ExRx.net

Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 170 lb
Age: 30
BF: around 25%

Measurements:
Wrist: 6.5"
Chest: 40"
Biceps: 13"
Waist: 34"
Hips: 37.5"
Thighs: 22"
Calves: 14.5"
Forearms: 11"
Shoulders: 47"
Neck: 18.5"


Started weight training first time ever when I was 29. Did whatever my friend told me to do, for about a couple months.

Recently, started again on July 10 this year with 3-days-a-week full upper body after reading a lot of exrx.net. It was about 10-12 basic exercises and took an hour 45 minutes.

Then I came across Rippetoe and have decided to do 'Starting Strength' first (at least for 10 weeks, could be more). MWF. Just finished 2nd week with following figures:

-----------------------------
Week 1
-----------------------------
Monday 8/24/2009
Squat 95
Bench 90
Deadlift 135
Dips: (BW minus 78.5) (1x14 1x12 1x10)

Wednesday 8/26/2009
Squat 100
Press 67.5
Row 70
Pull-ups: (BW - 78.5) (1x12 1x10 1x8)

Friday 8/28/2009
Squat 105
Bench 95
Deadlift (not done: the platform was not available)
Skull crusher: 1x14@37, 1x11@47, 1x6@52
Triceps push downs: 1x14@40, 1x12@45, 1x8@50
DB Curls: 1x14@17 1x12@22.5 1x8@25

-----------------------------
Week 2
-----------------------------
Monday 8/31/2009
Squat 110
Press 65
Row 75
Pull-ups: (BW - 78.5) (1x12 1x10 1x10)

Wednesday 9/2/2009
Squat 115
Bench 100
Deadlift 145
Dips: (BW - 65) 3x10

Friday 9/4/2009
Squat 120
Press 70
Row 80
Pull-ups: (BW - 70) 3x10

Goals:
- get 18" biceps (and rest of body acc. to proportion - i know it's not gonna happen with just the Rippetoe program but i can wait a couple months before starting direct arm work)
- lose fat in the process so that waist is around 31"

Notes:
- started having a little knee pain. But trying to improve squat form plus stopped the couch-to-5k program that wasn't getting anywhere cz of shin splints. Let's see...
- feel really weak on press. doesn't feel like i'll be able to add 5 lb every time... more like 2.5 lb
- not doing it for any competition/sports etc ... mostly for health+beach/ego etc

Squat 3x5@125 (focused on hip drive ... no knee pain today ... great :)

Bench 3x5@105 (bar getting a little below nipples ... horizontally ... need to bring it up)

Deadlift 1x5@155 (feel stressed out lower back ... may be need to tighten abs more)

Dips 1x14@(BW-61) 1x12@(BW-56) 1x9@(BW-52)

Leg raises 23, 12, 8

- trying to up calories to 3000+ ... right now can't eat more than ~2750
- trying to drink a gallon of water on work-out days

BW:
173 (after dump but not on empty stomach)
174 (after workout in which I drank 8 oz of shake and 20 oz of water)

Squat 3x5@130 (no knee pain but stress on lower back ... plus last rep of last set I was getting up on my toes :(

Press (5,4,4)@72.5 ... disappointment ... couldn't finish last 2 sets ... no idea why press is not catching up with the rest of the exercises :(

Row 3x5@85 ... I was fine on this one

Pull-up 1x12@(BW-78) 1x9@(BW-73) 1x7@(BW-73)

Leg Raises (22, 11, 10)

Squat 3x5@135 ... yes i did it ... my first exercise ever to hit 135 (other than deadlift of course)

Bench 3x5@110

Deadlift 1x5@165 ... tightened my abs but stress on lower back is still there ... though it was relieved in a few minutes this time

Dips 1x12@(BW-69), 1x8@(BW-50), 1x6@(BW-44)

Cable Push Down 1x12@42.5, 1x9@50 1x6@50

DB Curls 1x12@20 1x8@25 1x4@25

Leg raises 21, 11, 10

Squat 3x5@140 ... had stress on my lower back today ... plus pain in the left hip joint :(

Row 3x5@90

Press (4,4,4)@70 ... ah ... the dreaded press

Pull-up 1x12@(BW-78) 2x6@(BW-61)

wasn't feeling well today ... may be running slight fever ... will see if i need to take rest

(note: moved workouts to Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday cz of busy schedule on Monday, Wednesday)

1 hr 20 min before workout
1 cup oatmeal
8 oz orange juice
6 egg whites
1 scoop casein
8 oz 2% milk
2 Orange Triad caps
3 Fish oil caps

BW (after dump, full stomach, with shoes):
176.2 lb

Squat
45 x 10
95 x 5
125 x 3
145 x 5
145 x 5
145 x 5

felt great today ... even though had a slight pain in left hip joint ... form was good

Bench
45 x 10
75 x 5
95 x 4
115 x 5
115 x 5
115 x 4

disappointment on last set ... either i was in hurry (cz people were waiting for benches) or it is some sort of stall similar to that in press in which i'm stuck around 70 lb for the last so many sessions ... :(

Deadlift
75 x 10
155 x 3
175 x 5

deadlift was good today

Dips
(BW-61) x 12
(BW-44) x 9
(BW-42) x 6
(BW-42) x 6

Leg raises
20
12
9

PWO
8 oz water
1 scoop whey
1 Tbsp honey

1 hr 30 min before workout
1 cup oatmeal
8 oz orange juice
3 Orange Triad caps
3 Fish oil caps
6 egg whites
1 scoop whey
8 oz 2% milk

Squat
45 x 10
95 x 5
125 x 3
150 x 5
150 x 5
150 x 5

felt great ... really taxing my CNS ...

Press
45 x 10
55 x 5
65 x 3
75 x 6
75 x 5
75 x 5

very happy on the press ... i was stalling cz of improper form ... bought too much into the close grip thing and used triceps almost exclusively ... today i could tell my lateral delts were engaged, left one may be over-worked cz it was resting for so many weeks i guess haha ...

secondly i'm resting (between reps) with the bar high ... and using some explosiveness when bar is low ... just like in the bench ...

even after all this, i'm afraid the true stalling weight is not too far (based on reading others' press logs) :(

Row
45 x 10
65 x 5
85 x 3
95 x 5
95 x 5
95 x 5

a little hard today ... but good thing is that i'm so used to tightening my abs i didn't let any stress on the back ... though my upper torso raised a bit on many of the tail-end reps so i wasn't exactly parallel to ground all the time ... let's see ... may be i should do 2.5 lb increments from now on ...

Pull-ups
(BW-78) x 12
(BW-67) x 9
(BW-67) x 6

Leg raises (Isometric Captain's Chair Hanging)
22
12

Cable push-downs (V-bar)
42.5 x 13
50.0 x 9
52.5 x 6

PWO
8 oz water
1 scoop whey
2 Tbsp honey

Next Session is the big day for bench ... i did 5,5,4 @ 115 lb last time ... i'm thinking should i attempt 120 lb or come down to 2.5 lb increments and go for 117.5 lb instead ... any suggestions?

2 hrs before workout
1 cup oatmeal
8 oz orange juice
6 egg whites
(1 scoop whey ... 8 oz 1% milk ... don't remember if I took it or not)
1 Orange Triad cap
3 Fish oil caps

Warmup
5 min cycling machine

Squat
45 x 10
95 x 5
125 x 3
150 x 5
150 x 5
150 x 5

did not increase weight today (even though i think i could) ... just wanted to give myself a tiny break cz i feel i'm going fast ... i plan to go like this (i.e., 5 lb increments) up-to 190 lb if possible ... and then switch to 2.5 lb incr.

Bench
45 x 10
75 x 6
95 x 3
117.2 x 5
117.2 x 5
117.2 x 5

it was easy ... so the reason i couldn't finish last time on 115 was cz i was in a hurry ... and today i cooled down a lot between sets ... had a gym buddy with me today ... haha

Deadlift
75 x 10
115 x 3
155 x 2
185 x 5

Dips
(BW-61) x 14
(BW-39) x 10
(BW-39) x 9
(BW-39) x 7

... no leg raises today ... i'm thinking about not doing any ab work on squat+deadlift days ... which means only 3 ab work-outs in 2 weeks ... is it gonna work?

PWO
8 oz water
1 scoop whey
1 Tbsp honey

1 hr before workout
1 cup oatmeal
8 oz orange juice
2 Orange Triad caps
3 Fish oil caps
0.75 scoop whey
0.75 scoop casein
8 oz 1% milk

Warmup
7 min cycling machine

Squat
45 x 10
95 x 5
115 x 3
135 x 2
155 x 5
155 x 5
155 x 5

form was a little bad today ... i focused on tightening my abs and subconsciously believed that ab-tightening will take care of hip drive :(

man :( ... learning to squat is more difficult than learning to drive a car ... you need to keep so many things in your head at the same time ...

back arched,
abs tight,
hip drive,
eye focused,
heel always on ground (aka vertical bar path),
elbows pushed back,
below parallel,
knees in foot direction
breathing pattern (preferably valsalva maneuver),
speed of descent and ascent,

Press
45 x 10
55 x 5
65 x 3
80 x 5
80 x 5
80 x 5

amazing ... so my form is getting better

Row
45 x 10
65 x 5
85 x 3
100 x 5
95 x 5
95 x 5

i just noticed my form might be incorrect all along :( ... although my back is arched, abs tight n stuff ... i wasn't thinking about engaging my lats, just pulling the bar up ... too bad ... i'm thinking about deloading 10-15 lb and do it with proper form

quick question ... if elbows are kept close to the body when bar is high, is that a good criteria for correct form? cz that way i could feel my lats are trying to take some load

During Work-out
at this point i took 1 scoop whey 1 Tbsp honey in 8 oz water ... and sipped during the rest of the workout ... but i didn't feel that great afterwards ... is dextrose (honey) good during workout? or should it be taken only PWO?

Cable Pull-downs (assisted pull-up machine was under maintenance)
85 x 13
100 x 10
110 x 8
110 x 6

Leg raises (Captain's Chair)
22
15
12

PWO
8 oz water
1 scoop whey
1 Tbsp honey

1 hr 30 mins before workout
1 cup oatmeal
8 oz orange juice
4 egg whites
1 scoop whey
0.5 scoop casein
8 oz 1% milk
2 Orange Triad caps
3 Fish oil caps

Warmup
7 min brisk walk

Squat
45 x 10
95 x 5
125 x 3
140 x 2
160 x 5
160 x 5
160 x 5

form was better ... worksets were really exhausting though

Bench
45 x 10
85 x 5
105 x 3
125 x 5
125 x 5
125 x 5

happy i could do it

Dips (deadlift platform was busy so I did dips first)
(BW-61) x 13
(BW-35.5) x 11
(BW-35.5) x 8
(BW-35.5) x 7

at this point for the first time since starting this program ... i felt a little lacking in energy ... may be my breakfast (mentioned at the top of this post) is not enough ... need more fruit carbs before workout?

PWO
8 oz water
1.5 scoop whey
1.5 Tbsp honey

Deadlift
75 x 10
135 x 3
165 x 2
195 x 5

oh man ... maxed out on the workset ... had to rest (was out of breath) for like 15-20 seconds between 4th and 5th rep (while in the deadlift resting stance) ... is that allowed?

after the 1st rep I realized I forgot to use alternating grip ... and forgot to use chalk (I brought it to the gym just for this) ... that might've had some psych. down effect :(

1 hr before workout
1.5 cup oatmeal
8 oz orange juice
6 egg whites
2 Orange Triad caps
3 Fish oil caps
1.5 scoop whey

Warmup
7 min cycling machine

Squat
45 x 10
95 x 5
115 x 3
135 x 2
155 x 5
155 x 5
155 x 5

oh shoot ... i was supposed to do 165 lb worksets but i did 155 ... i thought 45 lb and 10 lb plates on each side make 165 lb ... retarded :(

just realized that when i got home ... ****


Press
45 x 10
65 x 5
75 x 3
85 x 5
85 x 5
85 x 5

yes yes yes! ... even though today i did low-bar rest-between-reps which makes the exercise tougher ... again a lot of rest b/w sets ...

Row
45 x 10
65 x 5
75 x 3
85 x 5
85 x 5
85 x 5

deloaded today to focus on form (i.e., to use lats more)

Pull-ups
(BW - 78) x 12
(BW - 67) x 6
(BW - 69) x 6
(BW - 69) x 5

Leg raises (Captain's Chair)
25
14
12

PWO
8 oz water
1.5 scoop whey
1.5 Tbsp honey

1 hr before workout
1 cup oatmeal
4 oz apple juice
8 oz orange juice
6 egg whites, 1 egg yolk
2 Orange Triad caps
3 Fish oil caps

Warmup
5 min cycling machine

Squat
45 x 10
95 x 5
115 x 3
140 x 2
165 x 5
165 x 5
165 x 5

Bench
45 x 10
85 x 5
115 x 3
130 x 5
130 x 5
130 x 5

can't hardly wait to do my first ever 'teh big plate' (45 lb) next time

in-WO
8 oz water
1 scoop whey
1 Tbsp honey

Deadlift
75 x 10
125 x 3
185 x 2
205 x 5

used mixed grip and chalk for the first time ... felt great today

Dips
(BW-61) x 14
(BW-31) x 11
(BW-31) x 9
(BW-31) x 7

PWO
8 oz water
1 scoop whey
1 Tbsp honey
1 banana

30 min before workout
16 oz 1% milk
1 banana
5 strawberries
1 scoop whey

Warmup
5 min brisk walk

Before workout
8 oz water
1 scoop whey
1 Tbsp honey

Squat
45 x 10
95 x 5
120 x 3
145 x 2
170 x 5
170 x 5
170 x 5

today was tough

Press
45 x 10
65 x 5
75 x 3
87.5 x 5
87.5 x 5
87.5 x 5

Row
45 x 10
65 x 5
75 x 3
87.5 x 5
87.5 x 5
87.5 x 5

Pull-ups
(BW - 78) x 13
(BW - 67) x 9
(BW - 67) x 8
(BW - 67) x 7

Leg raises (Captain's Chair)
26
16
12

PWO
8 oz water
1 scoop whey
1 Tbsp honey

o man ... today's workout sucked ... i only slept 4 or 5 hours and probably didn't intake enough water the day before ... every exercise felt like a PR effort :( ... i started thinking that's it for me ... that's the highest my genetics can take me :( ...

1 hr before workout
1 cup oatmeal
8 oz orange juice
6 egg whites
8 oz 1% milk
2 Orange Triad caps
1 Tbsp Flax oil

Warmup
4 min brisk walk

Squat
45 x 10
95 x 5
115 x 3
155 x 2
175 x 5
175 x 5
175 x 5

Bench
45 x 10
85 x 5
115 x 3
135 x 5
135 x 5
135 x 5

struggled ... last 2 reps i used whole of my left body somehow ... got cramps in the leg :(

in-WO
8 oz water
1 scoop whey
1 Tbsp honey

Deadlift
95 x 10
135 x 3
185 x 2
225 x 5

not sure if my form was good in last rep :(

Dips
(BW-61) x 13
(BW-31) x 8
(BW-31) x 8

BB curls
50 x 12
50 x 8
50 x 6

PWO
8 oz water
1 scoop whey
1 Tbsp honey

30 min before workout
16 oz 1% milk
2 bananas
1 scoop whey

Warmup
4 min brisk walk

Before workout
8 oz water
1 scoop whey
1 Tbsp honey

Squat
45 x 10
95 x 5
120 x 3
150 x 2
180 x 5
180 x 5
180 x 5

tough again ...

Press
45 x 10
65 x 5
70 x 3
90 x 5
90 x 5
90 x 5

struggled ... compared to 87.5 last time ... i was thinking about doing 95 next time ... but may be i should stick to 92.5 ...

Row
45 x 10
65 x 5
75 x 3
90 x 5
90 x 5
90 x 5

Pull-ups
(BW - 78) x 13
(BW - 69) x 9
(BW - 67) x 8
(BW - 67) x 7

BB curls
50 x 12
50 x 8
50 x 6

Leg raises (Captain's Chair)
25
15
12

PWO
8 oz water
1 scoop whey
1 Tbsp honey