nickh's training progress

[nickh]

Signed up for a years membership at the gym, my goal for now is to gain 15 lbs, build strength and hopefully add definition. I’m new to weightlifting and will be starting with Stronglifts 5×5 routine. I am a bit concerned how my first workout will go as I have never done some of the exercises at all, I’m certain I won’t be able to do 1 pull-up yet alone 5.

Stats: 26, 115lbs, 5'4
Goal: Gain 15lbs and cut in 1 year

[nickh]

Started training today, I loved the gym equipment and the staff, alot better than my previous one. I did all sets and reps (5×5) of squats, bench press, row and dips. Squats, started off with just the bar using a smith but was too light so i added 50kg, could possibly add more and use free weights instead of smith. bench pressed, bar could possibly add more weight, will try 5lbs on each side next time so i don’t hurt myself or drop the bar. On the row I’m not sure if i have the proper technique, must work on that, could possibly add more weight also, 10lbs each side. Dips were especially hard, of the 3xF I did about 12-3-1… lol. I feel great though, I eat fairly well today too. Drank the syntha-6 moca flavor supplement for the first time, it wasn’t bad and didn’t seem to upset my stomach. Took a short nap this afternoon also and had a great dinner, salmon, veggies and rice with apple juice. for breakfast I had skim milk and cherios, lunch i had a roast chicken sandwich, wholewheat no mayo. had another homemade sandwich about 3 hours later.

Tomorrow is suppose to be a day off but I may go do some light cardio or play some basketball as I haven’t felt this great in a long time. I think ill also do situps on offdays.

[nickh]

Day off today, did not do any cardio but did 100 crunches tonite. I have to find out what my bodyfat percentage is. I am very skinny but cant seem to get rid of a little chubbiness in my stomach area. uncertain if to do more cardio or less since it would interfere with my weightlifting? tomorrow is day 2 of the 5x5 program. squats, overhead press, dead lift and pull-ups.
I plan on going before work so I have to get up at 5am!

breakfast - skim milk/cherios + slice of whole wheat and strawberry jam, also had protein shake in the morning
lunch - chicken breast on white bun with lettuce, tomatoes and mayo. bagel with butter
dinner - whole wheat chicken sandwich

[ukdudeinuk]

Don't do situps, they mess with your hip flexors, which you need to be in prime shape for squats. Look up reverse crunches on the blog.

Use free weights for squats, they're healthier and build more muscle anyway. Smith machine squats can be dangerous, they force your body into unnatural path of movement. Make sure to start with the bar on everything, except maybe the deadlifts where I (and Mark Rippetoe) say that 90 pounds is good, just bump that to 95 and use the 25 pound plates so you can get some height and perform decent deadlifts.

[mjh]

Use free weights for squats, they're healthier and build more muscle anyway. Smith machine squats can be dangerous, they force your body into unnatural path of movement. Make sure to start with the bar on everything, except maybe the deadlifts

seconded. The smith machine is less efficient and more dangerous than a barbell. If there is no squat rack in your gym you can do front squats. Focus on form above all else. Read all of the articles on stronglifts.com and read Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe, if you can get your hands on a copy.

Welcome to the forum. Please keep up the log and share your progress with us.

[nickh]

DAY 2, WEEK 1

Changed to free weights for squats, and successfully completed all 5 sets with 50lbs(25lbs each side) of plates, not sure how much the bar weighs. Gym staff said 50? can't be right. It just doesn't feel like I'm doing anything with any less. I feel a slight soreness at the sides of my knee area and hamstrings/quads but no potty flops yet. Completed all 5 sets of overhead press with just the bar but felt the burn on the last set. My upper body is definitely weak. I did the dead lifts but I'm not sure I used the right weight i was supposed to. It doesn't help that the gym has some plates in kg and some in lbs. I used the bar plus two 10lbs plates on each side so it didn't rest on the floor at mid-shin level as it was suppose to. I don't think I had the right form as I didn't feel anything at ALL and 5 just seemed like too little, perhaps I need more weight. I feel a slight tightness in my lower back also. I'm not sure if that was from the squats or the dead lift so I'll see how I feel tomorrow. Pull-ups went better than expected as I thought I wouldn't be able to do any. I was a bit hesitant to do them as I didn't want to make a fool of myself(lol) but I completed it with 7-4-5 on the 3xF.

I worked out before work today and it was absolutely energizing. I usually go to work feeling slow and miserable but with breakfast+workout and protein shake I feel so great at the start of the day and throughout the day I feel like going every morning.

Breakfast - skim milk and shreddies(whole wheat) and protein shake after workout
Brunch - usually don't have anything but man was I HUNGRY, it seems like I am becoming hungrier throughout the day so I'll have to buy some snacks to take to work. I ended up having a bacon breakfast sandwich from Tim Hortons which is apparently the worst thing on the menu nutrition wise as its smaller than the palm of your hand but clocks in at almost 600 calories.
Lunch - Tuna on whole wheat with mayo, lettuce and tomatoes
Dinner - Ate a nature bar before dinner and then made some mash potatoes and pollock, probably a bit more than I usually ate, 2 servings and 4 fishes but man was I hungry.

I weighed myself this morning after using the washroom and was 114.9, down 1 lb but I feel heavier which is weird.

So for the next workout I need to focus on correct technique and weights. I wish I could video myself so I could see what if anything I'm doing wrong. Will study videos some more. Also thanks for the comments they were helpful but I could not find any posts on this forum showing how to do reverse crunches. I found some on youtube but they all seem to be different. If anyone has a link or instructions please let me know.

Tomorrow is a day off but I will go to the gym and do some cardio on the threadmill.

[ukdudeinuk]

If it's a proper bar, it'll be 45 pounds.

[mjh]

If it's a proper bar, it'll be 45 pounds.

yep. Does it look like this?



7' long, with the 50mm ends where you put the plates. if it's not, it could be anything. Best try to find an olympic bar (proper name for the one in the pic).

[nickh]

Yeah it looks exactly like that, thanks guys. any links to those reverse crunches? is it the one where you place your palms face down under your hips and stretch your legs out up and down?

[KIB]

The reverse crunches are about five entries back in Mehdi's blog:
http://stronglifts.com/the-reverse-crunch-get-your-six-pack-abs/

Those olympic bars weigh 20kg (the ones at my community centre gym do, anyway). I took them over to the scale one at a time to check!

From the Tim's reference, it sounds like you are in Canada. I'm in Vancouver and so is Mackanno, another SL member. Are you at a private gym or a community centre?

Keep up the good work, nickh. Looking forward to seeing more posts.

[nickh]

Day off today, did not do any exercises as I was too tired to wake up before work. I definitely felt sore from the workout yesterday, my quads especially. I think I had the waddle that I read about lol. I don't know how it will affect my workout tomorrow and if I should not add any weight to the exercises. Tomorrow is day 3 and I'm currently doing:

Squat - 95 lbs
Bench press - 45 lbs
Row - 65 lbs
Dips - 12/7/1

I was thinking about adding 10lb to squat but when I did it last time it felt a bit heavy on my upper body, I will get that padding for the bar they have at the gym. I will add 10lb to the bench press also since I don't recall seeing anything less than 5lb plates at the gym. Not sure how much I should add to the row, felt fairly easy last time but maybe I should be safe and only add 10lb also.


Breakfast - skim milk/cherrios and protein shake
Brunch - Another tim hortons breakfast sandwich!
Lunch - Grilled chicken sandwich and chicken with white rice soup
Dinner - Curried chicken and rice

KIB, I am at my work gym(university), so far its alot better than my old private one(premier fitness). I'm in Toronto btw

If anyone has any ideas on the weights I'm using or if I'm progressing incorrectly please feel free to point it out. Any suggestions on the weights I should use next for row or if I should stay at the same for benchpress/squat?

[ukdudeinuk]

Don't use the padding, you don't really need it. You'll get used to it, it takes a little while.

[nickh]

DAY 3, WEEK 1

Workout around mid-day, successfully added 10lbs to squat and completed 5x5. I do not feel much soreness in my hamstrings as much as my quads, possibly have incorrect technique? Weight feels very heavy on my back but still able to squat it, not sure how much more weight I can keep adding. Successfully added 10lbs to Bench Press and completed 5x5. I am confident I can add more to this one. Row, added 50lbs which was entirely too much and caused me to ruin form, will have to add less next time most likely. Struggled on last 2 sets and barely completed it. Dips were especially tough are the rows as I was winded and my arms hurt. Was only able to muster 5/2/3 Dips.

Squat: 105lbs
Bench Press: 55lbs
Row: 90lbs (questionable)
Dips: 5/2/3

I felt very self conscious at the gym today. Usually I feel like a small guy but today I felt TINY. Seemed like everyone there today was in great shape while I struggled with my program lol. Weighed in today again at 115.9lbs. Did not eat so well today:

Breakfast: jam/nutella sandwich and protein shake after workout
Lunch: 2 taco supremes with fries supremes, I don't even want to know what was in those but I know its not good
Dinner: Chicken Sandwich and hot chocolate

[nickh]

Day off today, suppose to be day off tomorrow as well but decided to start week 2 tomorrow so I can do mon/tue/friday and have the weekends off.

Breakfast: Can of tunafish
Lunch/Dinner: Pad Thai...

Also had my protein shake sometime today

Quads are still sore, have problems walking down stairs, almost slipped at my buddies and fell down the stairs lol. Tomorrow Squats, Overhead Press, dead lifts and chinups(ohnoes).

[nickh]

WEEK 2, DAY 1

Squats: 5x5 105lb again. Did alot better on my form as there was a guy next to me doing squats with 225lb. Its easier to pick up correct form when you actually SEE someone doing it. I was not going low enough before I think so I adjusted today and it was tougher but still managed to do all 5x5. Will try 115lb on my next visit.

Overhead Press: I remember saying this was the easiest I could probably add weight too. Well turns out that was wrong, I did 5x5 previously with just the bar and that was easy... however today I added just only 10lb and wasn't able to complete sets 4 and 5, doing only 3 and 2 reps in those sets. I can still feel my shoulders burning. I don't know if this is suppose to be the harder exercise or my upper body is just THAT weak. So I will have to continue with that weight until I am able to complete all 5x5. I'm not sure if it was the weight or the fact that I had down the squats before that and they felt so heavy on my shoulders aswell. Upper body definitely needs work. I also definitely noticed a big problem here and it was breathing, it was all over the place and I wasn't sure what the correct way is suppose to be

Dead-lift: Added 2x25lb weights to the barbell bumping it to 95lb as recommended earlier by someone but still felt really light and not working my hams and back as they were supposed to. Possibly my form? Not sure how to progress here, if anyone has any tips please let me know.

Chin-ups: Completed them at 7/5/3 if I remember correctly. These seemed easier than the pull-ups and I sort of like these exercises... pullups/chinups/dips...


Breakfast: Skim milk/Cherios
Post workout: 2 eggs, 3 sausages, hash brown and 2 slices of bread + protein shake
Lunch: MR GREEK! Chicken breast dinner, chicken breast, salad, and rice. sooooo good.
Dinner: chicken sandwich.

I would like to do some cardio ( 30 threadmill run, aiming for 5k) but not sure if that will cut into my recovery needed to perform my workouts properly. maybe I should do this on the weekends?