INFO:
I’ve been training on a consistent basis since August of 2007, and not so consistent since July of '06 after a layoff of around two years or so from 2004-2006.
I started July of '04 at a fairly solid 215, but had to gorge myself to get there. I rapidly lost weight due to heat, lots of walking and poor nutrition (I was in Brazil at the time) and ended my stint looking very bad @ 165 or thereabouts.
Came back, made a commitment to gain that muscle back and started lifting again. I had (have) fairly limited resources; lifting in the garage was kind of inconvenient. I gave a simple 20 rep squat routine a whirl and ate everything not nailed down. 3 protein shakes a day, 1/2 to a gallon of milk daily, bananas, lots of chicken, lunchmeat and cheese, etc. Got up to around 190-200, and I’d say about half that weight was muscle. Started doing a Westside template and was into it for a couple months.
Things came to a screeching halt when the garage was ocupado for about three months, so in that time I said fuck it, bought a rack & a bench off newyorkbarbells.tv (great place, btw; very cheap and dependable) got back one of my bars and a stack of weights, and built myself a platform in my room.
Now I had ample training space, and could begin in earnest. Made huge gains on Westside- bench went up from 200 to 255 in four months (down from 235 during that forced 3 months layoff) squat is finally a good bit over 300, so’s the deadlift and it looks like I might actually hit 200 in the overhead press for the first time ever.
However, I feel myself getting a bit…itchy. I’m making good progress (with minor changes) with my current routine, but I’m tired of being a short small dude in a big man’s world. I’m going to continue on with Westside until April (when I’ve planned to hit a bench in the 275-300 range, squat & dead in the high 300’s/low 400’s, shoulder press around 185-200, etc) so that I have a decent strength base, and THEN:
bulk until I’m 280 pounds. 280 GOOD pounds. Not "fat guy with nice forearms) 280, or “improbably ripped to the bone 280” (yeah right), but just two hundred and eighty solid, fair-amount-of-muscle-tissue, not-too-worried-about-fat-‘cause-I’m-eatin’ clean pounds.
I don’t really have a specific timeframe other than the beginning of 2009. I’d like to switch a five day conventional split, reps north of six but south of ten and a commensurate number of sets. I feel like I’d respond well to the variety, but of course I accept advice and counsel from those far, far wiser than I.
I’ll post pictures of the then and the now, and talk a bit more about nutrition, specifics about the split, progress I’m currently making, etc. For now I’ll just give you the stats and quit typing.
STATS:
5’9
235 lbs (approximately)
Don’t really know my measurements but I’ll put them up later
Bench 1RM: 260
Squat 1RM: 340
Deadlift 1RM: 370
Overhead press 1RM: 170 (don’t really max out on these)
Chinups for reps: 6 but I normally keep it below so I can do more sets and get better at them
