JC has 6 serious weeks comin up...

[skeletor84]

Howdy Folks.

In just over 6 weeks I'm heading to Portugal for a week's holiday in the sun. The last time I went somewhere like that, I was 15, and was so ashamed of being skinny, I would get into the pool with my t-shirt on. When we played football and it was shirts v skins, I made up an excuse of having sunburn so I wouldn't have to be on the "skins" team. This year I have been trying to change all of that.

I started off 6 weeks ago, and it has been enjoyable, but difficult up to now. I have an infant daughter at home and work 12 hour days, so the workouts have tight time schedules. I only get 45 mins of lifting time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - which is done first thing in the morning before work. Up to this point, I have been doing:

Mon: Chest & Tri
Wed: Back & Bi
Fri: Legs & Shoulders

I think I will have to look at doing 3 full body workouts, rather than the split, but I'm not yet sure if a decent full body w/o is possible in 45 minutes! I will decide on that tomorrow. I need to change something, because to this point, the gains are non-existent. I'm not looking for miracles - i know it takes time to build - but I want to do as much as I can in this 6 week period.

Dietwise, I'm pretty good (i think). The average day would be:

Pre-Workout:
120g oats
Protein Shake

Post Workout:
Protein Shake
2 eggs
2 slices wholewheat bread
Another bowl of oats
Bowl of fruit

Lunch:
Cup of vegtables
Large Chicken Breast
Rice/Potatoes/Wholewheat pasta

Dinner:
Same as lunch, but with 2 chicken breasts

Snack:
100g Tuna

Pre-Bed:
Protein Shake with Milk (the casein in the milk prolongs the release of the protein during the night - or so I'm told!)

I'm not sure if this is enough to be gaining - so feel free to critique and comment. I've ordered BSN cellmass this week - so I'm hoping that will help me along also.

In the last 6 weeks, I have been going at 90%... the next six weeks will have to be 110%.

I will post as much detail as I can about my workout and diet etc. etc. Like I said - I'm no expert and am looking for all the help I can get.

Here we go...!!!

[skeletor84]

I've gotten off to a very bad start, and on Monday when I started working out, I realised I had done my shoulder in pretty bad.

It was impossible to lift anything, and the more i tried, the more i was doing damage to the area.

I've decided to take this week off as rest (no option really) but i will be back with an update (if anyone cares) on Sunday/Monday.

I suppose injuries happen when you are training a lot - but it's still a kick in the balls.

Anyway, wish me luck...

[skeletor84]

It's Monday and I'm back on track after my week of rest. Shoulder held up OK in the gym, but is still not 100%. Will have to just push through it if I want to gain that lean mass.

Workout today was Chest and Triceps, and was definitely hampered by the recent shoulder injury. Each set was done to failure.

Chest:
Flat DB Press with 22Kg (48.5 lbs) Dumbbells (3 sets - 6/5/4)
Incline Bench Press 20kg (44 lbs) (3 sets - 5/5/5)
Decline Bench Press (on cable rack) 35kg (77 lbs). 3 sets - 8/7/6

Triceps:
Cable Overhead extensions 45 kg (100lbs) 3 sets- 8/7/6
Single hand cable extensions 20 kg (45 lbs) 3 sets - 8/7/6
Bench Dips - 3 sets to failure
Cable Pushdowns - 50kg (110 lbs) - 3 sets - 8/7/6

Food:

Pre-Workout:
6 eggs - 2 whole, 4 whites
2 slices of ham
Protein Shake (with 200ml fat-free milk)

Postworkout:
Protein Shake (with water)
250g (8.8 oz) chicken

Dinner:
185g (6.5oz) Fillet Steak
Brussel Sprouts
Protein Shake (with milk)

Snack:
2 Slices Wholemeal Bread
2 tbsp Peanut Butter

Pre-Bed:
Can of Tuna
Protein Shake (with Milk)

I know the weights involved are not that great at the moment, but I'm working on it. Please feel free to ask questions, or provide a critique on anything I may be doing wrong.

Cheers and thanks for taking the time to read.

JC

[skeletor84]

Tuesday: Cardio & Abs

Trying to keep the cardio to a minimum, but doing 10 high intensity minutes on the cross trainer / treadmill or bike.

__________________________________________________ _________________________

Wednesday:

Back and Biceps

Back:
Chins: 3 sets to failure
T-Bar Rows: 35kg (77 lbs) - 7/7/7
Hyperextensions: 3 sets to failure cradling 10kg (22lbs) weight

Biceps:
Alternate Hammer Curls: 3 sets - 9/8/7 with 16kg (35lbs) dumbbells
Cable Curls: 3 sets - 7/7/7 - 110lbs
EZ-Bar Preacher Curls: 3 Sets - 7/7/7 -10kg (22lbs)

__________________________________________________ _____________________

Diet is still going well - eating a lot and often. Just took delivery of BSN Cellmass today (which doesn't taste too bad at all) so hoping that will help me along.

Criticism and advice appreciated!

[skeletor84]

Thursday:

Cardio and Abs

Diet got messed up today because of work and I ended up going 5/6 hours without food... also I forgot the meal i had prepared for today and had to eat from the canteen.

Legs and Shoulders tomorrow, and for some strange reason I can't stand doing legs... i think it may be some sort of mental block. My least favourite excercise by far...

[skeletor84]

Update:

Friday (Legs & Shoulders day) went well and i put a good effort in on the legs especially.

Let my diet slip a bit over the weekend but have got back on track since yesterday.

Monday:

Chest and Triceps day. Gym was jam packed with people. Usually i go during the day (as i have the day off work on Mondays) but had to go during the evening. It was hard to do my usual routine (due to people taking forever on their excercises) but I got a decent workout done.

Have just ordered "Starting Strength rev 2" from Amazon - on advice from kziwarrior - and am hoping that will give me a better understanding of what I am doing in the gym.

Shoulder is quite sore again, and I'm hoping it holds up for tomorrow's back and biceps workout.

[skeletor84]

Wednesday:

Back & Biceps:

Tried Deadlifts for the first time and got 1 rep of 220. Could have got two reps I think , but I chickened out. Not much weight probably, but not bad for starters. Continued Back excercises with chins, hyperextensions and DB rows (65lbs).

Biceps involve Cable Curls (3 sets of 7 @ 110lbs), EZ Bar Curls (3 sets of 7 @ 60lbs - not including weight of bar), Preacher Curls (with about 50lbs on EZ bar) and Alternate Hamme Curls (with 30lb DBs)

Just tucking into some chicken breasts now and gonna make myself up a shake now.