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Thread: Performance-Adjusted Excellence

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    Default Performance-Adjusted Excellence

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    Stronger self, better mentor.

    Stats:

    Sage 32 years old
    Staggering 5' 7"
    Imposing 203 pounds
    Training Career: Long on experience, short on achievements

    Long-time poster, first-time dad, looking to build the focus and persistence to pass on something useful.

    I was a Marine for 8 years. I was baptized in CrossFit, as was the fashion back then, and it sparked my interest in the subject of S&C, nutrition, and performance. I read SS and PP in 2009, and have been screwing up the principles ever since. I'm hoping to turn that around a little.

    I worked pretty hard last year to make weight in the 82.5 kg weight class for a regional USAPL meet. I qualified for nationals with a 1218 total, then got a little lazy with my diet with the expectation of relying on water-cutting techniques to make weight.

    Weighing 193 lbs the morning before weigh-in, after losing 7 lbs to get to that point, I went on to lose another 12 lbs to make weight at 181 on the dot. The following day, I totalled 1289 with 5/9. My 3rd attempts on Squat and Bench were definite fails, but I hitched my 551 deadlift, and I like to think I could have gotten it with better training.

    So, now begins my attempt to make something memorable happen. I'm not planning to compete this year, unless something comes up in the fall. But I plan to compete next Spring. Family comes first, career second, lifting a distant third, so it will take careful planning and realistic expectations on my part to make this thing work.

    I've been trying to stave off strength loss while losing weight, and I've been fairly successful at one of those two. I'm headed back down to the 180's and my plan is to be there this summer.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    Murphysboro, IL
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    Short on achievements!? Indeed. How many here can claim to have even qualified, let alone lifted in a federations national meet.

    By the way, it's the USPA.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark E. Hurling View Post
    Short on achievements!? Indeed. How many here can claim to have even qualified, let alone lifted in a federations national meet.

    By the way, it's the USPA.
    Ah. You are correct, sir. My bad. The alphabet soup got the better of me, and now it's too late to edit. Thank you for your kind words.

    Non-training Entry:

    There's a type of hearing test for infants that, apparently, requires they be asleep during the procedure. When you schedule the appointment, after getting the referral, they will give you "instructions" for your visit. These "instructions" include gems like, "Sleep deprive infants and re-adjust nap time to coincide with the appointment." Or, "Drive with two adults, so that one can keep the infant awake during the ride over."

    These instructions really make me question whether this hospital knows what an "infant" is. Perhaps it's just me, but in my experience, if you "sleep-deprive" an infant for more than 20 minutes past his bed time, you're playing with matches in a gas-soaked bed. In a strange and completely nonsensical way, being tired makes it harder for him to calm down and go to sleep. Plus, day time naps are important, but I have basically no say in when they happen. There are general times when it's typical for him to get sleepy (read: cranky and inconsolable), but it's not like I can set my watch by it, and some days they just don't happen.

    At first, I just thought maybe it was the instructions, written by some administrative-type who "doesn't like people," or eye contact. But when I arrived, the technician asked me, with a rather demanding tone, "Is he going to sleep?"

    "I hope so." She didn't seem to find my answer as amusing as I found her question.

    It's fortunate that infants (allegedly) sleep 16 hours a day, and if you get them comfortable and feed them formula in a dark quiet place, you have a good chance of getting them to sleep. It took about 20-30 minutes, but I got him asleep in the exam room. Then the technician stuck leads to his head AND PUT SENSORS IN HIS EARS. The instructions should read: "Get your baby to sleep. We're sticking stuff in his ears. Good luck."

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
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    4,471

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    First time Dad? Awesome! Congrats.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by ud2o View Post
    First time Dad? Awesome! Congrats.
    Thanks! But to be fair the reproduction part was much easier for me than my wife. I'm just trying to close the deficit; a debt one can never repay.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    Default Monday, March 14, 2016 (Happy Pi day!)

    BW - 203.8

    Weight loss results so far:

    Feb 13 - Mar 13

    215 lbs, 37.5 inch waist to 201.8 (yesterday) with 35.5 in waist

    Lifts...let's not talk about that.

    I've entered a challenge with Shug and Hector wherein I will watch them both destroy me in a race to a 600 deadlift. But I plan to have fun with it.

    Squat:

    w/u - 45 x 5 x 2, 135 x 3, 205 x 3, 255 x 3, 295 x 2, 335 x 1, 365 x 1, 385 x 1

    work sets - 365 x 5 x 3; Depressingly hard... Hoping for a quick comeback.

    Press:

    w/u - 45 x 5, 95 x 3, 125 x 3, 155 x 2

    work sets - 185 x 3, 165 x 3; Got a serious stitch in my side on the first set; couldn't stand upright under the bar. FML.

    Power Clean:

    w/u - 135 x 3

    work sets 155 x 3 x 5 @ 60s

    Notes:

    This was just a first session to figure out where I'm at. Because my primary goal is still weight loss, I won't be following an SS or TM template, as I think that was a big problem last year. After I get back in the groove and figure out where my weights need to be, I'll switch to something like 5/3/1, but using reverse pyramid to prioritize the top set.

  7. #7
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    Default Wednesday, March 16, 2016

    BW - 201.8

    Squat:

    w/u - 45 x 5 x 2, 135 x 5, 205 x 3 x 3, 255 x 2 x 2, 295 x 3

    Bench:

    w/u - 45 x 5 x 2, 135 x 3, 185 x 3, 225 x 3, 255 x 2

    work sets - 275 x 5 x 3

    Notes:

    I was planning on 2 sets of 5 at 295 for squats, but my legs started cramping and getting stiff during the warm-up. It felt like I might tear an adhesion, so I decided that was good enough. It's just a little strange because I felt fine yesterday and most of today. Getting old, I guess.

    Bench was about as good as I could have hoped for.

    So, after 4 weeks (the last 3 of which were RFL-style), I've lost 6-7% body weight, and about 15% on my squats and press and about 10% on my bench. I'm getting back in the groove with Adv LP, with a more moderate diet, then switching to a more diet-friendly training approach.

  8. #8
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    So, uh, why is that you want to weigh in the 180's?

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by tertius View Post
    So, uh, why is that you want to weigh in the 180's?

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    On a more serious note, though, I "should" be more competitive at that weight. I gained weight too recklessly on Okinawa, and, if I'm being honest, got fat.

    Even if I'm not very competitive at that weight, I can gain weight the "right way," and hopefully do a bit better in the 205s. We'll see; the only way to find out is to try it.

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