Sam's Strength Training Journal

[sosso]

Sunday 28/09/08

Squats 5 x 5 x 90 kg / 198 lb
Seated DB press 5 x 5 x 24 kg / 53 lb
One arm DB rows 5 x 5 x 36 kg / 79 lb
Dips 3 x F

[sosso]

I have been a bit slack these past few days because I'm visiting my family. My routine has been a bit disrupted, but today I found a really good gym that my sister recommended. It was actually really nice to train in unfamiliar surroundings. I was one of two people using the free weights area, which was great. Lots of nice old steel plates.. none of this fancy new rubber coated stuff

Squat 5 x 5 x 205 lb / 93 kg
Barbell clean & overhead press 5 x 5 x 88 lb / 40 kg
Deadlift 1 x 5 x 135 lb / 61 kg
One arm dumbbell clean & press 3 x 5 x 45 lb / 20 kg
Pull up 3 x failure

[sosso]

Squats 5 x 5 x 95 kg / 209.5 lb
Seated DB press 5 x 5 x 22.5 kg / 49.5 lb (I swear these were heavier than the 24 kg dumbbells I normally use!)
One arm DB rows 5 x 5 x 35 kg / 77 lb (same story here.. felt heavier than the 36 kg dumbbell I've used before!)
Dips 3 x 10
Cable crossover 3 x 10 x 60 kg / 132 lb

[sosso]

After about a week without weight training due to not having access to a gym on my holiday, I got back into it tonight. It hasn't been an exercise-free week though. I've been doing some body weight training and swimming, which has been nice.

Tonight 10/10/08

Squat 5 x 5 x 205 lb / 93kg
Barbell Clean & Overhead Press 5 x 5 x 88 lb / 40 kg
Deadlift 1 x 5 x 135 lb / 61 kg
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown 3 x 5 x 135 lb / 61 kg
Pullup 2 x 5

[sosso]

7 weeks and 5 days until I see my girlfriend for the first time since May 15... not that I'm counting or anything

I'm going for it! Lots of hard work and no excuses, no skipping days.. and LOTS of FOOD. I also have 3 assignments due in about a month, but I'll get those out of the way soon! Most classes are over now and it's just a matter of finishing work and handing it in.

Pretty happy with the progress so far. My weight has gone up by 10 kg / 22 lb since January and fat has dropped noticeably.

I've noticed the most growth in my chest, back, shoulders and legs.

[sosso]

Deep Squat 5 x 5 x 60kg / 132 lb

Superset
Dumbbell bench press 5 x 5 x 24kg / 53 lb
One arm dumbbell row 5 x 5 x 34kg / 75 lb (6 reps with left arm each set, 5 with right... left side needs to catch up a bit)

Seated dumbbell press (on flat bench) 2 x 5 x 16 kg / 35 lb

Dips 3 x 10

Seated row 3 x 5 x 68 kg / 150 lb

[sosso]

14/10/08

Squat
Warm up 3 x 5 x 60 kg / 132 lb
5 x 5 x 80 kg / 176 lb

Barbell Clean & Overhead Press
3 x 5 x 40 kg / 88 lb

Powercleans
5 x 3 x 50 kg / 110 lb

Seated Dumbbell Press
5 x 5 x 22 kg / 48.5 lb

Wide Grip Pull-ups
3 x 3

Chin-ups
3 x 5

[sydneyvegan]

Pretty happy with the progress so far. My weight has gone up by 10 kg / 22 lb since January and fat has dropped noticeably.

I've noticed the most growth in my chest, back, shoulders and legs.

Nice Work Sam
A good Clean bulk adding nothing but muscle

[sosso]

Thanks Chris!

I haven't written about food in a while, so here's what I've had today:

Breakfast
Oats with banana and rice milk
Water
Vitamin supplements - Iron, Zinc, Glucosamine, B12

Mid-morning
Apricot Leda bar
Water
One Orange

Lunch
Bean Burrito (beans, tomatoes, carrots, celery, spices)
Water

Post Workout
Shake with rice milk & chocolate flavoured rice protein
Handful of dates
Water

Snack
Walnuts and Brazil nuts
Water
Banana
Apple juice

Dinner
Fried rice - brown rice, carrots, celery, capsicum, mushrooms, soy sauce
Water
Banana

I also snack on dates and mixed unsalted nuts whenever I'm hungry throughout the day.

[sosso]

HEY YOU!



Do you like VEINS?

[sosso]

Sometimes I feel like I complicate things too much, so I'm going to try to keep it very simple by doing the Rippetoe's [edit] Wichita Falls Novice Program. I'm going to drop the weights a bit, especially squats, because I've realised I haven't been going deep enough.

Day 1
Squat 3x5
Bench press/press 3x5 (alternating each week)
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

Rest one day

Day 2
Squat 3x5
Press/bench press 3x5 (alternating each week)
Deadlift 1x5/Powerclean 5x3 (alternating each week)

Rest one day

Day 3
Squat 3x5
Bench press/press 3x5 (alternating each week)
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

[sosso]

I started with the "Day 2" routine today because Tuesday's workout was similar to "Day 1"

Squat
1 x 5 x 60 kg / 132 lb
1 x 5 x 65 kg / 143 lb
3 x 5 x 70 kg / 154 lb

Dumbbell Bench Press
2 x 5 x 22 kg / 48.5 lb
3 x 5 x 24 kg / 53 lb

Deadlift
1 x 5 x 50 kg / 110 lb
1 x 5 x 60 kg / 132 lb

All felt pretty easy but I'm just going to progress steadily, aiming to add at least 5kg to deadlifts, 5 kg to squats and 2.5 - 5 kg to all presses each workout and focus on good form.

[sosso]

Squat
1 x 5 x 60 kg / 132 lb
1 x 5 x 70 kg / 154 lb
3 x 5 x 75 kg / 165 lg

Overhead Press
3 x 5 x 40 kg / 88 lb

Pull-up
3 x 5 Wide grip
1 x 3 Close grip to finish

[sosso]

Full Squat
1 x 10 x 60 kg / 132 lb
1 x 5 x 60 kg / 132 lb
3 x 5 x 80 kg / 176 lb

Squats felt really good. My form is so much better and I'm finding it much easier to add weight each workout.

Dumbbell Bench Press
1 x 10 x 20 kg / 44 lb
2 x 5 x 24 kg / 53 lb
3 x 5 x 26 kg / 57 lb

These felt pretty good. I think I'll need to keep using the 26 kg DB's for a couple more workouts.. they weren't exactly easy and I feel that going up to 28 kg right away would be too much.

Pull-up
3 x 5

[LocalBrada]

Your workouts are looking good and consistent. Consistency is the key, keep at it.