Scott Buffington

Training Update

Thursday, May 22, 2008 in weight training | leave a comment

A the very end of February I set a fitness goal for mid-May. The goal was to simply achieve 12 plus reps of 225 pounds and the post detailed how I had mostly been inactive for quite a while. Along the way I hit quite a few bumps in the road, that included a cold from mid-March until April. Near the end of April I severely pulled my back moving a tree, and this was not Dinosaur Training. Despite achieving 13 reps this past weekend I was quite disappointed in the whole goal. I nearly achieved 12 reps by week three and from the point I caught the cold right up until the back injury that laid me up for a week and a half I made little gain. I could have trained harder through the cold and the back injury was due to me being an idiot and not warming up. I certainly would not walk up to a heavy deadlift without working myself up to the weight. When I first got back on the bench after the back injury I could not even flatten my feet on the floor.

The truth of the matter was that the goal never grabbed me like I thought it would, I was largely umotivated once I caught the cold. After managing to maintain through the cold I did not step up the intensity like I should have. A week or so before I decided to just finish off the entire challenge I dug through some old training notes and just decided to use one of my old and successful training routines. I also stepped up the cardio once I injured my back, weight training at that time was the last thing on my mind.

My business partner has turned into an avid runner in the past year and this brought to light one of those achievements that I would like to complete in my lifetime. Which is completing a distance race of some type. I am sure each of you have some things on a list in the back of your head somewhere that you would like to achieve. For example, one of mine was writing a novel, something that I have achieved. Although I ran a lot during some of my athletic endeavors, I have never took part in any kind of distance race.

Due to my body being totally unaccustomed to the jarring of road running, I have not even played tennis in more than a year, I am starting very slow. A lot of non-jarring cardio activity and hopefully by June I am ready to begin full on running. In the mean time, the old weight training routine is feeling very awesome and my motivation is much higher. I have also already signed up to run in the corporate challenge leg of the Harrisburg Mile, which should be a nice introduction of what to experience as I later try to tackle a 5k or greater.

My NFL Combine Challenge

Thursday, February 28, 2008 in weight training | 4 comments

Since moving into our home, nearly two years ago, the move along with other challenges totally derailed what had been a life long commitment to weight training. Besides the obvious recovery from carrying furniture, boxes and of course my weight equipment, my old training partner is no longer across town but nearly twenty miles away. Just far enough that after work he no longer feels like making the trek to my home to train two or three times a week. The distance back and forth was just too much for him to justify the trip. Anyone who has ever weight trained or exercised with a friend knows that if there is no one counting on you, it is far easier to just skip a workout. Still though, I had a life long habit of exercising and I managed with a concerted effort to continue. Unfortunately the outside distractions were not finished, within four months of the move I lost my job. My wife and I just weeks before found out we had a baby on the way, adding a third child to the clan. Everything compounded and I strayed from exercising for the longest period in my entire life. Just over a year and other than a couple half-hearted sessions I have not been exercising. In the past I motivated myself with goals, if I am going to get out of this funk I needed a new goal.

With a goal in mind and hearing plenty of news about the NFL combine I decided to set a goal for Spring of bench pressing 225 pounds for maximum repetitions. By May 2008 I would like to see if I can eclipse at least 12 repetitions. Judging by the feedback from the NFL scouts, 25 repetitions seems like the benchmark for a good number. I would like to see how close I can get to 25 repetitions. Not since prior to October 2006 have I even attempted anymore than sets with 135 pounds. I have always been strong in any pressing movement, including overhead lifts so this is not as extreme as it sounds. Over my life-time I have easily handled weights greater than this. I am using this goal to get me into the gym so that I exercise, I will be doing full-body weight training and cardio, not just bench pressing.

Now for the vitals, I just visited my doctor last week. My blood pressure was good and an EKG (Elektrokardiogramm or electrocardiogram ) also checked out well. I am 37 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall and weigh roughly 185 pounds. Thursday, February 21st I tested where I was at in relation to my goal. I worked up to 225 pounds and easily lifted the weight two times, I could have done at least three repetitions but knew I would be feeling the heavy session the next day. I was really surprised how light 225 pounds felt, so I think the goal is feasible.

I have always been goal oriented and part of achieving a goal that you are serious about is to tell others about the goal. That is the reason for the blog post. Publicly stating the goal adds value because others are likely to ask about the goal and you are more likely to stick to said goal. Bench pressing 225 pounds for maximum repetitions is not a training goal I had ever set before. Being a brand new goal also motivates me a little more than if this is something I had tried before. Of course the primary goal here is better fitness and more physical activity throughout each week.

As the weeks progress I will give periodic updates on my progress and in May I will attempt an all out effort. I will need to work out the specific date based on when I can get a friend to come over and spot me. I might also see if I can line up a video camera so that their is visual proof. Wish me luck and maybe my goal can motivate others looking to get off their couch.

Bodybuilding.net

Saturday, August 12, 2006 in weight training | leave a comment

Over the years I have been mostly a lurker on lots and lots of weight training sites. Some contained quality information and some contained little to no quality fitness information. Before discovering http://www.bodybuilding.net in recent weeks I had not discovered a resource that seemed to have it all.

Do not be put off by the term "bodybuilding", there is loads of quality training and diet information no matter what your goal. Many of the members have been training for many, many years and all the material posted on Bodybuilding.net is peer reviewed.

Also worth mentioning is the quality design and layout of the Bodybuilding.net. No doubt with the quality of detail put into Bodybuilding.net, along with the quality of the training and diet information, this is a resource worth bookmarking and visiting often.

Iron Game Longevity

Saturday, April 22, 2006 in weight training | 3 comments

I have not posted much over the years in the weight training category, I usually keep this discussion on the weight training board, but after emailing an old friend last week it got me thinking. I was asked if I am still lifting weights, and after telling them yes I make sure I train some each week, they said how they wished they would have been able to stay with it. I thought about how strength training has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. Because I have seen quite a few fitness clothing racks over the years, I knew that having the equipment at home had little to do with my ability to continue training.

The reasons most fail in continuing with strength training usually boils down to a few reasons:
• Loss of motivation following plateaus in strength.
• Just plain boredom.
• Lack of reasonable goals.
All these are pretty much related and many feed off the others. Who am I to be pointing them out? Just a guy who has seen so many training partners come and go over the years that I have learned a few things. And no these training partners did not disappear because I smell or they suddenly developed a dislike for me, some actually moved away. Just kidding, actually my current training partner (That is you Steck) has been in the picture longer than any of the others, 5 years plus now. Most of the originals were back in my high school days, my home gym was always packed in those days. Most teenage boys are looking to impress the girls and quickly catch the weight lifting bug. But the real challenge comes when real life begins. You know girlfriends, partying, jobs and then a family.

So what is the answer, how does one stay motivated. The answer is not rocket science, but it might motivate, assist and even open the eyes of some. The first thing, those early strength gains that come easy, they are not real. Seriously, they are mostly neurological and are basically your body learning how to move a weight from point A to point B. So be prepared to break the boredom now, and you do this by really mixing it up and setting many mini goals. My key over the years is that I took a real interest in the skill of moving weight from point A to point B. Also, my latest training partner having stuck around so long proves my theory of mixing it up.

Tom and I really have changed things up over the years. At one point we were training a lot of different body parts in one session, then we changed to concentrating on one area during a given workout. Later we concentrated our training on a particular lift, and no not just the bench press or bicep curls. Eventually we returned to training the whole body again. There is no set method, the best gains are achieved by making sure you show up and keep working hard. There are so many great lifts out there that are as fun as the bench press or the arm curl if you give them a chance. Like what? Start by reading this wikipedia article then you will have enough of an idea to keep you busy for a while. Incorporating variations of weightlifting movements into my training was the single best decision I ever made. You can spend months practicing the snatch and then just as you get bored, throw in a variation by using dumbbells instead of a bar.

When all that gets boring, you go back to your old favorites, or take a break from the weights and get out and play some tennis or ride a bike. I once spent a month doing nothing but chin-ups and pushups. Try a month of nothing but bodyweight exercises, see how many bodyweight squats you can work up to. Just make sure you come back to the iron at some point, and come back with a new mini goal. Recently the guys at work and I have been setting some grip strength goals. Grip strength? Yep, it is actually quite fun, some of the real difficult hand grippers can only be closed by a relatively small amount of people in the entire World. Nothing quiets the department loud mouth quicker than after seeing you close a hand gripper, then they give it a try and barely move the thing. Not only that, but you are remotivated in finding ways to supplement your grip and your motivation to get in the gym suddenly comes rushing back.

The bottom line is that you have to realize making real strength gains takes hard work and time. Do not rush it, enjoy the journey and set a very long list of achievable goals. Along the way you will find more and you might even be able to keep the hangers off of the bowflex in your bedroom.