reaching the 3-4-5 club!

[Darkmind]

Alright guys! Starting this monday I'm gonna start a full routine based on Mark Rippetoe's starting strength. My ultimate goal is to reach the 300/400/500 club.

Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength

workout A:
# 3x5 Squat
# 3x5 Bench Press
# 1x5 Deadlifts
# 2x8 Dips

Workout B:
# 3x5 Squat
# 3x5 Standing military press
# 3x5 Bent Rows (or power cleans)
# 2x8 Chin-ups

Week 1:

* Monday - Workout A
* Wednesday -Workout B
* Friday - Workout A

Week 2:

* Monday - Workout B
* Wednesday - Workout A
* Friday - Workout B

Diet:
AYCEC! (ALL YOU CAN EAT CLEAN)

The progression is adding 2.5% more weight to each exercise every week. As I go through it though I'm gonna have to buy more workout equipment or join a gym! lol (lack of weights). Starting tomorrow I'm gonna evaluate my lifts so I know where to start at for Monday.

I know this is mostly a self help thing, but I would really love some help in the motivational department as that's my biggest challenge every time I try to start lifting again. Longest I've kept with a routine was 5 months.. and that's when I first started working out. So support would be greatly appreciated. I won't post pics, I'm mostly concerned about my numbers for now (and well, my chest too, I'll see how the routine goes for my chest and add in chest flyes if needed).

After Mark Rippetoe's program has reached its limit on me, I'll start Bill Starr's 5x5 program. Honestly I don't think I'll be out of the beginner range for my lifting "career" until I can actually say I've completed these programs by the end of the year. Hopefully this log will be up a lot of posts in the future and keep going. It's gonna take me a while to get to the 300/400/500 club.

[Lost Dog]

good luck. How far from 3-4-5 are you?

Where in CA are you? I'm down in OC. Deep, deep down in OC.

[LisaS]

what is his logic behind
- only doing 1x5 DL
- having squats in both days and DL only in one day?

[gobbla]

good luck

[ParanoidAndroid]

Originally Posted by LisaS

what is his logic behind
- only doing 1x5 DL
- having squats in both days and DL only in one day?

Rippetoe limits deadlifts as they are far more taxing and much harder to recover from than squats. Most people are not going to be able to recover from 3x5 heavy deads, done 3x per week.

Rippetoe's starting strength goes into this in more depth--I HIGHLY recommend it, best book I've ever read re: strength training.

and to the OP: good luck, man! I'm doing Rippetoe's texas method right now and I am loving it.

[Mahler]

Good luck.

[Mahler]

Good luck,

[Darkmind]

Originally Posted by ParanoidAndroid

Rippetoe limits deadlifts as they are far more taxing and much harder to recover from than squats. Most people are not going to be able to recover from 3x5 heavy deads, done 3x per week.

Rippetoe's starting strength goes into this in more depth--I HIGHLY recommend it, best book I've ever read re: strength training.

and to the OP: good luck, man! I'm doing Rippetoe's texas method right now and I am loving it.

Thanks!

Plus I believe his logic is squat and deadlift help eachother out. Doing 1 set of 5 reps for deadlifts helps you for the future if you want to actually deadlift more. You don't have to get used to the movement, you already are! Full ROM squats does strengthen your posterior chain (glutes, hammies).


Alright I'm off to evaluate my lifts so I know what to start with for this Monday.

[Darkmind]

I'm almost done with my evaluations. I just got to do deadlifts which I will do later on in the evening. Here are the results

Squat:
1st set - 195lbs
2nd set - 215lbs
3rd set - 225lbs
Comments: Well I wanted to start light with squats, 195lbs felt really light so my 2nd set I added 20lbs. By the 3rd set 225lbs was the sweet spot.

Bench Press:
1st set - 175lbs
2nd set - 180lbs
3rd set - 180lbs
Comments: My first set of 175lbs was pretty manageable, So I raised it 5lbs. 2nd set was good, and I felt that if I raised the weight anymore my form would crumble a little so I kept it at 180lbs.

Powercleans:
1st set - 155lbs
2nd set - 155lbs
3rd set - 155lbs
Comments: I was spot on for powercleans, the 1st set felt pretty hard on me. The 2nd set was easier for me, and the 3rd was a little easier. It's been a while since I've done powercleans so each set was easier because I was getting used to the movement and also perfecting my form each rep.

Military Press:
1st set - 95lbs
2nd set - 105lbs
3rd set - 105lbs
Comments: 95lbs just felt too light so I upped it 10lbs and 105lbs felt like a good starting point for me for Monday.

All I have left to do is deadlifts, I'd love to know how I am on that, it's been probably a year since I've done them but I've been squatting a lot since then. Hopefully my squats carried over to it a little bit, but I know I have to adapt to the movement again.

I can't believe though I've retained even this much strength in these movements. Here were my PRs for 3x5.

PRs:
Bench Press: 205lbs
Squat: 255lbs
Deadlift: 315lbs
Military Press: 125lbs
Powercleans: 180lbs

Stay tuned for my deadlift evaluation.

[Darkmind]

275lbs for a set of 5, and there we have it! I could feel that I definitely needed to get used to the movement again, so I'll start at 275lbs. Now I'm sore all over, Can't wait for Monday...

[Darkmind]

OUCH!

Woke up sore all over this morning. I kinda missed this feeling. Hopefully it'll go away after next time I workout because well I can only get so much lovin from my achin muscles .

Oh BTW Lost Dog I'm up in the bay area in Contra Costa County.

[Littlemermaidklb]

Great job so far! Keep up the good work :-) The people on these forums are really nice, so you shouldn't have a problem with motivation.

[Darkmind]

1/21/08: Monday's workout. Rest between sets - 120 seconds.

Squat:
3x5 - 225lbs
Comments: 2nd set was my easiest of the sets. I probably could've done one more rep on my 3rd set though. We'll see how I am Wednesday! Form felt spot on, all the way down, all the way up. Though the first set hurt my upper back due to soreness from my evaluation Friday. Ouch!

Bench Press:
3x5 (+1) - 180lbs
Comments: Pretty even all around, I managed 6 reps on my 3rd set. My form felt spot on

Deadlift:
1x5 - 285lbs
Comments: I evaluated myself at 275lbs Friday, but I thought I could try 285lbs anyway. I managed to pull it through! (pun intended). I love deadlifts! The first rep my knees cracked, but I was alright on the rest of em.

Bar Dips: Rest between sets - 60 seconds
2x8 - BW (180lbs)
Comments: I did chest bar dips since I want to get more chest work in. I can't believe the 2nd set got me fatigued for only 8 reps! I did feel it mostly in my chest though which is what I was and am aiming for. I used to do be able to do 2 sets of 20 reps of bar dips.

I love the fact this workout incorporates deadlifts and squats in the routine. My soreness seems to be almost diminishing, ugh. My soreness in the back definitely hurt for my first set of squats. As soon as Wednesday comes around hopefully my back soreness will be almost gone.

[liftintexas]

looks solid, man. good luck with the program.

[Darkmind]

1-23-08: Wednesday's workout - Rest Between Sets: 120 seconds

Squat:
1st set - 230lbs
2nd set - 230lbs
3rd set - 230lbs
Comments: Felt solid throughout. I may stick to 230lbs for Friday, depending.


Military Press:
1st set - 105lbs
2nd set - 110lbs
3rd set - 110lbs
Comments: 105lbs Felt a little too easy, so I went to 110lbs. All went well there.

Powercleans:
1st set - 160lbs
2nd set - 165lbs
3rd set - 165lbs
Comments: Even though I evaluated myself at 155lbs last Friday, I tried 160lbs and even that felt a bit light. So I raised it to 165lbs. After my final set it still felt a bit easy. Maybe my technique is just improving. Too bad I can't record a video of me doing powercleans, I'd REALLY love some criticism on my form. And I bet I'm still off on form.

Chin-ups: Rest between sets - 60 seconds
2x8 - BW (180lbs)
Comments: My last rep was definitely a struggle, I can usually do more on those, too. Just goes to show you how much this workout can fatigue you.

Well I'm off to get ready for work.

[Darkmind]

1/25/08: Friday's workout. Rest between sets - 120 seconds.

Squat:
1st set - 230lbs
2nd set - 230lbs
3rd set - 235lbs
Comments: I felt I could up it to 235lbs on the 3rd set and I managed to get it.

Bench Press:
3x5 - 187.5lbs
Comments: 187.5lbs was the perfect weight for my bench press this session.

Deadlift:
1x5 - 295lbs
Comments: Since even last Monday felt kinda easy for deadlifts I decided to up it another 10lbs. Felt good

Bar Dips: Rest between sets - 60 seconds
2x8 - BW (180lbs)

My fast gains aren't anything special, it's just muscle memory coming back is all. I'll slow down to a normal pace probably by the next 2 weeks. However it feels great to workout again, and I've even felt better physically and mentally (taking vitamin supplements help too lol).

[Darkmind]

Just thought I'd mention I take wellements whey protein, and a centrum chewables multivitamin (orange flavored).

So I got a question, you guys think I could make the 300/400/500 club by the end of this year?

[Darkmind]

Week 2: 1-28-08: Monday's workout - Rest Between Sets: 120 seconds

Squat:
1st set - 235lbs
2nd set - 235lbs
3rd set - 240lbs
Comments: 240lbs felt light on my 3rd set, but I'll stick to that weight for Wednesday.


Military Press:
1st set - 115lbs
2nd set - 115lbs
3rd set - 115lbs
Comments: 115lbs was actually right on the money for a 3x5 workout.

Powercleans:
1st set - 170lbs
2nd set - 175lbs 4th rep FAIL
3rd set - ......
Comments: So I started at 170lbs and it felt pretty easy anyway so I upped it to 175lbs (10lbs more than my previous powerclean attempt). Bad idea, I should've known better. On the 4th rep I didn't complete the lift. My left anterior delt couldn't handle anymore and it got shut down. So I backed off, decided not to do my 3rd set. This did not bring me down however, I'll just keep going. On Friday this week I will reset and do powercleans at 165lbs for all 3 sets no matter how easy I think it is.

Chin-ups: Rest between sets - 60 seconds
2x8 - BW (180lbs)
Comments: This is getting easier, my arms aren't feeling as fatigued.

So lesson learned. Seems that some of the lifts aren't as "easy", but rather maybe my power (speed) is just increasing (??). Rather than trying to increase reps every workout I increase weight. It's actually a brand new concept to my body. I've never increased weight every workout or so, just reps, (then after 2 weeks I increase the weight).