This is overdue. I tend to be a lurker by nature, but I've learned so much by reading the posts of others, so maybe someone can learn from my mistakes and achievements.
Basic Info
Male/age 45/height 5' 10"/weight 225 lbs
Current Situation: Assigned to Bagram, Afghanistan as a Navy civilian until Nov. 2013. Desk job, 12-hour days, 7 days a week.
Restrictions: Type 2 diabetic (controlled by diet and metformin)
History: Spent the past 15 years being very sedentary due to plantar fasciitis and (frankly) general laziness. My weight was as high as 245.
Training
Ran SS (poorly) for about 5 months. Lifts progressed as below:
SQ 3x5 165 -> 325
PR 3x5 65 -> 130
BP 3x5 105 -> 197.5
DL 1x5 205 -> 325
Ran TM for 2 months before the old body started to complain too much. I really liked the program, though, and it actually seemed easier than the end of LP.
SQ 335x5 -> 380x1
PR 135x5 -> 145x5
BP 205x5 -> 230x1
DL 295x5 -> 325x5
I made a lot of mistakes with pulling exercises. I can't seem to achieve the rack position on the PC, but I've started working with power snatches (105x2x6 so far). I neglected chins because of the excess body weight, but I now do negatives and cable underhand pulldowns to work up to full chins. DL on intensity or volume day were both frustrating for me. Grip and lower back position have both been factors, but I'm working on them now.
Current program is Karl's 5/1 variant (2 cycles complete), and it seems perfect for me, especially since I'm trying to lose a little weight before I go home. I'm lifting every 2 days until that seems unworkable, but so far, so good. I do SQ/BP on one day, DL/PR on the other, with 1-2 additional exercises at the end of the workout (usually some type of pulling). Anyway, here we go...
Also added cable underhand pulldowns at 5x5, trying to perform them as fast as I can. I'll continue moving up in weight next time.
Everything felt good. Doing more deadlifts as part of this program seems to have helped my grip quite a bit. I received straps a few weeks ago, but I haven't needed them so far - in fact, still using overhand grip.
Wed. 8/21
Bench 5/5/5: 152.5/175/197.5
Squat 5/5/5: 250/287.5/325
Cable Underhand Pulldowns: 5x5 @ 82.5 per side (not sure that displayed weight reflects reality)
Everything felt good. I'm doing the pulldowns from my knees to make sure I have full range of motion, and I'm pulling as fast as I can, lifting myself off the ground a bit. I plan to soon add regular chins for singles, followed by more pulldowns.
Followed up with PWO drink of BCAA, creatine, beta alanine, plus some beef jerky and a small bag of trail mix.
Chins! Was quite surprised to find myself with head level, chin over the bar. I think those were the first dead-hang chins I've done since... ever? I could barely do them in high school, and I know I cheated.
5/1 program is still working well. Press going up 2.5 lbs. every 8 days, bench and squat going up 5 lbs., deadlift going up 10 lbs. I'm tempted to add back-off sets or some assistance exercises since I feel fine at the end of the workouts, but I don't want to mess with it since it's working right now. When I can't make my lifts, then I'll change something.
Still moving along smoothly. No lingering soreness like I had with TM (though I probably didn't have my volume day dialed in correctly).
I have about 2 months left here in Afghanistan. I have goals of 405 squat and deadlift, 250 bench, 160 press. If I can keep going at this pace, I'll get there easily, but I'm expecting a few bumps along the way.
I thought someone might be interested in using this calculator that I made for the program I'm on. It shows 4 cycles, or 16 workouts. The initial estimated maxes and the starting date for the first cycle have to be filled in, and then the rest will autofill, assuming workouts every 2 days and cycle increases of DL:10 lbs, SQ: 5lbs, BP: 5 lbs, PR: 2.5 lbs.
RandallEW Finally Logs a Log
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