The Regular Guy Journal

[Griever14206]

Well I've been perusing these forms lately and just looking through some of the journal I've noticed that they all seem to be from power lifters who can bench twice my bodyweight.

So I figured I'll just do my own journal here and it will be a really easy way for you guys to help critique my workout/nutrition etc and hopefully can help keep on on track.

As of right now I'm on the Rippetoe Starting Strength Routine bulk, with the exception that regular squats have been replaced by Hack Squats for a few reasons.

a) I'm terrible at squats, I can't even get parallel before I begin to lose my balance.

b) I have a bad bruise on my shoulder which prevents me from holding the bar up with any significant weight on it.

c) My legs are naturally much larger than any other part of my body, so I would like to try and balance everything out. When I'm wearing a t-shirt and shorts in the gym the difference from my hips to my thighs is very noticeable.

d) I don't have a spotter so I don't feel very safe

Anyways, this is what a normal workout looks like for me:

Workout A
---------------
Hack Squats 3x5x150+Bar I'm not exactly sure what the bar weighs, but I'd estimate around 30lbs

Bench Press 3x5x70+bar By far my worst lift, my chest is my weak spot for sure

Deadlift 3x5x150+Bar I've noticed that with the squats and the deads, my upper body simply cannot hold the weight that I need to give my legs a good workout. In doing Hack Squats and Deads I'm always in danger of losing the bar and I can't feel much strain on my legs. Any advice on this? I have some gloves that I use to prevent the grib on the bar from tearing the flesh off my hands.

Weighted Decline Situps (25lb weight) - I can do 2x20 of these on a good day, but sometimes I'll go with something like a 3x20-12-8 (1 set of 20, then 12, then 8)

Decline Dumbell Bench Press - 3x5x45 (a replacement for dips)

Workout B
------------
Hack Squats 3x5x150+bar
Military press 3x5x50+bar
Bent Rows 3x5x50+bar
Weighted Decline Situps (25lbs 2x15-20)
Decline Dumbell Bench Press 3x5x45

Just a couple notes, I use the same bar on the deadlift, hack squat, and bench and a smaller bar on the Rows and Military Press.

I have to run to class but later on I'm going to post some pictures of myself. A little over a year ago I lost about 65 lbs to get down to about 168 (I am 6'0) and after starting a bulk I'm up to about 180; but I feel like I have too much body-fat around my midsection, so I may need to be cutting instead of bulking.

[Griever14206]

What would you say about my body fat? Should I stay on the bulk or maybe cut a little bit? When I'm standing up it doesen't look that bad, but when I sit down it's pretty noticeable.

Also any criticisms from my workout? That first one is quite a read I know, but when I go for my workout tommorow (Tuesday & Thursday and weekends are my off days) it will be much more condensed.

If you think I should add something let me know, I'm open to doing some more exercises, since five seems like so few.

[slashkills]

What are your goals?
You said you are wearing gloves while deadlifting, i recommend not using them. It will hurt your grip strength eventually. Even though you have the strength to deadlift a given weight you just wont be able to hold on to it. Thus not getting a real good workout. There are different grips your could use to help hold the bar.You should look them up.If your hands get torn up you can use superglue or tape to help repair them. Trust me its worth it in the long run.

For the squats, bruises are not a good excuse. Everyone at one point experiences pain from the bar on their shoulders. Your shoulders/upper back will get used to it and you wont even notice it anymore with any weight. I recomend looking up the squat rx videos on youtube. It will help you with all of your squat problems. They are a great exercise you really should look into getting them right.

[Griever14206]

What are your goals?


I would say right now a reasonable goal is to reach 200lbs (being at 180). I would also like to see my bench make it to around 200 as well.

The problem with removing the gloves is that it makes it even harder to hold the bar and I lose focus from my form and worry about my fingers staying attached to my hand.

I'll take them off though and give it a try. I know I should get better at the squats but they have to be the most annoying exercise ever. When I bend I have a tendency to twist my waist to the left and put most of the weight on my right leg which has led to injuries.

I've tried slowly adding weight and once I get to around 100lbs on the bar I simply can't not do it. I'll try and see if I can't work on them on wednesday if I have the time.

I'm also going to replace the rows with power cleans because a) that's what the routine calls for (I originally found a copy of it on another bodybuilding forum, but it's not the same) and b) they look like a lot of fun. Not to mention the Bent Rows are really easy to cheat on and I don't ever feel like I'm doing much with them.

For food today
-----------------
Chicken breast with cheesy pasta
2 cookies :tuttut:
4 eggs scrambled w/2 pieces of toast
2 tuna fish sandwiches (w/ mayo)
1 protein shake (2 scoops nitrean w/2 cups chocolate milk)
7 Creatine Caps (AtLarge Nutrition ones)
2 Plain Mcdonalds Double Cheeseburgers

I'd say that puts me at around 3400 calories today with 268g carbs and 253g protein. The seven a day creatine caps are crazy though, taking seven pills at once is just strange. Not to mention I have a tendency to forget them :tuttut:

Interestingly enough the spell check for this website doesen't recognise the word creatine at all.

[slashkills]

Try experimenting with different grips on the deadlift. Also if you have time i recoment taking a look at this-squat rx (http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding/a_dozen_exercises_for_squatters)
good luck! i look foward to seeing your progress

[Griever14206]

Just got done with my workout

Workout B
-------------
Power Cleans 3x5x60+bar
Overhead 3x5x50+bar

The bar I used on the above two exercises was bigger than the one I normally use, so it's probably about 10lbs more than usual.

Decline Dumbell Bench 3x5x40

I realized I was doing these wrong and I had to drop the weight to do them correctly.

Incline Weighted Situps 1x25x25 & 2x10x25

I did all of this without my gloves today and my hands are pretty red, but all in all they feel pretty good. The big test will come when I try to do deadlifts on Friday.

I worked on my squat form a little today after watching some of the squat RX videos. I didn't have a lot of time but I was able to comfortably get into the full olympic squat position with an empty bar and hold it there, so on friday I'll try adding weight.

The thing with the Rippetoe routine is that it's just so few exercises, after not doing any serious work to replace the squats it looks like a really weak day today. They really are that important. I'll update this with my food intake at the end of the night and that will be the pattern for this journal

[Griever14206]

Nothing to report on diet on thursday, was almost identical to Wednesday's buth without the cookies.

I skipped the workout today, I had people over late last night and after that had trouble sleeping. So I took a pre-work nap to make sure I could make it through the night. Being a fish-fry cook on fridays on lent is a real pain, especially if you're exhausted.