Hey guys, I'm 5'9 160lb

Read a bunch of logs in this forum and decided to start one of my own as motivation/hopefully get some advice as well.

Basically I know nothing lol. Got SS for a class and I'm about 20 pages in. For the past couple years the extent of my working out has been like an average of 2cardio workouts a week and maybe lifting an average of like twice a month, mostly iso machines.

I also have a bad knee that I've partially dislocated a whole bunch of times, hasn't popped out in several years now (mostly due to only playing sports with a brace) but it still bothers me I think because of never properly taking care of it. Hopefully the critical lifts will help with that.

I eat like crap, sugary cereal every morning, pizza 2-3 times a week, and nothing else really consistent. Main other meals are grilled cheese, PB&J, omelets, apples. Going to look into that and see how to fix my diet. My work gives me free pizza for dinner and I'm pretty broke so it's not as easy as it might be

So basically haven't been doing much right health and fitness wise and hoping to change that and keep track of it in this thread.

GL me!

2/19

10 minutes elliptical

Squats: Used one of those lifting machines that force you to only move vertical. Don't know if this considered inferior.
2x5 empty sets, til I realized the empty bar is only 15lb lol.
1x5x65
2x5x85

Pretty low weight to start off. Really not confident with my form. Is it better to stay low until I get better form even though I am not getting that intense of a workout?

Bench (I think empty bar is 45? If it's not then I am really weak )
1x5x75
2x5x95

The weight didn't feel like much, but I was wobbling way too much and didn't have my feet firm on the ground. Realize now I could lower the bench height lol.

Pullups: 5/5/3

Doesn't feel like much of a workout but I hope this helps me get into the groove and learn to workout properly.

Gonna finish reading the squats portion of SS.

that is a smith machine. it is your enemy. you will learn to hate it and laugh at people that use it.

yes.

Lol. That guy is hilarious. Shows me how much I have to learn though.

I'm not sure my gym has a non smith machine. I'll look into that.

2/22

Had class and worked a lot on form doing BW squats and goblet squats.
Thought about doing some bar squats after but couldn't get the power rack to work (pretty sure it was broken).

2/25

Finished reading the SS sections on squats and bench press. Hopefully I'll get through the deadlift stuff for monday so I can start feeling comfortable trying those.

10 minutes bike

Squats

1x5x20 (goblet)
1x5x45
1x5x65
1x5x85
3x5x95

Was feeling really good about my form, of course I'm sure I have a ton of room to improve, but it didn't feel awkward at all like last time. Might have helped that I was using the power rack. Realized that the first half or so my neck was to far back because I was looking right at the mirror. Def feel that I can lift more but it was a good workout nonetheless.

My shoulders were a bit sore after the squats, and my elbows were really far back. Is it possible to be too far back?

Bench

1x5x45
1x5x65
3x5x85

Had trouble with the unracking and reracking on the power rack. I'll watch some youtube videos on that. Maybe I was too far forward. Could have gone with a heavier weight but I nearly missed the rerack on my first set of 85 so decided to stay at 85. Had good arch/tightness, not so sure about my legs. They were firmly planted on the floor, not sure if they could have been doing more work, but I wasn't really paying attention to them.

pullups

4/4/4


Feels like my first real workout and I'm excited to keep improving.

2/29
Missed monday but I think I'm just gonna go friday/sunday/tuesday anyways
Decent chance I get forced to play hockey on monday anyways

had a class today and worked some more on form, including with a barbell.

5 minutes elliptical

Squats
1x5x45
1x5x65
1x5x85
3x5x105

Was having some pain in my hip flexors. I think it was because of all the squats I did during class without running before. Also was having a lot of trouble keeping my wrists straight and narrow while the bar is in the proper position on my back. I think I'm just not flexible enough.
105 had me sweating so it's nice to be reaching weights that make me work. How should I be upping the weights on future sets? I don't want to end up doing 15 sets when I'm lifting 180.

Deadlift

1x45
1x65
1x85
3x105

First time doing this life, and I can already tell I'm gonna love it. I think my back was in really good position, need to work on not pushing my knees out before the hips. Kinda skipped some pages in the book so it deserves a reread.

Overhead press

3x45

Haven't read this chapter yet so just did some light weights to help me understand when I read the book. Was surprisingly difficult.

Every workout I've done has felt more successful than the last. Hopefully this trend continues.

I'll try to get vids up of my next workout. Really interested to hear some criticisms.

deadlifts are great. but wait until you're lifting some heavy ass **** off the ground and tell me if you're still loving it

Played football for an hour. Didn't feel up for full worksets afterwards, so decided to take it easy. Did a coupe sets anyways to work on flexibility and stay in the groove.

Squats
1x4x45
1x4x65
2x4x85

Bench
1x5x45
1x5x65
1x5x85
1x5x95
1x4x95

Couldn't finish the last rep. Had to use a bench that was too high again, I gotta go during offpeak.

pullups
5/5/4

3/4

Filmed 2 squat sets, one time I must have mis-clicked the play button and the other type was such a bad angle its basically a 30 second clip of my rear end. Not putting that up, but watching it I could see that I am rounding my lower back, and occasionally pushing my hips in instead of up, which were things I was unaware of. Was really unhappy with my form, it seems like I've forgotten all the little things since I read the book. Couldn't even come close to getting my wrists straight.

Squats
2x5x45
1x5x65
1x3x85
1x2x105
3x5x125

Didn't have a problem with the weights, form was just crap

OHP
2x5x45
1x5x55

Damn this is a tough lift. Doesn't seem like it should be nearly this hard.

Deadlift
1x5x45
1x3x105
3x5x125

Probably didn't have amazing form, but didn't even have to struggle with this weight. It's pretty amazing considering 105 was pretty tough last time.

I'll probably start deadlifting every time for the next couple weeks and start mixing in chinups later.

3/11

Hurt my shoulder playing hockey on Monday, so took a couple days off. Then my gym wasn't available for a couple days. Its good to be back.

Squats
1x5x45
1x5x65
1x3x85
1x2x105
3x5x125

Still really annoying that I'm not flexible enough to get my wrists straight. Form was okay but weights started getting heavy at the end.

Bench
1x5x45
1x3x65
3x5x95

This was hard, but I feel pretty comfortable with my form.

Deadlift
1x5x95
3x5x135

Definitely can keep upping the weight on these. Have to keep focused on the lower back though

3/15

10 minutes elliptical

Squats
1x5x45
1x5x65
1x3x95
1x2x125
3x5x135

OHP
1x5x45
2x5x55
1x4x65

Damn this lift is hard.

Deadlift
1x5x45
1x3x125
3x5x135

Used 45s for the first time. Feels like moving up from microstakes

Pretty nice to see improvement even though I haven't been so dedicated.

Are you doing partial pullups or completing the full pullup? It's pretty amazing if you can do 4 pullups at your current strength level.

Yeah they were definitely partial

3/19

Played hockey, my knee was really hurting at the beginning, could barely bend it which was really weird and scary. It got better slowly as it loosened up. Let in a whole bunch of goals early in the first period because of that, then buckled down and only let in one goal for the last 2.5 periods, shut them down in overtime, then made 10 straight saves to win the shootout

I really hope the knee problems aren't connected to working out

3/21

squats

2x5x45
1x3x85
1x2x115
3x5x145

Squats have been a ton of trouble for me lately, I think a big reason I've been pushing off working out is so I won't have to squat. It's very uncomfortable for me to get into the proper position, I can't keep my wrists straight at all. I switched to the high bar squat this time and it was so much better.

bench

1x5x45
1x3x85
3x5x95

I guess I just need to work out more often to get this up. I think I can bench more but it's really hard to get the bar out of the rack. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

Deadlift
1x3x135
3x5x155

Decided to revive this thread, finally in a spot in my life where I'm relatively settled in an area and have an easily accessible workout room.

Life is going good so this is my chance to get a solid workout rhythm for the first time in my life. Have a lot of work to do

Hardest part of the first day was working on getting back some flexibility, didn't really struggle on any of the weights.

9/10

squats
5x45
5x65
2x5x85

deadlift
1x5x95
2x5x115

press
1x5x45
2x5x55

Bringing this thread back from the dead. Should be a really boring read, just using it to motivate myself to keep track of progress.

Currently 5'9 158lb

Goals are (in order):
1. Protect/strengthen knee (primarily by strengthening quads)
2/3. Long Term Health/Aesthetics
4. Sport performance (would like to be able to throw over 50 yards reliably)
5. Strength (Already strong enough for my daily life, but adding strength will help with all of the above)

May 29

One-leg leg press - 3x8x110

Deadlift - 3x5x225

Lateral Lunge - 3x5x50
Need to replace this with something, dumbbell is getting a bit unwieldily

One-leg Squat - 2x8x10
My balance is really terrible. A year ago I couldn't stand on my left leg for more than 10 seconds.

Single Leg Box Hip Drive - 3x8x40
Great exercise, but here as well the dumbbell is getting unwieldily

TRX Miyagis/Woodchops/rotator cuffs

My physiotherapist's general instructions are leg press + deadlift with some complementary lower body stuff of my choice (such as lateral lunge and hip drive). As I've gotten reasonably comfortable with that I'm not aiming to add upper body stuff on off days. He suggested HIIT focused on upper body, but don't really have a good plan for that yet.

May 30
Bench - 3x5x105
Pretty much at my max here, failed when trying 115

2x1 minute planks between sets

Overhead press - 3x5x75
Failed on last rep

Lat pulldowns - 3x8x100

Rope pull machine

Welcome back dude! You have made some decent progress since the last time you used to log. Good luck with your knee.

Thanks! I know I'm nowhere near the level of many people in this forum, but I'm really happy with where I'm at, I know if I could guarantee my current state a year ago I'd take it in a heartbeat.

a year+ ago I felt like I was on a path for steady physical deterioration. After years of dislocations even sleeping on my side hurt. I couldn't play sports with intensity and could barely turn left when walking, I'd always pivot on my right foot to either direction. Apparently a doctor had dislocated my jaw during an operation and torn some cartilage which was causing TMJ pain, and I was having random sharp pains in my chest and head. I felt like things don't really get better, and life was only able to get more painful.

Then I started a thread in PGC where I offered freerolls if I don't work out, and since then I've managed to maintain a consistent recreational pace. Not entirely, but in large part due to the exercise, the pain is mostly gone, I can play sports at an solid level, and my outlook on (physical) life has changed. Things do get better and its never to late to work your way out of challenging situations.

June 1
Leg press - 3x8x270
Getting the first press up is tough, but other than that this isn't overly challenging

Deadlift - 2x5x235
Really struggled after the first set. Barely completed the second set and couldn't get the third. Tried going down to 225 but the grip strength was gone. Will take a break day either tomorrow or saturday and try again on Sunday.

Loaded Bridge Back on Bench - 3x10x40
Replacing the hip drive. Nice and easy start to get comfortable with technique.

Skipped the lateral lunge, haven't thought of a good replacement yet and spent longer than expected on deadlifts

One-leg squat
Tried no weight but standing with the front of my foot on a plate and the heel off. It was so much harder and worked different muscles in an interesting way. I only got a couple squats in, it was mostly a balance exercise. Might go back to the weighted squats and do 1 minute of this at the end

TRX Miyagis/Wood chops/rotator cuffs

Had a bit of knee pain before this morning, possible due to excessive biking

Tried recording a video for the first time, didn't get a great angle

June 3

Bench - 3x5x105
Improved a bit, failed on the 5th rep trying 115

Overhead press
1x4x80
1x4x75
1x5x70
A bit disappointing here, as I failed on moving up, then failed on repeating my previous weight. Hopefully just an off day.

Lat pulldowns - 3x5x50
Not sure what was wrong with the machine I used last time, but I definitely was not pulling 100lb.

Rope pull machine

Briefcase carry
Allegedly a core exercise, felt this primarily in the forearms. Will try this more consistently, I feel like it will help with the deadlift grip.

Came out of all this not really feeling like I had a workout, although I was certainly living heavy (for me) weights. I guess we'll see over time if those numbers go up.

Are you following a program? Judging from your stats and male whiteness, your upper body numbers should dramatically increase within the first two months of a decent program. A lot of it will just consist of sacking up and pushing through things that are harder than you're accustomed to. I'd be surprised if you couldn't lat pulldown 50 for at least 20 reps, tbh. The reason 50 felt like 100 is likely due to the other machine having 2:1 pulley leverage. Cable crossover machines typically have leverage, while lat pulldown machines do not.

I know aidan commented on your deadlift in the form check thread. I just wanted to follow up and mention that the "squeezing the chest up" step is by far the hardest one, and I'd add to that step that you need to be pressing the floor hard with your hips and legs. If the weight is 235lb, I'd say you need to be applying 160lb of force into the floor/bar with your quads, hips, spinal erectors, and lats for a solid 2 seconds before the bar even leaves the floor.

I don't really have a program. It would probably be more efficient, but since my main goal is to stay consistently active for the health and QoL benefits, I've opted for a somewhat random program to avoid analysis paralysis.

I'm open to ideas. I've opted to stay away from squatting, even though I completely buy that its one of the best lifts available. Every time I've tried to start lifting and included squats, within a month I would stop from a combination of reluctance and pain. This can probably be avoided with proper form, but I haven't figured it out yet (especially with my knee and flexibility issues) so again I'm opting for would works over what is optimal.

As I've mentioned above the central part of my exercise is the leg press and deadlift 2-3x per week, and the rest is basically up in the air. Around 6 months ago I started working with my physiotherapist, at time only with a condo gym. As a result most of my workouts were pretty tame; I spent a long time on one-leg weighted step ups and 100lb. DB deadlifts. Around 2 months ago I got a gym membership and started with barbells, and a couple weeks ago I left my job and starting going more often and adding upper body work.

I'll be moving cities at the end of the month, so an important goal for me will be maintaining consistency through the transition and not dropping the routine. It may be good to switch to a full body 3x/week workout at that point.

I do try to push my chest out as much as possible before lifting, I feel like i have that part down although the flexion is not as noticeable as what I see from lifters in videos. I hear what you're saying about 'pressing the floor'. Given my high hip position I might be anatomically limited in my max weight, its hard to get as much leverage from that position, obviously still have a lot of improvement room.

For the upper body, I do think that I am already able to get a bit more weight in, have a lot of form work needed on the bench. I'm trying to get a good arch and lower body position, but the back seems to constantly slip backwards on the bench.

June 4

One-leg leg press:
2x8x110
1x5x130
Was surprised that 130 wasn't as hard as expected. Either I've improved substantially, or more likely different machine have different difficulty due to angle etc.

Deadlift:
1x5x135
1x3x185
1x5x235
1x3x235
1x5x135
Wasn't able to complete multiple sets of the deadlift. Was feeling a bit lightheaded on the second set. Have a couple options
- Rest more between sets, currently around 2-3 minutes
- Do only one set at 235, then the other two at 185/195
- I read somewhere that deadlift should be no more than 2 sets per week otherwise its stressful on the central nervous system. Is that a real concern? I am currently aiming for around 9 max sets/weeks.

Still nothing for lateral movement

Bridge
3x10x60
Will continue upping the weight, maybe decreasing reps

One-leg squat
2x8x10
Including the toe balance exercise, one minute each side

Assisted pullups
3x8x55

Have a form video but currently under copyright dispute due to Troublemaker (feat. Flo Rida) - Olly Murs in the background