I'm still here, still doing Starting Strength.
Some stats:
Weight: 190 lbs.
Squat: 235 x 5
Deadlift: 255 x 5
Bench: 167.5 x 5
So I should probably stop bulking up but I'm going to wait a while longer. I'd like to wait until I progress to an intermediate level before I go back to cutting some fat off my body but we'll see. On a related note I am drinking three to four gallons of skim milk a week. If you handle lactose then it's really a perfect food.
My deadlift should probably be higher than it is relative to my squat but I'm not worried about it. I imagine the squat will plateau before the deadlift anyway.
Here are two videos from this morning's workout:
Squatting 235 lbs. for 5 reps:
Deadlifting 255 lbs. for 5 reps:
I'm not thrilled with the execution of the deadlift. The first rep is good but my hips rise too quickly on the rest of the reps. I think I was unintentionally trying to avoid scraping my right shin which already has a scab on it from the last time I deadlifted. I must either learn to love bloody shins or buy a pair of skin tight track pants.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Still here
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
The Case for Weighing Yourself Daily
I believe that when you're in the process of transforming your body, whether it be fat loss or muscle gain, you should weigh yourself daily and keep a log of your body weight.
The reason is pretty simple. Your body weight fluctuates a lot from day to day depending on a number of factors including how many and what type of carbohydrates you ate the day before, how close to bed you ate your last serving of carbs, how much water you drank, how dry the air in your room where you sleep is, whether you consumed any diuretics like coffee, and on and on.
As an example: On June 3rd I weighed in at 186 lbs. Two days later on June 5th I weighed in at 183.3 lbs. Today, June 9th, I weighed in at 187.6 lbs. If I weighed myself weekly I'd have to conclude that I had gained almost three pounds! Of course that would cause me to reevaluate my weight gain diet and probably scale back on the calories I eat each day. The end result? I would wind up not eating enough calories to build muscle because I was scared off by what I didn't realize was merely water weight gain.
So, it's important to weigh yourself every day so that you can analyze the trend in your weight over time, and know when one day's weight gain is abnormally large.
The same thing applies to fat loss, especially if your fat loss diet includes reduced carbohydrates or periodic carbohydrate refeeds. You can experience a sudden drop in your body weight leading you to conclude that you're losing muscle when in fact you're just dropping water weight.
Once you've been weighing yourself daily and also logging all the food you eat, you'll get pretty good and predicting what your body will do. Last night I had some vanilla ice cream about an hour before bed. Just like clock work I "gained" a pound in one night. Today, I'll be drinking plenty of water all day at work and consuming a (relatively) reduced carbohydrate diet so that tomorrow I will have "lost" a pound or two. I would guess that within a few days I will weigh in at 184 lbs. or less.
Another fun trick you can try is to have no carbs with your last two meals (assuming you eat six meals a day which everyone should). You'll "lose" at least a pound, possibly more simply by going low carb for six to 8 hours before bed.
Weigh yourself daily and keep a log so that you don't fall victim to the sometimes wild swings of your body weight.
Monday, June 2, 2008
One Year And Counting!
It was in May of last year that I began my transformation. So I've now been lifting weights for just over a year. In that time I've only skipped three workouts. Yes I am bragging.
Starting Strength is going great.
Yesterday's workout stats:
Squat: 3 sets, 185 lbs. x 5
Bench: 3 sets, 145 lbs. x 5
Deadlift: 1 set, 220 lbs. x 5
So far so good, no missed reps. Weight gain is going slow and steady. Today I was 184.8 lbs.
