- Joined
- May 8, 2008
- Messages
- 350
- Reaction score
- 0
The END:
I'm discontinuing my log. I don't think from this point on it will be useful to anyone here.
But, I've accomplished my goal. I've achieved mediocrity.
When I started this log I was in constant back pain, and left shoulder, and right elbow, and intermittent knee pain. It was the result of both overuse and a bunch of old injuries I had never fully rehabbed.
Now I feel great, strong, and more capable of working within my limits to avoid aggravating stuff at work.
I've gained a LOT more strength than this log demonstrates, just for reference I was showing my gf how to bent over row, and I comfortably rowed what I happened to have on the bar (240). I'm 6'3" and 260lbs and
I haven't lost any weight, but that wasn't really my goal. I had it in mind a side goal because I thought it would help me feel better.
What I can now do, is pick up a heavy ass pump and line it up on a shaft at an odd angle and not hurt myself. I can jump out of bed without having to be careful. I don't pop my SI joint out of place trying to wipe my ass. I can jerk off without my elbow hurting. It's the little shit lol.
My lifting hasn't been consistent (it was for a period), but I'm also very active at work and have tried to respond to what my body needed.
From this point on, my lifting will just be once or twice a week doing random shit I feel like. I have no interest in getting any stronger. I'm strong enough for my daily life, and have no dream of being the strongest man in the world or anything like that. I have other hobbies that I dedicate my time to trying to get good at (rallycross racing mainly, also play competitive chess) and have no need for another pursuit at this time.
I consider this a success. Hopefully this log can demonstrate to anyone else who is feeling beat up and hurting that careful weightlifting can rebuild ligament and joint strength. When I started, I wasn't sure if I'd ever feel good again.
Original Post:
Getting back into lifting after a looooong lay off. Have a barbell and 300lbs of bumper plates, no rack or anything else.
Goals: Get down to around 205, OHP my bodyweight, deadlift 2xBW.
Going to be doing the following to start with:
Day 1
Deadlift 3x5
BOR 3x5
Floor Press 3x5
Day 2
Power Clean 5x3
Front Squat 3x5
OHP 3x5
I''ll be doing some mobility work/stretching after I lift.
The long story:
I'm 27, 6'3", and about 250. I was very active all through my teens until I was 21. Muay Thai, weightlifting, hiking, all sorts of stuff. I started working as an oil field diver at that point, and did that for 4.5 years. I was gone from home half the time stuck on oil rigs and boats, and on some jobs worked stupidly long days with inadequate nutrition. I initially tried to stay on top of my lifting, but with the inevitable loss of progress due to my work I got frustrated with it and stopped. While I was diving, I had no major injuries (couple broken fingers and things like that but nothing lasting). Got sick of being gone all the time, so when I was 25 I stopped and moved back to Seattle. Got a job working for a marine hydraulics shop, and now I fix cranes and other hydraulic equipment on boats. The job is still physically demanding (swinging 20lb sledgehammers against steel pins, dragging 200lb pumps of and down drydocks, lot of climbing on cranes, etc), but nothing like the pace of my old job. However, over the last few years I've accumulated some injuries, the most significant ones being a grade two ligament tear by my left SI joint, and a grade 2 right elbow radial ligament tear. There's a bunch of other aches and pains related to improper/over use, but those are the big ones. Ever since the SI joint sprain (a little over a year ago) the left side of my back hasn't been as strong as it used to be. I believe the injury is mostly/completely healed, but the surrounding musculature just never strengthened back up to where it was. Same story with the elbow, though it was more recent (9 months ago) and is still a it uncomfortable from time to time but it's definitely improving. I'm not terribly weak, can still BP my bodyweight (or close to it) and comfortably do pullups. However, I think I'm developing all kinds of imbalances and stiffness because while I do plenty of heavy lifting at work, it's always at weird angles and usually not for a full range of motion. I've also gotten a bit heavier than I'd like. I don't mind from an aesthetics standpoint, and while not lean I'm definitely not obese, but I think being a little lighter would help my knees/back out quite a bit in the long run. Thus, I've decided to start back with a basic lifting split, I'm going to start light and progressively increase weight, and hopefully my weak spots will catch up to the rest of me and I will regain some muscle balance and mobility. I don't have any goals in the upper echelons of athletics, would just like to feel a little better. The goals I set are just to have some numbers to chase.
I'm discontinuing my log. I don't think from this point on it will be useful to anyone here.
But, I've accomplished my goal. I've achieved mediocrity.
When I started this log I was in constant back pain, and left shoulder, and right elbow, and intermittent knee pain. It was the result of both overuse and a bunch of old injuries I had never fully rehabbed.
Now I feel great, strong, and more capable of working within my limits to avoid aggravating stuff at work.
I've gained a LOT more strength than this log demonstrates, just for reference I was showing my gf how to bent over row, and I comfortably rowed what I happened to have on the bar (240). I'm 6'3" and 260lbs and
I haven't lost any weight, but that wasn't really my goal. I had it in mind a side goal because I thought it would help me feel better.
What I can now do, is pick up a heavy ass pump and line it up on a shaft at an odd angle and not hurt myself. I can jump out of bed without having to be careful. I don't pop my SI joint out of place trying to wipe my ass. I can jerk off without my elbow hurting. It's the little shit lol.
My lifting hasn't been consistent (it was for a period), but I'm also very active at work and have tried to respond to what my body needed.
From this point on, my lifting will just be once or twice a week doing random shit I feel like. I have no interest in getting any stronger. I'm strong enough for my daily life, and have no dream of being the strongest man in the world or anything like that. I have other hobbies that I dedicate my time to trying to get good at (rallycross racing mainly, also play competitive chess) and have no need for another pursuit at this time.
I consider this a success. Hopefully this log can demonstrate to anyone else who is feeling beat up and hurting that careful weightlifting can rebuild ligament and joint strength. When I started, I wasn't sure if I'd ever feel good again.
Original Post:
Getting back into lifting after a looooong lay off. Have a barbell and 300lbs of bumper plates, no rack or anything else.
Goals: Get down to around 205, OHP my bodyweight, deadlift 2xBW.
Going to be doing the following to start with:
Day 1
Deadlift 3x5
BOR 3x5
Floor Press 3x5
Day 2
Power Clean 5x3
Front Squat 3x5
OHP 3x5
I''ll be doing some mobility work/stretching after I lift.
The long story:
I'm 27, 6'3", and about 250. I was very active all through my teens until I was 21. Muay Thai, weightlifting, hiking, all sorts of stuff. I started working as an oil field diver at that point, and did that for 4.5 years. I was gone from home half the time stuck on oil rigs and boats, and on some jobs worked stupidly long days with inadequate nutrition. I initially tried to stay on top of my lifting, but with the inevitable loss of progress due to my work I got frustrated with it and stopped. While I was diving, I had no major injuries (couple broken fingers and things like that but nothing lasting). Got sick of being gone all the time, so when I was 25 I stopped and moved back to Seattle. Got a job working for a marine hydraulics shop, and now I fix cranes and other hydraulic equipment on boats. The job is still physically demanding (swinging 20lb sledgehammers against steel pins, dragging 200lb pumps of and down drydocks, lot of climbing on cranes, etc), but nothing like the pace of my old job. However, over the last few years I've accumulated some injuries, the most significant ones being a grade two ligament tear by my left SI joint, and a grade 2 right elbow radial ligament tear. There's a bunch of other aches and pains related to improper/over use, but those are the big ones. Ever since the SI joint sprain (a little over a year ago) the left side of my back hasn't been as strong as it used to be. I believe the injury is mostly/completely healed, but the surrounding musculature just never strengthened back up to where it was. Same story with the elbow, though it was more recent (9 months ago) and is still a it uncomfortable from time to time but it's definitely improving. I'm not terribly weak, can still BP my bodyweight (or close to it) and comfortably do pullups. However, I think I'm developing all kinds of imbalances and stiffness because while I do plenty of heavy lifting at work, it's always at weird angles and usually not for a full range of motion. I've also gotten a bit heavier than I'd like. I don't mind from an aesthetics standpoint, and while not lean I'm definitely not obese, but I think being a little lighter would help my knees/back out quite a bit in the long run. Thus, I've decided to start back with a basic lifting split, I'm going to start light and progressively increase weight, and hopefully my weak spots will catch up to the rest of me and I will regain some muscle balance and mobility. I don't have any goals in the upper echelons of athletics, would just like to feel a little better. The goals I set are just to have some numbers to chase.
Last edited:
