started hitting the gym again recently after a long break, using mark rippetoe's 'starting strength' routine:

Week One
5/21/08:
Squat:
1x5 @ 45lbs
2x5 @ 85lbs
1x3 @ 85lbs (couldn't get the last two :/)

Press:
1x5 @ 45lbs
2x5 @ 65 lbs
1x3 @ 65 lbs (argh last two again)

Rows:
1x5 @ 65lbs
3x5 @ 85lbs (I don't think I had proper form until the 3rd set though)

5/23/08:
Squat:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
3x5 @ 90lbs

Bench Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
1x3 @ 85lbs
2x5 @ 80lbs

Deadlift:
1x10 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs

Week Two
5/26/08:
Squat:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
3x5 @ 95lbs

Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x2 @ 65lbs
3x5 @ 55lbs - 65 killed my arms, had to drop it back down to 55 :/

Rows:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
3x5 @ 75lbs

5/28/08:
Squat:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85 lbs
3x5 @ 105lbs

Bench Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
2x5 @ 85lbs
1x4.5 @ 85lbs (got halfway and my arms stopped working)

Deadlift:
1x10 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 95lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
1x5 @ 135lbs

5/30/08:
Squat:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
3x5 @ 115lbs

Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
3x5 @ 65lbs

Rows:
1x5 @ 65lbs
3x5 @ 85lbs

Week Three
6/03/08:
Notes: Had to move my schedule back to Tues/Thurs/Sat because of work this week. Blah.

Squat:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
3x5 @ 125lbs

Bench Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
3x5 @ 85lbs (completed the sets this time, adding weight on Saturday)

Deadlift:
1x5 @ 95lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
1x5 @ 135lbs
1x5 @ 155lbs

6/05/08:
Notes: Ugh. I hate presses and rows.

Squat:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
3x5 @ 135lbs (A couple iffy reps but nothing major)

Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 75lbs
1x3 @ 75lbs (My arms were dead after this set)
1x5 @ 70lbs

Rows:
1x6 @ 65lbs
3x5 @ 95lbs (I still don't think my form is quite perfect, gotta work on that)

6/07/08:
Notes: lol, today is 6/7/8. Also, if I didn't trust the safety bars before, I sure do now. Had a bad grip on the first attempt of the 3rd set of squats at 145 and the bar slipped off my back.

Squat:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
3x5 @ 145lbs

Bench Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
2x5 @ 95lbs (Couldn't even get it off the rack on the 3rd set... should be able to do it next Thursday)

Deadlift:
1x5 @ 95lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
1x5 @ 135lbs
1x5 @ 155lbs (This is becoming my favorite lift behind squats)

Cool man, keep it up! I've started lifting weights about eight weeks ago or so after a very long(too long) break, and I'm still pounding out way more weight than anyone else in there. Feels good.

Looks like you're making some bitchin' gains, so keep it up.

I think I'm gonna start working out over the summer since I've got nothing to do, but I'm still recovering from a broken wrist, so I'm not sure how hard to take it. Starting Strength is one of the routines I was thinking of doing.

Rippetoe's is a great routine for sure. Squats are fun! But I dislike presses and pendlay rows intensely.

Oh man, I've always loved the pendlay. And hated squats, haha.

Squats are awesome, how in the hell can you hate them?! haha. I'm not using 45s with pendlays yet though so setting up for them is annoying in itself since the other plates aren't high enough ._.

Week Four
6/10/08:
Notes: Another tues/thurs/sat schedule this week.

Squat:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
3x5 @ 155lbs

Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
3x5 @ 75lbs (I cut out the warmup 1x5 @ 65 that I did last week and it seemed to work out better)

Rows:
3x5 @ 115lbs (I didn't feel like neither looking for nor setting up for 25s so I just skipped to 35s. My form seemed to be better too)

6/12/08:
Notes: Tough squats, got 'em done though. Finally accomplishing something with my deadlift after watching a dozen more videos. Bench is still shitty. It's tough to get it off the rack (but smooth afterwards), I'm not sure what to do about that.

Squat:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
3x5 @ 165lbs

Bench Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 95lbs
2x5 @ 90lbs (Sigh, still can't get that 3x5 @ 95.)

Deadlift:
1x5 @ 135lbs
1x5 @ 175lbs

I suck at life, and barely started exercising, and can lift more than that. Are you a girl? What's your height/weight?

lol ok.

Pretty sure there are people who can lift more than you out there, too. You're right about sucking at life, though.

Either way, the only person whose numbers I care about are my own

6/14/08:
Notes: Knees flared toward the end of my last set of squats. I'm going to keep the weight the same my next workout and make sure my form is perfect. Presses were tough but doable. Rows are coming along nicely even if I didn't increase weight today; my form was much better.

Squat:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
3x5 @ 170lbs

Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
3x5 @ 80lbs

Rows:
3x5 @ 115lbs

Glad to see you're staying at a doable weight until you can do it right. Form is the biggest part of a lot of workouts, and definitely squats. I'm not sure what it is, but I have real trouble with squat form, and always seem to swerve on my way up, putting emphasis on either side. That's always kept me from getting really into squats, even though they're amazing. I recently became able to do a couple of one-legged squats, though, so hopefully I'll start doing those a lot. I don't know what it is that keeps me from wanting to work out, but unless I have a strict routine I'll never get around to it. And I've never had a real strict routine. I did a halfass version of the 20 rep squats routine last summer, and gained twenty pounds of mostly muscle in about three months.

I try to keep a strict routine even if I have to move the days around because of work (which I've done for the past two weeks). I'd suggest trying out Rippetoe's routine (even if you have prior experience with lifting), it's pretty fun. Plus, you're only at the gym for like an hour.

Definitely agreed about the form issues though. My squats are usually pretty perfect, today may have just been a fluke. I guess I'll find out on Monday. The last set was pretty bad. I noticed my knees flaring so I tried to correct it and ended up overcorrecting, etc.

Week Five
6/16/08:
Notes: Squats were solid today, deep and very little knee movement. Bench was extremely good. I usually put the pins about 5 notches up, today I went to either 7 or 8 (can't remember, forgot to count) and it was much easier to get off the rack. Deadlifts were tough because my hands were sweaty. I need some chalk. It was weird having people watch me doing them though, haha. 185 doesn't seem like very much.

Squat:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
3x5 @ 170lbs

Bench Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
3x5 @ 95lbs

Deadlift:
1x5 @ 135lbs
1x5 @ 185lbs

6/18/08:
Notes: Squats were decent today. Took a lot out of me though. Couldn't do 3x5 @ 85 on the press because I was too tired from squats still. Meh.

Squat:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 89lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
3x5 @ 175lbs

Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
2x5 @ 80lbs (Had to drop it down because my arms were toast.)

Rows:
3x5 @ 135lbs (Second set was perfect, last was pretty good too.)

Do you count the weight of the bar in your totals? Since the bench press/squat bar by itself weights anywhere between 35 to 45 lbs.

Yeah, bar's 45.

6/20/08:
Notes: Fatigued from an 8 hour work day in which I unloaded a semi. Parallel, but not low enough on the 3x5 squats. I think there's something wrong with my bench press. It feels like I'm using my arms more than I should be. And I have very little leg drive. I'm going to re-read Starting Strength and try to fix that next week. Solid deadlifts until the last 2 reps, was rounding my back a little. I'm going to drop the weight on all 3 of these lifts next week by 5lbs and fix the form issues.

Squat:
1x8 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
3x5 @ 175lbs

Bench Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
3x5 @ 100lbs

Deadlift:
1x5 @ 135lbs
1x5 @ 190lbs

6/23/08:
Notes: Great squats. Widened up my stance a little today, was able to get nice and deep. I think I was doing them too narrow previously, which is what caused my knees to flare out. Didn't have that problem today. Press was solid, just did 3x5 @ 80 instead of ending up with something shitty like last week. Rows were awful. Not enough energy left for them, I guess. I'll drop back down to 35s instead of 45s next time.

Squat:
1x10 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
3x5 @ 165lbs

Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
3x5 @ 80lbs

Rows:
3x5 @ 135lbs

6/25/08:
Notes: Squats were excellent today. I don't think I could have had better form. Bench was way better than last week; worked on maintaining my arch & upper body tightness today. Not a lot of leg drive. I'll work on that next time. Benching has a lot more involved than I realized. Deadlifts were mediocre. I think I have some form issues when I ramp the weight up; my 135lb warmups were almost perfect. I'll try to get some video soon.

Squat:
1x10 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
3x5 @ 170lbs (After I was done with these I felt like I could have gone heavier... I didn't wanna push it though, especially since I just fixed my depth issue on Monday.)

Bench Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
1x5 @ 65lbs
3x5 @ 105lbs

Deadlift:
1x5 @ 135lbs
1x5 @ 185lbs (I think I'm not keeping my chest up enough which is causing me to put too much back into it. I guess I'll watch a lot more instructional videos, drop the weight by 5-10lbs, and get my form perfect next Monday.)

No shit.

The thing about weightlifting is that anybody involved in it (I know you said you're not) who isn't a retarded piece of shit doesn't make fun of other people's strength or gains. Everybody starts somewhere.


To Cody:

For deadlifts, pretty much all you need to do with your back and chest is keep your back arched. It sort of locks out, shifting the emphasis from your spine to your muscles.

Have you been trying to gain weight, too, or just get stronger?

I still have not started any kind of routine or even gone back to the gymnastics I was doing before the broken wrist. I've started doing a little bit of construction, though, which is better than nothing. Looks like I have tomorrow off, though, so I'll probably hit the gym tonight. I hate the way I usually end up doing it, though: going and fucking around on weights and never establishing a real routine. I don't really have a set schedule for the summer, though, and way more stuff keeps coming up than I expected. I doubt I'll be able to manage a routine once the semester starts, either, since I'm taking six classes and working again. Last semester kept me pretty busy.

At least one of my classes is ballet this semester, that might help. Yoga was pretty sweet, though once I got the cast it wasn't nearly as helpful.

Meh, I ignore anyone that says anything about starting numbers. Especially Usurper lol

I've watched a lot more videos about proper DL technique the past few days so I'll see what happens next week. I'm reasonably sure my form is OK, but I think I'm doing something weird off the ground that's causing me to not get as much leg drive as I should be getting.

Not really trying to gain weight atm, but I'm not too fussed. Either way my numbers are going up, so that's all I really care about. I signed up to be a mover at Kent (so I get to move in a week earlier than everyone else), so I gotta be able to lift heavy shit.

Rippetoe's is definitely a great routine, but if you're experienced to weightlifting you might wanna check out the westside barbell program. You don't really need to have a set routine as long as you give yourself at least a day of rest. I've done MWF, TuThS, MWS, etc.

6/27/08:
Notes: Last working set of squats was pretty crappy. Got them done though. Presses were solid, rows too. Dropped the rows down to 35s instead of 45s because of Monday's workout. Better ROM.

Squat:
1x10 @ 65lbs
1x5 @ 85lbs
1x5 @ 115lbs
3x5 @ 175lbs

Press:
1x10 @ 45lbs
3x5 @ 85lbs

Rows:
3x5 @ 115lbs