3-4-5

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

So today I got a 315 bench press. In June 2007 I squatted 405, and in July 2007 I pulled 495, which was surprising. About 11 months ago I found T-Nation, while online searching for bicep workouts. I shit you not.

In August of last year I bench pressed 155, squatted 115, didn’t deadlift (What the hell is a Deadlift? Sounds hard.), and weighed 180. I never thought I’d be able to move the weight I’m unsatisfied with now. I mean it.

I can remember nights where I dreamed about actually benching 225, or squatting BW. But now that I’ve reached some basic goals, goals that really seemed out of reach eleven months ago, I realize that I’m still weak as shit.

Hmm, I guess this is part “Thank you T-Nation” and part “I’ll never be happy with what I’m lifting.” . . . which is another “Thank you T-Nation,” in its own right.

So I got the 3-4-5. And to be honest, it’s kind of a disappointment. Those nights I lay awake dreaming about it made it seem like so much more of a struggle than it does now. I mean, I’ve done every workout, lifted every weight and eaten every fucking calorie, clean, dirty, and in between, that it took to get to this point, so I deserve to move this weight! It’s nothing special, I worked for it and got my payment. But I want more. Much more.

I’m actually eating some cold steak right now. It tastes great. And tomorrow I’m going to eat 10 eggs for breakfast, go to class and not think about the gym. But Tuesday . . .

2

those results seem a bit stretched for just one year of progress I mean 200+ lbs on bench 300+ on squat and 500+ on dl?! This site is good but those first lifts didn’t seem like your true maxes.

3

Congratulations on your progress thus far. You have improved a hell of a lot more than most will their first few years of training.

4

[quote]shizen wrote:
those results seem a bit stretched for just one year of progress I mean 200+ lbs on bench 300+ on squat and 500+ on dl?! This site is good but those first lifts didn’t seem like your true maxes. [/quote]

…yeah. maybe the true maxes are even higher! I would love to have the progress he has in one year. I just started lifting but I’ve already seen very positive strength gains. And, I love this site as well. I think if it wasn’t for this site, I would probably working on the machines instead of free weight exercises. I would probably be eating crap instead of watching what I eat. I love T-Nation. Thanks!

5

Congrats man, that is some crazy progress! Keep it up!

6

[quote]shizen wrote:
those results seem a bit stretched for just one year of progress I mean 200+ lbs on bench 300+ on squat and 500+ on dl?! This site is good but those first lifts didn’t seem like your true maxes. [/quote]

Yeah, I didn’t mean for those original numbers to come across as maxes, those simply were what I was lifting in the gym. When I got started with lifting I was told that anything less than 10 reps was a waste of time. And squats hurt my “crochal” area so I did them sporadically at best for the first few years. The reason I had no deadlift number is because I didn’t know that there was an exercise called the deadlift. The first time I pulled heavy (in January, I think,) I pulled 315.

7

Congrats.

4-5-6 is on the way.

8

That lack of fulfillment you feel is just proof that you haven’t reached the end of the journey yet. Nice progress. Keep going.

9

[quote]Brant_Drake wrote:
So today I got a 315 bench press. In June 2007 I squatted 405, and in July 2007 I pulled 495, which was surprising. About 11 months ago I found T-Nation, while online searching for bicep workouts. I shit you not.

In August of last year I bench pressed 155, squatted 115, didn’t deadlift (What the hell is a Deadlift? Sounds hard.), and weighed 180. I never thought I’d be able to move the weight I’m unsatisfied with now. I mean it.

I can remember nights where I dreamed about actually benching 225, or squatting BW. But now that I’ve reached some basic goals, goals that really seemed out of reach eleven months ago, I realize that I’m still weak as shit.

Hmm, I guess this is part “Thank you T-Nation” and part “I’ll never be happy with what I’m lifting.” . . . which is another “Thank you T-Nation,” in its own right.

Brant,

Here is the bad news, if you are worth a crap you will never be satisfied. You need to enjoy the experience of training and the fun of the hunt for improvement. The day you wake up satisfied is the day to hang it up.

Keep working.

jack

So I got the 3-4-5. And to be honest, it’s kind of a disappointment. Those nights I lay awake dreaming about it made it seem like so much more of a struggle than it does now. I mean, I’ve done every workout, lifted every weight and eaten every fucking calorie, clean, dirty, and in between, that it took to get to this point, so I deserve to move this weight!

It’s nothing special, I worked for it and got my payment. But I want more. Much more.

I’m actually eating some cold steak right now. It tastes great. And tomorrow I’m going to eat 10 eggs for breakfast, go to class and not think about the gym. But Tuesday . . .
[/quote]

10

Nice reminder that we get what we work for.

I like the “I deserve it” attitude.

earn it and own it

11

Nice Progress B_D, keep rolling.

12

[quote]scottiscool wrote:
Congratulations on your progress thus far. You have improved a hell of a lot more than most will their first few years of training.[/quote]

Thank you.

[quote]Kalle wrote:
Congrats man, that is some crazy progress! Keep it up![/quote]

Thanks also.

[quote]Chewie wrote:
Congrats.

4-5-6 is on the way. [/quote]

You bet your sweet wookie ass!

[quote]TShaw wrote:
That lack of fulfillment you feel is just proof that you haven’t reached the end of the journey yet. Nice progress. Keep going.[/quote]

Much appreciated, thank you.

[quote]jackreape wrote:
Brant,

Here is the bad news, if you are worth a crap you will never be satisfied.
[/quote]

That’s bad news? Sounds like great news to me.

[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:
Nice reminder that we get what we work for.

I like the “I deserve it” attitude.

earn it and own it[/quote]

Thanks. I sorted through my closet today and am throwing out a whole bunch of medium-sized tee shirts tomorrow!

[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
Nice Progress B_D, keep rolling.[/quote]

Gracias.

13

What type of program were you using?

14

[quote]Brant_Drake wrote:
shizen wrote:
those results seem a bit stretched for just one year of progress I mean 200+ lbs on bench 300+ on squat and 500+ on dl?! This site is good but those first lifts didn’t seem like your true maxes.

Yeah, I didn’t mean for those original numbers to come across as maxes, those simply were what I was lifting in the gym. When I got started with lifting I was told that anything less than 10 reps was a waste of time. And squats hurt my “crochal” area so I did them sporadically at best for the first few years. The reason I had no deadlift number is because I didn’t know that there was an exercise called the deadlift. The first time I pulled heavy (in January, I think,) I pulled 315.[/quote]

ahh thanks for clearing that up, you said you weighed 180 at start how much do you weight now? Either way good progress in about 2 more years you should definitely try getting into pl maybe.

15

you’re always weak until the day you realize you’re strong, and that is when you become weak

16

[quote]vision1 wrote:
What type of program were you using?[/quote]

I had never actually heard of a full body routine until I read about them here, lol. Since that seemed to be the consensus for beginners, I started doing that. I began by sticking to 3x10, but then switched to 5x5 and started seeing some great jumps in weight. Then a few months ago I read “Naturally diesel,”
and switched to that, but on the upper and lower day I just tried to work up to a 1RM and called it a day. I think now I’m going to be going back to 5x5 for upper and lower days.

[quote]shizen wrote:
ahh thanks for clearing that up, you said you weighed 180 at start how much do you weight now? Either way good progress in about 2 more years you should definitely try getting into pl maybe. [/quote]

I’d like to try sooner than that. Brian Schwab owns a gym here in Orlando and if I can get some semblance of a regular schedule sorted out, I’d like to join there and get some instruction. Even having a spotter would make a difference in progress. I think that I’d like to get a 2000lb+ total by the time I turn 28. (22 right now.)

I started out at 180lbs with a 36 inch waist, which according to the charts put me at 20% bodyfat. Last week I came in at about 270lbs with a 40 inch waist, which comes out to 17% BF. So after working the numbers I gained about 80lbs lean mass, and 10 lbs fat. I’ve been following the AD for the whole time.

17

[quote]Brant_Drake wrote:
vision1 wrote:
What type of program were you using?

I had never actually heard of a full body routine until I read about them here, lol. Since that seemed to be the consensus for beginners, I started doing that. I began by sticking to 3x10, but then switched to 5x5 and started seeing some great jumps in weight. Then a few months ago I read “Naturally diesel,”
and switched to that, but on the upper and lower day I just tried to work up to a 1RM and called it a day. I think now I’m going to be going back to 5x5 for upper and lower days.

shizen wrote:
ahh thanks for clearing that up, you said you weighed 180 at start how much do you weight now? Either way good progress in about 2 more years you should definitely try getting into pl maybe.

I’d like to try sooner than that. Brian Schwab owns a gym here in Orlando and if I can get some semblance of a regular schedule sorted out, I’d like to join there and get some instruction. Even having a spotter would make a difference in progress. I think that I’d like to get a 2000lb+ total by the time I turn 28. (22 right now.)

I started out at 180lbs with a 36 inch waist, which according to the charts put me at 20% bodyfat. Last week I came in at about 270lbs with a 40 inch waist, which comes out to 17% BF. So after working the numbers I gained about 80lbs lean mass, and 10 lbs fat. I’ve been following the AD for the whole time.[/quote]

Get out of here. There is no way you put on 80lbs of lean mass in just a little over a year.

18

[quote]Pemdas wrote:
Get out of here. There is no way you put on 80lbs of lean mass in just a little over a year. [/quote]

You could be right. The only body composition tracking tools I used were weight, waist measurement, and this site. So I’m sure something could get screwed up in the measuring and math.

If I had gotten caliper testing and whatnot I’m sure the numbers would be a little different. I wasen’t trying to be totally exact about keeping track of LBM and fat mass, but just as a rough guide to ensure I wasn’t becoming fatty McLardass.

Most of the men in my family are fairly large naturally (200+) since we’re all Norwegian, so I think that’s part of it. I’m not trying to make any outrageous claims, just that I got stronger and bigger, and I still want to get stronger and bigger.

19

[quote]Brant_Drake wrote:
Pemdas wrote:
Get out of here. There is no way you put on 80lbs of lean mass in just a little over a year.

You could be right. The only body composition tracking tools I used were weight, waist measurement, and this site. So I’m sure something could get screwed up in the measuring and math.

If I had gotten caliper testing and whatnot I’m sure the numbers would be a little different. I wasen’t trying to be totally exact about keeping track of LBM and fat mass, but just as a rough guide to ensure I wasn’t becoming fatty McLardass.

Most of the men in my family are fairly large naturally (200+) since we’re all Norwegian, so I think that’s part of it. I’m not trying to make any outrageous claims, just that I got stronger and bigger, and I still want to get stronger and bigger.[/quote]

Yea, that calc is pretty retarded, my BF is ~30% but using that calc it says 16…