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coroho's strength training log


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Hi. Now that I see my name in the third person it looks kind of dumb, you can just call me Cory if you want. I started the Stronglifts program 12 weeks ago in June with the goals of getting bigger and stronger. For the first 8 weeks I was reluctant to count cals and keep track of my diet. When I finally did (around the time I joined this site and went vegan--was just veg before) I found I wasn't eating enough which explains why while I did make some pretty good strength gains I didn't really gain any mass. It took me another couple weeks to get consistent and I only bought a scale last week. So in an effort to further motivate myself I'm going to start keeping a log here.

 

Here are my starting stats: 5'10" / 60kg (130 lbs) / 24 years old

Here what I'm doing and my current maxs:

Squat: 5x5 75kg

Bench: 5x5 50kg

(Overhead) Press: 5x5 32.5kg

Deadlift: 1x5 90kg

 

Pullups: 3xF 9,9,8

Chinups: 3xF 10,10,8

Dips: 3xF 10,8,7

Feet Elevated Inverted Rows: 3xF 9,7,6

 

As for diet, my basic goals are to get 1.5xBW lbs/g in protein, about 100g fat, and the rest in carbs for a total of 3500 cals, but the more the merrier. I even made a little spreadsheet to keep track:

http://shup.com/Shup/208779/cals.png I don't usually hit my mark on protein but I at least get more than 1g/lb.

So I've gained almost 2 lbs in the 5 days I've been tracking it. I understand weight can fluxuate but I've been weighing myself each morning at the same time and I just hope to see the trend continue. If it doesn't, well I guess that's why you folks are here to help me out! So anyway, I hit the gym again tomorrow and will start updating my log. Any and all advice welcome!

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ha, what do you know, first log entry and it was a not so good day at the gym. here's how it went:

 

Squats: 77.5kg - 5,5,4,2

Bench Press: 52.5kg 5,5,5,5,3

Feet Elevated Inverted Rows: 3xF 9,8,7

Dips: 3xF 10,8,5

Reverse Crunches: 12,10,6

 

The bodyweight exercises went pretty well, but I let myself cop out on the barbell exercises. I had my most intense squat workout last Friday (5x5 75kg), and while it felt GREAT to do it, I had a bit of anxiety at the thought of pushing that out again. I have yet to physically fail a squat and I'll just quit at the top thinking I don't have another one in me. I didn't even go for a 5th set today cause I wanted to be done with them, but I've done that before and it's just a mental block I'll have to get over.

I did worse this time on bench press than last time with the same weight (I went 5,5,5,4,5 last time). I think the squats just kind of set the tone.

 

___

 

I ate good today though. 3,937 cals, 601.3g carbs, 109.8g fat, 178.5g protein for a 60/24/17% c/f/p breakdown.

However I woke up weighing slightly less than I did yesterday at 132.4 lbs. I did let my eating lag some over the weekend but I still beat the low end of my goals so I don't know what's up with that. Unrelenting, my body's needs are. Well, must press on..

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Hey Cory.

 

Man I'm looking really forward to reading this log. I'm on my 13th week of stronglifts just now and my maxes are;

 

Squats - 77.5kg 5x5 (I got this on week 9, been working on technique and I'm nearly back up to this weight again - getting knee pain again though )

Bench Press - 52.5kg 5x5 (tried 55kg yesterday got 5/5/5/3/3)

Deadlift - 100kg

Overhead Press - 37.5kg 5x5

 

We're sitting pretty similar at the moment, will be good to compare =]

 

You're kicking my ass on pull-ups/chins though. And I'm doing push-ups (which I suck at) against the dips. I'm prob gonna start doing feet elevated rows as well instead of normal ones, cause i'm getting quite high numbers on them.

 

I did worse this time on bench press than last time with the same weight (I went 5,5,5,4,5 last time).

I do this ALL THE TIME. Sometimes I'll move up a weight, suck so bad that I go back down again and can't even do as much as I could before!

 

Just keep a track of your weight as you go along. I started aiming for 4000kcal (most days i prob only get about 3500) as soon as I started stronglifts and I've went from 152lbs to 173lbs (I'm 6ft).

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Chewybaws - yeah looks like we started at the exact same time, i'm on my 13th week too. I even had a reset on my squats cause I strained my quads at around 65kg. Learned to use my hips more and it's been coming along a lot better since. I might be kicking yr ass on the bodyweight exercises because I still don't weigh anything lol. I could barely do one pullup at the start tho, so I can't say I'm not happy about my progress there. Haven't gained mass, but then I've only started aiming for 4k cals in the past couple weeks so I'm trying to be patient/get closer to hitting it each day. If I'm still not gaining after a month looks like I'll have to kick it up more or mess with my ratios. btw, i'd seen yr log before but couldn't remember the name, so i'll be following it now too.

 

CollegeB - I live in Hyde Park area, you?

 

 

__

 

 

today: 3888 cals, 181.8g protein, 61/21/17 c/f/p

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CollegeB - yeah I do and I love it. seems old school, mostly free weights and no frills. ever been there/where do you go?

 

 

Vegan Joe - haha, would that we were. I just like using kilos with weights cause it seems more official, ie. olympics. That, and the program I'm following is in kilos.

 

____

 

 

 

Workout today:

Overhead press: 35kg 5,5,5,3,4

Pullups: 7,8,5

Prone Bridges: 3x30s w/ feet on medicine ball

 

As for the squats and deads, well, I went in ready to pump out a new PR but I was stopped short by a pain in one of my right quads. I couldn't even get thru my warmup sets--by the time I got to 55kg I couldn't do one without definite pain. I've had a problem with this same area before after a hard workout with poor form, but this time I didn't pull anything while working out (or at least didn't feel it) and my form's a lot better. I think I need to look into better stretching exercises and hopefully I'll be better on Friday, tho I'll probably take it relatively light if I am. Sucks!

 

____

 

 

food: 4013 (!) cals, 192g protein, 64/19/17 c/f/p

unfortunately it's probably not doing me much good with the light workout

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food yesterday: 3790 cals, 171.2g protein, 64/20/16 c/f/p

 

_____

 

weight today: 134.3 lbs (gaining, maybe)

 

workout:

Bench Press: 52.5kg 5,5,5,4,3

Ft Elv Inv Row: 6,7,5

Dips: 9,8,8

Reverse Crunches: 6 w/ no weight, 2x8 w/ 5 lbs

 

Still couldn't squat but the pain wasn't as bad. Read up on stronglifts and I think it's cause I'm not pushing my knees out enough. Will need to deload a bit and work on that Monday. Rest of the workout was pretty shit except dips. Had to workout after my first meal of the day and I felt really hungry by the time I got thru the benches. Next week will be better.

I'm going out of town with my family for the weekend. Hopefully I can keep my cals up.

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Man your log is freaking me out! The similarities!

 

I had to deload when I hit the higher 70s for squats. My knees were going inwards for the higher weight. So I deloaded and worked my way back up concentrating on pushing knees out, but as soon as I hit the higher weights again the pain started coming back. Today was my 3rd day off squatting, it's depressing! The worst part is I thought Squats were my best progress, barely missed a rep, upper legs were starting to feel solid.

 

And the working out after one meal I hate! Just got no energy at that time. My girlfriend's always moaning that I don't go over earlier to see her, but I refuse to workout now before 2 meals!

 

Take lots of nuts for when you're out

 

 

Something I was wondering, do you time breaks between sets? I've started doing this recently, and it's waaaaaayyyy harder. Started taking no longer than 1m-1m30s breaks between sets and the number of reps deteriorates as the sets went on. Will have to deload a bit I think!

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Weekend foods went alright:

Friday: 3862 cals

Saturday: 3499 cals

Sunday: 2790 cals (oops )

 

___

 

Today's session:

Squat: 60kg 2x5

Press: 35kg 5,5,5,3,4

Deadlift: 85kg 1x5

Chinups: 3xF 9,8,8

Prone Bridges: 3x30s w/ feet on medicine ball

 

Squats started out fine but that pain started to inch in midway thru my 2nd set. I don't know if that meant I wasn't quite healed or my form was still bad but I quit before it hurt any more. Also I wanted to be sure I could get in the deads XD. Gonna have to deload on the press again, I know that's the first one a lot of people stall on but it's frustrating nonetheless.

 

Food today: 4,064 cals, 182.5g protein, 64/20/16 c/f/p

 

___

 

Chewybaws: I generally wait about 3 minutes between sets if it's hard and/or there's a chance I might not complete the next set. With heavy squats I might take another minute. On easier exercises (rare now) or if I'm just feeling particularly pumped I'll go at like 2 minutes. Most things I've seen say 3-5 mins is fine but not more. I think if you only take 60-90s it will make you a better endurance athlete or something, but it's probably more important to complete the reps for strength.

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Chewybaws: I generally wait about 3 minutes between sets if it's hard and/or there's a chance I might not complete the next set. With heavy squats I might take another minute. On easier exercises (rare now) or if I'm just feeling particularly pumped I'll go at like 2 minutes. Most things I've seen say 3-5 mins is fine but not more. I think if you only take 60-90s it will make you a better endurance athlete or something, but it's probably more important to complete the reps for strength.

 

Yeah think you're right, I'm gonna take at least 2m next time, cause it's impossible with just 60s. Especially overhead presses! I was prob taking about 3+m before, but workouts were getting way too long

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Food yesterday: 3733 cals, 173.4g prot, 59/24/17 c/f/p

 

____

 

 

Workout today:

Bench Press: 5x5 52.5kg

Elevated Rows: 3xF 10,7,5

Dips: 3xF 11,10,7

Reverse Crunches: 12,8,9

 

My leg started hurting again while I was warming up so I didn't do squats. Figure I should let it heal completely so it's not lurking everytime. Rest of the workout went good. I was supposed to deload on bench press but I was feeling good and did them without much trouble. Highs on elevated rows & dips. I might switch to something else from the crunches soon, I don't know how much they're benefitting me and I haven't advanced since I dropped the counter weight.

 

I'm steady eating about 4k cals a day but gaining at a snail's pace. I don't know if I'm not working hard enough cause I've been out on squats or if I need to start eating even more soon. I guess I'll wait till I can squat again to see but waiting sucks, you know. On the one hand, it's kind of impressive how much I can eat and not gain weight.

 

I dunno. Am I being a pussy about the squats?

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I might switch to something else from the crunches soon, I don't know how much they're benefitting me and I haven't advanced since I dropped the counter weight.

I've always thought the reverse crunches were quite effective, I get a major burn off them. I'm still using a 5kg plate. I find they're as hard as you make them. The slower you do them the better, so you're not using momentum. And concentrate on your core pulling your legs rather than using the counterweight. Something that completely changed these for me was putting something inbetween my thighs and calves to ensure my legs were in a closed position all the time. Made them much harder - no cheating!

 

It's not been long since you started eating big, just need to stick at it. It's a long slow process to add mass. If you feel you can eat more, go for it! I barely hit my target of 4k a day, and it's usually cause I can't eat anymore (or motivate myself to do so).

 

What do you eat on a typical day?

 

 

And no you're not being a pussy. If your leg hurts everytime you go to do them because it hasn't healed, you need to rest it. If you're not sure, start off light and add weight gradually to see if the injuries still lingering. I'll be able to tell you soon if deep squats are making a difference for me

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I might switch to something else from the crunches soon, I don't know how much they're benefitting me and I haven't advanced since I dropped the counter weight.

I've always thought the reverse crunches were quite effective, I get a major burn off them. I'm still using a 5kg plate. I find they're as hard as you make them. The slower you do them the better, so you're not using momentum. And concentrate on your core pulling your legs rather than using the counterweight. Something that completely changed these for me was putting something inbetween my thighs and calves to ensure my legs were in a closed position all the time. Made them much harder - no cheating!

You know, you may be right. Looking back I think I was using the counterweight to cheat some.. I go slow on the down movement but not so much on the crunch movement. I'll try doing them slower next time and add a counterweight if I need to. I also find staying tensed at the bottom makes 'em harder, ie legs not past parallel. I do agree they burn when done right.

 

What do you eat on a typical day?

Let's see. I pretty much have some meals basically the same each day

Oatmeal - Oats, peanut butter, banana, bread, orange juice

Smoothie: Various fruits, usually some frozen, soy milk, oats, 15g protein powder

Salad: Spinach, beans, seeds, avocado, sprouts, etc w/ olive oil, salt (good salt)

Shake: Multigrains (oats, wheat, barley, rye), soy/almond milk, other 15g protein, wheat germ, granola, banana

 

Then the other couple meals I actually cook like black bean burgers, pasta, stir fry or I might eat out (tho rarely). Throw in some more fruits and nuts and peanut butter sandwiches/whatever and that's about it. I can eat more on days when I get a lot in early on. I'll have hit 4k and about to go to bed but still be hungry. Lots of oats and carbs I know

 

And no you're not being a pussy. If your leg hurts everytime you go to do them because it hasn't healed, you need to rest it. If you're not sure, start off light and add weight gradually to see if the injuries still lingering. I'll be able to tell you soon if deep squats are making a difference for me

Hopefully it does. I've been thinking about doing some front squats in the meantime, but I think those are supposed to use your quads more so we'll see. Did you change anything besides the bar position to start going deeper?

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Food 9/09: 3384 cals, 166.3g protein, 61/21/18 c/f/p

9/10: 3272 cals, 161.3g cals, 58/23/18 c/f/p

..slackin..

 

____

 

 

Workout today:

Front Squats: 42.6kg 2x5

Press: 30kg (deload)

Deadlift: 88kg 1x5

Pullups: 10,8,7

Prone Bridges: 3x30s w/ medicine ball

 

Fifth workout no squats Front ones felt fine tho but I quit after 2 sets cause my wrists kind of hurt and I wasn't that confident in my form. Think I mainly need to work on racking it better then I can take the weight up. Tied PR on deadlift but I think I can still do more. Hit 10 pullups for the first time. I swear B days work the calluses good between those two exercises. It's cool tho

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Nah, for squatting deeper just lower bar, might be a tad of a wider stance dunno.

 

Hit 10 pullups for the first time. I swear B days work the calluses good between those two exercises. It's cool tho

 

Awesome work on the pullups. I bought chalk a couple of weeks ago so I don't have to worry about calluses so much now I kinda miss peeling them off though haha!

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Food 9/11: 3,815 cals, 186.7g protein, 60/22/18 (c/f/p)

9/12: 3669 cals, 175.8g protein, 58/24/18

9/13: 3473 cals, 173.2g protein, 60/21/18

Today: 3567 cals, 194.6g protein, 60/20/20

 

_____

 

Workout today:

Squats: 60kg 3x5

Bench Press: 55kg 5,5,5,5,4

Elevated Row: 9,8,7

Dips: 12,9,10

Reverse Crunch: 8, 2x12 w/ 10lb counter

 

Squats, fuck yeah! Took it light though and my right leg felt fine, however in my 3rd set at 60 my left leg started straining in the same place! I think I'm doing something wrong on the way up. Considering switching to front squats for awhile and see if that helps any/strengthens my quads.

On my first set on BP I didn't think I'd get close to finishing all sets, but after I got 5 there I kept feeling I could do it again. That last rep I got up but a guy I had asked to spot me helped out a little so I don't count it. Rightly so though, the bar started to travel towards my waist and he pulled it back so it would've been bad form anyway.

No progress on rows. Dips went up again, but my shoulder kind of hurts since. I dip pretty deep and it feels comfortable, but I've read you shouldn't go much past parallel so I may try that next time. Reverse crunches with the counterweight: damn! That burned, I've def been neglecting form. Nice.

 

 

Progress: I gained 3 lbs last week! I'm still skinny but I'm getting some muscle at my core:

http://shup.com/Shup/215672/shrtup.JPG

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Awesome work man, awesome.

 

Your bench press is great! I've been stuck on 55kg for like 4 attempts now

 

Still to update my log for yesterday, but the reverse crunches were amazing. I used super strict form. Very slow up and down. Legs never coming down past vertical and hands not leaving the floor. It's just one of those exercises that are as hard as you make them.

 

 

Your core's looking great! I'm gonna have to shift like 10lbs of fat before I see anything like that! Haha

 

Good stuff on the +3lbs keep it up

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food yesterday: 3706 cals, 183.7g protein, 60/21/18

 

_____

 

9/16/09

Squats: 51.6kg 4x5

Press: 32.5kg 5x5

Deadlift: 92.4kg 1x5

Chinups: 11,7,7

Prone Bridges: 3x40s w/ medicine ball

 

Squats: Went lighter today and video'd myself. Guess what, form's exactly the same with shaky knees and all lol. Got some work to do I guess, but at least I'm not still injured. Squats is a cruel mistress.

Press: Used a starting form closer to how I was trying to front squat, with the bar coming closer to my shoulders. Made some of the cues more doable, eg. keep your elbows in front. Not sure if it made it easier, but I didn't struggle much at this weight. Test will come next week at 35kg.

Deadlift: Was pretty hard, but not extremely. I forgot to try incorporating a mixed grip. I've been doing it in my warmups to try to get used to it, but just forgot today. Maybe that will help me out next time. Tried to video this too but hit the record button twice. Fail.

Chins: Hit 11 for the first time, but it took a lot out and the next couple sets were kind of low. Get those next time.

Bridges: Kept everything pretty tight and went for an extra 10 secs. Felt good.

 

 

sidenote: I cooked my own beans today. Man, that's like 3x cheaper! And I won't have to go through so many cans in a week haha.

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food weds: 3723 cals, 184.3g protein, 59/23/18

thurs: 3551 cals, 175.1g protein, 61/21/18

 

__________

 

9/18/09

Squats: 51.6kg 5x5

Bench Press: 55kg 5x5

Elevated Row: 10,7,7

Dips: 15,12,10

Reverse Crunches: 3x12, 10lb counter

 

Squats: I read this article and think I found the source of my problems in the last point. I can definitely feel a difference coming up now, with my hamstrings doing most of the work by contracting. It feels like I'm just rising up.. so that's what the whole bounce thing is about eh? My knees are a lot more stable too. Not perfect yet, but I think if I keep at this and maybe start some mobility exercises I should be building back up in no time.

Bench Press: Was heavy, particularly the last two sets. I didn't wanna do worse than I did last time so I pressed on and managed to get them all. I wish it was feasible to BP in a rack at the gym cause it's gonna be hard next time and I don't wanna have to ask someone to spot me 4 or 5 times.

Dips: Whoa! 15. All I did was not go as deep. Set a PR and my shoulders feel fine. Considering the switch to weighted dips soon, but may try again to get a better feel for it as I had to keep watching myself in the mirror. Also to make sure it wasn't a fluke haha.

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Awesome work on bench! I think I'm gonna have to go back to 52.5kg, 55 is killing me haha.

 

Good stuff on dips too

 

 

I need to get to bed just now up super early tomorrow for work, I had a quick look at the first part of that squatting article, and will defintely read the rest tomorrow night - looks good.

 

Haven't even had time to update my log today! Need sleep though. Squats were baaaaaaaad today - groin pain is back >_<

 

How's those crunches coming along?

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Thanks man. Yeah, that article is really nothing that hasn't said before, it just helped me realize the difference between staying tense and, well, "going all loosy-goosey." I was doing squats before in two movements--one down movement, then one up movement. This opposed to one movement with two parts. A compound movement even His youtubes are basically giving you exercises to do if you have such and such problem as far as I could tell. Lots of them too. So that's pretty helpful. Might give you some good ones for the ol' groin

 

Crunches were fine. I was pretty tired after the rest of my workout so I just grabbed a 10lb weight again. Last set was still pretty hard. I feel like curling up into a ball after I finish a hard set of those lol

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food 9/18: 4172 cals, 207.4g prot, 62/20/18

9/19: 4013 cals, 187.8g prot, 61/22/17

9/20: 3722 cals, 182.1g prot, 63/19/18

 

___________

 

9/21/09

Bodyweight: 137.9lbs

Squats: 56.2kg 5x5

Press: 35kg 5x5

Deadlift: 95kg 1x5

Pullups: 8,6,6

Prone Bridges: 3x30s w/ medicine ball

 

Squats: Working on form, building my way back up..

Press: Took 2 deloads but I finally got 35kg. Sweet.

Deadlift: Might have added more weight than I did. Oh well. Form was better I think.

Pullups: Ran out of energy by here. Not sure why, but this morning I was kind of out of it the whole way through.

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