Striker's Log

[Striker]

My first post, so I guess it's appropriate for a bit of an introduction. I started my journey at 18 years old, 6' 2" and 285 lbs. I'm going into university starting this September, and so I've finally decided that I'm going to get into better shape. A while back I started going to the gym with a friend, but I never had a proper plan, and never followed a good diet. I made minimal progress, and soon gave it up. I've since lost all said progress (well, I kept some of the muscle, but gained back all of the fat). I don't know what my BF% is, I'll have to invest in some calipers. Maybe someone can estimate for me based on my pics (I know it'll be rough, but I have 0 idea what it might be). My current goal is to get down to 200 lbs, and see how I look from there, I might decide to go lower, or maybe I'll have enough muscle for it to not matter, but that's for the future. As far as a time-frame, I have no idea what a reasonable time frame might be, I'll say a year for now, but again, we'll have to see later down the road.

My hope is to lose fat, and gain some muscle in the process. Muscle isn't my weakness as I'm stronger than most of my friends, I just have too much fat covering it.

I've been on the StrongLifts 5x5 program for about a month now, I've only missed 2 workouts due to being out of town, and it was unavoidable, but I kept active in the meanwhile. Besides that, I go out of my way to make sure that I get every workout that I can in, 3 times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. I have a gym-buddy who is also doing the 5x5 program, and we both started at the same time, so it works out great. The difference is that he is doing it to gain weight, while I'm doing it to lose weight.

I also bike to work and school, work is a short ride, probably 4km each way, while school's a bit further at 9km each way. While it's not the most intense of cardio sessions, I do work up a decent sweat as I have to bike quickly seeing as I have a tendency to sleep in.

Anyway, I started the program a little over a month ago, and my last lifts were:
Squat: 65kg 5/5/5/5/5
Bench Press: 50kg 5/5/5/5/5
Row: 50kg 5/5/5/5/5
OH Press: 35kg 5/5/5/5/5
Deadlift: 65kg 5

As for dips and chin/pull-ups, I'm not able to do 1 rep of either, so I do limited range dips and negatives for chin-ups. Because the range, and speed at which I go down, changes ever time, it seems a bit useless to write down the number of reps.

The reason that my weights aren't lined up perfectly like recommended is because I was getting bored of increasing at the recommended rates, and once I felt that I had good enough technique, I put the weight on quicker. I haven't missed a rep yet, and I'm finally starting to feel some of the weight. Once it starts getting difficult, I'm going to slow down to 2.5kg every time.

As far as my diet is concerned, I've been having far fewer Calories than I'm supposed to according to the eBook. I've started eating more, and healthier, when I started the program. But I'm still having difficulty going up to the recommended 14xBW which is 4000 Calories, on a good day I'll probably eat 3000, but I'm coming from having had 1500 a day, so even getting in 3000 every day is a chore. The only times I really cheat would be on weekends where I often have a few drinks with friends, and when I drink, I have trouble controlling my eating. I'll often binge at 3 am when I get home. Luckily I don't have any junkfood at home, but it still isn't a good thing. It's only really happened once since I started StrongLifts, so I'm hoping that I'll soon be able to stop it completely.

One thing that worries me is that since I've started, I've gained 5 lbs. My diet is cleaner than it's ever been, and I'm eating nowhere near the 4000 Calories/day that my body seems to be burning all on its own. It could be muscle, but I really don't know as the weight still hasn't gotten hard for me yet and I don't look/feel very different. Is there something I should be changing, or should I just keep on truckin', and hopefully within another month, things will get back in check?

Here are my current pics, taken after my last workout.

[Striker]

So I went to the gym today, even with my partner quitting on me at the last second (he told me to come pick him up, and said that he couldn't as I pulled into his driveway), I was also feeling a bit sick, but it wasn't enough to stop me .

I managed:
Squat: 70kg 5/5/5/5/5
OH Press: 37.5kg 5/5/5/5/5
Deadlift: 70kg 5
Pull-up Negatives: 3/3/2

My negatives are all over the place usually because if I improve, it usually results in me letting myself down slower instead of an extra rep.

As far as the weights go, I'm finally starting to really feel the squats and overhead presses, but they still aren't difficult. Hopefully I'll be able to keep on increasing for a while. Right now, I'm increasing squats at 5kg every session because I found that it was going too slow.

I also weighed myself again, and I came in at 294lbs. This is starting to worry me, it's the most I've ever weighed, and it's only gone up since I started StrongLifts, I started it at 285 and I've gone up 9lbs since. My pants also feel a bit tighter than usual, although I haven't moved up a notch in my belt or anything. It might all be in my head, but I really don't know. Right now I'm usually eating between 2000-2500 Calories a day, sometimes going to 3000, but this isn't even anywhere near the recommended weight x 14 which is about 4000! Even 2500 every day is more than I'm used to eating, should I really be putting 4000 Calories in my body every day when what I'm doing now is making me gain? I really don't know what to do, can someone offer a suggestion?

[MysCat]

Eat, striker, eat! Yes, you should eat and if it comes out to 4,000 calories then eat that many calories. You want to gain muscle and the more muscle you gain, the higher your metabolism which, in turn, burns fat. Read a lot of the other training logs on the training forum and see what some of the other guys are doing. Most eat way more calories than they are used to eating and have lost a lot of fat while gaining muscle. If you don't eat enough, then your body will hold onto your body fat because it thinks it will need that fat storage for energy. Eat clean - At least 1 gm protein per pound of body weight, good fats (yes, you MUST eat fats which helps you burn fat), and good carbs - oats, sweet potatoes, vegetables (greens are excellent), etc. Read Mehdi's blog articles on nutrition. Read how the other guys are training and eating. It's hard to realize that, yes, you do have to eat that much, but you lift heavy and you lift hard and your body NEEDS the calories in order to repair itself and build more muscle (and ultimately burn fat). It works...but it does take time. I hope this helps!

[Striker]

So I forgot my training log today, and went off memory. It turns out that I skipped one of the increments for squat. Instead of doing 75kg like I am supposed to (Keeping in mind that I'm increasing at 5kg/day not 2.5), I did 80! Still managed 5x5 though. Although, I did feel some pain while doing them. First it was in my lower back, which was really feeling soar by the end of the 5th set, and my right knee was starting to hurt a bit as well. The pain went away after a few minutes, but it was still odd. Also, while doing the row, it was hurting in my biceps a bit, but the pain went away when I did my dips... weird. As for the rows though, I'm pretty sure my form was terrible today. Even on good days, it isn't perfect, as I'm having the most trouble getting it right out of all the exercises, but today was exceptionally bad. I guess I'll use the same weight next time.

Squat: 80kg 5/5/5/5/5
Bench: 52.5kg 5/5/5/5/5
Row: 50kg 5/5/5/5/5 (Although I think with bad form)

As for my dips, I'm definitely starting to notice my range of movement increasing. I'm hoping to be able to do a full one within a month or two.

[kiwidave]

Hi Striker - just reading your comments about controlling your weight. I'm no expert but I think however you are estimating your calories is way off base. Using a simple calorie calculator, for a guy your age and weight will be burning around 3300 calories a day if your lifestyle is completely sedentary. Add some exercise and you will need more calories just to maintain a steady 285-290lb. At that weight you really don't have to take very drastic steps to start reducing - mostly just cut all the crap out of your diet (junk food, sweet stuff, etc) and fill up on whole foods like meat, fruit, veg, etc. Weight training and cardio will accelerate this.
It might be a good idea to keep a food log for a couple of days to get a realistic understanding of exactly what you are eating. By my calculations there is no way a guy your size can be eating 2500 calories per day and not losing weight.

[Chris]

Instead of doing 75kg like I am supposed to (Keeping in mind that I'm increasing at 5kg/day not 2.5), I did 80! Still managed 5x5 though. Although, I did feel some pain while doing them. First it was in my lower back, which was really feeling soar by the end of the 5th set, and my right knee was starting to hurt a bit as well.

Squat: 80kg 5/5/5/5/5
Bench: 52.5kg 5/5/5/5/5
Row: 50kg 5/5/5/5/5 (Although I think with bad form)

As for my dips, I'm definitely starting to notice my range of movement increasing. I'm hoping to be able to do a full one within a month or two.

Hi Striker,

Just read through your log - You're doing a great job and it sounds like you really have set your mind on changing your lifestyle! GREAT! I am not worried about your weight gain, but I agree with Kiwidave that it should go the other way. Anybody else has comments on this? are your body storing water? or ...

However - I think you should be very careful not to rush things. You're a big guy and your legs are properly already very strong due to your bw. But your lower back send you a signal on your last training. It has to gain strength as well .. So if I was you I would go back to 2,5kg increase pr. exercise, trust me - that is a lot of increase anyway In less than a month you're supposed to squat a 100kg!! Let you're body prepare for that load slowly!

Last thing .. get you camera rolling and get a form check.

[Striker]

I've decided to try 2500 Calories a day, but I'm actually counting every single one. I've been doing it for 3 days now, and it's worked out. While the quality of my food hasn't changed at all, as I've been eating proper food the whole time, I'm noticing a lot less little snacking. When I went to the gym yesterday, I was actually down to 290 from 294 in less than a week, so the majority of that was probably water weight, so here's to hoping my new Calorie counting will work!

As for taking a video, I have a small barbell at home, so while it'll probably a bit different, hopefully my technique won't change drastically compared to the Olympic sized one at the gym. Otherwise, I'll have to bring the camera to the gym.

And yeah, I think that I'll definitely start to decrease the gains. Especially, my partner has already started to fall behind on the lifting (he's not as strong, combined with him having missed a couple workouts), so we're not going at the same pace together anyway.

But as for trying 4000 Calories, I'm still going to try the 2500 with counting, as there is still no way that I was hitting 4000 while gaining the weight, and while I might lose some muscle in the long run (which I still don't think I will at this point), I rather lose weight as fast as possible.

Also I just found out that my summer employer is willing to give me 6-9 hours a week during school, which I never thought they would do, so now I'm going to be getting ~$70-100 of beer money every week. Why did I have to start my cut THIS semester? :p

[Striker]

Today was pretty good, I didn't increase the squat weight because of the lower back and knee thing from last time, but it was much better today. All I did was widen my grip on the bar a bit, and it made it feel a lot better.

As with the faux-dips, the Chin-up negatives are coming along a lot better too now, I am definitely lowering myself slower than before.

For squats, I saw someone use a rubber mat beneath their heels (Maybe 1/2 inch thick). I tried it for a rep or two, and noticed it to be a lot easier to balance. Is there any reason not to use one, or are they good?

Squat: 80kg 5/5/5/5/5
OH Press: 40kg 5/5/5/5/5
Deadlift: 75kg 5
Chin-up Negatives: 4/3/2

At the end of the month, my university is having their orientation week, which is essentially five days straight of non-stop partying. Since this is in Quebec, everyone is of legal age when we start university here, so that means lots of drinking. In fact, it's an open bar on the university's fields for the entire week. My question is, how can I indulge myself while trying to cause as little damage as possible. Is there anything about my diet that I should focus on in particular? I know that I shouldn't do it, but it's a once in a lifetime experience, and it would be a shame to miss out. I am more than willing to lose a week's progress, and then go full throttle into my cutting program right after, as long as I also stay faithful up until then.

[Striker]

Forgot to post my last workout because my weekend was hectic, but at least I got it in there!

It was:

Squat: 85kg 5/5/5/5/5
Bench: 55kg 5/5/5/5/5
Row: 50kg 5/5/5/5/5

and again, I found my dips to cover a better range than last time.

Today's workout was:

Squat: 87.5 kg 5/5/5/5/5
OH Press: 42.5 kg 5/5/5/4/3
Deadlift: 80kg 5

And my chinup negatives were pretty bad today, I'm guessing it's because of me having to finally push myself on the OH Press.

So yeah, today was officially my first stall, I'm hoping to get 5x5 on the overhead press next time. Also, this is the first time that I'm starting to put effort into the deadlift, and my hamstrings are a bit sore, although it's the good kind of sore.

14 more days until what will probably be the worst week of my life, exercise and diet wise, although it'll hopefully be a blast. The only concern that I have right now is that they're predicting a huge drop in temperature, down to ~15 degrees Celcius, which would really ruin it. But the weather forecast for 2 weeks in advance is usually wrong, so I'll be crossing my fingers.