#lifting chronicles

I've been consistently lifting since August, and I think I've found a program that works for me. So I'm going to document my journey here again, like I did a few years ago. Might just be for the year, but we'll see.

Right now I weigh in at 238 lbs. The goal is to get to under 200 by September/October. I'm going to get there by eating less (consuming fewer calories, eating more fruits and veggies) and moving more (walking more, moving cardio to after lifting instead of its own day).

My lifting is very loosely based off 5/3/1, but it's more of a guideline. I have 6 main lifts done once a week, 2 lifts each day. Squats and Rows first, Press and Cleans next, Deadlift and Dips last. After those, I do the accessory lifts. Push, pull, and legs. 5 sets of 10 reps. I change the accessory lifts every month, just to keep things fresh (might change that this year so that I can get some consistency with those too, I guess).

I'll figure out how my routine is gonna shake out later today. Right now, here's to success in 2023.

So I decided on my accessory lifts: machine chest press for push, because my chest is my weakest muscle right now; cable shrugs for pull, because upper traps are my weakest pull muscle and I don't want the rest of the pull muscles to get too far ahead; and machine leg curls for legs because I haven't trained that kind of movement in a while.

And now, for the lifts:

Squat: this one was pretty good, 4/5 overall. I had 205x5, 235x5, and 270x5+. The first two were kinda easy, but hunger set in for the last set, and I could only get to 7 instead of 10 like I wanted to.

Rows: my strongest lift, it did not disappoint. 5/5. I had 145x5, 165x5, and 190x5+. The hunger that ruined the Squat, strangely enough didn't ruin Rows. My grip felt weird, but I was able to push through, especially for the last set.

Machine Chest Press: I did this one first because I didn't work a push movement for the first two main lifts. I did 90x5x10. 5/5 overall. It didn't feel that bad, definitely felt like I could've done more, so I'll try 100 or even 110 next time.

Machin Leg Curls: I had to adjust the machine (I'm not used to using them) so that made my first set awkward. But I did 60x5x10. 4/5, kinda felt my right hamstring cramp up a bit, but it went away after I adjusted properly. Also it got heavy towards the end, so I'll stick with this weight for the week.

Cable Shrugs: this was a new one, didn't really have faith in it before I tried it, but once I did I was a believer. I did 20x5x10, and this gets a 5/5 if only because it felt too light 😅 definitely increasing this next time, maybe doubling it

Running: 0.5 mi, 6 mph. TFW you think you can run for 10 minutes after lifting for an hour 😅😅😅 I only made it through 5, so I'll have to re-evaluate whether this works for me or not in a couple of weeks

Overall it wasn't a bad session. It helped clear my head, and I got everything I wanted done the way I wanted it before they closed down.

Now for the next one on Thursday!