Well, to be fair, I think a show about losing weight the way I’m doing it would be pretty boring. You’d get a few short, tough sets of lifting for action, but most of the footage would be shopping, cooking and cleaning up the mess. I suppose I could break down and cry after some squats for dramatic effect, or maybe have my lifting partner yell at me more than he already does.
I really hate The Biggest Loser. It would be cool if they could make a compelling show about training smart and eating right without putting your life on hold. It could advance a lot of good ideas and show people that losing weight isn’t nearly as grueling as that stupid show makes it out to be. But they probably won’t, because it just isn’t very glamorous or exciting.
I was having a chat with another hefty fellow in the locker room yesterday. He’s been at it as long as I have, but not quite getting similar results. He only - ONLY - uses the elliptical. He busts his ass on it too, for an hour at a time several days a week. We’ve had a few brief chats over the years, and he’s still convinced he’s on to something with his hour-long elliptical marathons. You see, lifting doesn’t burn as many calories.
Well, I finally joined the 21st century and bought an iphone this week. So this log will definitely be getting more squat footage, regardless of whether I break down emotionally after the set.
@countrygirl2016 I’m glad you’re as excited as I am. It has been a while since I’ve gotten any sets on film, and I’ve always wanted to add more of that to my log. Now I will. I was lucky enough to be born and raised in rural Indiana, so I will never complain when a lovely country gal wants to follow my log of lifting. The only rule is that you can’t quit what you’ve recently started. I highly recommend starting a log!
@punnyguy Great to hear from you and I appreciate the kind words. Some of your posts in my log have really resonated with me. You really got me thinking about “owning the weight” and you once posted something to the effect of “someone who lifts weights as much as you do should lean out pretty easily if you don’t eat like crap and quit drinking so much beer”. That really stuck with me. You were absolutely right.
Of course I’m following your log!!! …there are many things about your post that I enjoy reading. I thought about starting a log but I see most people post about food and what workouts they did. I am not up on all of that since I just started weight training so it would be pretty boring. I lost 8 pounds and am seeing muscle tone which is very motivating! I’m thankful for everyone willing to answer my questions (even if the answers given are rough).
Nothing that we do in the gym or on the internet is mandatory by any means. There are many paths to success and there are many tools at our disposal to get where we want to go. Speaking for myself, keeping a semi-anonymous online log has been a vital tool. You’ve caught me at a busy time in this log, but there are months and months of uneventful entries that I just made for myself. If you want to make lifting and self-improvement a part of who you are for the long-term, you will be well-served to document it.
Putting yourself out there also has the benefit of attracting the attention of people who want to offer advice, encouragement, and even some tough love when it is called for. I’m not certain that I would have stuck with this whole process without the community here. I highly doubt you will have any regrets if you decide to start a log and, most importantly, if you decide to stick with this endeavor.
If you can find me a woman who has squatted for a year and regretted it, I might change my opinion.
I understand what you mean and agree with it. I am excited about my goal and welcome advice from anyone who is genuinely willing to help me. It would be nice one day to look back at where I started and be proud. I am really trying hard but I’m not thrilled with where I’m at now. I’ll look at the logs and see what I can come up with for mine. Thank you for the push and I hope you continue to help!!
Notes: As mentioned earlier, I finally got a smartphone and no longer rely on others to get footage.
Here’s 455 (including color commentary from my partner)
Here’s 405x6
And here’s my partner busting out 405x12 (posted with his permission).
Today’s sets felt decent and next week I want to keep working on getting more out of the belt. My partner describes what he does as letting the belt keep you tight. He takes short, shallow breaths between his reps, and you can see that he just hammers out a bunch of reps that way. I, on the other hand, reset my air between each rep and re-brace. This worked well for my beltless training career, but I think I can do better now.
Dude! You look fantastic now…it’s been awhile since you posted a vid, but the visual difference between this and your older vids is quite striking. Not to mention the smokeshow that 455 squat was. Great stuff!
@ChickenLittle Wait a sec, who is “we”? Are you one of those multiple personality types, or were you just watching my squats with your friends the fire ants?
@ActivitiesGuy I really appreciate it man. I still have a ways to go, but I’m really pleased to be as strong as I’ve ever been at this lower BW. I think I can keep shedding fat like this for the near future. Keep an eye out for some fat boy pull-up videos later this week.
@2busy Thanks! 455 felt really good too, and I don’t see any need for me to go any heavier than that right now. At some point I will want to get 495 back on the bar, and maybe go beyond that if it feels good. No rush on that, though.
@biker Thanks! He really is a good partner for me. We’re right in the same strength ballpark, we’re both chubby 30-somethings, we learn from each other and we push each other every day in the gym. Makes it a lot more fun!
@biker The lovely gal with the dander problem came back tonight, and I’m pleased to report that all jeans pockets are now dander-free. Unfortunately, she wasn’t watching the clock whilst nude sun-bathing this afternoon. She was concerned about skin damage, but the burns were actually quite minor. I believe she will recover just fine.
I’m just glad to assist our valued customers however I can. Bouncing isn’t just about checking ID’s and asking drunks to leave. I prefer a more holistic approach to the job.
Please do
That’s exciting!!!
