From Weak 40 year old to Starting Strength Samurai

[samuraimilkman]

G-day there.



I'm a 42 year old Aussie male living in Tokyo. I've posted a few form checks here and spent probably too much time checking out other people's form but I've been learning a lot here so far and it's been a lot of fun. My wife laughs every time she comes in the room and Rip is on the screen talking again. Anyway, I was reading a few logs today and though this might be a way to keep me inspired and motivated to keep going.

I got into the gym last February when I was a skinny 59.3kg with no muscle on me, in a bad state mentally and physically. Not knowing any better, I bummed around on machines at the direction of the trainers in the gym and eventually worked out after doing some research that I needed a barbell to get strong and put on weight. I started a SSLP (actually a similar program to Starting Strength) from around June. I splurged and bought myself a squat rack, bar and some plates and now work out at home and love it. I've had to reset a few times due to injury, working on form etc., but have followed the program steadily and eaten like a horse to get to my new stats below. As I was a complete beginner with no experience and weak, I started all my lifts with just the 20kg bar.

Current Stats:
MALE
42 y.o.
179cm
81.8kg (22.5kg gain in 12 months)

SQUAT - 90kg 3x5
BENCH - 57.5kg 3x5
PRESS - 39.375kg 3x5
DEADLIFT - 90kg 1x5

I've gotten my squat to 90kg which I'm happy with but my form at that weight is pretty rough. I'm also pretty burned out mentally and physically from setting new PRs each week this last month. For those reasons, I've decided to reset and add a bit of variety to the squat in the form of HLM while aiming for steady gains, and giving a bit more volume to the deadlift which I think I can benefit from for a short while. Being 40 I feel like I could benefit from a bit of a light day. The bench and press I hope to get a bit more out of the NLP while micro-loading.

Anyway, it's good to be here and I'm thankful for the book, website and the community here which has inspired me to believe that I can actually get out there and become a stronger person all round.
Cheers.
Matt

[samuraimilkman]

SAT Feb 3rd BW 81.2kg

SQ 80kg 3x5
BP 52.5kg 3x5
ROW 40kg 3x5
DIPS 6,6,4

Very tired workout after working on form the night before. Shoulders and upper arms also in pain which made my bench a bit shaky too. Need to work on my hand positioning and getting tight in the back. First time where I actually wanted it to be over! Looking forward to a better workout Monday.

[samuraimilkman]

MON Feb 5th BW 80.8kg

SQ 65kg 2x5
OHP 39.375kg 3x5, 42.5kg 3x2
DL 65kg 3x5
Curls 22.5kg 3x8

Elbows, upper arms had no pain today after the squat, though it was quite light. OHP went up pretty easily, even the doubles were quite smooth.

[samuraimilkman]

WED Feb 7th BW 81.2kg

SQ 82.5kg 3x5
BP 55kg 3x5
DL 87.5kg 1x5
Dips 20 - 7,7,6

Solid workout today, I felt pretty fresh after the light day Monday. Best of all, no upper arm pain to speak of as a result of squats. I was planning on doing a medium day but decided to give myself one last run at NLP. I know I can get my deadlift quite a bit more, but there's a bit of a mental block when it comes to squatting at 90kg again.

[samuraimilkman]

SAT Feb10th. BW81.4kg

SQ 85kg 3x5
BP 56.25kg 3x5
DL 90kg 1x5

Surprisingly good workout considering I was out for beers last night and had a pretty late night. First 2 squat sets were decent but I probably need a bit more rest for the third, form seemed to break down somewhat. Looking forward to Monday OH press.

[samuraimilkman]

MON Feb 12th BW 82.0kg

SQ 87.5kg 3x5
OHP 40kg 3x5
DL 92.5kg 1x5

Curls 23.125kg 3x8

Took advantage of a public holiday to train during the middle of the day. No dramas on the squats, though my right leg is still wobbling in a little at times. I felt a lot tighter and the sets overall felt pretty strong. Looking forward to getting back to 90kg after resetting and taking my NLP a little further. OHP was solid. DL felt OK, it was my best so far, but I recorded it from the side and it seems my lower back is a little rounded. I thought it was properly extended but obviously it was not. Maybe someone else has an opinion. I'll put the video up. Accidentally edited the last rep out.

92.5kg DL


87.5kg SQ set 3

[samuraimilkman]

THUR Feb 15th BW 82.0kg

SQ 90kg 3x5
BP 57.5kg 3x5
DL 70kg 3x5

I had plenty of good sleep the last couple of nights so felt very rested. I was looking forward to getting back to 90kg squats and the weight surprisingly didn't feel too heavy. I used a band round my knees for all my warm up sets, even 80kg, to help keep my knees out and this seemed to work well with a carry over into the 90kg sets. Bench wasn't too tough, and deadlifts were easy too. Wish I'd started deadlifting every session a long time ago, would have probably sped things along a bit more and got me a bit stronger. Anyway, it's all a learning process.

[samuraimilkman]

SAT Feb 17th BW 81.8kg

SQ 92.5kg 3x5
OHP 40.625kg 5,5,4*
DL 95kg 1x5

A bit of a mixed bag today. Very pleased with the squats and deadlifts, they are my best and weren't too much trouble. The OH Press was a little disappointing to fail on the last rep. More sloppy technique than the weight itself being a problem and that might have been as a result of being tired from the heavy squats. Pretty annoyed about that. Probably haven't eaten as much as I should be these last couple of days. Have to load up tonight and tomorrow.

[samuraimilkman]

MON Feb 19th BW 81.8kg

SQ 75kg 3x5
BP 58.75kg 3x5
DL 72.5kg 3x5

Light day today for squats and deadlifts. Working on form for squats keeping my knees out so this made it a little tougher. My knees tend to cave so keeping them pushed out requires a bit of effort. Bench wasn't a drama, won't be long till I hit 60kg. I've skipped assistance the last couple of workouts and have gone back to basics, just the main lifts + curls.

[samuraimilkman]

WED Feb 21st BW 81.4kg

SQ 85kg 3x5 (No belt)
OHP 40.625kg 3x5 + 43.125kg x 2x1
DL 97.5kg 1x5

Pretty happy with the workout today. I managed to squeeze out the presses but had some trouble in the middle of the 2nd set when the plates hit a rafter on the deck. Threw me off a little but somehow managed to recover. Squats were OK, but they felt pretty heavy as I did them without a belt and I was pretty tired from work the last couple of days. Deadlifts were pretty easy. I get to have a crack at 100kg next workout, more than I've ever lifted in my life I think. Have to celebrate somehow. Been a bit busy at work and haven't been able to eat as much as I want the last few days, so I'm not gaining weight. Will try and feed a bit more the next few days.