I can’t believe it’s been a year since I first set foot in a gym.

OK, it hasn’t strictly been a year, but it’s just a few days shy and close enough for a retrospective.

First “Program”

So about a year ago I opted to give lifting another try. I checked out a local gym, found it to my liking, and signed up. I started doing full-body “bodybuilder” type workouts. This is because the lifting knowledge I had up to this point was mainly what I gained in high school, worshiping Joe Weider. So I’m out to work “muscles”, how good do I look in the mirror, etc.. So I’d squat, then barbell rows, then bench press, then a dumbbell press, then calf raises, and end with some curls. You know… work to hit each muscle group with a basic exercise, 3 sets, 8-12 reps, etc..  I started light and easy because I was going from sedentary to work, and I knew I had to ease into it.

I did that for about a month and a half a couple of times a week. Then I came down with something that laid me up for 2-3 weeks. I hated it. But during that time I read all that I could. I learned about the Wendler 5/3/1 program via a caption on a video on the beastskills.com website. Reading on that eventually lead me to Mark Rippetoe and Starting Strength. I learned about some other programs too, but the more I read about 5/3/1 and SS, the more I realized those were the way to go.

Rippetoe and Wendler Come Along

Why those programs? What do I want? To be strong. To have some muscle mass. To lose fat. To look good. To have practical and useful strength, because strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and generally more useful (Rippetoe). But I realized that I don’t just want to have big puffy muscles that are useless. I want foremost to have strength and usefulness. If I have useful muscles, they’ll be big enough and look good enough. And so, programs like SS and 5/3/1 are the way to get there. Heck, SS is the way to start no matter what you want to do (get big, get strong, etc.), because it focuses on all the basics, so no matter what your goal, if it involves lifting weights, SS is the place to start.

And so I did, tho I actually did a variant, the Practical Programming Novice Program, because I couldn’t do cleans in my gym (I could now, but that’ll have to come later after I finish my current run). But it only worked for about 2 months for me because it’s just brutal. I don’t have the ability to dedicate to the recovery necessary because I’m not 18 and because I have other things in life to do than just train. Still, it helped me build a good foundation and I’m thankful for that. I still refer back to Rip’s books and videos.

Then I opted to switch to Wendler 5/3/1. Sure there’s stuff like Bill Starr’s stuff, StrongLifts 5×5, Texas Method, and countless other programs. But what appealed to me about Wendler was that it was a logical progression, it focused on making long-term gains, it was simple and straightforward, no bullshit, and there was focus on slow and steady while allowing for recovery. Sounds like what the old man needs. 😉

As I publish this, I’m finishing my 7th cycle on 5/3/1. I hit the gym 3 days a week, mostly having done the “boring but big” template, but then I changed things around trying to see how it would go, but in the end I’m back on BBB because it’s solid and simple, and until you really know what you’re weak at or if you have a particular goal, there’s little reason to do any other template, IMHO.

Progress/Results (the numbers stuff)

Well, it’s hard to compare strength changes because of how things started. So, I’ll just give some markers.

My initial “full body, bodybuilding-esque program”, I was squatting 95# for 3×12, tho my records show on the last set I only got 10. And I’m sure my form sucked and I wasn’t getting deep enough. I benched 65# for 3×12. I did a seated dumbbell press of 40# (I’m sure that is 2 20# dumbbells) for 2×12 and 1×8. That was literally from the first day I went into the gym a year ago. Oh, and I didn’t deadlift.

Practical Programming Novice program started with the first workout working up my squat to 105# for 3×5. My bench press worked up to 115# for 3×5. I couldn’t do a single chinup. My press came in at 65# 3×5. And my deadlift started at 1x5x135. When I stopped the PPNP program just shy of 2 months later, I was squatting 220# for 3×5, press 107.5# for 3×5, bench press 170# for 3×5, and deadlifted 240 for 5 reps. So you can see, SS/PPNP, due to the fast and constant linear progression every workout, really leads to fast gains. It’s a great thing for a novice to do.

But my form was sucking… in fact, that squat number wasn’t my last nor my highest during the cycle. 230# was the highest squat I achieved, but my form was terrible. I did reset the squat during the cycle, but things just weren’t working. I think in part because I didn’t get enough time under the bar to squat (odd I know, given how much you’re supposed to squat) and the weights went up quickly, and my form went to crap. It was just beating me up too much.

Wendler switch. I based the “working max” numbers upon what I had been doing on SS/PPNP and adjusted for the continued progression and any other little tweaks I felt I needed. So I started with working maxes of: press 110#, deadlift 265#, bench 180#, and squat 220#. The PR’s I set in my first cycle were: press 105# for 8, deadlift 255# for 5, bench 175# for 10, and squat 210# for 5.

Now 7 cycles later, my working maxes are: press 155#, deadlift 325#, bench press 225#, and squat 270#. In terms of what I’ve actually lifted, it was all this past cycle during the 5/3/1 week and I set new PR’s in every movement: press 150# for 3, deadlift 315# for 3, bench press 215# for 3, and squat 260# for 3. Limited to 3 reps because I’m on the “BBB 3 month challenge”, which really would have me only doing a single, but I want to do at least a triple. 🙂

How much progress did I make? From the perspective of working max values (since it gets hard to compare reps), I went up 45# on my press and bench press, and 60# on my deadlift, and 50# on squat. Not bad for 7 cycles on the 5/3/1 program. Now if we compare just the plain weight PR’s today vs. my first day a year ago? My squat went from 95# to 260#. My bench press from 65# to 215#. Deadlift from 135# to 315#. Hard to compare “overhead pressing” since I started doing 2 20# dumbbells seated to 150# barbell standing, but it’s evident there was massive progress. Plus, whereas before I couldn’t do a chin-up to save my life, now I’m doing 5 sets of 3 reps of bodyweight chins; I still feel like a wuss, but it’s a step along the road to non-wuss-dom.

It’s cool to look back and see the weights that were once PR’s are now initial warm-up weights. 🙂

Other

Yes I feel a little beat up. I feel a little worn. But overall I feel great and I’m looking better. The fat loss is hard because to get big you have to eat big, and I’m still working on sticking to the diet and ONLY the diet. 🙂  But I can tell there’s muscle growth, and I have lost overall weight, I can see some flab has been shed, and I know muscle is growing. So, all is good. The dietary stuff is the hardest part, the most difficult transformation to make.

I don’t take much for supplements. In the morning I’ll take: 2 NOW Adam softgel multivitamin, 3g of fish oil, 2g vitamin C. With my lunch I’ll have 3g of fish oil, 2g vitamin C, and 3 Citrical tablets. Before bed I’ll take ZMA; still experimenting with this, not sure if it makes any huge difference but I do feel like I get more rested and I really enjoy the weird dreams it gives me. I will consume some whey during the day because it’s quick and easy, but if I have time I’ll try to eat down a 10-12oz can of chicken instead. I’d prefer to use whole foods over whey, but sometimes the convenience factor matters. I am weighing my food to ensure I get what I should: not more, not less. I strive for 200-250g of protein a day; strive for 250 but if I get 225 I am not killing myself over it. I don’t monitor fat much, but I try to keep it lean-ish and don’t drink down a tall glass of lard every day. I eat fruit and veggies as much as I can handle. I do my best to cut out grains, but I realized this isn’t totally working for me, that I do need some carb source. This is what I’m playing around with most right now. It’s a matter of finding the right amount I need to take in. I’m getting there.

During the past year I tried a bunch of other “fancy” supplements. Mostly because I could. As a kid I always wanted to try the fancy shit, and now that I can I realize it’s just that: shit. Waste of money. Was good to try, got the curiosity out of my system. Moving on. Frankly the most “magical” supplement has been upping my fish oil intake. I read about how it helps reduce joint inflammation and once I started upping my dose from the massive underdosing on the label? I certainly felt the difference. I then dropped down/off, then back on, played with it to try to confirm it was in fact working, and as far as I can tell it sure is.

Looking Back. Looking Ahead.

I’m very happy with things, and so long as I can keep doing interesting things like the Wendler program, moving iron isn’t so boring any more. I guess it was all “mindless” to me before because there was no challenge; it was just moving iron through the air. But now I think about form, I think about technique, I have to involve my brain a lot because of the mental game. Plus, seeing the constant progression, the proof, the setting of PR’s… that’s so rewarding and keeps motivation high.

I realize I started out with a nebulous “goal”, to exercise, to keep my body from going to pot. That was a nice thought, but there was no real goal… I had no real way to set milestones and measure progress other than feeling good. But when I got to the Rippetoe and Wendler stuff, I was able to have a more focused goal (get strong(er)) and then ways to track and measure that progress, to have milestones, and to stay motivated with it. I think that’s in part why it’s been working well for me.

It’s also a mindset change. I’m no longer working “chest and abs” today. It’s not about working some muscle. It’s about working a movement and working to improve that movement. Focus on the big 4: press, bench press, deadlift, squat. Anything else done is to help make those better. And that there isn’t much else done! It’s not a zillion exercises per workout, it’s just a lot of sets of a few exercises, the stuff that works. It’s about keeping focus, that the work sets matter, and the bicep curls really don’t. It’s about breaking through mental barriers, like my life-long hangup with squatting. I still don’t love squatting, but I’m hating it a little less now. Like Henry Rollins said, “200 pounds is always 200 pounds“.

Of course, there’s a physical payoff in here too. No denying that. I can see some flab has been shed, tho I still have more to go before I’m satisfied. I don’t care to be a ripped bodybuilder or a douchebag showing off my abs, but consider this picture of Jim Wendler; that’d be good, with less tattoos and more hair. 🙂  I do see muscle mass growth, perhaps not as much as I want, but this program is more about strength than size, but size is coming and that’s alright. I always liked John Stone Fitness, not just because of how the guy transformed his body, but because he keeps a good record of his progress and you can see how much growth you can have in a year, in 2 years, and how it takes a number of years before you can have that body like you see in all the sexy commercials. That’s all fine. I’m happy with the progress. I’m happy that my health is good, that I feel better than I have in a long time, and that I’m getting stronger.

What’s ahead? I’ll be staying the course on the Wendler program for the foreseeable future; I see no reason to change to something else, tho I’m sure I’ll change up the specifics slightly (e.g. I’ll finish the “BBB 3 month challenge” then go back to regular BBB). It’s possible by the end of this calendar year I could hit the 1000# club, but I am expecting to have to reset sooner or later and that may throw things off. If I’m over that milestone by this time next year? That’s fine. Or even if I’m not, that’s OK too because, as far as I can see it now, it’s only a question of when I pass the milestone, not if. If I can progress as I am, certainly within a year I’ll get there; only reason I won’t is because something big gets in the way (e.g. injury). And is it that big a deal to hit 1000#? I’d be lying if I said “no it isn’t”, but I’d be stupid to think that’s anything more than another marker along a longer road.

I’ve even had thoughts about competition. Certainly I don’t expect to win anything, but it’s not about winning. It’s about doing. About having the experience. About seeing how far I can push myself, and how disciplined I can make myself to prepare for it. How far can I go? What can I do? And what’s it all like. I am not certain of this, no hard and serious thoughts… but it runs through my head. I don’t think I should bother tho until I can put up some more reasonable numbers and get my form more locked in. I kinda feel like I should be in the 1000# club first. And of course, I’ll need to prep properly for it, probably switching to the “5/3/1 for powerlifting” version. And what sort of competition would I do? A formal federation-sponsored event? A local event (e.g. the Hyde Park Gym’s annual push/pull)? A full event? push-pull? single event?  I don’t know… no promises nor guarantees, but it has crossed my mind a number of times.

It’s been a good year, and I look forward to the year ahead.