Hey /r/fitness30plus,
I originally posted this to /r/fitness but considering there was a recent discussion about more quality posts in this sub, I thought I would try posting here as well. I am proud of my progress and I did my best to record it.
TLDR
Been active for most of my life. Always been "fit" for the most part but never strong. Found a LP program I liked and got stronger. Who would of thunk?
Background
I have been studying and/or teaching martial arts for the last 20 years. My focus has been karate and stand-up jujutsu. Needless to say when I was in my prime training days there was a lot of conditioning, isometrics, and body weight stuff. I also hit the weights doing bro-splits or whatever the flavor of the month muscle and fitness suggested (Anyone remember the "Add 1-inch to Arms in One Day" workout? Spoiler! It doesn't really work). Regardless, always around 180-185 and well-conditioned. Fit but not really strong.
Fast-forward to 2009. Now I mainly teach martial arts. I still work-out (basically dick around with weights for 45 mins and then do a hour of cardio). Then one of my buddies told me about crossfit. Bear in mind this around 2009-2010 cf was just picking up. Me and 3 or 4 friends would do WODs which mainly consisted of metcoms, plyometrics, and bodyweight stuff. We rarely touched a barbell.
A few years later I joined a "box" but I really lucked out because it was run by a strength coach who did power athlete /crossfit football programing. There i learned weightlifting and powerlifting. I definitely got stronger but due to the nature of the class the focus was again on conditioning and explosiveness. Fit but not really all the strong
Present day
The box relocated to another state and I started to dick around again and eventually became lazy. I wasn't teaching martial arts either but I was doing Judo twice a week. Shot up to 205lbs. It was great for Judo sometimes but it was heaviest I have ever been. I felt gross. Like current day Steven Seagal gross.
Before pic
The Plan
With a wife, kids, and work I knew there was no way I could join a box and a gym could be problematic as well considering I was already studying Judo twice a week. I decide to build a modest home gym. I had some equipment but I bought a squat rack and olympic dumbbell bars and few other odds and ends.
I have messed around with 5/3/1 in the past but I wanted to try something new. I settled on GZCL LP because it seemed like it had a little bit of everything and there was a ton of info on it floating around.
My lifts were as follows at the start...Squat 275x2; Bench 175x1; Deads 275x2; Press 125x2 (in kg S125x2;B80x1;B125x2;P62.5x2).
At the end of 12 weeks my numbers were as follows...all 1RM Squat 325; Bench 215' Deads 385; Press 155 (Kg S143; B98; D175; P70.5)
After pic
I started with the 4 day template and took it slow. 1T1,1T2, and a couple of accessories. Over time I added more lifts and even added another day.
Copy of my 3-month training log
Diet
I wanted to lose weight and knew there would definitely be some newb gains so I decided to do a modest deficit. I was eating around 2150kcal (a deficit of 375kcal from TDEE) and tracked my intake and macros with MFP. I have always eaten fairly clean but the deciding factor was that I drastically cut out alcohol from my diet. I would normal consume 3-4 drinks a day now i consume no more than 3-4 a week. In regards to supplements I take 5g of creatine daily plus whey protein.
Cardio
I still do Judo 2x week, and I typically run 2-4 miles with my running partner 2x a week. pic of my partner after a 4 mile run for karma.
Moving forward
I know I could've continued cutting but my goal right now is to add strength and I don't how much more I could gained if I continued the cut. I honestly like my weight and it helps with Judo. I don't care that much about aesthetics. I mainly want to be healthy, strong AF, and reasonably well-conditioned. I do however, want to start competing and Judo at the old fart level only has 2 weight classes; 81kg. I probably would be best served cutting to 178lbs but I am not going to worry about that now.
I plan to eat 5% above maintenance and hope on the /r/nSuns train to see where that gets me. In another 3 or 4 months I'll reassess. As long as I am making progress I am good. I hope to hit the 1000lbs club by the end of the year.
I originally posted this to /r/fitness but considering there was a recent discussion about more quality posts in this sub, I thought I would try posting here as well. I am proud of my progress and I did my best to record it.
TLDR
Been active for most of my life. Always been "fit" for the most part but never strong. Found a LP program I liked and got stronger. Who would of thunk?
Background
I have been studying and/or teaching martial arts for the last 20 years. My focus has been karate and stand-up jujutsu. Needless to say when I was in my prime training days there was a lot of conditioning, isometrics, and body weight stuff. I also hit the weights doing bro-splits or whatever the flavor of the month muscle and fitness suggested (Anyone remember the "Add 1-inch to Arms in One Day" workout? Spoiler! It doesn't really work). Regardless, always around 180-185 and well-conditioned. Fit but not really strong.
Fast-forward to 2009. Now I mainly teach martial arts. I still work-out (basically dick around with weights for 45 mins and then do a hour of cardio). Then one of my buddies told me about crossfit. Bear in mind this around 2009-2010 cf was just picking up. Me and 3 or 4 friends would do WODs which mainly consisted of metcoms, plyometrics, and bodyweight stuff. We rarely touched a barbell.
A few years later I joined a "box" but I really lucked out because it was run by a strength coach who did power athlete /crossfit football programing. There i learned weightlifting and powerlifting. I definitely got stronger but due to the nature of the class the focus was again on conditioning and explosiveness. Fit but not really all the strong
Present day
The box relocated to another state and I started to dick around again and eventually became lazy. I wasn't teaching martial arts either but I was doing Judo twice a week. Shot up to 205lbs. It was great for Judo sometimes but it was heaviest I have ever been. I felt gross. Like current day Steven Seagal gross.
Before pic
The Plan
With a wife, kids, and work I knew there was no way I could join a box and a gym could be problematic as well considering I was already studying Judo twice a week. I decide to build a modest home gym. I had some equipment but I bought a squat rack and olympic dumbbell bars and few other odds and ends.
I have messed around with 5/3/1 in the past but I wanted to try something new. I settled on GZCL LP because it seemed like it had a little bit of everything and there was a ton of info on it floating around.
My lifts were as follows at the start...Squat 275x2; Bench 175x1; Deads 275x2; Press 125x2 (in kg S125x2;B80x1;B125x2;P62.5x2).
At the end of 12 weeks my numbers were as follows...all 1RM Squat 325; Bench 215' Deads 385; Press 155 (Kg S143; B98; D175; P70.5)
After pic
I started with the 4 day template and took it slow. 1T1,1T2, and a couple of accessories. Over time I added more lifts and even added another day.
Copy of my 3-month training log
Diet
I wanted to lose weight and knew there would definitely be some newb gains so I decided to do a modest deficit. I was eating around 2150kcal (a deficit of 375kcal from TDEE) and tracked my intake and macros with MFP. I have always eaten fairly clean but the deciding factor was that I drastically cut out alcohol from my diet. I would normal consume 3-4 drinks a day now i consume no more than 3-4 a week. In regards to supplements I take 5g of creatine daily plus whey protein.
Cardio
I still do Judo 2x week, and I typically run 2-4 miles with my running partner 2x a week. pic of my partner after a 4 mile run for karma.
Moving forward
I know I could've continued cutting but my goal right now is to add strength and I don't how much more I could gained if I continued the cut. I honestly like my weight and it helps with Judo. I don't care that much about aesthetics. I mainly want to be healthy, strong AF, and reasonably well-conditioned. I do however, want to start competing and Judo at the old fart level only has 2 weight classes; 81kg. I probably would be best served cutting to 178lbs but I am not going to worry about that now.
I plan to eat 5% above maintenance and hope on the /r/nSuns train to see where that gets me. In another 3 or 4 months I'll reassess. As long as I am making progress I am good. I hope to hit the 1000lbs club by the end of the year.