I returned to lifting a little while ago after a nearly 9 month layoff. I did lift sporadically during that time, there was one week in May when I was in Florida for a business trip and I managed two workouts that week. However, basically I was coming in to this seriously detrained.
One of my friends just opened a gym back in June and invited me to check it out, so I did. I opted to join his gym and workout there instead of at home for a few reasons. His gym is a weight lifting gym - there are only two treadmills in the whole place and many of the guys who lift there are fairly hardcore, so it helps me to be more motivated and the people there expect to see me three or four times a week which makes me more likely to actually show up since I don't want them giving me a hard time. Also, he has a lot of equipment so I can do a larger variety of exercises beyond what I could do with my power rack, bench and hack squat machine at home.
Goals by the end of the autumn season:
Get back my 500 lb deadlift - I'm almost there, having worked up to 475 for a double last week, though I won't be working up to any sort of max effort on it again for at least another month unless I decide to do it for some reason before then, for example if I need to show off to some of my friends.
Hit 250 lbs bodyweight - currently at 230 lbs which previously was my heaviest ever though last time I was 230 lbs I was significantly fatter than now
Squat 400 lbs - Current max is 365 though I think I'm not pushing myself hard enough
Bench 300 lbs - Current max is 285
Diet is whatever. I don't track calories strictly right now but I'm probably getting 4000 or so a day. Some days vary - typically I pack in more calories during the 24 hour window after a workout and eat slightly less calories the 24 hours prior to a workout, though I have been experimenting with attempting to load up on carbs during the window prior to the workout and this seems to be improving my performance significantly. One thing I have done differently than usual is I get 2 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight each day at a minimum and sometimes more than that. It seems like something magical has started to occur since I started consuming so much protein. Previously I would get around 250 - 300 grams a day and now I'm eating 450 to 500 grams a day. I've been putting on mass with ease, much easier than I can remember at any time in the past few years, though it is possible that once I turned 30 last month my metabolism magically changed right on that day.
My routine consists of four different workouts - two upper body, two lower body. I aim to do 3 workouts a week and if possible, I try to get 4 workouts a week but usually my schedule does not permit this. Each day focuses on one of the big three lifts except for the second upper body day where I replace flat bench with a chest press machine.
So... here it is:
Lower #1
Leg Curl
Leg Press
Standing Calf Raise
Seated Calf Raise
Weighted situps
Back Squat
Lower #2
Leg Curl
Leg Press
Standing Calf Raise
Seated Calf Raise
Weighted Crunches
Deadlifts
Upper #1
Row
Incline Bench
Lat Pulldown
Tricep Pulldown
BB Curls
Flat Bench
Upper #2
Pulldown
Shoulder Press
Chest Supported Row
Tricep Dips
BB Curls
Chest Press
Everything except the final lift each day is done with a sort of rest-pause style, or probably more similar to myoreps. The final lifts are always done with a bit of a warmup, then 4 sets of 5 reps with my working weight. So far it seems to be working very well. My arms are the biggest they've ever been which might be due to the fact that I've never really been big on direct armwork and this time I'm sticking to it. Also, my strength returned at a phenomenal rate and I'm basically at the same strength levels I was a few years ago when I hit my 500 lb deadlift. So I am very excited about where the next few months will take me.
And that's the meat of it. Now I've explained the how behind the log, I'll start posting my workouts as I complete them. More accountability is always a good thing, I'm coming to find.
One of my friends just opened a gym back in June and invited me to check it out, so I did. I opted to join his gym and workout there instead of at home for a few reasons. His gym is a weight lifting gym - there are only two treadmills in the whole place and many of the guys who lift there are fairly hardcore, so it helps me to be more motivated and the people there expect to see me three or four times a week which makes me more likely to actually show up since I don't want them giving me a hard time. Also, he has a lot of equipment so I can do a larger variety of exercises beyond what I could do with my power rack, bench and hack squat machine at home.
Goals by the end of the autumn season:
Get back my 500 lb deadlift - I'm almost there, having worked up to 475 for a double last week, though I won't be working up to any sort of max effort on it again for at least another month unless I decide to do it for some reason before then, for example if I need to show off to some of my friends.
Hit 250 lbs bodyweight - currently at 230 lbs which previously was my heaviest ever though last time I was 230 lbs I was significantly fatter than now
Squat 400 lbs - Current max is 365 though I think I'm not pushing myself hard enough
Bench 300 lbs - Current max is 285
Diet is whatever. I don't track calories strictly right now but I'm probably getting 4000 or so a day. Some days vary - typically I pack in more calories during the 24 hour window after a workout and eat slightly less calories the 24 hours prior to a workout, though I have been experimenting with attempting to load up on carbs during the window prior to the workout and this seems to be improving my performance significantly. One thing I have done differently than usual is I get 2 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight each day at a minimum and sometimes more than that. It seems like something magical has started to occur since I started consuming so much protein. Previously I would get around 250 - 300 grams a day and now I'm eating 450 to 500 grams a day. I've been putting on mass with ease, much easier than I can remember at any time in the past few years, though it is possible that once I turned 30 last month my metabolism magically changed right on that day.
My routine consists of four different workouts - two upper body, two lower body. I aim to do 3 workouts a week and if possible, I try to get 4 workouts a week but usually my schedule does not permit this. Each day focuses on one of the big three lifts except for the second upper body day where I replace flat bench with a chest press machine.
So... here it is:
Lower #1
Leg Curl
Leg Press
Standing Calf Raise
Seated Calf Raise
Weighted situps
Back Squat
Lower #2
Leg Curl
Leg Press
Standing Calf Raise
Seated Calf Raise
Weighted Crunches
Deadlifts
Upper #1
Row
Incline Bench
Lat Pulldown
Tricep Pulldown
BB Curls
Flat Bench
Upper #2
Pulldown
Shoulder Press
Chest Supported Row
Tricep Dips
BB Curls
Chest Press
Everything except the final lift each day is done with a sort of rest-pause style, or probably more similar to myoreps. The final lifts are always done with a bit of a warmup, then 4 sets of 5 reps with my working weight. So far it seems to be working very well. My arms are the biggest they've ever been which might be due to the fact that I've never really been big on direct armwork and this time I'm sticking to it. Also, my strength returned at a phenomenal rate and I'm basically at the same strength levels I was a few years ago when I hit my 500 lb deadlift. So I am very excited about where the next few months will take me.
And that's the meat of it. Now I've explained the how behind the log, I'll start posting my workouts as I complete them. More accountability is always a good thing, I'm coming to find.
