theblackkeys' "Starting Strength" log

[theblackkeys]

3/27
Pretty good workout, although I had to drop my upper-body portion due to shoulder pain. I don't think I will be able to do it on thursday either.

Squats:
warmed up
3x5x195-It gets harder every time. I'm moving real slow at the bottom as well. Should I keep on adding 5 lbs or use microloading?

Skipped bench/overhead press.

Deadlifts:
1x5x200. Woot! made 200. I know that's super weak. Anyways, this was a lot easier than sunday's workout @ 195lbs. I think it's because there was only a 2-day break instead of 4-5 days like normal.

Knee's still feel good. No soreness around the knees, and very rarely do I get the pulled muscle feeling. That occured occasionaly, after running, for instance, before I started weightlifting. There's no pain associated with that and I think it has happened less frequently since I've been stretching.

[skunkworks]

theblackkeys - keep adding 5-10 lbs. until you drop a rep on the squats.

[theblackkeys]

[ QUOTE ]
theblackkeys - keep adding 5-10 lbs. until you drop a rep on the squats.

[/ QUOTE ]
Done.

3/29
Still have soreness in a little spot on my shoulder, so I'm skipping some upper body movements. I hope it's not serious.

Squats: 3x5x200. I was able to get further down as well, which is good. Static stretching seems to be paying off. I had one really bad rep where I started drifting forward on the way up.

Deadlifts: 1x5x205. This was harder than tuesday's pull.

Pullups on that assistance machine thingy. I had it set to 100 lbs (is that 100 lbs of assistance?), anyways, did 6 reps, rested like 40 seconds, and did 4 reps. Went home. I'm such a fatty, can't even do a single pullup.

What is it called when the palms are facing away? Facing me? Which should I be doing?

I think I'm going to do HIIT tomorrow.

[cbloom]

[ QUOTE ]

Squats: 3x5x200. I was able to get further down as well, which is good. Static stretching seems to be paying off. I had one really bad rep where I started drifting forward on the way up.


[/ QUOTE ]

Did you ever watch Dan John's video? I've started doing "goblet squats" and "potato sack squats" with no weight just as a stretching/warmup move and it's definitely improving my flexibility and form.

[ QUOTE ]

What is it called when the palms are facing away? Facing me? Which should I be doing?


[/ QUOTE ]

Facing away is "standard" or "military", facing you is "reverse" or "curl" grip. Both have their application, facing away works the lats more, facing you works the bicep more. The FAQs on Starting Strength say which type of pullup to do, I forget which it was. "Standard" is definitely harder for most people.

[theblackkeys]

You know, I've started watching that video several times but I never get to the good parts. I'll check that out again.

[theblackkeys]

4/1

Shoulder feels a little better but it still needs rest. Pullups don't hurt my shoulder, but pulling off the floor exercises do, like rows and power cleans.

Squats: 3x5x205
Pull ups (palms facing forward): with 130 lbs of assistance (I weigh 215 lbs), I did 2x8. I've never really done pullups in my life, so I'll just take it slow for now.
Deadlifts: 1x5x210

I'm doing HIIT tomorrow.

[theblackkeys]

Okay, well I didn't do any HIIT yesterday, but I did swim a little.

Shoulder doesn't really hurt, but I know it needs some rest. Maybe next week I'll get back to doing presses and rows.

4/3
Squats: 3x5x210
Pullups: 2x8x125
Deadlifts: 1x5x215

Good workout.

[theblackkeys]

I skipped my heavy lifting workout today. I think about two weeks worth of basically just squats and deadlifts every other day was going to burn me out. I was dreading my heavy workout all day.

I did do some jogging at the park today, about 2 miles. It was pretty difficult, but I haven't run in months, so it's ok to work up to more speed/distance. Many times before I've gone too fast too far and I end up aggravating my shin splints or hurting my injury prone ankle.

I'm sure my weight had something to do with the difficulty too. My legs felt real tight, and I could feel my front outer thigh muscle get sore, I think it's called the Vastus Lateralis (Externus). Anyways, I took a little break in between to stretch myself out and let the muscles recuperate a little.

Afterwards, I took my wife's two purple 8 lb dumbells and did a tabata squat workout with them. I've never done this and it was extremely difficult near the end.

20 seconds of squats holding dumbells near my upper chest, 10 seconds rest. Repeat for 4 minutes total.

Reps each set were:
14, 14, 9, 8, 8, 5!, 6, 6.

[SmileyEH]

blackkeys,

for tabata routines your "score" is the lowest number of reps in a set, so try and pace yourself somewhat.

[theblackkeys]

[ QUOTE ]
blackkeys,

for tabata routines your "score" is the lowest number of reps in a set, so try and pace yourself somewhat.

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm really out of shape. This was also the first time doing this. Shouldn't I just go as hard as I can each set?