Anytime's Come Back

Training Logs
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Alright I’ve been meaning to do this for awhile. I let myself go, and now at 40 it’s time for a comeback. Quick bio;
1999 I was 27, I had been training for ahletic’s my whole life, I was a full time iron worker, amd part time strength coach/personal trainer. That year in Aug. I did my third PLing meet, I got a 1480 at 200lbs (I wanted 1500 bad) Sept.

I fell 80ft at work, and crushed lower left side of my body (lucky to be alive) I went through several operations, and developed a pill addiction, that ended with a year in jail 06/07. I came out clean and sober, worked hard for two years, and opened my own commercial gym in 09. I built up a good client base of young hockey player’s, and was good at getting young kids strong.

As far my own training, I started using gear for the first time, and training like a BBer, lots of juice, lots of isolation exercises, not much leg work, not much strength work. I was looking pretty good, and was lean.

At the end of 2011 I got put on house arrest, and for the whole year of 2012 I did no lifting, just eating, think I fell into some sort of depression as well. That brings me to the present…

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Definitely in on this.

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This year in Jan. set my goals on doing another meet, I’m 40 this year so it means I compete in a master’s devision. I was 250 at 6ft, I’d let myself go pretty bad, and was about as solid as a bag of milk, but we all gotta start somewhere, so I set up a gym in my garage, and started back training this May. I have been meaning to set up a log since then but didn’t get around to it.

I’m going to post some pics I took today, and number’s on my three lifts. This will be the start of my journey back to greatness, and out of this hole I dug myself. This log will hold me accountable, My lifts, and strength seems to be comming back fairly fast, and after three cycles of 531 I’m at; bench 350, squat 400, and deads 450, puts me around 1200.

My goals are to do a meet around April/May next year, I’m aiming to finaly get my 1500, although this time at 220lbs. Along the way I’ll do/get some body recomp, bring up my arms, and shoulder’s. I also have a mini goal right now of cleaning 225x5, it’s just a little contest with a buddy of mine. All the kids I train are aboard this train, having watched me flab up,and weaken over the last few years. I also thought there might be some guys out there in similar situations as me. Being athletic in your teens, and twenty’s, than due to life, find yourself in your forty’s with a spare tire, and an unfinished dream, 1500 or die baby !

I draw some inspiration from CT’s comeback a few years ago, I know under this layer of fat, I still have a base from 20yrs of heavy training, and I also have a lifetime of training knowlage to help me comeback. Here goes nothing !

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I just wasted a hour of my life I’l never get back, trying to upload 2pics, My wife will be home at 3, and she can do it, for all those dying to see what I look like, lol
Anyway here’s today’s workout Military week 1, - 200 lb max, I do them straddling a bench with no back suport, the weight hangs on straps at my shoulders, and I start the press from the bottom.

militay— pullup
95x10 — me(240)x6
115x5 — mex6
125x5 — mex6
135x5 — mex6
*155x6 – mex6
135x10 — mex6
125x11 — mex9
rear latterals, done before every set of military(fast pace)
115x91/2-- 10sx30
115x8 — 20sx18
115x6 — 30sx12
115x5 — 20sx13
115x5 — 10sx30stupidly painful reps

The first half of the workout I take my time between sets, as long as it takes to fully recover. The second half of the workout is stupid fast, directly from latterals to press, than around 30 sec, and go again. The whole workout takes less than 45 min, in and out. Tomorrow is deads, I use the same style with all 4 of my workouts, 12 sets of the main exercise, with secondary exercises supersetted in.

My split is torso/appendage based around main lifts, and I loosely use 531 template, just for the numbers. I’ve been using same program for 3mths, since I came back, and it’s been working well for my goals of strength, and body recomp/arm,shoulder size. All through my 20s I never trained arms, and shoulder’s directly. Thinking they would grow from heavy bench, and back work, that theory didn’t work for me, and now I’m forced to play catch up with arms, and shoulder’s. That reflects in my current programing.

Csulli; Thanks for the support bro, I’ll try not to disapoint. I’m sure once I get going, my far from centre theorys on traning, and life will keep things interesting, just got to stay out of jail long enough to get back in shape this time. Clock is ticking, and I haven’t got to many more kicks at the can. latter

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Here’s a couple pic’s, looking alot better then three months ago, but still have a long way to go…

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1936×2592 1.37 MB

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1936×2592 1.5 MB

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Haha, thats what I get, side ways, and blown up the size of the screen, just so I can’,t ignor how much work I have to do. I forgot I had my tooth out after waking up, thats funny. Anyway the point is, I need motivation, I need to look at these pics every day, and get to work. I purposely took the pics in a bight room without a pump, this wasn’t about trying to look jacked, it’s about a starting point.

I don’t know how to black out my face (can barely upload) so if the mods want to do it I appreciate, if not thats fine. I got nothing to hide at this point in my life. Alright now all you other 40 yr olds with a spare tire have no excuses, time to stop talking about how great we used to be, how much we used to be able to lift, how fast we were, how great my abs used to look. The time is now.

I think in these pics I’m around 240@6ft, I can still run 3 miles in under 20min, believe it or not, so I’m at a decent starting place. First goal is to get that 1500 thats been calling to me for 13yrs, I’m around 1200 now so it might be alot to ask for in a year. Also I have nothing against gear, used and loved it in the past, but this is a different journey, it’s personal, and I want to do 1500 natural, and raw.

After that I’ll see how I feel, might do a cycle, and chase some big number’s, but first I have to finish what I started. Stay tuned

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Alrighty, deadlift day,

Deads----------Fallouts(TRX,for abz)
135x10------mex10
225x5-----mex10
275x5-----mex10
315x5-----mex10
315x5-----mex10
315x5-----mex10
295x8-----mex10
275x11—mex10
complex–2moves–highpull+kirkrow-5sec,hold
185x5+failure
185x5+failure
185x5+failure
Tri set Tbar row–spyder curl–standing BW frenchpress
90x20—55x20—mex20
135x15-55x18—mex20
185x10-55x15—mex20
225x5–55x15—mex20
135x22-55x16-mex20

Workout was good, it’s hard not to pile on weight for deads, just trying to put the work in with sub max, and as I feel better add some volume to top work sets. Would have liked to have done atleast 5sets of 5, but by the third set I was starting to grind. It’s funny my 1RM strength is comming back faster than my base strength, I should be able to do sets of 5x315 all day long, it’ll come. Thanks to my wife who’s running my gym, all my guy’s including my head trainer know about my log (hey Brandon) so it feels a little weird having people I know seeing this. Rember you guys have all that fancy equipment, and I’m training harder in my garage (I’m still on house arrest) so we’ll see who makes better gains. 600lb dead seems so far away, I’m hoping to have 500lb by the new year, I am 40, and it has been 13yrs since I’ve trained deadlift, and squat in this manner, but it makes training real fun when every week I’m leaps, and bounds stronger. latter

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You’re one thick son of a gun. I’m sure that strength will come back really quickly; always does.

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Yeah woke up this morning feeling a little depresesd, can’t believe how sore, and how much of a grind yesterdays dead session was. I’ve always been stronger than I look, and for the first time I feel the oppisite. I’m glad I’m at home right now not at a commercial gym, doing my back off dead sets with 275, should be rowing, anyway can’t lose hope this early on.

Debating what to do with my bench, it’s my strongest lift, as it continued to get trained, through leg injuries, and BBing phaze, and now I bench pretty much same as I squat. So I’m thinking of parking my bench, and save the effort, and recovery for squat, and deads. Either way my split lokks like this;
Mon–Benchx12sets–facepull—some latterals
Tues–Squat12sets–abz—some bis
Wed–military12sets–pullups–some latterals
Fri—Deads12sets—abz—some BBing stuff(3exercises)

Alot of guys look at this kind of training as boring, there’s alot of sets, all sub max, so you don’t train to failure hardly ever just going by bar speed, and feel. The thing is I thrive on this, and when I can talk my kids in to training this way, they become freaks. I’ve been seen the results of this type of training enough, that I don’t question it anymore, but it’s hard for other guys that haven’t seen the results.

On my dead session yesterday probably could have grinded out 365x5 or even more maybey, but I was aiming for 5x5 at 315 smooth and quick. halfway through the third set started feeling heavy, so I dropped to 295, than 275 this came up as fast as a clean. You either have to have a coach, watching bar speed, or be able to be honest with your self, somtimes hard to do. I believe in this type of training 100% and barring injury, when I post new pics in 3mths, The differance will be night, and day, and other than TRT I’m not running anything this time, so it should be interesting.latter

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I think you look pretty good!
We could be twins…except I’m shorter, carry more fat and have more body hair!
Glad to see another Yeti!

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Thanks, ya I generaly keep my back naired, and chest cliped, but being on house arrest messes with your head. I don’t go out so I don’t have much drive to pimp up, I only shave once a week, leave my tooth (plate) out. this is part of the reason I haven’t been really lifting, and taking care of myself. In the end I have a 24yr wife, and i think she’s getting sick of me laying on the couch getting fat for the last year, and a half. It’s funny because I do motivational speaking to kids (atleast once a week) I do some sort of subtance/crime prevention meeting talking about keeping a positive aditude, not letting life get you down.

I had to swallow some of my own medicine lately. As far as still looking half decent, thanks, I believe there is still muscle on my frame, and i could diet down to 210 and look pretty good, but for me it’s about strength. For me looking good without the strength is pointless. I have never liked pretty boy bodies, ideal build for me is Bill Goldburg, Bill Kazz type look, and for this you have to put the work in. No fancy diet will give you the ultimate look of power.

Thanks for following.latter

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By the way I have the habit of babbling endlessly, combination of house arrest/ADD. Also I can’t spell worth a shit, and my home computer has no spellcheck. so deal with it,lol

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[quote]AnytimeJake wrote:
By the way I have the habit of babbling endlessly, combination of house arrest/ADD. Also I can’t spell worth a shit, and my home computer has no spellcheck. so deal with it,lol[/quote]
That sounds pretty much exactly like what Spock does, and she has the most popular log on TNation lol.

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NRGless, this week since I put up my pics finaly found the drive to start cutting junk food out of my diet, and it’s killing my NRG levels. This wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t have a 51/2 daughter who seems to be on crystal meth 24/7 dady dady dady come look come see wow wish shed share some of that meth with me. Pretty neat this week though, were in our new house and she found two sticks in the back yard looked like an x she swore there was a treasure under there, so she went to bed, and I went out in the yard at midnight dug a hole and hid a steel box full of goodies. The next day after school we went out with a shovel, and she dug it up, haha, life gives you gems somtimes, this was one of them. It makes it all worth while, leaving my old crazy sex, drugs, and violance lifestyle behind. Ten years ago if you told me I was going to end up being this guy, law abiding father, husband, buisness owner, wouldn’t have believed it. Cops still don’t, and I can’t blame them, they think I’m still up to somthing–dealing–laundering–armed robberies. After a lifetime of doing these things cops don’t take me at my word, that I completely walked away from all this when my daughter was born. hense the house arrest, I haven’t been convicted of any thing, in 5yrs, they just keep charging me with stuff, and I keep beating it. I have faith that at some point they’ll figure it out, that I’m not acting, this is me. In the mean time I don’t blame them, they’re just doing there jobs. I made my bed, and I got to be this guy long enough for people to forget about the other guy. latter

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[quote]AnytimeJake wrote:
NRGless, this week since I put up my pics finaly found the drive to start cutting junk food out of my diet, and it’s killing my NRG levels. This wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t have a 51/2 daughter who seems to be on crystal meth 24/7 dady dady dady come look come see wow wish shed share some of that meth with me. Pretty neat this week though, were in our new house and she found two sticks in the back yard looked like an x she swore there was a treasure under there, so she went to bed, and I went out in the yard at midnight dug a hole and hid a steel box full of goodies. The next day after school we went out with a shovel, and she dug it up, haha, life gives you gems somtimes, this was one of them. It makes it all worth while, leaving my old crazy sex, drugs, and violance lifestyle behind. Ten years ago if you told me I was going to end up being this guy, law abiding father, husband, buisness owner, wouldn’t have believed it. Cops still don’t, and I can’t blame them, they think I’m still up to somthing–dealing–laundering–armed robberies. After a lifetime of doing these things cops don’t take me at my word, that I completely walked away from all this when my daughter was born. hense the house arrest, I haven’t been convicted of any thing, in 5yrs, they just keep charging me with stuff, and I keep beating it. I have faith that at some point they’ll figure it out, that I’m not acting, this is me. In the mean time I don’t blame them, they’re just doing there jobs. I made my bed, and I got to be this guy long enough for people to forget about the other guy. latter[/quote]

Kids change everything! My daughter is 6 and my son is 5.
I quickly went from buck wild, wannabe pro fighter Hooligan to suburban stereotype after meeting my wife and having kids. I drive the speed limit in a practical car, chat with the elderly neighbors, etc… In fact we just got back from a local festival where we met the guy who was the voice of Yoda and the actor who played the young Boba Fett.

Awesome job with the buried treasure, the only problem is now you might end up with holes all over your yard! :slight_smile:

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I have a 20yr son as well, but I was to young I guess to feel the pull. I got out after a year bit in 07, and my daughter was 2 weeks old, I was 34, and I remember holding her in my arms, and everything changed. I knew I was done with crap, in and out of jail, sleeping with a gun under my pillow, all the f#$kin nonsense. I moved an hour away, to a small town, bought us a little house, opened a little commercial gym. I started, and still run local NA meeting, can’t believe all we’ve acomplished in 6yr. It’s been great

Also, I think I’m going to start working out Sun mornings, to have another day off during the week, so see how I feel in the morning. latter

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Anyway got off topic again, My daughter has gone treasure crazy, thinks she has the gift for finding things, trying not to letr her dig to many holes, glad I have a small yard

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Wondering if anyone has a link to CT’s recomp journey from a few years ago. I remember seeing the pics, and I think there was some articles to go with. Seems to me he was looking pretty similar to where I’m at now, good shape just a little tubby. I tried this morning google, and searching site for this, no luck. I remember it was mabey 5yr ago if anyone knows thanks.
Off to the garage for bench. latter