More buff than a car shining commercial

I started weightlifting last weekend - one more attempt at actually doing something good for me! A friend of ours gave us a weight bench with a set of olympic weights and a nice 45 pound bar - then proceeded to kick my ass with a workout the likes of which my body has never known! To be honest the workout was great, it was just another case of the mind being willing but the body... not so much. I've taken it easy for a while though, trying to recover - I'll get into it more seriously when we get back from our trip but I've been reading up on the principles and am looking forward to seeing some results!

The workout my friend showed me was based on one created by Mark Rippetoe in his "Starting Strength" book with only a few variations. With more squats than a Midwestern chili cook-off, the workout focuses on building core-strength and working from that... the idea being that with a strong core and some muscle-mass, you can start working areas individually to become the living Adonis you've always wanted to be. I've been reading a lot at:

Educating myself and trying to figure out what the hell a Skullcrusher is, or a Pendlay Row or HIIT - a translator would be helpful... I'm getting there though, maybe even start posting stats somewhere when I start tracking them!

With all this testosterone flying around, seems like the perfect time for a little Britney Vid: