Eric's Journey to 40, The Strongest I've Ever Been

Training Logs
1

I am very few of your have seen any of my posts in the TRT section, so a brief introduction.

I have been recently prescribed TRT due to Low-T symptoms and labs at the age of 39. I decided to take this opportunity and get in the best shape I have ever been. My starting weight for this process is 134 and that is about the exact same weight when I graduated high-school. I am not sure I have a goal weight but 140 would be a first for me. I am right at 5’8" tall. I have always had an extremely fast metabolism, so I have never had to worry about my weight. That has been both good, and unfortunately, bad. I have visited gyms over the years but never “went”. I am struggling on what to do when I am in the gym and how to arrange my splits.

My wife is a PT, DPT and I trust her in helping me with my forms and telling me how to engage certain muscles for the exercises. She is also heavily active in the gym herself and always has been.

I have a home gym consisting of a power rack, barbells, cable system, kettle bells, dumbbells, landmine, bands, and a bench. I struggle with maintaining a good split because the days I can work out fluctuate week to week between shuttling my kids to sports practices, etc.

Here is my currently situation and I’ll listen to any advice given. I am trying to squeeze in 2 leg days and 2 chest days with these splits, as you can see.

Glute Focused Day
Traditional Deadlift
DB RDL
Hip Thrust
Bulgarian Split
Goblet Squats

Chest-Shoulder Day
Bench Press
Front Raises
Lateral Raises
Incline DB Press
Hi Cable Cross
Strict OH Press

Back-Bicep Day
Pull-Ups
Landmine Row
DB Row
Strt Pull Down
DB Curl
DB Hammer Curl
Preacher Curl

Quad-Chest Day
Back Squat
BB Calf Raise
Sissy Squats
DB Flat Bench
DB Flys
Tricep Pushdowns

PR’s
Back Squat- 170 lbs.
Deadlift- 205 lbs.
Bench Press- 125 lbs.
Strict OH Press- 70 lbs.
Unassisted Pull-up- 5 reps

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2 Likes
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What would you say is the minimum amount of days you can consistently dedicate to resistance training? How much time can you dedicate on those days?

3

I am going to say 4 days is the max. Sometimes 3 out of 4 of those days will fall back to back to back then 2 days off, then a day when I can lift again. It’s crazy I know. I can usually dedicate 1-1.5 hours.

4

What would you say is your training goal? That you are trying to cram in 2 leg days and 2 chest days into your split has me curious.

5

I’d like to gain mass, size (general aesthetic), and strength.

6

That’s not too bad. You could do something like a push/pull/leg split and then throw in a full-body day.

7

Why, specifically, the 2 leg days and 2 chest days then? What is driving that decision?

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I have very tiny legs and the most to gain in that area. I’ve never had a chest to speak of, very flat. And since starting I’ve started to notice a little cut of a line and it makes me want more.

9

So, see, this is far more specific than the goal you initially listed.

Would you be able to list your SPECIFIC goals? It would make coming up with guidance far more viable.

10

Honestly, I don’t know I I even fully know what my goals are. I haven’t thought about it. Off the top of my head, it’s vanity. I want to fill out. I want to look good in underwear instead of looking skinny. As I said, a chest would be nice and I’d like for my underwear not to be loose on my thighs. I do quite a bit out work outside on 10 acres (chainsawing and lifting things) so I also want to be strong for it. Does that help any? I will try to think more specifically, but I do not have a goal of competing in anything.

11

This is honestly a very common issue, so don’t feel bad about it. It’s why I ask. But if you think about it: if you get in a car and start driving and don’t have a destination in mind, you never know if you’re getting there.

For a goal of general size, strength and athleticism, I’m a big fan of the Tactical Barbell series of programming. The books pretty much lay everything out for you, you have all the equipment you need to get it done, and workouts can vary from 2-4 days per week, from 20-90 minutes, fitting your schedule.

12

Thank you for the book recommendation! I will definitely read up on that.

Something I forgot to mention yesterday is that I have lots of free time in my office at work. Now, it’s not like I can turn it into a gym, but I work a pretty sedentary desk job and I have a private office that I could do some workouts in, bodyweight, kettlebell stuff. I have one kettlebell in my office now. Unfortunately I work 1 hour from home, so my 8 hour days are more like 10 hour days.

1 Like
13

And after some thinking and searching, a body like this would be my ultimate goal. These are stated to be my height and in the 140-145lb range.

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