Maslow Monumentals

[Maslow]

In keeping with Medhi's style, I'll keep this log brief and purposeful, always.

BACKGROUND:
I am 22 and live in the United States. I have been an athlete to some degree my whole life. I played sports as a kid, began doing some weight lifting in high school and continued through college.

In the past, a typical weight lifting program went as follows:
Return to the gym after a couple months off, angry with myself for slacking.
Do some form of HIIT for about 6 months, pleateau, slack off again, repeat.

I've never been fat or looked out of shape, but I've never been the kind of guy that looks like he's really fit.

When I joined a new gym about 9 months ago, I was provided an initial consultation with a trainer. When asked, I told him my goals are "Overall, I just want to be very healthy. I don't want to do anything that will compromise my long-term health and wellness. I don't want to look like some super-insecure guy who spends way too much time moving between the gym and his bathroom mirror; however, I DO want to be the kind of guy who after one look you know you don't want to F with."

I think this is a realistic goal.

My best lifts have always been chest-oriented exercises. This is in part because I have a tendency to always take it easy on leg exercises. When I was 15 I injured my right knee in a skiing crash. I have decided to give the squats a real try now, however, and haven't been having any problems.

STARTING STATISTICS:
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 162 lbs.
Began Program: March 20, 2009.

FIRST SESSIONS WEIGHTS (all 5x5):
Squat: 65 lbs.
Bench: 140 lbs.
Deadlift: 130 lbs.
Overhead: 60 lbs.
--I didn't keep track of my reps on the body weight exercises at first

MOST RECENT SESSIONS WEIGHTS: April 24/27, 2009
Bodyweight: 168 lbs.
Squat: 155 lbs.
Bench: 190 lbs.
Deadlift: 200 lbs.
Overhead Press: 100 lbs.
Rows: 40 (last time I added 10 lb. plate in a backpack and completed 24)
Pullups: 22
Pushups: 79

I'm doing all of these exactly according to the program. This means 1 minute in between sets, etc.



PROBLEMS:
I failed/stalled on overhead press at 100 pounds on April 10 (workout 11), on the last set. I failed on it three more times, and was about to deload, but then I read about waiting a little longer between sets. I tried waiting 2.5 minutes between sets and was able to complete the 5x5 with 100, so I'm going to try moving up to 105 tomorrow.

My legs are more or less permanently sore. I was doing OK after the initial shock of the first week, but in the past three weeks or so I just haven't been recovering as well. I'm eating a solid diet, every three hours with lots of protein, but I'm concerned I'll soon fail on squats as well. When this happens I'll just deload and continue, but man, progress is so much more fun!

The major problem I have, for which I have no solution, is not sleeping enough. Including commuting time, I work on average 11 hours/day. So on the days I work out I leave the house around 7:30 a.m. and Generally don't get home until close to 9 p.m. It's rough. And if I go out with friends or ladies, it really just sets me back. That said, I've still not missed a single workout, and I'm very proud of that fact.

FORECAST:
I doubt I'll post on here every workout, but I will update my progress once there are some legitimate developments. I am concerned about form and have been gettign some tightness in my hips and knees. I'm using a foam roller and some stretching routines to attempt to overcome this. I am going to have a friend take a video of me so that I can post it for form evaluation. I'd really appreciate any and all feedback.

Thank you.

[herf]

I've never been fat or looked out of shape, but I've never been the kind of guy that looks like he's really fit.

Bulk up first, then try to lose the fat. (I know you said you didn't look fat, but maybe skinny fat?) You will look more fit.

My legs are more or less permanently sore. I was doing OK after the initial shock of the first week, but in the past three weeks or so I just haven't been recovering as well. I'm eating a solid diet, every three hours with lots of protein, but I'm concerned I'll soon fail on squats as well. When this happens I'll just deload and continue, but man, progress is so much more fun!

I take about 5g of L-glutamine daily for muscle soreness. Keep foam rolling also, many people swear by that. Your legs are also not used to being worked so hard in squats, judging by the weights you use. It should get better in time.

Looking forward to the vids! Especially with that knee injury, keeping good form is really important.

Oh, and welcome to the forums and logs!

[Maslow]

Herf,

Thanks very much for the comments. I'll look in to L-glutamine. Body fat is not an issue. I actually meant to include that in my stats. My gym has a hand held device I can use to measure my body fat. When I started stronglifts I was at 14%. I checked a couple weeks ago and I was down to 12%.

Anyways, I'm going to hopefully take a video today. It violates my gym rules, but sometimes rules are meant to be broken!

Best,

Maslow

[Maslow]

Please evaluate my form and technique. All comments welcome and encouraged. Thank you.

Squat: 165 lbs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsmHcZEx67I

Overhead Press: 105 lbs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI7Jvg_2pzM

Dead Lift: 205 lbs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PuU3Rm_oEI

These were all Personal Records, as I have stuck to the program of increasing my weight by 5 lbs. each workout. I'm not sure if this fact could have harmed my form.

Best,

Maslow

[Maslow]

Bump.

[Maslow]

Note: I deloaded on squats after nearly stalling at 185. I maybe could have squeezed out 190 the next session but my legs were really running into fatigue problems, the prospect of having weights crash down was frightening, and I had to take a week off anyway for a vacation. While on vacation I still exercised every other day, but it was just running, squat thrusts, pushups, pullups, etc.

I also deloaded on overhead after running into fatigue problems.

I also deloaded on bench because of the time off. I was at 205--I'll get back there quickly.

MOST RECENT SESSIONS WEIGHTS: May 29/June 1, 2009
Bodyweight: 171 lbs.
Squat: 175 lbs.
Bench: 190 lbs.
Deadlift: 225 lbs.
Overhead Press: 95 lbs.

In two weeks I will have completed 3 solid months of stronglifts. I'm not up to 1.5x bodyweight squats yet, so I suppose I'll keep on with this program until I get there. It's frankly difficult to imagine that happening because the weight feels really heavy now, but then again I never thought I'd make it this far either!

Medhi was right--after about two months people really started asking what I've been up to, and it's not like I wasn't working out at all before either. My clothes also are getting tight, especially underwear and shirts. I should go shopping!

[Maslow]

http://www.snapdrive.net/files/603275/s ... 9.2009.JPG

My chart so far.

[Maslow]

I'm still progressing. I'm going to hit a major monumental Monday: 250 lb. deadlift. HUGE!

Well, at least I hope so. I did 245 yesterday. I didn't really have a problem lifting it but holding on to the bar was iffy towards rep 4 and 5. I think it took a lot out of me. My vision was blurring afterwards and I had to sit down and catch my breath. I focus on breathing well while lifting but with this level of weight I feel like all of my oxygen gets used up. This fatigue was reflected in my pull ups--I did two less than the previous session.


MOST RECENT SESSIONS WEIGHTS: June 16/18, 2009
Bodyweight: 173 lbs.
Squat: 185 lbs (recently deloaded from peak of 200)
Bench: 205 (recently deloaded, this was my previous peak)
Deadlift: 245 lbs.
Overhead Press: 110 lbs. (recently deloaded, this was my previous peak)

My new goals are:
Bench: 250 5x5
Squat: 250 5x5 (going to be very difficult)
Overhead Press: 135 lbs. 5x5
Deadlift: 300 1x5
Chinups: 40 over 3 sets
Rows: 60 over 3 sets

Upon reaching these goals or plateauing, whichever comes first, I'm going to switch to the advanced program.

I'll post another video soon. I ordered a fat caliper but it sucks. I can't get that plastic piece of crap to provide a consistent or accurate reading. If you're thinking of ordering one and find the ~$10 online, don't get it. It doesn't work.

I'm still getting consistently sore in my legs, especially after deadlift days. I've noticed my dress shirts no longer fit very well. I think my shoulders have gotten wider, which makes the sleeves not quite reach the base of my hands anymore. I also had to buy new underwear and some of my suits aren't fitting right either.

This is all good news, even though replacing dress shirts isn't cheap!

I'm also getting a good amount of mild soreness in my chest.

Eating More is the key. I have little notes all over the place reminding me to eat more.

SLEEP is the real difference maker, however. Unfortunately I can never manage to get more than 7 a night during the week. It's just not possible with my work schedule. On nights I lift I get home at 830 and have to leave the house at 730 the following morning.

I've also found stretching on off days is crucial, especially to prevent stiffness in hips. Foam roller after warmup sets also helps. I may start using a tennis/lacrosse ball on the off days for recovery also.

Comments welcome!

Best,

Maslow

[Maslow]

The past few months have been personally very busy for me. Things like searching for and then moving to a new apartment, vacations and having to work extra late for a few weeks threw me off the program a little bit. I didn't quit going or anything, I just haven't been as regular. As a result my progress has slowed slightly, but I think I was getting close to a wall anyway.

Even though I haven't been able to add as much weight to the bar recently because of the inconsistency the past 6 weeks or so, I do notice that I'm still stronger overall. Like when I step back with the barbell on my shoulders to do squats I don't feel like I'm going to tip over or something because my core can easily balance the weight now.

I've been reading around today and it seems a lot of people have the same question as me: I've been doing the program for 22 weeks now. My legs and core have gotten so much stronger and so much bigger, but my arms are lagging behind.

I know this is about getting strong. That's what I want. I also want my arms to be a little bigger though. As I wrote back in April, my goal is to be "[...] the kind of guy who after one look you know you don't want to F with."

Friends and family have definitely noticed that I've been up to something, but like I said, my arms are still lagging behind in size and strength. What should I do? Is it time to get an x-vest? Should I add some sort of curls?

Latest stats:
Bodyweight: 175 lbs.
Squat: 205
Bench: 205
Deadlift: 235
Overhead Press: 100

I'm all settled now. I've done six regularly-scheduled sessions now and am back in the swing. I expect to be able to add more to the bar soon!

[Maslow]

I took some videos on Saturday. Please evaluate my form and technique.

I already asked a friend who is a very knowledgeable trainer and he gave me the tips I've posed as captions. I have put is advice in italics.

I'm going to work on all of those items. Any feed back is very much appreciated!

Deadlift 245:

Deadlift looks great, keep your ass down at the beginning of the lift. This is a common mistake once the legs/hips become fatigued, and the back takes over, making it seem like you are doing a Romanian/straight leg deadlift, rather than conventional. Also, you must keep everything tight! Tight! Check out your arms. Look at the slack and how loose they are before you pull. Great way to rip off your bicep tendon. Let your legs push up the weight, don't pull it up with your arms. Lock those elbows. The bar should start to levitate off the floor even before it moves. That's how tight you should be, with everything on your heels, firing them into the floor as you stand up. Are you taking a big breath and holding it BEFORE you begin the pull?

Squat:

Squat is great, just see if you can get deeper. And bring the bar way lower on your back. This puts it further towards your ass, so the weight is distributed better and closer to the strongest muscles of your body that are moving it. It should be on the shelf of your traps and rear delts. Bring your grip in, it will feel tighter. Again, big breath in before you descend. Always keeping as tight as possible.

Overhead Press: 7dEqPr9BFqg

Overhead press is a strict military. That leg drive that you are adding turns it into a push press. Bring your grip WAY in. Your poundages will go up and your shoulders will thank me in a few years. Your hands should be just outside your shoulders. Lastly, jut your head forward as soon as the bar clears your head. This forces the bar over your center of gravity as soon as possible, giving you the most stability.

The reason I was using my legs a bit in order to get the bar up on OHP is that I just went up to 105 and was struggling to get it up otherwise. Should I have waited to increased the weight? I hadn't increased it in two weeks.

I'm trying to eat more.

Latest Stats:
Bodyweight: 172 lbs.
Squat: 210
Bench: 210
Deadlift: 245
Overhead Press: 105

[eLvarouza]

I commented about your press in the other thread. Also, your squat is pretty high. You need to bring it a lot lower. Put the bar lower and get your knees shoved out.

[Maslow]

Thanks! I'll work on correcting those things right away.

[Maslow]

Since my last update some things have changed due to injuries and setbacks.

I've experienced dull, chronic pain in my lower back for several years. Sometimes the pain shoots down my leg. I finally saw my doctor about it a few months ago. It turns out my spine is a little crooked at the bottom. It pinches my sciadic nerve. I started stretching more and seeing a chiropractor. While seeing the chiropractor I couldn't lift heavy squats, so I lost a lot of progress. The adjustments made my back sore in a way I'd never felt before. Lifting some days was not an option.

But eventually my health insurance ran out and I can't afford to pay for the treatments ($50 or more twice a week), so I'm back on track with the lifting.

I've been really focused on improving my flexibility and form. I'm not going to push it on heavy squats any more. I think it was contributing to back pain. The same goes for dead lifts. I still want to keep doing them and getting stronger, but I'm going to increase the weight much slower from now on.

Since I couldn't do squats while seeing the chiropractor, I tried cycling (aka spinning) classes at my gym. They seem helpful. I'm going to try to get really cut over the next few months, so adding some cardio in will be useful.

I'm also currently trying out the "paleo diet." I've basically just cut out grains, potatoes, beans and dairy. It's easier than you might think. So far so good.

Current set lifts:

squat 5x5 135
overhead press: 5x5 85
deadlift: 1x5 135
bench: 5x5 205

Goals:
Be able to touch toes with legs straight every day (seriously, I've never been able to do this and it's shameful)
Be able to run a 5k in 24 minutes (I'm close)
Bench 250 for 1RM (I'm close)
Steadily work myself to squatting 200 with really perfect, slow form without causing any knee cracking the next day (this will take a while)


Best,

Maslow

[Maslow]

I'm still doing my best to stick to the paleo diet.

It's very expensive though. I used to get a lot of my cheaper calories from rice and whole grain bread. It's even worse during the winter due to the price of fresh produce.

For financial reasons I broke from the diet for a week, but after a pay day I'm back on it.

I took pictures the first day I started the diet and after two weeks. There was a legitimately noticeable loss of body fat. I gained strength on my lifts during this time though. I've also generally felt great. I don't even think about taking lunch breaks. The key is to eat a ton of walnuts and pecans.

I discovered that nuts are only $3/pound at Costco, compared with $6-8/pound at the regular grocery stores. Lesson learned. I'll post some pictures eventually once I get a better contrast.

[Maslow]

I joined Fitday yesterday. I'll post some screen shots of what I've been eating once I get some more data inputted. I'm having trouble gaining weight, so hopefully this well help me identify my issues.

I'm still dealing with the nagging lower back pain due to the bent spine problem. I'm going to be more serious about stretching and other side work like hip and ankle mobility. I just discovered Medhi's advice for decompressing the spine: hanging from the arms. Wow. I can't believe I was paying the damn chiropractor! Hanging there works so much better than the stupid machine he put me on.

My girlfriend is staring on P90x today. Since she's going to be aon a 90-day track, I'm going to set some TBD fitness goals for 3 months from now. Details to come.