Rebuilding the foundation-my 3x5 journal

[asdfzxcv]

Hello all

It has been a long time since I have made any meaningful attempt to log my training but it is about time to get my ass into gear.I wont lie,the past 5-6months my training has been all but non-existant.Family issues(all resolved now)+A stressful nightshift job(which I have now quit thank god) caused my training/diet commitments to crumble.My strength has declined back to begginer levels and I have lost around 15-20 pounds,not good at all.

Anyway I cant dwell on this mishap,only try to claw my way back up.I am currently 180lb at 6'4 with about 12-13%bodyfat,which means there is LOTS of untapped potential to be realised.Hopefully with sensible,but big eating+newbie gains I can move along at a fast pace for a few months.

The program
I intend to follow the program outlined in starting strength by Mark Rippetoe as follows,alternating workouts 3 times a week.

Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift
**2x8 Dips

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

Basic progressive resistance at its finest,the epitome of simplicity .I will also be doing sprints 1x a week in order to help cardiovascular health/slow rate of bodyfat addition(although some is inevitable).I sometimes go for a walk in the mornings,which shouldn't be detrimental at all to the program.

The diet
I will eat reasonably clean,but I am not ultra anal about this kind of thing.Lots of red meat,milk,eggs,oats,veggies etc at a moderate calorie surplus so I gain around 1lb a week.I try to stay away from processed sugary crap like soda/chocolate etc,but I will still have a the odd bit of takeaway on occasion.I would like to stay under 17% bodyfat,but it shouldnt be an issue with a bit of cardio+sensible calorie surplus.

The plan
Over the next 3-4months I want to try to make as rapid progress as possible on the compound lifts.If I stall I will reset back the stuck lift 2 weeks and ramp up again.
I think these goals for 3-4 months are reasonable if I work hard.First row are current stats,second row goals.

squat 185x5 to 245x5
bench 135x5 to 185x5
dead 245x5 to 315x5
military 100x5 to 125x5
Chin bwx6-7 to bw+25x8
dip bwx8 to bw+45x8

Tomorrow I will begin,cant wait to get this show on the road .

 

[enigma4dub]

subscribed. lookin forward to following along.

 

[anotherbutters]

What were your old stats, just for reference? It ought to be easier to get back to where you were than push ahead into new territory. I'm in a similar position, just starting out again. Good luck!

 

[asdfzxcv]

Old stats were not that impressive,but better then now

Squat 265x5
deadlift 335x5
bench 175x5
row 165x5
military 120x5
at around 195-200lb

I am going to start off around 20lb below my current lifts(see first post) so I can ramp up and hopefully get more progression that way.

 

[ZGzaZ]

good luck asdfzxcv, program looks solid, you will make some great gains! Keep at it, and don't give in when it gets hard! I'll be following along.

 

[asdfzxcv]

Starting strength 3x5,Week 1 workout 1

First proper workout in months,here is how it went.

Back Squat
135x5
155x5
Worksets-165x5,165x5,165x5
These felt quite good today,the weight was easy and the flexability to hit depth is still there.Will up these 5-10lb next time no drama

Bench
95x5
115x5
Worksets-125x5,125x5,125x5
Very easy,as it should be at this stage.These will be increased 5 lb next time.

Deadlift
135x5
155x5
185x5
205x5
Workset-225x5
Nothing much to say here,+5 or 10lb next time.

Dips
Worksets-bodyweightx8,bodyweightx8
Managed to get both sets of dips,although the second set was a bit tricky.Will add 2.5lb each workout to these.

Notes
Overall not a bad workout,it is good to be back in the swing of things.Nothing was super difficult and I should be able to increase load on all exercises fairly quickly.The only thing I think I will change in the workout is to add 2x8 sets of light goodmornings to workout B,which shouldnt be too taxing and help the posterior chain stay strong,which I think is important for taller lifters like myself with a long p-chain.This was a weakness of mine last time I rapidly increased squats with the linear 5x5.

 

[Protobuilder]

Good to see you back 'round. Muscle memory is a wonderful thing. You'll suck for a few weeks and then be right back in the saddle.

 

[silver_shadow]

nice to see you back asdf, i was starting to wonder why you'd dropped off the face of EF planet. strength will suck dogs balls for a couple of weeks but will start to take off from there, and you'll probably overshoot your old PRs comfortably soon enough

 

[asdfzxcv]

Thanks for the kind feedback guys,im suprised anyone remembers me .

Had a good sleep last night,very deep and refreshing.Extensive DOMS in my legs/hips so I went for a light 15min jog which seemed to ease it a bit,active recovery I guess.Shouldnt be of any detriment and has only helped in the past.Should be nice and fresh for tomorrows session.

 

[asdfzxcv]

Wow it has been a long time since I updated this journal.

Have been training slowly but consistantly over the past few months.Strength has gone up a bit despite bodyweight being stable.I think I may be getting a bit leaner due to my new eating habits.I had long suspected that I was intolerent to carbohydrates so I changed my eating habits a few weeks back.Protein intake has been boosted from about 200ish grams a day to 350-400g a day of eggs/steak/whey/etc.I only eat trace amounts of carbohydates from vegetables,except for a postworkout bowl of oats+lots of whey.I feel much better eating like this and feel like I have more energy,Probably due to fewer insulin spikes.Might have hope of shaking these skinny-fat traits yet.

Training wise I am doing linear 5x5 at the moment,with intervals added 2x a week.Although I feel I am getting stronger fast,I am being conservative in regards to my weight progression so I can get a long stretch of linear progress.My lifts are still pathetically weak,but they are slowly but surely improving.

More to come soon.