StrongLifts - Week 1, Day 1

I completed the first day of the StrongLifts 5x5 plan. The most difficult part of developing a routine is starting it. I was warm and comfy in bed this morning, but I made myself get up, put on my gym clothes, and head out to the gym. In my head, I know that no one else at the gym is paying attention to you, but it is still hard not to feel that way when you are only lifting the bar. In my previous post, I said I would probably start with 95 lbs. for squatting, but I decided to do the program as described in the documentation. My knee was hurting while squatting. I think it is a combination of sitting with the leg at a weird angle while working and being very sedentary for the past 5 years or so. I started with the 45 lbs bench press for 5 sets of 5 reps. Next came squats, same weight, same number of sets and reps. Finished the lifting with barbell row, using only the 45 lbs. bar, in the 5x5 set and rep scheme. Barbell row may be my favorite lift. In the past, I probably would have said deadlift, but with my spinal fusion, the deadlift scares me. It does not scare me enough to avoid it. I still do it, and I hope to work my way back up to heavy weights again, but I am constantly worrying about my form, which is a good thing. At the time of writing this post, it has been about 14 hours since I came home from the gym, and I am starting to feel sore. The very worst thing about lifting weights is the muscle soreness. I know that after a few weeks the soreness will stop happening, but getting to that point is brutal. It hurts to sit, it hurts to stand, it hurts to move, and it hurts without moving. Now you are probably thinking that I have a low pain tolerance or just cannot handle pain. I had a foot and a half of my colon removed and after surgery, I did not take anything stronger than ibuprofen. Pain does not bother me. I have a very high pain tolerance, but something about muscle soreness just gets to me. After lifting I did 30 minutes on the treadmill. It was only walking, but it was movement. I do not power walk. I averaged something around 2.2 or 2.3 miles per hour. Eventually, I will get to where I do 3 to 3.5 miles per hour, but I need to work myself up to it. I have decided that at the end of each of these "Week X, Day Y" posts I will list what I did at the gym and my body weight, along with a song that relates to my mood. I know that weighing yourself multiple times a week is not great. It can go up or down each day and it is the long term trend that makes a difference, but I am still going to list it. Seeing that absurdly high number will hopefully motivate me to continue and to not give up.

Body Weight: 338.2 lbs.

Workout A

Cardio: 30 minutes on treadmill average of 2.2 MPH