A hopeful beginning

[Alte Fritz]

Greetings to all who have decided to drop in to this thread

I will try to keep it short. I have been trying to get into strength training for over 10 years and have never been able to keep at it for more than 3 months. I have been through all of the usual errors from dumb programs to changing programs every week and from not eating anything to eating so much that I was not able to look at food within a week. Countless false starts and essentially no progress.

Ten years ago it used to be about self-image, quite important for a tall and skinny young man with almost no weight. Despite the lack of success in the gym other activities and time allowed me to put on some weight. So right now it is about strength and about proving to myself that I can learn from my mistakes and actually succeed after so many failures.

I got the book and read it and will now try to follow its advice. Starting strength assumes that I will change a lot of the habits that make up my life: sleeping, eating, working schedule. So I will not assume that I will manage to do all at once, that is something that has gotten me into trouble before. I will look for gradual change, small steps that will make the change permanent. I will try to say no to perfectionism.

Starting information:
Male
Age 31
Height 188 cm
Weight 81.5kg
BF 17%


I will be posting weekly updates with some comments on what I think went well and what I want to change during the next week. Trying to keep it simple. If you guys have thoughts and suggestions I will be happy to hear them!

I am hopeful for progress!

In my diet I am currently trying to keep things simple -> 3 healthy meals, 3 snacks (nuts, fruit, dairy) and 2 litres of milk per day. I will adjust according to the changes in my weight. I have always been skinny, but time has increased by BF percentage.

Training 1:

Rowing 1.5 km (warm-up)
Squat: 60kg x 5 x 3
Bench: 50kg x 5 x 3
Deadlift: 70kg x 5
Chin-up: BW x 3 x 3

Training 2:

Rowing 1.6 km (warm-up)
Squat: 65kg x 5 x 3
Press: 30kg x 5 x 3
Deadlift: 80kg x 5
Chin-up: BW x 4+3+2

Diet

Diet during the 6 days (averaged out):
Fat: 165g
Carbs: 230g
Protein: 190g
kcal: 3 216
Average walking distance per day: 10.8km
Average sleep time: 6.3h

End of week weight:
BW: 82.8kg
BF: 18%

Conclusions:

a) The large jump in BW is probably due to the fact that I didn't eat almost anything before the first weigh in. The fact that I was eating and drinking normally throughout the week resulted in the jump. Probably water retention etc. The jump of BF of 1% is probably also related to this. I will keep eating at the same level and see what happens for a week.
b) Sleeping schedule has been difficult to adjust. I am trying to wake up at 6AM every day both to make it to the gym early and to stop wasting my time snoozing the alarm. As I used to getting to bed late I have been sleepy over the week, as I haven't adjusted to going to sleep early. I am trying to get to bed early, but it's a slow change. Due to very little sleep I had to skip one training session.
c) Nothing to note about gym progress, currently as expected.

Until next week!

[carson]

Welcome. I gather you lift 3 times per week and rest in between. Do you have the books. If you follow the teachings including the dietary sections you should find yourself soon to have gained 10-12 kg. Don't worry too much about the Body fat guide. Just eat the calories especial protein. About 200 gm per G day should do it.

Post some technique videos on occasion if you have access. You may also wish to get some online coaching.

Go get 'em.