I periodically return to the first post to update my status and goals.
Log Started: January 4, 2016
Last Update: May 7, 2022
Background:
Age: 35
Height: 5’11"
Weight: 224.6 (as of 5/7/2022)
High School Athlete (Football, Wrestling)
College Football Player (2004-2007)
Running Enthusiast (2008-2012)
Kettlebell Enthusiast (2013-2015)
CrossFit-Like Person (2016-2017)
Strongman-Like Person (2018-2020ish)
Now Just Trying To Stay Fit (Present)
Training History:
I played football & wrestled in high school, also dabbled in powerlifting, played football in college, ran long-distance races (from 5K’s up to marathons) for 5-6 years after that, and picked up other fitness hobbies like yoga, mountain biking, and rock climbing. In 2014-2015, I started doing lots of kettlebell work and eventually lifting heavy barbells again, which brings me to the current bout of time as something resembling a strength athlete, around the time I started this log in January 2016.
Longtime friends know that I followed a “daily dose deadlift” approach for most of the period from 2016-2019. It served me well for several years - I pulled 620 in September 2018, which isn’t setting any records but seems pretty good for someone training 20 minutes a day in a basic garage gym. However, for most of 2020, my back didn’t feel right; I am pretty sure I had a herniated disc that kept getting worse because I wouldn’t give it the rest it needed to heal. I also had an unpleasant realization that over a couple years of bodyweight creep, my physique had gotten huskier than ideal for good health and longevity; I weighed in at 258.6 pounds on 2/4/2020 which was surprising but not that surprising (I knew that it was creeping on, just kind of rationalized it because I was getting stronger).
So, I decided to deload from heavy barbell work for a few months, focus on improving my pull-up numbers and fat loss until I slimmed down a bit, and resumed deadlifting with a switch to sumo stance, which has seemed to agree with me - no real back issues since making the change, and I will always love pulling heavy weights so I’m hoping to stick with this for the long haul. As of April 2022, I have bought a bench and now intend to switch to a more traditional 4-day-a-week powerlifting split something like this:
Sun: Box Squat 8x2x255
Mon: Conditioning
Tue: Bench Press 8x2x205
Wed: Conditioning
Thu: Sumo Deadlift 1RM
Fri: Conditioning
Sat: Bench Press 3x3x205+
In 2022 (and beyond) my goals will be:
405-pound back squat
315-pound bench press
500-pound deadlift
My simple way of keeping myself honest on the strength-leanness axis: instead of chasing more weight on the bar, chase these goals while driving and keeping my bodyweight under 220.
2022 PR’s
Back Squat 2x315 @ 224.6 (4/9/2022)
Bench Press 1x235 @ 224.6 (5/7/2022)
Deadlift 1x500 @ 221.8 (1/30/2022)
Older PR’s:
Front Squat 1x370 (8/15/2019)
Back Squat 1x445 (9/27/2019)
Deadlift 1x625 (2/8/2019)
Wife PR’s:
Back Squat 1x175 (8/1/2021)
Deadlift 1x205 (7/18/2021)
More explanation(s): my wife is a longtime runner and yoga instructor, but she took up barbell training in 2017 after a few years dabbling in kettlebells, and she’s done a terrific job working her way up. These are her PR’s post-second-baby, but I expect they’ll soon challenge her all time PR’s.
slightly_smiling: