5K -> 13.1

Ok, I'm jumping back onto the horse. I'm going to do a 6-week training program starting this week. My goal is to be able to run a 5K comfortably after 6 weeks of training. The training plan ends the week of 12/29. Essentially it starts with three runs 2, 1.5, and 2 miles for a total of 5.5 miles the first week.

If I feel fine, I'm going to pursue the half-marathon Philly LOVE Run, which is on March 29th.

It's running time !

progress report

where I currently stand with respect to my 5 core lifts.
Weighed in on Friday at 214.8 lbs.

Squat:
Still increasing by 5 lbs at each workout.
Last 3 workouts:
4/30: 265x3x5
4/25: 260x3x5
4/21: 255x3x5

Bench press:
I think it's time to deload by 20% on the bench. I need to really work on my form (keeping my shoulders back, keep my entire body tight with my feet planted on the floor).
Last 3 workouts:
4/30: 185x1x5; 185x2x4
4/25: 185x1x5; 185x1x4; 185x1x3
4/21: 185x1x4; 185x2x4
So, while I was making progress with actual reps completed, I still think it'd be beneficial to bring the weight down a bit and concentrate on form.

Deadlift:
Still increasing by 10 lbs at each workout.
Last 3:
4/30: 315x1x5
4/25: 305x1x5
4/21: 295x1x5

Overhead press:
Last 3:
4/28: 120x1x4; 120x2x2
4/23: 120x3x3
4/16: 115x3x5
I have one more try at 120 for 5 reps.

Barbell Bent-over row
I pretty much restarted this exercise to establish different form, doing the pendlay row technique (body at 90 degree angle so once I reach 135lbs it's almost like a deadlift).
last 3:
4/28: 110x3x5
4/23: 105x3x5
4/16: 100x3x5

forget running

Running is just too painful, so I'm putting on the back burner. Cycling is where it's at for me, so I've joined cycle classes on Tuesdays and Saturdays at the Y.

Current stats:
weight: 211.6
Squat (3x5): 255
Bench (3x5): 180
Deadlift (1x5): 295
OHP (3x5): 115
BB Rows (3x5): 105

Today's lifts:
Squat:
Bench:
Deadlift:

I failed at the Bench on Monday pressing 185, so I'm trying the same weight again. Squat is progressing nicely, along with DLs and BB Rows. Today I'm going for 305 on the deadlift.

On Wednesday I did a circuit of dumbbell workouts via Mike Chang that I did after my Starting Strength B workout sans squats (OHP and BB Rows).
4 rounds (25lb weight):
DB Row (10 reps)
DB Bench (10 reps)
DB Curls (10 reps)
DB tricep extension (20 reps)
Shoulder Shrugs (20 reps)
This was a good workout, got my blood pumping and felt good overall. I don't know what kind of real gains I can expect, but I do enjoy working with the dumbbell.

My current routine, which seems to be changing over time, but still includes the core lifts:
Monday: SS A
Tuesday: Cycle class (1 hour)
Wednesday: SS B (minus squats to give my legs a rest), dumbbell workout
Thursday: Rest
Friday: SS A
Saturday: Cycle class (1 hour)
Sunday: Rest

Goals this week, week of 4/7

The Kevin Cain Make My Day 5K turned out great. I didn't get a PR, but I did hit a respectable time of 27:27. (My 5K PR is 26:18, Crystal City Twilight 5K).

Schedule this week:
Monday:
Jog 10 minutes (EASY)
SS A
Squat: 240x3x5
Bench: 180x3x5
Deadlift: 270x3x5
Accessory work

Tuesday:
Run 3 miles (EASY)

Wednesday:
Rest / Stretch

Thursday:
Run 3 miles (Medium)

Friday:
Jog 10 minutes (EASY)
Squat: 245x3x5
OHP: 115x3x5
Pendlay row: 100x3x5
Accessory work

Saturday:
Rest / Stretch

Sunday:
Run 4 miles (LSD)

---------------------------------------------

I'm going for 3 PRs this week. Bench 180, OHP 115, and running 4 miles. I'm bringing back the long run, which I'll do on Sunday mornings. This will give my body plenty of time to rest before I lift Monday evening.

Lifting PRs (5RM)
Squat: 255
Deadlift: 275
Bench: 175
OHP: 110
Pendlay: 150

When it comes to accessory work, I just do whatever I feel like doing, just having fun in the weight room. (DB curls, hammer curls, skull crushers, etc.) I keep track, but there's no set plan.

good run

Had a good run with Lauren yesterday, she's convinced me to keep up the running to help with my mood.

So here's my new work out regimen:
Monday:
Jog 10 mins
SS Workout A: Squats, Bench press, Deadlifts

Tuesday:
Run 3 miles (easy)

Wednesday:
walk 60 minutes

Thursday:
Run 3 miles (hard)

Friday:
Jog 10 mins
SS Workout B: Squats, OHP, BB Row

Saturday:
walk 60 minutes

Sunday:
Run 3 miles (moderate)

I'm going to start this next week. I'm running the Kevin Cain Make My Day 5K this Sunday (sponsor me!). [kevincain.org]

great workout yesterday

The weights are getting heavy again, which is a great thing. I did workout A of starting strength, followed by some accessory work.

Compound lifts:
Squat: 230x3x5
Bench: 175x3x5
Deadlift: 265x1x5

Accessory work:
Barbell curl: 40x3x8
skull crushers: 50x3x8
Hammer curls: 20x1x8, 25x2x8

Followed this up with 9 hours of sleep last night.

SS workout B

Today is workout B for starting strength:

squat 220x3x5
bench: 165x3x5
deadlift: 250x3x5

I did some EZ curls and skullcrushers last workout. Now my arm hurts. great.

SL to SS

current stats:
squat 215x3x5
OHP 100x3x5
pendlay row 95x3x5
weight: 213.4 lbs

I switched from doing Mehdi's Stronglifts program to Rippetoe's Starting Strength

Goals:
Consistency, achieving perfect form/control, work my weights up with good form.

finishing up week 10!

As the title suggests, I'm finishing up week 10 today with workout B.

Today's lifts:
Squat 215x5x5
OHP 110x5x5
Deadlift 235x1x5

I need to be careful on the OHP, very easy to fall backwards and put unnecessary strain on my back.

I weighed in today at 221.6. Now that the weights are getting heavier I'm hoping to start shedding some fat. We'll see, I'm curious to see what happens... I've been trying to stick around 2500 calories by eating smart (fresh fruit, yogurt, milk, etc).

week 9, workout A

Today I start week 9

week A, all 5x5

squat - 190
bench - 130
BBR - 120

Last wednesday I did 5x5 of overhead press, which was great.

finishing up week 8, workout B

Weighed in at 221.2 today, so need to cut back on the sweets and snacks for a couple weeks.

workout B:
Squat 175
OHP: 105
DL: 205

Current accessory lifts levels:
Tricep extensions: 70x3x8
Bicep Curls: 75x3x8
chest flye: 105x3x8
lat pulldown: 105x3x8


Next time I do my accessory lifts I'm going to add "delt decs" to help with shoulder development.


I'm thinking about ending each workout with pushups, just one set until failure.

workout A; OHP failed

Today is workout A, all 5x5

Squat: 170
Bench: 120
Barbell Row: 115

On Saturday I did workout B. Everything was fine except the overhead press. Stalled on the 3rd set. So on Wednesday I'll try 105 again. There are ways to improve OHP, so I'll have to do some research.

week 8, workout B

Week 8 of Stronglifts 5x5 starts today!

Today's lifts:
Squat 5x5 - 165
OHP 5x5 - 105
DL 1x5 - 195

The weights are getting heavy!

On Wednesday my weights for Bench Press moved up to 115 and Barbell Row moved up to 110.

I weighed in the other day at 219.0.

Running has been going well too, I ran a 15/5 split the other day with no problem. I'm looking forward to a run on either Saturday or Sunday.

Wrist is at 90%!

back on track with workout A

Last night I did a running workout on the treadmill.

Warm up walk - 5 minutes (3MPH)
Run - 15 minutes (5.5 MPH)
Walk - 5 minutes (3.5 MPH)
Run - 15 minutes (6, 5.5, 8.1 MPH)
Walk - 5 minutes (3.3 MPH)
I went 3.64 miles and burned 592 calories!

Today is workout A
Squat 5x5 - 160
Bench 5x5 - 110
BBR 5x5 - 110

The wrist is feeling much better but I'm going to keep the brace on as a precaution.

pain-free; workout B (wk 7)

The wrist is feeling much better. I got a wrist wrap from CVS (Futuro, $8) and have been wearing it the past few days. I took it off this morning and have full motion of my wrist with zero pain. So, I'm going to do workout B today. I'm also going to keep wearing the wrap for the next few days.

Squat: 150x5x5
OHP: 100x5x5
DL: 185x5x5

The OHP weight is starting to feel really heavy. Squat and DL weights aren't feeling too heavy quite yet.

If no wrist pain, I'm going to add in some pushups. We'll see...

wrist injury

A couple weeks ago I injured my left wrist. I found myself able to lift through the pain but the pain isn't going away. So I got a wrist wrap and think it's better to not put any unnecessary stress on it. So I'm putting a pause on everything except Squats.

I did squats yesterday and did a 5x5 of 145 lbs. Felt great! Friday the weight moves up to 150. I'm tempted to move the weight up to 155...

Lauren and I are going to run today! She is working on becoming a triathlete, so next up is training for running. Today we're going to go for a mile around the track at the Y.

week 6, workout A

In high school we referred to the 45 lb barbell weights as the "big dogs."  Well, today is the day, my squat poundage moves up to 135 pounds.

workout A:
squat: 5x5x135
Bench: 5x5x105
BBR: 5x5x105

I didn't get a chance to do cardio in my last workout so I'll definitely do some today. I've been having the desire to do some more running, not too much though.

The wrist is still bothering me, so I have to be careful.

strength

Yesterday's 5x5 workout was great. Hit 165 on the DL for 5 reps and was wiped! Felt great.

I didn't get a chance to run, so maybe I'll do that today.

A google search of "strength" gets about 319 million results.

A google search of "strength in the bible" gets about 50.5 million.

In one of those results, Heaven Inspirations, I found a list of 20 quotes that I found excellent to meditate upon. While I do wish to strengthen myself physically, I'm feeling that need to strengthen myself spiritually as well. Here are a few that really spoke to me.

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." -Philippians 4:13

"And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully" -Colossians 1: 10-11

"You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." -2 Timothy 2:1

The next few weeks I need to keep these verses in mind, need to keep reminding myself that I'm not alone.

A colleague of mine once said that religion is the "crutch of humanity." Well, I readily admit that I need that crutch, I need Jesus in my life. He strengthens me, renews me, through him I keep endurance and patience, and finally am strong in the grace.

Y Meltdown challenge; workout B

Today I start week 6 of StrongLifts 5x5, almost halfway!

Today's lifts:
Squat: 130 (5x5)
OHP: 90 (5x5)
Deadlift:

Cardio:
20 minutes on TM, 4:1::(5.5mph:2.5mph)
Before I tried Jeff Galloway's running method and I think I'll be trying that again. I see no reason to risk injury.

If time permits, some accessory work:
tricep ext: 50x3x8
bicep curl: 55x3x8
chest flye: 80x3x8
lat pulldown: 80x3x8

Then later today, the aforementioned toe raises. I did some running on Monday and felt great afterwards, so I really do think the toe raises make a different. I see no reason to do them every day though, so I'm going to stick with at least 3x per week.

I signed up for the YMCA Meltdown challenge. I weighed in last night at 220.8, so I need to lose at least 2.2 lbs.

week 5, workout A

Finishing up week 5 today with workout A.

All 5x5:
Squat 120
Bench 100
Barbell Row 100

I'd like to get my weight down to 200 so I'm going to restrict my calories to 1500/day. I'm going to mix in some interval training on the TM after my 5x5 workout.

I injured my wrist so I need to be really careful with my strength training.