Maroon's training log - take two

[maroon]

After two months of rest due to injury I have recently gotten back to the gym now 3 days a week to do some basic compounds with unchallenging weights to see where I stand. It's been good with no troubles.

I have decided to start back on SL 5x5 and I'm dropping my starting weights back to basics; following the program. I also have the spreadsheet sorted now, and that will help me keep track of things!

This time I am putting emphasis on warm ups and making sure they are not skipped under any circumstance. I am also doing shoulder dislocations after each workout as well as some squat stretches to work my flexibility and ensure this will not become a problem as the weight increases.

While injured I have spent considerate amounts of time doing more research on form; focusing on the big lifts. Squat, deadlift, ohp and bench.
I noticed I had done some things slightly wrong, and I am happy to have identified it so that it can be corrected. Riptoe's videos on youtbue have helped me here.

My basic stats:
Height: 194cm
Weight: 87 kg (I went up several kg during my last go at SL, and have mostly maintained)
Bf: N/A

Diet:
I will post information on this once I get decided on a routine I know I can maintain over time. However i mostly eat clean healthy foods. Esp. fond of chicken breast.

Today march 16th was my workout #1, workout A:

mo
16/03/209

SQUAT
5x5
40 kg

Bench Press
5x5
40 kg

Inverted Row
3xF (10 x 5 x 3)

Push-ups
3xF (15 x 10 x 6)

Reverse Crunch
3x12

All workouts completed with good form. Needless to say it was not very taxing at this stage; I am therefore doing 15 mins on treadmill before stretches post-workout until the lifts get heavier.

[maroon]

Set Goals
- Get much stronger.
- Get heavier. I am 194cm tall; I'd like to be well into the 90s (kg) without adding much fat at all
- Get stronger
- Get stronger

First targets (directly from spreadsheet):
5x5 (kg)
Squat 87
Deadlift 130.5
Bench Press 65.25
Overhead Press 43.5

I will reassess further targets once I have the above injure-free.

Make a plan
- SL 5x5; starting on 40kg as I have the technique down now plus I am still quite a bit stronger than when I started it first time around.

Take Action
- Oh yeah!!

[maroon]

Wednesday 18th March - Workout B

SQUAT
5x5
42.5 kg

Overhead press
5x5
25 kg

Deadlift
1x5
60kg (Due to bar height. Staying at 60kg until program says otherwise.)

Pull-ups
3xF (4 x 3 x 2)

Prone Bridges
3x30sec

Worked 8.30am - 7.30pm today. Leading a project at work; and so I am putting in a few hours extra some days early on to ensure delivery on time.

Pretty exhausted today but once I got to the gym it was ok. Was pretty efficient in there and was my fastest and probably most correct workout ever form wise.

However the food was not good today. I have not eaten enough. I am cooking 2xchicken breast + 2 portions of rice now, and will drink a litre of milk. 2x mackrell sandwiches before bed. However I need to sharpen up with eating @ work.

[maroon]

Saturday 21st March - Workout A

SQUAT
5x5
45kg

Bench Press
5x5
42.5

Inverted Row
3xF (8 x 5 x 4)

Push-ups
3xF (15 x 10 x 8 )

Reverse Crunch
3x12

[maroon]

Monday 23rd March 2009 - Workout B

SQUAT
5x5
47.5 kg

Overhead press
5x5
27.5 kg

Deadlift
1x5
60 kg

Chin-ups
3xF (5 x 4 x 3)

Prone Bridges
3x30sec

Extremely busy week + weekend (had visit) but I have managed to keep up with the program and not missed workouts.

All good so far Squats are nice and deep and feel good. I should get my exercises filmed for form-check while my weights are still at this level. However there is nowhere in the gym to place a camera, so I'm unsure of how to do it. Perhaps ask somebody nicely if they have time to help me out.

[maroon]

Wednesday 25th March - Workout A


SQUAT
5x5
50 kg

Bench Press
5x5
45 kg

Inverted Row
3xF (8 x 6 x 4)

Push-ups
3xF (18 x 10 x 7)

Reverse Crunch
3x12

Going well. Did not take long breaks on Inverted row, push ups and reverse crunch; yet still did as good as or better than before.

I feel my body changing for the better, which is great. My neck has not troubled me yet, and I am hoping that the steady increase in weights combined with daily stretches will mean I can keep at it.

[maroon]

Saturday 28th march - workout B

SQUAT
5x5
52.5 kg

Overhead press
5x5
30 kg (5 x 5 x 5 x 2 x 3) .. grr.. will be 30kg again next time. Think its psychological or perhaps lack of proper rest. Fourth set had me by the balls.

Deadlift
1x5
60kg

Pull-ups
3xF (5 x 3 x 2)

Prone Bridges
3x30sec

Squats = pretty awesome. Feel I am starting to get the hip drive properly.
Overhead press = well... This is my weakest lift by far. Hoping that I will be pushing 30kg 5x5 next attempt.
Deadlift = Better and better. Focusing on form as I am sticking at 60kg at the moment. Feels like I can go quite a lot heavier, but I won't until my spreadsheet says so.
Pull-ups = Feel pretty exhausted by this point. The deep squats and deadlift drain me pretty good when i've been out the night before.
Prone bridges = Gets easier and easier. Still; last set is pretty tough.

Concerned with press already getting to me; my dream is to press 60kg which is double of what I am already stalling on. Possible to get there? My goal is to increase my bodyweight quite a bit, and then become pretty damn strong for that bw. I'm thinking about 100kg +/- b/w over time. Last time i weighed myself i was about 86/87kg, but this was some time ago now.

[Leot]

Good job getting back into lifting

Don't worry about having trouble at 30kg OHP, this lift is an absolute killer. I have been grinding my way up the 30's and I am just about to get my second crack at 37.5kg after deloading. It's extremely tough but 60kg is definately achievable. Rest is crucial on this one (I take a few minutes between each set) and also going at a reasonable pace during the set - if you are slow on the reps you will tire too quickly and be unable to finish. Don't forget to take a BIG breath (and hold) between each rep.

You will definately be able to deadlift a lot more than that, if you are comfortable with 60 there is no reason to not increase the weight. Perhaps go up in increments of 2.5kg until the program catches up? The most important thing to get worked out is the form, us tall guys have trouble here I feel, although lifting 80-100kg relatively quickly doesn't seem a problem.

[maroon]

Good job getting back into lifting

Don't worry about having trouble at 30kg OHP, this lift is an absolute killer. I have been grinding my way up the 30's and I am just about to get my second crack at 37.5kg after deloading. It's extremely tough but 60kg is definately achievable. Rest is crucial on this one (I take a few minutes between each set) and also going at a reasonable pace during the set - if you are slow on the reps you will tire too quickly and be unable to finish. Don't forget to take a BIG breath (and hold) between each rep.

You will definately be able to deadlift a lot more than that, if you are comfortable with 60 there is no reason to not increase the weight. Perhaps go up in increments of 2.5kg until the program catches up? The most important thing to get worked out is the form, us tall guys have trouble here I feel, although lifting 80-100kg relatively quickly doesn't seem a problem.

Hey, thanks

Sounds like good advice. I do think I am way to slow on the OHP descent actually. Never really gave that much thought. My mind has been so focused on keeping my glutes tight and making sure i dont hyperextend (or lose balance) that I could actually be lowering the weight back down much slower than needed.

When I attack the 30kg again on OHP this wednesday I will keep that in mind to avoid wasting energy.

Another thing; keeping the elbows on other side of the bar in starting position feels a bit unnatural to me. I notice that as I get more tired my elbows tend to sneak back right under the bar. This was not a problem at the lighter weights when properly rested.

[Metalpetrucci88]

Good stuff Maroon,

Sorry to hear about your injuries. But it is a wise choice after a 2 month recovery to go back to the basics. You will make big improvements in only a month so hang in there. Ditto to what Leot said. Take a big breath at the top of the movement, and as soon as the bar touches that chest, explode up.

If you can definitely ask someone to film you at the gym, who knows, you may get a great training partner out of it. I cannot emphasize how much help filming the lifts are for learning how to fix the major/little quirks with my technique. So much help on the forum here has made me realize things I never would have noticed, and permanently fixing the problems.

You are off to a great start. Keep logging in your workouts, I'll be sure to check them out. Keep strong

[maroon]

Getting my eating sorted. I want to get stronger and heavier so no way out
Besides i love food so bring it on!

I do not care to much about the carbs; at least not until i get over 94kg bodyweight. I think my metabolism is reasonably insane so it will be hard enough to gain no matter what.

My meals today:

Will do my best to log meals using fitday, however I am sceptical on the time consumption. Heh. But will try since it will help me keep track of diet.

Breakfast:
4 x brown bread slices. Medium
1x can of tuna in water; drained (120g spread on two slices of bread).
Chunky peanut butter on the two other slices
2 glasses of whole milk
2 cups of black coffee

Lunch:
4 x brown bread slices. Medium
1x can of tinned mackerel in tomato sauce. Works out to 119g of mackerel fillet. I assume the tomato sauce (30% of tin) is mostly some carbs but not added it to fitday. Spread over two slices of bread.
Chunky peanut butter on the two other slices
1 glass of whole milk
2 cups of black coffee

Snack:
1x Banana
1x Banana yoghurt with mousli

Dinner
2x Chicken breast fillet with some garlic and lemon spices. Fried. No skin
3x Large tortilla wraps for the chicken
Some mexican sauce to go in the wraps. Medium. Not enough for it to be worth logging. About 1 small teaspoon per wrap.

Before bed:
1x Brown bread slice with chunky peanut butter
1x Glass whole milk

Overall the milk adds to about 1 litre a day. Whole milk only.

According to fitday, this adds up to:



Seems pretty high in carbs. Also, i think the "bread" on fitday may be worse than the actual bread I eat.

Thoughts on this food? Any specifics I should change?

[Metalpetrucci88]

If it's hard to gain weight for you, I wouldn't worry about the carbs. However if you are in dire need to gain weight. Look up the GOMAD diet (gallon of milk a day). I put on about 25 pounds in 4 months with it. Bluestreak went up 25 pounds in 25 days on it. If your strapped for time a liter of whole milk on the go is about 600 calories, so it works great. Otherwise if these meals seem to hard to digest put a 6th meal in there so it's spaced out more.

Be careful of what bread you choose too. Just because it is whole wheat doesn't mean it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup. Pumpernickel, Ezekiel, dark German whole wheat are all great. The more whole foods here the better, but if your in a snag, like I said a liter of whole milk. A big full of mixed nuts and raisins are great to take with you if you don't have access to cook the food. Diet looks pretty good for weight gain, but another snack of something in there would be good just to make it 6 meals.

[maroon]

Thanks for your advice again Justin.

My main target is to ensure I get enough protein + calories in me to allow maximum muscle + strength development to go along with my 5x5 lifts. I assume about 3.5k cals is allright as long as the protein need is covered too.

Other than my lifting I am pretty sedentary. Office job...

I use public transport to and from work. ~6 minute walk to the stop from my flat. Other than that I just move around when I need to, I'm not doing any other sports at the moment.

In the summer I do xc / mountainbiking. Not at a competitive level so I am not overly concerned about the weight gains here, I believe the strength and power will make up for it anyhow.

I forgot to mention that I try to drink as much water as possible (but not enough really, will try to improve) - and that i take multivitamins with omega 3.

I am not to concerned about body fat as I can shake that off again pretty fast as soon as I start some running/cycling again this summer. I'll see what I do regards to Stronglifts when I take up cycling actively, but my plan is to cycle actively and keep lifting 2-3 times a week to at least maintain my strength.
At this point it's just as well that my food intake is at bulking levels I think...

[bluestreak]

Gday mate. I noticed your post in Vlad's log about height & bodyweight, thought I'd put in my 2 cents.

I'm 195 cms and was about 89 kg when I started SL and it wasn't enough. As of the weekend, I'm 103.8 kg. I don't know about the bodyfat (my caliper is on loan to a friend) but I suspect it's around 15%. Nothing to worry about. So to answer your question, I'd aim for 100+ kg if I were you.

I too have a sedentary job. I work from home so I don't even get the benefit of commuting. At least I have access to my fridge/kitchen.

I think my metabolism is reasonably insane so it will be hard enough to gain no matter what.

Sorry, I don't agree with that. All us skinny guys think this but the reality is we don't eat enough.

I'd argue at 3600 kcals is what you diet should be as maintenance, assuming you keep lifting. Remember, you're bigger then the average person. If you want to gain weight and put on muscle, you need to eat more. I measured my intake yesterday (I haven't for a long time) and it was in the 6000 kcal mark. Check out my log - there's some videos. I'm not huge.

Good idea to track your diet. After a few months, you'll understand the nutritional content of food and have a good feel for how much you're eating. Just remember to keep it up - especially once the lifts get to that insanely-heavy stage.

BTW, where's the red meat, fruit and veg? And if you're trying to gain weight, eat the chicken skin. Lots of good info from Justin.

If you're into mountain biking, you'll easily be able to burn off that fat when the time comes (that is, if you have much).

Sorry for my rambling post. I'm glad to see there are more tall guys around. Let's prove to everyone here that it's not just the short guys that can lift heavy!

[maroon]

Monday 30th March - Workout A

SQUAT
5x5
55 kg

Bench Press
5x5
47.5 kg

Inverted Row
3xF (10 x 8 x 5)


Push-ups
3xF (15 x 15 x 10)


Reverse Crunch
3x12

Newsflash:
Got myself some lifting shoes, so no more jiggly jiggly in the squat rack. Felt unusual but this will prove to make an amazing difference over time. I used some indoor asics before (with gel). This is good timing since my squat is approaching the bigger plates now

My workout today:
Warmup 8 minutes on cross trainer machine thingy. So boring. Will keep doing it since I don't want another neck situation.
Shoulder dislocations. Lots. Squat stretches. Trying to get a bit familiar balancing in the new shoes.

Squats = felt pretty heavy, but I am quite sure I improved my form. Hips going back first. Was easier with the new shoes.
Did warmups with 5x20kg, 5x30kg, 5x40kg.
Need to get myself filmed. Feels like I can go quite a lot heavier strength wise.

Benchpress = this was a breeze today. Not sure what happened here. Maybe it's because I have actually managed to eat properly past few days. Promising.

Inverted rows = doing these without my feet elevated. Heels on floor. Only counts if chest touches the bar. I feel a lot more power on these now, still not pleased with the numbers on last set but they are getting better overall thats the most important thing.

Push ups = felt pretty good. Last set was a bit rough. Felt that I was alive and kickin'. Hoping to go for 15 x 15 x 15 soon. Then I can maybe add some weights after a couple of more weeks since 15 rep's isn't really hitting the strength portion, which is what I want.

Reverse crunch = Same old. Last set is bitter due to the previous squats.


I will post my food numbers when they are ready later.

Bluestreak, thanks for your constructive post. I believe you are correct. I've just been brainwashed by friends and family always asking why I'm not fat. I guess they just don't know enough about eating I need to stop fooling myself about the metabolism and just eat like a monster.

I will try to keep a diet pushing over 4000 then for starters. Today is steak day!
6000 is a great effort, and I hope to be up here myself some day. As my lifts get bigger this is what I want to be eating too.

I have looked at your progress and I am inspired to see fellow tall guys shifting decent weights and making good ground.

I can't believe how scrawny I must have been. Wasn't that long ago I was around 76kg at my height...