My training log. Fresh biscuits inside.

[Fresh Biscuits]

I’ve been lurking the S&P forum for the longest time, picking up bits of information and good advice in almost every thread. What I’ve learned here has completely blown away my concept of “working out”. I’ve spent time in the gym on a regular basis since I was probably 15, but I now realize that I’ve been clueless for almost a decade. I had “arms” day, and “shoulders” day. I rarely did squats. I ate like a bird, and wondered why I wasn’t gaining weight.

I’ve had an epiphany, and I owe it to you S&P’ers.

For about the past month I’ve changed my diet and began doing the Bill Starr 5x5. I do a 3 day split that looks like this:

Day 1:
Squat 5x5
Bench 5x5
Power Cleans 5x5
Assistance – 2 sets weighted hypers, 2 sets weighted situps

Day 2:
Squat 4x5
SOHP 4x5
DL 4x5
Assistance – 3 sets of situps

Day 3:
Squat 4x5, 1x3, 1x8
Bench 4x5, 1x3, 1x8
Power Cleans 4x5, 1x3, 1x8
Assistance – 3 sets weighted dips, 3 sets pullups* (changed from bb curls and tricep extensions)

I’ve been hesitant to start a log because, frankly, I’m embarrassed about my DL and Power Clean numbers. I’ve never done them on a regular basis, and I feel like my lifts are nowhere near where they should be. I think that is partly due to having bad form, so sometime in the near future I will post videos of my lifts for you to cut up! The consensus seems to be that if you are putting in a genuine effort to improve your lifts, nobody with give you any flak… so fuck it!

I’ll also try to keep track of what I’m eating as well, since my goal is not only to get stronger, but bigger. Eventually, once I reach my goals, I plan on changing my workout once again to focus more on conditioning and cutting the fat.


(making this a little more personal)
Age: 25
Height: 5’10”
Occupation: Lab Specialist at an oil company. (Oil Sands)


Start (some guesstimation)
Weight: 172 lbs
Bench: 205 x 3
Squat: 205 x 3
DL: 225 x 5
SOHP: 115 x 3
Power Clean: 115 x 3

Current
Weight: 188 lbs (+16 lbs)
Bench: 275 x 1 (+70lbs)
Squat: 335 x 1 (+130 lbs)
DL: 405 x 1 (+180 lbs)
SOHP: 150 x 3 (+35 lbs)
Power Clean: 166 x 3 (+51 lbs)
Rep Squats: 20 x 210 (+5 lbs) (Started 11.13.2009)
Big 3 Total: 1015 lbs

Goals
Weight: 205 lbs
Bench: 315 lbs
Squat: 405 lbs
DL: 455 lbs
Big 3 Total: 1205 lbs

[Fresh Biscuits]

Sept 17 2009:

My logs for the first few days here might be a little screwed up. I'm going away tomorrow for 4 days to my girlfriends' cousin's wedding, which kind of sucks. I always have my best workouts on the weekend.

Food:
Forgetting to pick up eggs last night = angry this morning. Breakfast was not up to par.

Breakfast:
4 slices of bacon
2 pieces of peanut butter toast
500 mL whole milk

10:00 snack:
2 celery stalks
pile of baby carrots
can of tuna w/ some mayonnaise and pepper
2 small butter tarts (someone came to my office giving them away, why not)
coffee

Lunch:
Big plate of spaghetti
500 mL 2% milk (no whole available)
apple

Mid-day snack:
250g cottage cheese
handful of almonds

** Can't remember what I ate the rest of the day. I was busy packing to leave for the weekend and forgot to record it.

[likkuid]

Welcome. Eat more.

If you'd like to lose weight after bulking up, don't change your workout. Stick to lifting, it burns calories like crazy. If you have the time, throw in cardio in addition, but not in place of.

No one will give you flak here for lifting whatever numbers you are. Log your sessions here, post videos (can't stress this enough), put in your hard work and stay consistent and you'll get a whole lot stronger.

[Fresh Biscuits]

Originally Posted by likkuid

Welcome. Eat more.

If you'd like to lose weight after bulking up, don't change your workout. Stick to lifting, it burns calories like crazy. If you have the time, throw in cardio in addition, but not in place of.

No one will give you flak here for lifting whatever numbers you are. Log your sessions here, post videos (can't stress this enough), put in your hard work and stay consistent and you'll get a whole lot stronger.

Thanks, likkuid. My plan isn't to stop lifting like this, just not lifting to break PR's, but to maintain once I'm the size and strength that I like. Then I'd like to incorporate a lot more cardio, core exercises, and flexibility for BJJ. What do you think?

[likkuid]

Originally Posted by Fresh Biscuits

My plan isn't to stop lifting like this, just not lifting to break PR's, but to maintain once I'm the size and strength that I like.

I carb cycled for a couple months over the Summer. I thought I would be lucky just to maintain my lifts like you mentioned, but I lost 20lbs and was hitting significant PRs left and right. I think you'll be able to do the same if you eat well enough during your diet.

Originally Posted by Fresh Biscuits

Then I'd like to incorporate a lot more cardio, core exercises, and flexibility for BJJ. What do you think?

Depending on how much time you have and your level of recovery, I'd consider taking it down to a 2-day lifting split. BJJ/cardio/lifting is a lot on your body...but hey, if you can manage to do all that and still lift 3x week, more power to you.

I wouldn't do more core work than you already are. Squats, deads, and SOHP strengthen your core a helluva lot as is, and you're already including additional core work. Anymore and I think you'd over-train them. Keep 'em strong for squats, deads, etc.

[Cap'n]

How do you have your deadlift goal lower than your squat goal?

[Fresh Biscuits]

Originally Posted by Cap'n

How do you have your deadlift goal lower than your squat goal?

I can definitely squat more than I can DL at the moment. I know that's weird, but I'm hoping that with improvement in my form and, now that I actually DO deadlifts, it will change. I've already noticed the weight moving up quickly since I've been focusing on form. I haven't tried any 1 RM for DL's because I'm scared of injuring myself, so I'm not sure how much I can actually do, or what's the right goal. I will post a video soon to get some pointers.

[Fresh Biscuits]

OK, back from the wedding and feel way behind. Ate like garbage all weekend, the hotel had nothing but treadmills in the "gym".

I weighed myself at home on a brand new scale that my brother bought. Usually I weighed myself at the gym fully clothed (sneakers and all), but weighed myself this time in my underwear, and was 184. I guess that's not so bad after barely eating all weekend.

The scale also measures other things like bodyfat %, muscle %, water %, BMI etc., but I don't think it's very accurate. It said I was 20.7% bodyfat, which ranks me in the "overfat" category, almost obese, which is retarded. My waist is 32 inches, and at 5'10" 184 another calculator gives me 12%. I'm probably somewhere in between.

Anyway, this is the workout that I had last Friday that I never had time to post:

Sept 18 2009

Squat
125 x 5
155 x 5
185 x 5
215 x 5
245 x 5

Bench
115 x 5
145 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 5
225 x 5

Power Clean
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5

3 x 20 situps

I'm finding these weights pretty light, except for the power clean. I'm increasing them every week though so I don't want to adjust anything quite yet.

On a side note, I've started reading the book Survive by Les Stroud. It basically teaches you how to survive in the wilderness, tips for building shelters, finding food, signaling help, how to navigate and so on. Going into the forest for 4 or 5 nights on my own is something I'd love to try sometime. Anyone ever do this before?

[Fresh Biscuits]

September 22, 2009

Light day for squats.

Weight
186.8

Squat
125 x 5
155 x 5
185 x 5
185 x 5

SOHP
85 x 5
105 x 5
120 x 5
135 x 5

DL
175 x 5
205 x 5
245 x 5
275 x 5

I've been struggling with DL, but today it felt really good. I had no problem getting my 275 x 5. Definitely a PR for me.

FOOD

Breakfast:
4 slices of low sodium bacon
4 fried eggs
1 slice of whole grain toast
500 mL whole milk

Snack:
250 g cottage cheese
handful of almonds
glass of water

Lunch:
1 and 1/2 chicken breasts
large spinach salad
fruit cup

Snack:
Tuna sandwich (whole can)

Shake:
1 scoop protein
1 scoop creatine
1 scoop waxy maize
1 scoop BCAA
1 scoop glutamine

Dinner:
Chicken
Rice
Broccoli
500 mL whole milk

Snack:
500 mL whole milk
cinnamon roll mmmmmmmmmmmm

[Fresh Biscuits]

Sept 23 2009

Day off. Will stretch tonight though.

FOOD

Breakfast:
4 slices low sodium bacon
4 eggs scrambled w/ spinach
1 slice of peanut butter toast
500 mL whole milk

Snack:
200 g cottage cheese
fruit cup

Other snack:
500 mL whole milk

Lunch:
chicken breast
large spinach salad
cup and a half of rice

Snack:
2 stalks of celery
200 g 2.5% fat yogurt
handful of almonds and walnuts
glass of water

Supper:
Two home-made cheeseburgers (lean ground beef)
Spinach salad
500 mL whole milk

Snack:
500 mL whole milk
cinnamon roll (can't wait till these are gone)