42, going from "paleo & active" to getting strong.

[dhalli]

Hi, I'm Dan, from Portland Oregon, wife/kids(5)/house/job, all that stuff.

42 years old, Male, 5' 10.5", currently 192lb.

Goals: lifting increasingly heavier things, winning arguments with squirrels and eating all the things. Even squirrels, if I'm losing the argument.

A little background:
Through my 20s I was under the influence of Bro Science. Drank the kool-aide of Muscle & Fitness/Flex/Weider. At my 'peak' I was 182lb and 8% body fat. Squats? never... did leg presses instead. Benched 205 (4x8 working sets, never tried 1RM). Curls? So, so many curls. Ab work. Weighted crunches. Lots of accessory work with very little complex lifts. Killer abs, which were 'important' as a young single dude. Also, did I mention the curls? All the Bro Science. ALL OF IT!

Then one day I quit. I was 32, My first baby was on her way, I was working crazy hours, sleeping 4 hours/night and eating like it was going out of style. Weight went all over the place. Health did, too.
A few years later when my second baby was on his way, someone showed me Mark's Daily Apple: a Paleo/Primal website. I was hooked. Cut gluten/grains/legumes/everything out of my diet. My meat was already grass fed and with a plethora of veggies in the 'fridge anyway, it was easy. Body fat plummeted, inflammation disappeared, I felt *great*. I lifted occasionally, but mostly I was just 'active'... running around and playing with the kids, riding bikes/motorcycles and basically being stupid and having fun. A couple more kids appeared (just keeps happening). Lean... but not really strong. Of course not, I wasn't really weight training!

I started squatting 3x/week a few months ago with the immediate benefit of lingering knee and back pain disappearing (both from old injuries). Then. Then I decided abs are for single guys (which was good, because I'd kinda lost it anyway after discovering hard cider). I just want to be strong.

Damn. That was actually a lot of background. OK, moving on:

I read Starting Strength (3rd edition) & Practical Programming (2nd edition).

I started the Novice program on August 7th 2015. The day I started, I weighed 170lb @ 19% body fat.

Today I weigh 192lb... no true idea on body fat, nor do I care... but an educated guess would be 25%. All I know is my lifts are steadily going up in weight and it feels awesome.

Eating? OH MAN, do I love eating! A one pound steak, sweet potato and heaps of veggies drowning in butter was never a problem (and a typical meal). I've added to that, mostly in the carbs... now I'm eating all the everything, with more of everything on the side and more times/day. Basically if I want to be big, may as well eat like I'm big. Plus... have I mentioned I really like eating?

Training, from the latest logs of each lift:

Squat- 4 sets of 5 @ 215lb, hip crease below knee each time except one rep (which is why I added a set; checking form).

Deadlift- 1x5 @ 275lb (my working set), 1 @ 300lb, 1 @ 313lb (wanted to find a 1RM, but I ran out of weight).

Bench- 3x5 @ 185lb

Press- 3x5 @ 115lb

Power Clean- not doing them yet... working on jacked up shoulder and even worse wrist mobility on my right side (more old injuries). Both have gotten 'good enough' after following some of Kelly Starrett's mobility stuff on youtube & reckon I'm ready to start doing cleans!

think i just wrote like a whole book right there....

[Agilic]

Congrats on discovering these forums.....the knowledge on here is incredible (I'm really just starting to learn myself). 20+lb weight gain in under a month is pretty insane. It's great you want to get big and strong, but it's a process and doesn't happen quickly. Gaining that quickly means the majority will be fat instead of LBM, which can be pretty stubborn to drop when it comes time for a recomp.

Oh yeah, and post form checks early and often for some valuable feedback!

[dhalli]

20lbs is a bunch in under a month... but fat and likely some inflammation add up quickly

not too concerned; as long as i'm progressing, not busting the waist out of all my pants and not creeping out the ladies at the pool, it's cool. Wait, i don't go to the pool... ok, don't have to worry about that part!

i've been able to shed body fat with relative ease many times before, though i suspect that may get more difficult as i age so in that case there's always elastic waist pants

form checks will be coming soon, 'specially once i start power cleaning.

[dhalli]

today:

Squat-
3x5 @ 225, just below parallel...
1x8 @ 205 ass to grass (working on some knee & achilles discomfort, this deep set seems to have made it feel way better)

Press- the jump from 115 to 125 was too damn much, form suffered.
1x4 @ 125
1x3 @ 125
2x5 @ 115

Deadlift- feeling spent before starting, but it was still a blast. becoming my favorite.
1x4 @ 283
1x1 @ 293

for what it's worth, i usually stick to one weight for the 5x3 working sets. i need to pick up or make some lighter plates. chain will work. i'm also a bit ghetto and use a pair of car brake discs for 14lb plates

[Mr. Chubbins]

Welcome.
Try 5lb jumps on press, 10 is a bit much.

Search for microplates on this forum, $35 delivered for a kick ass set if plates.

[peez]

Welcome to the forum! We're close in specs (5'9", 185, 43y) so I'll be watching your progress carefully.

i'm also a bit ghetto and use a pair of car brake discs for 14lb plates

That is totally badass! Love it! Now just use a semi's axle for deads, with wheels attached as bumpers ...

[Adam Skillin]

Here's an article you might enjoy:

https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-lo...eo-hybrid-diet

[dhalli]

Welcome.
Try 5lb jumps on press, 10 is a bit much.

i thought 10lb would be too much, but thought i'd give it a try. i'm gonna cut some 1lb sections of chain.

That is totally badass! Love it! Now just use a semi's axle for deads, with wheels attached as bumpers ...

once i'm using semi axles for deadlifts, i'll just go ahead and not worry about bumpers since i'll be in my front yard, hucking concrete blocks and BBQ'n at the same time. gotta give the neighborhood kids a show and draw attention from the ladies. not sure what kind of attention, but whatever.

Here's an article you might enjoy:

https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-lo...eo-hybrid-diet

that's about the direction i'm going. really, the only "non-paleo" foods i'm currently eating/experimenting with are:

-nixtamal corn. mmm, tortillas! don't think i'm having any negative issues. plus tacos are awesome.
-dairy. pretty sure this is the reason for my body fat jump- it's been every other time. going to cut back again.
-some legumes. none of which are agreeing with me.
-one meal with gluten. nope. doesn't work for me.

past there, potatoes (any kind) and other starchy root veggies are my carb of choice. yucca, taro, yam, etc.
oh, i guess occasionally quinoa and rice, too.
oh yeah... hard cider, beer and whisky on occasion, as well

[Adam Skillin]

-nixtamal corn. mmm, tortillas! don't think i'm having any negative issues. plus tacos are awesome.
-dairy. pretty sure this is the reason for my body fat jump- it's been every other time. going to cut back again.
-some legumes. none of which are agreeing with me.
-one meal with gluten. nope. doesn't work for me.

past there, potatoes (any kind) and other starchy root veggies are my carb of choice. yucca, taro, yam, etc.
oh, i guess occasionally quinoa and rice, too.
oh yeah... hard cider, beer and whisky on occasion, as well

Yeah, wheat messes me up too (as do certain artificial sweeteners), but I'm good friends with the occasional corn tortillas and legumes, and not so occasional dairy, beer, and whiskey, white rice, and various tubers. And I'm as lean as I ever was in the keto days, except I have 25 pounds more muscle (the arrow of causation probably points both ways on that one).

[dhalli]

today-

Squat
3x5 @ 233

Bench
3x4 @ 185... could totally probably definitely maybe have done 5 reps each time, but i bench alone in the basement without rack/stands/pins. for now. rack/pins coming soon.

also did chins & back extensions. damn thing is i can usually do 15 chins/pull ups at any given time. after squatting? a few sets of 5 is all i can muster up.