Hellur errybody! Semi-quick history. I am 38. I decided 7 months ago that I needed to try and improve my health so that I could, at least, live long enough to see all of my children graduate high school. I weighed 390lbs. (still do, but read on to see that I have made considerable progress). I didn't have any health problems other than asthma, which I have had since I was a child. But, let's face it, it was only a matter of time, right?
I need a real, tangible goal to aspire to. Losing weight isn't, for me, a goal that keeps my motivation very high. I needed a goal that was easy to see, and easy to judge progress against. I chose to try my hand at competing in powerlifting. There are some state records in the Masters1, SHW division (age 40-44, over275lbs) that I think I have a realistic chance at breaking. For now, those are my goals. I will eventually switch over to a weight loss goal once I have a decent strength base.
I do conditioning work to aid me in recovery between lifting sessions and, more importantly, between lifts on meet day. But I am not trying to use it to lose weight currently. I have been training since May 13th of this year. All of my attempts at strength training in the past have been futile. Completely futile. For some reason, this time I have made very good progress. in 7 months I have been able to reach a 330 bench press, 425 squat and a 405 deadlift. I know my deadlift sucks bad, but I have only been training it for a little over a month now. (yes, I was a wus, lol) My long term goals that I set were the weights required to break the records I am trying to eventually break. They are a 350lb bench press, a 550lb squat, and a 650lb deadlift. I thought it would take me 5-7 years to reach these goals, but it looks like I may reach then much sooner than that. If that happens, I will just have to set new goals. A problem I wouldn't mind having.
My first meet is in Denver, NC in March of 2014. I am competing in the USAPL, which is a strictly drug tested federation. I prefer it that way. Everybody is on a level playing field. I compete in the raw division as well. That means no additional lifting gear may be used. No wraps, lifting suits, etc. Just your lifting attire (a singlet and a t-shirt) and a lifting belt if you choose to wear one. I currently do not wear a lifting belt, but I will be getting one in January. My goal at my meet in March, since it is my first meet, will be to hit a 3 lift total of 1200lbs. I feel this will be a respectable performance for an old guy with less than a year of lifting under his belt. I hope that my lifting log may help to motivate other old, fat fellas who may be on the fence about hitting the gym. I really thought that, at 38, I was way too old to make any kind of meaningful progress. I have proven myself wrong so far.
I keep a training log on another, fitness related site. I am going to do my best to update this one with the same frequency as my other one. (that is, if anyone is actually interested) I work out 4 times a week and am currently doing a 15 week powerlifting peaking routine in preparation for my meet in March. This routine involves much less volume than I normally do and, as such, is rapidly increasing my strength. (something that still puzzles me).
My diet consists of 5000-6000 calories a day (a lot of boneless pork chops, protein shakes, suddenly salad and one homemade meal prepared by the wife). I have been eating that way for the past 7 months. I have not gained any weight and have actually lost 5lbs. (again, puzzling).
Tomorrow starts week three of my meet prep and I will begin posting my daily workouts then. I will not be posting my daily eating as it is nearly identical every day with the only change being the bbq I choose to dip my porkchops in that day. The weekends are kind of a free-for-all where I eat pretty much what I want (within reason and still aiming for my carb/protein goals).
So, this is my journey. Let's do this.
I need a real, tangible goal to aspire to. Losing weight isn't, for me, a goal that keeps my motivation very high. I needed a goal that was easy to see, and easy to judge progress against. I chose to try my hand at competing in powerlifting. There are some state records in the Masters1, SHW division (age 40-44, over275lbs) that I think I have a realistic chance at breaking. For now, those are my goals. I will eventually switch over to a weight loss goal once I have a decent strength base.
I do conditioning work to aid me in recovery between lifting sessions and, more importantly, between lifts on meet day. But I am not trying to use it to lose weight currently. I have been training since May 13th of this year. All of my attempts at strength training in the past have been futile. Completely futile. For some reason, this time I have made very good progress. in 7 months I have been able to reach a 330 bench press, 425 squat and a 405 deadlift. I know my deadlift sucks bad, but I have only been training it for a little over a month now. (yes, I was a wus, lol) My long term goals that I set were the weights required to break the records I am trying to eventually break. They are a 350lb bench press, a 550lb squat, and a 650lb deadlift. I thought it would take me 5-7 years to reach these goals, but it looks like I may reach then much sooner than that. If that happens, I will just have to set new goals. A problem I wouldn't mind having.
My first meet is in Denver, NC in March of 2014. I am competing in the USAPL, which is a strictly drug tested federation. I prefer it that way. Everybody is on a level playing field. I compete in the raw division as well. That means no additional lifting gear may be used. No wraps, lifting suits, etc. Just your lifting attire (a singlet and a t-shirt) and a lifting belt if you choose to wear one. I currently do not wear a lifting belt, but I will be getting one in January. My goal at my meet in March, since it is my first meet, will be to hit a 3 lift total of 1200lbs. I feel this will be a respectable performance for an old guy with less than a year of lifting under his belt. I hope that my lifting log may help to motivate other old, fat fellas who may be on the fence about hitting the gym. I really thought that, at 38, I was way too old to make any kind of meaningful progress. I have proven myself wrong so far.
I keep a training log on another, fitness related site. I am going to do my best to update this one with the same frequency as my other one. (that is, if anyone is actually interested) I work out 4 times a week and am currently doing a 15 week powerlifting peaking routine in preparation for my meet in March. This routine involves much less volume than I normally do and, as such, is rapidly increasing my strength. (something that still puzzles me).
My diet consists of 5000-6000 calories a day (a lot of boneless pork chops, protein shakes, suddenly salad and one homemade meal prepared by the wife). I have been eating that way for the past 7 months. I have not gained any weight and have actually lost 5lbs. (again, puzzling).
Tomorrow starts week three of my meet prep and I will begin posting my daily workouts then. I will not be posting my daily eating as it is nearly identical every day with the only change being the bbq I choose to dip my porkchops in that day. The weekends are kind of a free-for-all where I eat pretty much what I want (within reason and still aiming for my carb/protein goals).
So, this is my journey. Let's do this.