I periodically return to the first post to update my status and goals.
Log Started: January 4, 2016
Last Update: March 25, 2024
Background:
Age: 37
Height: 5’11"
Weight: 235.4 (as of 3/25/2024)
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 (2018-2020)
Garage Powerlifter & Kettlebeller (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 T-Nation friends might 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 deadlifted 620 in September 2018, which seems pretty good for someone training 20 minutes a day in a basic garage gym without much assistance work. 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 disappointing but not that surprising (I knew that it was creeping on, just kind of allowed 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 until I slimmed down a bit. I eventually resumed deadlifting with a switch to sumo style, which has seemed to agree with me - no real back issues since making the change. I will always love pulling heavy weights, but now I’ll make myself more well-rounded than just deadlifting every day would have. In April 2022, I bought a flat bench and started working my upper body again; in early 2023 my wife got very into kettlebell workouts, so I also started doing some kettlebell workouts for solidarity & variety on my part. Things are mostly going well, but I have to manage total volume and watch certain exercises. Deadlifts seem to always go pretty well, kettlebell pressing always goes well as long as I watch total volume, and I have started to make a point of doing some light/medium kettlebell work to warm up for just about every workout.
So, in 2024: I think I’m going to layer together two different 3-day-a-week low-volume StrongFirst-inspired programs (deadlifts programmed on MWF, presses programmed on Tu/Th/Sat) like this:
S: Dumbbell Rack Workout
M: StrongFirst Deadlift A (15x1x315)
T: Kettlebell Press (3, 4, 3, 4, 3 x 70)
W: StrongFirst Deadlift B (12x1x345)
R: Kettlebell Press (2, 3, 2, 3, 2 x 80)
F: StrongFirst Deadlift C (8x1x405)
S: Double Kettlebell Complexes
In 2024 (and beyond) my goals will be:
405-pound back squat
495-pound deadlift
106-pound kettlebell press
My simple way of keeping myself honest on strength-vs-bodyweight: instead of chasing more weight on the bar, chase these goals while driving and keeping my bodyweight under 220 (I’ve not done quite as well as I’d like in 2023, but it is a 2024 goal to push my bodyweight back down under 220 rather than adding bodyweight to add strength).
2024+ PR’s:
Back Squat 345 @ 234.8 (5/29/2023)
Deadlift 495 @ 235.4 (3/25/2024)
Kettlebell Press 97 @ 236.0 (2/29/2024)
Older (All-Time) PR’s:
Front Squat 370 (8/15/2019)
Back Squat 445 (9/27/2019)
Deadlift 625 (2/8/2019)
Wife (2024+) PR’s:
Back Squat 3x155
Deadlift 1x195
Kettlebell Press 4x26
slightly_smiling: