I'm starting this log as a way to re-focus my strength training efforts and to gather feedback and insight from H&F readers to improve my routine. I've been lurking in the forum for a while, but never really posted anything. I've gotten a lot of great info from just browsing the forum though, that's helped me quite a bit up to this point. I don't have any specific goals or sports to train for (for now, at least), so I'm just looking to continue to get stronger and stay fit. I'm 24 years old, 5'11'', and currently 171 lbs. (was at 158 before I started lifting last year).

Current Routine

My lifting routine is straight out of the Starting Strength book and hasn't changed any since I first started it 13 months ago. Unfortunately, due to work, travel, injuries, and general lazyness, I've had lots of lost time, including a few 1-2 month gaps where I didn't do anything at all. So those 13 months are really more like 6 or 7 months of actual sustained training. As a result, I haven't been able to maintain or really build on the gains I've made. Frankly, my current numbers are a bit embarrassing because I think I can do a lot better than I am now.

I switch off between Day A and B. Day A consists of squats, standing press, and deadlift, while Day B has squats, bench press, back extension, and chinups. There's a rest day in between each lifting day, with an extra recovery day after the third session of the week. I used to run on one or two of the "rest" days, but I haven't been doing that much lately. I would like to start running again, like a quick pace (for me, at least), 1-2 miles (no more than 3). There was a stretch a while ago where I would run slower paces for longer distances (3-5+), but then I realized I hate running and cut it down to just the fast stuff so I could have some cardio in there. I've played a bunch of sports over various stretches in the past (tennis, basketball, softball; working up to ice hockey), but never in a real competitive league or anything. I have played beer league softball for a couple seasons now, but the season ended a few weeks ago. I'm pretty average at sports (largely due to a lack of experience/sustained playing time), even though I enjoy playing quite a bit.

I'm definitely open to changing up this routine (those back extensions seem useless, not sure why I've kept them in there so long). I'd like to work the power clean in there (would that make sense on the squat/bench day or would that be too much?), but I was worried that I wasn't strong enough to do the exercise properly. Also, my gym doesn't have any platforms or bumper weights, though that's more of a secondary excuse since you don't necessarily have to drop the bar for that lift.

(Pre-injury/Layoff) and Current Working Weights:

Squat: (175) 160 x 5 x 3

Deadlift: (200) 190 x 5 x 1

Bench: (145) 135 x 5 x 3

Press: (same) 110 x 5 x 3

Chinups: 10, 8, 6 x 1

I'm going to try and be more aggressive with my weight progression from now on, especially for the deadlift, bench, and press - I think I spend too much time in my comfort zone and could challenge myself more than I am now.

Areas for Improvement

I'm trying to work out a major problem with my squat form right now. It took me a while to realize it was an issue (I don't squat in front of a mirror), but whenever I get close to parallel my left knee ends up a few inches (haven't measured, but it's definitely noticeable) higher than my right. This causes my left knee to carry a disproportionate load during the squat (not good). Even when my feet and knees are lined up in the same position, that left knee still stays elevated. I've tried going into a wider stance, slowing down the descent (which was pretty stable to begin with), using a mirror to make corrections, practicing without the bar, etc., but I haven't been able to fully fix it yet.

I had injured my left knee a couple months ago (paired with a sprained wrist from softball, led to my not lifting for two months) when I tried squatting too much after a long layoff (this was very dumb) and my form broke down. I would have an achy kind of soreness/tightness around the patellar tendon area, even when I was just sitting around or walking. The knee has been gradually getting better (it doesn't ache unprovoked very often now), but whatever is wrong with my squats is definitely keeping it from getting back to 100%. The whole situation has me pretty frustrated since this is the main thing limiting my progress. Has anyone had a similar issue or have an idea of how to fix it?

I don't have access to a video recorder right now, but I'll post some form checks as soon as I can.

Other Stuff

Nutrition

Another thing I've been meaning to do is record a couple weeks' worth of food intake and see what kind of calories, protein, etc. I'm taking in. I honestly can't even guess, no idea. I do try and keep a somewhat balanced diet and rarely have fast food or real sugary stuff around. At a glance, I'd say my diet is pretty protein heavy though. I can cook just about anything, but I tend to be pressed for time when I finally get home from work, especially if I plan on going to the gym that night. It's not a health or weight mangement issue for me, but I could probably eat better than I do now, particuarly in terms of optimal lifting nutrition. I'll post some diet stuff soon. Also, I don't take any supplements except fish oil (4800 mg/day), though I am certainly interested in adding protein supplements. I haven't done much research on proteins yet.

Gear

I don't use any special gear right now, but I definitely need to get better shoes (I've been using regular cross-trainer sneakers). I'm not sure if WL shoes with special heels or something more flat like Chucks would be best for me. I do have wider than average feet, fwiw, so that would be a consideration. I was researching knee sleeves and was considering adding these as a preventative measure (I feel like I'm constantly worrying about my knees, though that's been exacerbated lately by the injury). I don't think I'm really lifting nearly enough to need sleeves though and should probably hold off on adding those or a belt anytime soon.

Stretching

My current warmup routine consists of 500 m on the C2 machine, some forward and backward lunges, and occasionally some arm stuff. I'm not happy with my stretching at all and want to add a real dynamic stretching routine. I had some hip flexor and groin tweaks (this was a long time ago) before adding the lunges, but no other flexibility-related issues, so this is more of a preventative thing and to just improve my overall flexibility. I've heard Eric Cressey's name listed several times as a good source for planning a dynamic stretching set. I read up on foam rolling a long time ago, but am still a bit intimidated by this and don't know if I should bother with it or not.

Thanks in advance to anyone who stops by to read or post!

I think foam rolling has been a small miracle for me; especially for my knees (as directly related to squatting).

Good luck!

Welcome to H&F, Pecota.

Some thoughts that occurred to me while reading, in the order they came up:

• The back extensions are pointless to someone at your level of progress. They are labelled an accessory exercise and shoved into the back of the book (actually, I haven't checked, are they even in the book?) for a reason: they are not part of The Program for a novice lifter. Do the power cleans instead. Failing that, do barbell rows, but note that Rippetoe himself frowns on this addition.
  
• Get a camera sorted asap. Really. Leaving it this long to have even checked your own form via camera is a bad move. It may take a while to unlearn any bad habits you've gotten yourself into and now is the time to start that process. And you cannot be executing correct form while looking in a mirror.
  
• Do you drink a GOMAD? If you're 5'11'' and only 171lbs most people are going to recommend you put on some weight to get through a lot of sticking points while increasing the weight on the bar. This obviously depends on your goals though.
  
• I wear heeled shoes for my squats and they helped a ton when I was first learning form. It does not help everyone, though. Have you tried dress shoes, or something like that? Better to try out heeled shoes before buying a pair. If you've no dress shoes then just stand on a couple of small weight plates and see if it makes a difference for you.

Having said all that, I wish you good luck with your training, sir.

Hey Jewb,

I figured the back extensions were silly. Another example of me getting into a groove, being lazy, and just forgetting to do something about it. Power cleans are now on my To-Do list.

I used to do 1/2 GOMAD, but not for a while. I have a hard time drinking that much milk in a day, my body just doesn't process it very well in those quantities (I might be mildly lactose intolerant). That's why I was pondering protein supplements as an alternative.

I do have a pair of dress shoes with a little heel to them I'll have to try those or stepping on some plates.

Actually, the back extensions are part of the program, as written in PPST v. 2. I'm going from memory here, but iirc the program is
1) Same exercises (Squat, BP/P, DL) first 2-3 weeks
2) A/B with DLs/PCs every other time 3-4 weeks
3) A/B/C, where C is chins+back extensions

This assumes steady progress.


No expert when it comes to injuries. I'd post vids as soon as you can, correct form is the best way to ensure no injuries, and it's possible you're doing Something Wrong without knowing it. You're sure your legs are equally long right? It's not an anatomical thing?

Make sure you get protein powder without lactose if you're intolerant. And yeah, counting cals/macros for a few weeks is probably a good idea. You need to eat at a surplus after all. And get lifting shoes, good investment.

Wow, I'm pretty shocked I didn't know this. I have the book as well, though not at hand atm.

I stand corrected. Sorry for the duff info Pecota.

Yes, definitely agree.

This was the first thing I thought of, haha (of all the things it could have been). But no, my legs are the same length and as far as I can tell I don't have limited motion/flexibility in either leg/knee. Squats are the only time I've had an issue with it, which points to a form issue.

That's ok, your point still stands that I should start working in the power cleans. I'm going to read up on those so I can do that soon.

9/13

Squats

45 x 5
130 x 5
140 x 5
150 x 5
160 x 5 x 3

While reviewing the squat section of SS, I noticed that I've been using a high bar position for squatting, but have otherwise tended to adopt a form that is probably better suited to a low bar position. Previously, I would have had the bar resting on top of the trap muscles, around the base of the neck (not sure how I got into this habit to begin with, but it seemed to work well enough so I stuck with it). Today, I tried moving the bar closer to the low bar position, around the scapula and more in line with the shoulders.

The low bar position felt so much better. It still needs some tweaking to find the right place to rest the bar, but lowering the bar position felt much more natural. Since I didn't have the weight up near my neck, it was easier to keep my head in the proper position and I never felt like my arms had to hold up any of the weight (this had been a minor annoyance on occasion).



I made some other corrections as well. I had been getting into a habit of tilting my head up a little or straining my neck on the way up (probably because the bar was pulling on it, *&$%), so I put my log book six feet in front of me and just focused on it the whole time (there's rarely anyone else there at night, so I didn't have to worry about it getting in the way). Paired with the lower bar, this seemed to help. I also made a more concious effort to keep my legs in line with my feet (no knee buckling), though this is something I usually try and remind myself of anyway.

I was back to my usual back-to-the-mirror position, so I couldn't see if my left leg was still popping up, but the fact that I didn't notice it this time is a good sign. That tells me it either went away completely with the form tweaks or its occurrence has been significantly reduced. Even better, the area around my left knee only had minimal soreness/irritation - totally different than Saturday when it felt like my left leg was doing all the work and my knee was very stiff as a result.

The squat motion felt much smoother, more consistently balanced, about 10 lbs. lighter, and seemed to involve the entire lower body to a greater degree, rather than stressing out the quads/knees on the tougher sets.

I'm going to keep the weight at 160 for the rest of this week to make sure I really nail these form tweaks, but I could start to see some nice increases once that's squared away.

Edit: I've noticed in a lot of videos that people tend to use the same high bar position that I had been up to this point. Is it just more comfortable for certain builds or is there more to it than that? I think I remember reading that it affects the back angle and how much certain muscles have to work during the lift.

Bench

45 x 5
115 x 5
120 x 5
125 x 5
130 x 5
145 x 5 x 3

It might have been a result of my not killing myself squatting today, but my bench felt very strong. I decided to test myself on the working weight and added an uncharacteristic 15 lb jump (145 was my previous high, but 5x3 used to be very difficult). It was fairly easy, so I'll be adding at least 5 more lbs. to these next time.

I've been making an effort to keep my upper back (the part touching the bench under the bar) consistently tight and not wasting so much energy holding the bar over my head after the rep is complete (this had to do with getting better timing on my breathing). These seemed to help.

Back Extensions

BW x 12 x 5

These will be replaced with some light Cleans next time out.

Chinups

BW x 10
BW x 8
BW x 7

These felt very strong as well, normally I'm beat by the time I get to these. Not sure where all this upper body power is coming from lately.

9/15

Body Weight (BW) = 172.50

Squats

45 x 5
130 x 5
140 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5 x 3

Form changes continued to feel pretty good. It felt like the knees, chest, etc. were all doing what they were supposed to in a fairly consistent manner, so I was pleased with that. I was focusing on using the hip drive more, but it never quite felt like I was fully taking advantage of the motion. I wonder if those muscles are underworked since my old form was kind of weird.

Press

45 x 5
90 x 5
95 x 5
100 x 5
105 x 5
110 x 5 x 3

Deadlift

165 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 5
200 x 5

As I said, I'm trying to be more aggressive in increasing my working weights, so I thought I'd see if I could hit my old high score on the deadlift. It wasn't too difficult.

The squats are still lagging behind, but overall, I'd say I'm stronger now than at any previous point. Plus, my legs/knees feel as good as they have in quite a while. This was actually my fourth session this week (must have lost count), so no lifting again until Saturday.

Youll almost certainly benefit from restructuring your warmup as your current approach is going to be pretty unsustainable at higher weights. As you get nearer your workset you want to be doing less reps. Also way too many warmup sets on the Press (and Bench).

search for the starting strength warmup calculator on google

subscribing, gl fellow indians fan

Yeah, this makes sense. I'd started to notice that my weekly routine is structured a lot differently than the other logs (I guess I could have asked about that, but oh well). I should have changed stuff like that a while ago, but I hadn't been getting any feedback on it until now, so there are a lot of little details that got overlooked.

Cool. Link for anyone who was interested.

Maybe someday I'll be strong enough to have my own candy bar.

According to the SS warm-up calculator, my routine should look like this (at my current WWs):

Squat

45 x 5 x 2
65 x 5 x 1
95 x 3 x 1
130 x 2 x 1
165 x 5 x 3

Bench

45 x 5 x 2
70 x 5 x 1
100 x 3 x 1
130 x 2 x 1
145 x 5 x 3

Deadlift

80 x 5 x 2
120 x 3 x 1
170 x 2 x 1
200 x 5 x 1

Press

45 x 5 x 2
60 x 5 x 1
75 x 3 x 1
90 x 2 x 1
110 x 5 x 3

I'm curious as to how much more I'll be able to lift on the working sets with this setup. That's a lot of pounds getting taken off the warmups. I do like the look of this better though because doing all those warmup reps can get boring and those extra minutes add up quickly. Having two 45 lb. warmups in there seems a bit tedious, but we'll see how it goes.

9/18

Squat

45 x 5 x 2
65 x 5 x 1
95 x 3 x 1
135 x 2 x 1
165 x 5 x 1
175 x 5 x 1
170 x 5 x 1

I like the new warmup structure, saves a lot of time. I didn't feel much of a benefit on my work sets from the reduced warmup load, but I guess this will become more tangible once the weights start to get heavier, as discussed earlier.

I cleared the 175 set fine, but my lower body didn't feel as stable as I would have liked. Dropping 5 lbs. on the final set gave me more control.

I never feel particularly strong once I get close to 160 on the squats. For example, some days I can come in and feel like I can just power through an entire bench or deadlift session no problem (and I do), but I always feel like I'm exerting a very high amount of effort on the "heavier" squats all the time. This seems odd given my success with the other lifts and my overall strength (I have a hard time believing my lower body is really this weak). I doubt I'll be able to get a real answer as to why until I get some videos up here.

Bench

45 x 5 x 2
70 x 5 x 1
100 x 3 x 1
130 x 2 x 1
145 x 5 x 1
150 x 5 x 2

Chinups

BW x 10
BW x 8
BW x 7

Power Clean (Practice)

45 x 5 x 3

I only counted the actual attempts at the motion, but I spent a bunch of time trying out the different positions and motions to get a feel for it. It was pretty awkward, but probably ok for a first-ever attempt. Oddly enough, my forearms were the only thing that felt tired/sore during this. That was probably from a combination of my current wrist flexibility and taking a lot of time in between reps to check form, get ready, etc. and having to hold onto the bar.

My focus was on learning the timing of the jump and the bar racking motion. I only tried it from the jump-set position with the bar at the mid-thighs this time. My form is obviously super-raw at this point, so nothing to report yet. I'll give this another go next time my B session comes up.

why are you not keeping the weight the same for all three of the worksets?

For squats, I did the 165, felt good, so I bumped it up to 175. I had some trouble holding my form at 175, so I settled on 170, which was fine.

For bench, the 145 was too easy on the first set, so I just increased the weight for the last two.

9/20

Squat

45 x 5 x 2
65 x 5 x 1
100 x 3 x 1
135 x 2 x 1
170 x 5 x 3

Lost my balance on the last rep of the first set and tilted forward some at the bottom of the rep. My back wasn't happy with me, but fortunately no injury. I tried speeding up my completion of each rep on subsequent sets, seemed to keep me from stalling at the bottom again. Finished strong on the final set today.

Press

45 x 5 x 2
60 x 5 x 1
75 x 3 x 1
95 x 2 x 1
115 x 5 x 3

My arms and shoulders had been tired all day from benching last time, but it didn't hinder my press any.

Deadlift

135 x 5 x 1
155 x 3 x 1
175 x 2 x 1
210 x 5 x 1

I don't think I mentioned this before, but I've always used the double-overhand grip for deadlifts. Not sure how big a difference this makes, but I'm comfortable with it, never had any grip strength issues.

I had a weird thing happen during my work set, had never happened before. I took my usual breath at the bottom of the rep, but felt a lot of additional pressure in my chest while I was completing the lift. I also had a tingly, irritated sensation in what felt like my lungs, like I had inhaled some dust. I'm not sure if this was a pressure issue in the lungs or what. Anyone have any idea what this could be? Maybe I did just inhale something funky beforehand. Also, the weight didn't feel too heavy and I didn't feel dizzy at all, so I dunno.

i knew you'd put together the most highly organized log of them all haha

yeah that's fine. Do it as long as you can. Most people start having trouble as their DL approaches 300.

just an FYI, the green lettering is bad for those of us who prefer dark backgrounds (i.e. those of us who are e-l33t)

Ah, ok. I'll keep it the standard black then, thanks.

fixed

dark backgrounds are used by all experts of computers. it's just a fact.

9/21

Running

2.0 miles, 15:57 (m:s), treadmill (flat)

I hadn't run at all in well over a month, but this was much tougher than I thought it would be. I was fried by the end of it. Going to the gym to run sucks because I don't want to do too much since it's my day off from lifting, but then I end up going home after less than 45 minutes (it's a short drive, but still).

I hate running so much, but I still want to keep it as part of my weekly routine. In the past, it seems like running has helped with recovery from lifting, but that could just be in my head, I haven't actually read that anywhere.