Starting All Over

[PressesPeople]

So, I've been training for about 3 years now, with about 2 of those being pretty much maintenance/waste of time. Of course, in many ways the first year was a waste of time in its own right, simply because I artificially boosted my lifts by using bad form or lower reps than I should have. I experimented WAY too much, and when I had success I got cocky/greedy and then failed. At a bodyweight of around 145 I got my OHP to a max of around 150, my bench to somewhere around 200, my squat to 320+, and my deadlift to about 320 as well. I stopped eating enough because I liked the idea of having a high bodyweight/strength ratio. This fucked me over. I think maybe it's the reason I got the injury I talk about next:

One of the other main reasons (and by far the most discouraging reason) that my training has been a waste of time is an SI joint injury I got. I think it started like 3 years ago, but it never got bad until about 2 years back. It's recently gotten so bad that my deadlift and squat actually started going down every workout, and I'd have to pop it back into place in the middle of every one of my sleep cycles. Extreme pain was had on a daily basis, even just from walking. I was stubborn about the injury, though, and was convinced that I should train through it. I was afraid if I didn't then the injury would solidify and then my training would be hindered upon returning to it.

Recently, I finally said "fuck it" and decided to stop working out for a couple weeks and see if anything heals. It's feeling a lot better now and I'm thankful for that, but I'm using this opportunity to correct all my previous training sins, and start from the beginning, using the knowledge I've gained from making all the beginner mistakes.

I also decided that if I'm going to do this the right way, I should document it in a log so I'm extra motivated not to do anything stupid. This time I'm going to stick very closely to the novice protocol, and then when I can't eat through that, I'm going to move on the Texas Method. My weights will start off light and, given my background, not feel like anything at first. But I'm using that as a period to try and rehab my hip back into action without shocking anything too badly.

I'm probably going to leave out chins and power cleans for a while, just to get my main-lift momentum back. If I get to the point where I feel good about those again, then I'll add in the chins/cleans.

[Eiji]

Now go and eat something.

[PressesPeople]

Now go and eat something.

Well there are a few things I didn't mention. For example, I did eventually begin eating and my weight shot up to 170, but by that time my injury was prevalent so the only thing that really went up was my bench.

[Róbert Kovács]

Good luck with your progress, and keep us updated through your log!

[PressesPeople]

Wednesday:

Squat 135 (will increase 5 lbs at a time, even though extremely easy. Don't want to get greedy and fuck up my hip again. When it goes, it goes for weeks. On another note, my right knee hurts slightly from doing them, but I think that's just because I haven't squatted in a few weeks now)

Bench 135 (Nice and easy. New bench set up is very convenient)(increase 5 lbs)

Deadlift 185 (these are usually the main culprit for when my hip goes really bad, so I have to focus very hard on maintaining form that doesn't use my SI joint too much. Basically, very slow reps, making SURE to tense up everything before I begin the rep...this usually keeps things in place. Was very light otherwise)

So far so good.

[PressesPeople]

Friday:

Squat 140 (remembering for the billionth time that wider squats are better on my hip....also focusing on using lower bar form than I have in the past)(increase 5 lbs)

OHP: 115 (nothing special here. Easy)(increase 5 lbs)

[PressesPeople]

Monday (bumped forward a day):

Squat 145

Bench 140

Deadlift 195

[PressesPeople]

Wednesday

Squat 150

OHP 125 (woops)

[PressesPeople]

Saturday (bumped ahead again)

Squat 155

Bench 145

Deadlift 205

[PressesPeople]

Tuesday

Squat 160

OHP 127