When I woke up Saturday morning, my left knee was feeling funny, but I hoped it would be OK by Monday morning, which it almost was, so I decided to push all the workouts this week down by a day so I could give myself more time to recover. Years ago, I probably would've have just gone through yesterday's workout anyway.
Exercise
A
B
C
D
E
Squats (low bar)
374/5
374/5
374/5
374/5
374/5
Bench presses
189/5
204/5
214/5
234/5
244/5
Power cleans
124/5
134/5
144/5
164/4
154/4
Weighted dips
20/5
40/5
60/5
Legend: (Weight/Reps)
When my abs get too tired from Squats, the rest of my workout suffers. Really pushed myself at that last set of Bench presses, but that led my right anterior delt getting strained during the Cleans. I just couldn't finish the set properly at 174lbs., or safely for that matter, so I just tried to finish up the best I could without hurting myself any further.
I'm more or less where I left off in SLI, and next week I'll have to boldly go where I haven't gone before.
Exercise
A
B
C
D
E
Squats (low bar)
294/5
314/5
339/5
364/5
384/5
Bench presses
219/5
219/5
219/5
219/5
219/3+2
Power cleans
154/5
154/5
154/5
154/5
154/5
Turkish get-ups
15/5
30/5
45/3+2
Legend: (Weight/Reps)
Probably jinxed myself a couple of days ago when I told Ron about my difficulty in buying new pants thanks to my ginormous ass. Well, this morning I tore a hole in my shorts while doing warm-ups for Squats. To think it was one of my looser pairs. Fortunately, the tear wasn't too obvious although I secluded myself in another room to do the Get-ups.
Thought I did myself a favor doing mainly cardio yesterday, but around the 18th minute of jogging my abs started getting stitches, which made themselves again known this morning after my Squats. Not fun.
Exercise
A
B
C
D
E
Squats (low bar)
304/5
304/5
304/5
304/5
304/5
Overhead presses
164/5
164/5
164/5
164/5
164/5
Deadlifts
304/5
304/5
304/5
304/5
304/5
Weighted pull-ups
5/5
5/4
5/3
Legend: (Weight/Reps)
Even though I accidentally made my Deadlifts 5lbs. lighter than I intended (or maybe it wasn't an accident... lol), I'm glad I finished all five 300+lbs. sets without using the straps to help my pathetic grip™. Hope I can do the same next time at 324lbs.
It was fun while it lasted, "it" being able to enjoy the rest of the workout after the Squats, which are harder now than in SLI due to my stricter adherence to form. (Then again, I should've been doing that before in the first place. Haha...)
Exercise
A
B
C
D
E
Squats (low bar)
354/5
354/5
354/5
354/5
354/5
Bench presses
179/5
194/5
204/5
219/5
234/5
Power cleans
124/5
134/5
144/5
154/5
164/5
Weighted dips
20/5
40/5
60/5
Legend: (Weight/Reps)
Thoughts
Next week my Squats only need to go up by 20lbs. instead of the 35lbs. I've been doing the past 3 weeks--thank God.
Bench Presses could've gone a bit better if I wasn't so exhausted coming in. Gonna make sure I'll have a spotter for the last couple of sets from here on out.
I hope I don't regret adding 10lbs. to my Power cleans. I was really pushing my limits at the last set.
As much as possible I avoid kibitzing another person's workout (Do unto others...), but in that rare occasion when I see someone who might injure himself , I suppose it can't be helped. I tried to be diplomatic by asking one of the trainers to talk to the guy rounding his back during Barbell rows, but the trainer said it was all right that I did it directly.
Exercise
A
B
C
D
E
Squats (low bar)
264/5
284/5
304/5
324/5
344/5
Bench presses
204/5
204/5
204/5
204/5
204/5
Power cleans
134/5
134/5
134/5
134/5
134/5
Turkish get-ups
10/5
25/5
40/3+2
Legend: (Weight/Reps)
Thoughts
Next week, I have to make sure to engage my glutes more dominantly at the bottom of each rep since the low bar Squat are supposed to target that muscle group while the high bar Squat (what I used to do before StrongLifts) targets the quads.
I decided to up the ante a little bit on the Power Cleans and hope I don't fold when I go all in to surpass my current limits.
The Turkish get-ups improved when I switched to alternating reps (I count one rep as doing the right side, then left.) and used two yoga mats to keep myself from slipping.
Methinks I will work on my abs on Saturdays instead of Tuesdays. When I woke up this morning, they were a bit sore, something I need to avoid when I enter into curse-inducing territory next week.
Exercise
A
B
C
D
E
Squats (low bar)
284/5
284/5
284/5
284/5
284/5
Overhead presses
144/5
144/5
144/5
144/5
144/5
Deadlifts
284/5
284/5
284/5
284/5
284/5
Weighted pull-ups
5/5
5/4
5/3
Legend: (Weight/Reps)
Only interesting thing that I did today was switching to Weighted pull-ups, which I did by tying a 5lbs. plate to my pants. I'll try next time if it's easier to hold a 5lbs. dumbbell between my thighs.
Because I cheated twice on my diet last Saturday (rice meal for lunch, spicy noodles for dinner), I made up for it by doing a cardio session yesterday. Maybe I do need the extra carbs but not on the day before a rest day, and I do want to keep my weight below 200 if I can help it.
Exercise
A
B
C
D
E
Squats (low bar)
319/5
319/5
319/5
319/5
319/5
Bench presses
159/5
174/5
184/5
204/5
214/5
Power cleans
104/5
114/5
124/5
129/5
139/5
Weighted dips
15/5
30/5
40/5
Legend: (Weight/Reps)
Thoughts
Squats are proceeding nicely. Still a long way from 400, but I'll get there soon enough. No need to rush.
One of the harder parts of the Power clean has been keeping my arms from pulling on the bar. As far as I know, that movement should be secondary to my torso straightening itself due to my hips (and not lower back).
I've been too conservative with the Dips so I'm gonna make things a bit more interesting starting next week.
Although Monday's and Friday's workouts are pretty similar, I differentiated between the two because cycling through A-B-C is easier to work with in my notebook than A-B-A where I'm sure I'll forget to double the As at the right places.
Exercise
A
B
C
D
E
Squats (low bar)
234/5
254/5
274/5
294/5
314/5
Bench presses
184/5
184/5
184/5
184/5
184/5
Power cleans
114/5
114/5
114/5
114/5
114/5
Turkish get-ups
10/5
25/5
35/1+2+2
Legend: (Weight/Reps)
Thoughts
Nice to know I can full-squat 6 plates for one set. My goal in 3 weeks: 8.
I'll be tweaking the loads on Friday's Bench presses to make 'em a little more challenging.
Speaking of challenging, I did my first round of Turkish get-ups, a unilateral full-body exercise that had me sweating like a pig, and then some. My elbows and knees were slipping off the mat so I had to take a break in between reps to wipe my limbs down.
Like the previous program, StrongLifts Advanced has this really helpful Excel sheet (right-click to download) that plans out your entire 9-week progression after plugging in your 5-rep maxes for each of the exercises. I took some weight off to give my body some time to rest and as well as keep my expectations realistic, but I'll of course be doing some adjustments in the weeks to come.
Exercise
A
B
C
D
E
Squats (low bar)
284/5
284/5
284/5
284/5
284/5
Bench presses
144/5
154/5
164/5
174/5
184/5
Power cleans
94/5
104/5
109/5
114/5
124/5
Weighted dips
10/5
25/5
35/5
Legend: (Weight/Reps)
Thoughts
284's a big drop from 404, but at the end of SLA, I'm supposed to hit one 3-rep set at 439. Gotta make sure my lower back's up for that.
Power cleans can get downright exhausting because every single rep is explosive, when done properly (this girl rocks). I thought I was giving myself a break by starting off at 94lbs. but by the time I got to the fourth set, I was just about to call it at day.
My dip belt hasn't arrived yet, but I can manage without it for a few more weeks.
Today I say goodbye to StrongLifts 5x5, probably one of the more enjoyable "phases" I've done this past 3 years. I managed to keep my weight under control (only went up a net 1.5lbs. since July) and got my strength levels up (except for the Deadlift, unfortunately). I think my body responded much better to SLI compared to NRoL and 10/10, but I have those two programs to thank for forcing me to confront my weak spots (like single-leg high-rep exercises) and building a better foundation for SLI and SL Advanced (SLA) to work on. Just goes to show that everybody (and every body) is different, and you need to research on what's best for you.
Exercise
A
B
C
Squats (low bar)
404/3
404/3
404/3
Overhead presses (belt)
174/3
174/3
174/3
Deadlifts (straps)
364/5
Pull-ups
BW/5
BW/5
BW/5
Legend: (Weight/Reps)
Thoughts
Of the 9 Squat reps I did, there was one that would've been good enough for a powerlifting competition, according to the trainer who I asked to evaluate what I was doing, and though that was good enough for me for today, I'll have to start much lighter than I planned in SLA so I can improve on my form.
For the first time, I power-cleaned 174lbs. to set up for the Press (already had to use the cage for this weight before), but it wasn't so clean. I'll have a lot of opportunity to work on it since Power cleans replace Barbell rows (until one of the trainers bans me from doing cleans, that is) in SLA.
Looks like the hand grip exercises are really helping (had my best warm-up set yet), but I'll probably be skipping them on the days before I have to do Deadlifts, which incidentally goes back to a 5x5 configuration in SLA... crap, I'm dead.
Happy 3rd anniversary to me. Coincidentally, I'm deloading this week so that makes this "celebration" a lot enjoyable. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank a few guys who've been more than helpful: Ron, Todd, Jeff, and to Donnie and Greg who remain as two of my biggest (literally and figuratively) inspirations for getting me started on the path to hugeness.
Exercise
A
B
C
Squats (low bar)
399/3
399/3
399/3
Bench presses
234/3
234/3
234/3
Bent over barbell rows
224/3
224/3
224/3
Weighted Dips
25/12
25/12
25/12
Legend: (Weight/Reps)
Thoughts
If there was any doubt about how much the Squats have been killing me, they're gone. And at 399lbs., they're now more than twice my current bodyweight of 197.5lbs. Now if only I can get my Deadlift up to the same level, but that will have to wait since I'll be resetting most of my loads starting next week for SL Advanced (SLA).
Wish my regular Bench Press was this easy to do, but at least I got through the 234lbs. mental barrier, sans spotter at that.
Decided to max out my Rows since I'll be going lighter by 10% next week.
Took a day off from work yesterday, and, for a change, it was nice to take my time taking these measurements.
Height
5'3"
Aug 08
Weight
197.5 lbs.
-1.5 lbs.
Chest
44"
-0.25"
Neck
16"
no change
Upper Arms (unflexed)
15.5"/15.25"
no change/+0.25"
Upper Arms (flexed)
16.25"/16"
no change/no change
Forearms
12"/11.875"
no change/+0.125"
Waist at navel
38.5"
-0.25"
Hips
43.75"
-0.25"
Thighs
26.5"/26.5"
no change/no change
Calves
16"/16"
no change/no change
Comments
When I increased my daily protein intake during the past two weeks, I thought I would've gained weight. Then again, 1.5lbs. could be just an aberration.
My chest, waist and butt all shrunk at the same rate. Weird.
The rest of my measurements seem to have stabilized. Let's see how my body will react to SLA.
เครื่องมือ 
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank a few guys who've been more than helpful: Ron, Todd, Jeff, and to Donnie and Greg who remain as two of my biggest (literally and figuratively) inspirations for getting me started on the path to hugeness.
