Hey guys,
I’ve been on this site for almost 6 years now. Made a new account and plan on posting under this one from here on out due to reasons I’d rather not disclose. I doubt many of you would know me anyway, most of my posts were from 3+ years ago and mostly in beginners/supplements.
First: Why did I make this log?
Because I like the people on this community, and I want to be more involved. Additionally, I’ve had some big injuries and setbacks, especially for a 21 year old. I believe I’m past those and want to show myself and others that if you want something bad enough you keep pushing through all the BS and you’ll get to your goal eventually. I rarely have much to add in the training forum, but I lurk there a lot and read and think about what people say and if it makes sense to me. I’m on the site enough where I can spend 5 minutes logging my workouts and hopefully get feedback from people.
Current stats:
21 y/o
6 ft 3
203 lbs
Likely upper teens bf%, but doesn’t really matter. Bottom line is: I’m small, lanky, and weak.
15 inch arms
39.5 inch around widest part of stomach (when dieted down to 172 lbs and ridiculously skinny, this only got down to 34.5 inches. So naturally bigger there)
Goals:
- Look like a BAMF
- Be strong (315 bench, 405 front squat, and 500 sumo deadlift)
*Deadlift and front squat goals only stand if it turns out my hip can handle those lifts long term. I’m only 21, but after the major surgeries I’ve had health and longevity is important. I’m not invincible appearently. - Have 18 inch arms at a bodyfat % under 15. Being 6 ft 3, I figure I’m not gonna look decent unless my arms are pretty big.
Current best lifts (lbs):
Bench: 5x5 175
Front Squat: 215x6 (just started doing these)
Leg Press: 600x15
Sumo Deadlift: no idea, literally just started adding these in today. did 5x5 225 really easy today, but need to start wearing sweatpants and get chalk for the future. Never did these pre-injuries, but don’t have much choice now.
Routine:
I’m doing 5 days a week, upper/lower/upper/lower/upper M-F. Sometimes if I have a test that day I’ll sleep in and make up the workout on the weekend. I’m trying something different for me. Pretty much all straight sets, avoiding failure. One lower day is deadlift based, one is front squat. All three upper days have different lifts.
I have a 6 ft 9 wingspan and long legs. Benching has ALWAYS sucked because of my long arms/forearms. In high school (before some big time injuries/surgeries) I squatted 335, deadlifted 380, and only benched 215.
Past:
Started lifting at 16, did Starting Strength. Got squat up to 3x5 250 lbs, bench up to 3x5 170, and deadlift to 1x5 315. Did Madcow 5x5 afterward, then 5/3/1. In May of my senior year (17 years old) I hit a 335 squat, 380 deadlift, and 215 bench.
2 weeks later, I tore the cartilage in my wrist pretty bad. Had to take a lot of time up to see if it would heal, got put into a full arm cast for a month (sucked) in December. Didn’t work, had to get surgery in the following June. Couldn’t lift upper body at all during this time, and for about 5 months post op. A year after that, had FAI surgery in hip. Two big surgeries, prevented me from really lifting for almost 3 years.
I’m back now, slightly limited in what lifts I can do (no conventional deadlifts or back squats) but I’m smarter now from all of that. Plus, I’m ****ing pissed about losing all that time and all my muscle. So that’s a great motivator.
Closing:
Really hoping to get some of you guys to chime in, even if it’s just to say you’re following. Once I get my workouts posted in the next week or so, I’d love any input from you guys about if anything looks dumb or if you have suggestions. Most of what I do is decently thought out in my head and has a logical (well, to me anyway) reason for why I’m doing what I’m doing. But I’ve made mistakes before, so always open to suggestions.
That was too long, lets get this log up and running.