The epiphany, journey and miracle

[Gerald Boggs]

THE EPIPHANY, JOURNEY AND MIRACLE

So a little about myself: I'm 52 and I've been lifting weights most of my life. Most of my training was along the bodybuilding style with cycles of even higher reps. I used to do my bench with my elbows straight out, flies until my hands touched the ground, dips until my throat touched the bar and across the bench pullovers until the dumbbell touched the ground. Needless to say, after a few years of this and as the weight increased, I started to experience shoulder PAIN. So I started to modify my workouts in order to still be able to train. Along the way, I injured my shoulder in a non-gym activity. The modifying my workout and the injury started a cycle of on and off training. Fast forward 27 years from the first should pain. My shoulder is now in constant pain, and I've gotten FAT. I'm reduced to doing almost nothing but light weight, high rep, mostly dumbbell workouts. Somehow I thought this would be good for my shoulder. I AM NOT A HAPPY MAN. I'm a fat old bastard, even worse, I'm a fat bastard because I got lazy and used my injuries as an excuse not to train. Which makes me a LAZY fat bastard and I don't like it.

OK, that was the brief background, lots of details left out, but the same story has be told many times. So let us move on.

THE EPIPHANY

.

The epiphany happened in the middle of a workout last week. The epiphany was: There are so many ways to maintain a good level of fitness without using weights, why train using weights, if you're not trying to get stronger? Well, I like weights. It's always been my preferred method of training. So with my new found epiphany, I set out on the journey to find a way to get stronger.

THE JOURNEY

The journey was actually very short. I had envisioned having to scale high mountains, ford raging rivers and all the other heroic endeavors normally associated with a journey. Instead, I only had one small encounter with the darkness. Going to the library, the first book I found was the NSCA's 'Strength Training'. Bingo, this sounds like just what I'm looking for. However, with the clarity of purpose my epiphany had given me, I quick realized the book was not what the title suggested. It was the same old crap that had lead me to my sad position. On a hunch, I looked to the back and found the list of contributors. The amount of academic achievements were quite impressive, except there was missing one small, ever so small item. None of the contributors listed any actual personal strength training experience. No "I'm a power lifter, Olympic lifter, competitive lifter", nothing. One of three things were going on: None of them had any actual experience, They weren't proud of their strength achievements, or the senior editor didn't felt it was important. It didn't matter which, the book was returned to the library and the journey continued. Quite happily, about ten minutes into a internet search and I was here.

THE MIRACLE

After reading as much as I could absorbed over a couple of days reading, I returned to the gym. With no small amount of trepidation, I tried to squat as recommended. Hum, that was pretty easy, let's put a little weight on. And so it went. Not wanting to be greedy, I stopped at 135 and did my 3X5. Fear still had a grip on me and I did my dumbbells for chest. The deadlift went as easy as the squat. Wow! Things are looking up. I returned to home and more reading. The BOOKS are now on the way. I started looking hard at the bench information, repeatedly watched the videos. Practiced all the steps on the floor. Monday morning, the gym. I did my squats with a ten pound increase. All was well. Next the Bench. I will freely admit, I approached the bench with great fear. You need to understand, I haven't tried to bench in many years, the pain was always too great. I lie down and do everything as best I can remember. I did the first warm-up, that wasn't so bad, did the second and it felt a little better. With five pound increases, and staying with 5 reps, I worked my way up to 135. This is FANTASTIC! With renewed confidence, I did my deadlifts with the same weight as the squats. Too easy, I worked up to 225 and felt I still had a lot left. OK, we've all read this before, no miracle here. True, here's the miracle. Later that day, I started to feel the workout. I feel a little soreness in my left shoulder, my right shoulder's a little sore, but nothing new there, as it's almost always in pain. In the evening, I notice my right shoulder isn't hurting as much. In fact, It's just a little muscle soreness. There is NO PAIN!!! I'm bloody dancing around the house like Tinkerbelle. For the first time in over a year, I sleep through the night. The next morning, still no pain.

I have tried just about every rehab program out there and nothing worked for me. Doctors telling me to get cut and I'm telling them I think they're bloody witch doctors, I'd rather live with the pain (which I did, for many years)

So the first time in my life, I've done a bench properly, and it cures the pain. I don't know if I should cry for all the years of pain and missed opportunities, or weep for joy that now I can all that I wish.

What ever I do: THANK YOU, RIP

PS: I wrote this last week and this morning did my fifth workout. All is going well with only minor glitches.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Welcome home, Gerald.

[tnumrych]

I've stated this here before and I'll say it again, proper pressing saved my shoulder. A football injury (torn supraspinatus) in 2002, the ATs and PTs (whom collected their fair share of co-pays and reimbursements from my health insurance) all steered me, unfortunately successfully, away from "any overhead work" for years. Then I purchased SS in 2008. Now anytime my shoulder starts "talking to me" I know that I'm not pressing enough.

[Viking]

I experienced the same thing. After many years of tennis, without any other strength training than push ups and sit ups, I had frequent pains in my right shoulder. My biggest fear before beginning the SS routine was that the shoulder pain was going to worsen severely. But to my surprise, it quickly got a lot better, and today, some months later, it is completely gone!

[Mark E. Hurling]

Great account Gerald. I had the same shoulder issues and quit benching for well over 10 years. Some of which were complicated by old injuries. Got here, got some good advice and discovered that at age 60 (then) and over 10 years of neglect I could bench 255 for a single. I've had a ding or two to my shoulder since then, but nothing like the previous 30 some odd years of real bad pain. Another thing were squats and deadlifts. My lower back was giving me trouble and I stopped them too. But since getting my form cleared up (but still workng on it) I don't have the back problems I used to either. Not to say none, but not anything that lays me up on the sofa with a heating pad any more.

[oenamen]

THE EPIPHANY, JOURNEY AND MIRACLE
...
PS: I wrote this last week and this morning did my fifth workout. All is going well with only minor glitches.

Do you mean you wrote this testimonial having been on the program a week and a half? You live at a faster rate than I.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Do you mean you wrote this testimonial having been on the program a week and a half? You live at a faster rate than I.

How long have you been alive and what experiences in life have you had? When you get older and you watch pages fly off the calendar at a pace that seemed inconceivable when you were 10, your perception of the passage of time is altered and speeds up. It ain't just faster, it's longer and harder.

[Karl Schudt]

Welcome, Gerald.

My experience was similar: I have been weightlifting for 25 years or so. At one time, I was quite strong--I benched 405 at age 20. At least, I had a strong bench press. I did squats according to Arnold's instructions and therefore not correctly, and I never, ever deadlifted. Over the years, I kept exercising, but without any clear direction, like most of the idiots in the gym. I would also occasionally have back problems.

Then, after three girls, I had a son, and found out something: boys are heavy! Picking up my boy was causing my back to go out. It was shortly after spending a week like a duck that I came across Starting Strength. Since incorporating deadlifts into my workout, I have had my back go out exactly zero times, and the boys (I've since had another) seem light. For that, I am very grateful.

If only I had known this stuff when I was 20.

[Gerald Boggs]

Thanks for the positive comments. It's nice to know one isn't alone.
Adding to this: My mental state is greatly improved. Going from a Lazy fat old bastard to a Getting Stronger fat old bastard does absolute wonders for one's state of mind.

[oenamen]

How long have you been alive and what experiences in life have you had?

Long enough to know I don't know much about something if I've been doing it for a week, but I guess that's neither here nor there. I thought I smelled a troll.

Gerald, this stuff works. Keep it up. I had recurring lower back trouble for most of my life ... that is, until I started lifting for strength. I have also found it good for the mind.