sam's garage logs

[kingsamj]

Hey all, I've been lurking on the site for a few weeks and thought I'd start a log.

Stats about me:
Age: 32
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 180lbs

American so all units in pounds!

I've lifted on and off, without much rigor or focus, since high school. The first time I tried to do any focused training was in 2016, when I ran Stronglifts and then Madcow and then 5/3/1. I managed to make decent progress for about a year and a half, but also ended up injuring myself and taking a two year break from lifting.

I started up again in October of 2019, this time with Starting Strength. Managed to get to 265x5x3 squat, 185x5x3 bench, 295x5 dead and 110x5x3 OHP (that one's pathetic, I know). No resets on squat/bench, but the last sets for the past few weeks have all been brutal grinders. And as such, I'm now sick to death of SS, dreading every session, and I'm ready to move on.

So I'm switching to Hanley's Montana Method that I found on these boards. Yesterday was my first day!

Training Maxes (based on my top 5 rep sets from SS, so they might be somewhat low):
Squat: 305
Bench: 215
Dead: 345

Week 1 Day 1: Sat Jan 04 2020
Bodyweight: 180lbs
Squat: 6x5 at 215lbs. Two minutes rest. Last set was RPE 9
Bench: 7x5 at 145lbs: Two minutes rest. Last set was RPE 8
Chins: (10 min density): 33 total

I was worried that the 6x5 at 70% squat would be harder than it ended up being. I managed to keep to a 2 minute rest between all sets, so the entire workout was done in ~50 minutes. The whole session felt great and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the 2 week cycle!

[kingsamj]

Week 1 Day 3: Mon Jan 06 2020
Bodyweight: 181lbs
Squat: 185x3, 215x2, 235x1x2, 250x1, 275x1 (RPE 9)
Bench: 135x3, 150x2, 165x1x2, 185x1, 200x1 (RPE 8)
Close Grip Bench: 135x8x3
Deadlift: (warmup: 135x5, 225x3, 275x1) 310x1 (RPE 8), 240x4x5

Total workout time: 56 minutes

Diet:
Calories: 2260
Carbohydrates: 229
Fat: 69
Protein: 202
Fiber: 38

The 275 squat felt harder than it "should" have felt, IMO. I taped myself doing the rep and you can see me hit a sticking point a few inches out of the hole. I think I need to learn to warm up better, because my first working sets on the squat are always harder than the later sets. The top bench set on the other hand felt perfectly fine, probably because the squat got me warmed up sufficiently. I've never done the close grip bench before, so I didn't know what to expect. Seemed fine, though it was harder on my triceps than I anticipated

The 310 deadlift went up way faster than I expected. I wrote down RPE 8 though it might have been even less than that. The subsequent five sets of four went by easily with only two minutes of rest. I didn't use a belt on the first four sets, but did use the belt on the last set.

[DrHades]

Welcome, Sam! I hope you have a good run with MM.

[kingsamj]

Thanks, Hades! Off to a good start so far. Though I realized I did my DL sets at 70% instead of 75% last night. Oops, no wonder they felt easy.

[kingsamj]

Week 1 Day 5: Wed Jan 08 2020
Bodyweight: 180.25
Squat: Warmup 45x5, 135x5, 185x3, 215x3, Working: 245x3, 245x3, 245x3, 245x3, 245x3 (topped out at RPE 8.5ish)
Bench: Warmup 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, Working: 175x4, 175x4, 175x4, 175x4 (all sets 3 reps TnG followed by 1 rep paused)
Snatch Grip Deadlift: Warmup 135x5, Working: 190x5, 190x5, 190x5, 190x5

So, I usually film my squats from the side, but today I filmed my last set of squats from behind and.. yikes. MAJOR asymmetry in the lift. I shift all my weight over to my right leg on the way up.. This is not unexpected for me, since I tend to shift my weight onto my right leg in other aspects of my life (like when just standing around). Still, it was a surprise to see how egregious it was in the squats. I'm not really sure how to fix it. I'll probably post a form check later and see if anyone has suggestions.

The bench was fine but in the first few sets I kept flaring my elbows out. Got it figured out on the last two sets, though, and they felt good.

This was the first time I'd ever done the snatch grip deadlift. I don't have straps, so it was a bit tough to hold onto, but with only 190lbs it wasn't impossible.

[kingsamj]

Week 1 Day 6: Thu Jan 09 2020
Bodyweight: 180.5
OHP: 95x5, 115x2, 125x1 @ 9, 7 min density block at 100lbs: 4, 4, 4, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1 (20 total)
Squat: 135x5x5

No cardio. I do indoor bouldering on Sundays so I'm gonna call that my cardio day. I also take two ~20 minute walks a day at a decent pace, so.. cardio cop out? Maybe.

I did the sets of squats for the sole purpose of video taping myself and working on my hip shift. The shift seems present though MUCH more minor at lower weights, and increases as the load increases. Fairly evident at 135lbs, though not as evident as it was in yesterday's 245lb reps. I found that angling my right foot out more than my left foot improves the situation. There might be some hip retroversion on the right side? I'm not really qualified to tell. I'll be trying some hip mobility work soon as well to see if that has any impact.

OHP block was fine I guess. When I'm fatigued on OHP I tend to let my upper back go into extension which can ache the next day. Press 2.0 somewhat alleviates this. I think the trouble is that I don't have enough ab/core strength to keep my torso tight and back neutral during tough OHP reps. I should see if adding some direct ab work improves the situation.

[kingsamj]

Week 2 Day 1: Sat Jan 11 2020
Bodyweight: 178.5
Squat: warmup 45x5, 135x5, 185x3, working 230x4, 230x4, 230x4, 230x3, 230x3, 230x3, 230x3 (last set RPE 8.5-9?)
Bench: warmup 45x5, 95x5, 135x5 working 160x4, 160x4, 160x4, 160x3, 160x3, 160x3, 160x3 (last set RPE 8?)
Chins: 7 min block: 31 total (5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1)

Total workout time: 1 hour 6 minutes

Squats were hard, but not in a mind destroying way. I kept the rest times to just over 2 minutes, which was very manageable but did result in some quite slow bar speeds on the last reps of each set. I focused a lot on my foot position set up, this time pointing my right food a few degrees further outward. This seems to mostly correct the squat asymmetry that I was seeing in my last workout. I might have some mechanical imbalances in my legs or whatever, or maybe I just need technique work. Either way I'll keep plugging away at it.

Bench was overall very easy. For the sets of three I dropped the rest time down to 90 seconds. Unremarkable otherwise.

Chins went well. I was pleased at getting 31 reps in 7 minutes when last time I did a density block I only got 33 in 10 minutes.

[kingsamj]

Week 2 Day 3: Mon Jan 13 2020
Bodyweight: 178.7
Squat: warmup 45x5 95x5 135x5 working 190x3 215x2 230x2 250x1 275x1 280x1 RPE 8.5
Bench: warmup 45x5 95x5 working 135x3 150x2 165x1 165x1 185x1 205x1 RPE 9
Close Grip Bench: 140x8 140x8
Deadlift: warmup 135x5 225x3 275x1 working 320x1 (RPE 8) 275x3x6

Total workout time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Squats went well. Last week's power day squats were really grindy, and I was worried my e1rm was too high. But, today's squats went up fast, and my form looked good.

Bench was harder than I expected, and my left elbow felt tweaky the whole time. Otherwise, the weights weren't too bad.

On deads, I was going to try the 5 sets of 4 at 80%, but after I got my third rep on the first set I felt like the 5x4 would be too hard, so I opted for the lower stress 6x3. The 6x3 sets, with 2:30 rest, felt good, so I"m glad I went that direction. I might be really sore tomorrow, though!

[kingsamj]

Week 2 Day 5: Thu Jan 16 2020
Bodyweight: 178.2
Squat: warmup 45x5 135x5 185x3 225x1 working 250x3 250x3 250x3 250x2 250x2 250x2
Bench: warmup 45x5 95x5 135x3 155x1 working 175x3 175x3 175x3 175x2 175x2 175x2 175x3
SG Deadlift: warmup 135x5 working 205x3 205x3 205x4 205x4

Total workout time: 1 hour 17 minutes

Was supposed to do this workout yesterday but had company and had to move it to today. Also had shit diet yesterday (short of my goal by like 400 calories). Squats were hard, and I'm blaming it half on the crap diet from yesterday and half on bad technique. When the weights are heavier I have a harder time doing a proper low bar squat and I start squatting with a really vertical back angle. I was able to correct it somewhat in the last three sets of 2, but even then my form was quick to break down.

Bench was easy. Not much more to say about it than that.

I didn't get sets of 5 on SGDL. I still don't have straps and the grip was holding me back. Tried to at least get SOME reps in. I ordered some straps online a few days ago so hopefully I'll have them by the time I have to do SGDL again.

[kingsamj]

Start of a new cycle! I bumped training maxes up 10lbs on squat, 5lbs on bench, and 10 lbs on deadlift. New TMs are:

Squat: 315
Bench: 220
Dead: 355

I've been on a calorie deficit for the past few weeks, so maybe increasing TMs is a bad idea. Squat in particular might be too high. Bench I think I have plenty of room to go up, and dead.. could go either way.

Week 1 Day 1: Sat Jan 18 2020
Bodyweight: 177.8
Squat: warmup 45x5 135x5 185x3 working 220x5x6 (last set RPE 8-9)
Bench: warmup 45x5 95x5 135x3 working 155x5x7 (last set RPE 9)
Chins: 10-min density block: 34 total (3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1)

Total workout time: 1 hour 15 minutes

I woke up and was still sore from Thursday's workout, but it didn't seem to have much of an effect. Normally I would have an extra day of recovery between the previous strength workout and the hypertrophy workout, though, so I wasn't too worried that the strength workout was too much.

Squats went well except I felt completely winded by the end. I'm not sure what the RPEs really were, but the last few sets all felt like 9s. I kept to 2-2.5 minute rests the whole time, except the last set where I waited maybe 3 minutes.

Bench was fine but I felt sort of depleted from the squats. The last reps of the last 3 sets or so were all kind of exhausting. I didn't film and don't have a bar speed device, but perceptually they felt a bit slower, though definitely not grindy.

I was hoping I'd get more reps in the chins block, but I think I was pretty spent from the previous exercises. 34 is still one more than I got during my last 10 minute block, though, so that's a small victory.

[kingsamj]

Week 1 Day 3: Mon Jan 20 2020
Bodyweight: 178.2
Squat: warmup 45x5 135x5 185x3 working 190x3 220x2 245x1x2 260x1 285x1 RPE 8
Bench: warmup 45x5 95x5 working 135x3 155x2 170x1x2 185x1 205x1 RPE 9
Close Grip Bench: 145x8 145x8 145x7
Deadlift: warmup 135x5 225x3 285x1 working 320x1 (RPE 8) 265x4x5

Total workout time: 1 hour 9 minutes

Squat reps went quickly, but my form got progressively shittier as the weight went up. I really struggle not to pitch the weight forward on the turn-around out of the bottom of the squat.



Bench reps were fine but the top 205lb single was pretty slow. I felt fairly confident I could have gotten one more rep but not sure if I could have gotten two, hence RPE 9. Close grip bench is pretty hard for me and I actually failed to get all 8 reps on the third set.

Not much to say about deadlifts. The top single was no problem and the five sets of four felt fine with about 2.5 minutes rest between sets.

[JohnHelton]

Looking good, Sam. Stay conservative on your TMs. The strength will come from the volume, and there is enough volume in MM to drive strength.

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/episode-33/

Check out: 1:13:13 What do you think about Brian Minor’s theory that being able to lift more is a result of hypertrophy, rather than hypertrophy being a result of lifting heavier?

[kingsamj]

Thanks @JohnHelton! That was a good podcast recommendation, listened to it at work and they had lots of good info and were pretty fun to listen to. I agree about my TMs. Bench and dead are fine but my squats are probably too high right now. I'm on a deficit and today's squat sets seriously all felt like RPE10.

Week 1 Day 5 - Wed Jan 22 2020
Bodyweight: 177.8
Squat: warmup 45x5x6 135x3 185x3 225x3 working 250x3x5
Bench: warmup 45x5 95x5 135x4 155x4 working 175x4x4 (3 reps TnG, 30s rest, 1 rep paused)
Snatch Grip Deadlift: warmup 135x5 working 195x5x4

Total workout time: 1 hour 9 minutes

Big takeaway from today was that squats felt really hard. RPE 9 or 10? I filmed 3 sets and may upload later, in the video my reps don't look that bad, ie they went up faster than they felt like they were going up, but in the moment of doing them it felt rough. I ended up taking 4 minute rests before the last sets and that helped somewhat.

Bench was fine. I'd say maybe RPE 7 on all sets?

SGDL was also fine. RPE 6. I finally got some straps, which made them a lot easier than the past few times I tried them.

[kingsamj]

Week 1 Day 6 - Thu Jan 23 2020
Bodyweight: 177.4
OHP: 125x1 @ 9, 7 minute block at 100: 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1 total 21
Rower: 20 minutes, 4050m

Got one more rep on OHP than last time (2 weeks ago, missed OHP day last week). I.. suck at OHP. I wore my belt this time and I think it helped with the technique somewhat.

The twenty minutes of rower was fun. I just got the rower and this was the first time I've used it. I'll have to work on my form and bump the total time up next time.

[kingsamj]

Week 2 Day 1 - Sat Jan 25 2020
Bodyweight: 177.5
Squat: warmup 45x5x2 135x5 185x4 205x2 working 235x4x3 235x3x4 (sets of four were RPE 9, sets of three were RPE 7)
Bench: warmup 45x5 95x5 135x4 working 165x4x3 165x3x4 RPE 6-7
Chins: 7 min block: 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 (35 total)

Great workout today. Squats were hard at first but I adjusted my technique midway through the session to focus more on getting some bounce at the bottom of the squat, and the reps after that were MUCH easier. Sets felt like 9 at first and 7 afterwards. I think I had been descending too slowly and it was messing me up. In the video below is my first set of 4, followed by my last set of 3. The reps in the last set look somewhat easier but felt much easier than in the first!



Bench was easy. Did every set with 90s rest.

Chins were easy as well, and the 35 total is more than I've gotten before even with 10 minute blocks!

[kingsamj]

Week 2 Day 3 - Mon Jan 27 2020
Bodyweight: 176.1
Squat: warmup 45x5x2 135x5 working 190x3 225x2 245x1x2 260x1 285x1 300x1 (RPE 9.5) 315x0 (RPE 11)
Bench: warmup 45x5 95x5 working 135x3 155x2 170x1x2 185x1 200x1 210x1 (RPE 9)
Close Grip Bench: 145x8x3
Deadlift: warmup 135x5 225x3 275x1 300x1 working 325x1 (RPE 8) 285x3x6

A few of the recent squat workouts have felt harder than I thought they should, making me worried that my squat TM is too high. So today instead of doing a top single at 92% for the squat, I tried to do 90% (285), 95% (300), 100% (315). The 95% set at 300 felt hard (RPE 9.5 or maybe even 10) but I went ahead and tried 315 anyway and got pinned at the bottom of the squat. So, I think i'm going to drop my TM from 315 to 300 and go from there.

Bench went perfectly fine and the RPE matches up exactly with the prescribed intensity from a RPE->intensity chart.

Deadlift also went fine, though the top single was maybe 8.5 instead of 8, which might mean its intensity is a smidge higher than the prescribed 92%.

[kingsamj]

Week 2 Day 4 - Tue Jan 28 2020
Bodyweight: 175.5
Chins: 7 min block, 40 total (3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2)
Rower: 18 minutes, 4000m

Week 2 Day 5 - Wed Jan 29 2020
Bodyweight: 176.0
Squat: warmup 45x5 135x5 185x3 225x3 working 245x3x3 245x2x3
Bench: warmup 45x5 95x5 135x5 155x3 working 180x3x4 180x2x3
Snatch Grip Deadlift: warmup 135x5 working 215x5x4

18 minute 4k on rower on Tuesday was maybe a bit too fast. I think my ideal heartrate happens at around a 2:30/500m pace, so I'll try to keep it there next time.

Dropped my TM on squat from 315 to 300, so tonight's 82% squats were only 245lbs. First set RPE 7, I guess, and last set RPE 8? Still harder than I wanted it to be and I'm still working on technique. Trying not to shoot my hips back when I get tired.

Bench easy throughout. Started at RPE <6 and ended at RPE 7.5ish.

SGDL also very easy. Used straps and supersetted it with my bench to speed up the workout. RPE 6.

[kingsamj]

Week 2 Day 6 - Thu Jan 30 2020
Bodyweight: 176.5
Overhead Press: 45x5 65x5 95x5 115x1 125x1 (RPE 9) 7 min block at 100: 25 total
Rower: 4000m in 18 minutes

Week 1 Day 1 - Sat Feb 1 2020
Bodyweight: 176.3
New TMS: Front Squat 245, Bench 225, Deadlift 365
Front Squat: warmup 45x5 95x5 135x5 working 170x5x6
Bench: warmup 45x5 95x5 135x5 working 160x5x7
Chins: 10 min block: 48 total

Decided to switch it up and do front squats for this cycle. I haven't done them since high school swim team 14 years ago, so they're pretty rusty. Set my TM at 80% of my LBBS as a guess. The sets at 170 felt about like 70% so that seems good, but i'm really unsure about my form. Felt hard breathing on on the later sets (not like I was tired, more like.. my chest was crushed?)



Bench was easy again but my chest felt a bit tired, possibly from the OHP on Thursday? Two min rest, RPEs 7-8 throughout.

Chins are getting pretty good. 48 in 10 minutes almost entirely in sets of 3. Might have to start adding weight.t

[kingsamj]

Week 1 Day 2 - Sun Feb 2 2020
Bodyweight: 174.8
Hike: Griffith park, 2 hours, ~6 miles

Week 1 Day 3 - Mon Feb 3 2020
Bodyweight: 174.6
Front Squat: warmup 45x5 95x5 working 145x3 170x2 190x1x2 200x1x3
Bench: warmup 45x5 95x5 working 135x3 155x2 175x1x2 190x1 210x1 (RPE 8.5)
Deadlift: warmup 135x5 225x3 275x1 300x1 working 330x1 (RPE 8) 275x4x5

felt really good today. Bench and dead singles went fast and felt easy. I've replaced back squats with front squats this cycle, and since I'm still figuring them out I only went up to 200lbs for three singles. The front squats hurt! My shoulders are bruised from the last FS session, and I haven't quite figured out how to breath. Thankfully, singles don't need much breathing

[kingsamj]

Week 1 Day 5 - Wed Feb 5 2020
Bodyweight: 174.3
Front Squat: warmup 45x5x2 95x5 135x3 155x3 working 175x3x2 160x3x2
Bench: warmup 45x5 95x5 135x4 155x5 working 180x4x4 (3 reps TnG, 1 rep comp)
Snatch Grip Deadlift: warmup 135x5 185x5 working 200x5x4

The plan was to do 175x3x5 on front squats, but my back is still so nuked from the previous two sessions that I gave up and dropped the weight to 160 and only did two more sets. Breathing and unracking caused some pretty sharp pain in the lower traps/rhomboid (or something) in the later sets. The pain seems better than it was in the past few days, though. The bruised shoulders were also still tender but less so than Monday. Hopefully by Saturday my back and shoulders are a bit more adapted for the front squats.

Bench was fine. Comp bench reps are pretty hard (they all feel like RPE 8.5+) but otherwise the sets were all easy enough.

SGDL was also fine. Only problem was that it engages some of the FS nuked back muscles, which caused some very minor pain. Otherwise very easy, RPE 6ish.