paulxcook's Training Journal

[paulxcook]

I started my Ripptoe workout today. This will be my first time in a weight room since '04.

I'm 6'2", 228 lbs, 20% body fat.

Goal: Kind of vague for now, 230ish lbs, 12% body fat

WEIGHT X REPS X SETS

Squats:

135 x 5 x 2
185 x 3 x 2

As soon as I went down for my initial warmup squat, I knew I was in trouble. It didn't feel like a warmup, it felt like it used to feel when I was doing 70% of my 1RM. I'm lifting alone, so by the end of set 4, I stopped as I was afraid if I went down for another rep I wouldn't come back up.

Dumbell Chest Press:

30s x 15 x 1
35s x 10 x 1
40s x 8 x 1
40s x 6 x 1

Crap. This is not a good start.

Deadlift

135 x 5 x 2
225 x 5 x1

I've never done deads before. I think I like them, but I'm sure my form was horrible. I don't like working out alone, at least at first. Once I get back into the swing of things I'll like it though. I tried to keep my back straight, head pointed forward, and my shins are skinned up, so I know I dragged the bar properly.

Barbell Bicep curls

50 x 10 x 1
60 x 8 x 1
60 x 6 x 1

By now I feel like complete crap. This isn't part of ripptoes anyway, I probably won't bother with them again for a while. For now I should be sticking to the program.

Cardio:

20 minutes of running and walking on treadmill


Overall impressions:

I am weak. When I was in high school I was squatting with 3 45s on each side of the bar. However, now I don't do anything, and haven't for a while, and my body has seriously deteriorated. Moreso than I expected. I am disappointed, but I don't feel discouraged. I feel like I just need to keep trying until I make that initial breakthrough. I won't stay this weak if I keep at it.

I also have no endurance. No surprise there. Gaining muscle is more important to me than being able to run an 8 minute mile, but at one point I could run a 7 minute mile, so I'd like ot get back to that. I barely made it a quarter of a mile only running at 5.5 mph. Pathetic.

I have some work to do.

 

[crt1530]

Your progression on squats should be more like this:
45x5
85x5
125x5
165x5
165x5
165x5

Always start with the bare barbell and make at least two evenly spaced steps in weight on your way to the work sets. You really should try to do barbell bench press instead of dumbbell bench press. It will be much more difficult to progress with the dumbbells.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: crt1530
Your progression on squats should be more like this:
45x5
85x5
125x5
165x5
165x5
165x5

Always start with the bare barbell and make at least two evenly spaced steps in weight on your way to the work sets. You really should try to do barbell bench press instead of dumbbell bench press. It will be much more difficult to progress with the dumbbells.

I agree with the squat progression, but I'm not sure about the barbell vs dumbbell response. I do think you should start with barbell, but switching it up with dumbbells seems like a good idea. Sure, you won't move up in weight as fast, but you really develop you stabilizers and other supporting muscles.

 

[paulxcook]

Originally posted by: crt1530
Your progression on squats should be more like this:
45x5
85x5
125x5
165x5
165x5
165x5

Always start with the bare barbell and make at least two evenly spaced steps in weight on your way to the work sets. You really should try to do barbell bench press instead of dumbbell bench press. It will be much more difficult to progress with the dumbbells.

I appreciate the squat advice. I'll modify accordingly. However, is there really any reason I can't just switch it up between barbell and dumbells? I don't plan on using DBs exclusively. I do like them better, but I want to use both.

In other news, man am I sore. A good sore, though. DOMS, I guess. I was worried my knee would act up, but it feels about the same as it has for the past few weeks.

 

[crt1530]

I mentioned switching to the barbell primarily because it appears you are attempting to follow Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength template. There is nothing wrong with dumbbell bench press as an exercise. The problem lies in the inability to progressively add small increments of weight to what you are lifting. You are left trying to make 10lb jumps (5lbs per hand) for three sets of five, which ends up becoming an insurmountable task if you stick to the program (3 sets of 5 reps). It is much easier to make much smaller weight increments if you use a barbell. When I did this program, I used some large washers that allowed me to increase the weight on the bar in 1.25lb steps.

Another issue with dumbbells is that people tend to start cheating on the range of motion in order to increase the weight they are lifting. With a barbell, you know whether or not the bar touched your chest. With dumbbells, it can start getting fuzzy. If you've moved up from 60lb to 70lb dumbbells but your ROM is only 3/4 what it was previously, you really haven't gotten any stronger.

 

[paulxcook]

I guess that's a good point. With dumbells I'm kind of forced to increase in 10lb increments, whereas with barbell bench I can go in 5 lb increments. Again, thanks for the advice crt. This is exactly why I wanted a H&F forum.

 

[paulxcook]

I'm planning to go lift again tomorrow, but if I feel like I do now, I don't know how I'll do anything. Everything is sore.

 

[paulxcook]

I didn't go to the gym today, too sore, too much to do for Christmas. By the day after Christmas I should be good to go though. And I'll only get 2 workouts in this week, Wednesday and Friday, which is disappointing, but I doubt the gym is open on Christmas.

 

[TallBill]

The first week or two you'll be extra sore, but after that you need to push yourself through the soreness. It's the only way that it'll ever really get better.

 

[crt1530]

You really should buy "Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training." It covers the vast majority of the issues you'll encounter in training. For example:

Soreness, unless it is extreme, is no impediment to training. In fact, many records have been set by sore athletes. If your athletes are not training hard enough to produce occasional soreness, and therefore having to train through it, they are not training very hard. Waiting until soreness subsides before doing the next workout is a good way to guarantee that soreness will be produced every time, since the athlete never gets adapted to sufficient workload frequency to stop getting sore.

 

[paulxcook]

Damn, you guys are not gonna let me off easy. I know I need to just tough through the soreness. I've been through this before, and though it was years ago I am still very young so I should be able to do it again. If it weren't for Christmas being tomorrow I would be going in tomorrow and would still get my 3 workouts in this week. I guess I shouldn't make excuses though, I just should've found time to go in today.

I was hoping to make it through this program just using the big forum post at bbing.com. Cheapest I've seen it anywhere is $30. I should probably just buy it. I'll look into it post-Christmas.

 

[paulxcook]

Day two, at long last, now that my bathroom remodel and the holidays are over. I'm disappointed in myself for not getting a good start on this. My workout wasn't great again. My wife and I went to the gym, and I felt obligated to show her what I do and help with some machines, none of which I wanted to use. I did the best machine versions of squat, military press, and low row that I could, but didn't bother recording weight as machine weight won't have much to do with free weights. I barely feel sore at all.

However, wife and I talked and she was actually just as annoyed at having to follow me around as I was at having to lead her around, so we agreed to lift separately and meet up for cardio after whenever we go to the gym at the same time. Hallelujah.

We also worked out a way for us both to go 3 times a week at minimum, which works perfectly. I have half of a Barnes & Noble GC to use for Starting Strength so I can legitimately do the Ripptoe program and answer my own questions when I have them.

 

[TallBill]

Your wife should just do free weights with you. My wife is 5'2" 100 lbs, and deadlifts, squats, incline presses, military presses, does skullcrushers, dumbbell pullovers, etc.

 

[paulxcook]

Originally posted by: TallBill
Your wife should just do free weights with you. My wife is 5'2" 100 lbs, and deadlifts, squats, incline presses, military presses, does skullcrushers, dumbbell pullovers, etc.

I think she will eventually do some freeweights, but right now she'd rather figure stuff out for herself. I did make sure to tell her (and she agreed) that she shouldn't be scared of "accidentally" getting too buff.

 

[paulxcook]

Day 3:

WEIGHT X REPS X SETS

Squats:

bar x 10 x 1
90 x 10 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
170 x 5 x 3

Deadlift:

65 x 5 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
145 x 5 x 1
165 x 5 x 1

Bench:

bar x 10 x 1
65 x 10 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
115 x 5 x 2
115 x 4 x 1

situps on decline bench (I only lowered my body to parallel with the ground, didn't touch back to bench):

bodyweight x 15 x 1

15 minutes of cardio

edit: I meant to say that I am a wussy wuss man. For someone of my size these numbers are pathetic. But I guess we all have to start somewhere. Hopefully I'll be able to increase the weight consistently as the program describes.

 

[paulxcook]

Day 4

WEIGHT X REPS X SETS

Squats:

bar x 10 x 1
95 x 10 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
185 x 5 x 3

I increased my squat weight by 15 lbs, which is exciting to me. Though the program says I should be able to go up 10 - 15 lbs each session, depending on how the weight feels. I may only try 10 lbs next week, the weight felt pretty heavy by the last set.

Overhead Press

20 x 10 x 1
40 x 10 x 1
60 x 5 x 1
80 x 3 x 1
70 x 4 x 2

I wasn't sure how much weight I could or couldn't do here, so I overshot it by trying 80 and had to back down. Then I couldn't get full sets of 70 lbs. I will try 70 lbs again next time.

Bent Over Rows:

bar x 10 x 1
55 x 10 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
115 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1

I again wasn't sure how much weight I would be able to do with this one, and even 135 felt pretty good, so I'm going to increase to 145 next time after warmup sets to see how it goes. These two younger guys were doing kind of the same exercise next to me, but their backs were incredibly rounded while doing it. Their knees were locked and bottom half of their torsos almost vertical, but then their upper spine hunched over while they rowed. Man it sucked, but I also felt like I'd be a complete ass telling them they were doing it wrong when this was only my 4th day in the gym.

No abs, they still really ache from Monday.

30 minutes of cardio, 2.9 miles on the elliptical. That thing really helps my left knee, which has some sort of undiagnosed (I assume patella) problem.

Overall I feel good about my work. I kind of sucked on military press, but squat felt decent and rows felt great. I'm kind of looking forward to the point that I can add dips and chins/pullups, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.

 

[paulxcook]

Tried to buy Starting Strength at BArnes and Noble today, they said it was out of print, at least to them. He sells it on his website, I guess I'll just buy it online. Too bad, I wanted to read it tonight.

 

[crt1530]

There is a revised edition that just came out. The first edition was titled "Starting Strength: A Simple and Practical Guide for Coaching Beginners." The second edition is called "Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training."

 

[paulxcook]

Day 5:

WEIGHT X REPS X SETS

Squat

bar x 10 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
200 x 5 x 3

Good, I'm at 200 lbs on squat. I doubt I'll keep being able to increase by 15 lbs between workouts for too many more workouts. Otherwise I'll be up over 300 in less than 2 weeks! These felt good, but 200 also felt pretty heavy, especially on the last set. I may only add 5-10 or even no lbs next week, depending on how my warmups feel.

Deadlift

65 x 5 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
185 x 5 x 1

1 x 65 x 5
1 x 95 x 5
1 x 135 x 5
1 x 185 x 5

Cool, 20 more lbs for deads. I should be able to deadlift more than I can squat, so I expect my dead gains will eclipse my squat gains soon. I didn't even feel like this was too bad. Oh, and I wore pants, so no bloody shins 200+ is my goal for next week.

Bench Press
bar x 10 x 1
65 x 8 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
120 x 5 x 1
115 x 5 x 1
115 x 4 x 1

UGH. First off, I did a terrible job of eating today. I slept through breakfast, ate a sub and some pretzels for lunch, no pre-workout snack, so by my last deadlift set I felt out of gas. Still, it pisses me off that my bench weight sucks so much. I don't feel like I made any progress since last time. I feel like I regressed. It's embarrasing to be as big as I am and struggle with a measly 120 lbs. Heck, in high school I was at least lifting 190 lbs. This sucks.

No abs, I'll do some next week.

20 minutes of cardio, after bench I was just frustrated and had no energy.

edit: crt, I had them check any books by him, including Practical Programming and whatever else they had in the system, they were all out of print. I am going to try Borders next, or just order online.

edit 2: I went to a newer LA Fitness (my "normal" one is also new, just a few months old vs. a few days old). For whatever reason, the mens' and womens' locker rooms are situation such that men are on the right and women on the left (reverse of my normal gym).

So of course like an idiot I walked right into the womens' locker room on accident after bench. Woopsie.

 

[paulxcook]

Day 6:

WEIGHT X REPS X SETS

Squat:

bar x 10 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
205 x 5 x 3

I had to pause between nearly every rep on the last set. I don't think I'll be adding much weight at all on Thursday.

Overhead Press:

bar x 8 x 1
55 x 5 x 1
65 x 5 x 1
70 x 5 x 1
75 x 5 (barely)

This felt fine until the last set: I used a rack that appeared to be designed specifically with overhead presses in mind, as the bench was in an upright position and the bar was at the right height to sit down and lift up. However, it also forced me to kind of reach back behind my head to lift the weight up, and the last time I did this I felt kind of a tight pain in my left shoulder. Later when I was stretching it popped pretty badly, though it felt better afterward. I don't think I"ll use it again, as convenient as it seemed.

Bent Over Row:

bar x 8 x 1
55 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 3

I like this lift, but I was worn out when I did these. I need to be eating more. I should have had one more warmup set, but I skipped it so I could do all 3 normal sets.

20 minutes of cardio

Overall I'm enjoying this program. It's easy to follow (the lifting part, anyway), and I'm already seeing some changes in my body. My arms, of all things, look bigger, my delts are harder, my thighs are getting bigger and firmer, and I also think I"m losing some fat. I feel stronger and more alert than I used to, and I'm enjoying going to the gym. I actually sat down to try to veg out and watch tv last night and got so bored I could hardly stand it.

I got my whey protein, creatine, and fish oil pills today. Looking forward to starting up tomorrow with that.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Heya man, I was just readin' up on some of your most recent posts. I see that sometimes you get a bit discouraged (for ex. your bench weight). Keep in mind that, although you may not be the world's strongest man, you're doing what the majority of people who are in your situation don't do - you're doing something about it. You're pushing yourself. You're building up. Don't get discouraged by some things, just keep in mind that it's a whole journey you have to go through. You wouldn't appreciate it as much in the end if you didn't have to go through the pain and the effort. Good job though, man, and keep your spirits up. You're doin' great.

Also do you know your current stats? Sometimes to track your progress, it's good get a body measuring tape and see your measurements every week. This helps keep your mind off of the scale, which can sometimes be depressing, and keeps it on your progress.

 

[paulxcook]

Thanks for the thoughts. Bench has always frustrated me, my chest just doesn't grow like the rest of me, but it just makes me want to lift harder, so I'm definitely not giving up.

I haven't done measurements like that in a long time, maybe I should. My wife has some measuring tape she uses for sewing, I could do that. I don't know that I'd want to do it every week, maybe every 2 weeks or every month. What should I measure? I assume waist, upper and lower arms, calves, upper legs, chest, and shoulders?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Thanks for the thoughts. Bench has always frustrated me, my chest just doesn't grow like the rest of me, but it just makes me want to lift harder, so I'm definitely not giving up.

I haven't done measurements like that in a long time, maybe I should. My wife has some measuring tape she uses for sewing, I could do that. I don't know that I'd want to do it every week, maybe every 2 weeks or every month. What should I measure? I assume waist, upper and lower arms, calves, upper legs, chest, and shoulders?

Usually neck, shoulders, arms, chest, waist, quads, calves. I try to measure the largest part for most everything except the waist since the waist is a bit different.

Also, with chest, what's your biggest problem? Do you touch the barbell lightly to your shirt? Do you have the right grip? Is there anything else that could be a factor with your hindrance of progress?

 

[paulxcook]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Thanks for the thoughts. Bench has always frustrated me, my chest just doesn't grow like the rest of me, but it just makes me want to lift harder, so I'm definitely not giving up.

I haven't done measurements like that in a long time, maybe I should. My wife has some measuring tape she uses for sewing, I could do that. I don't know that I'd want to do it every week, maybe every 2 weeks or every month. What should I measure? I assume waist, upper and lower arms, calves, upper legs, chest, and shoulders?

Usually neck, shoulders, arms, chest, waist, quads, calves. I try to measure the largest part for most everything except the waist since the waist is a bit different.

Also, with chest, what's your biggest problem? Do you touch the barbell lightly to your shirt? Do you have the right grip? Is there anything else that could be a factor with your hindrance of progress?

I usually put my pinkies on the smooth rings on either side of the barbell, try to lower to my shirt and not bounce off my chest. I wonder if maybe I'm letting the weight come too far down my torso. I read recently that it helps to press upwards but slightly toward your head, and if anything I press slightly in the other direction.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

You know, your grip doesn't sound unreasonable. I'd talk to someone, maybe a trainer, just to see what's goin on. Also, the lift shouldn't really feel like it's going anywhere but up and down. If it does, try to correct it.