12 Week Experiment: Wrap-Up

14 weeks ago, I began a 12 week experiment. My goal was simple I wanted to see if I could prove, in practice, that I could lift, feel good and hopefully drop weight. I began with the following weights.

Squat: 95lbs.
Bench: 95lbs.
Press: 50lbs.
Upright Row: 50lbs.
Deadlift: 95lbs.

Now, 14 weeks. and 36 workouts later my weights are as follows:
Squat: 260lbs.
Bench: 185lbs.
Press: 115lbs.
Upright Row: 125lbs.
Deadlift: 255lbs.

My weight has gone up, but given that I haven't been doing much in the way of cardio, I really can't complain. So, given that I've at least doubled my weights across the board I think I can call the experience and unqualified success.

Now what?

Stronglifts isn't meant to be a 12 week and you're done program. I'm still seeing nearly linear gains across the board and I feel fantastic. I plan to continue, with one key change. I'm going to start rowing after my lifting sessions. I'm not yet sure how this is going to work, time wise, as the Missus is already upset at how long my workouts take, but I feel that some sort of cardio is critical if I want to keep lifting, and lose weight.

I'm going to keep the 12 week cycle. I like that, and I think it works. Basically, it gives me a concrete goal to shoot for, and helps keep me in the gym. With the added cardio, I hope to see my weights go up, and my weight go down. We shall see.

12 Week Experiment: Week 12

Day 1: B
Squat: 250lbs.
Press: 115lbs.
Deadlift: 255lbs.

 Day 2: A
Squat: 255lbs.
Bench: 185lbs.
Upright Row: 125lbs.

 Day 3: B
Squat: 260lbs.
Press: 115lbs.
Deadlift: 255lbs.

Trying to wrap up this 12 week program, I began March 13th and am now in my 14th week. While I'm not happy about having taken two weeks longer then planned, I'm very pleased with the results overall. I could make excuses, vacation, injuries, but in the end I chose to not go to the gym, time and time again. I could have finished last week, but with work, I chose to give in to the funk, as opposed to going and lifting.

That's one of the hardest parts about a self-directed program. Nobody makes you go to the gym. There's no incentive to go, there's no push. You have to get up, and you have to go. That's been hard for me. Even though I know it's good for me, even though I know I'm seeing results, and I feel fantastic, it's still hard to get up, and go.

Part of it is that I dislike leaving the Missus at home. Part of it is work, stress, and a lack of time. Part of it is in the later weeks my 25-30 minute gym time became a 60-70 minute gym time. Heavier weights, longer recovery between sets, and injuries, all slow me down in the gym. However, at the end, I chose to not go. I chose to fall behind.

I'm going to finish this week, and then take it easy till Monday, when I'll start over. I'm going to drop 50 or so pounds off my squat for the next 12 weeks, to work on my form. It'll take me three, or four weeks to get back to 250, but I hope in the long run it'll be beneficial. Ideally I'd like to see 315 in my next 12 weeks. It's totally doable, and it would certainly put a smile on my face.

12 Week Experiment: Week 11

Day 1: A
Squat: 235lbs.
Bench: 175lbs.
Upright Row: 130lbs.

 Day 2: B
Squat: 240lbs.
Press: 115lbs.
Deadlift: 245lbs.

 Day 3: A
Squat: 245lbs.
Bench: 180lbs.
Upright Row: 135lbs.

"Accumulating injuries are the price we pay for the thrill of not having sat around on our asses."
- Mark Rippetoe

Every now and again a quote, a quip, a bit of wisdom comes by at just the right time. Last week I ran across the quote above as I was rehabbing an injured hip, and feeling grumpy over a missed workout. For those who don't know, Mark Rippetoe is a national level strength training coach, and one of the pioneers of peer-reviewed strength training. His quote not only made me smile, it got me out of a slump, and back into the gym.

I've also been thinking a lot, as this experiment winds to a close, about the future. What comes after? Stronglifts isn't meant to be a 12 week program, then on to the next. Stronglifts is meant to be a long term investment, with a 12 week "intro" as I near the end of my 12 weeks, I feel strongly that I should continue, and that continuing would be beneficial. However, I spent some time asking myself why. I ran, a fair amount, to train for the Corporate Challenge, I've done Judo, and BJJ, on and off for years. Yet nothing has ever come as easily, or with the same enjoyment as weight lifting. In the end, after much consideration I've come to the following conclusions:

1) I'm not a runner, I never have been, Biologically I'm simply not built to be a runner. I loathe the activity, and only enjoy running when it's the final 100m kick to the end.
2) I'm a recreational martial artist. Simply put, the dedication required to be good escapes me. I don't want to train four, or five, days a week, for hours at a time. I don't want to be away from my wife for that long. On top of that, I'm too competitive to know that I'll never be good at my current involvement while at the same time knowing I'm not willing to give more.

What does this have to do with lifting heavy things? I guess, when you find something you're good at, and makes you happy, do it. Even if that thing is lifting heavy things, then putting them back down.

12 Week Experiment: Week 10

Day 1: B
Squat: 225lbs.
Press: 110lbs.
Deadlift: 225lbs.

Day 2: A
Squat: 230lbs.
Bench: 170lbs.
Upright Row: 125lbs.

Day 3: B
Squat: 230lbs.
Press: 115lbs.
Deadlift: 235lbs.

The second day this week went poorly, to say the least. I've hurt my hip, and I'm finding it hard to lift significant weight. I aggravated the injury on Monday, when I attempted to squat 230lbs. I dropped the weight, and considered scrapping the entire session. In the end I finished, but my form on the forth, and fifth sets was so poor as to be almost not worth considering.

I took several days off, to let my hip recover, and I'm going back tonight to pick up where I left off. Unfortunately, with being out of town this weekend that means that I won't finish this week until Tuesday of next week.

This pushes Week 11 out through when I should have been finishing the program. It's not terrible, just a little frustrating.

12 Week Experiment: Week 9

Day 1: A
Squat: 210lbs.
Bench: 160lbs.
Upright Row: 115lbs.

Day 2: B
Squat: 215lbs.
Press: 105lbs.
Deadlift: 215lbs.


Day 3: A
Squat: 220lbs.
Bench: 165lbs.
Upright Row: 120lbs.

Had my first hiccup at the tail end of week 8. As a result both my squat, and overhead press won't go up for the first lift of this week. I'm confident the squat was just a hiccup, but the press worries me. It's not a lot of weight, but my shoulders have always been a problem for me.

Part of me is shocked that I've kept this up for 8 weeks already and have only slipped one workout behind. I keep telling myself that I'll catch up, but I guess it doesn't really matter. I'm lifting, I feel fantastic, and I've started to include cardio in my off days. This should help me lose some weight.

All in all, I feel good. I'm lifting, and I'm curious to see how this all turns out.

12 Week Experiment: Week 8

 Day 1: B
Squat: 200lbs.
Press: 100lbs.
Deadlift: 195lbs.

 Day 2: A
Squat: 205lbs.
Bench: 155lbs.
Upright Row: 110lbs.


 Day 3: B
Squat: 210lbs.
Press: 105lbs.
Deadlift: 205lbs.

Not much to say, keep adding weight, keep lifting. Form is improving, and I'm feeling fantastic. Not much of a visible change, but I'm ok with that. I hit 200 last night (Day 1) and am looking forward to the start of week 10, where I should hit 225.

12 Week Experiment: Week 7

Day 1: A
Squat: 185lbs.
Bench: 145lbs.
Upright Row: 100lbs.

Day 2: B
Squat: 190lbs.
Press: 95lbs.
Deadlift: 185lbs.


Day 3: A
Squat: 195lbs.
Bench: 150lbs.
Upright Row: 105lbs.

Squat form has degraded a little, I realized last night, as I wrapped up week 6, that as I was coming out of a squat I was coming forward to engage my calves more. While this will help me keep up the linear gains I've been enjoying it's not good for my knees. I need to be mindful of my form in my later sets.

Deadlift is getting heavy too, even though it's less weight then my squat, and I have no trouble getting the bar off the ground my grip isn't quite up to par. Something else to work on I guess.

I was shocked I completed my push press last night as well, 90lbs doesn't seem like much but pressing that much over your head gets heavy quick.

The objective is to start running this week as well, to see if I can't cut some weight while lifting. Let's see if the weather cooperates.

12 Week Experiment: Week 6

Day 1: B
Squat: 170lbs.
Press: 85lbs.
Deadlift: 165lbs.

Day 2: A
Squat: 175lbs.
Bench: 140lbs.
Upright Row: 95lbs.

Day 3: B
Squat: 180lbs.
Press: 90lbs.
Deadlift: 175lbs.

I'm still off track, I meant to get back to a normal schedule last week, but life conspired against me. In short, I finished week 4 last night, and will hopefully get all three lifts for week 5 done during week 5. If it doesn't work, I guess I'll try week 6.

I got through my first Bench milestone. 135lbs, and it went up smoothly. Frankly, it was the only thing that went well last night. Rows hurt, squat hurt, everything hurt. I'm at the point where I need to do warm-ups for all of my lifts, and that means spending more time in the gym then I'm used to. While this isn't a bad thing I'm used to in, and out, in thirty minutes or less. With the added lifts, and rest between sets, especially on squat, I'm not getting out of the gym until 45 minutes. While that's not terrible, it's a pain.

In better news all my lifts continue to go up. Let's see how long it lasts.

12 Week Experiment: Week 5

 Day 1: A
Squat: 155lbs.
Bench: 130lbs.
Upright Row: 85lbs.

 Day 2: B
Squat: 160
Press: 80lbs.
Deadlift: 155lbs.


 Day 3: A
Squat: 165lbs.
Bench: 135lbs.
Upright Row: 90lbs.

I get to be a little creative this week. The Easter festivities threw me off week 4, so my third workout for last week is happening tonight. Then, week 5 will be Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. I'm going to be so sore by the end of the week.

I've also started playing with Fitocracy. (http://www.fitocracy.com) Basically, it's a website to track exercise. While that's certainly nothing new they have a few nice features. First, a really clean interface. It took me less than five minutes to log in, and enter my first workout. As you exercise, and track your workouts, you gain points, and can complete quests. There are achievements, discussion lists, and groups. Think social networking meets exercise. Achievements, and quests, are there to convince you to try new things. Ranging from free weights, to swimming, sports, and running they run the gamut from trivially simple, to asininely hard. However, the points awarded scale. So, if you're a nut-job cyclist, and you complete the 2,000 mile bike achievement you'll gain a suitably impressive number of points.

All in all it's provided me with a fun way to brag about my workouts.

12 Week Experiment: Week 4

Day 1: B
Squat: 140lbs.
Press: 70lbs.
Deadlift: 135lbs.

 Day 2: A
Squat: 145lbs.
Bench: 125lbs.
Upright Row: 80lbs.

 Day 3: B
Squat: 150
Press: 75lbs.
Deadlift: 145lbs.

I went back and cleaned up Week 3, there's a new Blogger interface, it's slick, but it likes to add random blank lines. It's not too bad if I remember to go back and clean everything up but when I forget you have random lines where they shouldn't be. Anyway.

Finished up Week 3 last night. At present I'm one quarter of the way through this little experiment. Frankly, if we take away the fact that my lower back is sore, I've managed three weeks of fairly solid lifting without injury. I received my first compliment at the gym the other day. Generally I show up, lift, and go home, yet in the middle of my Day 2 workout a younger guy came up to me and complimented me on my squat form. It was odd, to say the least.

Anyway, I wanted to get up on my soapbox and rage a bit, but I think it's better I keep my training, and my politics separate. For the good of all.

12 Week Experiment: Week 3

Day 1: A
Squat: 125lbs.
Bench: 115lbs.
Upright Row: 70lbs.

 Day 2: B
Squat: 130lbs.
Press: 65lbs.
Deadlift: 125lbs.

 Day 3: A
Squat: 135lbs.
Bench: 120lbs.
Upright Row: 75lbs.

I had my Day 1 workout last night. Evidently 125lbs is the point where squats start to "feel" heavy. I was still able to do my full routine with minimal rest between sets. However, there's that moment when you square up, with the bar across your shoulders, and a little voice in your head says "Hey buddy, this shit's heavy!" I got that voice last night.

It's funny, The Mrs. once yelled at me, while I was lifting, saying that I was thinking about it too much. She, at the time, was right. But last night the one point I had on my side is that I knew the weight on my back was only 5lbs heavier then the previous workout. So, I could logic through that if I had easily gone 120lbs only a few days earlier then there was no reason I shouldn't be able to do 125lbs today.

I think that's the biggest advantage of an incremental program. Even if you don't see the same results that you would with a more traditional split program you have the emotional safety net that it's only 5lbs more than last time in the gym. That, for me at least, is a huge help when I hit mental hurdles. Certain weights, regardless of my ability to lift them, always pose a problem. 135lbs, 225lbs, and 315lbs are huge hurdles, mentally.

There's something about that first, second, and third set of 45lb plates that makes my knees weak. Even if I know I can lift a given weight, seeing those plates makes me doubt myself. That's another big gym hurdle. Getting out of your head enough to lift, and lift heavy, but not losing your focus, and the knowledge that the weight on your back isn't much scarier then the weight was two days ago.

Saturday morning, I'll hit one of those milestones. I feel good, let's see if I'm overconfident.

12 Week Experiment: Week 2

I had a slight hiccup week 1, so I doubled up a workout to start week 2. Once the weights get higher I won't be able to do that, but at the moment the only ill effects I have from back-to-back workouts is a bit of tenderness in my shoulders.

Week 2, day 1, last night was a total of 22 minutes from start to finish. Just goes to show that when the gym is empty, and you know what you're doing you can get in, and out, really quickly.

My weights for Week 2 are as follows:

Day 1: B

Squat: 110lbs.

Press: 55lbs.

Deadlift: 105lbs.

Day 2: A

Squat: 115lbs.

Bench: 110lbs.

Upright Row: 65lbs.

Day 3: B

Squat: 120lbs.

Press: 60lbs.

Deadlift: 115lbs.

One thing I noticed. I should be deadlifting roughly 1.5 times my squat. Lifting a weight from the ground to hip height is easier then a full high-bar squat. However, with my starting weights, until I de-load, my squats will always be slightly heavier. I'm not terribly worried though. My lower back has always been an issue for me, and deadlifts, with a steady increase in weight should help that.

I bumped my Day 2 Row up 5lbs to 65 lbs. For an upright row the bar needs to come to rest between each rep. The smallest bumper plate my gym has is 10lbs. So, 65lbs is the smallest amount I can row without needing to cobble together a riser of some sort. So, I "cheated" and went from 55lbs, to 65lbs. The lifts were still easy, and I'm progressing well.

12 Week Experiment

This morning my weight was 310.8lbs. Not my heaviest, but close. Evidently the life of a bachelor was not kind on my waistline.

Today I'm beginning an experiment. I've dabbled with StrongLifts 5x5 in the past, with solid results. However, I've often lacked the nutritional component. Now, with the Mrs. and I eating pescetarian the dietary side of the equation should be well in hand.

While I have dabbled in StrongLisfts in the past the goal in this experiment is to allow the program to run it's full 12 week course more or less un-altered. My starting lifts are listed below:

Squat: 95lbs.

Bench: 95lbs.

Press: 50lbs.

Upright Row: 50lbs.

Deadlift: 95lbs.

While StrongLifts recommends beginning with an empty bar, and I will be warming up with an empty bar, I do not intend to start at 45lbs for my lifts. Including this modification will get me to a weight that is still easy, and will allow me to work on form, and technique, without forcing me to wait additional weeks to reach a semi-challenging weight.

Each week I will be lifting three times, most likely Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On those days I will record my body weight and current lifts. At the end of the 12 week cycle, I'll post side-by-side photos from week 1, day 1, and week 12, day 3. I will then begin another 12 week cycle.

My objective with this experiment is not to prove the validity of the StrongLifts program as that has already been done time and time again. I'm looking to prove that I can lift regularly, on a pescetarian diet, without sacrificing results, or incurring injury.

Day 1 : A

Squat: 95lbs.

Bench: 95lbs.

Upright Row: 50lbs.

Day 2 : B

Squat: 100lbs.

Press: 50lbs.

Deadlift: 95lbs.

Day 3 : A

Squat: 105lbs.

Bench: 100lbs.

Upright Row: 55lbs.

Five sets, five reps. I'll see you in 12 weeks.