BIG LONG POST AHEAD
Who I am:
I'm Chris, a sophomore at MIT. I'm constantly plugged into an iPod. I also happen to do some weightlifting while I'm wandering about at the Z Center. I *think* I can attach a name to most of your faces but I haven't actually introduced myself to most of you. I know Frank, of course, because I'm typing up this post.
Background:
Back in ye olden days of grade schoole I wasn't much for physical exercise. Lifting didn't make much sense to me and neither did the sports I was in (swim, lacrosse) but I needed those PE credits somehow.
Fast forward 11 years...
Tired of being yet another weak chubby kid I decided to search The Internet for a beginner's weightlifter routine... enter Starting Strength. Unfortunately I found it too late, around March-May of 2008, my senior year of high school. Graduation saw me gymless and I wasn't about to blow $70/mo on a membership at the local YMCA for a weight room that might not even be there. Lifting took a place on the back burner for a good five months until I decided I'd had enough of sitting around and picked up some weights again, this time with the help of the weight room so conveniently located in the basement of my dorm. No excuses and all that.
Fast forward through sicknesses, breaks, summer vacation (in which I realized that yes, the YMCA does indeed have a weight room), the occasional bout of finals, other unscheduled hiatuses...
Where I am now:
5RM's @ 163BW (should be slightly higher but I'm still "recovering" from winter break):
Squat: 255lb
Bench: 150lb
Deadlift: 315lb
Press: 95lb
I claim to still be on Starting Strength, but I've definitely modified it to suit my tastes... namely, the inclusion of Pendlay rows along with power cleans and alternating squat intensity days.
Also, I know my numbers should probably be much higher than they are now. My training is spotty at best when I'm not at MIT, as I'm stingy and don't really want to shell out money for a gym membership elsewhere, but I'm beginning to think it's worth the investment if only so I can keep my numbers constant/increasing. In addition, my sleep schedule is "meh" at best. I blame college life and slacking off. (wait when did it suddenly become almost 3AM)
What I'm looking for/towards:
I think it's probably time for me to switch to another routine; I've heard good things about the Texas Method and the "intermediate" version of SS but I'm still wary of it as progress will probably come slower than with the balls-to-the-wall approach of SS. Also I feel like my bench and press haven't had a chance to "catch up" as they look relatively weak compared to my squat and deadlift, as it took much longer for bench technique to start "clicking" with me.
"The long run" is a big fat mystery to me. Over time, I think I'd like to hit a solid 1000+ total. I also think I should start doing some sort of cardio; running sounds cheap enough and there's treadmills everywhere (the outside too, but it's too cold for that). But honestly I don't know and I need to figure this out as I go... I just want to lift heavy things dammit.
I think I've covered all the bases by now...
The end (of the beginning):
I look forward to seeing you around, whether on the blog or in the weight room. I would also appreciate any advice/criticism you might have of me so I can separate what I'm doing right from what I'm doing wrong. Thanks in advance. :D
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
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Hi Chris.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I'm unable to train at MIT any more (moved to a different continent), but I was there last year. Here are some very general advices:
1 -- Be more serious. There is no reason to deviate from being "normal" (whatever that means), but good sleeping habits, solid nutrition, and (almost) never missing workouts are all crucial. Without these, you won't get anywhere.
2 -- Find more experienced lifters that you can train with and learn from. At MIT, you have (in order of decreasing bodyweight): Nate, Rene, Gordon, Shanker, and Frank. Each one can contribute in his own way.
3 -- Constantly work on improving form. No explanations are needed.
4 -- Have long/short-term goals and plans. Without these, you are just wandering around, wasting time, space, money, and other resources.
Welcome aboard Chris. Like you already know, I'm still a newbie, so we can definitely help each other out.
ReplyDeleteWelcome. Danny gives good advice. Also, I wouldn't muck around with your program while you're still making progress. The biggest mistake I see people make is futzing around too much with their program too early.
ReplyDelete