article.
Position when starting the overhead press. Note the elbows forward, chest up, forward look.

 
End position. Head forward, traps/shoulders back tighten, elbows locked. Ignore the wide grip, it's a snatch, but same principle. If this feels unfomfortable, you lack upper-body flexibility. Shoulder dislocations.

 
Video:

 
 

[khildahl]

When I say below my shoulder blades I mean right in the middle of my back. The video helps clarify the technique for me, I'll be trying OHP again tomorrow and will see how it goes.

Thanks.

[khildahl]

11/20/2007

Front Squat - 50lbs - 5x5
- Having problems keeping my elbows up. I can get them up before I start to squat but they drop and pretty much point straight down through my whole range of motion.
- A couple positives from this, though: I can nearly touch my butt to the ground on these, it felt like a rest day with the lower weight than the back squats, and my wrists didn't hurt at all.

Bench Press - 55lbs - 5x5
- Still easy, but I could feel it may start seeming like work in after another weight increase or two.

Deadlift - 90lbs - 2x5
- Technique felt great and the weight felt very light so I did another set. It definitely felt much heavier after the second one.

Pull-ups - 70lbs weight assist - 1x5, 1x2
- Still can't do one unassisted (tried raw and kipping), but there's some improvement in my sticking points. Used weight assist again because I currently have no other option; stalled on the second set and when I tried to use more assistance found the muscles had reached failure.

[Mehdi]

open your hands, relax them, keep your chest up on the front squat. Focus on keeping the elbows up, pointing to eachther.
 

[khildahl]

11/22/2007

Back Squat - 60lbs - 5x5
- Weight starting to feel a bit heavy but technique is much better, lower back is rounding much less at the bottom. Recovery is much faster than week 1; I've adapted to all this squatting very quickly.

Overhead Press - 55lbs - 5x5
- Technique was much better, previous pain was gone. I was doing a lot of things just a little bit wrong, thanks for the tips Mehdi.
- Weight was heavy, came very close to failure on this. Increased rest time to two minutes before sets 4 and 5 and was able to complete them. Last rep was definitely the last one I could do. My shoulders have always been weak and I expect to stall very soon on this.

Bent-Over Row - 55lbs - 5x5
- No issues

Dips - bw - 1x1
- Did one unassisted dip, triceps had very little left after the OHP; felt like trying to force any more out of them could have resulted in an injury so called it a day.

[khildahl]

11/26/2007

Back Squat - 45lbs warmup - 2x5
- 65lbs - 5x5
- Felt very heavy and thought I might stall right from the first set. Three rest days, poor diet and too much beer on the weekend probably all contributed to the difficulty on this.

Bench Press - 45lbs warmup - 2x5
- 60lbs - 5x5
- Starting to feel like work now.

Deadlift - 95lbs - 1x5
- Probably could have done another set like last time as the weight felt light; but my legs were very sore for the last two days so held off.

Chin-Ups - bw - 1x2
- Tried to do raw, still hitting my sticking point, did a couple jumping chin-ups before my grip gave out.

[Mehdi]

Squeeze bar hard on the chin-ups Kendall.

[khildahl]

11/28/2007

Front Squat - 45lbs warmup - 1x7, 1x5
- 55lbs - 5x5
- Not sure what happened on the first warmup set... Mind wandered or something and I suddenly realized I was counting number 7.
- Keeping the elbows up is getting easier. I had been trying to keep my wrists and arms in a straight line before instead of letting my fingers go to the side on an angle.
- Weight felt heavy again, really had to work on the last rep in sets 4 and 5. Increased rest between sets to about 2 minutes.

Overhead Press - 45lbs warmup - 2x5
- 60lbs - 5x5
- Felt very close to stalling, weight was heavy. Form on the last rep suffered a bit. Don't think I could have gutted one more rep out.

Bent-Over Row - 60lbs - 5x5
- Weight is still feeling light
- Not 100% sure about my technique on this; will be reading up on it and watching videos to try and improve it. I'm concerned that when the weight starts getting heavier I might injure my lower back.

Dips - bw - 1x1, 1x2
- Not sure why I was able to get an extra one out... May have just been fatigued on the first one. Tried a third and couldn't do it.

Chin-Ups - bw - 1x2
- Threw in a couple chin-ups as my biceps didn't feel like they'd gotten any work done. Less jumping in them than the previous workout (only a little bit to get my feet off the ground). Tried to do a pull-up after and couldn't.

Overall a good workout (aside from the idiot who decided he was going to start doing sets of push-ups on a stability platform right underneath one end of my bar when I was squatting). I feel like I'm close to stalling on most lifts at this point, but I always seem to get every rep out when I don't think I'm going to.