Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

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DB
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Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#1

Post by DB » Mon Nov 12, 2018 11:48 am

Restarting LP and hoping to run it for 4 -6 weeks before switching to Baker's GGW.

Male, 46 yrs old, 6'0, 205 lbs
Goals: Deadlift 405 x 5, Press BW x 1, Bench Press 275 x 1, Squat whatever (just avoid injury)

Deviations from the normal LP:
Reverting to high bar squats after years of low bar and fighting injuries. I'll likely try incorporating low bar after 4 weeks to see how it feels.
Dips on bench day and chins on press day, adding weight each week to get to +35.
Starting w/ 6 reps vs. 5 reps across for the first two weeks just to be contrary.

11/12 (Day 1 of the restart):
Squat 220 3x6
Bench 195 3x6
Deadlift 280 1x6
Dips 2x6 +10 lbs

If anyone reads this and has completed GGW, what kind of gains did you get over the 13-week program?

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Wilhelm
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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#2

Post by Wilhelm » Tue Nov 13, 2018 1:30 am

Welcome, @DB

Thank you for adding your log to the site. : )

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#3

Post by DB » Tue Nov 13, 2018 8:19 am

11/13 (Day 2 of the restart)

I don't plan to continue logging non-lifting sessions, but I will for the first 2 weeks.

Bike: 25 minutes steady, 15 minutes stretching & roller (I sit at a desk all day, I need it)

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#4

Post by DB » Wed Nov 14, 2018 9:15 am

Squat 225 3x6
Press 120 3x6 (starting low on this one)
DL 285 1x6
Chins +10 2x6

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#5

Post by DB » Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:46 am

11/16/18
Squat 230 3x6
Bench 200 3x6
Deadlier 290 1x6
Dips +15 2x6

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#6

Post by DB » Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:47 am

11/17/18
Bike 35 mins

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#7

Post by Busa » Sun Nov 18, 2018 10:41 am

Hey DB, another 46 year old guy checking in, just off my LP and one week into Andy’s GGW. Feel free to check my log if you’re interested, and good luck with your restart.

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#8

Post by DB » Mon Nov 19, 2018 7:21 am

Thanks Busa. Hopefully this LP run will stick for me.

Squat 235 3x6
Press 125 3x6
Deadlift 300 1x6
Chins +15 2x6

Still sore from last session, but the bar kept moving.

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#9

Post by DB » Wed Nov 21, 2018 10:03 am

Short lifting session today, but I wanted to get the feel of the next weight increase.

Squat 240 3x1
Bench 205 3x1
Deadlift 315 1x1
Dips +15 2x6

Bike 30 mins

Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who sees this.

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#10

Post by DB » Tue Nov 27, 2018 10:03 am

Still getting used to logging sessions on a website.

11/23
Squat 245 3x6
Press 130 3x4
Deadlift 320 1x6
Chins +15 2x6
My press always gets stuck around 130. It usually jumps past after one reset, but I think I need to take Pavel's approach. "To press a lot, you must press a lot."

11/25
Squat 250 3x6
Bench 210 3x6
Deadlift 325 1x6
Dips +20 2x6

11/27
Squat 255 3x6
Press 130 3x5
Deadlift 330 1x6
Chins +20 2x6
I think it is time to switch from 3 heavy pull days to 2 heavy pull days w/ 1 light day.

3 bike sessions during the past week too.

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#11

Post by DB » Tue Jan 29, 2019 6:55 am

I failed in my effort to keep an online log - this was my first attempt. I thought I would try but it seems a bit redundant considering my paper log.

Regardless, the end of 2018 saw positives and negatives. I easily squatted 315 for a few reps after switching back to high bar and easily pulled 375 on the deadlift. However, I went for 385 on the deadlift and tweaked by back. By tweaked I mean later that night it took me 30 minutes to move from lying on the floor to a somewhat upright position. I'm back to lifting now with an accelerated LP progression. I figure this pushed me back 4-6 weeks from my plan. Not awful, but still frustrating. I'll still switch to Baker's GGW program and start cycling a lot more once the weather warms up.

Takeaways from 2018 (and all the years before):
High bar squats are for me. I stuck with the low bar mindset for several years, fighting through recurring elbow and hip pain and not really progressing much. (Yes, Rip, I worked with your coaches, who told me I have excellent form.)
I unapologetically like yoga. Just 10-20 minutes a week works miracles for my hips and lower back.
The 200 lb. "adult male" mentality is over. I spent the majority of my adult life under 200 and the past couple of years around 205. I've always felt a little sluggish when I'm over 200 and not necessarily any stronger.
SS has a few good guys associated with it, but I'm done. The underlying xenophobia, mysogyny, racism, and general attitudes against the slightest honest criticism completely taint any useful or intelligent commentary that comes from the company. The unabashed lack of acknowledging these characteristics makes it all the worse. I'm curious who will be departing their coaching ranks in 2019.

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#12

Post by Chebass88 » Tue Jan 29, 2019 7:38 am

Hey DB - Welcome to the site. Don't worry about not maintaining an online log - do whatever works for you. If a paper log is working well - keep doing it.

It is also great to read how you're finding out what works for you in terms of training. Keep pushing yourself, and do what you can, when you can. IT all adds up.

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#13

Post by iamsmu » Tue Jan 29, 2019 7:46 am

DB wrote: Tue Jan 29, 2019 6:55 am
The 200 lb. "adult male" mentality is over. I spent the majority of my adult life under 200 and the past couple of years around 205. I've always felt a little sluggish when I'm over 200 and not necessarily any stronger.
Putting aside the SS silliness, I'm torn on whether I want to be heavier or not. I'm a couple inches taller than you, but I felt better closer to 220 than 200. I guess that's not a very big spread. But there's something nice about just having a little more mass. Some bodyweight exercise goals are going to push me back down. ex. 20 pounds makes things like muscle ups more difficult, unless all the weight is in your arms . . . How much does an arm weigh? . . . 20 pounds does make running feel much worse. That's for sure.

rough estimates:

http://robslink.com/SAS/democd79/body_part_weights.htm

Image

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#14

Post by DB » Tue Jan 29, 2019 8:07 am

That is an interesting chart.

Regarding weight, I was very skinny through my youth. Athletic, but a rail thin 6', 135 lbs. when I graduated high school. The good side of that was I could outsprint everyone in my school and could dunk a basketball at 5'9 when I was a freshman. I gained 50 lbs of muscle in college once I started strength training. My point being that I believe I am predisposed to a leaner physique and trying to add on extra lbs usually results in me adding more fat than I really need. I think my thoughts are influenced by the fact that I'm currently at 212 lbs and feel I could easily lose 10 lbs and keep my strength.

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#15

Post by iamsmu » Tue Jan 29, 2019 8:08 am

DB wrote: Tue Jan 29, 2019 8:07 am That is an interesting chart.

Regarding weight, I was very skinny through my youth. Athletic, but a rail thin 6', 135 lbs. when I graduated high school. The good side of that was I could outsprint everyone in my school and could dunk a basketball at 5'9 when I was a freshman. I gained 50 lbs of muscle in college once I started strength training. My point being that I believe I am predisposed to a leaner physique and trying to add on extra lbs usually results in me adding more fat than I really need. I think my thoughts are influenced by the fact that I'm currently at 212 lbs and feel I could easily lose 10 lbs and keep my strength.
Go for it. I think I was about 175 at 6'2" when I graduated. . . .

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#16

Post by mgil » Tue Jan 29, 2019 11:08 am

DB wrote: Tue Jan 29, 2019 6:55 am I failed in my effort to keep an online log - this was my first attempt. I thought I would try but it seems a bit redundant considering my paper log.
There's a spectrum of what it means to maintain a log.

Some folks are literally...

DD/MM/YYYY

EX:

SxRxW

/end

While other logs are like @stuffedsuperdud's and @Allentown's filled with much life outside of the gym.

I think the interesting aspect of the digital log is the reflection/analysis aspect. The paper log usually captures the raw data, and sometimes a few notes, but sitting down and writing about what was good/bad in the session makes the journey a bit more interesting. This can be done daily, weekly, etc.

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#17

Post by Allentown » Tue Jan 29, 2019 11:19 am

It's a life log, not a lift log! But really, this:
Chebass88 wrote: Tue Jan 29, 2019 7:38 am Don't worry about not maintaining an online log - do whatever works for you. If a paper log is working well - keep doing it.
Being honest- people here only care a little bit more about my (or others') day-to-day training than most people "in real life," which is to say, very little. WxRxS without context won't mean much to me even when it's my own training. What it CAN do is help maintain accountability, foster community, and give people glimpses into our windows. I think a deep log is pretty helpful for garage gym lifters- it's out drinking fountain. I like that, and on some level I probably need it? But lots of people don't, and that's totally fine too!

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Re: Restarting the Restart & Frustrations of Middle Ageness

#18

Post by KyleSchuant » Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:19 am

Shared suffering is less painful. Share.

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