Stronglifts: Week 15 Reboot

It's been a long time since I've been in the gym, specifically 12 days. I'd like to say I had an excuse, but truthfully, there is no excuse. I got lazy. I gave up. I was upset with the Pro Club, and let that frustration keep me out of the gym.

I have nobody to blame but myself.

I'm dropping my squat weight, again, to 185. I have, evidently, not been hitting parallel. So, I'm going in with the idea that I'm going to lift correctly. In order to guarantee that I can focus on form I'm basically restarting. Truthfully, it hurts. It upsets me, and I'm sure in the coming weeks it's going to be incredibly hard for me to get in the gym, and lift. Yet, this is something I feel I really need to do in order to progress.

Let's just hope it works.

Stronglifts: Week 15

Day 1: A
Squat: 235lbs.
Bench: 160lbs.
Upright Row: 110lbs.

Day 2: B
Squat: 185lbs.
Press: 110lbs.
Deadlift: 295lbs.

Day 3: A
Squat: 190lbs.
Bench: 165lbs.
Upright Row: 115lbs.


I started this week late, which seems to be the norm. I've had trouble keeping to a three workouts a week schedule. Between house hunting, work, and other issues creeping in I find it harder, and harder, to devote the time I need to lift, and stay sane.

Day 1 this week felt fantastic. De-loading on the upright row was the best decision I could have made. It felt fantastic. Squat feels good, bench continues to feel good, I'm looking forward to lifting. However, I've grown disenfranchised with the gym I'm at, and am looking forward to the first of the year when I can switch.

Contracts suck.

Stronglifts: Week 14

Day 1: B
Squat: 280lbs.
Press: 125lbs.
Deadlift: 275lbs.

Day 2: A
Squat: 225lbs.
Bench: 155lbs.
Upright Row: 140lbs.


Day 3: B
Squat: 230lbs.
Press: 110lbs.
Deadlift: 285lbs.

I had hoped that my squat weight would keep going up. I was pushing myself towards a goal, with nothing in mind except the weight. That's one of the dangers of lifting without a coach, or partner. You don't have anyone to keep you on the straight and narrow. I was lifting, but I'd lost sight of why. I had gone back to ignoring my body, ignoring the pain in my knees and back from poor form. I had stopped lifting for health, and enjoyment, and started lifting for weight. I should have de-loaded a few weeks back, across the board. My squat, form was falling apart, I was at my limit for bench press, and my overhead press hadn't been good since day one.

It's was hard for me to admit that I was pushing too hard, too fast. That I had drifted from my stated goals into something less healthy. I dropped my weights on squat and bench last night, and while my form for squat was still shaky it was easier to control the weight, and make sure I was lifting properly. Bench was a similar experience, the weight seemed incredibly light, even with only a 40lb difference.

I did not de-load my upright row, and I should have. I'll drop that weight next week as well. At present, the only lift I don't feel a need to lower is my deadlift. We'll see how that feels on Saturday.

Stronglifts: Week 13

Day 1: A
Squat: 265lbs.
Bench: 190lbs.
Upright Row: 130lbs.

 Day 2: B
Squat: 270lbs.
Press: 120lbs.
Deadlift: 265lbs.

 Day 3: A
Squat: 275lbs.
Bench: 190lbs.
Upright Row: 135lbs.

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.