Stronglifts Progress - Week 16 / 4 Months End

I will no longer be doing stronglifts.  Too much shit is going on and cannot keep up.

1.  Having massive trouble eating right now.  Only getting around 2000 calories a day.  Just don't feel like eating.  I hate having to always force myself to eat and then feel bloated and tired.  When that happens I never feel like doing anything.
2.  Sleep.  I normally get around 4-6 hours per night.  Just exhausted and I've been steadily dosing caffeine just to get thru the day and work-outs.
3.  Burnt out.  Tired of the constant max efforts each and every work-out.  Combined with 1 & 2, it just makes thing difficult, I no longer look forward to work-out day and it's more like "fuck man, I gotta work out tonight", then a big sigh and shake head.
4.  I think stronglifts has made my left shoulder worse.  Not specifically stronglifts, but constantly trying to up the weight and going heavy definitely hasn't helped when you have a bad shoulder to begin with.
5.  Progress, this is where it gets iffy.  The development of my legs/back have been fantastic.  Problem is, squats and deadlifts are my only two good lifts.  OH press & bench are suffering because of the shoulder and working in a higher rep range with lighter weight would be better.  Going "Slow and steady" is really how I need to hit them.  Then there's the pendlay rows, which I completely don't understand.  The rows are pretty much a substitute for a power clean.  So power clean is suppose to be an explosive movement, with the rows am I suppose to swing them up or slow & controlled.  I really just didn't care for doing the rows anymore.

Recap of my of Stronglifts progress, 1 work-out short of 4 months.

Weight 154 > 162 (Highest I've gotten was about 165lbs, but things would always change.  Some weeks I'd go for 3000-4000 calories a day, next few weeks I'd just go for maintain, weeks after I would do cardio/HIIT.  You will size up if you do this program and eat.  To sum it up, I went medium shirts to being a perfect fit, to shirts are getting pretty tight and look kinda short but I still too small for a large.
Squats 115 > 205
Bench 135 > 140
OH Press 80 > 100 (In this case, I am comparing it to seated dumbbell shoulder press since it the closest thing to oh press that I did previously, they were 40lbs dumbbells)
Deadlift 195 > 270
Rows 90 > 125 (Going from bent over rows to pendlay rows)

Now these gains aren't as great as they appear to be because most if the exercises I went from 8-10 reps down to 5 reps.

Noticeable areas of growth.  thighs (quads and whatever the back side is called), glutes, back (upper, mid, lower, all over), lastly triceps.  Not so much was the chest, I see a slight difference in the upper chest.

Thank you for coming on this journey with me and the support.  Since I am ending prematurely, I won`t be doing Wendler's 5/3/1 BBB because I did not reach my target goals for amount of weight lifted and it's too soon to head into an intermediate program.  So, I will be going for a full body hypertrophy routine.  All-Pro's Beginner Routine.  Will be doing 3 cycles, which is about 4 months and depending on progress and how shoulder feels, I may jump back on to a strength routine.  (yes, I am already doing alot of shoulder/rotator cuff work to correct the issue)

Will report back Thursday or Friday with the #s I'll be starting out with since it'll be a testing day next work out.

Stronglifts Progress: Week 14-15

Week 14 - Was a deload week, kept is simple.  Body weight exercises and basically just chilled.

Week 15

Weight: 161 lbs.  Haven't really been eating well. which is not good.  I went ahead and purchased some protein bars so I can have something quick to eat on the go.  Easy 200-300 calories and hopefully that will atleast bring me back to maintenance levels.

Exercise: Current lift (Max attempted)
Squats: 200 (200) up 5lbs.  I'm currently focusing on adding 5lbs per week now.  Weight is getting heavy and I notice that form isn't the best in the later reps in the beginning but as the week goes on, it gets better. 
Bench: 140 (140).  Will be moving up to 145 next work out.  Feel comfortable with 140.
Overhead Press 100 (100).  Still having trouble with 100.  Struggling, not much to say.  Instead of 5lbs jumps.  I will be doing 2.5lbs increments.
Pendlay Rows: 125 (125).  Meh
Deadlift: 270 (270) up 5lbs.  Completed but really difficult.


This week was just really about getting back into things, and look to progress the week going forward.  I did add weight where I could though.  I am dreading squatting 3 times a week.  Every time I squat now, I think I'm gonna get stuck in the hole and that's always in the back of my head.  It is really holding me back, I wish I had gotten a squat rack now as the safeties would ease those thoughts and allow me to really push.

Another issue that's going on is my back.  Lower back is fine, no issues there, but my upper back has been sore as hell recently and i'm having trouble with posture.  Whenever I sit down, it seems I'm always hunching forward.  Gotta look into that.

Also, previously I had written a quick write up on white flood when I got samples, I'll probably do a full review on it soon.  I used it for my last work-out and thought it was solid.

Stronglifts 5x5 Progress - Week 13

Weight: 163lbs
Exercise: current lift (max attempted)
Squat: 195 (195).  Up 5lbs, i dropped to a 3x5.  Since dropping to 3x5 what I've noticed is my muscles aren't as tight leading up to the next work-out.  I can say I completed 195 twice, but I really hate the reps done on the 3rd set reps 4 and 5.  I don't want to continue to up the weight and continually struggle to up the weight cuz it's just gonna kead to screwed up form down the road.  Just  going to go by "feel" and see what Sunday brings.  I'll attempt 200 and see what happens since Sunday is best day.
Bench: 140 (140).  I'm still struggling with this.  Very annoyed.
Overhead Press: 100 (100). Completed 100lbs, let's see what happens on Sunday.
Pendlay Rows: 125 (125).  Feel more comfortable with 125.  Will move up to 130 next.
Deadlift: 265 (265).  265 completed 5 reps very nice.

I've pretty much come to the realization that gains will no longer be coming by the work out, and will be on a weekly basis or bi-weekly.  With that being said, I decide to go for 5 months of Stronglifts before doing Wendler's 5/3/1 just because I'm going to be following the program to a T and the increases per month/cycle are 5 for bench & overpress and 10 for squat & deadlift and I feel I still have more to gain until I hit that point of smaller gains. 

Since I am dropping to 3x5, I will be doing some acessory work.  Following the ABA BAB routine.
A (bench/row day)- since I cannot do chin-ups, it will be curls and rear delt flies.  As well as a second second of bench 3x10 at a lighter weight, slow and controlled.  I did the extra bench today and for once in a long time, I really felt a stretch in my chest.  Meaning, current bench is too heavy, load is alot on the shoulders/tricep on the working sets.

B (press/deadlift) - Not really too sure yet, but it will be lying leg raises on the bench to work the core or ab wheel, problem with ab wheel is that it used to wreck my shoulders and I don't want that to happen again even though I've really stepped up the shoulder/rotator cuff work then most likely good mornings to work the back.

Stronglifts 5x5 Progress - Week 12 / 3 months

Weight: 165, no change, since I usually eat around 2500-3000 calories and started doing cardio after the weight lifting routine, body weight hasn't budged.  I don't mind though, I feel this is a good weight for me, I really don't wanna put up too much poundage right now because my clothes are getting to a point where they will no longer fit and cannot afford to buy a new wardrobe.
Current lift (max attempted)
Squat: 190 (190).  Up 5lbs.  Will most likely dropping to a 3x5 set up soon.  Just feels like I don't recover fast enough.  Sundays, when I get two days rest in-between seems to be my best work-out day and usually when the improvements come.  Failed twice at 190lbs.  Can't get the last 2 sets to complete.
Bench: 130 (140).  Bench feels stronger, I take less time between sets.  Feel as though I'll move past 140 the week coming up.
Overhead Press: 100 (100).  Up 5lbs.  Really having difficulty with this, once again, I cannot complete the 4th and 5th sets.  This for sure will be heading to 3x5 in the future.  Failed twice at 100lbs.
Pendlay Rows: 125 (125).  Up 5 lbs.  Not much to say here, failed once at 125.  Really hate doing these.  I dunno what's wrong but I can feel it, something is wrong with my form.
Deadlift: 265 (265). Up 5 lbs.  5 reps at 260 was solid, did 3 reps at 265. 

So this finishes 3 months.  I really thought I would have progressed further but I'm content with what I've achieved.  Just have to stay on track and push harder to get where I want to be.  I will be running another month of Stronglifts on the 3x5 since all the lifts are headed in that direction and possibly more depending on how well the progress on the 3x5 goes.  Potentially the next routine will be Wendler's 5/3/1 for 3 or 4 months but that depends on Stronglifts.  After that, it will be a hypertrophy routine for 4 months and it'll be the 2 year mark for consistent weight training.  Hopefully at that time, I will be able to make my transformation video.

Goals going forward for the next month.
Squat: 225, I might be reaching on this one but I will try
Bench: 160, dropping down to 3x5 I want to see more improvement because at the current rate I've made 0 improvement on my bench in terms of weight but have improved my form significantly.
Overhead Press: Not expecting much, 105 maybe?
Pendlay Rows: I want to find out what I'm doing wrong.
Deadlift: 300lbs

*edit - Finished with stronglifts, check out the progress by clicking the stronglifts tab.

Stronglifts 5x5 Progress - Week 11

Weight: Didn't Check
Squats: 180 (185 max attempted).  It's going well,  Didn't really struggle at 180 unlike last time.  Feeling I will hit 200lbs soon but it all depends on how well 185 goes again, when I do regardless I will most likely be switching to a 3x5 setup.
Bench: 125 (140). I decided to deload.  Second deload.  I didn't hit 140 for a third work-out though, probably could say I did, think it was like 5-4-5-5-5 but reps weren't as clean as I'd like so lower weight yet again.  This is most frustrating exercise.
Overhead Press 95 (95). Finally hit 95lbs.  had 90 on the bar before I noticed, did 1 set and then banged out 5 sets at 95.
Pendlay Row 120 (120). 5lbs gain.
Deadlift 260 (265).  Realized moving up 10lbs is not going to happen. At 260 did 3 and half reps.

Some thoughts, Tuesday I felt in prime shape ready to work-out but had a really poor work-out.  Yesterday, I felt like shit.  Pretty sure I was sick but I had a solid work-out.  Confusing as hell.  Conclusion, even if you not feeling like working out, give it a try anyways.  Still a little out of it, so going to keep rambling to a minimum.

Stronglifts 5x5 Progress - Week 10

Not much to report this week, it's just been a complete fail.  Had to take Sunday off due to spending the whole day doing physical work, it had no energy after a long day in the sun.  Tuesday, I was still kinda feeling the effects, I still feeling dehydrated and today was the day that I felt "normal".  A lot of missed lifts this week, pretty much no progress.

Weight: 165lbs
Current Weight ( Max Lifted) Max Attempted
Squats: 170 (180) 185.  Lowered the weight, I know I said I wouldn't count last Thursday's workout towards the lifts, but I figured I might as well.  I've been playing around with how to do this.  I've been lifting on a foam padded floor and I decided to rip it out to see if it was detrimental to the lift.  Just trying to determine if it affected the heel drive.  Then I checked out if shoes on or off, high bar or low bar and lastly width of stance.  Good learning experience as I figured out how I want to go  low bar, shoes on, stance a little over shoulder width with a slight angle with the feet.  With that I didn't feel any pain in the legs nor back, so hopefully it carries over when trying to progress.
Bench: 140 (135) 140.  Shoulder is holding me back, trying to progress fast on this is not going to happen.
Overhead Press 95 (90) 95.  Dunno what's wrong, last week at 95, I got 5-5-5-5-4.  This week was 5-3-4-4-4.
Pendlay Rows: 115 (115) 115.  Not much to say, loaded weight previously from 115 because form was shit, this time thought I feel it was better but the later reps on the later sets I feel don't go as high as I want to.  Will still move on and see what happens.
Deadlift: 265 (255) 265.  Got 1 rep at 265, could get the bar up anymore, lowered it to 260, got 1 rep....

So it's been a real struggle this week.  Hopefully next week will see better results.

Stronglifts 5x5 Progress - Week 9

This week has pretty much been a disaster.  I decided to integrate some cardio into mix because I am cutting back/quitting smoking (Yes, I know smoking is bad and doesn't help, trying to change it) and I thought it'd help with my lifts further down the road.  Steady state cardio on Days 1 and 2 (20-25mins each on eliptical, surprised because I can handle more but don't wanna burn myself out) and HIIT (10 50m sprints) on day 3.  Pretty much have been having these aches and pains while doing squats and since I have no safeties, I just can't push myself to try for one more rep because I know this is going to happen one day.

Today's work-out was full of fail, not counting it as a work-out.  Was just tired, hungry, dehydrated, muscles already fatigued.  Overall just a disappointing w-o, I've had hard days before and still was able to complete a work-out.  Don't know what happen today.


Weight: Didn't check
Squats:185 (180), failed 3x at 185, 2nd workout I was progressing but today just couldn't even do it.
Bench: 140 (135), wasn't feeling it today.  For the week though up 5lbs
Overhead Press: 95 (90), was close to hitting 95, 5-5-5-5-4.
Pendlay Rows: 115 (115), bleh.
Deadlift: 255 (255), up 10lbs.

Stronglifts 5x5 Progress - Week 8

A little bit of new formatting today.  For the lifts, it will be  current lift (max lift).

Weight: 164lbs.  up 2 lbs.
Squats: 180 (180).  Spent 3 work-outs doing this weight.  Today I finally hit it, felt really good about it.  Only up 5 lbs since last week.
Bench: 130 (130).  Up 5lbs, really energizing to finally see bench is going up.
Overhead Press: 90 (90).  With the increase in bench, I expected OHP to go up as well.  Up 5lbs.
Pendlay Rows: 105 (115).  Lowered this last week, working way back up.
Deadlift: 245 (245).  Seriously, chalk makes a difference.  My grip is pretty weak, I chalked up and my hands were screaming in pain, insane grip.  I noticed an increase using leg power instead of compensating with trying to lift with arms/shoulders.  Up 5lbs, again working way back up, previously best was 240, and attempts at 250.

I was really feeling demotivated these past few work-outs because almost all lifts were stalling but today I saw increases in all lifts performed today.  That one good work-out makes it all worthwhile.

I will be running Stronglifts for 4 months, I'm currently 2 months in and have seen significant gains in a lot of areas.  Mainly weight, I started out at around 154lbs (10lbs increase), squats was at 115lbs  (65lbs increase) and deadlifts but not too sure exactly where I left off from.

Allmax Creatine Monohydrate Supplement Review

Now creatine monohydrate can be had for a relatively low price.  What sets the Allmax version apart from many of the other brands is the source of the creatine (Creapure) and the price which is sells for.  It can be purchased for $20 for 1kg (from bodybuilding.com), while other brands do use creapure as well, they can’t even come close in price.  So pretty much you’re paying the price you’d pay for regular mono but getting creapure instead.

True Story

Yup..that about sums it up...

Supplementsource.ca Review

Supplementsource.ca is an online Canadian supplement store.  For the most part, it is just like any other online supp store out there.  Spend $99+ and you get free shipping.  Shipping is same/next day shipping.  Selection & pricing is again in line with other online retailers but possibly few bucks cheaper.

Stronglifts 5x5 Progress - Week 7

Week 7

Weight: 161-162lbs
Squats: 175lbs.  Up 10lbs from last week.  Felt very good, sweating like a mofo due to the heat.
Bench: 125lbs.  No change.  This time around though 125 felt solid.  More on this below.
Overhead Press: 80 (85lbs max).  This one was a true deload, Hopefully next week will hit 90lbs.
Barbell Row: 100lbs (115lbs max).  Deloaded on this too, I felt the reps at 115 were shit!  Rather work on form.
Deadlift: 225lbs (240 max).  Had to lower weight on this too, 250 was just too intense.  Grip is very weak at this weight (250)

Today was my first time using chalk.  I was going barehand to help develop calluses and get that natural grip.  Holy shit chalk was fantastic.  My hold on the bar was very tight.  Noticeably on Rows, where later reps my grip would slip.  Can't wait to chalk up on deadlifts.

Also, I think I've posted previously that I have a pretty bum left shoulder.  So I've gone back to doing mobility work for shoulder and rotator cuff everyday.  I think it's paid off somewhat.  Unracking the weight during the bench, no longer hurts shoulders and doing 125lbs today was very clean reps.

Supplements Update

I used to have a huge stack of supplements on my desk.  Just taking a look from the progress page, it used to be:

Whey protein
Creatine
BCAAs
Omega 3 fish oil
Green tea extract
caffeine
multi-vitamin
*DMAA

Now, It's down to about half the size and honestly don't notice a difference.  Still currently using whey protein (of course), creatine, omega 3, caffeine (rarely though).  I did take Vitamin D for a while but since summer is here, won't do it any longer.

Dafuq?!?

Look at this guy.

I'm sure I wouldn't be able to jump that far even if I tried triple jump.

Stronglifts 5x5 Progress - Week 6

Weight: 161-162lbs
Squats: 165lbs.  I scaled back the weight last week, and today was going past the 160 mark.  Felt good.  Really focused on not breaking form on the last reps of the 4th and 5th sets.  Damn, my legs were burning to maintain form and really push with the hips.
Bench: 120lbs (max 125lbs), again scaled back the weight from last week.  Even though I hit 125lbs last week, I did not feel comfortable with the progress as I'm still struggling a bit with the weight.  I feel my shoulder is not up to par, and there's some pain while unracking the weight.  Really disappointed in bench as I've made zero progress.  Though I am focusing more on form now instead of just trying to throw the weights up at all costs.
Overhead Press:  75lbs (max 85lbs).  I stalled on this 3x now, so as the program suggest, deload.  This is a given, since bench & press use same muscles.
Barbell Row (more specfically penlay rows): 115lbs, did 115 again.  Feel that the later reps aren't that good.
Deadlift 250lbs: No gain, tried 250lbs on Sunday, got 2 reps.  Today I got 2 reps.

Stronglifts 5x5 Progress - Week 5

So the new way of doing things will be like this.  I will be updating weekly progress on either Thursday or Friday.  If I have anything else to say it will be whenever but it'll be rare that I post anything.

Progress:
Weight: 160lbs, no real changes.  Haven't been drinking and back to regular eating habits.
Squats: 160lbs, up 10lbs.
Bench: 125lbs, I finally hit it.
Overhead Press:  85lbs, same as last time, 5-5-5-5-4, couldn't get the last rep.
Barbell Row: 115lbs, up 10lbs from last post, I will be doing this weight again.  Don't feel I rowed high enough to count it as complete reps.
Deadlift: 240lbs, up 10lbs.

Today's workout, I was suppose to do 165 for squats.  I did not though, I deloaded to 150lbs to go back and work on form.  First time at160lbs, it was doable, but the 4th & 5th sets the later reps were very bad form.  I tried to hit 160 again but fuck, first rep was INSANELY difficult.  At 150lbs, it was good, I know the first time I hit 150lbs, my form wasn't all that great, but it was very solid today.

Same thing with benchpress, I deloaded by 10lbs, and really focused on form instead of just adding weight and trying to throw the bar up there.

But but Dee, you ain't following the program...

9. Lowering The Weight. Never lower the weight because the first 2 sets were hard. Go for 5 reps. If you only get 1 rep per set, so be it. The only way to get used to lifting a weight, is to lift it.
Only lower the weight if you got injured, if you're not confident about your technique or if you stalled 3 times with the same weight. Read how to Squat safely when alone and how to Bench Press safely when alone.

While increasing #s is good, you have to be mindful of your form too.  It's not a race, think about the long term gains.

Stronglifts 5x5 Progress - Week 4

It's been a month since starting Stronglifts and many lifts have continued to go up.

Weight: 156lbs, I haven't been eating to well and I've been drinking a lot a beer.  I feel dehydrated.
Squats: 150lbs, up 20lbs since last post.
Bench: 125lbs, I have been stalling on this, failed first work-out 5-5-5-2-4, second work-out 5-5-5-5-2
Overhead Press: 85lbs, up 10lbs but I just failed this weight today 5-5-5-5-4.  Could not for the life of me get that last rep up, I even tried to cheat some and do a push press but still couldn't do it.
Barbell Row: 105lbs, up 10lbs.
Deadlift: 230lbs, up 20lbs.

Noticeable areas of growth are legs (thighs) and the back (upper & lower).  Everything else looks the same though

Late Edit: Even though I've been not hitting the complete 5x5 for some of the exercises, it's still a learning curve, in terms of rest.  Previously when I was doing the 3 or 4 day split, it was rest 30-45 seconds for isolation exercises and for compound movements 1min30 to 2min.  I've applied the same rest periods for compound movements now.  So now I'm just going to take more rest for sets 4 and 5 to see how that works out.

Movitation

When I started out deadlifting, I was struggling....with 135lbs.

This pic really pushed me to really give it my all while doing the exercise and make me improve on the deadlift.

This granny lifting 153lbs...if she can do it, there isn't any reason why you can't (unless you have a lower back problem, then I understand).

Year In Review

To sum it up, I am disappointed at my progress. Along the way, i fucked up quite a few times...

First 6 months, I was making good progress.  I didn't make any changes in my diet and I was losing fat and gaining muscle, awesome!  In retrospective, mistakes made were that I relied too heavily on supplements and did not work the legs (with the exception of doing cardio).

After that I decided to take it a step further.  I started looking into changing up my diet and switching up the routine by switching to a 3 day split.  This phase was 3 months and where I messed up the most.  I was still unhappy with my phsyique due to the fat still on my cheeks and stomach region.  So I decided to go on a calorie deficient diet and lose the remaining fat.  This worked wonders!! But now I was skinny as fuck and that wasn't the goal.  Also during the 3 months, almost all my lifts I couldn't add any weight and I even lost reps on quite a few of them.  This shit set me back soooo much.  I was actually losing strength and...

Then I decided to bulk....which pretty much killed all the fat loss because I went from 1800-2000 calories a day straight up to 3000-3500 and gained a majority of the fat back.  At this point, I didn't give a care about my physique, I just wanted to get stronger.  It was very de-motaviting when you put in all this work lifting weights and you not getting any stronger.  Bulking helped significantly (well, getting enough food did) because 90% of my lifts, I was able to add reps or add weight.  Started to integrate more leg work during this time and things were coming together.  I was still baffled though,  doing all these exercises and I'd only add 5lbs or something to my bench press in a month or so and I wasn't even lifting heavy weights.  I was reading forums and all that, and ppl similiar to me in size and what not, they were jacked and they were similiar in experience, about a year.

Now the good.  Which is pretty short.  gained about 6-7lbs of muscle, lose 6-7lbs of fat..gotten stronger and pshyique looked better though....I thought I'd be further along.  Shoulda been able to bench atleast 1x bodyweight, woulda liked to have gained 10lbs of muscle instead.  I should have been further than I was cuz I was putting in the work. 3 days a week no matter what, in the beginning it was like 3 hours per day, and when i switched to a 4 day split, it was 4 days guaranteed.

Now to look forward to the future.  I have new goals for training year....to join the 1000lbs club.  Which combines squats, bench and deadlift weights to reach 1000lbs.  With the new routine I'm doing I am confident I will be able to reach this goal (won't just be doing stronglifts, but when the time comes, I'll switch routines).  Now 1000lbs will most likely be using 1RM, but I'll just use my current lifts  for now cause there's no way I'm going to attempt 1RM without a powercage.  Currently at 475lbs (using a 1RM calculator, 534lbs)

Stronglifts 5x5 Progress - Week 3

So I've been on the program for two and half weeks now.  Stats are as follows.  I pretty much followed the program for the most part.  Since I had some experience lifting, I started at week 4 it was close to some of my stats but lower by like 15-20lbs.  I used that buffer to make it a deload week before I started.  I finally got around to measuring body fat using the calipers as well.  Think it was maybe 2-3 week ago or maybe 4 but percentage was 15.xx% when I was 154lbs.

Weight: 159lbs (I am not actively bulking anymore and haven't been for about a month/month and a half, just tired of constantly feeling full, and don't wanna get too fat, just eating around maintainence now)
Squat: 130lbs ATG, previously I could do 135 but only doing partials.  I would say my best before was doing 115lbs to parallel.  My mobility has improved greatly just by doing squats more frequently.
Bench: 110lbs, this is down as next week or the week after is when I start lifting more than before SL5x5.
Press:  75lbs, new exercise, this is kicking my ass, I feel like I'm gonna stall on this fast.
Barbell row:  95lbs, up 5lbs..
Deadlift: 210lbs, up 15lbs.