Log of Training - by Meach

[Meach]

Hello StrongLifts!

Me:
31yo Male, 223lbs/101kg, 6'3"/1.9m

I'm a former swimmer and I used to be pretty active. A few years ago I was in fantastic shape at 170lbs, working out 6+ days/week, including weights, cardio, swimming, water polo...I couldn't get enough.

Then I graduated, got a real job and started putting on the pounds. 50lbs later it's time to get back in shape. Very little of this is vanity; I'm just a happier guy when I'm working out and feeling healthy/active/strong.

Found SL5x5 through a posting on another forum by a SL forum member and here I am.

I'll admit it's embarrassing starting with empty bar, especially when I know I can put up much more weight, but as Mehdi says, "lose the ego."

Day 6

Squats are progressing nicely. I'm being a nazi about form and really trying to get my butt lower than my knees. As a taller guy, should I be going ATG? I don't see how I can do this w/o sending my knees waaaay past my toes and/or rounding my lower back (lest I fall backwards). Watched some of Rippetoe's stuff on youtube and I altered my stance a bit - basically widened it and flared my toes more than I had been doing.

Press is a lot of fun. Can't wait to start putting "real" plates on the ends and pushing it overhead. Squeezing my glutes really helps. Last week a couple college athletes were waiting for me to finish using the squat rack so they could press 225 lbs. I took my 2.5lb plates off and got out of the way (lol @ me).

Deadlift is very unnatural for me. I can't squeeze my back tight and still reach the bar. Again, I'm tall, so I wonder if that has anything to do with it. I'm touching my shins to the bar and doing my best to keep my butt above my knees...but I have to round my shoulders to reach the bar in this position.

Pull-ups are laughably bad. I don't have a ton of upper-body strength and at 220lbs, I'm doing half chin-ups. Well, at least today I got 4 of them, then 2, then 2. Better than last week!

Prone-sit-thingies aren't that cumbersome. I'm doing them right (as far as I know), taking 90secs rest and doing the next one. I'm going to keep bumping down the rest, then start increasing the time (35secs, 40 secs, etc.).

Added 1x12 back extensions to strengthen my lower back. On the next Workout B (Day I'll do 2x12, then 3x12 (Day 10), and then just stay there on B days.

[Leot]

You will find with your squat as the weight goes up you won't have the falling over backwards problem - the heavy weight will balance you out.

ATG is not necessary and indeed generally recommended against, best to go an inch or so below parrallel. Make sure you either video or get someone to watch you as you can feel a lot lower than you are. Don't forget to shove your knees out at all times during the squat.

The deadlift technique is pretty tricky for tall guys I find - I am still getting mine worked out and I have been doing it for 3 months now. You will find that you need to have your upper body in a more flat position than is indicated in a lot of the images, and it sounds like you need to work on hip flexibility.


If you are still concerned about your technique after a couple of weeks take some videos and post them is a great way to get feedback.

[Meach]

Shove my knees out to the sides? I'm doing a good job of that (not too far out, but definitely not buckling in).

I'll keep working on the deadlift...as soon as I get a camera, I'll start posting vids for feedback.

[Leot]

knees out helps you get low without rocking forward, or running into your abdomen.

Obviously, I havnt seen you squat, this is just what came to mind reading your description

[Regus]

Hey man, nice to see you decided to join up. I felt the same way as you about the empty bar, especially in regards to the bench press, but doing it like this forces you to get proper form in the begining so you don't rip yourself in half later on. You don't have to go ass to grass, in Rippetoe's DVD he advocates just breaking parallel, it's not worth going ATG especially if it sacrifices form.

Have you read Starting Strength yet? And definitely video tape yourself, it really does help.

[Meach]

Day 7

Focused on my breathing today w/squats, per Rip:


I'll admit I got impatient w/the bench today...and decided to put on some 45 plates. I figure my form is fine (I've been doing them for years) and I can do 135 no sweat, so why not jump up there and progressively add 5lbs each Workout A? Day 9 will be 5x5 at 140. I'll probably have to deload quicker, but looking at the first 12 weeks, I wouldn't even be at 135 until week 12. We'll see how this goes.

Some dude was using the smith for seated presses, so I had to jump straight to push-ups, which explains why I was at 3x 15, 11, 9. Ye gods.

For inverted row, I'm having a hard time figuring out how wide a grip to have and where my shoulders should be, ie, directly below the bar? A little bit forward (meaning my nipples are directly below the bar)? I'll check some vids/threads on SL and see. I'm also going to start counting these ONLY when I touch the bar (which is pretty much just the first rep right now). It's frustrating b/c the next 3 or so reps are oh-so-close, but I can't touch the bar to my chest. And the first one pretty much only gets there b/c I give myself a little momentum on the first rep. Grrrrr.

Inverse Crunches are starting to get hard as the counter-weight goes down (30lbs today). Another two weeks and I'm going to have to hold at that weight (no way am I ready for no counter-weight yet!).

In other news, I'm trying to figure out my diet. I'm eating pretty decent (no restaurant food), which a solid amt of fruits/veggies (should do more). I'm curious how much protein I should be eating. I don't know what my body fat % is (scale on the way), but it's got to be 20+, so I know a lot of that fat should be turned into muscle as I learn to lift more.

Tons of ppl on here are skinny (like I used to be) and are doing GOMAD or other high-protein loading/bulking. I just want to get strong...do I REALLY need to be eating 220 grams of protein/day? That's essentially 7x single-scope protein shakes (or something like 22 yogurt cups, or 22 cans of tuna).

Call me skeptical...

[Meach]

Hey man, nice to see you decided to join up. I felt the same way as you about the empty bar, especially in regards to the bench press, but doing it like this forces you to get proper form in the begining so you don't rip yourself in half later on. You don't have to go ass to grass, in Rippetoe's DVD he advocates just breaking parallel, it's not worth going ATG especially if it sacrifices form.

Have you read Starting Strength yet? And definitely video tape yourself, it really does help.

Thx for the tip on ATG. I'll continue to make sure I break parallel.

Haven't read Starting Strength yet, but it's on my list of things to get.

[Meach]

Day 8

Squats at 85
Starting to get hard. Really working on holding my breath during each set.

Press at 60
These are just tons of fun.

Deadlift at 135
Nice to finally get real plates on the ends. One thing that's weird is my gym has these octagonally-shaped weights, which is nice since weights won't roll...but also means I can't set them down perfectly on the DL. Should I be setting them down and then re-set my position between each rep? Or can I take them all the way down to where I just barely tap the floor and back up? Hrm...

Chin-ups at 0
Still can't get one. Probably 3-4 inches away. lol

3x30sec prone
75 secs rest b/w each one. Day 10 will be 60 secs rest.

Hyperextensions
2x12

20min in the sauna as reward.

[Meach]

Day 9

Squats at 5x90
Sweated a lot (wearing long-sleeve wick-dry and sweat pants). Slight twinge (very, very faint) in left knee during one rep. Form is good. Weird.

Although I do find that I am wanting to naturally come forward at the bottom of my squat. I'm not rounding my lower or upper back, it's just that to get no-doubt-about-it-my-hips-are-100%-below-parallel-with-my-knees my torso moves forward a bit. Wonder if this is ok?

Bench at 5x140
Fun.

Inverted Row 3x 1, 0, 0
Ok. I give up on trying to get 1rep chest-to-bar. So these are now with bended knee, fee flat on floor. Grrr...

Push-ups 3x 19, 10, 8
Making progress. Soooo close to 20 on the first set. Going to failure is fun.

Skipped reverse crunches b/c it was getting dark out and I rode my bike to the gym. Will do them tomorrow at my house.

[Meach]

Forgot to add:

Seen at gym.
Kid doing 275lb half-squats, head pointed at ceiling and leading w/chest. We'll see where I'm at in 6mo doing the real thing.

[Leot]

It's natural in the squat that your body leans forward quite a lot - this is to balance your weight out. It won't happen quite so much as the weight gets heavier. One thing to watchout for though is your knees rocking forward as you thrust up.

[Regus]

Hey Meach,

I've decided to add swimming to my training, I'll be doing it twice a week. I am an absolute beginner, I had a friend who is a long time swimmer give me some advice on stroke and kicking, etc. Do you have any advice for a beginner? I especially need help with proper breathing techniques.

[mattmoran]

Day 8
Starting to get hard. Really working on holding my breath during each set.

I have to admit I didn't watch the whole Rip video you posted. But surely this can't be right. You hold your breath for the entire set?

[Meach]

It's natural in the squat that your body leans forward quite a lot - this is to balance your weight out. It won't happen quite so much as the weight gets heavier. One thing to watchout for though is your knees rocking forward as you thrust up.

I'll watch my knees. Thx for the tip!

[Meach]

Hey Meach,

I've decided to add swimming to my training, I'll be doing it twice a week. I am an absolute beginner, I had a friend who is a long time swimmer give me some advice on stroke and kicking, etc. Do you have any advice for a beginner? I especially need help with proper breathing techniques.

Very briefly (I'll be back w/more later this weekend):

What do you mean by beginner (ie, how much can you swim? which strokes do you know? do you know how to do a flip turn?)?

Just like SL, technique (form) is king. If you're a beginner, stick w/breathing to one side for now.
Here's a good instructional video which pretty much says everything I would write, but there's pictures showing you what I mean (don't worry about breathing on both sides, and don't sweat the tips on "swimming faster"; right now, just get your technique right):


Use a kickboard to practice your kicking. It's good for your legs and really good for your core.

I'm a former coach, so if you'd like more tips, just ask.