Deloading concluded... last Friday in fact. I thought I'd posted the entry for the day last week, but apparently it didn't stick. It's a good thing I logged in to post this month's progress pics.

In any case, thanks to the fucked up holiday schedule I have this December, I can't start with any program that won't get derailed come the 25th, and so I'm putting off lifting for at most a month to lose some unwanted fat gain. Sorry to those who were expecting me to put on some more size, but I also have a right hamstring that somehow got twinged

Deloading continues... Hardest thing I did today was contending with my pathetic grip™ during bodyweight chin-ups. The first set went great as I made it all the way up to 12 full reps (start with dead hang, end with chest touching the bar). Then the next 2 were problematic as my forearms started to burn halfway through each set. Haven't felt that in a long while.

Deloading this week...

SLA, Day C, Workout 9

Actually did this last Thursday, but I haven't had the time to write about it.

SLA, Day B, Workout 9

With 6 plates (314lbs.), I finally managed to deadlift twice my current bodyweight (~156lbs.), something I couldn't do at my strongest when I weighed over 200lbs. and couldn't get past 394lbs., even with the straps.

Also, I was just 2lbs. shy of pressing my bodyweight, but I didn't want to have to add a little more weight and be forced switch to Push presses. Maybe this Thursday I'll throw in one rep just to see if I can really do it without cheating.

SLA, Day A, Workout 9

Well, I stalled on my first Squats--just did 2 reps per set instead of 3--but since this is last week of the program, it's not such a big deal since I'll be deloading next week in preparation for a new program, what exactly I'm not 100% sure yet, so I'll have that week to decide. and thanks to a serendipitous online encounter I had with hulkmuscle, the guy who wrote me my very first workout programs, I have a couple of completely new ones to choose from.

SLA, Day C, Workout 8

I just had to screw-up my Power cleans after finally nailing my Bench press after 2 weeks of trying. I inadvertently did next Monday's workout instead of today's, and I didn't notice anything wrong because the first and last days of SLA are very similar. In any case, I'll just swap the exercises and make a note on my Excel sheet.

I know I said two weeks ago I'd be doing Box Squats, but as I set it up this morning, I saw and confirmed with a trainer that I was just making parallel and not the depth I've been reaching since I started StrongLifts. Since I only have one more week of SLA left, I might as well just stick to what I've been doing and have a spotter around for the heaviest set.

SLA, Day B, Workout 8

I can't express how thankful I am not having to do Squats and Deadlifts on the same day at the weights I'm at, but I need to find out if I can do both plus the Bench if I'm ever serious about competing. Anyway, that's not going to be happening anytime soon.

Once again I find myself at loss what I'm going to do next after I'm done with this program. My current choices are repeating the 16-week Maximum Strength and trying out the 13-week Smolov training program. It's still too early to go back to 30DWW just yet, but I will definitely be devoting another month to that. Unfortunately, I have a vacation planned during Christmas that will take me away from the gym for more than a few days, and so I can't commit to anything just yet.

SLA, Day A, Workout 8

Squats have gotten to the point again where they're affecting the rest of my workout, as in yesterday's where I couldn't draw on the extra oomph I needed to hit my current max at the Bench Press and where things got a bit hairy in the last set of Power Cleans. At least I was able to set a new 1RM at Dips: 3 plates.

Compared to how I fared doing the same exercises last year, despite being 35lbs. lighter, I feel like my strength is lagging behind. I think I'm still very conservative with the amount of food I'm eating because deep inside me I don't want to be 35lbs. heavier. 

SLA, Day C, Workout 7

Instead of switching to Box squats like I said, I opted to have someone spotting me as I did my last Squat set, and I'm mostly sure I nailed one very good rep out of it.

Bench presses also went well as I did with I set out to do which was 2 reps at 1.5x my current bodyweight, which has now gone back to where it was a couple of weeks before.

SLA, Day B, Workout 7

Came to the gym still feeling a bit sleepy, but thankful for waking up by the time I did Deadlifts, wherein I'm confident that I'll be able to hit 314lbs. at the end of the program.

Starting to stall on Weighted chin-ups, but then again I've been trying to do 5 reps per set instead of the 3 that's listed down.

Will swap the order of abs and arms next week just to see if I can't improve curls at the expense of the Ab wheel rollout, which does hit arms too.

Weird gym sked this week is due to my making up for the week I "lost" recuperating from my injury.

SLA, Day A, Workout 7

Yesterday was interesting since it was the first time in a long time that I was at the gym twice in one day. I lifted in the morning and did cardio during my lunch break. I read on the gym schedule that there was an evening Spinning class, but it was later than I would've liked. The funny thing about the cardio was that I thought I'd have more trouble with my legs since I did Squats, but my arms were the ones that started cramping halfway through the session from the Bench press and 1-arm push-ups.

Speaking of the Bench press, I hit my limit yesterday and had to retreat to weight I did on Sunday. Admittedly, I have been trying to squeeze more out of the exercise by a little more weight than what's prescribed in my SLA workout sheet over the past 2 weeks, and so I now have to progress normally.

(Update 5 Nov 09: Completely missed out on any punny attempts at this day's Hulkout #... drat.)

SLA, Day C, Workout 6

I did a number on my abs from trying out the Ab Wheel Rollout two days ago, but if ever I master this exercise, it will really help my Squats and Deadlifts since it targets the core so effectively.  I was afraid, however, that the soreness would have been a stumbling block today, but I think I managed all right right until the last Squat set where I probably didn't go as low as I needed, but without a trainer watching me, I had no way to tell. Next time, I 'm going to switch back to Box Squats so I have an objective means of determining the Squat depth.

Height	5'3"	Oct 09
Weight	155.20 lbs.	+0.45 lbs.
Chest	40"	no change
Neck	15.125"	+0.125"
Upper Arms (unflexed)	14"/13.625"	+0.25"/+0.125"
Upper Arms (flexed)	14.875"/14.625"	+0.125"/+0.125"
Forearms	11.375"/11.125"	+0.125"/+0.125"
Waist at navel	31.25"	+0.25"
Hips	38"	+0.25"
Thighs	23"/23.25"	no change/+0.25"
Calves	14.5"/14.5"	no change/no change

Comments

• There's no question that I was dehydrated when I weighed in this afternoon. Over the past month I slowly increased my caloric intake, and two weeks ago before my accident I already reached 159lbs. It's not feasible that a half-a-pound weight gain could explain all the increases I had.
  
• Waist and Hips had a big jump last month due to the increasing intensity of my Squats and Deadlifts, but I'm hoping that my abs and legs can get stronger without getting that much bigger, or at least not before I can get my chest to catch up. Hehe...
  
• In either case, I have to start doing YRG Fat Burner more diligently or do regular cardio in its stead so I can keep the fat under control as I'm eating more again.
  

SLA, Day B, Workout 6

Deadlifts are coming along pretty well since I've learned how to set up for the exercise without the gut that allowed me to lift much heavier before. Still working towards to what I used to do, but I'll take my time getting there.

SLA, Day A, Workout 6

I need to be very vigilant with my back again now that I'm moving up with my Squats again, and while I also need to make sure I can hit at least parallel, there's no question I'll be prioritizing the former over the latter.

SLA, Day C, Workout 5

Since yesterday was a Sunday and I got more rest that I would've after a weekday workout, I took a chance and finished up my last deload day this morning, which, for the most part, went OK, but there's a reason why it's not recommended to do SL workouts on consecutive days.

SLA, Day B, Workout 5

Well, that was a week I rather not have wasted recovering from an non-muscular/skeletal/neurological injury, but as the saying goes, "Better to be safe...." What's important is that I'm back at the gym albeit somewhat lighter again, and I'm going tweak my schedule a bit to make up for lost time.

SLA, Day A, Workout 5

I'm halfway through SLA, and I'll mostly be deloading this week as I'm going to take a chance and push up my Squats by a notch. The slight increase in strength seems to correlate with my added weight, which jumped quite a bit. Wish I could say most of it's from muscle, but knowing my body, at least half of it's got to be from fat/water, but it's safer that I have more fuel in my system than less while I'm bulking.

SLA, Day C, Workout 4

My confidence in my Bench presses isn't what it used to be. I was lot more gung-ho about them before, but then again, I was tired after doing 2.15 times my current bodyweight for the last Squat set. My abs really took a beating there. Probably if I started the session with my chest I'd have done better.

SLA, Day B, Workout 4

Kinda glad today's the last 5x5 Deadlifts I'll have to do in a while. Ever since I twinged my back last January I've been rather wary of the exercise.