Hello All,
This is my first official post, much less LOG on T-Nation, but I have been a lurker since late 2003. I’ve never been able to work up the cajones to actually sign up and post on here because, well, alot of the guys on here are intimidating (and alot of others are just complete douchebags). I tend to get long-winded, so feel free to just skim through, or just don’t read this at all.
Let me introduce myself.
Stats:
Age-23
Height/weight-6’0/265 lbs (not the GOOD 265 either 
)
Lifting History-started “teen routine” in 2002-bench, abs, curls, pushups, repeat. Dropped from fat 210lb 14yr old to 175lb almost-skinny kid. Discovered t-mag, elitefts, muscle&fitness, and flex all in 2003 along w/ this mystery drug called PROTEINZZ, and bulked up to 200lbs by senior year. Started college 2005, joined powerlifting team, weight went from 200lb-240lbs. Competed in 242 class(not enough discipline to diet down). Maxes were-squat 495x1 raw, bench 315x1 raw, deadlift 500x1 raw. Quit college 2006, joined USAF 2007. Went from 240 lbs in 2006 to 200lbs right before basic training on a steady diet of running and calisthenics. Got married right after tech school to hometown sweetheart, moved to Virginia, and slowly starting putting back on weight. Not the good kind of weight either. Slowly worked up from 200 lbs basic training to 275 lbs 2 yrs later(jan-feb 2009).
Present-And here I am. I’ve lost roughly 10 lbs since my all-time FAT-ASS max of 275-278 lbs, so now hover roughly 260-265 lbs. No longer active duty USAF, but Reserve AF at Barksdale, LA. Currently working as corrections officer in a local parish facility.
The dilemma-being fat…haha…I don’t plan on being a corrections officer too much longer, have taken (and passed) my civil service exam for firefighting, and am now preparing for the CPAT, which is basically the firefighter’s physical training test. I desperately need to pass this test and have been training very diligently since I received notification of my test date, roughly a month ago. I have gradually tightened up my diet and my training is mainly focused on the specific events I will do during this test. It is basically a 10:20 min. circuit, consisting of 8 different exercises. I will be wearing a wt-vest, 75 lbs for the 1st event(the dreaded stair run), and 50 lbs for the rest of the events. I have been wearing a 75lb duffel bag for the majority of my training, unless I feel my back needs a day off. MY USAF PT test happens to coincide with my FF exam, so I have been throwing in alot of pushups, situps, and running a couple days a week(actually I do pushups and some sort of abs multiple times per week as part of my warmup). The USAF PT test is not something I care too much about right now, honestly. I am much more intensely focused on the CPAT.
Training-like I said above, my training has revolved around the CPAT, so I have been wearing a 75lb duffel bag for stair runs and hill sprints and for timed walks, 20-45 min., so that my body will be adapted to carrying that weight during my test. I try to practice as close to the 8 events I have to perform as possible, basically performing circuits or complexes while wearing the bag. I pick 7-10 different exercises each day to simulate the events and perform them with the bag on. On my “off” days, I do a 12-15 min run, following by numerous sets and reps of pushups and situps to best simulate my USAF PT test. So basically my training will look like this:
Day 1-simulate CPAT events circuit style (7-10 ex. performed while wearing wted bag)-will either perform one circuit for a “max” (i.e. timed or for max reps) or multiple rds.
Day 2-perform general strength training through use of multiple types complexes(see Complexes 2.0 or any of the other complex articles that have been written on t-mag or elitefts)
Day 3-off or either Steady State Cardio for roughly 15 min., followed by multiple reps/sets pushups and situps.
Day 4-if haven’t taken off day by now, this is the day(found over time that a 3 on/1 off schedule works well)
Day 5-repeat day 1 with same or similar exercises-generally at least 1-2 days a week I take the 75 lb bag for a 20-45 min. walk after my main workout
Day 6-repeat day 2
Day 7-repeat day 3
My main days are the CPAT training days, the others are variable. My goal is increased fitness for the CPAT and USAF PT test and as much fat/weight loss as possible. I am not doing any “heavy, low-rep” work for the foreseeable future. My general strength days consist of complexes, using multiple tools (barbell,dumbbell,kettlebells,etc). I feel like this is my best ooption, b/c complexes jack up my heart rate, kick up the fat loss, and I can go as heavy or as light as I like. In the future, I fully plan on starting back up the strength work, with the tried-and-true 5/3/1 program. I performed 4 cycles of this in the past, while I was active duty, and it was a truly great program in it’s simplicity. When I do start performing it, it will be using the North of Vag template, i.e. 1-2 heavy lifts followed by some type conditioning.
I realize that I have rambled on, and for those of you who I have bored to tears, I…don’t give a shit. I’ve wasted hours on these forums reading everyone else’s posts, genius and dumb alike, so here’s my 15 minutes of spotlight. I will be posting my training sessions and possibly my diet for those who actually care. If I can figure out how to load pics on here, I will load before pics just for motivation, and hopefully after pics in a few months, showing a leaner, stronger physique. But for now, my goals are definitely performance-oriented, not physique.