Let me preface the following by saying this about weight moved. I bought into it…what can I say? Reading about the 5x5 changed my mind and after doing them using a form I believe to be correct, they are great exercises. In high school, the coaches were always warning us that both would hurt our back and that there were other exercises that were better and safer to perform. I did my first squat and deadlift in February 2012. That’s right people…….46 years old and never did a squat or deadlift. Prior to running the 5x5 I had never done a squat or deadlift. My form must be the culprit for my elbow pain, but I just don’t know how to fix it. I tried that and my elbows did not hurt, so I have been using that these past 8 weeks. The gym I belong to has a Hammer Strength bench machine that you load with free weight plates. After the first month on the program my elbow pain came back with a vengeance….to the point where it hurt to bench 135lbs. The second substitution I made was for the bench press. I liked it from the 5x5 and decided to keep it. The first is that I swapped in the standing overhead press for the standing dumbbell press. I followed the program to the letter with 2 exceptions. There is a ton of information available on the program so I won’t bore you by going over it here. Rep ranges go from 12 to 15 all the way down to 3 to 5. You are in they gym 4 days per week and there are 3 cycles, each with 4 microcycles and the exercises change up every 4 weeks. After reading several articles by him I decided to run the Shortcut to Size program. I looked around and discovered Jim Stoppani. I got tired of sitting around and feeling lethargic so I decided it was time to get back into the gym and get my energy back. I did do some walking with my wife but no resistance training. My elbows were really hurting me at the end of the 5x5 and I used that, plus life in general, to put me on a lifting vacation for 3 months. I didn’t set foot in a gym and did nothing physical. One big issue I had was serious elbow pain while benching.Īfter the move I took the next 3 months off completely. Had I not done the Madcow 5x5 I would not have had the strength to perform the move. We moved that first week of May and due to tight finances, we moved ourselves. In February of this year I started the Madcow / Bill Starr 5x5 and followed it for 9 weeks, ending the first week of May. I found the Madcow / Bill Starr 5x5 in February 2012. I was getting stronger but felt I needed more. I did what a lot of other people do….look in the M&F magazines, surf the web for programs and meld something together that resembles a work out. For the next year I was in the gym several times a week but followed no real “plan”. After I hit that goal, I worked on getting stronger. Over the next year I worked on reducing my waist to 36 inches and losing weight. It was at this point that I started to work my way to a more healthy position in life. While I don’t think the Omron unit was 100% correct, the point was taken that I needed to change something. I went to a Planet Fitness and they used one of those handheld Omron brand BF meters to estimate my BF at 44%. Back in January of 2010 I had enough of not exercising….my pants were a size 42, I weighed about 280 and I had low energy. Over the years I have had an on again, off again – mostly off again – relationship with weight training. Once I graduated college and got a job my schedule changed and working out fell by the wayside. I can see some veins in my arms that were not there before I started.Īs to my weight training / lifting background, I did a lot in high school and college like many other young men do. I have gained more definition and overall size over these past 12 weeks, so I know my body composition has changed. I started the program at 257 pounds and have finished at 262 pounds….a net gain of only 5 pounds. I didn’t count calories, protein grams or any of that. During this program I ate what I wanted, when I wanted. Do I carry around more weight then I should? Definitely. I have a full time job and an involved life and as such I don’t eat as “clean” as I would like to. I am a 46 year old male that is married and has two teenage boys that are athletes. If you want a more complete and detailed picture, read on. Follow it for 12 weeks and you will see results. If you just want a quick answer then here it is: I am also no professional writer, so keep that in mind as you read. This is a rather long post, so if you are going to read the entire thing, set aside a few minutes. You should see your doctor before beginning any exercise program and get their clearance to workout. The purpose of this post is to illustrate that anyone can get themselves into better shape no matter their age or starting physical condition.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |