Coming off a nearly 4-month layoff. Had just finished doing Starting Strength Online Coaching and then was messing around with a hybrid of 5/3/1 (for core lifts) and using Bigger Leaner Stronger programming for accessory lifts. Diet during this time was basically “eat more to lift more.” 6’2" and got up to 207#, which is the heaviest I’ve ever been. Guessing BF% was easily in 20-25% range. Working sets on squats got up to around 250, OHP around 120-125, bench was 195, and deads were around 310, I believe.
Started Beginner Template on Sunday.
Day 1:
Squat: 155/175/185x4 (RPE 6/7/8)
Bench: 95/115/125/135x10 (RPE 5/6/7/8) – first set felt too light
Trap Dead: 185/205/225x8 (RPE 6/7/8)
Was gassed more than I thought I would be. Doing higher reps is an adjustment for me on bigger lifts. Haven’t worked out above 4-6 rep range in a long time. Have worked out sporadically a few times during last four months, but this was first time doing squats in 4+ months. Hammies were screaming and was exquisitely sore the next day.
RPE is going to take some adjustment.
Day 2 (this morning):
OHP: 75/85/95/100x4 (RPE 6/7/7/8) – didn’t add enough weight third set
Squat: 135/145/155x7 (RPE 6/7/8) – estimated 1RM here is 205 contrasted to 221 on Day 1 with 3x4 workout. Does that mean I didn’t do this properly?
BB Rows: 65/75/85/95x10 (RPE 6/6/7/8) – didn’t add enough weight second set – should I be doing Pendlays or hang bar to knees?
I don’t know if these Training Logs are echo chambers or if people will actually read them or not. If not, I may have to ask some of these questions elsewhere.
Oh, and for my starting stats – I’m about 192# right now and probably about 20% BF. I am probably not going to track my food this week or next week. Will be eating generally well, but have some life events going on that are going to make tracking food not very practical.
Trap Dead: 135/185/225/245/255x4 (RPE 4/5/6/7/8) – took me a while to dial in the RPE today
Bench: 95/135/145/155x8 (RPE 4/6/7/8) – not sure if I’m supposed to include warmup sets on spreadsheet or not; sometimes I do
Squats: 95/135/145x10 (RPE 6/7/8) – squats for 10 reps is no fun; didn’t feel heavy, but just got tired
Not a great sign that my squat and bench both had same e1RM today. Deadlift seems to be just over 300 e1RM, which is probably accurate. Squat seems to be lagging right now, which makes sense.
Thanks for posting your log. I’m currently on Beginner Phase 2 week . Phase 1 regressed. Seeing some strength increase Phase 2 now on dead’s. I seem to be doing a ton of volume to be working up to the prescribed RPE. Im guessing this will improve my volume tolerance for later on. My squat is really lagging behind my other lifts and also find high rep to be difficult to judge RPE as seem to get tired even with low weight.
Last week was a bust due to a unique opportunity to go to NYC for business/play. Started Week 2 today.
Week 2, Day 1:
Squat: 155/175/195/205x4 (RPE 6/7/8/8) – increased weight, plus extra set over Week 1
Bench: 115/125/135/135x10 (RPE 6/7/8/8) – same weights as last week, but additional set
Trap Dead: 185/205/225x8 (RPE 6/7/8) – same as last week
Felt a lot better than Week 1. May have something to do with no booze this weekend, which is unusual for me. Decided to go dry for a month for grins. Also wore my squat shoes today and was lifting in MetCons last week; really prefer squats and deads in my squat shoes.
OHP: 75/85/95/100x4 (RPE 6/7/8/8)
Squat: 135/145/155/155x7 (RPE 6/7/8/8) – will have to look back at my notes, but think I just added a set here, but I may have gone up to 165 on the last set.
BB Rows: 75/85/95/105x10 (RPE 6/7/8/8) – did Pendlays once I got to 95 and could use bumpers from the floor
Week 2, Day 3:
Trap Dead: 225/245/265/265x4 (6/7/8/8)
Bench Press: 135/145/155/160x8 (6/7/8/9)
Back Squat: 115/135/145/155x10 (6/7/8/8)
Week 3, Day 1:
Back Squat: 165/185/205/205x4 (6/7/9/9)
Bench: 115/125/135/140x10 (6/7/8/8)
Trap Deads: 185/205/205/225x8 (6/7/7/8)
Week 3, Day 2:
OHP: 85/95/100/105x4 (6/7/8/8)
Back Squat: 135/145/165/175x7 (6/7/8/8)
Barbell Row: 75/85/95/105x10 (6/7/8/8)
Week 3, Day 3 (today):
Trap Deads: 235/250/265/275x4 (6/7/8/8)
Bench: 140/150/155/155x8 (6/7/8/9) – last set was tough
Squat: 125/140/155/155x10 (6/7/8/9) – these were tough at the end
Did heated Vinyasa yoga on Tuesday (45min), but haven’t got my 2x30min of cardio in this week yet. Might try to get one this PM. Not sure if I’ll get another in before Sunday’s done, but I will be doing quite a bit of walking Saturday and playing some golf on Sunday.
Week 3 GPP: Went on a 60-min hike involving two pretty decent hill climbs.
Week 4, Day 1:
Back Squat: 165/185/205/205x4 (6/7/8/8-9) – same last last week; felt pretty rough this AM; tired/allergies, etc.
Bench Press: 120/130/140/140x10 (6/7/8/8) – moved up early sets; same weight for RPE 8
Trap Deads: 185/205/225/225x8 (6/7/8/8) – same weight, but two sets at RPE 8 this time
Decided to use the “Calculator” tab to intentionally force my e1RM to go up on today’s workout. Going to start doing that, especially at the end of a Phase instead of going by feel to make sure I’m tapped out before moving on to next phase. I think it was a good move, and I pushed myself more.
OHP: 90/95/100/105/110x4 (6/7/8/8/9) – 1# increase on e1RM
Back Squat: 165/175/180/180x7 (6/7/8/8) – 7# increase on e1RM
Pendlay Rows: 100/105/110/110x10 (6/7/8/8) – 8# increase on e1RM
Going to do Day 3 on Friday AM and then drive to West Texas to dayhike Guadalupe Peak (highest point in Texas) on Saturday. That will be my GPP for the week.
4+ hour hike on Saturday; 3000’ vertical feet over 4.1 miles up and then back down again. Skipped Friday workout as a result (glad I did, it was grueling).
Did Week 4, Day 3 yesterday (Monday):
Trap Deads: 265/270/280/280x4 (7/7/8/9) – first set felt harder than a 6, last set was heavy
Bench Press: 145/150/160/160 (6/7/8/9) – last set was heavy
Back Squats: 145/150/155/155 (6/7/8/9) – last set was heavy
Really pushed my weights up today and struggled on last sets as a result. Deadlift e1RM went up 6# to 335. Bench up 7# to 219. Back squat stayed at 226 (although, it’s 253 when doing 7 reps and 251 when doing 4’s). I guess I just struggle still with the higher reps.
Week 4.2, GPP1 = 30min on treadmill at 3.2mph at 2.0 incline.
Vinyasa yoga Tuesday and Today. My workout schedule is off right now, and I’m going to an all-day music festival tomorrow, so I’m going to wait and start Week 4.2 lifting on Monday to get back on track. Less than ideal, but real life.
Back Squat: 195/205/210/210x4 (6/7/8/8) – e1RM 251
Bench Press: 130/140/145/145x10 (6/7/8/8) – e1RM 212
Trap Deads: 210/220/230/230x8 (6/7/8/8) – e1RM 314 – was tired at the end of these
OHP: 95/100/110/110/110x4 (6/7/8/8/8) – had to do seated b/c rack was full. Wondering if the fifth set was a typo since I thought Week 4.2 was supposed to be a repeat of Week 4.
Squat: 175/180/185/185x7 (6/7/8/9) – last set was hard.
Barbell Rows: 105/110/115x10 (6/7/9) – supposed to have two last sets at RPE 8, but third set already felt like a 9. Stopped there. Pendlays.
OHP: 105/110/115x4 (7/8/9) – was going for RPE 6 on first set, but felt like a 7; went to 115 on third set trying to push up my e1RM and felt like RPE 9. e1RM +1lb to 133. Definitely hitting a wall here.
Squat: 180/185/190/190x7 (6/7/8/9) – last set supposed to be RPE 8, but felt like 9. Squat e1RM +6lbs to 251.
Row: 105/110/115/115x10 (6/7/8/10) – last set, almost couldn’t finish with good form. Definitely topping out here. I’m sure I could do much more in a hanging row, but doing Pendlays from floor and really trying to keep form solid.
Overall, this felt like a tough workout. I feel like I’m hitting that point where my food/calories are probably becoming a limiting factor. I’ve eliminated all breads/cheeses and have only been eating whole foods and only veggies/fruit/rice/potatoes/corn for carbs. I’ve lost about 6-7lbs and definitely a few inches on my waist. I don’t really care to eat more and am hoping to avoid counting calories, if possible.
Feeling like it might be about time to move to Phase II after this week.
Well, I skipped Day 3 of Week 4.3. My weekend was slammed, and I decided to go on a 3.5-mile hike with a 30# baby on my back instead. I wanted to start Week 5 on a Monday, so trying to fit in Day 3 was going to throw everything off.
Phase 2, Week 5, Day 1:
Lower Back Bar Squat – same squat I’ve been doing – 200/210/220x4 (7/8/9) [e1RM 254]
Incline Bench Press – 95/105/110x10 (7/8/9) [156]
Romanian Deadlift – 185/195/205x8 (7/8/9) [271]
GPP 1: 30min row (6,505m); 7min of planks (longest was first: 2:15; probably do something else next time); lat pulldowns 88x12x2 (RPE 8)