Workout Log

[eldafar]

Hey, I'm new here. Nice to meet you all.

Stats: 18 yrs old, 152 lbs, 5'8
Goals: 1.5xBW Squat, 2xBW Deadlift, 1.5xBW Bench.

Program: Stronglifts Beginner's 5x5. All proper equipment available.
Start Date: April 2nd, 2008.

Wed 04/2/08:
Squat: 5x5, 115lbs, finished successfully.
Overhead Press: 5x5, 45lbs, finished successfully.
Deadlift: 5x5, 115lbs, finished successfully.
Pull-Ups: 3 sets till failure ending up: 9, 5, 4.

Fri 04/4/08:
Squat: 5x5, 125lbs, finished successfully.
Bench Press: 5x5, 45lbs, finished successfully.
Barbell Row: 5x5, 55lbs, finished successfully.
Dips: 3 sets till failure ending up: 15, 10, 10.

Mon 04/7/08:
Squat: 5x5, 135lbs, finished successfully.
Overhead Press: 5x5, 65lbs, finished successfully.
Deadlift: 5x5, 135lbs, finished successfully.
Pull-Ups: 3 sets till failure ending up: 12, 6, 4.

Wed 04/9/08:
Squat: 5x5, 155lbs, finished successfully.
Bench Press: 5x5, 145lbs, finished successfully.
Barbell Row: 5x5, 65lbs, finished successfully.
Dips: 3 sets till failure ending up: 16, 10, 7.

Fri 04/11/08:
Squat: 5x5, 165lbs, finished successfully.
Overhead Press: 5x5, 70lbs, finished successfully.
Deadlift: 5x5, 155lbs, finished successfully.
Pull-Ups: 3 sets till failure ending up: 12, 6, 4.

Mon 04/14/08:
Squat: 5x5, 175lbs, finished successfully.
Bench Press: 5x5, 155lbs, only 4 on the 4th set, and 3 on 5th.
Barbell Row: 5x5, 75lbs, finished successfully.
Dips: 5x5, 10lbs, finished successfully.

Wed 04/16/08:
Squat: 5x5, 185lbs, first 3 sets were OK, after that couldn't do more than 1.
Overhead Press: 5x5, 75lbs, finished successfully.
Deadlift: 5x5, 185lbs, finished successfully.
Pull-Ups: 5x5, 10lbs, finished successfully.

Thoughts so far:
I knew when I started that that I wouldn't be able to keep those increments on squat, bench and deadlifts for long. It seems I have finally come to the point where I have to slow down. It was really frustrating not being able to squat 185lbs today more than once after doing 3 sets of 5. I tried 3 times, but failed. I will try same weight for squat again on Friday. Same for bench presssing 155lbs, I almost had it so I will try again on Friday. After Friday, I'll move down to 5lbs increments on squat and bench press.

By the way, I am on my second week of the Anabolic Diet. Started it on April 7th. I mainly a lot of eggs for breakfast, lots of meat with animal fat for lunch and dinner, along with a bit of lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes, and once in a while broccoli. On the weekend I just go nuts, I eat a load of bananas, apples, and oranges, ice cream, pizza, and pasta.

What do you think of my progress so far? Am I trying to progress too fast? I asked the experience lifters in my gym, and they said my technique's OK. Any tips/comments on my training/diet will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Quagmire911]

Looking good, as long as you are using good form there is no such thing as progressing too fast. Try to keep up increasing 10lbs a time on the deadlift.

If you lift in a powerlifting gym and everyone does the big three then they will be able to tell if your form is good. However if it is a health club or whatever, I would try and get videos of yourself lifting to check form.

For the diet it sounds like you have the right idea, but you would have to be more specific as too how much protein/fats you are consuming and your total calories. You should be eating 5-6 times a day trying to get at least 230g of protein in daily. Of course your total calorie count will depend on you weight goals which I didn't see you list. Do you want to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain weight?

Good luck...

 

[eldafar]

Thanks

Lifters are of different sorts at the university gym that I go to. I asked some football players who come to lift there often. I will, however, try to get my hands on a camera so I can record my form and upload it online to see what other people think.

I am trying to stay around the same weight, 150s-160s. As for calories and stuff, I honestly have no idea. I have to eat at the university cafeteria, which means I can't really weigh portions and whatnot, and they don't have nutritional facts for everything they serve.

How much more am I going to get out of eating more than 3-4 times a day? I have classes spread throughout the day, and can only eat food 3-4 times a day because I have to go to the cafeteria.

So I usually end up having only 3 meals:
Breakfast: 6 eggs and a 5/6 slices of bacon
Lunch and Dinner: Whatever meat they have, if there is beef being served I'll try to get that and get as many fatty parts as possible. If they don't have beef, I'll go for pork, and last resort is chicken. I don't really count, I just try to eat intuitively since I can't really measure out my portions with anything. I'll top it off with a cucumber and a tomato, with some lettuce.
If eating 6 times a day, and counting calories is that crucial, I'll try to figure out a way to do it.

 

[Quagmire911]

I really don't see how it is hard taking prepared meals with you in a bag, I do it all the time. You don't have to eat in the cafeteria. Save your money for better sources of food.

If you can't do six meals, five is the compromise. As I say above you should be trying to get 1.5g of protein per pound of bw (230gish for you). At your weight on the anabolic diet you will probably be around 2800-3100 to sustain your weight, I reckon. So you want around 900-1000 calories from protein and 1900-2200 from fats. Everyone is different of course. If you start losing weight take 300 calories more a day, and vice versa for gaining weight until you get the balance right.

If you are aiming to maintain weight you could maybe try four meals, but smaller meals spread out over the day is better for a plethora of reasons.

 

[eldafar]

Fri 04/18/08:
Squat: 5x5, 185lbs, last set couldn't do last 2 reps
Bench: 5x5, 155lbs, last two sets could barely do 4 each
Barbell Row: 5x5, 80lbs, OK.
Dips: 5x5, 20lbs, OK. Was easier than the 10lbs for some weird reason.

I couldn't completely finish bench and squat at the current weight again, Monday I'll definitely be able to do it. I started counting calories and it turns out I was undereating, so per Quagmire's advice I'm loading up on more protein. Naturally I'm also eating more fat.
Weekend carb loading, here I come!

 

[collalife]

no pizza or ice cream. if any ice cream take it sparingly. do up weights. lift the bar,then 100, then 155. then 160.
check out:http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=143331

 

[eldafar]

collalife: Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Ice cream doesn't really taste as good anymore, and the cafeteria pizza sucks anyways so I probably won't go to town on it. I'm more looking forward to bananas with milk combo, it's my favorite, I know it's weird but I like it.
About the link you posted, what does that have to do with weightlifting/training?

Also, when you say 100, 115, and up. Do you mean build up for warm up and then do the sets that actually count?

 

[Quagmire911]

Read this for warm up:

http://www.ironaddicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3404

If you don't hit the squat next time I would deload.

 

[I-tallionStallion]

no pizza or ice cream. if any ice cream take it sparingly. [/url]

Well before you go taking this advice eldafar, i am wondering if you get fat easily, cause if you don't and your like my friend who can eat anything at any time then adding pizza and ice cream isn't a big deal while carbing up.

 

[eldafar]

Mon 04/21/08
Well today sucked. Whether because I'm losing appetite because I am sick of this college cafeteria food. (I have no choice, first years don't have kitchen access, so we're pretty much forced to sign up for a meal plan and eat cafeteria food). Or because I went drinking on Saturday, definitely was a bad idea.

Anyways, without further ado, today's workout:
I read the warm up post by IA that Quagmire kindly linked me to. So I ran for 5 minutes at 7mph on a treadmill for body warm-up, and stretched major muscle groups before getting into the lifting.
Squats:
Seeing as I'm starting to stall, I decided to make sure I'm doing them properly by trying box squats, I basically stacked a bunch of plates up to mid shin level to sit back on.
Warm up sets were, 45x5x2, 95x5, 115x3, 135x2, 155x1
As soon as I tried the first set of 185lbs, I quickly realized it wasn't going to happen. It was too hard, probably because I was cheating before and not going down as low, so the box turned to be a good idea. So after only being able to do only 3 on the second set I decided to deload right there. I went down to 165lbs and completed the sets.
One major thing I noticed, towards the end of the sets my knees act weird, my right knee comes inward instead of ******d, but my left knee goes ******d, so it looks weird. I must be doing something wrong, so I was concentrating on keeping knees out.

Overhead Press:
I warmed up doing 45x5x2, and went on to do 80x5x5.
It was hard, and while doing them my neck started hurting pretty badly. It's been hurting for the past few weeks actually, and this might be the cause. I think I am hyperextending my neck or something, either way my form sucks obviously.

Deadlift:
Since I've already done squats, I didn't spend too much time warming up, so the warm-up was: 135x1, 165x1. After which I did 195x5x5. It was OK. I could feel the lower back muscles getting tired. No concerns really with the deadlift.

Chin-Ups:
20x5x5. These were pretty hard, so I think I'm going to stay at the same weight for pull-ups next time, since chin-ups are easier for me.

So my form sucks on squats, overhead press, and probably bench press as well. Should I drop down to a lighter load and work on my form again? I'll get my hands on a camera to tape my form for next time. What weights should I drop down to?

Also another question, my appetite is ****, I don't feel like eating at all. Not sure if it's due to food or something. I wonder if I should do HIIT on a track on Tuesdays and Thursdays?

Also, I've been trying to work on my diet. The meals I had so far today:
Meal #1 at 0730:
6 hard boiled eggs(36g of protein, 30g of fat)
5 slices of ham (25g of protein, 5g of fat)

Meal #2 at 1100:
8 hard boiled eggs(48g of protein, 40g of fat)
6 slices of ham (25 g of protein, 5g of fat)

Meal #4 at 1300:
Stir Fry Beef (23g of protein, 10 g of fat)
It was with broccoli and onions.

Meal #5 at 1700(right after workout):
Meatloaf (26g of protein, 18g of fat)
1 cup of sour cream (5g of protein, 44g of fat) (Is eating sour cream bad btw, it seems a bit high on sugar :/ )

So yeah, 188g of protein, and 152g of fat so far today. I had to basically force myself to swallow all this food mentioned above, the eggs were the worst. I basically was just chewing them for minutes, and if I tried to swallow it felt like I'd gag, so I just gulped them down with water. Same pretty much for the rest of the food. So yeah food tastes like **** lately.

So yes, answers please. Also feedback and comments are much appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Mon 04/21/08
I read the warm up post by IA that Quagmire kindly linked me to. So I ran for 5 minutes at 7mph on a treadmill for body warm-up, and stretched major muscle groups before getting into the lifting.

You don't need to run to warm up your body. Stop doing that as you are wasting CNS/lifting strength. Probably made lifting much harder because of it. Just warm up for squats...do low intensity cardio (walking) at the end of your workout. No need to run as that will just lead to muscle loss


Squats:
One major thing I noticed, towards the end of the sets my knees act weird, my right knee comes inward instead of ******d, but my left knee goes ******d, so it looks weird. I must be doing something wrong, so I was concentrating on keeping knees out.

Check your form...read this - http://stronglifts.com/how-to-squat-with-proper-technique-fix-common-problems/

Overhead Press:
I warmed up doing 45x5x2, and went on to do 80x5x5.
It was hard, and while doing them my neck started hurting pretty badly. It's been hurting for the past few weeks actually, and this might be the cause. I think I am hyperextending my neck or something, either way my form sucks obviously. - here is an excellent video to watch proper form. Ripptoe explains it. I also recommend that you put your dominant foot forward somewhat. It makes it easier for me - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sebbhlKhs2E

So my form sucks on squats, overhead press, and probably bench press as well. Should I drop down to a lighter load and work on my form again? I'll get my hands on a camera to tape my form for next time. What weights should I drop down to?

Drop down to the weight where you have close to perfect form with, and its still hard to do. Not so hard that you need to cheat through it tho.

Also another question, my appetite is ****, I don't feel like eating at all. Not sure if it's due to food or something. I wonder if I should do HIIT on a track on Tuesdays and Thursdays?
No...don't. Do morning low intense cardio, have a piece of fruit or a scoop of whey when you wake up and walk for 30-45 minutes

Also, I've been trying to work on my diet. The meals I had so far today:
Meal #1 at 0730:
6 hard boiled eggs(36g of protein, 30g of fat)
5 slices of ham (25g of protein, 5g of fat)

Meal #2 at 1100:
8 hard boiled eggs(48g of protein, 40g of fat)
6 slices of ham (25 g of protein, 5g of fat)

Meal #4 at 1300:
Stir Fry Beef (23g of protein, 10 g of fat)
It was with broccoli and onions.

Meal #5 at 1700(right after workout):
Meatloaf (26g of protein, 18g of fat)
1 cup of sour cream (5g of protein, 44g of fat) (Is eating sour cream bad btw, it seems a bit high on sugar :/ )

Sour cream is fine for you. Don't worry about it, just make sure its normal sour cream, not fat reduced

So yeah, 188g of protein, and 152g of fat so far today. I had to basically force myself to swallow all this food mentioned above, the eggs were the worst. I basically was just chewing them for minutes, and if I tried to swallow it felt like I'd gag, so I just gulped them down with water. Same pretty much for the rest of the food. So yeah food tastes like **** lately.

Try getting some whey, and if you have a refrigerator you can have raw eggs instead, that way you don't have to taste the eggs. Also with that, you can add different meals at the cafeteria. Try having a grilled chicken salad (any dressing you want, as much as you want), or a big burger in the middle of the day, hot dogs, fish, chicken, add some variety for yourself, just make sure you are eating a lot. Add veggies, brown rice, potatoes with lots of butter and sour cream. Bacon, sausages. Man, at your weight you JUST NEED TO EAT

Answers in bold

 

[eldafar]

Alright thanks Stallion. I think I've been restricting what I am able to eat too much and leaving out some options that you mentioned. So yeah, I love sour cream so I can gorge on that now I'll look around this ****ty little college town to see if I can buy whey in a store, if not I'm going back home soon so I'll just order some online.

By the way, what are your thoughts on cottage cheese.

Also, about the brown rice and fruits you mentioned. I'm trying to stay on the Anabolic Diet, exactly how much brown rice is it OK for me to eat?

Thanks for the tips on the exercises, I think being impatient and stupid I forgot to keep in mind all those things that stronglifts told me to be aware of while squatting. Now that I recall, my stance was too wide.
I'll do what Rippetoe says next time with my right foot leading to see how that works out. What should I do on the weight? Should I lower/raise/stay the same for the next time I do Overhead Press?

Tomorrow morning I think I'll have an apple and walk for 45 minutes at 3mph with an incline. Looking forward to that

Thanks man!

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Cottage cheese is good stuff. I don't personally eat it but feel free to add in.

Well if you are on a Anabolic diet (which i forgot er...sorry), and especially the one that stronglifts suggests. Then stay away from brown rice till the weekend. But i still suggested some different good food choices. Just make sure you have something fatty with it haha. Also fish oil and extra virgin olive oil is excellent source of calories and fat. I recommend that you invest in it.

For whey, I know stronglifts says you don't need it, but i still think it could be useful in the morning for the cardio, and for the raw eggs. (which you will need a blender or one of those handheld motor mixer things)

for the overhead press, just do a little less (maybe 5-10 lbs less than usual) to make sure form is down, and if you feel you can handle it, put it back where it was.

Yeah, morning cardio is amazing. I have been seeing some great results from it. Although its thanks to WBA that i did it - http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=114618

Your welcome

 

[eldafar]

So what should I eat before walking tomorrow? Or are apples still good (wishful thinking ).

 

[I-tallionStallion]

yeah an apple is fine...but whey is preferable when you get it.

 

[Quagmire911]

Like Stallion said, don't run before the weights. You can do do 5 minutes light walking if you want and then pyramid the weights up. Dynamic stretching is also acceptable, but no static stretching.

F*** the cafeteria, you don't need a kitchen. Buy some cream, get some whey, sandwiches and some meat+mayonnaise and f*** the cafeteria .

For meal recipe ideas look in here:

http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=140256

Good luck.

 

[eldafar]

Got my appetite back somewhat, so today I ate a ****ton.

Snack: an apple before 45 minute walk at 3mph on a treadmill.
Meal #1: 3 eggs hardboiled, 3 eggs fried, 3 sausage patties, 3 turkey sausage links
Meal #2: plateful of nacho meat, with salad and ranch dressing on top, a huge cup of cottage cheese
Meal #3: cup of cottage cheese with sunflower seeds, 2 hot dogs, a cup of tuna
Meal #4: 2 chicken thighs
After that I came back to my room, I was feeling sleeping cuz I have a cold right now, so I fell asleep and just woke up. I'm gonna go back to sleep soon.

I hope this cold won't affect my performance tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I'll post up videos of my form on squat, bench and row. Is the cardio I'm supposed to do tomorrow after lifting 30min or 45 min? By the way, walking feels so good I didn't want to stop this morning, but I had to go to class, and thought better not to go over what is prescribed.

Question: Where do you guys buy your whey?

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Meals looked good.

For your question, just do the cardio in the morning, don't worry about it when it comes time to lift. Its not really necessary. If you do the walking six times a week, you'll be fine. Read the last link i gave you.

Btw, don't do cardio in the morning on days you do squats.

 

[eldafar]

So if squat days are no-no for cardio, and I'm supposed to do it 6 times a week, does that mean I should spread the 6 times throughout the 4 off days I have? WB says do cardio in the morning 6 times a week but with the workout plan I am on right now that's not going to work out. So just walk 4 times a week? or what's the solution here.

I'm also pretty tight and sore in my mid body and legs. Is it a good idea to stretch before going to bed? Just static stretching? Or just dynamic, or both?

 

[I-tallionStallion]

i don't think there is much excuse for not doing it 6 days a week. I mean c'mon, really now, you can't do it? Do what you want with the info. It's your choice if you do less days. consider this, you do 4 days...you are cutting out 33.3% percent work.