The Mars effect

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xtonymarsx

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Catchy title, right?

Anyway, I've been keeping a physical workout journal, but figured I'd post one on here as well to see how that goes. Here's the basic rundown. I've let work get in the way of going to the gym. It's been about 2 years that I've had this job, and the whole time, I've been pretty inconsistent about hitting the gym. We lost manpower and the rest of us have had to pick up the slack, taking up more of our personal time. I let that get in my way, but I won't anymore.

2 weeks ago, I weighed myself in the morning, and I weighted 237lbs. That was the stopping point. I decided that I was going to get back in there and lose the weight I fought so hard to lose 2 years ago (I got down to 207).

Along with seeing a few differences in the mirror, I am scale junky. I'm trying not to let that discourage me though. I am just using it in a different way. I weigh myself each morning, and then get my average weight for the week. I figure that should be a pretty accurate method.

So, as I said, two weeks ago, I was at 237. As of Monday, I weighed 231. That is keeping me just about the 2lbs a week rule, but I figure that it's mainly because I'm "new" to working out again. As far as my workouts go, I've incorporated a few movements I picked up when I tried out crossfit for a couple of months, mainly thrusters (light weight front squat that explodes into an overhead press), push press (just a modified standing shoulder press), and jumping pullups (mainly for high rep pullup sets towards the end of a workout). Other than incorporating those, I keep to the standard compound movments (squats, deadlifts, power cleans, barbell rows, etc), with a couple single joint movements for ego sake :D

Current Stats
Height - 5'10"
Weight - 230lbs
Short term goal - 220lbs
Long term goal - 200lbs and strong

So let's play some catch up for this week.

Monday Meals

0730 - Protein shake, multi vitamin/mineral, banana, whole wheat english muffin w/ natty PB
1030 - Lean cuisine (yeah they aren't the best for you, but they are quick and easy)
1330 - Large protein shake (about 45g of protein), flax and fish oil pills
1600 - 1/2 cup oats with some natty pb (for taste), protein shake and some fish oil pills
1800 - pwo shake (protein/dex), and a granny smith apple
2000 - 1/2 lb turkey burger 1 cup brown rice

Monday Workout - (jumping rope in between sets)

Power Hang Cleans - 125x5, 145x5, 145x5, 155x5
Step Ups (w/ dumbells) - 45's x 15 (3 sets)
rope crunches - 3x25
skull crushers - 45x20, 55x15, 55x15
db curls - 30x15, 25x15, 25x15
15 mins HIIT on eliptical

Tuesday Meals

0745 - w/w english muffin with natty peanut butter (NPB), 1 1/2 protein shake, multi vitamin/mineral (MV)
1015 - Lean cuisine (LC) - don't judge
1315 - 1 1/2 shake, fish and flax oil
1615 - 1 1/2 shake, fish and flax oil
1800 - pwo shake, apple
crashed out early, so no follow up meals

Tuesday Workout - cardio

15 mins treadmill @ 3.5 mph with incline
30 mins eliptical
 
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I forgot to mention before that I have 4 different resistance training workouts laid out. I am lifting 3x a week, and am going to try and hit cardio 3x a week. Anyway, my 3 days of lifting will be Mon, Wed, and Friday. Since I have 4 workouts, it will allow me to cycle through all 4 workouts in 3 weeks, all using different amounts of rest time.

Wed, Apr 15

Meals
0730 - WW english muffin w/ NPB, 40g shake, banana, multi vitamin/mineral
1030 - 40g shake, fish and flax oil
1215 - small salad (damn meetings interrupt my eating schedule)
1545 - 1/2 cup oats w/ NPB, 40g shake
1730 - pwo - forgot my protein, but remembered my granny smith apple...woot
1930 - 8oz chicken breast, brown rice

Workout - Weights 1

Note: I hate being this weak right now. But, that's what 2 years of slacking will do to ya. It's my own fault
Squat - warmup, 135x12, 195x10, 205x8, 225x6 (up from last week)
Calve raise - 135x15, 195x12, 205x8 (My ankles have be really hurting lately so I decided to stop after 3 sets)
Pullups - 7, 6, 5, 5 (up from last week)
Inc DB Press (db weight x rep) - 60x12, 60x10, 65x7, 65x6 (up from last week)

Skipped cardio today because I had a previous engagement :D
 
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Thurs, Apr 16

Mood - I have been really tired this week. Before this week, I wasn't feeling that energy drain that comes with cutting. Although I've been trying to do a clean cut this time around, I may have to break down and get some sort of supplement just so I can have some energy in the afternoons. I've been really satisfied (I won't say happy) with the progress I've made so far. So I will try to hold off on the supps until my progress slows down.

Meals - (It was supposed to be low carb day. It started off good, but that didn't happen in the end.)

0730 - 2 whole eggs scrambled with salsa, 30g shake with 8oz whole milk, ww english muffin w/ NPB, multi vitamin/mineral
1030 - 30g shake, flax and fish oil
1230 - large cobb salad (bacon, tomatoes, chicken, carrots, etc) with ranch, 5 fried mozzerella sticks (I couldn't resist, so I kinda **** the bed on that one)
1630 - 30g shake, flax ans fish oil
1830 - ww hot pocket (I feel so ashamed...but at least it was whole wheat)
I still stayed within 100 cals of my cutting caloric range. I'm happy about that.

Skipped cardio again today. My ankle has been killing me, so I am giving it a rest until Sunday or Monday. I am gonna go buy some running shoes this weekend to see if that helps me some. Hopefully I can actually start some running vs just doing the inclined walks on the treadmill.

Friday = carbs and weights...yay me!
 
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Thanks PB. I will post before and after pics once I get closer to my goal weight. I am going to be taking them each time I lose 10lbs to see if I can tell a difference.

Fri, Apr 17

Mood - I felt good all day. My energy levels were better due to my carb intake :D but the tendons in my ankles are still bothering me some. I was all prepped for the gym when, like most Fridays, a server crashes right at the end of the day. By the time I got to the gym, I guess my energy levels were pretty low, but I pushed threw it and still put up some extra weight vs the last time I did this workout.

Meals

0730 - 40g shake, w/w english muffin w/NPB, 1/2 banana
1030 - 30g shake, fish and flax oil
1245 - steak fajita salad (4oz steak, lettuce, grilled onions and peppers, cheese, etc)
1615 - 30g shake, 1/2 cup oats, NPB
1845 - pwo shake
2000 - 8oz steak, 1 cup brown rice

Workout - Weights 2
push press - 105x10, 155x6, 155x6, 155x6
jumping pullups - 12, 12, 12, 12
bw dips - 3sets of 15
pullover (machine) - 125x15, 125x15
 
good luck! these past 4 months i lost 40lbs... and the one thing that i learned from my experience is to keep with it and keep exercising on a regular basis.

good luck!!
 
So, to make a correction from my first post in here, 230 was my weight on Wednesday, when I started the thread. My weight from the week before was 232. My average weight from last week was just under 229, so my progress is still steady (as I was 227 this morning). So far, I can mainly see the weight loss in my face and hands. I am, however, seeing a few more veins in the arms when working out (and if you know me, you know how much I love being vascular - woot woot).

On a side note, I bought some running shoes this weekend, so I am going to pick up the cardio again this week to see how it feels on my ankles.
 
Mon, Apr 20

Mood - I was ready to get back in the gym. My energy levels were ok, and I was looking forward to doing some more cardio. My ankle is still hurting me, but I guess I'm just going to push through it for now. It's affecting my jump roping between sets because I'm not getting as much height on my jumps.

Meals
0730 - 1/2 cup oats, 2 egg whites, 1 whole egg, multi (forgot my shake)
1030 - 50g shake, fish and flax oil
1330 - LC, fish and flax oil
1600 - (pre workout) 50g shake, fish and flax (oh no, I ran out of oats at work and forgot to bring more - luckily there were some pretzel sticks here so I crunched on a few of them before my workout haha)
1830 - pwo shake
2100 - 8oz chicken breast, 1 cup brown rice

Workout - Weights 3

power hang cleans - 125x5, 150x5, 150x5, 150x5 (last 3 sets up from last time)
jump rope in between the sets of cleans
db step-ups - 50's x15 (all 3 sets - up from the 45's I used last time)
cable crunches - 115x25, 115x25, 115x25
skull crushers - 55x20, 55x15, 55x15
db curls - 35x15, 35x15 (hammers), 30x15
20 min HIIT cardio
 
I am just checking in with this post. I have been in training these last two weeks, so I haven't been working out. I haven't lost any weight, but more importantly, I haven't gained more than maybe a pound. My dumb ass forgot to pack any workout clothes or supps...so I'm just out here living off the company dollar and eating GOOD (not good as in healthy either...haha)

I will be back into my routine on Monday.
 
Today is my first day back. Diet has been **** today, but I'm still gonna get into the gym. On a good note, my ankle feels good from the almost 2 weeks of rest. More to come...
 
Ok, I'm back again. Had a family emergency last week, so I put the training on hold again last week. On a good note, Tony got himself a new whip...MazdaSpeed3. Woot woot.

Anywhoo, back to my training as of tonight. I've had a crap diet all day today, but that's because I need to go grocery shopping tonight. Tomorrow, I will be back on track.
 
And another one of my patented "I'm back again" posts. I've been working out pretty solid for the last month and a half. When I started (yet again), I was at 223 on average. Currently, my weight fluctuates between 211 and 214. My strength is *****, my endurance is *****, and between working 12-13hr shifts and having my weekends packed, sleep is not something I've been getting enough of.

Current Workout plan:
Monday - Upper body, low weight, high rep, 15 mins HIIT
Tuesday - Lower body, low weight, high rep, 15 mins HIIT
Wednesday - 45 mins fasted cardio
Thursday - Upper body, high weight, low rep, 5x5 style, 15 mins HIIT
Friday - Lower body, high weight, low rep, 5x5 style, 15 mins HIIT
Saturday - 45 mins fasted cardio
Sunday - REST

My metabolism is still kind of slow at the moment. My diet has been clean (chicken, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, salads, fish, protein shakes, fish/flax oil, etc), and my caloric intake sits between 1500 - 2000 k/cals a day (depending on whether it's a training or recovery day).
 
So far this week, I've made up for Friday's miss by donig my Friday workout on Monday this week, and have just moved the rest of my schedule to reflect that. My weight has stayed stable at 211 so far this week (i take my average at the end of each week). My strength has gone up from last week as well. So far, my progress is solid. I have up'ed my caloric intake about 200 k/cals a day simply because I felt like I was starving all week last week, and my recovery time seemed longer than it should have. I figure that's a sign of my metabolism starting to speed up along with not getting enough nutrients to my body for normal recovery.

I have been keeping a personal journal tracking weights/sets etc, but I'm still too embarassed to put the actual weights/sets online compared to what I used to be able to do (and just in case any of the old-timers on here remember what I used to lift) lol.

Also, I'm happy with my weight staying the same currently because I can tell that my body is still making composition changes. I'd still like to get my weight below 200 lbs by the middle of July.
 
Yep yep...i've been pretty inconsistant about updating, but yes, I am here. I just came in to make my weekly (or so) update to my journal.

My collar/shoulder is screwed up. What I did, I have no idea, but it's been hurting for a few weeks now. First week, I lifted even though it hurt...and it made it hurt worse (go figure). I completely took last week off, and have just been doing 45 mins of cardio a day since Saturday. I'm losing weight faster since I haven't been lifting (and I obviously cut my calories back yet again), but hate the idea that I'm burning more muscle while I'm at it. :( I hate cardio, but maybe my injury is a good thing in a way...because this leaves me with nothing else to do. But, I know I need it the most.
 
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