Hello everyone. I'm a long time reader, first time poster. I've inconsistently jumped around from body building program to body building program with big time gaps between efforts. Currently, I'm stationed at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. Most people aren't familiar with Camp Arifjan but it's a very established location for the Army and other service components. My goal for my 9 month deployment was to get shredded but as it turns out, there's a lot of stress to deal with being away from family and friends for an extended period of time that I found trouble finding consistency with other programs.
It wasn't until another officer in my section talked to me about Starting Strength and I half listened and, almost with realizing what I did, agreed to borrow his copy of Starting Strength to read. It sat next to my bunk for about a month before I really even looked at it seriously, and that wasn't until I came across the Art of Manliness youtube videos. This was about 2-3 months ago. I've enjoyed the program because it is very explicit on what is required for each workout, I don't do good without clear timelines and goals. Also, since it's only 3 days a week, that allows me plenty of time to focus on the mission and graduate classes I'm taking online through Indiana University.
My starting numbers (in pounds) for my first workout were:
Squat: 170
Bench: 140
Press: 100
Deadlift: 190
(Male, 32 years old, 190 lbs body weight, about 18-19% body fat, and 5'10")
I've made steady progress for a number of weeks, only having to take a couple breaks to let some temporary, acute gastro-intestinal issues pass. After 7 weeks of training and involuntary breaks, I've progressed to the following numbers:
Squat: 260
Bench: 177.5
Press: 117.5
Deadlift: 275
Power Clean: 120
I've struggled the most with the press but I've been reading that it is pretty common to do so. Back around week 5 or 6, I dropped my upper body weight increases to 2.5 lbs and my lower body increases to 5 lbs. I've been really happy with the progress and have been learning to not get discouraged when I miss a set or am forced to do a reset. This week I'm starting the novice-intermediate phase next by incorporating chin ups, pull ups, and a light squat day into the routine. I'm hoping to progress to weights reflecting an intermediate point before I head home in March. This program, minus a cardio routine, is perfect for the new Army Combat Fitness Test that is currently going into effect for the Army.
I've been tempted to switch routines the last couple weeks so I'm going to post my progress over the next couple months in hopes that it provides a little accountability to stick with the program through to the end (which for me is a 300-315 lb squat).
