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View Full Version : A journey of a thousand miles...



PowderMonkey
01-25-12, 5:45 am
...begins with a single step, if elderly deceased occidental gentlemen are to be believed.

so, a bit of history is in order. let's see if i can keep this short.

back issues
i have had back surgery, multiple times. i can't play contact sports. i can do weights. i'm happy to go into details, but in the interest of not writing an essay right now, the back surgery is not to do with anything structural, and the only limits on my weightlifting is that i probably shouldn't use a belt.

goals
i want to be big, strong, and intimidating

concrete goals
by the end of august of this year, when i turn 30, i want a 500 deadlift, 400 squat, 300 bench. bite me. i might not make it, but i'll certainly get a lot closer than if i don't try.
i am convinced that i can make it though.

previous training history
a few months of faffing about, doing nothing really very coherent.
a few rounds of starting strength. nutrition and sleep very inconsistent, training in the dying stages also inconsistent.
total training time of less than 1 year. last workout was in november 2011, so we can all safely assume that i am starting from scratch.

previous lifts
squat: 107.5kg / 236.5lb, 5 reps, 3 sets
bench: 72.5kg / 160lb, 5 reps, 3 sets
deadlift: 135kg / 297lb, 5 reps
standing press: 55kg / 121lb, 5 reps, 3 sets

starting stats
height: 182 and a bit cm / pretty much 6 feet
weight: last time i weighed myself about 2 weeks ago i was 92kg / 202.5lb
bf: probably around the low 20's

training for the foreseeable future
stronglifts 5x5
workout a
-----------
squat: 5x5 (+2.5kg)
bench press: 5x5 (+2.5kg)
pendlay row: 5x5 (+2.5kg)

workout b
-----------
squat: 5x5 (+2.5kg)
standing press: 5x5 (+2.5kg)
deadlift: 5x1 (+5kg)

alternating workouts, with a day off in between. schedule is tentatively set at thursday/saturday/monday. i am a member of a 24 hour gym. coolstorybro.
starting weights were determined using the following method:
start with the empty bar. do a set of 5. add 5kg, do a set of 5. stop when form/speed begins to suffer, do 2 more sets at this weight (except for deadlift).

when 5x5 becomes too much, i will drop to 3x5, but that is a while away yet

nutrition
i started taking orange triad about 5 days ago. i have 4 bottles of the stuff, so this should keep me going for a while.
aim is 4000 cals, aim is to gain in the vicinity of 0.5kg per week.

end notes
accessories? what/when/how often?

PowderMonkey
01-25-12, 5:47 am
Inaugural session - January 21 2012

workout a
Squat
40kg x 5 (88lb)
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
+ some extras
Went with a lower weight than I could or should have, mainly to focus on form. These feel stacks better than any previous attempt I made last year. Did the extra sets and a few more singles with just the bar to really drill in the form.

Bench
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
40kg x 5

Row
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
40kg x 5

So, yeah. 40kg hey?

PowderMonkey
01-25-12, 5:50 am
last session (http://forum.animalpak.com/showthread.php?37939-A-journey-of-a-thousand-miles&p=1191358&viewfull=1#post1191358)

January 23 2012

workout b
Squat
42.5kg x 5 (93.5lb)
42.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5

Press
35kg x 5 (77lb)
35kg x 5
35kg x 5
35kg x 5
35kg x 5

Deadlift
No warmup sets
60kg x 5 (132lb)

I'm videotaping everything, I'll post them when a get back from the gym (I'm about to go right now), along with today's session

PowderMonkey
01-27-12, 3:14 am
January 25 2012

bug in the forum kept me from posting

workout a
Squat
45kg x 5 (99lb)
45kg x 5
45kg x 6 (lost count, I always do another rep if I'm not sure)
45kg x 5
45kg x 5

Bench
42.5kg x 5 (93.5lb)
42.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5

Pendlay row
No warmup sets on this one
42.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5

Finished off with ab wheel on knees x6x3

here is the video that i mentioned earlier. some sets from previous sessions in there.
future videos will be one or 2 work sets from each exercise.


1

PowderMonkey
01-27-12, 8:11 am
January 27 2011
workout b

squat
47.5kg x 5 (104.5lb)
47.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 6 (lost count, so did an extra one)
47.5kg x 5

press
37.5kg x 5 (82.5lb)
37.5kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
37.5kg x 5

deadlift
no warmup sets
65kg x 5 (143lb)

ab wheel kneeling
0
0
abs still fried from last session. went down, couldn't get back up. twice.
video incoming

PowderMonkey
01-27-12, 8:30 am
video

PowderMonkey
01-29-12, 6:46 pm
january 29 2012
workout a

squat
50kg x 5 (110lb)
50kg x 5
50kg x 5
50kg x 5
50kg x 5
last 2 reps on the last set felt a bit slow

bench
45kg x 5 (99lb)
45kg x 5
45kg x 5
45kg x 5
45kg x 5

row
no warmup sets
45kg x 5 (99lb)
45kg x 5
45kg x 5
45kg x 5
45kg x 5
felt like cardio in the last 2 sets

i had a blister on my thumb. i say "had" because it burst. i think it might now be infected. made the rows a bit interesting, but they were still light, so it wasn't a problem.
i'm going to trim the loose skin and bandage it. hopefully it will be better before tomorrow. or better enough that it won't impede tomorrow's session.

videos are being edited right now, they will be up shortly.

PowderMonkey
01-29-12, 7:42 pm
short version, 1 work set from each exercise:


1

PowderMonkey
01-29-12, 7:42 pm
all squat and row work sets:


2

C.Coronato
01-30-12, 4:56 pm
Some serious goals brotha. Glad to see that, now smash those mother fuckers down!

PowderMonkey
01-31-12, 3:04 am
Some serious goals brotha. Glad to see that, now smash those mother fuckers down!

cheers =)

another pearl from confucious:
“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.”

PowderMonkey
01-31-12, 3:05 am
january 31 2012
workout b

squat
3 x warmup sets
52.5kg x 5 (115.5lb)
52.5kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
52.5kg x 5

press
3 x warmup sets
40kg x 5 (88lb)
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
40kg x 5
40kg x 5

deadlift
1 x warmup set
70kg x 5 (154lb)

i did take videos, but it's movie night and i'm about to head out. i will edit and upload when i get back home.
rest period for squat increased slightly in today's workout. this is still fairly cruisy, and i know i am getting stronger despite the cruisyness, because press felt easier today than it was last b session. i also noticed that there is slightly more definition in my arms, traps and back. use your imagination because there will be no pics.

there will be vids in a few hours' time though.

PowderMonkey
01-31-12, 8:45 am
randomly selected work set from each exercise:


1

PowderMonkey
01-31-12, 8:47 am
long vid of all work sets:


2

PowderMonkey
01-31-12, 8:47 am
story time
what do you think happens when a cinema complex, housing 14 cinemas, all with digital projectors, has a power outage?
they have a backup generator. so what happens is not sudden silence and pitch blackness. what happens is this: the digital projection system, which manages all 14 cinemas, and the admin systems for the cinema staff, and the 2 way radio system that the staff uses to communicate, crashes. this means the only way the staff can communicate with us and with each other is by running around a 14 cinema complex and shouting.

we got this on our screen, for about 15 minutes:

http://airstre.am/whoops.jpg


they gave out free movie tickets at the end of the movie, to every patron who saw a movie in any of the 14 cinemas tonight.

cinemas make zero money off tickets. the reason all the candy bar items and 3d movies and what have you are priced so ludicrously is so that the cinema does make a profit from something. the ticket price you pay at the box office goes to the distributors and filmmakers, and the cinema makes nothing. there is more to it than that, to do with how long a film runs at the cinema and what have you, but that's the simplified version. cinemas hate giving away free tickets, because instead of making no money for each ticket, they are essentially paying film distributors for every free ticket they give away. they make no money from the original ticket, and then they pay the distributor again for the free movie the patron ends up going to. i can only imagine how much money the cinema lost tonight. someone is going to be in a lot of trouble tomorrow.

incidentally, the expiry dates on the free tickets we got tonight were hand-written. someone sat down and scribbled on each ticket and then they gave them to us on the way out. this person must have been in a hurry, because instead of expiring in 1 year, my ticket expires in 19 years. (dd-mm-yy) should have been expiry of 31-01-13, instead, mine expires 31-01-31. i am very very very tempted to hang onto it and to redeem it in 19 years time. provided this cinema chain does not go out of business before then. which they may well do if they continue to make this sort of mistake.

PowderMonkey
02-02-12, 7:36 am
february 2 2012
workout a

squat
warmup sets x 4
55kg x 5 (121lb)
55kg x 5
55kg x 5
55kg x 5
55kg x 5

bench
warmup sets x 3
47.5kg x 5 (104.5lb)
47.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 5

pendlay row
tried a wide grip, felt really nice. i'll be keeping the wide grip
no warmup sets
47.5kg x 5 (104.5lb)
47.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 5
last set of this one was uuuugly. about 4 guys who had been standing around on the street smoking came in, one of them stood over me holding a bench breathing on me, so i powered through it as fast as i could in order to escape his cigarette breath. he apparently lacked basic observation skills to see the barbell lying on the ground after i put it down not 30 seconds earlier from set 4.

videos incoming shortly.

PowderMonkey
02-02-12, 8:36 am
random set from each:


1

PowderMonkey
02-02-12, 8:36 am
full work sets


2

PowderMonkey
02-03-12, 8:53 am
february 3 2012
workout b

i have work all day tomorrow and a party tomorrow night, so it was either take an extra day's rest tomorrow, or do a workout today (which meant a workout 2 days in a row). i opted for the 2 days in a row. i'm guessing that in as little as a week, i probably won't be able to do that anymore. but i got away with it today, and the workout still wasn't too much of a challenge. the second work set of press was the hardest set in the entire workout.

squat
warmup sets x 4
57.5kg x 5 (126.5lb)
57.5kg x 5
57.5kg x 5
57.5kg x 5
57.5kg x 5
next session will be 1 plate woo!

press
warmup sets x 2
42.5kg x 5 (93.5lb)
42.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
starting to get a bit heavy, but then, my last workout was only yesterday.

deadlift
warmup set x 1
75kg x 5 (165lb x 5)
approaching bw. bout 2 weeks away.

as always, videos are being edited right now, and will be posted very soon.

PowderMonkey
02-03-12, 9:50 am
random set from each:


1

PowderMonkey
02-03-12, 9:50 am
previous page for workout and shorter vid with 1 work set from each exercise.



all work sets:


2