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Thread: Weak, but motivated

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    Maryland
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    Default Weak, but motivated

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    Guys/Gals, how's it going? I'm new here to the forum, so I thought I'd introduce myself..

    I'm 27, 5'8", 165 and very weak (relatively speaking). I've been into lifting and exercise for many years, but only in the past few years have I decided to get serious. Even still, I was blind to the options beyond 3 sets of 8-10.

    2 years ago my friend turned me onto Kettlebells, which in turn led me to Crossfit, which in turn led me to Mark Rippetoe. I enjoy Kettlebell workouts and still do many high intensity workouts, but I finally decided that for my strength, I was no longer gonna stick with the status quo and bought a few of Mark's books.

    In the past I've done: Bigger, Faster, Stronger; basic lifting (see above); some HIIT; some Crossfit; and now I'm on Wendler's 5/3/1 (finishing my 3rd month). I'm making pretty good progress, but man, after reading some of these posts, I've determined that I'm just damn weak!! My upper body strength is way behind where I'd like it to be and my lower body could be better.. anyway, here's where I'm at:

    Again, I'm 5'8", 165lbs
    Squat: 250 x 3 (in the can)
    Deadlift: 305 x 7, 270 x 12
    Bench: 200 x 5, 1RM 235
    Push Press: 155 x 3
    Pull Ups: 23 (dead hang)

    The downside is that I've been doing nonsense workouts for so many years so I'm way behind where I could be. The upside is that I'm motivated and a pretty athletic guy.

  2. #2
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    Today was the final workout of my deload week... I felt good, but hamstrings are sore from Good Mornings done yesterday. I'll do some auxiliary light work one more day this week to keep me loose.

    I have finally decided to work with a low bar squat and experimented today (have done high bar for as long as I've been lifting). It was surprisingly easy to get the hang of and actually felt really good.... will post results Monday as that starts month 4 of 5/3/1.

    Until then, Merry Christmas to all...

  3. #3
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    Default Why would anyone NOT do low bar squats..?

    So today was week 1/day 1 of month 4 of 5/3/1... Squats today, and as I said in my earlier post, I was working on switching to low bar from high bar. The transition was remarkably easy and after a few warmup sets, banged through my lightweight work sets.

    Warm-up
    Work sets:
    175 x 5
    205 x 5
    230 x 7 (PR)

    This begs the question - why would anyone NOT do low bar squats?

  4. #4
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    Default

    JT, where in MD are you?

  5. #5
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    you're not weak, so don't worry. Weak is what I see when a guy struggles to bench 85. I see this regularly.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by K.Diesel View Post
    JT, where in MD are you?
    Elkridge, in Howard County.. you?

    Quote Originally Posted by stronger View Post
    you're not weak, so don't worry. Weak is what I see when a guy struggles to bench 85. I see this regularly.
    Ha - alright, thanks. Using your definition I suppose I can change the title of this thread...

  7. #7
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    I've found that I tend to only post my squat workouts.. here's Month 4/Week 2 of 5/3/1 (done yesterday 1/4/10)

    Squat:
    3 x 190
    3 x 220
    4 x 245 - felt like I could have gotten another one (or two), but was wiped out from a night of no sleep (newborn).

    20 x 165 (bodyweight loaded on the bar) - an A.M. workout on little sleep (see above) with not enough food intake for the day = I was totally wiped out and called it a day after this, feeling like hell.


    JT

  8. #8
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    Nov 2009
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    Hey JT,

    Just curious, as I'm very much in novice phase and not familiar with the 5/3/1 program, but do you (or anyone else) feel that you are past benefiting from the SS programming? Obviously you are coming in with a fair bit more strength than most true novices, so I was wondering if you had anything to lose by trying. Not trying to question your training, just attempting to be more informed. Thanks and welcome,

    tim


    Quote Originally Posted by JT in MD View Post
    Today was the final workout of my deload week... I felt good, but hamstrings are sore from Good Mornings done yesterday. I'll do some auxiliary light work one more day this week to keep me loose.

    I have finally decided to work with a low bar squat and experimented today (have done high bar for as long as I've been lifting). It was surprisingly easy to get the hang of and actually felt really good.... will post results Monday as that starts month 4 of 5/3/1.

    Until then, Merry Christmas to all...

  9. #9
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    Default

    I do consider myself a relative novice compared to the majority of the serious lifters on this forum (and again, I'm new to this forum and Rip, not new to lifting).

    Using the chart in the back of Practical Programming - I fall between Intermediate and Advanced for all of my lifts. I just personally consider myself weak.

    To answer your question as to why I'm not doing SS - it's more that I decided to do 5/3/1 before I knew much about SS. I've made very good progress with 5/3/1 and it's advertised to be as successful with novice, intermediate, and advanced lifters.

    So the short answer is, I never tried SS, but I've been having success with 5/3/1, so why change a good thing?

  10. #10
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    Oct 2008
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    Baltimore, MD
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    starting strength coach development program
    Quote Originally Posted by JT in MD View Post
    Elkridge, in Howard County.. you?
    Baltimore City. Glad to find another local on here. Also, I ran 5/3/1 for several months last year and thoroughly enjoyed it and feel I got good results with it. I'll likely go back to it in mid-March. Meanwhile, I'll be keeping up with your progress.

    Oh, and congrats on the newborn! We're 5 months away from our next addition. I barely get enough sleep as it is now...
    Last edited by K.Diesel; 01-05-2010 at 08:33 PM.

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