I'm fat. Yes, I shouldn't admit that, but I would be fat whether I admitted it or not. I am also strong, but it's easier to be strong when you're fat.
I haven't always been fat, but I have weighed more than I would like to my whole life and have almost always been uncomfortable with my shirt off.
The funny thing is that I know how to help others lose weight and get into great shape. I've been doing it for almost three years now. I just haven't been able to follow my own advice and get out of my way. I always second guess myself and look for a better plan or a better way.
I need to stop doing this because it will kill me if I don't. I need to get the weight back under control and stop hiding behind the fact that I'm in better shape than most people or that I'm stronger than most people. If I'm comparing myself to the average American, sure, I'm doing alright, but that isn't saying much when 33% of Americans are obese.
So What Am I Doing To Change This?
I have registered for my first powerlifting meet in Dubuque, IA in November. The weight class I will be competing in is the 220lb class. This will force me to drop about 25lbs. and then I will readjust my goals from there.
I also may hire a nutrition consultant to prevent me from second guessing the plan I make for myself. I'm going to see how the next month goes before I do that.
Showing posts with label Powerlifting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Powerlifting. Show all posts
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
How to Squat 425lbs
I squatted 425lbs today and it feels fucking great. I could've written freaking, but you're not stupid and that wouldn't fool you. You know exactly what I mean. A 425 lb squat at a body weight of 245 isn't really that amazing, but it's a new record for me and it is just the beginning.
How Did I Get There?
I started lifting weights around the age of 15. I don't think I ever did real free weight squats. I mostly did the beach bro workout. Chest, arms, shoulders, and back once in a while. I did a few clean and jerks for football, but that was it. I only got up to about 205 in the bench and I'm sure my form sucked.
When I was 19 and moved back home from my college failure I lifted weights pretty seriously for about 9 months. I made the best gains ever and felt huge. I was on some type of program that was an upper/lower split and worked everything based off 1RM%. Looking back, it wasn't too bad of a program and I got my bench up to 255 if I remember correctly. I don't remember what my squat got up to, but at least I was working lower body.
Then I got away from the weights again, met my wife, got married, had kids, and got kind of fat. I wasn't obese, but I went from about 210 in August of 2003 to 235 in March of 2009. It was a slow weight gain and I worked out and dieted off and on during those years.
Reality Check
Life kind of sucked in the spring of 2009. I was working a job I hated (then I got laid off) and I had too many bills and not enough money. It was hard to find a new job and unemployment didn't pay enough so I attempted to join the Air Guard. I was told that I was too fat (I had a waist circumference of 42 inches) so I started working out. I knew that I needed to lift weights to maintain muscle, but at that point all I cared about was getting the number on the scale to get below a certain magical number that the military required.
After doing tons of cardio (a lot of swimming, which was actually fun), I lost about 12 pounds and then it stopped. I realized I needed to add weights in, started Rippetoe's Starting Strength, and dropped another 12 pounds pretty quickly.
At this point I had moved on from the Air Guard and was going to join the Navy active duty to study nuclear power because I scored 99 out of 100 on the ASVAB, which is some kind of military aptitude test. Long story short, I went to MEPS and was told that I was too old (27) for a job with a maximum age of 25. Because of the bad economy, the Navy had many people trying to get in so they didn't need to give me a waiver. In normal times I probably would have gotten in.
Rippetoe's Starting Strength
This was the program that I followed starting in May of 2009 and I followed it for almost a year. You can Google it for details, but it is a very structured program based around the main compound lifts. I believe every new lifter should start with this program if their goal is to get stronger, gain muscle, and lose fat. It worked great for me.
When I started this program my 5RM squat was about 225. I think I got up to 325 or so for 5 reps using this program. Then I got a job at LA Fitness, discovered many other training programs and experimented for a while.
I did a little bit of crossfit stuff, a lot of bodybuilding/high rep stuff, and a lot of dieting. I don't know what I squatted during this time because I don't think I went below 8 reps for about 9 months. I learned a lot and gained some decent size during this time, but my strength probably plateaued during this time.
Doggcrapp and Bodybuilding Training
I quit LA Fitness in September of 2010 and started working for myself doing personal training. I did this for about 9 months before becoming manager of Anytime Fitness. I made my own schedule during this time and had a great training partner so I never missed a workout and made great gains.
We did Doggcrap training for about 3 months and bodybuilding/high rep stuff for about 6 months. I didn't do much low rep work, but really pushed the high rep stuff, which must have carried over into peak strength.
Last July I was squatting with my training partner after a couple week layoff and was feeling great. We just kept pushing the weight up (I had never had more than 335 on the bar in my life) and doing singles. First it was 335, then 355, then 375, and I figured what the hell, I would go for 405. It went up pretty easily and I was amazed. That definitely shows that high volume does have a carryover to max weight if you are really pushing the high volume work.
The Lazy Year
That happened in July of 2011 and I have pretty much coasted this last year. I've gained too much weight (I'm at 245) and am going strong again. I have signed up for a powerlifting contest in November and will be competing in the 220lb weight class so that's good motivation to cut a little bit of weight.
Even with the nearly year-long plateau my squat has still gone up 20 pounds and I'm pretty sure I could have squeaked out another 25 (next month I will max again and will push for 440).
Summary
It took me longer than it had to, but I got there. The next 200 pound increase shouldn't take me 9 years if I'm doing things right, but who knows. Nothing ever goes exactly as planned and that's the fun part.
How Did I Get There?
I started lifting weights around the age of 15. I don't think I ever did real free weight squats. I mostly did the beach bro workout. Chest, arms, shoulders, and back once in a while. I did a few clean and jerks for football, but that was it. I only got up to about 205 in the bench and I'm sure my form sucked.
When I was 19 and moved back home from my college failure I lifted weights pretty seriously for about 9 months. I made the best gains ever and felt huge. I was on some type of program that was an upper/lower split and worked everything based off 1RM%. Looking back, it wasn't too bad of a program and I got my bench up to 255 if I remember correctly. I don't remember what my squat got up to, but at least I was working lower body.
Then I got away from the weights again, met my wife, got married, had kids, and got kind of fat. I wasn't obese, but I went from about 210 in August of 2003 to 235 in March of 2009. It was a slow weight gain and I worked out and dieted off and on during those years.
Reality Check
Life kind of sucked in the spring of 2009. I was working a job I hated (then I got laid off) and I had too many bills and not enough money. It was hard to find a new job and unemployment didn't pay enough so I attempted to join the Air Guard. I was told that I was too fat (I had a waist circumference of 42 inches) so I started working out. I knew that I needed to lift weights to maintain muscle, but at that point all I cared about was getting the number on the scale to get below a certain magical number that the military required.
After doing tons of cardio (a lot of swimming, which was actually fun), I lost about 12 pounds and then it stopped. I realized I needed to add weights in, started Rippetoe's Starting Strength, and dropped another 12 pounds pretty quickly.
At this point I had moved on from the Air Guard and was going to join the Navy active duty to study nuclear power because I scored 99 out of 100 on the ASVAB, which is some kind of military aptitude test. Long story short, I went to MEPS and was told that I was too old (27) for a job with a maximum age of 25. Because of the bad economy, the Navy had many people trying to get in so they didn't need to give me a waiver. In normal times I probably would have gotten in.
Rippetoe's Starting Strength
This was the program that I followed starting in May of 2009 and I followed it for almost a year. You can Google it for details, but it is a very structured program based around the main compound lifts. I believe every new lifter should start with this program if their goal is to get stronger, gain muscle, and lose fat. It worked great for me.
When I started this program my 5RM squat was about 225. I think I got up to 325 or so for 5 reps using this program. Then I got a job at LA Fitness, discovered many other training programs and experimented for a while.
I did a little bit of crossfit stuff, a lot of bodybuilding/high rep stuff, and a lot of dieting. I don't know what I squatted during this time because I don't think I went below 8 reps for about 9 months. I learned a lot and gained some decent size during this time, but my strength probably plateaued during this time.
Doggcrapp and Bodybuilding Training
I quit LA Fitness in September of 2010 and started working for myself doing personal training. I did this for about 9 months before becoming manager of Anytime Fitness. I made my own schedule during this time and had a great training partner so I never missed a workout and made great gains.
We did Doggcrap training for about 3 months and bodybuilding/high rep stuff for about 6 months. I didn't do much low rep work, but really pushed the high rep stuff, which must have carried over into peak strength.
Last July I was squatting with my training partner after a couple week layoff and was feeling great. We just kept pushing the weight up (I had never had more than 335 on the bar in my life) and doing singles. First it was 335, then 355, then 375, and I figured what the hell, I would go for 405. It went up pretty easily and I was amazed. That definitely shows that high volume does have a carryover to max weight if you are really pushing the high volume work.
The Lazy Year
That happened in July of 2011 and I have pretty much coasted this last year. I've gained too much weight (I'm at 245) and am going strong again. I have signed up for a powerlifting contest in November and will be competing in the 220lb weight class so that's good motivation to cut a little bit of weight.
Even with the nearly year-long plateau my squat has still gone up 20 pounds and I'm pretty sure I could have squeaked out another 25 (next month I will max again and will push for 440).
Summary
It took me longer than it had to, but I got there. The next 200 pound increase shouldn't take me 9 years if I'm doing things right, but who knows. Nothing ever goes exactly as planned and that's the fun part.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Coming Out of the Funk
I have noticed something since I started lifting regularly three years ago. My motivation seems to come and go in a predictable pattern. I get really motivated around October or November and push really hard with lifting and dieting and make some pretty good gains. Then around May I notice that I'm not as excited about my workouts and I slowly start eating too much.
I even knew that this had been a problem for me in the past and was prepared for it this year, but it still happened. It even happened earlier than normal this year. It started around April and lasted until just a couple weeks ago. It's not like I didn't work out at all during that time, but my workouts were inconsistent and I didn't really make any strength or body composition gains.
I do know that it is behind me now because I'm looking forward to my workouts and I'm excited for my workout time to get here everyday. On my off day yesterday I was disappointed that I wouldn't get to lift. That's when I know I'm back in the right mindset and I'm going to take advantage of it.
I have been doing more research on upcoming meets and I think I found the meet that I'm going to register for. It's November 16th in Dubuque, IA. I will be competing in the raw division in the squat, bench, and deadlift. My goals as of right now are to bench 315, squat 475, and deadlift 525. That would give me a total of 1,315 pounds and would be great for my first meet. I'm not committing to anything after that, but I am leaning towards taking a couple weeks off and then preparing for a spring bodybuilding competition.
That is scary for me to even think about because I have dieted down for a contest twice so far and quit at about ten weeks out both times. I did learn a lot about what to expect from those two attempts so I think I would be better prepared this time, but who knows.
Today's Workout
I even knew that this had been a problem for me in the past and was prepared for it this year, but it still happened. It even happened earlier than normal this year. It started around April and lasted until just a couple weeks ago. It's not like I didn't work out at all during that time, but my workouts were inconsistent and I didn't really make any strength or body composition gains.
I do know that it is behind me now because I'm looking forward to my workouts and I'm excited for my workout time to get here everyday. On my off day yesterday I was disappointed that I wouldn't get to lift. That's when I know I'm back in the right mindset and I'm going to take advantage of it.
I have been doing more research on upcoming meets and I think I found the meet that I'm going to register for. It's November 16th in Dubuque, IA. I will be competing in the raw division in the squat, bench, and deadlift. My goals as of right now are to bench 315, squat 475, and deadlift 525. That would give me a total of 1,315 pounds and would be great for my first meet. I'm not committing to anything after that, but I am leaning towards taking a couple weeks off and then preparing for a spring bodybuilding competition.
That is scary for me to even think about because I have dieted down for a contest twice so far and quit at about ten weeks out both times. I did learn a lot about what to expect from those two attempts so I think I would be better prepared this time, but who knows.
Today's Workout
Friday, July 13, 2012
Epiphany
Ok, so I think I realized today what it is that I need to do. I have been messaging back and forth a little with Harry Selkow (check out his log here). He knows his stuff. I was hoping to work with him because I was thinking that I needed some guidance and motivation. Well, he definitely motivated me, but not in the way that I expected.
He basically said that I need to man up, register for a powerlifting meet, and get to work. Once I send in that entry fee and commit to the meet he said I would become a different person. I would be a lot more motivated, driven, and focused. I really respect that advice because he could've easily written me a program and took my money, but he told me his true opinion even though it didn't make him any money. That's integrity right there and you don't find it very often.
I'm going to start searching for meets around November or December and get training. I had plans of doing a powerlifting meet a few months back. The meet is actually tomorrow, but I wasn't fully committed because I'm not doing it. I never sent in my entry form or check so I guess I wasn't very serious. That's what is going to be different this time. I'm going to send in the entry fee as soon as I find the meet that I'm doing.
He basically said that I need to man up, register for a powerlifting meet, and get to work. Once I send in that entry fee and commit to the meet he said I would become a different person. I would be a lot more motivated, driven, and focused. I really respect that advice because he could've easily written me a program and took my money, but he told me his true opinion even though it didn't make him any money. That's integrity right there and you don't find it very often.
I'm going to start searching for meets around November or December and get training. I had plans of doing a powerlifting meet a few months back. The meet is actually tomorrow, but I wasn't fully committed because I'm not doing it. I never sent in my entry form or check so I guess I wasn't very serious. That's what is going to be different this time. I'm going to send in the entry fee as soon as I find the meet that I'm doing.
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