After much pussyfooting around and just generally sucking at life, I finally got into lifting heavy stuff. Basic background:

27 years old
5'9"
205 lbs

Good athlete in HS (soccer, basketball), always really skinny, ~150, probably 160-165 when I graduated. Put on a little weight in college but not much until my senior year where I was ~180. Fluctuated around 180 for a bunch of years. Eventually got up to ~200. Have fluctuated between 200-190 for a while, got as low as 175 3 years ago when I jogged a lot and nearly starved myself.

I am incredibly weak

I have some chronic soreness in my left mid back, up around the armpits, sometimes in my right back. It's likely related to sitting all day + weakness. PT at work said lifting would be fine and would help it if anything. So far it has, but mainly while I'm lifting, right after. So far it hasn't impeded anything. I bought a foam roller. I suck at it.

I used to eat like ****. Now I eat better. Typical day includes a couple of eggs and a piece of fruit for breakfast, a big salad with veggies, beans, tuna or a fish + veggies meal from the grill, maybe snack on some almonds or more fruit, chicken + veggies for dinner, sometimes lamb, sometimes with couscous or something, and about a half gallon of milk (1%) every day. I take fishoil (3-4 caps a day), magnesium (1 a day), and Glucosamine Chondroitin MSM (2-3 a day). I do have a penchant for burger and fries, so I often cheat with that once a week. I also get a sandwich from the deli on occasion.

Anyway, I'm in my 5th week of SS. I just had my 16th workout last night.

From my first two workouts, here were my numbers:

Squat - 85x5x3
BP - 75x5x3
DL - 95x5
Press - 65x5
PC - @#$!!*

Here are the numbers from the workout before last:
Squat - 185x5x3
BP - 130x5x3
DL - 220x5

And finally, here's where my log officially begins. Last night's workout, with video.

Squat
45x5x2
75x5
115x3
150x2
190x5x3 (video: set 1, set 2)

These felt pretty good, though bar speed felt slow. I watched the vid of my first set and made a point to try to get lower after that. Did I?

Press
45x5x2
55x5
70x3
85x2
100x5x3 (video: set 1)

Overall I'm pleased with these, but I need more stability at the top. I squatted more than that jacked guy in the back.

Power Clean
45x5x2
60x4
75x2
90x3x5 (video: set 1, set 2)

These were fun. It took me a few weeks to even start doing PCs. This was my first workout where I was able to use full size plates (10kg bumpers). Looking at the vid I can tell my timing isn't perfect, as I'm jumping back, but they look pretty decent to me.

After this I did some NS situps on the slant board. I've decided to do some ab work. I decided this when my whole body starts to convulse while I'm foam rolling.

Feedback greatly appreciated!

your form looks pretty good. it took me forever to get correct squatting form.

on the cleans, those look like 45lb plates. that means you're doing 135.

I don't feel qualified to give you advice on proper form, but to my untrained eye you're doing pretty well. On the power clean you're landing pretty early after jumping though. Maybe you're jumping too early, maybe you're not racking quickly enough, maybe I just don't know what I'm talking about. I'm pretty sure someone on here will have a better idea though.

The only proper advice I can give you is to buy longer pants.

i meant to make a remark in my OP about my high waters. I picked them up cheap and didn't bother trying them on. I was too lazy to return them. I'm not at a fashion show When it's convenient I'll buy new ones.

I see what you're saying about the landing / racking timing. I hadn't really noticed. How do I correct this? Jump higher? Rack faster? How does one do that?

they're 10kg rubber bumpers. So technically I'm cleaning 89 lbs. Round up for ego (ignoring that 90lb cleans isn't at all brag-worthy).

I know there was one rep in the squats where I failed to keep my chest up and tight and I got a little bar roll/good morning action on the way up.

Keep up the good work!!

Second set of squats is much better than the first, hard to tell if you are getting to correct depth on the second set because of the camera angle. The first set you are too high.

Overhead press looks good to me.

My weakness is cleans, so take this with a grain of salt. Power Cleans look good, only thing I can see wrong with them is the elbows aren't high enough in the rack position. You may need to work on flexibility with wrists or need a wider grip if you have a long forearm relative to your humerus (upper arm).

Looks like you are doing well overall.

elbow height is a flexibility issue. It's gradually improving.

It all looks pretty good imo, and your pull position on your PCs are really good and much better than mine. The only thing I noticed, and I could be wrong about it, but it looks like you've got a bit of a donkey kick going on during your jump

that's the "stomp" Rippetoe suggests. I'm not sure if I'm doing it right or not.

Yeah hopefully someone more informed will chime in. It just looked like you were exaggerating the jump/stomp a little more than the cats in the PC video. I barely come off the ground at all, not that that is necessarily correct

I like this vid a lot to check on form: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TlbDQUWs0s

6/4, Thurs, A workout

Squat
45x5x2
75x5
115x3
155x2
195x5x3

These felt good. Focused on my depth based on vids from last workout. They were pretty hard but didn't kill me.

BP
45x5x2
65x5
90x3
120x2
135x5x3 (vid: 2nd set)

Felt OK. I feel like BP is my weakest lift. I aggravated my left shoulder a little squatting and could feel it here. Given how much my press workouts sucked a couple weeks ago, though, I'm pleased with this. I didn't have to bust a nut or anything on the final reps. But my form could def use work.

DL
90x5x2
140x3
195x2
230x5 (video, dropped ipod ftw)

Felt really good. That first pull off the floor is always a little bit of a shock, like "holy **** this is heavy!" but once you get it moving it's OK.

Finished my workout with some NS situps. 5 BW, then BW+10x4x2. meh.

bench looks good, but keep in mind i don't know what to look for on bench videos. you're obviously not doing anything blatantly wrong.

deadlift looks good for sure. no unnecessary movement and a good stiff back. though imo you'll eventually stop thinking it feels really good.

Good straight back on deads.

6/6, Sat, B Workout

Squat
45x5x2
80x5
120x3
160x2
200x5x3

These were taxing, but I liked my form and didn't feel like I was doing anything wrong. Some big dude gave me props for squatting. Squats are starting to aggravate my left shoulder a bit. I never let it fully heal when I first aggravated it. I have two days off after today so we'll see. Maybe I'll widen my grip slightly next time if it's still sore.

Press
45x5x2
55x5
70x3
85x2
105x5x3

Felt pretty good. I was worried after the first work set because it was really hard and slow, so I took a longer rest in between than normal (~5 mins) and it went OK after that. Shoulder didn't help any, lockout felt hard. I'm probably going to hit a true stall in the next couple of weeks, but I hope not!

Power Clean
45x5x2
65x4
80x2
95x3x5

Something felt off. I caught with my hands instead of my shoulders a couple of times. Timing didn't feel tight. I was kinda tired. Plus I wore shorts instead of my highwaters so my shins were angry. I don't usually lift this early in the day, either, but I had to because I'm heading to the bay area in a bit. Excuses excuses blah blah. Not bad, but not great.

What you think is jogging a lot and what I think is jogging a lot must differ quite a bit. When I started I was always hungry and never stopped eating.

I'd be interested in hearing more about this. What exactly do you buy at the store? How do you prep it? Whats the concensus on it's nutrition?

lamb is a little fattier than other meats so I wouldn't eat it too much, but it's a good source of protein and all that good stuff you get in beef/chicken. It's just animal.

I buy boneless lamb chateaus (not sure why they're called that, but they're basically just little lamb steaks). I pan fry it with garlic and onions. Actually I take some of the garlic and jam it into the meat wherever I can, like between where the fat and flesh meet. Lamb loves garlic. I fry it maybe 5-6 mins a side on high so it gets a little char on the outside but it's medium on the inside.

If I were a good cook I'd roast whole legs, cuz that's the best. Lamb is my favorite meat.

nice power cleans

thanks.

6/9, Tues, A workout

I was a little worried about today's workout, as I didn't really have the healthiest weekend. Right after my Saturday workout, I headed to the bay area to see my sister. We drank some beers and ate some bad food. I didn't drink enough milk the whole weekend. We also did a fairly rigorous hike on Sunday, which left me with pretty sunburned arms and DOMS in those muscles on the outer side of your shins. They've been sore the past two days. And I didn't get enough sleep last night.

Plus right before the workout, I took a crap that was the color of cherry kool aid. I was a little freaked out, but it wasn't blood or anything. I'm going to blame it on the beets, blood oranges, and grapefruit I had today. But it was weird.

But it turns out I did pretty good. I could've done better, but at least I got all my lifts up. Strength training has made it really obvious to me the difference I feel between eating good and sleeping and eating bad and not sleeping. Sounds obvious, but when you have a squat workout looming later in the day, you're kicking yourself for not doing everything right.

Anyway, on to the #s.

Squat
45x5x2
80x5
120x3
160x2
205x5x3

These are getting pretty hard, but I'm still liking my form. But damn that was hard.

Bench
45x5x2
70x5
95x3
125x2
140x5x3

Felt OK. My form was a little tighter than last time, but the bar was pretty slow on the last rep of my final two sets.

Deadlift
95x5x2
140x3
200x2
240x5

This was hard. On one of the reps, either the 3rd or 4th, my form felt a little off, but other than that every pull felt correct. Still managing these without alternating grip. I'll probably add 10 more next workout, but I have a feeling it'll be +5 after that, or maybe in 3 workouts.

Also, DL'ing is aggravating my elbow. Maybe a sign I'm trying to pull the weight up with my arms?

I'm probably going to record my lifts soon. Not my next workout, though, as I'm taking a redeye flight to NYC Thurs night, so I want to get my workout done quickly. Then I'm going to miss my first workout on Saturday, and I'll be resuming on either Monday or Tuesday.

6/11, Thurs, B workout

Squat
45x5x2
85x5
125x3
165x2
210x5x3

this was tough. Overall it went OK, but 1st rep 2nd set I almost lost it. I dunno, just 1 second of not focusing. I dropped down too fast and could barely get it back up and my form was all out of whack. Everything else went OK.

I have a little stiffness on the top of my knee. Hopefully no big deal.

Press
45x5x2
60x5
75x3
90x2
110x5x3

This was hard. My warmups felt great. I brought my grip in a little closer and it helped. But the workset was hard as hell. The 1st one was so slow. 2nd went better. 3rd was a struggle. My left shoulder is always smoked when I finish these.

I also think I come short of lockout sometimes. I'll record it next time.

Power Clean
45x5x2
55x5
70x3
85x2
100x3x5

Overall pretty good, but it went weird. My first set was mediocre and I had trouble racking it fast enough. So I focused on shrugging hard and my 2nd set felt great. Then my 3rd set, 3rd rep was my worst lift since learning these. I nearly dumped it. 4th and 5th set went pretty well.

Still progressing, no stalls yet. Really happy with my progress so far. I'm missing my next workout for a bachelor's party in NYC. Workouts resume on Monday or Tuesday.

6/16, Thurs, A Workout

Squat
45x5x2
85x5
125x3
170x2
215x5x3

Very hard, but at least I could still add weight after missing my last workout, flying cross country and drinking an assload of beer and eating awful food most of the weekend.

I'll ask about the stiffness towards the top of the knee. You feel it most sitting down. I didn't have it today, but it was bothersome most of the weekend. I fear it's coming back after tonight's workout. Any experience with this? Any idea what causes this? Tonight I tried to actively focus on really forcing those knees out.

Bench
45x5x2
70x5
130x2
145x5x3

Went OK. I had a spotter for the final two work sets, as the 1st one I really struggled with the final rep. 2nd set went very good. 3rd rep went OK but the final rep was a struggle and the dude touched the bar a little bit even though I was still making progress. oh well. Having a hand off rules.

DL
100x5x2
150x3
210x2
250x5

Hard, but not as bad as I expected. I need to record these next time to make sure my form is still solid, but it felt solid.

another quick Q

if I wanted to start losing weight now, how badly would that affect my strength gains / future progress? I've kept a pretty steady weight since starting this 7 weeks ago, even though I ate quite a bit during all of this. I'd ultimately like to be in the 175-180 range. Maybe more, I'm not being exact. But I'm def fat now and I'd like to stop being that at some point.

Losing a little weight before a friend's wedding in 2 months would be nice so I could look a little better while I'm cutting a rug at the reception (I'll be dancing my ass off regardless, obv).

I would think that you could definitely lose weight and still get stronger from where you are at. You'll just get stuck a lot more quickly and risk overtraining.

I guess I'll just tinker with it. I've cut back on milk some, from over 1/2 gallon a day to a little over a quart. I'll continue eating what I've been eating and see where I'm at sometime next week, maybe cut out the cheats, as stuff like 4th of July and NBA Summer League are bound to provide some caloric excess.