Ark's Starting Strength log

[Arkbuilder Lightweight Member Find all posts View Profile Close Arkbuilder]

--------Quick Reference Links--------
Homon's word on finishing RP sets
Dante's advice to Cedric on Shoulders
exmgq's Deadlift Tips
IM Members' Competitions
Sammich's Super Supplement Strength Stack
Sammich's Warm-Up/Preparation Tips
BigDownUnder's Pre-DC Advice
Doberman's Calves Advice
[email protected]'s experience with DC
Extreme Stretching Poster
SweatMachine's Reasons to DC Stretch
Heckman's article on Colon Health & The Heckman Flush
Iron Addict's Article on Training Yourself
Massive G's Old 3/1 Split
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I have 2.5 years to go from ArkInteriorDecorator to a scary 230lb'er. Once my oldest daughter is in high school I want the boys that don't respect the girls to at least, fear me.

Looking big is also great marketing. And since I find myself around LE and Fire guys quite a bit, the first impression has a lot to do with physical appearance. (I won't plug-in my business, and it has nothing to do with this industry anyway.)

I'm also very interested in doing a meet once I'm battling the weights at an advanced level. I have a long ways to go, I know.

I'm prepared to take all criticism and suggestions. I don't have the illusion that I know it all, on the contrary, I know very little and am eager to learn more. This is why I'm posting a log. Also, when I was getting started I looked for someone at my level so that I could follow, but sadly no one was that low. lol

[Arkbuilder Lightweight Member Find all posts View Profile Close Arkbuilder]

Weight: 209 (was at 203 on Jan 3rd)
Height: 6'1"
Protein: 300g/day
Carb cut-off: 5:30pm
BF: 15-20% (I have the pincher, but it comes up different all the time, -frustrating)
* I need to start counting carbs as well, I know I eat too much flour for sure.
Also, I've been doing 20 min cardio for the last 2 weeks instead of 10-15. I'll increase that, as well.

No soda, no candy, no french fries, no burgers, occasional grilled chicken sandwich. Cereal is my weakness. 3 bowls a day, usually honey nut cheerios and 2% milk.

And now the embarrassing-but-is-what-it-is:
Bench: 195, 3sets of 5 (I don't do 1rm here, for risk of injury)
Squat: 225x3
Deadlift: 255x3

Other than what you see in the pic, I have 4 tubs of protein from TrueNutrition. 1 Teamskip, 1 Gemma Pea blend, 1 is MPI (I take it before bed, and the other is PWO with the following:
Whey Protein Isolate Cold-Filtration (50%)
Waxy Maize Starch – Amylocel (35%)
Ascorbic Acid (5%)
Creatine Monohydrate (5%)
L-Arginine (5%)

[Sammich Moderator/Intense Muscle Competitive Powerlifter 275lb Raw Club Total 1625 Find all posts View Profile Close Sammich]

You sound close to where I was when I joined here.

Have you thought about hiring someone to help you with your diet?

[Arkbuilder Lightweight Member Find all posts View Profile Close Arkbuilder]

Starting Strength

Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift
**2x8 Dips (or assisted dip machine or decline DB bench press)

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Pendlay or BB Rows
**2x8 Chin-ups

** = optional.Starting Strength B

Monday morning's session:

Squat: 205x5/x5/x4 Right knee kept going left and inside. Hipflexor pain after each set.
OHP: 130x5/x5/x5 Body spasms at the end, would've been hilarious on video.
BB Rows: 185x4 (sloppy) ---> 165x5/x6
Chins: BWx4/x2

[Arkbuilder Lightweight Member Find all posts View Profile Close Arkbuilder]

You sound close to where I was when I joined here.

Have you thought about hiring someone to help you with your diet?

Now, yes. But it wasn't until I read the posts Steel made to jw a week ago(below). Before that I had the misconception that I was better off "bulking" until I get some reasonable muscle mass to cut down to.

I realize now, "If you are already fat, and you eat in excess, do you think you're gonna gain muscle or fat? Maybe a small amount of muscle, but mostly fat....If you are lean, and you eat in excess, your body is obviously primed from being on lower cals to get to your leanness, correct?"

I do plan on hiring someone, but figured I should put in my work with the basics first. Plus, I just bought a new laser printer for the office so I don't want to add a personal expense in the budget just yet.

I'm unsure if you ever stated what your goals were.....Are you trying to lose fat while holding onto/building a bit of muscle? If so, I personally respond better to lower carbs for fat loss, with the majority of my daily carbs coming pre and post workout (while dieting, not now)....You have to play with this, if you're going to do it yourself. Find where your maintenance is at, keep protein high, and moderate carbs and good fats. Weigh yourself weekly and see what's happening. Then adjust from there. I think it's almost impossible for anyone here to really tell you where you should be at carb wise, UNLESS it's someone like Skip, who you would HIRE, and then he asks a shitload of questions and figures all of this out for you.....I will give you a general recommendation. Have 150 grams of carbs daily, divided equally into your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th meal on NON training days. Do the same thing workout days, EXCEPT add 50-75 grams of simple carbs after your workout. That is my generic response to your question. If you want someone to lay it all out, set it all up, make the adjustments for you, well then, you need to hire someone, like, uh, maybe Skip?? lol

IMO you need to lose some bodyfat first, before you worry about gaining size. You can go for a recomp with eating a bit below your maintenance, training hard, and hitting cardio several times a week....No one says you need to be shredded before you get back to pounding food and trying to gain mass, but your body will absolutely respond to carbs better insulin wise if you are leaner. Don't just eat to try to get big when you are already fairly fat and expect your gains to be good gains, cause they're not gonna be....Trust me, I've been there.....a few times....

All you need to do is do a simple google search and you will find these answers on your own...When you are leaner, your insulin sensitivity is better, when you are fatter, it's not. This is not the only reason, but you get the jist I think, right? Think about it. If you are already fat, and you eat in excess, do you think you're gonna gain muscle or fat? Maybe a small amount of muscle, but mostly fat....If you are lean, and you eat in excess, your body is obviously primed from being on lower cals to get to your leanness, correct? So this, combined with MUCH better insulin sensitivity for MOST people, will allow you to eat more carbs AND more food, and just may be harder for you to gain alot of fat, all the while you are gaining muscle because your body is primed for growth.....I have personally done this, as probably many, many people here have done. I marveled at the amount of carbs I have gotten up to per Skip's plans over the past couple years, after being fat and taking in only about 80g a day while dieting....Now I'm at about 400g a day and I'm not getting fatter. I don't have a six pack, but I'm not fat either.....A leaner body is more condusive to muscle growth with the proper nutrients, where a fatter body is more condusive to fat storage, it's just that simple....

[Arkbuilder Lightweight Member Find all posts View Profile Close Arkbuilder]

You sound close to where I was when I joined here.

Have you thought about hiring someone to help you with your diet?

That's incredibly motivating, believe it or not.

[Sammich Moderator/Intense Muscle Competitive Powerlifter 275lb Raw Club Total 1625 Find all posts View Profile Close Sammich]

That's incredibly motivating, believe it or not.

That was the point

[Arkbuilder Lightweight Member Find all posts View Profile Close Arkbuilder]

Last session, after squatting I had some very sore hip flexors. If you were wearing jeans, the pain is right where the change pockets are. Seems to be triggered when I'm in the bottom position. It's very frustrating because its really slowing my progress on this crucial lift... I've spent hours online trying to find how to heal and prevent it from happening again. Articles and youtube videos on this range from, "stretching the hip-flexors", "foam-rolling" to "just not squatting anymore". Uh, well, I'm not going to stop squatting. So I've worked on stretches (altho, when they're hurting, I've found that it only makes it worse so I wait til it heals a bit.) I foam-roll about 3x/day. And I've tried the following changes in my squat stance:

Lower bar position on my back (helped)
narrower stance, feet just outside my shoulders (sometimes it feels better)
Toes pointed less outward, almost pointed forward but not quite (seems to help the most)
Use Hip Adduction apparatus to warm them up right after cardio and stretching

If anyone has any knowledge or experience on this, I'm all :ear:s.


This morning's session:

Squat: while warming up, felt a very sharp pinch in the hipflexors. shot my confidence way down. after that, I tried not going so low, just above parallel. Pain's still there, but not sharp and intense. Tried toes pointing more inward, helped very little. Then, I tried front squat. Better, but I felt like I had done enough damage that I should back off of this movement and the deadlift for today. Very discouraging.
I'll try front squat from the start on my next session and see if it will help. Or whatever anyone here might suggest.

Bench: 205x5/x4/x2... Went up 10lb from last bench day, from now on with bench I'll only go up 5lb. Since I didn't hit 3x5 on this weight today, I'll have to hit the same weight again and own it.

Deadlift: took the very sharp pain in the hipflexors while squatting as a warning to back off for today.

25 Minute Cardio (before lifting) HR: 125-130

After workout, spent extra time on the Hip Abduction and Adduction machines. Very low weight. crunches. stretching.

Note: I really have to find a way to shorten my posts. My apologies. :rain:

[Sammich Moderator/Intense Muscle Competitive Powerlifter 275lb Raw Club Total 1625 Find all posts View Profile Close Sammich]

Note: I really have to find a way to shorten my posts. My apologies. :rain:

Not in your own journal, you don't.

[Arkbuilder Lightweight Member Find all posts View Profile Close Arkbuilder]

Diet notes:

• Changed to 1% milk from 2%. Goal is to change it to Fat Free by next week. Acclimating my taste buds. (probably a completely incorrect usage of that word..)
• I'm going to start keeping track of not only my protein intake, but also, Total cals, fat, carbs.
• No more corn tortillas. It's pretty much a staple in our diet. ...I can do this.

[trucelt IM Moderator and Intense Muscle Competitor Find all posts View Profile Close trucelt]

GREAT start Ark I like the fact that your being analytical with everything.

Btw I call BS on Sammichs claim: I'm pretty sure he came out of the womb squatting 3 bills and solving equations....

[Arkbuilder Lightweight Member Find all posts View Profile Close Arkbuilder]

GREAT start Ark I like the fact that your being analytical with everything.

Btw I call BS on Sammichs claim: I'm pretty sure he came out of the womb squatting 3 bills and solving equations....

lol! Yea, I knew he was being nice. He's just a big cuddly bear inside that rough ban-man exterior. It did work, tho. I'm inspired nonetheless!

Big thanks to you two taking the time. I'm honored.

[Arkbuilder Lightweight Member Find all posts View Profile Close Arkbuilder]

The hip flexor pain is still there, just more dull and warning than intense like last session. I can't wait until I've graduated this ordeal and am causing actual muscle hypertrophy on this lift.
I went very slow on the squat. While warming up, I started by not passing parallel at first and then gradually took it lower. I'd get the pinch in my left hipflexor again, but only at the bottom of the movement. I started getting pissed off at the situation so instead of not going low to avoid the pain, I went low but shifted my weight slightly more to my right side. I wasn't mentally telling myself to do this, but I did feel my body doing it. It did help with the pinch, and also with my confidence, since I could go to at least parallel.

This morning's workout:

Squat:
20 x 45
10 x 95
10 x 115
7 x 125 (stopped here and just focused on form, was thinking, "spread the floor, spread the floor" the whole time.)
7 x 125
7 x 125

Standing OHP:
10 x 45 (had been playing with grip for a while, I think I'm solid now, index finger right outside my shoulders on the bar.)
10 x 65
5 x 95
3 x 125
5 x 135 (did the working sets with the wristwraps on)
5 x 135
5 x 135 (such a fight till the end)

BB Rows:
12 x 45
10 x 95
7 x 115
8 x 135
5 x 165 (This is where i was last for this ex., I underestimated myself, felt too light)
5 x 170
5 x 170

[Arkbuilder Lightweight Member Find all posts View Profile Close Arkbuilder]

Recorded the squat warm up a bit, but the wife took the iPod to work, so I'll try to get it up later.

*She'll probably wonder why I'm recording myself workout. lmao. this'll be fun.

[Arkbuilder Lightweight Member Find all posts View Profile Close Arkbuilder]

Please critique, suggest, etc.. if you would. No hat, Sammich. But I normally would, on camera. I prefer to be less identifiable.
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