Workout Log - Getting stuck into it.

[TGM]

So, I've been lurking here for a little bit and I think I might start a log thread of my own. I'll try to post rationale for all of my exercises and if anyone has questions or suggestions go ahead and shoot. We might all learn something.

I'll update this thread regularly, might not be interesting but it will keep me honest. Posting results is a good motivation tool, it keeps you on track.

Backround

Age: 20
Gender: Male
Height: 175cm (5'9")
Weight: 88kg

18 months ago I was maybe 1cm shorter but I weighed 68kg and had a body fat percentage of around 13% according to my scales. At the time I was very fit, doing 40-80 minutes of medium intensity cardio a day. I enjoyed it and found it pretty easy with little to no soreness the next day.

Then uni started, I got bogged down in study and bad habits and put on a lot of weight, and more importantly, have become completely unfit. I work at a hospital and I see what happens to people who don't take care of themselves all the time, so I'm starting to exercise and log it here. In the end I'm hoping my weight will be between 70 and75kg. I haven't et determined a time frame, but I started working out today with a friend, we should be good at keeping each other motivated.


Goals

• Lower body fat
• Improve cardiovascular fitness
• Put on some more muscle, mostly in shoulders chest, core, and back
• find a decent avatar for this forum :p

Now on to how I'll achieve these goals.

Strength Training

For the first few weeks this will be a bodyweight workout, the only tools I'll be using will be the floor, a wall, and monkey bars. I have freewieghts and a bench but I won't be using any of that until I get a fitness base built up, and I may continue with bodyweight exercises if it's getting me good results. I might also get into kettle bell workouts, crossfit, and I might start using weights with the bodyweight exercises (e.g. weighted pull ups) but I'll decide that in the future. I used to do a chest/back and abs/arms split with freeweights that worked well but I wanna have a go at bodyweight stuff.

So here's my regime to start out with. Reps aren't quite figured out yet as I've only done one workout. All will be done slowly and with good form. I'm aiming for low reps with a fair bit of resistance, if they seem low keep in mind that they're slow and I'm lugging around almost 90kg. So anyway:

• Short run to warm up
• 3x10 Pushups
• 3x? Handstand pushups
• 3x4 Pullups (hands wide to work delts)
• 3x5 Upside down situps (hanging off monkey bars)
• 3x3 Dips
• 3x? Hyperextension http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Ham ... nsion.html
• Burpees
• stretch

That's by no means an extensive workout but it gets that major muscle groups. Pushups are for pecs and triceps. Handstand pushpus for shoulders. Pullups for Deltoids, also help forearms. Situps for abs, could be replaced with leg raises. Dips for triceps. Hyperextension for hamstrings and back muscles. (spinalis, illiocostalis, longissimus) I can really feel this in the shoulders, delts, and abs atm.

Cardio

I don't have a cardio regime yet. In the past I got great results doing endurance rides on an exercise bike. I'm plan on keeping cardio mixed up. I will buy a roadbike soon, and will be doing a fair bit of single track riding on my MTB. I may add some jump rode stuff and interval training but at the start it will just be cycling. Alot of cycling.

Diet

My diet won't be a calorie restrictive one. Instead it will be one that focuses on healthy food. I am trying to eat a lot of meat like chicken, turkey, fish, and lean beef. I'm also trying to get a wide variety of veggies and fruits in. I will be cutting down on fried foods, sugar, processed food, grains, potatoes, and anything generally unhealthy. (Note this isn't a low carb diet, grains and potatoes intake is reduced because I probably eat way too much of it.) Fluids will be mostly water, some tea/tisanes, fresh fruit juice. Will try to cut out soft drinks and definitely limit them to when I'm out of the house. I've lost a few kilos on this diet in the last four weeks alone, I wasn't expecting that result but I'll take it.

I don't smoke or drink or take any other drugs. Caffeine intake is solely from tea, but I don't drink too much of that. I still "cheat" a fair bit but I am getting better at it, a diet change is a health choice for life and doesn't happen over night.

I'll try to update this thread regularly with my body weight, body fat (once i get new scales), and exercises done for the day.

I know that was very long, so if anyone read it all good on ya. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions feel free to post.

EDIT:

First Update: 17/11/2009

Did the first strength training session today. Have yet to figure out how many reps to do of each exercise. Will need padding to do the hyperextension with monkey bars otherwise it just hurts the pelvis too much. Will also need to do handstand pushups right after pushups, if I try them midway through the workout I can't do them properly.

[Nath]

How do you plan to scale the workout up as you get stronger? If you increase the number of reps, you adapt differently; you start to gain endurance rather than strength. This is one of the limitations of using bodyweight exercises for strength training (though they are still an excellent tool for various other purposes).

Unless you're absurdly out of shape, free weight exercises are probably the best tool for strength training, even for people who are just starting out. And if you can do handstand pushups, you are easily strong enough to do safe, heavy weight training.

That's by no means an extensive workout but it gets that major muscle groups. Pushups are for pecs and triceps. Handstand pushpus for shoulders. Pullups for Deltoids, also help forearms. Situps for abs, could be replaced with leg raises. Dips for triceps. Hyperextension for hamstrings and back muscles. (spinalis, illiocostalis, longissimus) I can really feel this in the shoulders, delts, and abs atm.

This doesn't seem like the best way to think about it. Most of the exercises you are doing are big, compound movements (which is a good thing). They hit too many muscles to enumerate, and you need to train your muscles to work together anyway, so worrying about hitting pecs, deltoids, triceps etc. individually isn't productive. (Also, pullups are mainly a lat exercise, and don't do much for the deltoids.)

The major omission here seems to be the lower body. You are doing burpees, but those are more of a conditioning tool than a strength exercise. There are many threads here about the many benefits of squatting and deadlifting; they are essential parts of a balanced strength program.

Oh, also: good luck! And good job getting started.

[TGM]

How do you plan to scale the workout up as you get stronger? If you increase the number of reps, you adapt differently; you start to gain endurance rather than strength. This is one of the limitations of using bodyweight exercises for strength training (though they are still an excellent tool for various other purposes).

Unless you're absurdly out of shape, free weight exercises are probably the best tool for strength training, even for people who are just starting out. And if you can do handstand pushups, you are easily strong enough to do safe, heavy weight training.

I was planning on getting a belt that I can attach weights to ala BeastSkills, and also kettle bell training. More than likely I will include freeweights, for the first couple of weeks I will stick to the bodyweight exercises while my muscles get used to actually doing something for a change. I'm thinking of a rep limit of 6 (except pushups for now) so I still have a fair bit to go as I'm doing alot less in most of the exercises. I think it may be a good idea to keep things varied, I used to do only freeweights and it did get boring after a while. Though in a few weeks I probably should make that the main component of my strength training.

Is that a good plan, or should I just get into freeweights right away and just use lighter weigts than I used to?

This doesn't seem like the best way to think about it. Most of the exercises you are doing are big, compound movements (which is a good thing). They hit too many muscles to enumerate, and you need to train your muscles to work together anyway, so worrying about hitting pecs, deltoids, triceps etc. individually isn't productive. (Also, pullups are mainly a lat exercise, and don't do much for the deltoids.)

You're exactly right on all counts, one of my main reasons for going with bodyweight exercises is that there is no isolation exercises there. (Though a well planned freeweight regime would do the same thing.) I didn't mean to imply that I was trying to isolate muscles, and I meant lats not delts, brainfart on my part. Haha, you would struggle to do a pullup using just your shoulders. Thanks for pointing that out though.

The major omission here seems to be the lower body. You are doing burpees, but those are more of a conditioning tool than a strength exercise. There are many threads here about the many benefits of squatting and deadlifting; they are essential parts of a balanced strength program.

Yes, I have not included any lower body exercises. (Hyperflexions help with your hammies but not much.) I maybe should add squats, or one legged squats. The problem is, after years of cycling I have very strong quads and calves, and I don't need them to be stronger as I'm unbalanced in the sense that my lower body is way stronger than my upper body. (I think a couple years ago my leg press workout was 3 sets of 12 reps with 200kg, haven't had access to a machine since.)

Should I still include some lower body work anyway? I plan on doing alot of cycling, that will definitely help with endurance and even strength to an extent.

I've never done weighted squats or deadlifts, I'll have to give that a shot in a couple weeks. Everyone that I've spoken to that knows thier stuff reccommends them, I actually don't know how I never ended up doing them.

Oh, also: good luck! And good job getting started.

Thanks mate, and thanks for all the suggestions.

[psyck0]

You can already do several pull-ups and dips, so you're obviously not too out-of-shape.

There is no good reason to start with bodyweight stuff unless you don't have access to a gym or don't like training with weights. Weight-training is a far more effective way to build muscle. Bodyweight stuff will almost always be at a high number of reps, which will give you cardio fitness but won't build any muscle. Now, if you want cardio and don't care about muscle, go nuts and do crossfit- it's the best bodyweight program I know of (they do have weight-lifting variants too, if you're interested). If you do care about muscle, get to weights immediately.

Do not skip squats. They are probably the single best exercise you can do. If I could only do one exercise for the rest of my life, it would be squats (well, really it should be clean-and-jerk but I'm not very good at those).

You will get good results with bodyweight stuff to start. 99% of those will be your body adapting to the exercises and not you putting on any muscle.

Diet sounds good. Let us know if you want to do weights (they will be far more effective in making you stronger).

[Nath]

I was planning on getting a belt that I can attach weights to ala BeastSkills, and also kettle bell training. More than likely I will include freeweights, for the first couple of weeks I will stick to the bodyweight exercises while my muscles get used to actually doing something for a change. I'm thinking of a rep limit of 6 (except pushups for now) so I still have a fair bit to go as I'm doing alot less in most of the exercises. I think it may be a good idea to keep things varied, I used to do only freeweights and it did get boring after a while. Though in a few weeks I probably should make that the main component of my strength training.

Is that a good plan, or should I just get into freeweights right away and just use lighter weigts than I used to?

A weight belt is good; you might want to keep weighted pull ups etc. in the program even after you largely switch to free weights. Maybe also dips, if you aren't big on bench pressing. Apart from that, though, I don't see any real advantage with starting with bodyweight. If you start with free weights now, you can sort out your form with relatively light weights and still derive strength benefits.

Yes, I have not included any lower body exercises. (Hyperflexions help with your hammies but not much.) I maybe should add squats, or one legged squats. The problem is, after years of cycling I have very strong quads and calves, and I don't need them to be stronger as I'm unbalanced in the sense that my lower body is way stronger than my upper body. (I think a couple years ago my leg press workout was 3 sets of 12 reps with 200kg, haven't had access to a machine since.)

Should I still include some lower body work anyway? I plan on doing alot of cycling, that will definitely help with endurance and even strength to an extent.

I'd definitely recommend it. Exercises like cycling give you a base level of strength, and then help mostly with endurance. If you want your legs to continue to get stronger, you'll need to train them. It's not a problem if your lower body is stronger than your upper body; it's supposed to be. Also, the fact that squats and deadlifts can be done with a lot of weight means that they have a greater impact on hormone levels; this gets your body into muscle-building mode, so even the few parts of you not involved in the squat may still respond better to exercise if your program includes squats. Correctly performed squats also heavily involve the stabilizers in the torso and back. This is one of the (many) reasons that squats are better than, say, leg presses. And yes, you'll squat less than you leg press, but you'll be moving the weight through a greater height, and a greater range of motion for your body.

[TGM]

First Update:

Did another workout yesterday. After the first I was sore for three days, after the second I'm pretty much fine. I don't know if I went harder the first time or if I just wasn't used to using my muscles the first time round. Will be starting with some cardio Monday.

Either way I think I'll devise a freeweights routine again, everyone's advice here makes good sense. I'll post it up soonish to make sure I'm doing it right.

[psyck0]

Unless you have weight-trained for at least a year using someone else's plan (a reputable plan) and have a fair knowledge of muscle anatomy, don't make your own plan. It won't be as effective as a good professional plan (not a plan that a trainer makes either, though, they're useless).

[TGM]

Unless you have weight-trained for at least a year using someone else's plan (a reputable plan) and have a fair knowledge of muscle anatomy, don't make your own plan. It won't be as effective as a good professional plan (not a plan that a trainer makes either, though, they're useless).

Good advice but don't worry, I'll be keeping it basic. And I did train for a couple years, but I've had a huge break since.

Also probably forgotten more about muscles and human anatomy in general than most people ever know. Not that that's a good thing I really do need to brush up on it...

Will edit this post later tonight with a plan.

EDIT: Ok, so here goes. I found a plan that seems logical enough, so I'll give it a shot, and I was thinking about something along these lines anyway. http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224 If there's any suggestions anyone would like to make I'd love to hear them.

Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Pendlay Rows

Sessions will be every other day with a break on the weekends, alternating between A and B. I will raise the weight each workout according to the programming section in the link above. Three minutes rest between sets. I'm thinking of doing the rows instead of power cleans as I don't know if I'll be a good judge of form when performing the cleans. I'd rather do rows right than shonky cleans.

And I was thinking of adding in some ab work as well, probably 3x5 weighted situps at the end on each workout. (weight only if needed.)

What's the best way to go about a warmup? One set with light weights before the three sets?

In a few weeks I'd also like to get one of these second hand so I can do pullups, replace situps with leg raises, and maybe add dips if needed. http://workoutworld.com.au/store/benche ... stand.html (I have no idea what that piece of equipment is called, hence the link.)

I will also be doing moderate cardio five days a week. One thing I'm worried about: If I do too much cardio will that impact on my strength gains? Is it possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time?

Also the diet seems to be working. I weighed in at 87.3 today and have been in the low 88's the week prior to that; I was 93 a few weeks ago when I stopped eating badly. Have done no cardio yet too, so hopefully will see better results after a few weeks of that.

[psyck0]

Uhhhh... no. You can't do deadlifts after squats and expect to see gains in your deadlifts, and you can't squat every day. Sounds like you're doing a MWF routine, so why not just do a 3-day split? Here's mine:

Monday:
Squats 3x5
Shoulder workout (I am recovering from an injury; for you, I would say do dips here)
Calve Raises (or other accessory leg exercise; my calves need it right now.) 3x10

Wednesday:
Deadlift 1x5
Bench 5x5
Romanian Deadlift 3x5
Incline dumbell bench 3x10
Pull-ups

Friday:
Press 5x5
Front squat 3x5
Dumbell flies 3x10 (switchable with another accessory exercise like curls)
Bent-over rows

[WholeLottaSean]

Uhhhh... no. You can't do deadlifts after squats and expect to see gains in your deadlifts, and you can't squat every day

I would disagree. His workout is pretty much the Starting Strength workout, I believe, which is designed to make strength gains every workout.

The only hindrance to gains in strength I see here is the amount of cardio work. I would also like to add that if you do get one of those machines, don't do pull-ups and dips on top of the exercises you currently have planned, but alternate them- say, on workout B do pull-ups instead of rows every other workout.

[Victoria Maddison]

If there's any suggestions anyone would like to make I'd love to hear them.

The program is solid and will work well for you. You'd benefit even more if you learned the power clean.

Sessions will be every other day with a break on the weekends, alternating between A and B.

To clarify this means Monday, Wednesday, Friday alternating Workout A and B.

Three minutes rest between sets.

Use as much rest as you need to make the next set. On work sets this will be 2-8 minutes or so. More when the weight starts to get heavy.

And I was thinking of adding in some ab work as well, probably 3x5 weighted situps at the end on each workout. (weight only if needed.)

That's fine.

What's the best way to go about a warmup? One set with light weights before the three sets?

Start with the empty bar and ramp the weight up to your worksets. For example:

1x5 20 kg (empty bar)
1x3 50 kg
1x2 70 kg
1x1 90 kg
3x5 100 kg

I will also be doing moderate cardio five days a week. One thing I'm worried about: If I do too much cardio will that impact on my strength gains?

Yes.

Is it possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time?

Yes, depending on how fat you are. But a moderately large guy like yourself would benefit more from focusing on gaining around 20 kg and trimming the excess fat off later. It's a lot easier to lose fat than to gain muscle, don't waste your novice potential for accelerated muscle growth.

Uhhhh... no. You can't do deadlifts after squats and expect to see gains in your deadlifts, and you can't squat every day. Sounds like you're doing a MWF routine, so why not just do a 3-day split?

Squatting heavy 3x a week is ideal for novices, they'll PR every workout for months adding 2.5 kg to the bar each time. Deadlifting after squatting is fine, especially with the pressing movement in between allowing recovery. Split routines are inefficient.

[psyck0]

Well, Victoria knows more than me, so listen to (her? him?). I sure can't deadlift after my squats, though- I can barely do stairs.

[TGM]

Thanks for all the help guys.

The program is solid and will work well for you. You'd benefit even more if you learned the power clean.

I'll have to get onto that once I get someone knowledgeable to show me how to do it correctly. It doesn't look like something I should attempt without proper instruction. Also, I see most people drop the bar at the end instead of lowering it down. Do you have to drop the bar? If so, I won't be able to do this at home, it would destroy my floor.

I will also be doing moderate cardio five days a week. One thing I'm worried about: If I do too much cardio will that impact on my strength gains?

Yes.

Yes, depending on how fat you are. But a moderately large guy like yourself would benefit more from focusing on gaining around 20 kg and trimming the excess fat off later. It's a lot easier to lose fat than to gain muscle, don't waste your novice potential for accelerated muscle growth.

Can I do 20 mins of light-moderate cardio five days a week? I'd like to do something to keep reasonably fit, but I won't If it will impact on the strength training.

EDIT: Oh yeah, did the first workout yesterday.

At the time it seemed ok, afterwards I wasn't too sore or tired and I thought that maybe I should have used a bit more weight. Right now I'm feeling the DOMS though, mainly in the back and thighs. I don't feel anything in my chest or arms, so maybe I could have used a bit more weight when benching but that will sort itself out with weight progressions.

[Nath]

I'll have to get onto that once I get someone knowledgeable to show me how to do it correctly. It doesn't look like something I should attempt without proper instruction. Also, I see most people drop the bar at the end instead of lowering it down. Do you have to drop the bar? If so, I won't be able to do this at home, it would destroy my floor.

The power clean is described in detail in Starting Strength. Supplemented with videos, and maybe some form checks if you have a camera, it's quite feasible to learn the movement without a coach. You don't have to drop the bar, but eventually you'll be cleaning too much weight to be able to put it down slowly. Once you get to that point, you'll probably want to invest in some bumper plates. There are also instructions online for how to put together a lifting platform that can survive having weights dropped on it.

Can I do 20 mins of light-moderate cardio five days a week? I'd like to do something to keep reasonably fit, but I won't If it will impact on the strength training.

This is a trade-off you're going to have to make based on your objectives. Cardio will slow down strength gains, but that doesn't mean you should give up on it entirely. It is possible to improve strength and cardiovascular fitness simultaneously, but progress will be slower than if you just focused on one.

[TGM]

^ Ok cool, I'll have a look at the cleans, and once I get something to protect my floor I'll start doing them. I have a friend who can teach me how to do them with good form, so I'll wait untill he can show me, I don't want to injure myself.

And I'll keep the cardio to a minimum then. I know I can drop kilo's of fat easily, I have done it before, so I'll focus on strength training for the first couple months.

[Nath]

And I'll keep the cardio to a minimum then. I know I can drop kilo's of fat easily, I have done it before, so I'll focus on strength training for the first couple months.

That's perfectly reasonable, but bear in mind that cardiovascular fitness is not the same thing as weight loss.

[TGM]

Well, I probably should update this, but there's not much to say. Haven't missed a workout yet.

Deadlifts and squats are making steady progress with no signs of slowing. The bench press is slowing a bit, I'll have to drop the amount of weight I'm adding otherwise I don't think I'll be able to complete 3x5 sets next time.

Yesterday I was bloody hard to get the weight I'm squatting above my head, even with a spotter so I've got a squat rack on order. Should help as I'm not strong enough to just lift 60+ kilos above my head safely. (I wish I could press 60 kilos!)

Deadlifts are progressing really well. I'd never done them before this, so maybe I just started with way to low a weight but they feel really good. I think they're supposed to progress the "best" compared to bench presses, presses, and squats.

I wish I had come across a program like this years ago when I used to weight train. I realise that what I was doing back then was pretty useless.

Looking at http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html I'm easily at the untrained standard for all exercises and at beginner for some. After three months I don't think I'll have a problem meeting the beginner standards for them all.

Weight is currently at 88, been fluctuating between 87 and 88kg. Makes sense since I'm not doing any cardio yet and I'm not restricting calorie intake. Diet wise I need to eat more veggies.

I'm also going to write down the weights I've been using so I can have a record of progress, I've already forgotten what I started with so I'm estimating.

Starting Weights

Squat: 45kg
Deadlift: 55kg
Bench Press: 45kg
Press: 30kg
Row: 40kg


And here are the weights as of 1/12/09. This is my second week so I've only done the press and rows once, hence no change.

Current Weights

Squat: 60kg
Deadlift: 75kg
Bench Press: 60kg
Press: 30kg
Row: 40kg


Oh yeah, deadlifts and squats feel like manly exercises. And riding a motorbike after working out isn't fun.

EDIT: Sometimes list tags work, sometimes they don't. Weird.

Oh and I just realised that I did workout A yesterday instead of workout B. Should I do workout B tomorrow, and keep alternating properly from now on?

[TGM]

*I don't know if double posting is against the rules in a log, but if so I'll delete this post and edit the last.*

So I should probably make this an actual log. Will update every day I lift.

4/12/2009

Body Weight: 89 (only got a reading in the middle of the day, gotta be more consistent.)
BF: 26% (according to scales, dunno if they're accurate but it's all I got.)

Squat: 3x5 65kg
Bench Press: 3x5x60kg
Deadlift: 1x5 85kg

Squats and deadlifts were good, challenging but no breakdown of form. The bench press was pretty hard, slow bar movement, but I didn't miss a rep. Will still increase weight as normal. Also, I didn't get enough sleep last night, I think I would have done better if I got to bed on time.

Since I've started this regime my metabolism has shot through the roof. I'm basically doing a paleo diet + milk, so eatly clean but eating alot of meat. I'm alot hungrier now that I've started lifting, and strangely enough meat, eggs, milk, and veggies taste so much better than they did before. Chocolate and sugary crap taste like plastic, and I had some french fries that I just didn't finish because they didn't appeal to me. MY mate thats doing this with me is having the same effects, weird, but it's making me eat clean so that must be a good thing.

[TGM]

7/12/2009

Weight: forgot today

Squat: 67.5kg
Bench Press: 62.5kg
Chin Ups: 5/2/2

Switched to the practical programming program today, mostly because I can't power clean without destroying my floor. Chin ups are way harder than I remember them being, all sets to failure and didn't count incomplete reps. Squat and Bench were good, will progress as normal.

[jtw]

7/12/2009

Weight: forgot today

Carry a notebook or PDA around with you at the gym and record your numbers while you work out.

ExRx already has an online workout log forum for you, it's probably better than the xkcd forum for that.
http://exrx.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=3

[Victoria Maddison]

I can't power clean without destroying my floor.

Before bumper plates were invented every rep was lowered under control. If you can deadlift you can clean without damaging your floor.

[TGM]

7/12/2009

Weight: forgot today

Carry a notebook or PDA around with you at the gym and record your numbers while you work out.

ExRx already has an online workout log forum for you, it's probably better than the xkcd forum for that.
http://exrx.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=3

Nah, I mean I forgot to weigh myself, woke up late and ate straight away.

Yeah, I'll go there, I guess I shouldn't spam this forum ey.

I can't power clean without destroying my floor.

Before bumper plates were invented every rep was lowered under control. If you can deadlift you can clean without damaging your floor.

How do I do this? Do I just sort of "drop" my arms while keeping a grip on the bar?

Will it still work in a couple months with heavier weights? I'm interested because I'd rather do cleans that skip them.

Also, whats the best way to start doing them? Should I just go straight into them with weights? Or should I continue with the practical programming and practice technique with an empty bar an include them once I can do them properly?

Thanks for all your help so far, it's really been great and if it wasn't for you I'd be wasting alot of time and not getting results.

[Victoria Maddison]

Yeah, I'll go there, I guess I shouldn't spam this forum ey.

XKCD is fine for that sort of thing but you should be recording every workout in full in an exercise book for reference.

How do I do this? Do I just sort of "drop" my arms while keeping a grip on the bar?

Take a look at this video for an example. It'll come naturally to you.

Will it still work in a couple months with heavier weights? I'm interested because I'd rather do cleans that skip them.

It'll work forever.

Also, whats the best way to start doing them? Should I just go straight into them with weights? Or should I continue with the practical programming and practice technique with an empty bar an include them once I can do them properly?

I recommend reading Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. Learn them before jumping in with weight, you don't want to have to unlearn bad form later.

[TGM]

Thanks for all the help, video was great. Can't wait to get power cleans down.

I've will order Starting Strength + DVD and I'll switch to the original program as soon as I've got the technique down.

And yeah, a log that I can refer to at a later date is a good idea, will do.