Rigglet's Beginner Training Logs

by **rigglet** on Thu Oct 25, 2007 4:52 pm

Age: 38
Height: 6'4'
Weight: 250

Week 1
5x5 Squat 55lb
5x5 Bench 50lb
1x5 Deadlift 95lb
Dips 3x4 -85 (Weight Assisted)

As you can tell by my numbers I have just started this program using the beginners training guide. Even though I have lifted weights in the past I have never had a decent routine to use. I was just getting geared up to get back into working out after a 3 month layoff (with a 8 year layoff prior to that) and was looking for something new. This was exactly what I was looking for. I love that it doesn't take up much time (as I don't have much of it) but you get an great workout. The toughest part of the workout was starting with an empty bar. It was hard to check my ego at the door. :bigsmile:

Here are my goals for the end of this year.

5x5 Squat 240lb
5x5 Bench 140lb
1x5 Deadlift 265lb
Dips 3x5

Please comment on what you think about my goals. Let me know if you think they are too lofty or not aggressive enough.

by **Mehdi** on Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:01 pm

Welcome Rigglet. The BSTP doesn't last long, easy when you don't have much time. But it's very effective as you'll experience.
Goals might be a little on the high side as you only have about 10 weeks before the end of the year. You'll probably get over the 200lbs on the Squat if you don't skip workout & don't stall (which shouldn't be a problem). Unless you work with bigger increments 240lbs squat will be for the end of January.
Leave the goals like they are Rigglet. Setting the bar high is better than setting it too low.

by **Quagmire911** on Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:06 pm

Glad to see you getting back into things.

As far as your goals go it all depends. IF you have previous lifting experience then don't be afraid to put the weight higher. Mehdi outlined this in one of his posts. Since you are not a beginner you have no need to learn form etc. If you can squat 185lbs 5x5 then start there. I don't know how strong you truly are so it is impossible to say if you can hit those numbers. At your height and weight I wouldn't be surprised if you could already bench 5x5 140lbs. I would say that the deadlift is doable, but the squat is probably to ambitious. Again having said that if you can already do 220lbs then you may make it.

Hope this provides some insight, good luck

Quagmire

by **Mehdi** on Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:14 pm

Here's the post Quagmire recommended: stronglifts.com/beginner-strength-training-program-when-youre-not-a-beginner/

by **rigglet** on Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:50 pm

This is great information guys! I think I will do a modified beginners routine. I will add double the weight at each interval until I hit a stall. Then I will deload and go back to the original interval. Hows that sound?

Don't know if I want to make a radical jump in weight as I have already noticed that I am quite sore even when working out with extremely light weight. LOL

by **Quagmire911** on Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:28 pm

Soreness doesn't mean all that much. You're always going to be sore if you have had time off. I had a week off last week and did half my normal weight first workout back and my legs are sore.

But hey, if you feel it is necessary to keep the weight down then do it. Good luck,

Quagmire

by **Mehdi** on Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:47 am

rigglet:This is great information guys! I think I will do a modified beginners routine. I will add double the weight at each interval until I hit a stall. Then I will deload and go back to the original interval. Hows that sound? Don't know if I want to make a radical jump in weight as I have already noticed that I am quite sore even when working out with extremely light weight. LOL

Better would be to make 10lbs increments, when you feel it gets tough, decrease to 5lbs. You'll be able to keep this pace longer for deadlifts/squats than for bench press. Don't even consider doing it on the Overhead Press.

by **rigglet** on Fri Nov 16, 2007 8:45 pm

I just realized I have not made any posts regarding how I am progressing. I feel like I am doing really well, but I'll leave that up to the group to decide.

I absolutely love this workout. I'm looking forward to starting the second phase of the beginners workout, but I don't want to rush things. Maybe after the first of the year.
I haven't lost any weight...in fact I've gained 2 pounds. But I have been very, very bad on my diet, so I don't expect much from a weight standpoint. Even though I haven't lost weight my clothes are fitting better and I think I look better.
Week 4

5x5 Squat 155lb
5x5 Bench 105lb
5x5 Overhead 70lb
1x5 Deadlift 185lb
Pull Ups 5/4/3 -70 (Weight Assisted) - this is my weakest point.

I was increasing squat and bench by 10lbs per workout and deadlift by 20lbs. I left overhead at 5lbs. I think I am going to put squat back to 5lbs and deadlift to 10lbs per workout as it is stating to get difficult to keep up the pace. Bench can probably stay at 10lbs increases for another couple of weeks.
Let me know what you guys think I should do differently as I am always open for suggestions!

by **Mehdi** on Fri Nov 16, 2007 8:54 pm

Still alive Rigglet. Glad to read you like the workouts. One benfits of building muscle (especially using the 3x squat/week appraoch) is that more muscles = more calories burned. Which allows you to get away with more junk food than the average person. I like the 1 day junk food a week approach. 6 days strict, one day junk food. Although it has been more 3 (sometimes even 2 or 1) junk meals in the weekend the last year. Tastes change.
Milk the program out until the end. Only switch the program when it doesn't work. Dwayne (check his log) is squatting 235lbs for 5x5 on this program already.
Decrease the increments if it feels heavy yes.
Looks like you're doing ok. Only the nutrition, but you know what's wrong so you know what you need to do

by **dwayne** on Fri Nov 16, 2007 10:33 pm

Just keep increasing the weights for your squats, deads, bench (especially bench), and your other exercises; you will see good results. I jumped tremendously on my squats and deadlifts in 1 months time, even though I have never done these in my life. I think the fact that I used to weigh 285+ (currently 273), gave me an advantage for these exercises so you should be able to make the same jumps.
Nutrition is also very important and you may need to look into that if you are not getting results. Have patience and keep your log going, so in 1 years time you can look back and see how much you progressed. From me dropping 15+ pounds while getting my numbers up in just over 1 months time have been great motivation for me to keep going.

by **rigglet** on Fri Nov 30, 2007 6:14 pm

Still loving loving this workout! I thought I'd give a quick update and also ask a question.
I've gained another 2 pounds so that puts me at 252 lbs. But on the positive side I "look" better. So while I am not losing any weight at least my clothes are starting to fit better. I've improved my diet. Still not perfect, but getting better.
Week 6

5x5 Squat 185lb
5x5 Bench 130lb
5x5 Overhead 85lb
1x5 Deadlift 215lb
Pull Ups 3/1.5/1 (no longer weight assisted)
Now for the question...
I'm wondering how to add the new exercises to my routine, mainly barbell rows. Given the weights I am doing now what would be a good starting weight for that exercise? I'm going on vacation for a week and will not have access to a decent gym. Based on answers I got from another post a soft deload seems to be the best option upon return. So any input on the barbell rows is really appreciated.

by **Mehdi** on Fri Nov 30, 2007 7:01 pm

Same approach as for other exercises Rigglet: start light, like on the barbell rows, 40kg should do, add weight every time you do them. If it's too light, move by 5kg every workout.

by **rigglet** on Mon Dec 31, 2007 6:46 pm

Well since it's the end of the year I figured I'd post my latest update.
5x5 Squat 215lb
5x5 Bench 135lb
5x5 Overhead 95lb
1x5 Deadlift 235lb
5x5 Rows 105lb
Pull Ups 3/2/2
Chin Ups 3/2/2
Dips 5/4/4
I feel like I've done pretty good at attempting to reach the goals I set out at the beninning of my training. Things are going well. I haven't stalled yet, although I won't be suprised if I stall on squats or overhead soon. They are getting pretty tough. All of this is given a week off when I got sick and a week missed due to work travel. My overall weight has actually increased, but I do notice that I am not carrying as much body fat as I was before I started. I have gained 5 pounds since starting the workout in October. I've been working hard on my diet, but that is still the weakest part.
Anyway, I wanted to give the entire group a big thank you for the information and the encouragment. I am looking forward to increasing the gains even further next year! Have a happy new year everyone!

by **Mehdi** on Mon Dec 31, 2007 7:52 pm

Great work Rigglet, the body-weight squat is coming close. Happy new year to you too!

by **rigglet** on Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:27 pm

Monday 1/14/2008
Squat - 235 lbs. 5/5/5/3/3
Overhead Press - 110 lbs. 5/5/5/4/5
Deadlift - 265 lbs. 1x5
Chinups - 3/2/2
Cardio: Stationary Bike 10 min. post workout. First time on cardio since strating the Stronglifts 5x5. It really felt good to do some cardio. I would have liked to go a little longer, but I had to get home to get the kids ready for school. Hopefully I can get to the gym a few minutes earlier and get more cardio time in. Gym opens at 5AM and I got there around 5:15 this morning, so there some time...
Comments:
First time I've stalled on any of my lifts. I'm hoping this is just a minor setback due to lack of sleep last night. I only got around 3.5 hours of sleep cause I just couldn't fall asleep. We will see on Wednesday. The groin feels a bit better after a long weekend off, but still a bit sore after the squats. I figure I'm just gonna have to toughen up and work through it.