thunderdownunder's training log

[thunderdownunder]

Hey all,

I'm very much the newbie to this site and to Stronglifts so I'll give you some background.
I have been bodybuilding/lifting weights since my early 20's. I stopped for a time but injured my back at work. When I was sent to a specialist he asked do I or did I ever lift weights. I answered that I did but had stopped. He said I needed to make my whole body strong in order to help support my back as the condition would degenerate with age if I didn't. So I took up bodybuilding again. I never did get very big and always carried a bit of a spare tyre around my waist. I topped out at 87kgs / 191lbs. I started a martial art (judo) when I was 36 years old. It was full body contact and great for all over conditioning. I continued to lift weights at this time and dropped down to around 83kgs. Through diet I managed to get down to 79kgs and after walking the gruelling Kokoda track in Papua New Guinea I lost a further 8kgs. That was in 2006 and I have since been around the 73kg mark. I have been doing some Turbulence Training which was fantastic but still have not got the results I desire. People seem to consider me a 'strong looking lightweight' but I really want to drop the last lot of fat off my gut (wife says I have none!) and muscle out.

So at the time of posting I am looking forward to my fourth Stronglifts workout tomorrow afternoon. I know I have a long journey ahead but am confident the gains will come.

[thunderdownunder]

Just thought I should state that I am following the E-Book just as it suggests. Even though I can bench press my bodyweight for 5 reps and similar for the squat I thought I would start witht he 20 KG bar and progress at 2.5 kg per workout. The reasoning being I am sure not to 'miss anything' if you know what I mean. Is this what someone at my level should be doing or should I statrt with a higher weight which I can handle? I just didnt want to stall too eary though that type of thinking may simply be a form of false economy. The time it will take to reach reasonable weights doesnt bother me as 2.5kgs per workout equates to 30kgs per month. Anyway weight trainings a marathon not a sprint, eh?

[thunderdownunder]

In case anybody was wondering, I haven't stated any goals as yet. I'm not too sure what would be realistic for someone of my experience. 1.5 x my bodyweight comes to 110kgs / 247lbs for the squat. I'm a long way off that just yet having only started SL about a fortnight ago. At 30kgs per month I guess I am looking at less than 3 months if I don't stall. Will keep you posted.

[thunderdownunder]

Well today I tried my hand at my 1RM for each of the main lifts. I'm stating 1RM and not 5RM as my 5x5 weights are infantile to say the least as I'm a bub on this programme. Maybe it wasn't the most opportune time to attempt this as yesterday my son challenged me to see who could perform the most pushups. I couldn't let him down now could I? Anyway he pushed out 26 and I had a PR of 40 bw reps. This on top of Workout A which I performed earlier in the day. So I'm thinking both these would have affected the outcome of my bench press 1RM. So anyway here's the result of todays attempts:

Squat 1RM 95kg / 209lbs

Deadlift 1 RM 125kg / 275lbs

Bench Press 1 RM 82.5 kg / 182 lbs

OHP 1 RM 37.5 kgs / 82 lbs

These were all performed without any cheating and using strict form. I'm not sure how long I should give it till I try again. These are my starting numbers for PR so will be interesting to see how it after 3 months of SL 5x5.

Incidentally my son is also doing SL 5x5. I have been training him in various BB workouts for about the past 9 months. When he started he could not even perform a single pushup. Now he can do 26!! He is enthusiastic about SL at the moment and is looking forward to making some gains in strength and some losses in fat.

Thanks for reading....

[thunderdownunder]

Okay, other than my 1RM's that I previously posted I have yet to post any actual training. I'm about 4 weeks into it now and one excercise (namely OHP) is beginning to actually make me break a wee sweat, so I thought now might be a good time to start posting/logging.


Today 20th March 2009 - Workout B

Have adjusted some of my form from previous years of working out. Glad I found this info prior to getting into serious weight.

Squat 5x5 47.5kgs / 104 lbs - for the past 20 years have mainly performed high squats. From info garnered from SL and Starting Strength I have grudgingly conceded defeat and taken up the low bar squat (no pun intended). Found this difficult at first mainly due to lack of upper body flexibility but am now regularly performing shoulder dislocations and slowly persuading my grumbling arms and wrists to obey.

OHP 5x5 32.5 kgs / 71lbs - this is the only main excercise which is just starting to get 'weighty' for me. I have read on this site that ppl have varying views on the placement of the arms when in the bottom position. But I will stick with what I have been doing for the last 20 years unless I see evidence to convince me otherwise ( I allow my arms to stay vertical throughout the entire movement. If it's good enough for Rip it's good enough for me).

Deadlift 5x5 52.5 kgs / 115lbs - deadlift has always been a favourite of mine probably coz one can move some serious weight. At the moment I'm very bored with this weight but am keen to continue to hone my form

Pull ups / Chin ups - Today was Pull up day. I hate them. With a passion! As I follow the manaul to the letter I am trying to crack 15 reps on my first set so I can finally go to 3x5 and start adding weight. Anyway today was fairly poor as I had only managed 11, 4, 2. Previously I had managed 12 reps on my first but my grandson decided running out to the shed and giggling at papa on his 12th rep would be a gr8 idea....NOT.
Last time I did chinups I had 7.5kg / 16lbs strapped to my waist. Next Workout B will be 10kg. Am REALLY looking forward to that! I love chinups at least as much as I loathe pullups. I love attacking them!!! If that makes sense.

Prone Bridges - I am fairly srong in this area probably due to doing Turbulence Training for last 12 mths or so where you do a LOT of this type of excercise. I tried the prescribed 3x 30 seconds - too easy. Tried moving 2.5kg plates from side to side while on 1 forearm - too easy. So today I braced myself on one arm and the foot of the opposite side for 3x30 with only 30 seconds rest in between. Slightly challenging on the last set. Next Workout B I might try move plates whilst on a single arm and foot or simply shorten the rest time and increase the brace time.

Will let you know how Workout A goes in a couple of days guys and gals...

[thunderdownunder]

Okie dokie then here we go.

I did todays workout str8 after finishing nightshift this morning. I thought this may be an issue regarding being to wound up after a workout to sleep properly but I slept like a bubba. So here's what happened today:

Warmed up on all excercise with just the bar and then working up to full scheduled weight.

Squat 5x5 50kg / 110lbs

Thie felt really good today. I've been reading up on squatting form on this site and in SS book and also watching a lot of videos online. I really squeezed my glutes on the way up and it sure made a difference. I wish I knew this b4 I went to try my 1 RM as I probably could have lifted more. Not to worry, next time I try my 1RM I will know waht to do. I think I am getting this hip drive thingy into place properly but will post a video of me doing this in the near future....(can someone tell me how to do stick a video on here plz??)

Bench Press 5x5 35kg / 77lbs

This went well as far as form goes. I used to push my shoulders out to lift the weight further (dont ask why coz I dont know why). Now I squeeze my shoulder blades together to create a base from which to push.

Inverted rows 3x5 15kg / 33lbs on chest

I will have to check out correct from for this on this site. I feel my grip might be a tad too close. Otherwise coming along well.

Pushups 3x5 15kg / 33lbs on back
Starting to feel this now. Nice and weighty.

Reverse crunch 3x12 no weight.
When I started SL I used a 20kg plate and dropped off 5ks each workout. Today I arrived at the point of using no weight and found the last set quite a challenge to finish but finish it I did (and with good form ). Not sure what to do next with this one. I may aim for 3x20 as I dont think I have the strength to perform dragon flags (if thats what they're called) just yet.


Am finding new levels of enthusiasm right now and can't wait for each workout. I know there will be peaks and troughs but am gonna enjoy the highs while they last.

Till next time.

PS BTW...how do I add a link to my log in my siggy ???

[guru]

Hi thunderdownunder (phew, now on I'll make it tdu ),

I actually read your log 3-4 days back & also posted, but the server crashed at that instant & my hardwork (of 2-3 minuts) was lost in the electronic crcuits somewhere.

Good to see another from the same age group. In fact lately many of us above 40s have joined the crusade. Very nice. I believe you'll be doing 3 workouts for 8 days as suggested by DaveT.

Good luck with the program. Keep lifting. Peaks are no problems at all but the troughs are the ones when this forum lends a big helping hand.

As for linking the siggy, read this.

[guru]

Oh BTW, I noticed a bit late that your siggy has a quote by Viktor Frankl. A month back I saw a documentary about VISION which had his story. Great stuff. If we can have an attitude so positive, nothing can deter us.

[thunderdownunder]

Hey Guru thanx 4 the reply. Yeah I will mostly[i][/i] be using DaveT's suggestion. Thi week was a bit different though coz I had to work 6 12 hr nightshifts str8 to help cover annual leave. So this week I am working out prior to going to bed in the morning after work. I actually slept quite well. Had it been a dayshift and Had I workerd out then......well...I just get the feeling sleep would not have come easily. I prefer to workout prior to sleep rather than jumping outta bed and doing it. I like my spine to 'be awake'. Oh and the siggythingy works now too! Cheers1

[thunderdownunder]

Thought I should post my short term goals now I have made my mind up about them.

Squat 1.5 BW 5x5 - 110kgs / 242lbs 6 weeks from now

Deadlift 2x BW 5x5 - 150kgs / 330lbs by November

Bench 1.5x BW 5x5 - 110kgs / 242lbs by September

OHP 1x BW 5x5 - 75kgs / 165lbs by July

This is just a starting point as I need something to work with. Some of the above may be unrealistic and does'nt take into account stalling.

[thunderdownunder]

Today was Workout B.
Finished work and got home at 0730hrs this morning. Was feeling tired but full on enthusiasm.

Squats 5x5 - 52.5kgs / 115lbs
After reviewing technique online over and over I think I have got this going pretty well. Getting good depth and ampowering through the hip drive. I really need to video it though and get in posted here for you guys to critique. Felt good and was using a lot of glute action on the last set. I sorta forgot about it on the first 4 sets but sure could feel the difference when I used the glutes.

OHP 5x5 - 35kgs / 77lbs
Adjusted technique today by using upper chest as a platform from which to launch. Again I brought glutes into the equation and I certainly noticed the difference this made.

Deadlift 1x5 - 65kgs / 143lbs
I had noticed one of you guys (Guru I think ) say in a post that Deadlift could/should be raised by 5kgs eachtime rather than the 2.5 for some other excercises.( I think squats is the same? Will check after posting). So anyway today I went from 52.5kgs to 65kgs. I used good form and the increase in weight posed no problem. Form felt good. It's good to get a lot of practice with form prior to getting into the heavier weights.

Chins 3x5 - 10kgs / 22lbs
Felt a bit dumb after this. Usually with weighted chins I use a small steel rod which I stack my plates on. This is connected to a small chain to which I attached to a standard weight belt. Well dumb me put it in a back pack instead (I blame it on the nightshift/moron factor). Anyway though the weight was challenging after only having a minutes rest I focussed on perfect form and did okay.

Prone Bridges

I needed to make this more of a challenge again so this week I rested on one ar, the opposite foot and move 2.5kg plates from side to side. I rested for 30 seconds and then repeated.

In my last post I stated my goals and now have re assessed my deadlift goals:

Deadlift 2x BW by end of June.

[thunderdownunder]

Today was Workout B.
Finished work and got home at 0730hrs this morning. Was feeling tired but full on enthusiasm.

Squats 5x5 - 52.5kgs / 115lbs
After reviewing technique online over and over I think I have got this going pretty well. Getting good depth and ampowering through the hip drive. I really need to video it though and get in posted here for you guys to critique. Felt good and was using a lot of glute action on the last set. I sorta forgot about it on the first 4 sets but sure could feel the difference when I used the glutes.

OHP 5x5 - 35kgs / 77lbs
Adjusted technique today by using upper chest as a platform from which to launch. Again I brought glutes into the equation and I certainly noticed the difference this made.

Deadlift 1x5 - 65kgs / 143lbs
I had noticed one of you guys (Guru I think ) say in a post that Deadlift could/should be raised by 5kgs eachtime rather than the 2.5 for some other excercises.( I think squats is the same? Will check after posting). So anyway today I went from 52.5kgs to 65kgs. I used good form and the increase in weight posed no problem. Form felt good. It's good to get a lot of practice with form prior to getting into the heavier weights.

Chins 3x5 - 10kgs / 22lbs
Felt a bit dumb after this. Usually with weighted chins I use a small steel rod which I stack my plates on. This is connected to a small chain to which I attached to a standard weight belt. Well dumb me put it in a back pack instead (I blame it on the nightshift/moron factor). Anyway though the weight was challenging after only having a minutes rest I focussed on perfect form and did okay.

Prone Bridges

I needed to make this more of a challenge again so this week I rested on one ar, the opposite foot and move 2.5kg plates from side to side. I rested for 30 seconds and then repeated.

In my last post I stated my goals and now have re assessed my deadlift goals:

Deadlift 2x BW by end of June. 148kgs / 330lbs

[thunderdownunder]

As for linking the siggy, read this.

Guru,

I thought it worked but it was actually someones elses log.. Everyone seems to have a number within their siggy. I dont know what mine is. Anyone who can help?

[dlewis7444]

(can someone tell me how to do stick a video on here plz??)

videos-tips-on-recording-editing-uploading-t9554.html

I thought it worked but it was actually someones elses log.. Everyone seems to have a number within their siggy. I dont know what mine is. Anyone who can help?

Use this link: http://stronglifts.com/forum/thunderdownunder-s-training-log-t14546.html


What's a "bubba"? ("...I slept like a bubba.")

[thunderdownunder]

(can someone tell me how to do stick a video on here plz??)

videos-tips-on-recording-editing-uploading-t9554.html

I thought it worked but it was actually someones elses log.. Everyone seems to have a number within their siggy. I dont know what mine is. Anyone who can help?

Use this link: http://stronglifts.com/forum/thunderdownunder-s-training-log-t14546.html


What's a "bubba"? ("...I slept like a bubba.")

Cheers buddy . I got it to work with your help. As for your question....wassa bubba? A bubba my man is a baby.....