T Nation

Redbuilt, Begin Again Again

Over 35 Lifter
#1

I’m going further than I’ve gone before, and I’m starting a log here to keep me on track.

About me- I’m pushing 36, have three little ones and a wonderful wife, and shoot competitively in long range tactical, USPSA, and 3 gun. I was a country boy growing up and wrestled intercollegiate some in college, and did farm work and construction while at home. Never worked out much back then, but I was stronger than almost everyone I knew that did. As couple years after getting out I got married and my first ‘professional’ job, and that all changed.

I’ve been in IT over 10 years now, and sitting at a desk all day has taken a toll. Several years ago my wakeup call was when I passed 250 with little muscle at 5’11". I started watching what I ate with some success, and later started Crossfit. That’s the best thing I’ve ever done for my health. I did it for about a year before work schedule interfered, but my diet was never good and I never got below about 215. A great deal of that weight changed from fat to muscle, but I never go ta flat stomach. After my work schedule changed I did Starting Strength for a while and had some very good strength increases.

Early last year I started a project at work that required me to travel 3 weeks per month, and I spent way too much time sitting in restaurants late at night before crashing in the hotel for a couple hours sleep before getting back to work early the next morning. I felt guilty for being away so much, and ended up working out only 2-3 times most months. I lost some of the gains I had, and packed on around the midsection again.

So now I’m hitting it again. I just bought the 5-3-1 book, and am going to use that progression. My gym sold some surplus equipment and I snagged a nice flat bench and squat rack. I made a homemade thick bar, and ordered an older model Again Faster team bar on clearance today. I need to pick up some more plates too. With this in my shop, I have no excuse to miss a workout now. My maxes today:

Squat: 315- had a little left, but that’s as much as I was comfortable with without a spotter
Bench: 265
Deadlift: 365- had a lot left in my back and legs, but ran out of grip abruptly
Strict press: 165

My goals are slow but steady gains. By the end of the year I want to bench 3 plates, squat 4 plates, deadlift 5 plates, and press my bodyweight. And lose this spare tire!

#2

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Is there a way to attach multiple pics?

Before:

#3

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The start of a gym.

#4

Following.

Good luck. And Happy New Year!

#5

[quote]Redbuilt wrote:

My goals are slow but steady gains. By the end of the year I want to bench 3 plates, squat 4 plates, deadlift 5 plates, and press my bodyweight. And lose this spare tire!
[/quote]

Absent ‘supplement’ usage, getting significantly stronger while simultaneously getting significantly leaner is a difficult thing to do. Best of luck, and keep us updated as you pursue your goals.

#6

Yeah, I realize those are conflicting goals. My primary goal is strength increase; I think my goals are reasonable. Less than a year ago I could bench 300, squat 360, and deadlift 450. I’m hoping some of that strength will come back fairly quickly.

Losing paunch is a secondary goal, getting back to lifting and cleaning up my diet should help a lot. I’m not planning on cutting hard or trying to get ripped up, I just want my body shape to get back closer to what I want.

Started 531 today, the primary lift was military press 100/115/130. 5 reps the first two sets, I pressed the last one 8 times. I used the thick bar, as the standard bar hasn’t been shipped yet. Assistance work was chair dips, pullups, kettlebell swings, and a little jump rope.

#7

Your going to get stronger than you are today at a leaner weight…period. Weight loss and the wellbeing it provides, technique mastery, and your growing confidence is a recipe for success. Take special note of wendler’s conditioning advice. You don’t need to be a cardio queen, just a tough MF’r.

Good luck. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

#8

Thanks for all the encouragement!

Today was deadlift day. The working sets were 5@225, 5@250, and 10@285. As before, grip strength was the limitation. I had to switch to a mixed grip halfway through the second set.

Accessory work included 65 lb goodmornings (never done those, so I stayed light), knee raises, toes to bar, decline situps, and whatever that infernal rack is called that holds your legs while you raise your body horizontal with your lower back. I finished up with 3 farmers walks using 52lb kettlebells to get the grip strength up.

I have to miss the next few days because of work, but I’ll find something to do at the hotel.

#9

Nothing life changing to note, today I started week 2 with overhead press. All the lifts so far have felt really light.

On a side note, my boys (7 and 5) have REALLY gotten into it. Every day when I get home they bug the snot out of me until we go work out. Naturally I keep it very light with the emphasis on form, I picked up some 2.5 lb plates to go with the 5’s I have. They’re using a curling bar for now, I need to find or make a lightweight barbell for them.

Oh yeah, the Again Faster bar came last week. It looks pretty nice for the money, I’m happy with it. It’s nicer than a lot of the bars at my local gym.

#10

[quote]HARA wrote:
Your going to get stronger than you are today at a leaner weight…period. Weight loss and the wellbeing it provides, technique mastery, and your growing confidence is a recipe for success. Take special note of wendler’s conditioning advice. You don’t need to be a cardio queen, just a tough MF’r.

Good luck. Looking forward to seeing your progress. [/quote]
X2

Focus on performance and eating half way decent and you will see results.

#11

Another week down. I had some setbacks this week, apparently I managed to get two different flavors of stomach bug in the same week. On the negative, I’m a workout behind for the week, still have squats to do. On the positive side, I got some rest in, so I think I’m going to skip the reload week next week and move up to the next 531 set. The weights still feel pretty light anyway. Second benefit, I definitely lost a couple pounds.

Also, the local gym was selling some more equipment, and I picked up some 30, 50, and 70lb dumbbell sets for a grand total of $30. He had a bench with one snapped bolt and another thats seized; I am fixing that for him as thanks.

#12

It’s been a long time since I updated, I haven’t had time to be on the forum much but am still on track with my strength goals. The belly fat has held fairly steady up until a couple weeks ago, I took a week off work and replaced the sheeting and shingles on my roof. Quite a workout, let me tell you. I dropped a decent amount of weight during the week and a half it took me, although I didn’t weigh beforehand to see how much. Just a quick update to say I’m still at it.