Quest For Strength Training Log
First a little about me. I am 50 years old, 6’ tall, and weigh in at 230 pounds. I have been weight lifting on and off since high school. I have been a missionary at a Bible College for the past 10 years. During that time, I started to gain weight due to a less active life style. This obviously was an off time as far as weight training. About 4 years ago I resumed weight training and cardio to get back in shape before things slipped to far. I remember the tipping point quite clearly. It was when waste size 38 pants were getting tight and 40’s were inevitable unless I did something! Today 36’s fit comfortably and I am fine with that.
My weightlifting consisted of benching 185X10X3 (with no progression) and curls with free weights. Leg press, shoulder press, lat pull downs, ab work, and a few misc. exercises were all done on machines. Cardio was done on a treadmill because it is easier on the joints then running outside on a hard surface. This resulted in me being fairly fit and the cardio reduced my blood pressure to 120/80. I even ran in a few 5k’s but never progressed in my weight training and was just in “maintenance mode”. No squats or deadlifts were done. I never even attempted it but I didn’t know any better at the time.
Last summer I made the decision to take training seriously after watching people my age struggle through life not even able to do simple tasks, with no hope of getting better. I have seen so many people do the “diet and exercise thing” which not only doesn’t work, but they quit because it is not sustainable and end up heavier and worse off than before they started. Training and nutrition does work. It may sound like a play on words but the difference is one of mindset. I still have young kids 8,10, and 12 and want to stay fit so that I can do things like play basketball, go hiking/camping, and biking with them. I see this as just a part of being a more effective father. What kind of example would I be if I was a 375 pound tub of lard that got a workout from just trying to make it from the EZ chair to the bathroom!
After doing research on the internet about weightlifting I came across Stronglifts and started a 5X5 program. The month of August 2017 was dedicated to stretching out my shoulders so that squatting was possible. Due to injuries in the past my shoulders were really tight. It took the whole month and the ripping of scar tissue just to be able to do a high bar squat. Even in the high bar position it was still painful to squat for the first two months. My first session was on 8/28/2017 and was the start of a 4 day split routine.