Consistency. It's not a pizza topping.
- Thread starter [Focus]
- Start date
05/31/08
Weight Training
Supersets with full rest:
ATG Squat 3x15x145
Bench Press 3x15x75
WG Pulldown 1x15x45, 2x15x60
Walking Lunge 3x10x10
Military Press 3x15x25
Triceps Pushdown 1x15x30, 1x15x45, 1x15x55
Bicep Curl 3x15x20
Thoughts
Just messin' around, really.
Should probably get a row in there somewhere I think. And make the lunges twisting. Only thing is I can't keep my balance at all. Lunges own me hard, even with puny weight. So, workin' on it.
Gonna be a little while before I get back into the swing of things, but I feel great.
Unrelated, I had a lot of fun today. Bowling, dancing, ironman game of lasertag (now that was a workout).
Weight Training
Supersets with full rest:
ATG Squat 3x15x145
Bench Press 3x15x75
WG Pulldown 1x15x45, 2x15x60
Walking Lunge 3x10x10
Military Press 3x15x25
Triceps Pushdown 1x15x30, 1x15x45, 1x15x55
Bicep Curl 3x15x20
Thoughts
Just messin' around, really.
Should probably get a row in there somewhere I think. And make the lunges twisting. Only thing is I can't keep my balance at all. Lunges own me hard, even with puny weight. So, workin' on it.
Gonna be a little while before I get back into the swing of things, but I feel great.
Unrelated, I had a lot of fun today. Bowling, dancing, ironman game of lasertag (now that was a workout).
Right on, Greg. That seems to be what everyone has to say about it.
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Maybe I ought to train more frequently. I mean I never get sore, or injured, or sick or anything, so why not try this FB 4/5x a week stuff that some people do. I've never tried high frequency. I've mucked about with intensity and volume, and I think I respond well to moderate volume, high intensity (which obviously is not what I'm doing now, just breaking in), but I'd like to try training more times a week. 9+ times out of 10 (with the exception of the first session after a long lay-off), I feel fully recovered by the next day. Just a thought. To be honest I just need more to fill out my days.
Mixing a new track for my run in a bit. Gonna do 3min jog, 1.5min walk for as long as I can take it. I could probably go easier on the progression, but I really need to get caught up to my little mutant friend. This **** is embarrassing. We'll see how my ligaments feel about it.
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Maybe I ought to train more frequently. I mean I never get sore, or injured, or sick or anything, so why not try this FB 4/5x a week stuff that some people do. I've never tried high frequency. I've mucked about with intensity and volume, and I think I respond well to moderate volume, high intensity (which obviously is not what I'm doing now, just breaking in), but I'd like to try training more times a week. 9+ times out of 10 (with the exception of the first session after a long lay-off), I feel fully recovered by the next day. Just a thought. To be honest I just need more to fill out my days.
Mixing a new track for my run in a bit. Gonna do 3min jog, 1.5min walk for as long as I can take it. I could probably go easier on the progression, but I really need to get caught up to my little mutant friend. This **** is embarrassing. We'll see how my ligaments feel about it.
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06/01/08
Training
Jog/walked 2.7 miles in 31.5 minutes.
Thoughts
2:1 jog:walk ratio wasn't as difficult as I had anticipated. Not at all. May push it to 4:1 before the week is through. Gonna see if I can't go for a lengthy walk tomorrow in addition to the run.
Other than that, not much to report. Diet's going fine, but that's not difficult to achieve, as I've simply resolved to eat as much or as little as I feel like I need with the caveat that I get a minimum of 150g of protein a day. Also, as I said, berardi-style. Not having much difficulty at all. I has home-made beef jerky, fresh blueberries, and all manner of greens. Also, cheese and almonds. Had a half a banana after the run.
Training
Jog/walked 2.7 miles in 31.5 minutes.
Thoughts
2:1 jog:walk ratio wasn't as difficult as I had anticipated. Not at all. May push it to 4:1 before the week is through. Gonna see if I can't go for a lengthy walk tomorrow in addition to the run.
Other than that, not much to report. Diet's going fine, but that's not difficult to achieve, as I've simply resolved to eat as much or as little as I feel like I need with the caveat that I get a minimum of 150g of protein a day. Also, as I said, berardi-style. Not having much difficulty at all. I has home-made beef jerky, fresh blueberries, and all manner of greens. Also, cheese and almonds. Had a half a banana after the run.
06/02/08
Training
Jog/walked [2:1] 2.7 miles in 31.5 minutes.
Thoughts
Not as easy the second day in a row, but survivable.
Pretty proud of myself for totally reversing my bull**** "I'm too tired to run wah wah etc" mood from earlier. I'm never anywhere near as tired as I sometimes like to convince myself I am. Know how I know? I'm not injured or sick. Ever. Anyway, go me, wooh, etc. :SaiyanSmilie_anim:
I think I'm on the verge of becoming an actual jogger. I'm finding it more enjoyable than unpleasant. Same with the weight training, actually. I suppose the Russians would say I'm not working hard enough.
Training
Jog/walked [2:1] 2.7 miles in 31.5 minutes.
Thoughts
Not as easy the second day in a row, but survivable.
Pretty proud of myself for totally reversing my bull**** "I'm too tired to run wah wah etc" mood from earlier. I'm never anywhere near as tired as I sometimes like to convince myself I am. Know how I know? I'm not injured or sick. Ever. Anyway, go me, wooh, etc. :SaiyanSmilie_anim:
I think I'm on the verge of becoming an actual jogger. I'm finding it more enjoyable than unpleasant. Same with the weight training, actually. I suppose the Russians would say I'm not working hard enough.
WS4SB. That's what I'll do now, once I finish my break-in. Based on what I've tried so far I suspect high volume, low rep work will do very well for me, and be a lot of fun. Also like the inclusion of dynamic lower body. I want functional athleticism, not just showroom muscles. Gonna kick it off next week. Should do two more break-in sessions this one, but may do 3.
06/03/08
Training
Supersets with full rest:
Squat 195x6, 175x6, 175x5x3
Bench Press 75x8, 95x6, 115x4, 125x2, 95x6
Walking Lunges 35x10x5
Lat Pulldowns 45x10, 75x8x2, 75x6x2
Military Press 20x10, 35x8, 40x6, 45x5, 50x3
Tricep Pushdowns 55x8, 70x8, 70x7, 85x6, 85x5
Dumbbell Curls 20x10, 25x8, 30x6, 35x4, 40x3
Thoughts
As you can see, I was sort of screwing around today. Tryin' a more SB'ish rep scheme. I had quite a lot of fun, except for the requisite douchebag insisting on reading his newspaper between sets. On the machine, of course. And also of course, he was doing it wrong.
Anyway, it was good. I like more volume. It appears that in my time away I've lost strength, but improved in conditioning overall. I also like this spending of more time in the gym. It's something to do, and I feel like I'm expending more energy this way. That and interesting things happen on the walk to and from the Y.
Random story time: I'm walking down the street and this black squirrel runs onto the sidewalk in front of me. Then he stands directly in front of me, facing me, hopping up and down rather demandingly. I'm thinkin', "This bitch is crazy. I hope he doesn't bite me." Then, and not a word a lie, he runs at me, up the side of my leg, tries to get into my pocket, and hops back down in a flash, and it hits me - I still have some mixed nuts in my jacket pocket. So I take a couple out and sure enough he runs right up onto my arm and takes them. I've never seen that **** before.
Training
Supersets with full rest:
Squat 195x6, 175x6, 175x5x3
Bench Press 75x8, 95x6, 115x4, 125x2, 95x6
Walking Lunges 35x10x5
Lat Pulldowns 45x10, 75x8x2, 75x6x2
Military Press 20x10, 35x8, 40x6, 45x5, 50x3
Tricep Pushdowns 55x8, 70x8, 70x7, 85x6, 85x5
Dumbbell Curls 20x10, 25x8, 30x6, 35x4, 40x3
Thoughts
As you can see, I was sort of screwing around today. Tryin' a more SB'ish rep scheme. I had quite a lot of fun, except for the requisite douchebag insisting on reading his newspaper between sets. On the machine, of course. And also of course, he was doing it wrong.
Anyway, it was good. I like more volume. It appears that in my time away I've lost strength, but improved in conditioning overall. I also like this spending of more time in the gym. It's something to do, and I feel like I'm expending more energy this way. That and interesting things happen on the walk to and from the Y.
Random story time: I'm walking down the street and this black squirrel runs onto the sidewalk in front of me. Then he stands directly in front of me, facing me, hopping up and down rather demandingly. I'm thinkin', "This bitch is crazy. I hope he doesn't bite me." Then, and not a word a lie, he runs at me, up the side of my leg, tries to get into my pocket, and hops back down in a flash, and it hits me - I still have some mixed nuts in my jacket pocket. So I take a couple out and sure enough he runs right up onto my arm and takes them. I've never seen that **** before.
I liked your story about the squirrel.. ha.
You are becoming a lot stronger man, very impressive squats.
You are becoming a lot stronger man, very impressive squats.
Thanks Tom, rws. 
rws, I dunno what it is with the squats, but they're not very difficult for me. I'm betting that number is going to go way, way up over the next year, now that I can actually be... consistent. Also, the running. 'Cause almost all of that conditioning is improving my leg muscles' ability to carry me without burning up. When I run the way I am now (which is to say, actually doing jog-walks and not sprint-walks), I feel like I barely touch on my aerobic capacity. It's all muscular endurance that's improving, for now.
On the other hand, my upper body is roughly as powerful as a kitten. A small one. Haha. I seem to have lost pretty much all of the progress I had made up top while I was gone, but actually gained down below. But, it doesn't matter. Couple months from now I'll be all fixed up.
Workout details to follow.
rws, I dunno what it is with the squats, but they're not very difficult for me. I'm betting that number is going to go way, way up over the next year, now that I can actually be... consistent. Also, the running. 'Cause almost all of that conditioning is improving my leg muscles' ability to carry me without burning up. When I run the way I am now (which is to say, actually doing jog-walks and not sprint-walks), I feel like I barely touch on my aerobic capacity. It's all muscular endurance that's improving, for now.
On the other hand, my upper body is roughly as powerful as a kitten. A small one. Haha. I seem to have lost pretty much all of the progress I had made up top while I was gone, but actually gained down below. But, it doesn't matter. Couple months from now I'll be all fixed up.
Workout details to follow.
06/05/08
Training
Supersets with full rest:
Deadlift 95x15x2, 95x13, 95x11
Bench Press 75x15x2, 75x12, 75x7
Walking Lunges 50x10, 45x10x3
Lat Pulldowns 70x15, 55x15
[Switched lat pulldowns to]
Assisted Pull-ups 140x12, 140x8
Standing Military Press 30x15, 30x12, 30x9, 30x7
Tricep Pushdowns 70x11, 55x12, 55x9, 55x7
Standing Barbell Curl 30x11, 30x10, 30x9, 30x8
Thoughts
Kicked my ass in. Thought I'd do deads today, and apparently I forgot that deads wreck me. For the entire wrest of the workout. I was wondering why it had seemed so easy compared to before - not having to do deads, let alone deads and squats in the same workout was what it was.
But it was goodness. I'll spare you details of how I went in the early afternoon and it was like some kind of gymrat heaven where only me, one other (jacked) persian dude, and three smokin' hotties, and I ended up sharing most of the equipment with Mr. Jacked Persian and having to close my eyes to not be distracted by said ridiculous hotties (seriously the blonde one had some sort of mural tattooed on her back, and she kept setting up next to me, rawr) who I'm fairly sure noticed and laughed at my (creepi/dorki)ness. Okay, so I didn't spare you much.
Protip: Surge is seriously less disgusting when blended, for anyone who's struggled with choking that **** down as much as I have. (I could just drink chocolate milk like mreik because that's awesome, but I have more than 6 months' worth of the stuff I need to be using up and I feel bad throwing stuff out). Anyway, it's totally worth waiting the 20 minutes until you get home and then blending that **** before slamming it down imo. Or doing the portable blender thing some people like to do. That's no deal for me because I've taken to walking there and back, which sadly enough is a pretty good warm(up/down) + light cardio for me when done quickly.
Training
Supersets with full rest:
Deadlift 95x15x2, 95x13, 95x11
Bench Press 75x15x2, 75x12, 75x7
Walking Lunges 50x10, 45x10x3
Lat Pulldowns 70x15, 55x15
[Switched lat pulldowns to]
Assisted Pull-ups 140x12, 140x8
Standing Military Press 30x15, 30x12, 30x9, 30x7
Tricep Pushdowns 70x11, 55x12, 55x9, 55x7
Standing Barbell Curl 30x11, 30x10, 30x9, 30x8
Thoughts
Kicked my ass in. Thought I'd do deads today, and apparently I forgot that deads wreck me. For the entire wrest of the workout. I was wondering why it had seemed so easy compared to before - not having to do deads, let alone deads and squats in the same workout was what it was.
But it was goodness. I'll spare you details of how I went in the early afternoon and it was like some kind of gymrat heaven where only me, one other (jacked) persian dude, and three smokin' hotties, and I ended up sharing most of the equipment with Mr. Jacked Persian and having to close my eyes to not be distracted by said ridiculous hotties (seriously the blonde one had some sort of mural tattooed on her back, and she kept setting up next to me, rawr) who I'm fairly sure noticed and laughed at my (creepi/dorki)ness. Okay, so I didn't spare you much.
Protip: Surge is seriously less disgusting when blended, for anyone who's struggled with choking that **** down as much as I have. (I could just drink chocolate milk like mreik because that's awesome, but I have more than 6 months' worth of the stuff I need to be using up and I feel bad throwing stuff out). Anyway, it's totally worth waiting the 20 minutes until you get home and then blending that **** before slamming it down imo. Or doing the portable blender thing some people like to do. That's no deal for me because I've taken to walking there and back, which sadly enough is a pretty good warm(up/down) + light cardio for me when done quickly.
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Actually feeling a bit sore today. Me likes.
Think I gotta go for a run here shortly or I won't have time later. 4:1! I'm a little intimidated, I won't lie. Gonna do either 4 or 5 rounds (of 6min jog, 1.5min walk). If I do 4 the distance is the same and the time's a little shorter. If it takes 5, that's fine, but it'll mean I've slowed down in order to run continuously (which, come to think, would make sense).
Hope everyone's kickin' ass.
Think I gotta go for a run here shortly or I won't have time later. 4:1! I'm a little intimidated, I won't lie. Gonna do either 4 or 5 rounds (of 6min jog, 1.5min walk). If I do 4 the distance is the same and the time's a little shorter. If it takes 5, that's fine, but it'll mean I've slowed down in order to run continuously (which, come to think, would make sense).
Hope everyone's kickin' ass.
06/07/08
Training
Jog/walked [4:1] 2.7 miles in 30.0 minutes.
Thoughts
Not as easy the second day in a row. I think my run responds well to this hit it hard and then back off a bit approach. Next week I'm doing continuous runs that last as long as I've got in me, which I'm guessing will be more than 30 minutes, not less. :SaiyanSmilie_anim: With maybe one walk interval.
It's been really awesome this week, running in the cold rain. It's so refreshing. Also, when I'm out there all by myself I feel like Eye of the Tiger should be playing in the background, as the audience sits enraptured.
Training
Jog/walked [4:1] 2.7 miles in 30.0 minutes.
Thoughts
Not as easy the second day in a row. I think my run responds well to this hit it hard and then back off a bit approach. Next week I'm doing continuous runs that last as long as I've got in me, which I'm guessing will be more than 30 minutes, not less. :SaiyanSmilie_anim: With maybe one walk interval.
It's been really awesome this week, running in the cold rain. It's so refreshing. Also, when I'm out there all by myself I feel like Eye of the Tiger should be playing in the background, as the audience sits enraptured.
Ranting time
So it would appear that my body has decided to do this cute thing it does where it immediately ceases decreasing in weight the very moment I even think about strength training. Which reminds me, I promised myself I'd stop screwing around and make an appointment for some professional body fat testing. I will have this done before this next work week goes by.
Having said that, I'm no longer about the whining and frustration. I've decided I'll continue with the plan - WFSB, running 3x/week, and averaging 1600 calories (per day) of berardi-style eating until the end of the summer. I will then take some progress photos and compare them to my pre-contest photos from the end of January. Which will have been 7 months, during 5'ish of which I was actually training and dieting. And they shall be awe-inspiring. Or else.
So it would appear that my body has decided to do this cute thing it does where it immediately ceases decreasing in weight the very moment I even think about strength training. Which reminds me, I promised myself I'd stop screwing around and make an appointment for some professional body fat testing. I will have this done before this next work week goes by.
Having said that, I'm no longer about the whining and frustration. I've decided I'll continue with the plan - WFSB, running 3x/week, and averaging 1600 calories (per day) of berardi-style eating until the end of the summer. I will then take some progress photos and compare them to my pre-contest photos from the end of January. Which will have been 7 months, during 5'ish of which I was actually training and dieting. And they shall be awe-inspiring. Or else.
some times all you have is consistency.
Thanks, NY.
I'm not as discouraged as that last post makes it sound, though. Failing all else, I know that simply eating waaaay below my supposed maintenance will work. I just don't want to do that, because it makes me weak as a puppy (which I'm assuming is due to excessive muscle loss). And it's quite likely the body fat testing will show that I'm gaining muscle and losing fat at roughly the same rate. Consistency really is all there is - it's the only thing that's been missing from the equation. Been. Not is.
Edit: To hear me talk about it, you'd think I've made no progress at all, haha. Don't wanna be discouraging anyone. I just like to whine once in a while. The truth is I started out at 280 lbs! And even without any long-term (more than 3-4 months) consistency, am currently under 200, and close to the best shape of my adult life.
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So, I've decided today's another day off from weights. I don't think running a third day in a row would be a good idea, either. Sooo, I'm gonna go for a long walk (up to Bowness and back - 15 miles'ish). Been wanting to do that for a while now, anyway. And if I weight train today I won't be able to start WFSB on the mon, tue, thu, fri template. Which I most certainly do want, so I can train in the early afternoons.
If anyone feels I'm wussing out, please feel free to yell at me.
Also it occurs to me that I should probably start tracking measurements again so my calorie budgeter has something more reliable than (lack of) weight change to work with. Gotta remember to shoot off an email to Kinetix later.
I'm not as discouraged as that last post makes it sound, though. Failing all else, I know that simply eating waaaay below my supposed maintenance will work. I just don't want to do that, because it makes me weak as a puppy (which I'm assuming is due to excessive muscle loss). And it's quite likely the body fat testing will show that I'm gaining muscle and losing fat at roughly the same rate. Consistency really is all there is - it's the only thing that's been missing from the equation. Been. Not is.
Edit: To hear me talk about it, you'd think I've made no progress at all, haha. Don't wanna be discouraging anyone. I just like to whine once in a while. The truth is I started out at 280 lbs! And even without any long-term (more than 3-4 months) consistency, am currently under 200, and close to the best shape of my adult life.
----------------------------------
So, I've decided today's another day off from weights. I don't think running a third day in a row would be a good idea, either. Sooo, I'm gonna go for a long walk (up to Bowness and back - 15 miles'ish). Been wanting to do that for a while now, anyway. And if I weight train today I won't be able to start WFSB on the mon, tue, thu, fri template. Which I most certainly do want, so I can train in the early afternoons.
If anyone feels I'm wussing out, please feel free to yell at me.
Also it occurs to me that I should probably start tracking measurements again so my calorie budgeter has something more reliable than (lack of) weight change to work with. Gotta remember to shoot off an email to Kinetix later.
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Actually only went up to Edworthy. 10 miles'ish. Was nice though.
Okay, so, here's what I'm thinking tomorrow's max-effort upper body will look like:
A1 BB Bench Press 45x5, 75x5x2, 95x5, 115x5, 125xmax, 135xmax
B1 Assisted Chin-up 140x15x2
C1 BB Row 75x12x3
C2 Face Pull 30x12x3
D1 DB Shrug 60x15x3
E1 BB Curls 20x15x3
Just guessing on the rows, pulls and shrugs, so we'll have to see. Wanted to get an idea of things before I go to bed. Real excited.
Tues is gonna be odd though, as I'm not sure if I'll be able to find a box of the right height to jump on, and if I do, the people at the gym are gonna look at me funny. Come to think, I don't know what "the right height" is. I remember doing jump squats in my little mini bodyweight routine while I was away...ah well, I'll figure it out.
Okay, so, here's what I'm thinking tomorrow's max-effort upper body will look like:
A1 BB Bench Press 45x5, 75x5x2, 95x5, 115x5, 125xmax, 135xmax
B1 Assisted Chin-up 140x15x2
C1 BB Row 75x12x3
C2 Face Pull 30x12x3
D1 DB Shrug 60x15x3
E1 BB Curls 20x15x3
Just guessing on the rows, pulls and shrugs, so we'll have to see. Wanted to get an idea of things before I go to bed. Real excited.
Tues is gonna be odd though, as I'm not sure if I'll be able to find a box of the right height to jump on, and if I do, the people at the gym are gonna look at me funny. Come to think, I don't know what "the right height" is. I remember doing jump squats in my little mini bodyweight routine while I was away...ah well, I'll figure it out.