Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Starting Strength update
I figured I should update this beast. It has been about over 2 months. So here's the progress:
My weight is up to ~181/182. So I've gained over ten pounds. I don't think I've gained much body fat though based on absolutely nothing other than my own estimation. I'm not sure if 10 pounds of muscle in 2 months is reasonable. Here are the current numbers as of my most recent workouts:
Squat: 3x5 @ 205 lbs
Bench press: 3x5 @ 200 pounds (this was my max, I went back down to 185 as I was feeling some shoulder issues. I don't really feel like I want to be able to bench much more anyway).
Press: 3x5 @ 140 pounds (Tonight I went to 145 and got 1 set, plus about 4 reps, then my arms just wouldn't do anymore.)
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 225 pounds (new PR as of tonight. My back felt pretty good. I think my form is getting better.)
Pullups: I'm not sure what my max is right now. I have been trying to pull back the volume a little bit and do some more weighted chins and pullups. Felt a little twinge in my elbows, so I want to keep sets to 5-8 I think. Did some towel pullups tonight. Just killed my grip but that's good because I think my forearm strength is a little weak.
Nutrition has been good since the weather has improved finally. I pretty much have some type of protein every night (grilled chicken or beef). A fair amount of dark, leafy greens and usually some cottage cheese for added protein. I think I've kind of got the nutrition dialed in the way it should. A few weeks ago I was having more carbs at night then I probably should have and I could definitely see it a little in my appearance. So now I know that I'm relatively sensitive to carbs at night. During the day I really don't sweat the carb intake. I don't go nuts, but I'm not worried about a sub sandwich or a burger or whatever.
Taking a look at my goals for 2009:
-Squat: 5RM @ 225 lbs. This should be doable as I'm about 20 pounds away right now. I think my depth has been good; getting below parallel. It'd be nice to have a second set of eyes to double check.
-Press: 5RM @ bodyweight. This could be tough. I'm still about 40 lbs away. I think a 1 RM @ bodyweight is a reasonable goal though. I think last time I checked I was about 155 lbs or so on my 1 RM. 30 pounds in the next 7 months should be in reach.
-Bench press: 5 RM @ 210. This is probably possible too, but I'm not sure if I care enough to get there. Recently I did 3x5 @ 200, so one set of 5 at 210 is probably there even now. But I don't want to mess my shoulders up. I'm doing my best to be very strict with form (retracting the shoulder blades). But I can still feel it a little bit. Also I hate going to heavy on bench because that means I have to ask for a spot which drives me nuts. The last time I did, the well meaning dude I asked screwed everything up. He passed the bar off and then proceeded to keep his hands RIGHT ON THE BAR the entire time. It really threw me off.
-Deadlift: 5 RM @ 340. This could be very tough as I'm over 100 pounds away. Again this might be reasonable for a 1 RM. Five reps at this could be very tough though.
Honestly what I would like is a CrossFit total of 1000 (1RM squat+1RM press+1RM deadlift). This is a long term goal, but a very good indicator of strength. I'm also not sure if I can get there without some one on one coaching on my lifts. It might be a good idea to get a refresher. I'm thinking if I keep at things, sometime in 2010 I could get there. Haha, that sounds so far away. Actually talking about this kind of makes me want to get a membership at CrossFit MSP. It's the newest affiliate in the area and it's run by a guy that coached me at CrossFit Minnesota in Eden Prairie. Really nice guy and it sounds like their gym is devoted to building strength. That's one thing I feel is missing from CrossFit. For beginners that just can't do the workouts as prescribed it's tough to get stronger. The WODs are so varied, you will just never get there unless you specifically train strength too, in my opinion. Of course I could be wrong.
Also with the nicer weather I've been rotating some running in again a couple days a week. Usually I do one day of intervals (usually like 8x1/4 mile sprints, trying to hold a 1:30 time for each) and one tempo run at a distance of ~3 miles. The good news is as I have put on some muscle I have kept speed and endurance for the most part. The intervals leave me completely whipped but I can pretty much hold the 1:30 for all 8. And last Tuesday for my tempo run I was able to do 3 miles in 22 minutes which I was pretty pleased about. That was absolute maximum effort. I'm debating signing up for the Urban Wildland Half Marathon in August. That was a really nice course last year. Of course it would be fun to find somebody else to train with me... Anybody? Anybody?
Anyway, in general, feeling pretty good about where I'm at fitness-wise. Obviously I always like to improve, but I think I'm on a pretty good path. I have honestly become addicted to it. It's like therapy for me. Might be kind of sad, but the ~3 hours/week I spend in the gym have become some of my favorite hours spent all week. Haha. Oh well. I guess it's a hobby, which is good, because I think that's sort of what I have been missing in recent years.
Other life stuff: It's all good. :)
My weight is up to ~181/182. So I've gained over ten pounds. I don't think I've gained much body fat though based on absolutely nothing other than my own estimation. I'm not sure if 10 pounds of muscle in 2 months is reasonable. Here are the current numbers as of my most recent workouts:
Squat: 3x5 @ 205 lbs
Bench press: 3x5 @ 200 pounds (this was my max, I went back down to 185 as I was feeling some shoulder issues. I don't really feel like I want to be able to bench much more anyway).
Press: 3x5 @ 140 pounds (Tonight I went to 145 and got 1 set, plus about 4 reps, then my arms just wouldn't do anymore.)
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 225 pounds (new PR as of tonight. My back felt pretty good. I think my form is getting better.)
Pullups: I'm not sure what my max is right now. I have been trying to pull back the volume a little bit and do some more weighted chins and pullups. Felt a little twinge in my elbows, so I want to keep sets to 5-8 I think. Did some towel pullups tonight. Just killed my grip but that's good because I think my forearm strength is a little weak.
Nutrition has been good since the weather has improved finally. I pretty much have some type of protein every night (grilled chicken or beef). A fair amount of dark, leafy greens and usually some cottage cheese for added protein. I think I've kind of got the nutrition dialed in the way it should. A few weeks ago I was having more carbs at night then I probably should have and I could definitely see it a little in my appearance. So now I know that I'm relatively sensitive to carbs at night. During the day I really don't sweat the carb intake. I don't go nuts, but I'm not worried about a sub sandwich or a burger or whatever.
Taking a look at my goals for 2009:
-Squat: 5RM @ 225 lbs. This should be doable as I'm about 20 pounds away right now. I think my depth has been good; getting below parallel. It'd be nice to have a second set of eyes to double check.
-Press: 5RM @ bodyweight. This could be tough. I'm still about 40 lbs away. I think a 1 RM @ bodyweight is a reasonable goal though. I think last time I checked I was about 155 lbs or so on my 1 RM. 30 pounds in the next 7 months should be in reach.
-Bench press: 5 RM @ 210. This is probably possible too, but I'm not sure if I care enough to get there. Recently I did 3x5 @ 200, so one set of 5 at 210 is probably there even now. But I don't want to mess my shoulders up. I'm doing my best to be very strict with form (retracting the shoulder blades). But I can still feel it a little bit. Also I hate going to heavy on bench because that means I have to ask for a spot which drives me nuts. The last time I did, the well meaning dude I asked screwed everything up. He passed the bar off and then proceeded to keep his hands RIGHT ON THE BAR the entire time. It really threw me off.
-Deadlift: 5 RM @ 340. This could be very tough as I'm over 100 pounds away. Again this might be reasonable for a 1 RM. Five reps at this could be very tough though.
Honestly what I would like is a CrossFit total of 1000 (1RM squat+1RM press+1RM deadlift). This is a long term goal, but a very good indicator of strength. I'm also not sure if I can get there without some one on one coaching on my lifts. It might be a good idea to get a refresher. I'm thinking if I keep at things, sometime in 2010 I could get there. Haha, that sounds so far away. Actually talking about this kind of makes me want to get a membership at CrossFit MSP. It's the newest affiliate in the area and it's run by a guy that coached me at CrossFit Minnesota in Eden Prairie. Really nice guy and it sounds like their gym is devoted to building strength. That's one thing I feel is missing from CrossFit. For beginners that just can't do the workouts as prescribed it's tough to get stronger. The WODs are so varied, you will just never get there unless you specifically train strength too, in my opinion. Of course I could be wrong.
Also with the nicer weather I've been rotating some running in again a couple days a week. Usually I do one day of intervals (usually like 8x1/4 mile sprints, trying to hold a 1:30 time for each) and one tempo run at a distance of ~3 miles. The good news is as I have put on some muscle I have kept speed and endurance for the most part. The intervals leave me completely whipped but I can pretty much hold the 1:30 for all 8. And last Tuesday for my tempo run I was able to do 3 miles in 22 minutes which I was pretty pleased about. That was absolute maximum effort. I'm debating signing up for the Urban Wildland Half Marathon in August. That was a really nice course last year. Of course it would be fun to find somebody else to train with me... Anybody? Anybody?
Anyway, in general, feeling pretty good about where I'm at fitness-wise. Obviously I always like to improve, but I think I'm on a pretty good path. I have honestly become addicted to it. It's like therapy for me. Might be kind of sad, but the ~3 hours/week I spend in the gym have become some of my favorite hours spent all week. Haha. Oh well. I guess it's a hobby, which is good, because I think that's sort of what I have been missing in recent years.
Other life stuff: It's all good. :)
# posted by JT @ 9:08 PM 
