Gary Gibson – Part 2

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I didn’t have time to write tonight, so this is Gary Gibson’s update on his situation. Also, it is PR Friday, so talk about any PR’s you had this week in the comments: weight gained, lifted, or consumed. Giddyup.

Justin and A.C. are on Iron Radio today today at 2 pm eastern time. Listen here

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Did Nature Mean to Make Us So Skinny And Useless?

This week I am officially a big step closer to manhood. I’ve been weighing in consistently between 183 and 188 lbs. That’s about a 25-lb increase in the past 30 days. Squat and Milk. Granted I hit a high of 176 a month prior to the start of this latest cycle, so half of that weight is reclaimed ground, not new territory. Still, the way my weight and my lifts are going, I’m going to get to 200 lbs (and a triple bodyweight squat i hope) a lot sooner than I would have believed just a few months ago.

An adult male of average height should weigh at least 200 lbs…at least he should if he wants to be strong. If all he wants to do is run away from danger or difficult situations at low speeds, then he’s much better off jogging a lot and “watching what he eats” so he stays at 150.

But those 200 lbs of useful man assume both a reasonable bodyfat percentage and strength level. Reasonably fat is under 20%, but not the “about 10%” that gets tossed about so casually. Reasonably strong is a 1.5x bodyweight squat. (Athletes in strength and power sports may want to shoot for over double bodyweight and those in the barbell sports should aim for triple.)

Those guidelines are all well and good. But I got to wondering just why it is that so many adult males of average height are about 150 lbs with the low strength levels to match. And an awful lot of the adult males who are over 200 don’t train properly and are “skinny-fat weak” and wish they were just plain skinny weak 150-pounders. What gives? How did this happen? We didn’t evolve with barbells, and there’s no way in hell I could get to 200 without using a barbell for heavy back squatting. No amount of physical activity I would have been likely to do in the ancestral environment would have gotten me close.

Ultimately I don’t care all that much what nature had in store for my body sans barbell training. I’m happier, healthier and a hell of a lot stronger and less painful to look at thanks to my journey to over 200 lbs. Moreover the speed at which this metamorphosis is taking place tells me that it was meant to be.

121 thoughts on “Gary Gibson – Part 2”

  1. Oh I nearly forgot, in addition to my bench and c&j pr I had a Clothing PR. Ripped the back of my pants out squatting in the gym.

    Made for a Chilly walk home.

  3. There”s something about comparing a 200 pound guy to BIG that just doesn”t compute for me and certainly not at 20% BF.

    At 20% BF I”m fat not big.
    While 10% may be a little aggressive 13-15 isn”t.

    .. And big well assuming you”re standing around 5” 10″ you”ld better be 240 or 250 to be 70”s big.

  6. @ MitchellBaden

    Caleb”s strength is legendary. I wish he still powerlifted.

    He”s an Olympic Lifter now. The dude is so light because he”s like 5 foot two.

  7. Since my discovery of 70s big about 6 weeks ago:

    squat
    245 (at parallel) 1rpm — > 250 atg x5x3 easily.

    press:
    115×1—>120x5x3

    bench
    185×1—->180x5x3

    dead
    315×1—->315×5

    weight

    152—>168

    height

    5”8—>..5”8

  10. Between Starting Strength, the Starting Strength forums, and this website, us small guys know what we need to do and how to do it. I have no problem with Justin, or any other contributors, devoting time to the big guys.

    No PRs this week. Tweaked my hip flexer pretty bad and I”ve been fighting off a cold and sore throat. Just trying to get my calories and lift enough to still make a few gains.

  13. @jgalon – I”m going to the Battle on the Border as well, and from the way I read the form you gotta pay $50 entry plus whatever the cost of the USAPL membership is, but the membership is payable on meet day. Glad to hear A.C. and some other fellas will be there to get things fired up. I”ll have my 70s Big shirt on, psyched to lift at a meet for the first time.

  14. KyleC – you might want to check out the Starting Strength book for a bunch of tips. You”ve got some strength for sure. I”d like to see what you could do if you devoted a few months to legit low bar squats at proper depth.

  15. I stalled hard on Press today. Went for 115, got through 3 then couldn”t get it up again. I went down to 110 and did the same thing. Had to finish out at 105. I need to eat more in the morning.

  18. Hey guys my name is Matt. I’m relatively new to the forums but I have been following SS for 2 years now and just started GOMAD about 2 weeks ago. I absolutely love them both and they are the reason I am on my way to becoming ‘70’s big.

    I just had one question for all of you out there, and it involves squats. What is your opinion on wide-stance squatting?

    The reason I ask this is because I came across a video of Louis Simmons from Westside Barbell on the CrossFit main site and he was saying that the teaches the wide-stance squat (naturally because he is a powerlifter) because it allows the lifter to move more weight and it has a greater array of applications. As Simmons put it, “wide can go narrow but narrow can’t go wide.” I just wanted to hear what some experienced lifters had to say. Thanks for the help guys.

  19. Big Mitzvah… that”s golden.

    mtg0502 – Bodybuilders take a narrow stance on squats to focus on their quads.

    A wider stance yields much more hip and glute activation, especially because you can squat deeper. Power is generated in the hips for many athletic movements (eg a left hook, golf swing…), so neglecting your hips by doing narrow stance squats is a bad idea.

  20. mtg0502:

    I”m not experienced, but I”ll tell you what I think anyway. Wide focuses on hips/glutes/hammies; narrow focuses on quads. I go for the middle, as outlined in starting strength because it is more balanced, and it feels more natural.

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