The semester is over! Therefore, I have time to edit and upload training videos. Of course, I continued training diligently the whole time, but editing videos and posting them to YouTube turned out to be more trouble than it was worth when there was grading to be done. But alas, the grading is now done, and so it is time to refocus on the important things. And something I have considered for a while now is why am I not presenting my progress on my own website? Now seems like a good time to start doing that, and so that is what I am now doing.

The first order of business: establish a baseline. That way, you all know from whence I come. On November 5th, 2017, I discovered StrongLifts and started following that program—poorly. Aside from a short physical education class in high school, never had I ever trained with barbells. Consequently, I fumbled my way through the start of the program until the weight became heavy and I started plateauing. After a frustrating month, I delved into Starting Strength, whose books and online resources helped me improve both my form and my programming, and my performance improved significantly once more—until I plateaued again. Drinking lots of milk helped, but in late November and early December, life itself intervened, and I spent two non-consecutive weeks not at the gym. Therefore, I deloaded TWICE.

But alas, I am now on break, and I am taking this opportunity to start fresh and improve my program, again, by ensuring that my effort at the gym is not wasted by a deficit of protein during recovery. I have begun tracking daily protein intake, and since December 8th, I have succeeded in consuming no fewer than 170 grams per day. I am confident that by maintaining this streak, I will break through my latest plateau and reach my ultimate goal of deadlifting 500 lbs, squatting 400 lbs, benching 300 lbs, and pressing 200 lbs. And you will see it all here. Wish me luck.

Key, from top the bottom: deadlift (green), squat (blue), bodyweight (red), barbell row (orange), bench press (gray), overhead press (purple).