I hit some new personal records at the gym today. That got me thinking about where I stood on reaching my ultimate goals outlined here. After all, its been 3 months since I originally posted it. So here goes.
I am guessing my current weight is hopefully still around 190. I dont think I have hopped on a scale at all in the last 3 months. I hate scales. I really do. They depress me and make me think dark thoughts about myself. Ok, maybe that is a bit too far but I really do dislike them. They never make me feel good about what I am trying to accomplish.
Bench Press
Back in October I was benching 205lbs eight times. Today I benched 230lbs five times with my ultimate goal being 285 at a 1RM. My calculated 1RM currently sits at 280lbs but that is unproven at this time. Bench pressing has always been my weakness and I used to forgo it all together. It feels good to be doing it now and I am hoping that my strength will only increase as time goes on.
Pull-Ups
In October I was able to do six pull-ups with a combined weight (including body) of 235lbs. Last Friday I did four pull-ups at 245. Not a huge increase but I do know for a fact that last month I was pulling more. I switched gyms and for some reason, my pull-up weight went down a bit. It's starting to go back up but I am still a bit disappointed in both pull-ups and chin-ups.
Chin-Ups
My chin-up weight/rep is the same as my pull-up. Calculated 1RM for both is 254 and the goal that I am hoping to reach by year end is 285.
Squat
In high school the squat was my exercise. I could push 400lbs like it was nothing. Now I really cant say the same thing. Last Friday I squatted 235 at three reps. That is actually a 50lb decrease over last October but since then I have altered my form and started doing them correctly. I am now breaking plane and doing them correctly. I will take the 50lb loss knowing that I can look in the mirror at night and know that I am not cheating myself. My goal is 360lbs and my calculated 1RM is 374lbs.
Deadlift
On Monday I deadlifted 325lbs four times with a calculated 1RM of 368lbs (again, untested). Back in October I was only able to deadlift 225lbs six times. So in the last 3 months I was able to increase my deadlift by 100lbs! Now that is some exciting news! I am still 150lbs away from my 475 goal though. I will get there by year end unless my gym kicks me out for making too much noise!
I am a little disappointed in my progress but at least I am making some. The goals set forth were for advanced lifters so any progress towards them is a positive in my book.
What goals have you set and achieved recently?
One Life to Live
The biggest goal I set near the end of last year was to lift heavy weights. I hadn't been to a gym in years and my strength was suffering (never been a really strong guy).
ReplyDeleteTwo months later (with a 3 week break) I'm:
* Benching 115 lbs. 5 times (my weakest exercise besides chin ups) (up from 100 lbs. 3 times)
* squatting 160 lbs. 6 times (same weight as starting but more reps and better form)
* deadlifting 140 lbs. 6 times (up from 70 lbs. 7 times)
* doing 4 chin ups with 195 lbs. (body weight + 25 lbs.) (up from 170 lbs. 10 times)
Goals are to bench 200 lbs., squat 250 lbs., deadlift 250 lbs., and 250 lbs. chin ups in about 3 months.
Nice! It looks like you have some great goals that will allow you to get there at a nice gradual pace. Best of luck. I am cannot wait to hear in 3 months how you blew those numbers away! :)
ReplyDeleteNice! It looks like you have some great goals that will allow you to get there at a nice gradual pace. Best of luck. I am cannot wait to hear in 3 months how you blew those numbers away! :)
ReplyDeleteYou are doing a great job! Seeing from where you started to where you are now, you have come a long way. Especially the reps and weights you are doing. These are the things that weighing scales don't measure - resistance.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply. You are absolutely correct. The scale only measures how much you weigh which has no real relation to my actual strength. I am very happy with my progress so far and I continue to push myself hard every time I train. It's a slow process but one in which I can easily measure my results by.
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