3 weeks off

I finally got both the belt and the squat rack after a major fuck-up at the store (got a sissy squat instead of a squat rack first). During the wait, I felt complacent and didn’t do any training, thinking that the squat rack would soon arrive so I could continue. In any case, my old squat rack was too risky to use at near maximum weights, since it gave no option for failure.

Unfortunately, this wait resulted in a 3 week break from training. I lost some muscle, gained some belly fat and got a lot weaker. It sucks to loose progress, but I’m committed to restart the program and continue the novice progression. The loss tells something about how consistent and committed you have to be to gain muscle, and how quickly you loose progress when you skip meals and training.

I had one test session with the with the belt and squat rack. The rack is great. It’s robust and easy to configure for different exercises. The belt is good too I guess, but I think I need something under it for a better fit. Hopefully, I will learn to use it with experience.

New squat rack ordered

Today I ordered a new squat rack, with the all-important “spotter catcher” feature. My only concern is the low price, but I looks very sturdy and has the right measurements. The price is even less than the belt I ordered yesterday! With this and my the new belt, I’ll feel much safer when training and hopefully the weights will go up too.

Today I simply repeated yesterday’s workout:

• Squat: 77.5 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Bench press: 57.5 kg × 5 reps + 3 sets
• Deadlift: 92.5 kg × 5 reps × 1 set

The squat felt about the same as yesterday – just brutally heavy. I’m glad I didn’t go for 80. The bench felt surprisingly easy in the first set, but by the third set, I still didn’t dare to go for any extra reps. I considered going for 95 kg in the deadlift, and I used the slightly heavier warm-up weights for 95 kg. But as I got to 90, I realized even 92.5 would be really hard today.

That was a good lesson: by using the warm-up set weights for the next weight without increasing the working set weight, you get a level of intensity between the two workout set weights – if that makes any sense…

Squat: 77.5 kg

Today was the first time I did three full sets at my new squat weight. It’s so heavy I have to pause between almost every rep, so I probably won’t move up to 80 kg before I’ve been doing 77.5 kg a few times. I’m also glad that today’s workout was a complete SS workout. I’ve been straying a bit from the programme lately.

Since my two day streak earlier this week, the thights (in particular) have felt harder and bigger than ever. So whatever SS says, I think I’ll repeat this whenever it feels right, and not worry so much about overtrainig and recovery.

Today I finally ordered a weightlifting belt – the Inzer Forever Lever Belt. It will cost $200, most of which is shipping. It’s an awful lot of money for a belt, but it will be worth it if I keep lifting regularly.

And today’s workout:

• Squat: 77.5 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Bench press: 57.5 kg × 5 reps + 3 sets
• Deadlift: 92.5 kg × 5 reps × 1 set

The squat weight is just right. I can probably do more, but I’ll keep on the safe side as long as I don’t have the option of failing a squat rep. My bench press progression is still on a standstill. I’ve had a few attempts at 60, but it almost killed me.

Today I reached my personal best of 92.5 kg in the deadlift. It was many weeks now since I made that record, so I’m glad to be back. And I did more deadlifting that I had planned today. After my warmup sets, I messed up when loading the weights and loaded a slightly lower weight, so I had to do it all again with the actual 92.5 kg I had planned.

Two workouts

Monday and Tuesday this week have been workout days so far. I got inspired by the “squat every day” meme, and decided to add overhead press today. Monday’s workout:

• Squat: 75 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Bench press: 57.5 kg × 5 reps + 3 sets
• Deadlift: 90 kg × 6 reps × 1 set

Tuesday’s workout:

• Squat: 75 kg × 5 reps × 1 set + 77.5 kg × 5 reps × 2 sets
• Overhead press: 35 kg × 5 + 4 + 3 reps

Repetition

I’ve reached a point where I seldom attempt new personal bests, because of fear of failure. Failure is not an option as long as I don’t have a safe way of failing reps. I need some way of aborting a rep. I’ve look at power racks, but I don’t think I can have one in my bedroom. For now, I’m considering to build something myself – a pair of duty legs in wood.

Today’s workout:

• Squat: 75 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Bench press: 60 kg × 2 reps + 3 reps + 2 reps
• Deadlift: 90 kg × 7 reps × 1 set

It’s my third time at 75 kg in squats, if I remember correctly. It’s very heavy, but I think I could have done more today. More reps at least. In bench press, 60 kg felt too much, and I didn’t want to put myself in the same predicament as last time, so I stopped at 2 or 3 reps per set. Finally, in the deadlift, I was happy to do an extra 2 reps.

Pain and near death

The pack pain I felt last time had not completely receded before today’s workout, and got worse during my squats. And after a failed rep in bench press where I almost crushed my face, I decided to skip the deadlift.

• Squat: 75 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Bench press: 60 kg × 5 reps × 2 sets + 4 reps × 1 set

With 75 kg, I touched my personal best in squats. It felt heavier than ever, although the second and third sets was easier than the first. I’m proud that I endured and finished the sets.

After 4 barely successful attempts at 57.5 kg, it was time to try 60 kg in bench. And I almost succeeded – just 1 rep short of 3 full sets. In the final rep, I managed to steer the barbell down on the lower hooks, where it crash landed. I don’t want to think about what would have happened if I had missed the hooks. I need to buy a powerrack now.

After this incident, I decided to skip the deadlift. I think many things coincided today. I was simply too tired, and on top of that, I’ve had an emotional dip which has drained and distracted me thoughout the whole week. I just couldn’t muster any self-confidence with the weights. I hope I can train again on Monday, and that I’ll feel more rested and aggressive then.

Catching up

It’s a constant struggle to be regular with my training. I lost some weight (2-3 kg) and I guess some of my passion for lifting lately. Last time I trained, I had an easy workout, and that was almost 2 weeks ago. If I can’t do my 2-3 workouts per week (which is my goal), there’s no way I can increase the weights anymore.

Anyway, today I finally got back to lifting:

• Squat: 72.5 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Bench press: 57.5 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Deadlift: 87.5 kg × 6 reps × 1 set

I’m slightly worried about the back pain I get from training. Today I felt it after the squats already, and it got worse when deadlifting. I hope it won’t get worse. Either way, I’m not going to let it stop me.

Triceps extension: 17.5 kg

I had some fun with the EZ bar before bedtime tonight.

• Triceps extension: 17.5 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Biceps curl (EZ): 30 kg × 5 reps × 2 sets

Both of these were personal bests, if counting the total number of reps at the given weight. I’m puzzled about the enormous difference in triceps and biceps strength. From what I have heard, they should be roughly equal. My triceps may be the muscle group with the most room for improvement.

Anyway, 17.5 felt like a good weight for today. I tried 20 kg too, afterwards, but could only do 3 reps. I should probably raise to 20 next time anyway, because I need to get to heavier weights ASAP.

An easy workout

It was over a week since my last full workout. I didn’t feel in the mood tonight either, after having slept only 6 hours and walked 5 km from work, but decided to have a workout with somewhat easier weights. This is what happened

• Squat: 70 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Bench press: 55 kg × 5 reps × 3 sets
• Deadlift: 85 kg × 7 reps × 1 set
• Triceps extensions: 15 kg × 5 reps × 3 set

I feel both ways about lowering the weights like this, but it’s better than doing nothing. Also, I had some back pain even before starting, from what I believe is a herniated disc that I feel sometimes. I felt the pain while doing the deadlifts. Hope it won’t get any worse.

As expected, I had no difficiulty completing the sets. I added triceps extensions at the end too. 15 kg was too easy, but it’s a start. I’ll raise it to 17.5 next time. If I do it a couple of times a week, it should help me with the bench press.

A new scale

I have bought a new scale, a Tanita RD-953. If I can trust it my weight was above 90 kg last Sunday night, after a big meal. It doesn’t count, because I weigh myself in the mornings, but still – I’m very close to 90 kg now. I have gained 8 kg since this summer. And a person at work said that I looked slim…

According to my new scale, my body fat percentage is around 16-18% now, just where I want it to be. That’s a extremely good improvement from the 25+ measurement in August – if it were true, which it almost certainly isn’t. I don’t trust that measurement at all. It may be useful to see if the body fat is up or down, but the number itself could probably be up to 10 percent off in my case.

I’ve gained some muscle of course, but I also sure I’ve gained plenty of fat. I got more fat around my waist now than ever before. I don’t want it to get any worse.

Therefore, I have started to walk 4-5 km after work every day. I have done so for the last 3 days now and aim to keep at it for 2 weeks and see if it makes any difference. I have almost no experience in trying to loose weight. I want to feel that I’m in control over my weight – that I can gain as well as loose weight as needed.