Hi gang,

First I'd like to say a big thank you to this board for helping to keep me motivated in my work outs for the last few months I have been lurking about. I've found this site to be really the only BB forum I keep coming back to so I thought I'd finally bite the bullet and join the forums.

Back in 2002/2003 I was a real fat ass. A combination of a shitty (but lucrative) job that had me on the road 3 out of 4 weeks a month and a strange bout of depression resulted in a pretty pathetic 355lbs fat ass frame. Since 2003 I've slimmed down to 185lbs (I'm 6'1) basically due to massive changes in diet, and I've been under 200lbs for over a year now and have been able to keep eating healthy.

A couple months ago (sept) I decided to get into weightlifting again (I fucked around with it for a few years when I was in college but never got any real gains - mainly because the gym for us was a place to strut around and hit on chicks). In october I found this place and decided to start a 5x5 program after spending most of a day reading the training forum stickies. So far, so good. I really enjoy the powerlifting exercises and the simplicity of the routine. And its interesting being tired from the 5x5 as opposed to cramped and sore from high rep routines. Currently enjying my newbie gains

I'm 31 years old, doing my PhD in Management and teaching full time at a local university. My "goals" when it comes to BB are to become as strong as I possibly can - I figure everything else will follow.

Cheers and thanks again.