My Journey
ler4_war
Posts: 186
Hi Guys,
I am new to this site and I'm happy that we Pinoys have a BB Forum to share stories and learn from different lifters. 
I started lifting in 2008 when I was 23 years old; I was around 110lbs (50Kg) at 5'7. It was very tough for a skinny individual like me to walk inside the gym knowing that there are plenty of people who are bigger and stronger. My confidence was close to nil and like everyone else; I had to suck it up thinking that I needed to start with something.
I did basic gym programs 3-4x a week for 4-6 months and added variations until the second year. During that time I was still at University and had limited budget, I turned to whole foods with a couple of supplements (Muscle Juice 2544 and MetRx L-Glutamine). In 2010, my weight from 50Kg went up to 57Kg. I was very proud of my accomplishment and hard work. My goal from the start was to be bigger than what I was; I wanted to have an athletic frame with cuts and definitions; however, I didn’t want to be extremely huge. I had a job offer overseas and I thought it would be easy for me to maintain my physique. I was focused with my career during my first year and have put gym and exercise aside, I was even lucky to hit the gym twice in a week. I ended up buying a home gym so I can do some exercises at my convenience from home.
I did well for a few months, however, I could not resist eating; I was eating more calories and fatty foods, I ballooned from 57Kg to 70Kg (mostly fat) in 2013-2014. I told myself this has to stop and this served as a motivation for me to pick up what I initially started, I bought myself a treadmill and started my exercise routine. Due to an 8-5pm job, food preparation was very difficult. We don’t have a maid at home to prepare us food and we do all of our house chores by ourselves. I wasn’t having proper macros so I turned into a stack of supplements together with steak and veggies to help my regime. I try to establish a high protein diet with limited carbohydrates. Fast forward 2016, I am at 66 Kgs and now on my maintenance phase possibly thinking of cutting in the next few weeks.
PS. My programs are based on a 1-2 week interval of high reps with relatively light weights and low reps with relatively heavy weights. I spend time with different compound exercises. I have attached some relevant photos of my journey and thanks for reading.
Comments
You look better 2011
first welcome to PBB sir
, second wow thats a lot of supps there hehe. nice 2016 pics also
Thanks for the comments..
enjoy lifting.. 
Today, I have changed my program to 5x5 (stronglifts) for 12 weeks. I'm just wanting to find out whether it will give me extra strength and a little bulk. Has anyone tried 5x5? Any comments are much appreciated. Thanks.
welcome sa pbb sir. About sa 5x5 sir, yes okay na okay yang stronglifts 5x5. Nasubukan ko siya for 3 months, diyan rin ako natuto mag squat at deadlift from 40lbs starting weight, tumaas hanggang 100lbs yung squat ko, at 140lbs sa deadlift. Try mo po sir, okay na okay siya tsaka madali tandaan hehehe
Nice, thanks. Salamat sir! Na adik ako recently sa squat lol
My squat and deadlift rose up to 150lbs both and bench about 80lbs.
The two things I would change if I could coach old self back then is the inclusion of isolation and shoulder exercises for aesthetics if your main end goal would be to look good. (shrugs, flyes, raises, curlz)
Stronglifts can make you strong till it stops working for you but it wont make you look strong if you dont add in hypertrophy work. Medj na frustrate ako jan cause I was misled that doing rows and deadlifts would make my arms grow as a teen hahaha.
2nd is the increase of volume on Deadlifts from 1x5 to 3x5 or more for lighter weight. I just dont think that 5 reps of deadlift a session can make a trainee good at deadlifting..
P.S. I would shy away from starting with an empty bar and would just find a challenging weight to run the program with.
Yes, you're correct. It's mainly for strength, I've recently added some exercises to 5x5 so I can gain some definition. Thanks for the comment.
Workout yesterday:
Squat 5x5
Flat BB Benchpress 5x5
BB Row 5x5
Inc DB Flyes 3x12
Pec Deck 3x12
Bicep Curl 3x12
Abs
Cool, you can add this when needed
Thanks, I'll try that next time..
Workout yesterday:
Squat 5x5
OHP 5x5
Deadlift 1x5
DB Side lateral raise 3x12
BB Upright Row 3x12
Abs
Work out today:
Squat 5x5
Flat BB Benchpress 5x5
BB Row 5x5
Inc DB Flyes 3x12
Pec Deck 3x12
Bicep Curl 3x12
Wide Grip Lateral Pull Down 3x5
Abs
Photo taken today, still at 66Kgs (5'7) however a ~1.5inch reduction in waistline from 6 weeks ago.
wow, amazing
Just sold my weight bench yesterday and it'll take a week for my power cage to arrive, I guess I'll have to go the gym to do my bench press and other exercises, Zzzzz............
Abs
Evening snack (3 hours post dinner)
Cream of mushroom soup
3 boiled eggs
1 serving iso protein shake
Workout today:
Squat 5x5
BB Benchpress 5x5
BB Row 5x5
Inc DB Flyes 3x12
BB Bicep Curls 3x12
Abs
uy wow! nice one sir.
Workout today:
Squat 5x5
OHP 5x5
Deadlift 2x5
DB Side lateral raise 3x12
BB Upright Row 3x12
Tricep pushdown 3x8
Abs
Workout today:
Squat 5x5
BB Benchpress 5x5
BB Row 5x5
Inc DB Flyes 3x12
Pec Deck 3x12
BB Bicep Curls 3x12
saan ka nakakabili protein bar sir?
Sir, you can try at C&C or Lazada.. I'm from overseas and I usually buy them online.
I like the fiber content of this and I don't feel guilty compared to a chocolate bar. It satisfies my choc craving......
I'll try look for it sa lazada baka nag bbenta sila sako sako lol