Runnerguy's Training Log

[runnerguy]

Hey everyone,

I'm starting (started I guess now) the SL 5x5 program, and planning on keeping this log to help motivate me a bit when it gets tough.

A bit about myself:
19 years old, 5'9", haven't weighed myself in a while but weighed 121lbs last time I checked.
I ran a lot in high school (cross country, distance running in track), but when I got to college and wasn't on a team any more, I found that the motivation slipped, and I wasn't enjoying it as much. After trying to push it a bit, I decided maybe it was time to step back and try something else. I'd been considering starting lifting for a while, just to become more functional. My lungs and heart are still in decent shape since I've still been running here and there, but strength, in my upper body especially, is almost nonexistent, which I'd like to fix.

Goals:
I'd like to weigh around 150lbs, then maybe re-examine myself at that point. Going to need to get a scale to check this.
More than anything, I'd like to not have so many problems with simple things (i.e. carrying a heavy shopping cart, or a heavy door)

Schedule - Tu/Th/Sa

First Workout - 7/30/2009
Squat - empty bar 5x5
no problems, a couple of points on form: found it very difficult to get the bar into the right spot. I'm not sure if it's because my shoulders aren't flexible or what. Even when I felt I hit the right spot on my back, usually my wrists were at some awkward angle..
Overhead Press - fail
I did one, was very unstable with the bar, didn't wanna drop 45lbs on my head. The weight felt okay, need to be more comfortable with bar in front. I didn't realize until I was on the way out that there are smaller barbells, so I'm going to have to hit that up next time.
Deadlift - 1x5 (95lbs) (Edit: Just realized some bad math..)
Never done one before - surprisingly fun. Need to work on tightening my back more.
Pushups - 5, 3, 1 with 30lb assistance
I couldn't do a regular pull up, so I went to the machine that gives a push from below, and put the assistance on the 2nd lowest level, then did those to failure. Still a struggle.
Prone bridges - 3 x 30sec

Diet for today
Didn't have breakfast before gym, grabbed a protein & peanut butter shake after my workout (9:30), will grab grilled chicken, spinach, and egg sandwich at around 12. Will keep updated.
All in all, not a bad start!

[jfh26]

Welcome aboard! A quick comment, which I think you'll probably hear often, is that the assisted pull-up machines DON'T HELP. Check out this article on how to get stronger with pull-ups, you'll likely find these methods a lot more effective:

http://stronglifts.com/10-ways-to-get-s ... -ups-fast/

I can attest to the method using resistance bands - I have a pull-up routine for that worked for me, it will fit in with SL 5x5, too. If you're interested, I posted it here on the second page:

1-month-in-still-can-t-do-1-pullup-t17863.html

Good luck!

[runnerguy]

Thanks for the tip!

I'm going to try the negatives next time.. The resistance band method looks really good, but the extra food I'm getting is already eating into the college student budget..

[jfh26]

No kidding.. I've adopted Medhi's 8 nutrition rules into my diet, and it's definitely starting to eat into my budget.

And about the pull-up bands, when I did them we used bungee cord (like you would use to tie things down in the back of a truck) and those work fine. They're a hell of a lot cheaper than resistance bands, and you can just take them off the bar one by one as your pull up strength increases.

[runnerguy]

Second Workout - 8/1/2009

Squats - 50lb 5x5
Felt a lot easier than empty bar even.. can't really explain that one. One thing I noticed (that I'm gonna keep an eye on) is that when I start moving up, my knees swing in really quickly then back out.

Bench press - empty bar 5x5
First time doing with barbell. Not incredibly difficult, though it got a bit worse as it went on. My form is definitely lacking though. I touched a ton of different points on my chest, and accidentally racked the bar halfway through the third set. I tried tightening up my shoulders/back before I started, but it would always lose it on the right side.

Inverted Rows - 3xF 4,3,2, bent knees with feet on floor
I looked at it and figured it wasn't gonna be too hard. I was wrong. The only way I could touch my chest to the bar was with my knees bent, feet flat on the floor. I did have the bar a touch too high the first time, but yeah, something I'm going to try and improve on.

Diet:
Still pretty sure I haven't been eating enough. I've been trying to eat every 2 or 3 hours, but I still notice gaps where I go 5 or 6 without eating. I'm going to need to find something easy to carry to keep on me, since I'm often somewhere I can't run away from for a bit.
Pushups - 3xF 18, 6, 5
Not bad, but damn, first set tired me out.

Reverse Crunches - 3xF 23, 19, 11 with 45lb counterweight.
Again, first time doing, figured it wouldn't be bad. First few reps, wasn't feeling anything, but then it hit. Honestly, I probably could have gotten a couple more out each time, need to make sure to push myself more.

[runnerguy]

No kidding.. I've adopted Medhi's 8 nutrition rules into my diet, and it's definitely starting to eat into my budget.

And about the pull-up bands, when I did them we used bungee cord (like you would use to tie things down in the back of a truck) and those work fine. They're a hell of a lot cheaper than resistance bands, and you can just take them off the bar one by one as your pull up strength increases.

Now that you mention that, my high school's gym definitely did that too. If I'm still struggling in a couple of weeks, I'm definitely gonna try that out.

[runnerguy]

Third Workout - 8/4/2009

Squat - 5x5 @ 55lbs
No problems with weight, but I still can't really get under the bar correctly. Twice the weight shifted on me when I went down, and my left wrist was hurting on one of them too.

Overhead Press - 5x5 @ 45 lbs - FAIL
I got one set of 5 with bad form, started a 2nd and realized it wasn't working. Will try again Thursday.

Deadlift - 1x5 @ 105 lbs
Fun. No weird flexibility issues like the squat. Weight's still coming along nicely.

Chinups - 3xF - 1
I decided to try chinups before trying negatives.. I did get one, but couldn't get anything after that. Am I better off doing that or just doing the negatives?

Prone Bridges - 3x30s - 26, 13, 30
Feet gave out in the 2nd one.. Otherwise, ow. Abs were still a little sore from the reverse crunches on Saturday. Dunno if this helped.

[runnerguy]

I got completely demolished by school. Planning on starting back up tomorrow (!) though. Trying to figure out if I should just start over from empty bar, or start at 55..