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Thread: I broke my foot and ended up here… with you... doing a novice linear progression.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
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    Dallas
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    Talking I broke my foot and ended up here… with you... doing a novice linear progression.

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    I started down this path 6.5 years ago after the most unlikely of events. I was 33, skinny-fat (under muscled), had not played a sport since middle school, and was advised by my doctors that walking the dog was probably the most exercise I should do (more on that later).

    Who is up for a story?

    Dallas (Texas) is not known for its winter weather. However, the city hosted the Super Bowl in February 2011 on a day that coincided with our annual ice storm. That’s right. The rest of the country tuned in to watch the pinnacle on the NFL season only to be reminded that Dallas gets a token ice storm every winter. We normally just close the city down and wait a day or two. For some reason, all the tourists didn’t see that as an option.

    All 7+ million of us in the area tried to act like being covered in ice was no big deal. I knew better, but still did my part and went to work like everyone else. I got my kids ready for day care, dressed in my business best, and hit the road.

    It was at my child’s daycare that I learned the most valuable of winter lessons:

    Do not wear leather soled shoes on ice. (you will slip and fall)

    {one Lisfranc fracture later}

    It turns out that you don’t just walk off a midfoot fracture. Not that I didn’t try.

    I shuffled into a pharmacy on my way to work and bought some crutches, tried to sit at a desk all day, and even remembered to pick my kids up on the way home. All was going well until I took my shoe off. That fancy leather loafer must have been holding everything in place because it was the last shoe I wore that winter.

    My wife, who was away travelling for business, was smart enough to know how this was going to end. I think it was my retelling of the event that prompted her to secretly make an appointment for me with an orthopedist. The breaking of the foot involved the involuntary shouting of obscenities as I went to the ground and they continued as I pulled myself onto the hood of a stranger’s car before limping into daycare like nothing had happened. All of this in full view of many witnesses (most under the age of 4).

    My wife let me sweat it out on my own for a bit before telling my that she had pulled some strings and got me an appointment (a coup considering that orthopedists were literally printing their own money after the ice storm). My reluctance to take her up on the opportunity to see a doctor waned overnight and I would have happily let anyone fit me for a boot by the 24-hour mark (which I did).

    How I got from there (a broken foot) to here (doing the Starting Strength Novice Program) is hopefully an entertaining story that I can weave into this training log.

    For now, let’s say that I began my novice linear progression in earnest on June 13, 2017 with an awesome coach based in Dallas (Pete Troupos). Here’s how that first workout ended:

    Body Weight: 175#
    Height: 6'5"
    Sex: Male

    Squat: 135# (3x5)
    Press: 55# (3x5)
    Deadlift: 135# (1x5)

    Pretty sad start for most 39 year old males, but it isn't about where you start.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    South of France
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    Hello Ivey,

    and welcome.
    Yours is a very entertaining story, and I've seen it replicated in other domains. Like, people who wait for their first big accident before they realise that maybe getting some advanced riding training is not such a bad idea (don't ask me how I know).
    There must be some bypass in our brain that drains away the cumulative experiences of mankind, thus allowing us the pleasure to reinvent the wheel and re-discover the basics, sometimes via painful or embarrassing experiments (or both).

    Last but not least: even the longest journey starts with a little step, so don't worry about your numbers.

    IPB

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
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    Dallas
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    Quote Originally Posted by IlPrincipeBrutto View Post
    There must be some bypass in our brain that drains away the cumulative experiences of mankind, thus allowing us the pleasure to reinvent the wheel and re-discover the basics, sometimes via painful or embarrassing experiments (or both).
    Many thanks for the warm welcome IPB! Stubbornness is a great quality most of the time. It is occasionally a stunning hazard as you have noted.

    I have been poked, prodded, and paraded naked in front of so many doctors that I keep a list of surgeries so I don’t forget them all. It was a stupid broken foot from wearing the wrong shoes on the wrong day that actually prompted me to exercise. Being robbed of your mobility, even for a brief time, is a great motivator.

    I didn’t immediately come to Starting Strength. Google led me to the indoor rowing machine (ergometer) as the ultimate exercise tool. I purchased one (sight unseen while still in a cast). Once I was cleared to walk, I started rowing.

    Within 2 years (by February 2013), I had logged a few million meters on the erg and walked into my first indoor rowing race. I finished 2,000 meters in 07:39.9 in my first competitive event since 4th grade basketball. I went on to average 2,000,000 meters per year, row multiple full marathons, and steadily improve my 2k time.

    I did all of this stunningly under-muscled at 145# of lean body mass on my 6’5” frame.

    ----------------------

    How about my novice linear progression?

    Within a week of my first workout I had established a M/W/F schedule, corrected countless form errors, and gotten under the bar for the following:

    Squat: 150#
    Press: 55#
    Bench: 100#
    Clean: 70#
    Deadlift: 140#

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
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    Walled Lake, Michigan
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    Welcome. Did I read that right, you are 6'5" and only weigh 175? Are you sure? If that is correct you have a rather large bit of muscle weight to put on.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by carson View Post
    Welcome. Did I read that right, you are 6'5" and only weigh 175? Are you sure? If that is correct you have a rather large bit of muscle weight to put on.
    lol
    Can you believe I still didn't have visible abs?
    I'm not GOMAD by any means, but I've been hitting my protein macro and in a caloric surplus since I started the program.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ivey View Post
    lol
    Can you believe I still didn't have visible abs?
    I'm not GOMAD by any means, but I've been hitting my protein macro and in a caloric surplus since I started the program.
    The story about Siddharta Gautama who later was known a Buddha was that he was a consistence faster seeking purification until one day he fainted and almost drowned. Some friends saved him and he became enlightened to the need for moderation. It is said that he was so skinny before his enlightenment that a person could wrap his hands around his waist. I'm glad that you've seen the light.

  7. #7
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    May 2017
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    Boise, ID
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ivey View Post
    it isn't about where you start.
    At this point I was thinking "... it's about who you have to kill along the way." Maybe it's because you're from Texas. But then Carson goes the Buddha route...

    Yes, Ivey, good luck following the Rip Sutra. I'm coming from a very different story, but also finding SS to be a great place to start for our particular decade of life.

  8. #8
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    When we had last left off, our lovable protagonist had broken his foot and started rowing….

    I didn’t just row 2,000,000 meters per year on the erg. I also started rowing competitively on the water and traveled to about 10 races a year across the region. I was training 10-15 hours per week, but wasn’t getting any faster. I tried all the variables I could think of and followed a very well respected training plan. Something was wrong.

    The only variable I could control was weight. I got my weight down to 175# (from 200) without any loss in speed. This meant my power-to-weight ratio improved along with my water times (free speed!).

    I’ll tell you all the crazy diets I used to get down to 175# soon.

    -------------------------
    Week Two
    -------------------------

    The end of my second week of starting strength had me here:

    Squat: 165 (+10#)
    Press: 65 (+10#)
    Clean: 75 (+5#)
    Bench: 105 (+5#)
    Deadlift: 150 (+10#)


    Quote Originally Posted by carson View Post
    I'm glad that you've seen the light.
    The real motivator is paying a coach and knowing I wouldn't get the most from that investment if I didn't eat!

    Quote Originally Posted by Itchysoles View Post
    I'm coming from a very different story
    Have you written that one down anywhere? If not, maybe it is time to do it!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Duluth MN
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    Hey....glad I came across your log. I just broke my foot yesterday. Also tried to walk it off. Didn't last long. I am going into ortho tomorrow.

    I had similar numbers as you when I did my LP. I'm going to follow your log.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Merkin Weaver View Post
    Hey....glad I came across your log.
    Best of luck to you! Let me know how it goes. I hope you avoid surgery.
    I guess you will have a pretty creative training plan for the next x weeks. Maybe a good log to track for the next guy/gal that has the same experience.
    -ivey

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