GUIDO PETRI

Powerlifting / Weightlifting

Weightlifting

Since approximately February 2010, I have been weightlifting at the gym 3 times a week, on average. My program can be separated into three main periods: from February 2010 to January 2012, from January 2012 to August 2012, and from August 2012 to the present time.

The first period, from February 2010 to January 2012, was characterized mostly by me learning how the gym works, what basic exercises there are at the gym, learning how to carry out a lifting program and with a small strength increase. I believe that it was during this time that my "routine" of exercising at least twice a week got established. Most of my gym-going during this period was at my school gym.

The second period ran from January 2012 to August 2012. During December 2011 and January 2012, I read plenty about weightlifting, dieting and body composition. I applied my knowledge by counting my caloric intake during the first half of 2012 and lowering my mass from approximately 70kg to 60kg. During this time I also learned the form and increased my strength for the basic four exercises: overhead press, benchpress, deadlift and squat. By the end of this period, I had experienced what it was like to live on a caloric restriction of only 1700kcal/day and had basic strength gains.

Finally, the third period started in August 2012 and runs until the present day. In August 2012 I decided I had had enough dieting and was ready to build more muscle. I read Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 book and set up a program for myself using an Excel table. Since then, I've been doing a 5/3/1-style program at the gym, always keeping my 1RM for each exercise updated by doing as many reps as possible at 95% 1RM during the third week of the program cycle. Since August 2012, I have increased my strength from approximately 160 Wilks to approximately 325. Currently, my 1RMs are as follows:

Exercise One-Rep Max
Benchpress 115 kg
Overhead press 73 kg
Deadlift 180 kg
Squat 160 kg

Please note that these are approximate values, since they are calculated based on percentages using the ExRx calculator. I plan on continuing the 5/3/1 program until a point at which my main goal is met: to have my benchpress, squat and deadlift 1RMs add up to 1000lbs (or 455kg). I finally reached the 1000lbs club on August 27th, 2016 with 120kg x10 squat, 145kg x8 deadlift and 92.5kg x8 benchpress (adding up to 1001lbs 1RMs). My current goal is to lower my weight and lose some of my body fat. I've started a diet based on caloric and protein amounts, and to help with my progress, I created a new Excel table, a calorie tracker and a new exercise program. The exercise program is listed below and information on the calorie tracker can be found here. The Excel table with my current weight, calories consumed and protein consumed, among other things, won't be on here for a while since I update it every day. Some of my future goals include: making the theoretical 1RMs actual PRs and hitting 1100lbs for the benchpress/squat/deadlift sum.

Here are some other resources, graphs and Excel tables that display my progress: