Not that I didn’t say enough in the above post, but I briefly talked about hitting double body weight on the squat and dead, and then I got off track. For me, and for the gym I own and run, hitting double BW on the squat or dead, is the point where you get to be a lifter, the point where your aloud to speak, instead of just listening.
I’ve always believed this, and with the kids I’ve trained, they’re not aloud to vary from my workout, until they’ve reached this level. Now for the majorityy of the kids I train (170–210) getting double BW on squat and / or dead usually co-insides with them getting they’re 1000lb total, so we roll those goals togeather. I will not talk or help with steroids until this level as well.
When they put they’re heads down and lift and eat, they all hit this level, between 1-2yr, every kid I’ve worked with, that stuck it out, got they’re double BW status, in under 2yrs, then they could have some say in they’re own programs, and we could talk about, juice, or bands, or mobility, or whatever other nonsense they wamted to talk about, because they’d earned the right to have an opinion !
The problem I’m having right now, is in the back of my mind, I always considered myself a double BW lifter, I was well past this point when I fell, and always asumed that when I had the trime to get back to heavy lifting, I’d still be able to hit double BW. ya I injured myself, and ya it turned into a pill addiction, and when I finaly got free of all that, I opened my own gym, and started training kids, and never had time to train myself, but I always thought of myself as a double BW lifter.
So here we are, and I’m not that guy, which is fine, but by own rules, I should be keeping my mouth shut, until I get there. Time is a funny animal, yes it was 99 the last time I squated or deadlifted over 500, but it only feels like yesterday, and everytime I’m in the gym, I feel like I should be able to handle that weight, and it’s driving me crazy, so crazy that I end up breaking all my own rules, and training like a desspret teenager.
handling double BW on atleast one if not both of the lower body lifts, is no big deal, and everyone with a couple years of serious training should be able to do it. I have to swallow my own medicine, treat myself like one of my kids, and start from scratch. Looking at things now, I should have come back, and concentrated on my deadlift first, get that up over 500, than I wouldn’t feel so bad about fucking around with my squat, but i went the other way, thinking things would come back in only a couple months.
Now there’s going to be people that read this that think I’m an idiot, but over the last 5yrs that I’ve owned my own gym, I’ve worked with atleast 30-50 kids one on one, and every one of them hit these goals in under two years, there was nothing special about them, or they routines, but the had me yelling at them every day, and not letting them fall into all these traps. Traps where they start worrying about what kind of shoes, or colour of knee wraps they had. not letting them spend they’'re time on stupid exercises, foam rolling, or ridiculous mobility work. I didn’t let them spend endless time worrying about perfect form, about high bar or low bar, about ATG, or full depth. They didn’t waste they’re money or energy with supps, just lots of fuckin food. They just came in 3-4 times a week, and worried about being stronger than the previous week.
Anyway the point of this whole rant, is that it’s bugging me, that I can’t even reach my own standards. The shit I’ve been expecting and yelling about to kids, I’m not even there myself, and I’ve been letting it get to me. Look double BW is no big thing, but if ya don’t focus on it, and on reaching it, then you’ll never get there. I’m guilty of this myself, I fell into all the same traps, trying fancy routine, I thought would get me there faster. The reality is, back before 99, before I fell, I was working out 3 days a week, one day for each big lift, each day based around 5 sets of 5 reps, then every Sunday, I’d meet my 3 PLing buddies, and we’d have a mock meet in the gym, all three lifts every week, then we’d go have Beer, and wings, and I’d do the whole week over again. I did that exact program for 3yrs straight. I never even owned my own belt, let alone fancy shoe’s or wraps. I was working off an athletic back ground, where I lifted for sports. I don’t know what the fuck I’ve been doing for the last 10mths, but it hasn’t been working, I’m hardly any stronger than when I started back
---------------Back to the Basics---------Back to what got me there in the begining----------------------
Endless thinking and talking won’t get me there, but good old fashioned workouts will. I just finished a week of fun basic lifting, and I feel great. I’m just going in hit the main exercise, then have some fun with a couple more lifts, thats what it’s all about. This will be my last Rant, until I get atleast one of my lifts over double BW, until then I’ll just listen 
later
This is about me by the way, not ment to upset anyone