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How Much Weight I Lift
There are many ways that people get into weight-lifting. For me, it was to compensate for being a beanpole during my teenage years. I was just another average-sized kid until puberty hit. Then, I grew to six feet tall in a very short time and became a very skinny-looking teenager. I remember wanting to build muscle on my chest in particular so people wouldn't see all those damn bones. I wasn't into any sports, or trying to be tough; I simply didn't want to be so painfully skinny.
My parents bought me a weight bench around 9th grade. I also got Arnold's book for bodybuilding, and away I went. Although I was certainly a "nerd" all through high school, oddly enough, no one picked on me. By 12th grade, I was pretty built. I don't think I ever took weight-lifting that seriously. It became one of my hobbies and I just liked to do it. I kept it up throughout my adult years and only got serious about it two years ago.
In the past, I never kept records of how much I could lift, so this page will have to serve as a starting point. Since I'm more focused on reducing my body fat levels than building muscle mass right now, I don't expect to see much growth in terms of how much weight I lift or how big my muscles might be getting. Everything I've ever read about losing fat and gaining muscle says its very difficult to do both at the same time. So, I'm content to just lift weights to maintain where I'm at in terms of muscularity and keep focused on diet and cardio to burn away more fat. After I get my fat down low enough, I will probably go through a bulking session or two.
I really have no great desire to be a huge guy. My chest, triceps and shoulders could stay the size they are now and I'd never complain. My back and biceps need to grow. For some reason, when I was younger I never cared about curls and big biceps, which is what the average male seems to be the most concerned with. However, these days I would like them to be a little larger so that my arms don't look mostly like triceps. I'm presently also happy with the size of my legs, but I would like them to be stronger.
Not making an excuse, but I've had a messed-up right shoulder for the past three months or so. I didn't do anything to it in particular, but it just got sore soon after I started lifting weights regularly in September. It's not the muscle, but the joint (tendons? ligaments? I dunno). It keeps me from doing certain exercises, and on others it will hold me back. It's quite a bit better now, but hardly 100%.
Monday - Quads & Calves
I rarely worked out my legs when i was younger (prior to 36 years old). I was a casual weight-lifter, and legs always seemed, well, not so casual. So, right now, I can honestly say that my legs are stronger than they've ever been. I'd like them to be bigger, but can't really start on that until I'm done shedding fat. If I had to set a goal for lifting with my legs, it would be 1,000 lbs leg presses and 400 lbs barbell squats for reps. That'll be awhile. I also squeeze in my shoulder shrugs on leg day.
Tuesday - Shoulders, Biceps & Abs
I really like doing Dumbbell Shoulder Presses, but my sore right shoulder prevents me from doing those very well. So, I stick to the machine exercises since those don't force me to stabilize as much. I'll always choose free weights over machines, but just can't right now. For abs, I currently do Balance Ball Isometrics for 60 seconds, followed immediately by 20 Balance Ball Crunches and 20 V-Ups. On Tuesday, I only do one set of those, but on Friday I do two. Maybe when there is no fat covering my stomach, I'll work my abs harder.
Thursday - Back, Hamstrings & Calves
Like my legs and biceps, my back is another area that needs to grow. I never lifted weights for the back very often, ummm, hardly ever. There are many other good back exercises, like One Arm Dumbbell Rows and Deadlifts, but I can't do them all in one workout. For now, I've picked three. I'll change them out when I've done them awhile.
Friday - Chest, Triceps & Abs
Right now, I don't push my chest too hard. It's the one area I have developed rather well, and I'd like most of my muscle growth to occur in other parts of my body. Maybe when my back and legs catch up to where I want them to be, I'll put more effort into my chest and triceps again, but they're good for now.
As I've already stated, I don't expect to see much change in terms of how much I can lift while I'm focused upon burning fat. Still, the amount of weights I have been using has gone up quite a bit since I started lifting regularly in September. I'll revisit this topic once I'm under 190 lbs in weight and my shoulder feels better.