A Semi-Newbie's Training Log - HST/Stronglifts Hybrid

Didn't record last session.

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Sumo DL: 2x5 105lb

Bench: 2x10 55lb dumbbells + 5/8lb

Pullups: 2x5 + 12.5lb plate hanging from chain on weight belt.

Narrow Stance Leg Press (Quad Dominant): 3x5 250lb

1 Arm Strict OHP: 1x10 45lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

Dumbbell Curls: 1x10 30lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

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Sumo DL went well, except the bar kept falling off the 45lb plates I stacked on the floor :(.

Shoulder press is getting heavy. I fear the strength there might be close to stagnation but we'll see. Glad I'm switching to a barbell next cycle.

Leg Press is also getting heavy, but I notice that I feel stronger on the second and third sets. Speed of the movement is definitely slowing down.

Bench felt easy. Seems like I'm not having trouble continuing to add strength there, but I did start benching my second cycle as opposed to my first cycle, so that may be why.

Nothing really out of the ordinary today.
 
Bench: 2x10 55lb dumbbells + 5/8lb

Pullups: 2x5 + 12.5lb plate hanging from chain on weight belt.

Narrow Stance Leg Press (Quad Dominant): 3x5 255lb

1 Arm Strict OHP: 1x10 45lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

Dumbbell Curls: 1x10 30lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

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Nothing out of the ordinary today.
 
Sumo DL: 2x5 115lb

Bench: 2x10 60lb dumbbells + 5/8lb

Pullups: 2x5 + 17.5lb plate hanging from chain on weight belt.

Narrow Stance Leg Press (Quad Dominant): 3x5 260lb

1 Arm Strict OHP: 1x10 50lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

Dumbbell Curls: 1x10 35lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

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Deadlift was fine.

Bench, the dumbbell was slipping out of my left hand so I had to readjust and still hit 10 reps, albeit almost hit failure.

Second set I decided to do after pullups, and I hit 10 reps with no issue; probably could have hit 12 reps.

Pullups went fine, I think this weight is my 7-8 rep max so I should be on target. Didn't give myself enough rest time between sets so I only hit 5 reps on the second set.

Leg Press feels easier this time around. Maybe I won't get stuck at 270lb, but I'm being conservative so we'll see.

Shoulder Press...7 reps, on my strong side...and my weak side (left side), I think I could have done more than 7. What the ****? I think it's about time to switch to barbell OHP. Too bad I'm only half way through the cycle.

Curls were self explanatory.
 
Sumo DL: 1x5 125lb

Bench: 2x10 60lb dumbbells + 5/8lb

Pullups: 2x5 + 17.5lb plate hanging from chain on weight belt.

Narrow Stance Leg Press (Quad Dominant): 3x5 265lb

1 Arm Strict OHP: 1x10 50lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

Dumbbell Curls: 2x10 35lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

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After a 5 day layoff due to being on the East Coast, I'm back. Strength was the same on everything with the exception of leg press, in which the second and third sets felt easy. Don't think I'm hitting a wall at 270lb, but I'm glad I'm being conservative.

Deadlift went fine. Next session that I deadlift in, I hit lmao1plate ;).

1-Arm DB OHP is still under-powered for some reason.
 
Bench: 3x5 57.5lb dumbbells

Pullups: 3x7 + 15lb plate hanging from chain on weight belt.

Narrow Stance Leg Press (Quad Dominant): 3x5 270lb

1 Arm Strict OHP: 3x5 45lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

Dumbbell Curls: 3x5 32.5lb dumbbells

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Went as expected. Didn't hit a wall at 270lb for leg press. I hope I can hit 300lb before I had to deload, but we'll see.

A lot of weirdos in the gym today. One lady (she was fine, despite being weird) did like 1/4th squats and then started full on dancing at the squat rack. I was like :\. Then some Chinese guy with tattoos came in and started doing some smith machine bicep curls where his arms didn't even go up to a 90 degree angle, and then he started doing some rapid arm movement with his hands interlocked, with no weight. Looked like he was jerking off.

I heard a trainer tell a client not to do weighted squats. I think I puked in my mouth a little bit.

I rarely see someone who actually knows what they're doing, but it's a YMCA so that's to be expected.
 
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It's not all bad; I get my week's worth of entertainment :cool:.

But yeah, if I had the space and the cash, I'd do the same as you. Eventually, down the line, I want to get a trainer cert as a side thing and train people in my own garage gym or some ****...but I'll need a garage first lol.
 
Sumo DL: 1x5 135lb

Bench: 3x5 57.5lb dumbbells

Pullups: 3x7 + 15lb plate hanging from chain on weight belt.

Narrow Stance Leg Press (Quad Dominant): 3x5 275lb

1 Arm Strict OHP: 3x5 45lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

Dumbbell Curls: 3x5 32.5lb dumbbells

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The only squat rack was taken when I came to this gym this afternoon so I had to leg press first and put DL where leg press usually is (after weighted pullups). Leg Press felt the same as last time, which is good. Deadlift was a bit harder, but that might have been because I was already fatigued from doing heavy LP and weighted pullups beforehand.

Everything else went the same as last time.
 
Yes, definitely pullups and leg press both can wreak havok with your deadlift. At least, I'm assuming, the squat rack was taken for a good reason. One thing that sucks about the gym is occasionally having to rework your routine because a piece of equipment is unavailable. I'll wait five minutes or so but after that, forget it. But yeah, the other day my favorite squat rack was taken by some kid doing curls. I think that's the first time I've ever seen that particular stereotype alive and well at my gym.
 
I don't think I've ever seen curls in our one squat rack, but I routinely see quarter squats, hunchback of notre-dame deadlifts, and inverted rows.

I didn't see what the guy was doing in the squat rack when I walked in, because the weight room was so crowded (everything was taken, benches and all) that I left and went to the machine/cardio room to do the leg press. He did look jacked so I assume he's doing something right. One of the few jacked people to come to my gym lol.

I hate waiting for equipment though, not because I can't wait, but because most of the people who are using the **** I want to use are achieving no physiological benefit from using it because they're doing it wrong; not to mention when you ask someone if you can work in, they don't know what that means so they just tell you how many sets they have and expect you to leave. That or some can be rude, like the bitch standing under the pullup bar yesterday doing curls with 5lb dumbbells who got annoyed and stormed out of the weight room when I politely asked her to go away so I could do pullups and not hit her in the face with the plates hanging from my weight belt.
 
Bench: 3x5 62.5lb dumbbells

Pullups: 3x7 + 20lb plate hanging from chain on weight belt.

Narrow Stance Leg Press (Quad Dominant): 3x5 280lb

1 Arm Strict OHP: 3x5 50lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

Dumbbell Curls: 3x5 37.5lb dumbbells

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Bench felt easy. Think I might exceed my goals there, but we shall see.

Pullups, hit 7 reps on the first set, and then 5 for the next two sets. I think I need to increase rest time between sets when it comes to these...I usually wait about 2 minutes but maybe I'll increase to 3 or more. I do find that I slip off the pullup bar, not because of a failing grip but because my hands aren't huge, the bar is thick, and my palms get sweaty. I'd buy some lifting chalk but I don't think my YMCA would like powder all over the place.

Leg Press felt a bit harder. Think I'm on point with the belief that I'll be hitting my 5 rep max at around 300lb, give or take a few.

1 Arm OHP felt surprisingly easier than before, when I used the same weight as my 10 rep max. Weird.

Bicep Curls felt easy.

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Some dude asked me where I found my chain belt for pullups/dips, and I thought he meant "where did I purchase it from?" when he actually meant "where is it in the gym?" Made me realize how my gym has barely any equipment short of a pair of 2.5lb magnetic weights, some medicine balls, a couple lifting belts, a shoulder cup thing for squatting, a couple foam rollers, and a few mats. There were a few kettle bells (ranging from like 10lb to 20lb), but I think they got stolen (why someone would steal a 20lb kettle bell, is a mystery to me).

In the weight room, there is one bench press bench, one incline bench press bench, two flat benches, and two incline benches, two decline press benches, one smith machine (probably the most used piece of equipment :rolleyes:), one squat rack (sits crying in a corner), narrow dip station with separate bars for each arm if you want to do pullups, and then a thick pullup bar that's placed too high for anybody shorter than 6 feet (me). There is also a rack of fixed barbells that go up to 100lb (not 100lb per side).

Hell, if I'm not mistaken, the heaviest dumbbells they have are 100lb DBs, and in all my years going to the gym, I don't think I have ever seen a soul take those off the DB rack.

Not to mention the size of the weight room is about the size of my living room (exaggerating, but still...).

The rest of the gym is all cardio and weight machines, as well as one cable station. And as decent as the people at the front desk are, they aren't knowledgeable about anything. Tried to find out how heavy the EZ bar was so I could use it. Of course nobody knew, and I wasn't about to carry the ****in' thing into the locker room and weigh myself with it.

But hey, at least it's head-and-shoulders better than the YMCA in my area. Hex dumbbells up to 35lb, and a few machines that look like they were built in 1985.
 
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Wow, and there are no better gyms in the area? My gym boasts that it has the most plates in town. I live in a fairly decent sized city though, not sure how big the place you live is. I actually had to go check out several places before I settled on the place I'm at now. Only down side of my place is that a lot of people there are (quite obviously) on steroids, so you really have to wipe down the equipment before you use it. Yesterday a guy was using the bench I wanted and he had so much acne on his back that I almost puked. It was gross.
Do you have 24 hour access or anything like that?
 
I live in San Francisco. I do have 24 hour fitness but it's more expensive here from what I've heard, as everything is more expensive here.

Most of the gyms in my city are hyper-expensive fitness clubs around $100/month, save for Planet Fitness, but who wants to go there?

I actually have a JCC a few blocks from me with an epic gym and pool access, but it costs WAY too much money for me.
 
Sumo DL: 1x5 145lb

Bench: 3x5 62.5lb dumbbells

Pullups: 3x7 + 20lb plate hanging from chain on weight belt.

Narrow Stance Leg Press (Quad Dominant): 3x5 285lb

1 Arm Strict OHP: 3x5 50lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

Dumbbell Curls: 3x5 37.5lb dumbbells

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Felt lethargic today even though I got more than enough sleep. I need to pop a 5-hour energy or some coffee before I head into the gym next time. Come to think of it I have been doing that before the last few workouts and haven't had any issues, but forgot today.

Deadlift felt a bit harder. I think I need to narrow my stance a little bit because I don't feel a lot of glute activation at a very wide stance. For one rep, I brought my stance in a little bit and felt more in my glutes.

Leg Press was very hard; might have been due to DLing beforehand but I feel I'm nearing my 5 rep max.

Everything else felt weaker, not necessarily because I am weaker than last time but simply because I needed an energy boost today.

Next session is my 5 rep max so wish me luck ;).
 
Bench: 2x5 72.5lb dumbbells

Pullups: 2x5 + 25lb plate hanging from chain on weight belt.

Leg Press (Quad Dominant): 3x5 290lb

1 Arm Strict OHP: 1x5 55lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

Dumbbell Curls: 2x5 45 dumbbells

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Made sure to eat a banana (carbs) and take a 5 hour energy before I left for the gym today, and I shattered my bench PR. It was supposed to be 67.5lb for 5 reps, but hit repped out with 10 reps...so that grew by a 5lb per arm in 2 weeks. So for my second set, I got 72.5lb dumbbells (70lb DBs with 2.5lb magnets) and got 4 reps, failing on rep 5 (at the bottom portion). I reckon if I didn't rep out with the 67.5lbs, I could have hit 5 reps or more. So I was happy about that. The speed with the 72.5lbs was insanely slow though...like 1 rep max slow.

Pullups, my sweaty palms and small hands couldn't hang onto the fat ass bar they have so I had to keep adjusting my grips and didn't like my reps, though I did get 5 reps on the first set (it was questionable if my chin went over the bar on the 5th rep). I think I'll bring my Versa grips for next session. I don't like using assistance, but my grip will get hit from the deadlift so it's fine on the max sets of pullups I can't accomplish atm with that thick ass pullup bar.

Leg Press, I powered through. Decided to make my stance a bit wider so it was about as wide as a traditional olympic squat, if not a little less (as opposed to how I squat, which is wide stance), so I activated my glutes more and was able to move 290lb despite it being very hard.

1 arm dumbbell strict OHP, I managed to hit 55lb per arm + 1.25lb magnets. I got 5 reps on my right side, and might have been able to get 5 on my left side but I stopped at 4 just because at that moment, I didn't want to hit failure because I thought I was going to do another set. I decided to just do one set after that point, so I guess I might push it next session. I didn't warm up for OHP but I figure that's fine because I warmed up for bench...but then again I did leg press in between so I could have cooled down. What do you guys think? Last cycles 5 rep max was 55lb DBs, but with those fat ass Chinese weights, not to mention I probably leaned to the side more to get them up. I do think, as I said before, it's time to switch to barbell military press, but we'll see if I can progress in the current exercise on the second 5 rep mesocycle I do.

DB curls was supposed to be 42.5lb per arm. Did one set with those, and had some reps left in the tank so I moved to 45lb DBs and hit 5 reps on each side. On the last reps I lean back just a little bit so I figure it's acceptable because I don't swing the weights. I'm conservative with DB curls because they don't move up nearly as fast as the compound exercises.

So overall, very pleased today.
 
Sumo DL: 1x5 155lb

Bench: 2x5 72.5lb dumbbells

Pullups: 2x5 + 25lb plate hanging from chain on weight belt.

Leg Press (Quad Dominant): 3x5 295lb

1 Arm Strict OHP: 1x5 55lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

Dumbbell Curls: 2x5 45lb dumbbells

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Went into the gym with a cold, but it didn't affect me much. Managed 5 reps on bench, and I swear that on the 1st set I might have been able to push out 6 or 7 but the dumbbells at my gym are big and unwieldy once they get up into the 65lb range so I kinda lost my form in the bottom portion and decided to end the set rather than injure myself.

Forgot to deadlift until after benching because my mind was cloudy from cold. Wasn't that hard though the bar is obviously harder to move than when I was doing 95lb off the 45s laying on the floor lol. Narrowed my stance a little bit and I think I found the sweet spot. We'll see how 165lb goes this time around, as pulling conventional with it felt horrid. Still playing around with the hand position. I need to get it aligned with my shoulders because I feel like I'm doing a psuedo-clean grip at this point.

Used my Versa grips for pullups today. The pullup bar is fat as **** so it took a while to get the plastic straps around the bar, but it definitely helped me get all the reps. My grip was a bit more narrow than I liked because once you get the straps on the bar, you can't just adjust in mid air like you can when doing it without straps. Still wish I could use chalk instead but at least I'm not slipping off the bar like I was before. Note that I did pullups RIGHT after deadlifting so I couldn't quite gauge how well I'd do if my grip/back didn't go through the DLing right beforehand.

Leg Press was hard but I hit all reps so I might be able to pass up 300lb. We shall see.

1-Arm Strict OHP was the exactly the same as last time. Same goes for dumbbell curls.

Next up, second 5 rep mesocycle. Let's push it :cool:.
 
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Bench: 3x5 65lb dumbbells

Pullups: 2x5 + 17.5lb plate hanging from chain on weight belt.

Leg Press (Quad Dominant): 3x5 300lb

1 Arm Strict OHP: 1x5 47.5lb dumbbells

Dumbbell Curls: 2x5 35lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

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All upper body stuff felt heavy, but hopefully that's due to CNS **** and will go away as this mescocycles progresses. I do know that pullups were harder because beforehand I did a set of overhand, wide grip pullups to failure at my friend's house to see how many I could do. I hit 15. I knocked out 10 with no problem and then slowed down a lot, which I'm guessing is because I've been training in lower reps with weight so endurance isn't that great ATM. At the gym, for the second set, I knocked 2.5lb off my pullups to do 15lb and barely made it up for the 5th rep.

Leg Press went great. It was hard, sure, but I hit 300lb and will probably break it. Happy about that.
 
Sumo DL: 1x5 165lb

Bench: 2x5 65lb dumbbells

Pullups: 2x5 + 17.5lb plate hanging from chain on weight belt.

Leg Press (Quad Dominant): 3x5 305lb

1 Arm Strict OHP: 2x5 47.5lb dumbbells

Dumbbell Curls: 2x5 35lb dumbbells + 1.25lb

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Everything felt easier, including deadlift, with the exception of leg press where I had to cheat by lifting my ass a bit off the bench to get the last couple reps of the last set. Thus with form breakdown, I think it's time to deload that lift.
 
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