Mattman27

This is it! This is outline and shading, color will come in July.

My first challenge is complete!! It was amazing, and I believe I did quite well! Goal 1: Get Stronger. Specifically I will: Squat 200Ibs x5, Bench 170Ibs x5, OHP 100Ibs x5, Pendlay Row 120Ibs x5, Deadlift 175Ibs x5, Chin up 3x12 I started at: Squat 115Ibs x5, Bench 125Ibs x5, OHP 65Ibs x5, Pendlay Row 85Ibs x5, Deadlift 95Ibs x5, Chin up 3x6 Well, I ended up: Squat 220 5x5, Bench 155 5x5, OHP 100 5x5, Pendlay Row 135 5x5, Deadlift 300 1x5, and Chin up 3x10. In most categories I exceeded my goals, especially deadlift, which I tripled from my start. So for this, I'm giving myself an A, 5 to STR. Goal 2: Get Bigger. Specifically I will gain at least 4Ibs of muscle. I started at 5ft 8in tall, 150Ibs, and 8% bodyfat I am now 5ft 8in tall, 163Ibs, and 9% bodyfat So I gained 13 pounds of muscle, A, 3 to CON. Goal 3: Get Active. Specifically I will do something active every day. Running, bouldering, swimming, natural movement, stretching, etc. Mostly climbing and stretching, but yes, I did something every day. A, 2 to DEX and 2 to STA Goal 4: Get a Job. Specifically I will acquire, and keep, a summer job. Not sure what yet. I moved to Colorado, because I love it, and at that time had no idea what job I might possibly get. For the past 2 weeks I have been working on, testing, driving, and occasionally racing cars for an auto shop/ dealer. I freaking love it. Complete success. A, 3 to WIS. All in all an amazing challenge, and an amazing transformation I've seen in my own life, now I can only go onward and upward, to bigger and better things!

And sorry to disappoint, but they were closed in honor of memorial day today. I'll have to go see em tomorrow

That, is a good point sir haha. Well, i realize that now, and I'll be learning how to control it, but in the moment i was in a less than rational mindset. What is a black iron gym?

DISCLAIMER: this includes "offensive" language, idgaf. Little background info here, I'm living in Colorado for the summer, working, and trying to save as much $ as possible. That being said, I workout at the "fitness center" of my apartment complex. Little tiny weight room, waay too many treadmill warriors and not enough lifting. So what happen wuz... I go in, headphones in, ready to go, gonna set some new PR's, psyched up for my lifting session. I warm up, and begin my PR work set. I do 5 sets of 5 reps every workout, and I'm on set 3 when I stall halfway up on a squat. In that moment, I thought of the videos I'd seen of Arnold lifting, and he sure as hell didn't give up when it hurt, so I went berserker. I let out an animal growl, and finished the last two reps in my set. (Woot) After that, the berserker didn't wear off. I'd felt this before. Back in high school I did some lifting, and sometimes I'd get into this zone, where I was an animal in the gym, practically superhuman it felt like, lifting heavier and longer and harder than I ever thought I could. My workout partner never could understand how, and I still don't. I attributed it to my pre-workout powder (a now banned Jack3d original; sons of bitches, I loved that stuff). Now, however, I don't use any supplements, so apparently I can unleash this completely naturally, which is awesome (woot) So, I continue in this elevated state, thru set 4 (woot), occasionally growling, etc. Then on my last set, it got hard as hell, so I roared if you will, on my middle two reps. Then, on my last rep of my last set, as I'm driving up with everything I have, somebody vigorously pokes on my back. I roared again, finished my rep, completing my PR (woot), and whirled around at who the hell just nearly wrecked my last rep. It was some managerial crone who had apparently been scolding/ talking/ yelling at me for a while now, meanwhile, the rest of the weight room is staring with mixed expressions from contempt to shock. So I take out my earbuds, and the first thing she says is: get out. I said excuse me?? She says, you need to leave right now, because YOU'RE DISTURBING THE FITNESS ENVIRONMENT. Wait. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?? I laughed and said pardon me ma'am, but I AM the fitness environment. If you couldn't hear your reality TV over the sound of my working out, that's too damn bad. She said thats very funny but that i was an insolent shit, and I had to leave or my fitness center privileges would be revoked. Well that set me off. I launched into how ridiculous that was, how idiotic a policy that was, how the "fitness environment" she spoke of was bullshit, etc, etc. And I'm not leaving till I'm done. And then returned to my workout. She left... AND RETURNED WITH SECURITY!! Two fat guys with mall cop written all over em. Well I didn't want to fight em, so I left with the "security" telling the center how fucking stupid it was haha I will return tomorrow, and tomorrow is a PR deadlift day, so they're in for a real treat I'm very darkly excited. So, a PR thru and thru, discovery of a lasting animal berserker mode, and getting kicked out for being too intense. Woot, woot, and woot, bitch.

Hahaha that is AWESOME! You keep on lifting, cuz girls who lift are badass. Which, ironically, is the opposite of what you get when u lift, a great ass lol

I'm curious! Who do you look up to and why? It can be body, fitness, life, business, career, accomplishments, whatever, I just want to know Who inspires you?? And it can be alive, dead, real person, character in movie/book/etc. anything! And here we go!

Originally I am from a small town in Texas, but I got tired of it, I love Colorado, and I need a summer job, so I figured I'd move for the summer, and figure out the rest once I was there! Since one of my challenge goals was to get a summer job, and I know some people up in Colorado, I figured I'd get a job up here. So now I am in Superior, CO, and it's kind of just hitting me that I'm really here haha. And I'm working on gettin a job! I'm close, too. But this is my first legitimate job other than working at a summer camp, and my first time to be staying out of state for a significant amount of time, so I figured this was woot-worthy!

Well done!! Gotta love Stronglifts Deadlifts are my favorite, what's yours?

Hell yeah! I know that feeling, and I just enjoy knowing that the guys going crazy on the machines might look good pushing 200+ pounds, but I'll best them every time when it comes to true strength. I'm also on Stronglifts btw, it's fantastic!!!

That's awesome! I'm comin up, but I'm at 90 right now, might have to deload :/

I'm in week 5 of Stronglifts 5x5, and it is working brilliantly for me. It also comes with tracking progress, charts, a guide, everything you need, and it's free!

Congrats! Eat right, sleep plenty = effective recovery = progress!

It really depends on how above mentioned bro said it. If he was correcting out of arrogance, then this reply is blunt, but justified. If he was genuinely concerned, then ya pointing out that guy's shortcomings was a dick move.

Hahaha that's great! On your ankle issues, have you looked at Mobilitywod.com? I was just introduced to it, but it looks pretty great for aspects of function and mobility of joints, etc.

Haha oops, oh well

Thank you. On your side note: definitely not. I have a couple bodybuilder friends myself and they're great, intelligent guys. I would simply state that there is a very defined difference between a true bodybuilder, and a broscience idiot who is arrogant enough to look down on other people in the gym to flaunt himself. I admire and look up to several bodybuilders; I hold nothing against them, and I continue to be humbled by quite a few of 'em. The other category of person, however, I do not look up to. I'll be friendly with them when I can, and attempt to lead them into the light haha, but of course, I do not hate them. I think they fall into the "bad representatives" category, and as such, I only try to build them up, lead them into good representation. I believe in self-improvement, not decadence.

Wow! Thanks brother! Yeah buddy, I like that! Of course, I'm always friendly, or at least respectful. Thank you very much.

Yup, I get weird looks for AtG too. -Bro five- Thanks!

I'd only heard rumors of this, but it finally happened to me. Drumroll please! ... Upon performing my last set of deadlifts today (a PR, well over my body weight, whoop!), I made a bigger-than-me guy's jaw drop. Him and his bro. In their frat-tastic bro-tanks and sperrys (in the freakin gym! Really??). So here's what happened: they started out mean-muggin, then switched to that little bet-he-can't-do-it-because-he's-small sneer that I've seen all my life, and then after watching me tear my set up(!), they were in full eye poppin', slack-jawed, straight-up-staring at me amazement. It was AWESOME!! I LOVE it when people underestimate me! So I got some super motivation from a couple haters today haha. What made it even better was that they were on the smith machine lol, poor misguided fellas. Anyway, just thought I'd share! I hope y'all all have a moment like this, because it's fantastic

Ahh gotcha. Thanks!