I’ve been working out solidly (5+ times a week) since November. The gains I’ve gotten have been pretty damned good, and keep going up. I know that some of this is bound to be “newbie gains”, but I’m wondering if these results are normal, and how long they’ll last:
Bench Press: Began barely able to do the bar. Yesterday I 1RM’ed 250 and can rep 200 8 times.
Squat: Began barely able to do the bar. Can do ten reps at 325.
Hack Squat Machine: Began at (2) plates. Now can rep (6) 45’ers and (2) 25’ers.
Standing Calf Press: Began at 150. Can do 2x50 at 500.
I’m not trying to brag because I know there are a lot of you guys out there who make me look like I should be wearing a baby-t and a pair of tight panties.
But I’ve gone up 15 pounds a week steadily on my bench, both in rep and in 1rm for three months. Are these results as good as I think they are, or…?
If there’s one thing I am, it’s paranoid about proper form. I already paid attention to my form, but T-Mag made me realize that I’ll get nowhere without it.
When I squat, it’s all the way down, no halfway bullshit. Same with the leg press. There’s one guy at my gym who can “press” 1,200 pounds. He wraps his knees and moves the weight about oh, 6 inches. He thinks he’s hardcore cause a crowd gathers.
Fishy, yes. I’d like to know how someone can barely squat with a 45 pound Olympic bar and yet starts hack squatting with 90 pounds plus the (undetermined) weight of the sled. Possible, but curious. Anyway, Tyler, only you know how honest these figures are. If they’re straight up, you picked the right parents. Tell us, how much weight have you gained?
Depends. I had a friend back in the day in high school who put 100 pounds on his bench in 6 months. This was benching 3 times per week and “maxing” every Friday. Hmmmm…those were the days. But like anything your gains will slow down. You sound young so you’ll gain doing any type of program and having a shitty diet. But it does sound like you are overtraining, and hanging out by the hack squat machine too much. How much has your standing strict overhead press improved?
A few important questions: 1) How old are you? 2) What type of program are you following? 3)How tall are you/length of your limbs? 4) What are you taking (supplement, nutrition, and drug-wise)?
Guys, I’m not bullshitting here. I’ve got better things to do than try and make myself feel better by posting BS numbers.
My size? Well, I’m not a small guy. I’m 6’4", and when I started doing this, I weighed 335. Now, I’m “down” to 330, but have lost 2 pants sizes. I just turned 24 on Sunday, too.
My program has been varying a bit, but it's generally like this: I work the major groups (back, chest, legs) Mon, Wed, Fri, and do smaller stuff like Bi's, Tri's, etc. on Tue and Thur.
I’ve been eating like shit, but I’ve decided to change that. I’m going to start a food log and a training log.
The only supplement I’ve used is Creatine, and I’ve been using it for around a month. I haven’t done any drugs.
Those are absolutely phenomenal gains. Being that you weigh so much, you must have a ton of muscle packed under a soft shell. I don’t even know what to tell you other than I would not expect for you to see those gains throughout the rest of your training career because if you do, world records are going to be broke in a very short amount of time. My best guess as to what happened is that you had the muscle to move the iron, but you needed to practice moving the weights to train your nervous system. All newbies make gains faster than most experienced lifters because their nervous systems respond quickly and learn how to fire the right motor neurons to move and balance a weight. The difference between you and most of the other newbies that I have seen post on this board is something like 50-100 lbs of lean body mass. I’m not downplaying what you have done because that is amazing. I’m just trying to hypothesize how someone can hit PR’s like that week in and week out. Good job.
I believe every word of it. First off, on his first day in the gym, he was probably beyond awkward, so much so that he couldn’t exploit his true strength because of balance, form etc. So what he thought was his true begining strength level (just the bar) was probably FAR from it (hell, my girlfriend could squat 135 on her first day in the gym). Also, homeboy is 330-pounds, so he obviously knows how to eat plenty of food. And he probably works hard.
Tyler: About four years ago I stepped into a gym in exactly your situation, I was 6’3 340-ish pounds of flab. For the first year I made gains like yours, I benched 165x1 on my first workout, squatted about the same. Within a year I maxed out at 345 on the bench, lost 40 pounds and added enough muscle to notice, all while eating semi-shitty (but training hard and smart). Eventually, the gains slowed down a lot, and required much more discipline on my part. Keep in mind it is a hobby, work hard at it, but don’t let it run your life.
#'s really aren’t impressive in light of your weight. Drop 150 lbs. and then they’ll be good. You’re squatting and benching less that bodyweight. Also, the only reason that you can do so much on the Standing Calf Raise is that each time you take a step, each calves is supporting 330 lbs. As such, the two calves together can support 660 lbs. Not to discourage you, but I really only consider these respectable increases, not remarkable. Be patient and keep up the good work, and you’ll get there in no time.
Sounds like another Garry Frank or Greg Kovacs. Tyler where do you get most of your info? Eric you need to chill out the guy’s only been training for 2 months.
