Lifting Adventures

Hello there,

Been lifting weights for about a year and two months now, lost about 20kg of weight (which I understand is insane, its OK because I do as well) and gained a decent amount of muscle (noob gainz as they call it).

"Humble" Beginnings:
Initially I did bro splits, had very bad nutrition, and only did bench press out of the compound movements. Couldn't break below parallel and I was afraid to deadlift because I saw horror stories.

I did manage to reduce my caloric intake but still went overboard sometimes which is why it took me a while to see any physical changes to my body.

This year, I decided to change my nutrition and make sure to remain in a caloric deficit, saw results quite quickly. I also tried two different splits:
Push, Pull, Legs
Full Body (A spin of the Starting Strength program)

Push, Pull, Legs was decent, made some gains but when I switched to full body, that was when I made the most gains. I decided to stick with it and it is my current program which consists of:

Squats
Overhead Press
Deadlift supersetted with pull ups and chin ups
Bench Press supersetted with push ups and side lateral raises
Exercise to address lacking body part

Currently filled in spare slot with cable flys because my lower pecs disgrace my chest. Used to be all about biceps, but then I realised I didn't care about how big my arms were (after over a year), I did make gains in that area though so I guess its all good.

This thread will allow for me to document my reps, sets, weight being used and PRs because sometimes I just feel I'm estimating what weight I should increase to which irritates me.

It will also be nice to hopefully look back on this in a couple of years as I reminisce on my days as a young "lifter" (I don't think I qualify for that title yet).

Current PRs (31/05/19):
Squat - Unknown (Can squat 80kg below parallel for about 3-5 reps)
Bench Press - Unknown (Used to be 70kg but I can do about two reps with full ROM)
Deadlift - Unknwon (I can deadlift 110kg comfortably for reps though, and don't worry I don't have the form of a cat)

Need to work on these compound lifts.

Current stats (31/05/19):
Age: 18
Weight: 89.4kg (flucates by about 1kg depending on the day)
Height: 184cm (Need to double check this)

Current aims:
Realising my dream of becoming shredded.
Start either boxing, muay thai or kickboxing.
To run, run and run some more.

Formatting of this thread is bad at the moment but I'll fix it up soon.

Now that my lengthy introduction is over, hope you enjoy reading.

(edited 4 years ago)

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Watching

31/05/19:
Was meant to put this up yesterday but wanted to do some revision so I decided to leave it until now. Went to the gym yesterday, got a decent session in. Legs are starting to feel better after my squatting error nearly two weeks ago. Did the following:

•

Squats - 5 reps x 5 sets - First set was 40kg to warm up, next 3 sets were 60kg, last set was 70kg. Again, still recovering, I'm just glad I can still squat.

•

Bench Press with Side Lateral Raises and Push Ups (Superset) - 5 reps x 3-4 sets - First set I did 60kg, second set I did 70kg with spotter but only managed to do 2 reps so I dropped weight to 50kg and finish the sets. Remainder were 50kg as I started to fatigue.

•

Deadlift with combo of Pull ups and Chin ups - 5 reps x 4 sets - Did a warm up set with 70kg, literally felt so light that I thought was about to jump straight into the roof (Think Larry Wheels warming up in deadlift, it felt like that). Second set, added 20kg for second set so 90kg, still pretty light. Third set, added 20kg again for 110kg (still moderately light). Pull ups and Chin ups were good, really felt my lats and biceps activate. Final set, dropped down to 70kg because you gotta confuse the body to confuse the body right babe?

•

Overhead Press - 5 reps x 3 sets - Usually I do this after squats so I was quite tired at this point but still pushed on. First set was 30kg, very easy. Last two sets were 40kg, these weren't so easy. It's probably one of the most difficult exercises for me to make progress on, but when I do it really shows so I'm just going to keep going with it.

•

Cable Flys - 10 reps x 5 sets - Put the two attachments at very bottom so I could target my lower pec. Went quite light because I'm just focused on creating the mind muscle connection right now (but to be honest, the idea of mind muscle connection still kind of baffles me but I feel using that word would best describe what I was attempting to do)

That's it for today's update. Also welcome aboard @Gone Revising II

Do you have an android phone?

Reply 5

usfbullz

Original post by Angry cucumber

Do you have an android phone?

Yes I do.

Also, welcome aboard :smile:

Reply 6

Angry cucumber

Original post by usfbullz

Yes I do.

Also, welcome aboard :smile:

Get the app fitnotes and track yourself on their. It's free. You can also copy paste workouts into here, saves time :smile:

Reply 7

usfbullz

Original post by Angry cucumber

Get the app fitnotes and track yourself on their. It's free. You can also copy paste workouts into here, saves time :smile:

Oh I never knew that, thank you for this!

Reply 8

usfbullz

03/06/19
Had to cut workout short as something unexpected occurred that required me to stop what I was doing.

Was really looking forward to squatting too :/

Anyways:
FitNotes Workout - Monday 3rd June 2019

** Cable Crossover **
- 20.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 25.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 30.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 30.0 kgs x 5 reps

** Overhead Press **
- 20.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 40.0 kgs x 3 reps
- 40.0 kgs x 3 reps
- 40.0 kgs x 3 reps
- 40.0 kgs x 2 reps

** Deadlift **
- 70.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 90.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 110.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 120.0 kgs x 2 reps

** Chin Up **
- 5 reps
- 5 reps
- 5 reps
- 5 reps

Managed to up the weight for deadlift, I still feel like I can go higher but I'm going to take my time. Overhead press still needs a lot of work.

Managed to fit in cable flys in last few minutes because I knew I wouldn't have time to bench after the unexpected thing.

Reply 9

usfbullz

05/06/19
Workout felt all over the place as I went to gym straight after a Maths exam. Left arm starting hurting (especially bicep) so I dropped weight in bench. I have also noticed that there is quite a inbalance in my arms, my left arm is a bit skinnier than my right arm. Need to fix this. Also I think I might be adding in too much accessory work.

Once exams finish, might consider switching back to push/pull/legs as I miss targeting specific muscle groups that don't get a lot of love (e.g. triceps, traps)

Leg feeling better but still hurts a little, need to buy flat shoes instead of using trainers to squat. Also need to get a belt for the pull ups/chin ups.
FitNotes Workout - Wednesday 5th June 2019

** Barbell Squat **
- 40.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 40.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 40.0 kgs x 5 reps

** Overhead Press **
- 20.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 40.0 kgs x 4 reps
- 40.0 kgs x 3 reps
- 40.0 kgs x 3 reps
- 40.0 kgs x 2 reps

** Deadlift **
- 70.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 90.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 110.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 110.0 kgs x 3 reps
- 120.0 kgs x 2 reps

** Chin Up **
- 5 reps
- 5 reps
- 5 reps
- 5 reps
- 3 reps

** Flat Barbell Bench Press **
- 60.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 60.0 kgs x 3 reps
- 50.0 kgs x 5 reps

** Lateral Dumbbell Raise **
- 12.5 kgs x 3 reps
- 12.5 kgs x 3 reps
- 10.0 kgs x 5 reps

** Cable Face Pull **
- 15.0 kgs x 10 reps
- 15.0 kgs x 10 reps
- 15.0 kgs x 10 reps
- 20.0 kgs x 8 reps
- 20.0 kgs x 8 reps

** Cable Crossover **
- 15.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 15.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 20.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 25.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 25.0 kgs x 5 reps
- 30.0 kgs x 3 reps

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 10

usfbullz

07/06/19
Made a pre workout drink from scooby1961 using water, protein powder, coffee, coco, and banana chunks and I must say it tasted really good and I felt really pumped too. Pretty good session if I do say so. Legs are feeling a lot better now. Managed to find a old pair of flat shoes and just rocked those.

Tried to set new PR for OHP but my shoulders weren't having it. Thankfully I didn't try again otherwise I would probably have broke something. Deadlifts are still good, probably going to up weight next session. My bench press has greatly improved, felt so much easier to push 60kg. I still haven't got the belt yet but will do so soon.

Starting to do more tricep accessory work because my shoulder have gotten huge but my triceps literally ruin the whole appearance.

Exams are almost over so I'm going to start swimming and running. I hope it is easier for me to swim now as I am considerably lighter compared to last time I tried swimming and stronger too. Running will be tough but that just makes me more excited.

One thing I have noticed since making gains is that I appear "bigger" as noted by regulars. While I appreciate their compliments, it kind of makes me question what I'm truly lifting for. Yes I'm doing it to be stronger, but I do want to apply my strength to a sport like boxing/muay thai/kickboxing or rugby which is why I'm planning on starting swimming/running. I don't want to just appear as a big muscle head with decent sized legs and a ego greater than my grades. But at the same time, I do want an aesthetic look.

This is troubling...

FitNotes Workout - Friday 7th June 2019

Spoiler

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 11

Angry cucumber

You won't get an ego from lifting lmao

Reply 12

usfbullz

Original post by Angry cucumber

You won't get an ego from lifting lmao

Yeah I may have over exaggerated a little...

I'm just being too overly self conscious basically about how people view me but I'll eventually get over it (I hope).

Reply 13

usfbullz

10/06/19
Nothing special about today's workout. Bench press wasn't free so used hammer strength machine. Still deciding between rugby and martial arts. I'm back to where I was on legs before my mishap. Now I wish to progress and develop my legs. Tried to do 45kg on OHP, almost felt shoulders rip off so i stopped. Need to work on this.

Just been practising pull ups indirectly around my home. Got to give credit to The Bioneer for the idea of indirect training.

Spoiler

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 14

usfbullz

17/06/19
Today was a good day. Managed to go higher on OHP and Deadlift. I fatigued fairly quickly though which is no surprise really considering I put my all into achieving those numbers. Didn't go gym on Wed/Fri last week as I was very demotivated about everything.

I'm increasing weight next session for squats. On bench, for 62.5 I had a guy spot me but he pretty much held the bar for me as I went up and down which annoyed me but nonetheless managed to feel it in my chest.

Final exam tomorrow (FS1) and then I'll be more focused on improving myself.

Spoiler

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 15

usfbullz

19/06/2019
Today I felt really groggy and tired. I shouldn't have had coffee as I ended up going to the gym a lot later than I intended. Squats felt really light (even though my reps don't reflect this) but I just felt so out of it.

Managed to record my deadlift for 100kg/5 reps. Not going to post here as I'm not ready for that yet. But if you guys have time, would you mind having a look at my form if I PM you guys the video in private?
@Angry cucumber @Gone Revising II

Spoiler

(edited 4 years ago)

yeah fine

Your form is safe, however you're leaning too far forward, your shoulders should be roughly over the bar rather than in front of it. As your set progressess, you lean further and further forward. Sit back into it, feel your lats and hamstrings get tight.
I don't think your shoes are helping, get something completely flat soled or do as I do and deadlift in socks

Yes sure

Original post by Angry cucumber

PRSOM.

When I rewatched it again, I noticed what you meant by the leaning too far forward.I think I'm doing this far because I do squat and then like 10-15 minutes I do deadlift so my legs are still a little strained from the load. Will need to reconsider doing squats and deadlifts on the same day or consider doing it much later on in the workout. As for shoes, will do as you said until I can get the completely flat soled.