DocRawk attempt at NLP #1

[Brandon Hurlburt]

So I've been reading the forum for a while now and have read the blue book front to back once and then reread most of it piecemeal as bathroom reading material. I've been working towards getting healthier in a fairly haphazard way for the last year. I'm a family physician in Texas with a growing clinic panel as well as a wife and 3 boys (ages 5, 3, and 18 months) at home. My weight has fluctuated from as high as 235 (free cinnamon rolls, Ben & Jerry, and Dr. Peppers at the hospital cafeteria) to as low as 170 via various manipulations of my diet. Exercise has rarely ever been a part of my life other than a short stint in undergrad after going through a break up.

37 year old male, 5'11", 210lbs. I started working out in August last year doing purely bodyweight movements. I used intermittent fasting as a way to restrict calories but still be able to eat at least one large and satisfying meal per day. I worked through push-up, pike, squat, and chin-up variations until about January until I realized that I just wasn't getting where I wanted to go. Weight got down to 183 at the low point, and I felt weak most of the time. My clinic at the time was next door to a Planet Fitness, so I joined during their New Year special and thankfully was able to work out there for 3 months and then leave with no contract to keep me around.

I piddled in my garage with a set of Bowflex adjustable dumbbells doing overhead press and bench press and improved my strength with those movements up to the 90# per hand max for those dumbbells. I knew for few months that I wanted to do Starting Strength but had been waiting to get some land sold. I finally got sick of waiting around and just decided to use the Y since we already have a membership there for our kids. Anyway, here are my first few workouts. There is a 1 week gap from a bout of diverticulitis (that was a whole new level of shitty). Deadlift is starting to feel heavy, but still going up. Everything else is moving without a hitch so far.

7/5/19
Squat 155x5x3
Press 85x5x3
Deadlift 195x5x1

7/7/19
Squat 175x5x3
Bench 155x5x3
Deadlift 205x5x1

7/9/19
Squat 195x5x3
Press 95x5x3
Deadlift 225x5x1

7/19/19
Squat 205x5x3
Bench 160x5x3
Deadlift 235x5x1

7/21/19
Squat 215x5x3
Press 100x5x3
Deadlift 245x5x1

7/23/19
Squat 225x5x3
Bench 165x5x3
Deadlift 255x5x1

I should probably have at least repeated the workout from before the illness, but I felt ambitious (maybe greedy) and figured that things weren't feeling super heavy before the break, so it should be fine to go on up. It felt a little grindy on the 19th, but much better on the 21st. Deadlift is getting heavy though. I'm a little surprised since my squat isn't too far behind it and doesn't feel bad at all.

[carson]

Problems this early are usually related to form and technique. Check out a SS coach. There are plenty in Texas. They can help you with proper technique and form and can keep you on the path to gains without injury. It's great that you have started.

[Brandon Hurlburt]

7/26/19
Squat 235
Press 105
Deadlift 265

7/28/19
Squat 245
Bench 170
Deadlift 275

Everything still going up. Squat and press feel great. I look forward to them. Bench is fine and progressing. I'm working on learning to like it. I guess it's more of an acquired taste for me, but it's not feeling particularly heavy. Deadlift continues to go up, but just doesn't feel good. I feel like I've read somewhere that it generally doesn't feel good as it gets heavier. I've revisited the deadlift technique section of the Blue Book as well as the Art of Manliness videos that Rip did at least a dozen times in the last week or so. I'd love to hook up with a coach at some point, and I do have Starting Strength Austin about 20 minutes from my house. It's something my wife and I both plan to do once we get that land sold. For the time being, we'll just be keeping on keeping on as long as things keep progressing.

It may sound ridiculous for a physician to say that money is the issue, but my last two positions ended abruptly due to hospital (my employer) bankruptcy. It's the reason I gave up on rural medicine/county hospital systems and moved to the Austin area to work for a for profit system. There is no career equity in medicine. You don't get to bank on experience as you move from one company or hospital to another. It's all production (patients per day) driven, and you start from scratch when you move. We're still in the process of downsizing to accommodate the reset in income. When you make X and have expenses around 60% of X, a 50% reduction of X leaves you broke until you either reduce expenses or rebuild X. We're working on both at the moment.