But I did. These guys have been a great help and encouragement through some tough times for me and they probably don't even realize it. - Pagangoddess
I have been training for nearly two years. The first 4 months were wasted doing your normal cookie-cutter muscle mag body part split; chest and tri’s on International Bench Press Monday, leg extensions on Wed and back/bicep curls before the club on Friday. Specifically it was Anthony Ellis’ Fast Muscle Gain programme that I followed, falling prey to the sales blurb and photos (Google if you want to have a look, I would rather not promote his site by providing a link). I got the initial beginner gains, which made me think this was the right approach but began to stall very quickly. Needless to say my 12-week “transformation” didn’t quite match his. Also, I never really enjoyed the workouts.
It was not all a waste. Going to the gym piqued my interest and I started doing more research. I picked up a copy of Beyond Brawn and then came across Stronglifts. Slowly my outlook and expectations changed.
I started following the Stronglifts 5x5 programme. The continual repetitions and limited exercise selections, tied with the informative articles by Mehdi, allowed me to continuously improve my form and understand the importance of technique. The focus on compound exercises streamlined my workouts and gave me results. The act of adding weight each workout, no matter how small, made me focussed and motivated.
The biggest change came as I turned my focus inwards. I began to measure my progress by the weight on the bar and not external sources. I didn’t pay any attention to the scales, the only thing mattered was the weight on my back as I descended into “the hole”.
Every month or so I would get the urge to try something new and trendy, normally after reading a T-Nation article! Sometimes I would start a new routine. However, the simple honesty of Stronglifts 5x5 always drew me back and I was determined to reach my goal of squatting 1.5 times my bodyweight. A tactic that worked for me was allowing myself to do any exercise I wanted at the end of a workout, providing I had busted my ass and didn’t much exceed 60 minutes in the gym.
After about 12 months, I finally reached my goal of squatting 1.5 times my bodyweight and deadlifting twice my bodyweight. This is when I started stalling again. Squatting three times a week became too taxing on my body. I continued working out and working out hard, Stronglifts had ingrained that into me. I experimented with different rep ranges and exercises but my workouts lacked focus and goals. I didn’t feel like I was making much progress. And that’s when I stumbled across Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 programme, which is where we are now.
Progress Pics thus far:
Before:
After:
Current Stats:
1RM, all performed on the same day.
Age: 29
Height: 185cm
Weight: 88kg
Squat: 335
Deadlift: 420
Bench: 230
3RM Chin Up: +45
Broad Jump: 254cm
Goals (by end of Jan 2010):
Squat: 365
Deadlift: 475
Bench: 260
By my reckoning this should make me darn near an advanced lifter by Vlad's standards
I would like to keep my weight in the same range and my bodyfat in check. I make no apologies for aesthetics being as important to me as strength.Training:
I am coming to the end of my second cycle on 5/3/1. My log starts on the third week of my second cycle.
I am really enjoying 5/3/1. I see it as the perfect next step to Stronglifts. I love the focus on improving your core lifts and the flexibility afforded with the accessory exercises.
I have a loose template for my accessory exercises. For Bench Press days, accessories are push/pull on a horizontal plane; for Squats, posterior chain + abs; for OHP, push/pull on a vertical plane; for Deadlifts, quad dominant + abs. I try to keep my workouts around the 60 minute mark from lifting the first working weight to the final rep.
Oh and to anybody who's read up to here, thank you!
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