whyit_EM8
Level 1 Valued Member
Hello Strongfirst.
For some background, I am a 19 year martial artist with 15 years of training in kyokushin karate and now a beginner in BJJ. In high school, I got into lifting through stronglifts 5x5 and became obsessed with fitness and lifting heavy. In a year I hit a 290lbs squat for 5 sets of 5 at about 5'7, 165-170lbs. Unfortunately, I faltered as my goals became hazy and overly concerned with my aesthetics. I had been overweight yet sort of fit from karate up to that point, so looking good for the first time was overwhelming. In my last year of high school, I needed an emergency appendectomy that took me away from the gym entirely. The end of my recovery almost perfectly aligned with the beginning of covid so that prolonged my absence from the gym from months to almost two years. In this time though, I discovered Simple and Sinister and have now been training with kettlebells for over a year. I have seen incredible changes in my athleticism and mobility but have lost a lot of strength and miss lifting heavy.
Now, I am in university and have access to a fitness facility that can accommodate my every need. I have remained solely focused on simple and sinister in terms of weight training but want to reintegrate barbell training into my routine. I know my lifts will be no where near where they were two years ago but I really want to refocus on traditional strength training. I dont care if I need to restart with just the bar. With my experience in kettlebell, I would like to reap the benefits of both, wanting to improve my absolute strength while promoting my martial arts training.
In short, I am feeling somewhat paralyzed in terms of where to start and could use some tips or a program to help me transition back into barbell without leaving kettlebell and its benefits behind. These areas of fitness seem to be shared by many in this community so it seemed like the best place to ask.
Thank you.
For some background, I am a 19 year martial artist with 15 years of training in kyokushin karate and now a beginner in BJJ. In high school, I got into lifting through stronglifts 5x5 and became obsessed with fitness and lifting heavy. In a year I hit a 290lbs squat for 5 sets of 5 at about 5'7, 165-170lbs. Unfortunately, I faltered as my goals became hazy and overly concerned with my aesthetics. I had been overweight yet sort of fit from karate up to that point, so looking good for the first time was overwhelming. In my last year of high school, I needed an emergency appendectomy that took me away from the gym entirely. The end of my recovery almost perfectly aligned with the beginning of covid so that prolonged my absence from the gym from months to almost two years. In this time though, I discovered Simple and Sinister and have now been training with kettlebells for over a year. I have seen incredible changes in my athleticism and mobility but have lost a lot of strength and miss lifting heavy.
Now, I am in university and have access to a fitness facility that can accommodate my every need. I have remained solely focused on simple and sinister in terms of weight training but want to reintegrate barbell training into my routine. I know my lifts will be no where near where they were two years ago but I really want to refocus on traditional strength training. I dont care if I need to restart with just the bar. With my experience in kettlebell, I would like to reap the benefits of both, wanting to improve my absolute strength while promoting my martial arts training.
In short, I am feeling somewhat paralyzed in terms of where to start and could use some tips or a program to help me transition back into barbell without leaving kettlebell and its benefits behind. These areas of fitness seem to be shared by many in this community so it seemed like the best place to ask.
Thank you.