This is something of a musings/story-time post and something of a bragski post. I was inspired by ThatFanficGuy though, and got back to lifting. Before last Saturday, the last time I lifted was June 10th, right before my vacation to California. I shouldn't make excuses, but I will, and it's this: I did start mountain biking.

Anyway, I got a barbell for Christmas, and finally got around to buying plates at the start of June. However, I was in a weight training class from September to January, though the teacher sucked and I ended up with a shoulder problem that prevents me from benching. Additionally, I trained bodyweight pretty seriously during the summer of 2014. Long story short, I'm not a complete noob, but I am still very much a beginner lifter. Well, actually, the last time I could bench, it was well in the intermediate category for my weight. But yeah, beginner, but not novice.

With school starting and ThatFanficGuy's story of his own start, I felt that I should get back in the swing. My deadlier has always been kind of weak (in June, I was repping a plate, at 130lb bodyweight). So, when I decided to lifting again for the first time, I wanted to focus more on deading than any other lift.

The first time, a week ago, I went in without much of a plan. I figured, some hack squats, which I love; some deadlifts, of course; overhead press, to heal my ego; then finished it off with barbell rows. It wasn't much, but man was I sore again today.

That night, I say down to set up a program. Now, it's not really recommended for beginners to design their own programs, but it is something I have always been pretty good at. You are never going to find a program that has the exact same circumstances as you. The very first program I did was alternating ElDiablo and Convict Conditioning daily. It was brutal, but quick, and that was the combination I wanted. From there, I have tried other's routines, from the /r/bodyweightfitness to Starting Strength, but I've always found myself having to change them to suite my goals and limitations (like benching). Eventually, I spent a week learning everything I could about programming, and I designed my own, a mix on Antraink's intermediate bodyweight routine, and Starting Strength, plus some. I wanted both the raw strength and the skill, so combining them made sense. If you research what you are doing, you can design the perfect plan for you, because it won't exist until you make it.

This time, I really want to focus on my deadlier. I don't want to forget my other two main lifts either though (front squat and pho). So, I've set it up so I have a main lift each workout day (Sat, Tue, Thur), along with one or two supplements for each of the other two. So, for example, based on my weaknesses pulling, I do Straight Legged Deadlifts on squat day, and Good Mornings on ohp day. This way, I can go practically full steam for the main lift, and use linear programming and take advantage of my beginner status.

There is this weird thing that happens when you come back to something. Sometimes, a little break actually makes you better. It happens for me with flute all the time. I'll hardly ever play over school breaks, and when I come back, things are a little easier. Same with lifting. This week, I've PRed in front squat, deadlift, ohp, power clean, and power snatch. I broke 150lb for reps for the first time ever. I think that this little spurt is going to be a lot of fun while it lasts. My goal is to dead over 200lb and power clean over 100lb by October. So, if you read this, thanks, and wish me some good lifting.