Raths' Journal

[Raths]

Hello! I just kind of found this site (Bodybulding.com) and I must say that it is about the most useful site that I have found as far as workouts go. I am in definite need of some peer pressure, so I figured that a quick introduction and starting a journal was the way to go.

First I’m Raths (Steve) and I hail from the Midwest. I am 35, married, father of four, and in pretty crappy shape. I was really into lifting for about six years between age 16 and about 22. Then marriage and kids and mortgage set in and the waistline grew right along with my responsibilities. I took a job where I was able to join the “Y” at a discount about 5 years ago. After a month of lifting I hurt my shoulder (really an irritation of an old football injury) and stopped going to the gym.

After having quit smoking a year and four months ago, I decided to try to get into shape (this was last Nov). I stopped drinking everything except water and a bit of milk and I started watching what I was eating (sort of). I went from 260 to 230 in about 4 months. I got a much better job (in Feb, my life is defiantly getting better) and I can afford the “Y” again (good for the kids, too). Now I’m 4 weeks into an aerobics class (I know, but I like it and it keeps me lifting and motivated) and I lift every other day. My heart rate went from 81 resting four weeks ago to 68 resting right now. I got a fat scale from Wally World and according to it I’m at 222 with 32% body fat. My goal in 8 weeks (that’s the rest of this aerobics session and the next 6 week session) is to get to 200 lbs with 20% body fat.

I’m not too strict on a diet yet as I am considering myself a beginner and I want to be comfortable with my routine and the way I work my week. Dieting is mostly saying no to candy at break, eating sensible portions, Special K instead of Captain Crunch, and a protein shake with some Creatine added to it. I have just started the Release program from the GNC, but that’s because its $129 that I spent on my wife that she didn’t finish. I don’t really do stimulants well, but what the hell, its only caffeine.

All that being said, this is my week. I work out after having been up an hour or so.

MONDAY: Chest and Triceps
Bench Press
Cable Crossovers
Butterflies
Close grip Bench Press
Triceps Push Downs-Rope Attachment

TUESDAY: Aerobics class

WENSDAY: Back and Biceps
Low pulley row to neck
Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns
Stiff legged Barbell Dead lift
Hammer Curls
Barbell Curls (w/ EZ bar)

THURSDAY: Aerobics Class

FRIDAY: Legs and Shoulders
Barbell Squat
Barbell Lunge
Calf Raises (machine)
Clean and Press
Military Press

SATURDAY: Day Off

SUNDAY: Treadmill or swimming or dog walking or napping or golf

All exercises are done with 3 sets of 12-10-8 with increasing weight for each set. I don’t really have the weights down yet, but I am not going to failure. I have a stopwatch and I rest one minute between sets and two between exercises. The aerobics class is about 40 minutes of cardio (steps, circuits, kickboxing, its different all the time, great instructor), 15 minutes of abs (sit ups, crunches, put your legs up and lift your chest things, I hate those) and a bit of yoga at the end. Most people are gone by the middle of the abs for work, but I like the yoga. It’s a great stretch.

Please feel free to make suggestions or comments. I have been weighing myself for two weeks now and not seeing any change! I need motivation!!

L8R

Raths

[Raths]

Did Cardio class today. 2 sets of circuit training, then decreasing weight for bicep and triceps and shoulders. Then planks for 60 seconds and bicycles for 60 seconds. Felt that down low. Beginning heart rate (ten second count) 15, mid workout (about 5 mins past my high point) 38, after stretch 18. Very happy with that. Asked about my stretches for work and she eliminated one. Had ham sandwich for lunch (with mustard, no mayo...I've been reading the articles in the over 35 section). Over all I feel very good!

[theq]

Hey Raths how are you?
What are your goals, do you want to become power lifter or bodybuilder?
My routine is
Monday Legs
Tuesday Deltoids triceps
Wed off
Thur Back biceps
Fri off
Sat chest
Sun off

it workd pretty good for me so far, you can check out my journal:
"irish hugh's journal"

[Raths]

I sinned at work tonight! I am out of my protein shake for about a week so I had nothing for second break. The cravings got me and I had a cherry pie AND a bag of M&M's. I have been doing well on the diet, but tonight was a real let down. But I'm determined to make it up in the weight room tomorrow!

theq, thanks for stopping by! You know that’s a question that I never really thought about, power lifter or body builder. I suppose my main goal is to get into good shape. I want my over all look to be "menacing" but I don't want to look just big and fat. There are a lot of those guys where I work out. Horrible form to lift the whole rack on a machine. I want to be able to take off my shirt and look impressive. I want to body build! But even more than that, I want a shower and to go to bed!

L8R

Raths

[theq]

You have the same goal as most of us "bodybuilding is for you"
Dont let your little dip in to the fridge dampen your spirits man, just think about it when you are training, it will spur you on to give 100% and you will always learn from your mistakes.

[Heisman]

It's good to see another journal. Just work hard in the aerobics class and when you lift and you will be fine.

Do you want me to critique your workout and offer some opinions?

Also, if you want to add another cardio session in (I don't know if you do; this is just my way of showing off something I recently stumbled on :D) look here. http://www.avantlabs.com/page.php?pageID=200&issueID=17

[Raths]

Good Workout! No one in the weight room. In at 1:20 out at 2:10

WENSDAY: Back and Biceps
Warmup-1 min walk(3.5), 1 min fast walk(4.5), 3 min run (6.0)
Low pulley row to neck-200x12, 220x10, 240x9, move up weight
Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns-90x12, 100x10, 110x7, fail, just right
Stiff legged Barbell Dead lift-135x12, 145x10, 155x7, fail
Hammer Curls-25x12-12, 30x9L 10R, 35x3L 5R, fail left side first
Barbell Curls (w/ EZ bar)-45x12, 55x7, 55x4, fail, move weight down
Good stretch after lift.

[Heisman]

You should probably do regular deadlifts on back day and stiff legged deadlifts on leg day. SLDLs mainly hit the hamstrings, while regular deadlifts mainly hit the back.

[theq]

I agree whith heisman on this one.

[Raths]

You have the same goal as most of us "bodybuilding is for you"
Don’t let your little dip in to the fridge dampen your spirits man,
Thanks for those words theq. Just enough to make a long night at work worth it! And I did much better tonight. Pack of Snackwells and first and third break and that’s it (besides water, of course). Eating cereal now though because my stomach is growling.

Heisman, glad to see more people checking in. I will take you up on your offer of critiquing my workout, especially since this is the first one that I have made. In the past I have always done full body workouts of mostly squats and bench press, with a few cable exercises thrown in. And you are right on the SLDL, I was sore in the wrong places at work tonight!

I made up this workout by just going down the body (on Bodybuilding.com) and making sure that I had all the body parts covered with at least one exercise. Then I picked my favorites and threw them together. I want to be in and out of the gym in one hour and 5 exercises with 3 sets each (plus warm up and stretch) seems to fit in nice. And my goal for the next 7-8 weeks is fat loss.

Let me know if you need any more info to help me fine tune my workout. I seem to be stuck with the weight/body fat, but my pants are getting baggy and my belt is on the last notch. I think the right workout would kick the whole process in and I can achieve my goal!

[Heisman]

Here is what I would change in your workout:

On Monday I would do incline bench press instead of cable crossovers. The incline bench will hit the often neglected upper pecs, while cable crossovers don't really do anything except give you a good pump IMO. Instead of butterflies I would do leaning forward dips to hit the chest and tris hard. Don't worry about the inner chest because you can't specifically train the inner chest. I don't care what the pros tell you; you can't do it. You could change the pushdowns to skullcrushers. I personally believe that skullcrushers are a better exercise than pushdowns, and I would always do free weights over machines.

On Wednesday I would start off with regular deadlifts, then do pull ups (pull ups and chin ups are better than pull downs, but if you can't do them then use the machine), then you should do a type of rowing movement (bent over barbell rows for example). Also, on the pull ups or pulldowns, don't put your hands more then a couple of inches past shoulder width. That is bad for the shoulders. After the first three exercises, the two bicep exercises you picked are fine.

On Friday I would do squats, then stiff legged deadlifts, then military presses, then a couple sets of side and bent over laterals, then calf raises. You should be able to do this in an hour.

[Raths]

Good class today. Steps and kickboxing. Then 8 min abs. Killer!
The "Y" is getting bikes to add to the aerobics room. They want to do all bikes at noon, but I like it the way it is. And the bikes every now and then would be a nice addition!

[Raths]

I took your suggestions to heart, Heisman, and changed my workout around. I think I need to refine it a bit more, but my a$$ was kicked at the end of this one!

In 2:10
Warm-up 4 min treadmill
Barbell Squat 115x12, 125x8 (could have done more)135x6(happy at that)
SLDL 135x8, 155x4, tired from class and wed workout
Military Press 90x12, 100x10, 110x8 GOOD!
Bent over Laterals 15x8, 20x6 , hate these, need to replace
Calf raises on machine 160x12, 180x10, 200x8, need more weight
Out @ 2:50

Overall a fair workout. I would have liked to get all sets in, but I was tired and my legs were worked in class on Thursday. The bent over laterals I want to replace with a shoulder shrug or something. I was feeling a pain in my shoulder while doing the laterals. Big weekend of yard work planned so I'll have plenty of opportunity to burn fat! Weighed and checked body fat and neither have moved in a week. 222lbs with 31%BF. But my belt is loose now, and my size 34 shorts are fitting again! So I must be doing something right!

[theq]

Hi raths, bent over laterals are a great way to hit the rear delt head. take the weight down and try to get the technique right, should'nt hurt you. tip: hold the dumbell at the rear of the handle, feet together for balance, raise weight up to the front slightly so that it is about the level of your headthis should do the trick, also standing laterals are great.

[Raths]

A day of huge eating today. Everything I shouldn't. But I feel very satisfied and I got a lot of spring housework done. Good weekend!

The pain really comes in the shoulder joint when I hit a certain spot, theq. I was trying not to go to the front to keep the strict form. Front laterals feel better. I'll replace the sides with those.

[theq]

This is fine for while you are a beginner but you will have to address the rear delt eventually, this is why maybe you should do a couple of sets low weight high rep range every now and again.

[Raths]

This last weekend seemed to rake a lot out of me. I slept 13 hours Sunday night to Monday morning and I was in the gym at 12:50

6 min treadmill warm-up
Bench Press 95x12, 115x5, 125x3. Could have done more on second and third sets. No spotter though
Incline Dumbbell press 25(each hand) x12, 35x10, 40x5. Good exercise!
Forward dips & Pushups 2 dips, 15 pushups (had more in me), 13 (to fail)
Close Grip Dumbbell Bench Press 25(each hand) x12, 35x5 (heavy), 40x1 (left side fail)
Skull crushers 40x12, 50x5 (hat in the way), 55x4 (good muscle failure)
Stretch
Out at 1:40

Love that I keep it under an hour. Feel tired and spent after workout. I think I want to change exercises again. I want to go with all dumbbell lifts. The gym has sets all the way up to 110 lbs, so equipment is not a problem. I’ll have to look this up later in the week!

I see what you are saying theq. I shouldn't be getting hung up on the weight I lift. But even today, the left shoulder is feeling the workout. Another reason I'm thinking more dumbbells. More safe and I can tell if both sides are working evenly, witch I don't think they are.

[sword chucks]

The reason that most of us use barbells is that dbs mostly only go up by 5 lb intervals in gyms, so that would be a 10-pound increase to each hand if you tried to raise weight each workout. I have only seen 10-pound increases in each dumbbell of db exercises over a month or two period, which is why it mihgt be easier to add a 2.5 to each side of a bar. Unless you use adjustables, like I do.

Once you find a workout that you like, stick with it, so you can see your results with numbers. You need to give your body time to adapt to al exercises.

Its ok if you cheat for a while while your starting out, but just remember, eventually you will have to perfect your diet and keep from cheating. Its better to start early so you build up will-power. Remember, nothing will ever taste as good as being lean feels.

[Raths]

Head cold is really kicking my butt. Class was killer. Circuits on cardio and strength stations, then 10 mins on abs stations. Feeling a good burn! I think my work schedule is changing for 2 days, but the machine isn't ready yet so not sure if it will mess up class or not. And I forgot to take my morning pills. Took the afternoon ones though. Hate head colds!

[Jimineye]

Originally posted by Raths
Head cold is really kicking my butt. Class was killer. Circuits on cardio and strength stations, then 10 mins on abs stations. Feeling a good burn! I think my work schedule is changing for 2 days, but the machine isn't ready yet so not sure if it will mess up class or not. And I forgot to take my morning pills. Took the afternoon ones though. Hate head colds!

Yeah head colds are a pain. Hope you get over it soon.

Bump on dumb bells. I haven't used a barbell for bench or military press in over 8 months. I'm getting great gains using dumb bells. So I highly recommend them to you.

Good luck on achieving your goals.

[Raths]

Had a really bad 2 weeks. Fighting in the family, money problems, children issues, all came to a head and messed me up bad. But this morning I'm making an effort to get back on track! I hit the gym and did a full body circuit on the rack machines. A decent workout and it only takes about 30 mins to get the whole thing done!

[invast]

sorry about your problems, keep lifting!