Train your weakness.
You’re both right, of course. And I’ll keep doing OHP.
But they are one unforgiving bastard of a lift.
I’m 32 now, about 6’-6’1" and around 225. I’ve been lifting consistently since high school. I haven’t done a single rep max in years, other than having a number to flaunt I don’t see the point, but if I were to estimate what it might be probably somewhere around 480-500 for squat and maybe 350-360 bench, but the latter one is really rough since I don’t do bar bell bench at all either.
Why do you lift?
I lift for a plethora of reasons. For one, it is a part of my meditation and it gives me time to unwind mentally and emotionally and think about and worth through things. I need it to bring balance to how the modern life is that is so sedentary. It helps me stay tempered, it helps me sleep, it helps stabilize my energy. It’s also a good way to “go out” and get some amount of social interaction without overdoing it. And, of course, it has great health and appearance benefits.
What routine do you like to use?
I’m a big fan of major muscle group splits, dumbs, pyramids, and super sets, so my workouts are composed of those sorts of things. I go four times a week and work one major group each time, legs, shoulders, back, and chest, and do a part of core each time along with cardio afterward. Each workout ends up being about 2:15-2:30, about 1:45-2:00 of weight training and 30 min of cardio. In general, as far as exercises go, I do dumbbells if I can, cables or barbell if I can’t, and only do a few machines for specialized movements or for a bit of variety. I favor pyramid sets because I like the combination of low-weight/high-rep with high-weight/low-rep, and I work in as many super sets as possible to keep my heart rate up and to get as much done in my work outs as I can.
How do you measure your success and are you successful?
I’m way past the point where I’m worried about gains. I’m happy with my strength, with my endurance, with my appearance, so I’m focused on the benefits and maintenance. So, I measure my success primarily based on how I feel, particularly in the difference between how I feel before I go and how I feel afterward, along with how I’ve generally felt all around. Often, if my workouts aren’t going well, I don’t get the same mental and emotional lift afterward, and I’ll start to feel somewhat down and lethargic in general. But if the lifts feel great, I feel energized, and I’m in a good mood, that’s success.
I’m a freak. I took to OHP like a duck to water. My trainer was *floored *the first time we worked on it. I don’t love it, but he went on and on - I was just happy to finally be doing something right the first time out.
My front squat, on the other hand, took some time before it wasn’t killing my wrists.
That’s awesome! I took to the posterior chain lifts really well, so I have to assume it’s because my posterior is…um…mighty.
All hail the mighty posterior!
I just started lifting two months ago, and it’s become the only physical activity ever in my life that I enjoy and look forward to doing.
F, 35, 5’4", 155
I can’t squat on doctor’s orders, but my leg press is 150, deadlift 95, bench 65. In two days I hope to deadlift 100 pounds and I am SO EXCITED. When I started two months ago, I could barely lift the bar.
My bench is the weakest, but for some reason I love it the most. I just feel so powerful pushing that bar off my chest. I think I need to watch my form better, though, as that’s probably why I’m not gaining as much on that lift as with the others.