With the strength of a small kitten!

[The Missourian]

Hi! Like most of the people posting logs in here, I figured why the fuck not?

38-year-old male, 6’3” and began at a body weight of 193 lbs. Alas, I am a bad poster as I don’t know what my body fat percentage is, but if I had to guess it’s probably less than 20% as I’ve always been a skinny kid. (Though I seem to be losing my razor sharp abz and getting fluffier around the belly than I'd really like, so there’s that.) Though the past couple of years I’ve gained about 15-20 lbs by just forcing myself to eat more … and quitting smoking.


Day 1 began like this:

Squat work set: 55lbs x 5 x 3

Press: 65lbs x 5 x 3

Deadlift: 95lbs x 5 x 3

Day 1 ended with me tired and very embarrassed as I realized I’m as weak as a kitten. (I also re-read some parts of The Book and realized I probably shouldn’t have done sets across on the deadlift. My bad.)

Workout 2 had the weights move up 10 lbs on squat and deadlift, and bench press was 85lbs x 5 x 3. And yeah I know I could’ve moved up a little more aggressively as it was only Day 2, but kind of assumed that right now form is a main concern.

I’m in Week 4 now, but it’s really the start of Week 3 as I missed a week (3 workouts) after listening to and acting upon some bad advice. Hurt the ol' groin squatting at the start of week 2, manned up and added more weight the next two workouts and took the pain! After this, noticed I had substantial soreness, difficulty sleeping because it fucking hurt, and swelling so took the next week completely off. (Yeah, I know.)

Anyway, now that I understand what I should’ve done to rehab the ol’ groinage, this is where I am now and what I’m doing tomorrow:

Bodyweight 204 lbs, and because I am still bad, don’t know body fat percentage. But … honestly kinda don’t care. At 6’3”, I’m thinking I should weigh more than 204 lbs.

Squat: 120lbs x 5 x 3

Press: 80lbs x 5 x 3

Deadlift: 155lbs x 5

Still, even with my n00b errors, I have to say: I FUCKING LOVE doing this. I’ve turned from a guy who’s always been athletic but skinny, to a guy who’s all about getting to the gym and lifting... and one who will hopefully soon be stronger than a kitten. I LOVE IT. Love it!!

[The Missourian]

Forgot to add that I'll be alternating PC's with DL's beginning next week. Want to make sure I've got the form down well and have a little bit of strength first.

[Sean Herbison]

Alas, I am a bad poster as I don’t know what my body fat percentage is

If you really care, just compare it to this, it'll be close enough:



Good luck with your lifting.

[The Missourian]

Thanks! Judging by these pics of shirtless dudes, I'd say I'm right around 25%.

[Fiddler]

Don't get greedy; nobody cares how much you lift except you, and you can't improve when you're out hurt. It's enough that you are in the gym doing it. Just follow the program for the first few months. What town are you in? I'm in the KC area, wouldn't mind helping with technique.

[The Missourian]

So far I've been at least fairly smart about not being a greedy bastard. I've resisted the urge to move up quicker in my lifts, knowing that form is pretty important.

I'm on the opposite side of the state. St. Louis.

[kurt1911]

Welcome, you're off to a good start. Keep adding weight every session and it will get heavy soon enough, trust me.

[The Missourian]

Thanks! I approve of your screen name.

[kurt1911]

Haha thanks! Hardly anyone ever gets it.

If you have the opportunity to film yourself lifting and post in the Technique forum definitely take advantage of it. Getting some feedback on my mistakes was key in correcting problems with my squat and deadlift.

[The Missourian]

Ha, I'm a bit of a gun enthusiast.

Yeah, a friend got me all into this and that was his suggestion. Even if I don't post them, he said, it helped a lot to just be able to see what you're doing. He recorded my first squat session, but I think I've probably developed new and exciting form problems since then, so I should probably get to recording.