Braindrop's Quest to Lose 100#

[Braindrop]

So, I turned 40 this past year, and was 5' 10", 269# on my birthday. While cleaning out some stuff, I found my workout journals from the late 80s and early 90s. Somehow elves added 100 pounds of fat to me while I was sleeping over the past 13 years. F***in elves! :(

There are a lot of good health reasons to get rid of this weight -- heart disease runs in my family -- but truthfully I'm more motivated by the fact that I really dislike the way I look and feel now.

I started working out again on 12-6-05. Got two good weeks in, and dropped from 269 to 259, then my father-in-law had a heart attack and an emergency triple bypass (he's fine now, home and walking around), so I missed the next 10 days on the road for his surgery and then xmas.

We got back home Tuesday and I started back at the gym yesterday. Fortunately, I only gained back 5 pounds living at my grandmother-in-law's house (and if you have a southern grandmother, you know how hard that is!).

My goal is 170# by 12-9-06. I commute 1 week/month from Texas to California, so I'm going to have to find a gym that has day rates, but my initial google search indicates that shouldn't be a problem.

My workout is as follows:

Monday: Biceps/Back, Cardio
Tuesday: Intense Cardio, Abs
Wednesday: Shoulders/Legs, Cardio
Thursday: Intense Cardio, Abs
Friday: Chest/Triceps, Cardio

Right now the normal cardio days are 24 minutes of Stairmaster. As I get in better shape, my goal is to increase that up to 48 minutes (which is where it was in 1992 when I stopped working out). On the intense cardio days, I currently do a 6-minute stairmaster sprint workout on as high a level as I can stand, do abs, then do my normal 24-minute stairmaster workout. I want to increase that to three sets of 6 minutes, then abs, then a 48 minute finish.

I'm not trying to bulk out very much -- I'm fortunate that I've never lost the broad shoulders/chest and decent arms that were developed with football back in high school and kept up during my 20s. But I need a solid core strength and a lot better muscle tone/definition.

Other than working out, I'm also trying to make serious changes in my diet. I *love* to cook, and was taught classical french cooking, which uses butter and cream *way* more than I should be eating. I'm changing over to way more vegetables, and trying light versions of sauces, etc.

Anyway, that's me, and I hope to keep this updated throughout the year.

Peace,
Brain

[DrivenToTransform]

"QUEST" I love that word.. its def a "quest" I think the first time I learned that word I was about 4 yrs old & it was while playing The Legend Of Zelda for Nintendo :)

[Braindrop]

Chest/Triceps Day

Universal Bench 3 sets of 10x115
Dumbell Incline Bench 3 sets of 10x25
Dumbell Flys 3 sets of 10x15
Tricep Pushdowns 3 sets of 10x60
Standing Dumbell Tris 3 sets of 10x12
Bench Tri Kickbacks 3 sets of 10x12

24 minutes of stairmaster, lvl 8 hill, 353 cals burned.

I'm in a tiny, tiny bedroom community just outside of Austin. My gym probably has 50 members, of which 5-10 work out on any given day, so I'm usually alone in there. It sucks from a spotting perspective, and also means that I'm pretty much it for motiviation. I was really happy to get through the cardio -- by the end of the week, my legs are really burned from 5 days of it (although it was only 3 this week), but I managed to psyche myself through it.

Two days to recover until Monday. Whee!

[DrivenToTransform]

i used to work at a small gym and i liked it... anyone who works there should know how to spot.. and maybe you can ask them... i used to spot huge guys when i worked at the gym... :)

CARDIO + GOOD GOOD MUSIC IN HEADPHONES = THE KEY!!! :)

[Braindrop]

Nobody works there. It's located in a metal building on the ranch of the owner. She teaches a couple of aerobics classes there, but almost never when I work out. I show up, let myself in and work out. :) I've never actually seen another person lifting (though there are rumored to be some who do the 5 AM shift). I do early to mid-morning, and maybe once a week there will be a housewife on a treadmill when I'm there.

On the up side, I never have to wait for a station!

brain

[Loser (X)]

Good luck to you pal we are pretty much in the same boat, by the way you might want to move your thread over to the over 35 section to get more feedback from people your own age..

[Braindrop]

Good luck to you pal we are pretty much in the same boat, by the way you might want to move your thread over to the over 35 section to get more feedback from people your own age..

Can I move it myself, or do I need to get a mod to move it? Actually, I'd rather have it in the fat loss section, as that's what I'm really all about.

Thanks!

[Braindrop]

No workout last night, but agreeing to babysit for my sister & bro-in-law meant that I restricted myself to half of a Chimay at midnight, plus 3 of the little Jack Daniel's-filled chocolate bottles.

Given what I would have consumed at a party, it may be my best cardio night ever :)

[Braindrop]

Biceps/Back
~~~~~~~

Front Pulldowns 10x70x3
Back Pulldowns 10x70x3
Bent Dumbell Row 10x25x3
Seated Lat Raise 10x12x3
Dumbell Preacher Curls 10x20x3
Hammer Curls 10x20, 10x15x2

Stairmaster 24m LVL 8 379 cals

I've normally been working out on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, today I drank a slimfast 30 mins beforehand. I seemed to have a little more energy during cardio, but that might just be from the 2-day rest. We'll see.

[Braindrop]

Cardi + Abs today. I went with eating 45 mins before the workout again, and for sure had more energy. Maybe it impacts how fast I'll burn fat, but I think my workout is better for it, so I'm going to continue.

6 mins HIIT Stairmaster
3 sets of 10 incline crunches
3 sets of 10 ab machine w/ 5 plates
24 mins treamill, as fast as I can walk without actually jogging (my knees won't be happy with running until I drop another 40 pounds or so)
6 mins HIIT Stairmaster

[Braindrop]

Today marks the one-month point of when I started this quest (no, I didn't log the first 3 or so weeks here). I'm now down 11 pounds from when I started, and my body is used to the idea of lifting weights again, so I'm stepping up the workouts to:

Mon/Thu: Chest/Shoulders/Back, Cardio
Tue/Fri: Arms/Legs/Abs, Cardio
Wed: Cardio only
Sat/Sun: Off

Today
Machine Bench: 3x10 @115**
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @25**
Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @25**
Dumbell Milit. Press: 2x10 @25; 1x10 @30**
Dumbell Upright Row: 3x10 @30
Dumbell Front/Back Shrugs: 3x20 @35
Lat Pulldown Front/Back: 3x20 @80**
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @30**
Seated, Bent Lat Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @12
Stairmaster 24m LVL 8 379 cals

I started pretty light a month ago to avoid injury, and I'm happy to start moving the weight up on some of this stuff.



**Increase next session

[Braindrop]

They're putting a new AC & Furnace in at my tiny gym, I swear there was a fine haze of asbestos floating in the sunlight inside. I'll cardio/abs tomorrow.

Arms/Legs
~~~~~~
Dumbell Preacher Curls 3x10 @20**
Dumbell Hammer Curls 3x10 @20
Tricep Pushdowns 3x10 @50**
Standing Dumbell Tris 3x10 @15**
Bench Tri Kickbacks 3x10 @15
Leg Press 2x10 @220, 1x10 @240**
Leg Extensions 3x10 @70

** moving up next time

Probably the fastest workout I've done, breathing that **** was killing me.

[dads01dream]

Gee, usually the only "haze" in our gym comes from me!! ;) My M.A.N. Scorch & Clout stack makes for some smelly emissions. hahahaa

Keep up the good work on your journal here, are you taking any supplements? How's your eating going? Just curious.... seems like 11 lbs. in 1 month is good progress. :)

[Braindrop]

Well, it's the first month, so you figure at least 5 pounds of it was water probably. I'm taking a multi, an amino acid multi, and 2 aspirin for heart therapy. I think the supplements industry in general is a scam.

I'm eating a pretty clean 6-7 meals/day, keeping my calorie count at 900 to 1500 below maint, depending on how hard I work out for the day. I've been really surprised at how hard it is to eat 2300 cals when you're eating good food. Right now I'm eating 40/40/20 -- I'll start tweaking that when I hit a plateau.

Peace!

[Braindrop]

A combined 11 hours in Airports and Airplanes. Freakin ugh. :P

It's been a whipsaw weekend. My wife did great on the GRE, so we went out and celebrated Saturday, then spent all day today sitting on my ass. At least the seafood is good here.

So no gym in my hotel, I'm looking for a new place tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll be walking every night to keep some cardio going.

[Braindrop]

Ate clean today, ignored the 5516134616 donuts that people brought in to the office. Didn't get to eat as often as I wanted, but I made it to the store today and picked up a bunch of CC and fruit to eat during the day.

Found a Subway a 30 minute walk from my hotel, speed-walked down, got a sandwich for dinner to go, walked back to the hotel. I tried some running, but my knees bitched. Maybe in another 50 pounds.

5 more days on the road.

[Braindrop]

Man, 15 hour day yesterday, followed by having to give my boss a ride back to San Francisco. At least I got dinner out of it. Clean day, it was nice to have the fridge here stocked with CC, etc, but I'm not getting enough water, and I feel all lazy and bloated after not doing anything yesterday but pushing a keyboard.

[Braindrop]

Good walk last night, although my left knee and both shins are kind of tweaked this morning. I hate concrete. Also, another clean day eating-wise, with the exception of one glass of a really nice Mablec with dinner.

Two more days then home! Yay.

[BJW]

Wow, nice going, Brain.

Looks like you're making some really good progress. It's probably getting to the point where eating clean and working out are becoming habit, and therefore easier.

I wish you the best on your quest - and I'll try and check in on this thread every once in a while to see how its going - its always inspiring to see other people succeed in changing thier bodies/lifestyle.

Keep it up! You'll hit your goal before you know it.

[Braindrop]

Thanks!

Yesterday was mixed. No walk, but I did eat pretty clean, and managed to dodge the client dinner that would have involved way too much drinking and food. Went to Boston Market and had chicken instead. Go me.

I get home tomorrow, yay!

[DrivenToTransform]

A whole month! holy crap.. i want wait to hit a whole month.. so far ive got 2 weeks today into it :) good for you.. keep it up!!! you're doing great and it seems like you are making some good choices in avoiding temptation! i had to do that yesterday when the office at work got pizza.. i just told myself that it was garbage and that i dont need it and said no thank yoU :) !

[Braindrop]

Home again, yay! Another sucky day of airports & airplanes & getting up at 4 AM. I'm not even going to think about weighing in until Monday AM before I hit the gym.

Yesterday went good, I ended up walking instead of driving to both dinner and lunch, so I got about 4 miles in. The less said about the last 24 hours of eating, the better.

peace

[Wooderson316]

Congrats so far. You and I are in the same boat, so I empathize with you. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

What is your diet? Oh, and where in Texas are you? I'm in DFW.

[Braindrop]

I'm in Austin mostly. I'm doing a 40/40/20 split trying to eat around 900-1400 cals below maint+burned (usually means I'm eating around 2300 cals/day). I'm trying to do 5-6 smaller meals/day -- usually dinner is my only big meal at around 800-900 cals.

[Braindrop]

Got on the scale this morning and I managed to drop 2 pounds last week even with nothing but walking and marginally clean diet. I just knew I was going to put on 5 pounds, so I'm really psyched about this!

Peace.

[dads01dream]

Always a nice surprise... Congrats!

[DrivenToTransform]

wow thats great! don't you love it when your body surprises you in a good way... . ;)

[Braindrop]

Ahhh. First day back in the gym since returning home. I moved up on almost everything, and added another 6 minutes to my cardio. I have a massage scheduled for this afternoon, maybe it will help me being able to move tomorrow :)

Chest/Shoulders/Back
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today
Machine Bench: 3x10 @135
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @30
Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @20
Dumbell Milit. Press: 2x10 @30, 1x9 @30 (failure)
Dumbell Upright Row: 3x10 @30
Dumbell Front/Back Shrugs: 3x20 @35
Lat Pulldown Front: 1x10 @90; 2x10 @100
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @35
Seated, Bent Lat Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @12
Stairmaster 30m LVL 8 Random 445 cals

[dads01dream]

Nice! See, sometimes it's good to have a little break every now and again.

[DrivenToTransform]

Ahhhhhhhhhh massages.. they rock!! :) Hope you loved it :)

[Braindrop]

Mmmm. Massage. I've been getting 90 minutes of deep tissue accupressure massage every two weeks for about 5 months now -- my flexibility has gone way, way up, joint pain is down, and I can sit in some positions that had been denied to me for quite some time :)

In a surprising turn of events, my wife decided she wanted to start lifting with me at least 2x per week. I'm putting her on the same split I'm using, so that will hit the whole body. She does a jazzercise class 2-3 times as well. Now I get my revenge for how little sympathy I got for my first couple of week's soreness! Bwahahahaha! ;) It means I have to wait and work out in the evening twice a week, but I can live with it.

Arms/Legs/Abs today.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbell Preacher Curls 3x10 @25
Dumbell Hammer Curls 3x10 @20
Tricep Pushdowns 3x10 @60
Standing Dumbell Tris 3x10 @20
Bench Tri Kickbacks 3x10 @15
Leg Press 3x10 @240**
Leg Extensions 3x10 @70**
Crunches: 3x10
Ab Machine: 3x10 @60**
Treadmill 30mins lvl6 hill 3.3mph 343cals

** move up next time

[dads01dream]

Have fun training with the Mrs., I've always enjoyed lifting with my wife in times past.

[Braindrop]

We used to go to the gym together in the 80s, so at least she knows what she's getting into :)

Off day today.

[DrivenToTransform]

awww thats great.. sometimes if i have a later workout ill workout when my bf goes to the gym.. but we both kinda do our own thing and im there longer then him :) :) for the first time in my life im eating better and going to the gym more then my bf and he is like the gym stud LOL

[Braindrop]

Sigh. After a visit to the doctor's office yesterday, I began to strongly suspect that my scale at home was lying to me. I picked up a new scale, and my old one was, in fact, off by 3.5 pounds (and of course, not in a good direction). Now I feel like I gained weight this week. :(

Oh well, off to the gym.

[dcarmickle]

Good luck on your quest...I know travel can make it hard...I travel for buisness all the time but I still work it all in ... I am down a hundred lbs so I know you can too again...good luck...Stay strong and dedicated

[Braindrop]

Solid workout today, I felt really strong doing shoulders.

Chest/Shoulders/Back
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Machine Bench: 3x10 @135
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @30**
Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @20**
Dumbell Milit. Press: 3x10 @30**
Dumbell Upright Row: 3x10 @30
Dumbell Front/Back Shrugs: 3x20 @35**
Lat Pulldown Front: 3x10 @100**
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @35
Seated, Bent Lat Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @12
Treadmill 30mins LVL6 Hill 3.3mph 350 cals

** moving up next time

[DrivenToTransform]

stick to ONE scale.. all scales are different.. my home scale is close to 10 lbs off from the scale at my old job.. crazy thing is.. if you put a 10 lb weight on each.. it says 10 lbs.. i just dont get it.. also your weight can fluctuate up to 5 lbs each day or even more.. depending on how much you've had to eat/drink, etc.. 1 cup of fluid = 1/2 lb on the scale!!! so dont let that scale make you think you had a set back!

[Braindrop]

I know, I just decided that the one scale I use should be actually accurate, instead of 20 years old :) I lost a pound since last weigh-in on Monday, even if the numbers don't reflect it on the new one.

Good workout today, I'm going to up the cardio duration again next week. My arm strength isn't moving up as well as my chest/shoulders/back/legs. :(

Arms/Legs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbell Preacher Curls 3x10 @25
Dumbell Hammer Curls 3x10 @20
Tricep Pushdowns 3x10 @60
Standing Dumbell Tris 3x10 @20
Bench Tri Kickbacks 3x10 @15**
Leg Press 3x10 @260**
Leg Extensions 3x10 @80
Treadmill 30mins lvl6 hill 3.3mph 351cals

** move up next time

[DrivenToTransform]

upping it = good :)

keep it up keep it up!! woot!!!!

[Braindrop]

Workout was good, but I was fatigued as hell by the end of the weights. So I upped cardio to 45 mins just to show it who was f***in boss...

Chest/Shoulders/Back
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Machine Bench: 3x10 @135
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @35
Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @25
Dumbell Milit. Press: 2x10 @35, 1x9 @35 (failure)
Dumbell Upright Row: 3x10 @30
Dumbell Front/Back Shrugs: 3x20 @40
Lat Pulldown Front: 3x10 @110
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @35
Seated, Bent Lat Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @12**
Treadmill 45mins LVL6 Hill 3.3mph 535 cals

** moving up next time

[ChocoChick]

So I upped cardio to 45 mins just to show it who was f***in boss...

LOL - love it! Great attitude. :)

[jaguarr]

LOL - love it! Great attitude. :)


That made me laugh, too. :D Keep at it, Braindrop!

jag

[jmurjr]

Nice dedication, ahh what i'd do to have a gym with no other members. lol
Your hitting the cardio awful hard so quick IMO. Also if it hasn't been mentioned in most people around heres opinion you shouldnt do a workout or cardio session on an empty stomach. It will often cause the loss of muscle before fat.

Good luck on the quest keep at it.

[Braindrop]

Yeah, I stopped doing the empty stomach thing a couple of weeks ago, I just wasn't moving the weights like I wanted.

Thanks for dropping in!

[DrivenToTransform]

congrats on showing the cardio machine who was boss!!!!

i drink a protein shake before the gym.. like 20g whey protein... mixed with milk.. it seems to help/be light :)

[jaguarr]

congrats on showing the cardio machine who was boss!!!!

i drink a protein shake before the gym.. like 20g whey protein... mixed with milk.. it seems to help/be light :)


I'd take this one step further and suggest getting a bit of a complex carb like some oatmeal, farina (Cream Of Wheat), brown rice or yams into you with that protein shake about an hour before your workout. It doesn't take much, but it will make a huge difference in your workout. I guarantee it. :)

jag

[Braindrop]

I've tried oatmeal, and it's kind of heavy, but I was only giving it 30 mins. I'll try an hour, although that will force me to get up 30 mins earlier. /grumble :)

Good workout today, added a 3rd excercise to biceps and legs, so I'm now hitting everything with 3 different moves each day.

Good thing I've upped cardio, Mrs. Brain and I are doing Valentines' tonight (I'll be in California on Feb 14) at Roy's (chef Roy Yamaguchi is in from Hawaii doing a cooking demo and tasting menu here in Austin. I'm guessing this is my cheat meal for the month). Tomorrow is cardio-only, I'll work it off then...

Arms/Legs/Abs today
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bent-bar Curls 1x10 @55, 2x10 @65
Dumbell Preacher Curls 2x10 @25, 1x10 @20 (dunno why this one was weak today)
Dumbell Hammer Curls 3x10 @20
Tricep Pushdowns 3x10 @60**
Standing Dumbell Tris 3x10 @20**
Bench Tri Kickbacks 3x10 @20
Leg Press 3x10 @280**
Leg Extensions 3x10 @80**
Leg Hamstrings 1x10 @40, 2x10 @60
Crunches: 1x12, 2x10 (all on 30 degree incline)
Ab Machine: 3x10 @70
Treadmill 45mins lvl6 hill 3.3mph 523cals (increase speed next time)

** move up next time

[jaguarr]

If the oatmeal is kind of heavy for you, try some farina (Cream Of Wheat). It's not as heavy and seems to have a faster digestion rate. At least, it has for me, anyway.

jag

[DrivenToTransform]

thanks jaguarr ;) i have one of those in my lunch which is about an hr before my workout :) i have my protein shake right before my workout..

braindrop.. i hate plain oatmeal, no matter what i do to it.. but there is this one that has lower sugar, etc.. then you'd think its by quaker and its marketed on the box for women. because it has soy protein and calcium.. but the taste is amazing.. its vanilla cinnamon.. omg i love it, i feel like im cheating when i eat it... i kno its heavy so i only have it like 2-3 times a week :) i find it at my grocery store

[Braindrop]

I actually *like* oatmeal a lot -- just not 30 mins before a workout.

Today is cardio only, so I won't try it until tomorrow morning.

[Braindrop]

Went to the gym with Mrs. Brain this evening, I did cardio only. There were other people in the gym, surprise! It was another couple. The guy did 10 mins of treadmill, then switched the TV to the WB to watch some dumbass comedy while he sat in a chair beneath the TV. The wife did like 4 minutes each on 6 different cardio stations, then went and picked up some 2.5 pound dumbells and waved them vaguely about for about 10 mins, then they left.

/boggle

Cardio
~~~~
Treadmill 45 mins LVL 6 Hill 3.5 mph 552 cals

[GREENFEATHER]

Determination is the key to the whole scheme of weight loss. I know I'd be in a hell of a pickle if M didn't lift with me and eat a keto diet like I do. She's doing an upper body, lower body split right now because of her injury. You didn't get fat overnight, you sure as hell aren't gonna get fit overnight either.
Good luck and Good Medicine,
GREENFEATHER

[DrivenToTransform]

LoL, that couple should have just stayed home and watched the fitness channel and did like 15 min of it.. they would have saved gas :) LOL... hey what ever helps them sleep at night right?

With my wonderful knee injury my 30 min of cardio FELT about as productive as the couple's workout you just described...

The other thing that kills me is seeing people do stuff WRONG... *** i cringe....

[jaguarr]

Determination is the key to the whole scheme of weight loss. I know I'd be in a hell of a pickle if M didn't lift with me and eat a keto diet like I do. She's doing an upper body, lower body split right now because of her injury. You didn't get fat overnight, you sure as hell aren't gonna get fit overnight either.
Good luck and Good Medicine,
GREENFEATHER


Great advice. I'll also add that "consistency counts", whether you're trying to cut or bulk. :)

jag

[Braindrop]

Traded Saturday off for today off so I can do arms & legs with Mrs. Brain on Saturday.

[Braindrop]

I'm apparently still in the newbie zone where my muscle gains are keeping pretty close pace with my fat loss. One pound down this week. The workout felt really good today, taking yesterday off seems to have helped a bunch. I think I may make Wednesday a completely off day instead of a cardio-only day and see how that goes.

Ditched the machine bench and switched to dumbells.

Chest/Shoulders/Back
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @45**
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @35**
Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @25
Dumbell Milit. Press: 3x10 @35
Dumbell Upright Row: 3x10 @30**
Dumbell Front/Back Shrugs: 3x20 @40**
Lat Pulldown Front: 3x10 @110
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @35
Seated, Bent Lat Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @15
Treadmill 45mins LVL6 Hill 3.4mph 543 cals

** moving up next time

[kimsquit]

Lookin' good Brain!

:)

[Braindrop]

Went with Mrs. Brain today, another good workout.

Arms/Legs today
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bent-bar Curls 3x10 @75
Dumbell Preacher Curls 3x10 @ 25
Dumbell Hammer Curls 3x10 @20**
Tricep Pushdowns 2x10 @70 1x10 @60
Standing Dumbell Tris 3x10 @25
Bench Tri Kickbacks 3x10 @20
Leg Press 3x10 @300**
Leg Extensions 3x10 @90
Leg Hamstrings 3x10 @60
Treadmill 45mins lvl6 hill 3.4mph 543cals

** move up next time

[GSCampbell]

Long-time lurker, first-time poster:

Great work - keep it up!

GSC

[jaguarr]

Ditched the machine bench and switched to dumbells.


I think you'll be very happy with that decision over time. Keep up the good work, Brain!

jag

[DrivenToTransform]

Go Brain Go !!!! :)

[Braindrop]

Worked out late this afternoon instead of this morning, and forgot to carb load first. I could definitely tell by the time I got to back that I was fatigued.

Dumbell bench is proving fun -- the support muscles that get the dumbells into position and keep control of the lift are definitely my weak point. Once it's in position, 50s are no problem. It's getting there that is proving exciting. I'm going to stay at 50 and just increase the reps some I think until I feel like I really have it under control.

Chest/Shoulders/Back
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @50
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @40
Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @25
Dumbell Milit. Press: 3x10 @35**
Dumbell Upright Row: 3x10 @35
Dumbell Front/Back Shrugs: 3x20 @45
Lat Pulldown Front: 3x10 @110
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @35**
Seated, Bent Lat Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @15
Treadmill 45mins LVL6 Hill 3.4mph 543 cals

** moving up next time

[DrivenToTransform]

Ya should get a spotter to get them there.. then you can do more when they are there :)

[Braindrop]

Most of the time, I'm the only person in the gym (no staff).

[joed]

...I'm going to stay at 50 and just increase the reps some I think until I feel like I really have it under control...

That's the smart way to do it. Nice WO.

[Braindrop]

Mmmmm. 2 hour massage. Today and tomorrow's off day get swapped.

[DrivenToTransform]

very nice having the gym to yourself :)

and i agree. good idea rasing the reps before the weight.. i also try to perfect what im doing with how i time my reps and time my breathing on the reps, next i up them.. and last i up the weight... it try to make my sets an "art form" :)

massage again? you lucky bastard :)

[jaguarr]

Braindrop and tarman seem to have cornered the market on massages. I'm way overdue for that, personally. Hmmm...

jag goes to call his masseuse...

[Braindrop]

1 hour cardio, 615 cals burned.

[DrivenToTransform]

Hotness!

[Braindrop]

Good workout today. I'm starting to get to failure on some lifts, which tells me I'm finally passed the place where just getting better technique will give me increases and I'm actually working on strength and size. My weight plateau finally broke loose as well -- I lowered my maint cals by 300 at the beginning of the week, putting me at 2200 to 2700 cals daily, depending on if I work out or not.

I picked up a dumbell wrong prior to doing shrugs and felt a tweak/spasm in my back -- I'm hoping it's just going to be sore, and that I can actually stand up in the morning. I could feel it the rest of the workout, but not bad, and it didn't bother me at all during cardio. I'll probably put a heating pad on it tonight and we'll see.

Chest/Shoulders/Back
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbell Bench: 1x10 @50, 1x12 @50, 1x10 @50 (failure)
Dumbell Incline Bench: 2x10 @45, 1x8 @45 (failure)
Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @25
Dumbell Milit. Press: 2x10 @40 1x7 @40 (failure)
Dumbell Upright Row: 3x10 @35**
Dumbell Front/Back Shrugs: 3x20 @45 (here's where my back went)
Lat Pulldown Front: 3x10 @110
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @40
Seated, Bent Lat Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @15
Treadmill 45mins LVL6 Hill 3.4mph 543 cals

** moving up next time

[jaguarr]

I'm starting to get to failure on some lifts, which tells me I'm finally passed the place where just getting better technique will give me increases and I'm actually working on strength and size.

So, you probably know this already, but it's worth typing just in case. Proper technique with heavy yet managable weith is always greater than pushing so much weight that you can't maintain the proper form. And, many folks feel that actually training to failure on purpose is counterproductive as it strains the CNS and impedes recovery, which is where your real strength and size gains come from. So, walking that line right up to almost failing but not quite going there is where a lot of people train to. Make sense? Just some food for thought. :)

jag

[Braindrop]

Yeah, if you look where I fail, it's in the last couple of reps in my final sets, which is right where I want it to be.

[Braindrop]

Mrs. Brain has decided we're driving home to see her folks today. Guess we aren't working out :( See you all Monday. Think of me as I enter the land of Grandma's cooking...

edit: My back is a little sore, but nothing like I was worried it was going to be. 3 days off probably will be good for it anyway.

Peace,
Brain

[DrivenToTransform]

Monday is another day... good day to go back too... Sunday is a day for rest, don't sweat it :) have fun at grandmas :)

[Braindrop]

The weekend wasn't as bad as I thought it would be food-wise, but all that pine tree pollen in East Texas is kicking my ass. I went ahead and worked out today, which may prove to not have been a great idea.

I felt really good through chest and shoulders, but my energy level plummeted during back. Cardio was hell. My shins felt like they were cramping (can a shin even cramp?) and I only made it through because quitting one time makes it easier to quit the next time.

My brains are leaking out through my sinuses. I see a nap in my future.

Chest/Shoulders/Back
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbell Bench: 3x12 @50
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @45
Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @25**
Dumbell Milit. Press: 2x10 @40 1x8 @40 (failure)
Dumbell Upright Row: 3x10 @40
Dumbell Front/Back Shrugs: 3x20 @45
Lat Pulldown Front: 3x10 @110**
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @40
Seated, Bent Lat Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @15
Treadmill 45mins LVL6 Hill 3.4mph 543 cals

** moving up next time

[GSCampbell]

I see a nap in my future.

I think I would literally kill a guy to be able to take a nap today. :rolleyes:

Good job on the workout - even the ones we struggle through count IMO.

[Braindrop]

I think I would literally kill a guy to be able to take a nap today. :rolleyes:


Can I nominate someone? >:)

[GSCampbell]

Can I nominate someone? >:)

I'm always open to suggestion, but I have a pretty substantial list myself. ;).

[jtroster]

As some day it may happen that a victim must be found,
I've got a little list--I've got a little list.
Of society offenders who might well be underground,
And who never would be missed--who never would be missed!

There's the pestilential nuisances who write for autographs--
All people who have flabby hands and irritating laughs--
All children who are up in dates, and floor you with 'em flat--
All persons who in shaking hands, shake hands with you like _that_--
And all third persons who on spoiling tete-a-tetes insist--
They'd none of 'em be missed--they'd none of 'em be missed!

CHORUS. He's got 'em on the list--he's got 'em on the list;
And they'll none of 'em be missed--they'll none of
'em be missed.

There's the banjo serenader, and the others of his race,
And the piano-organist--I've got him on the list!
And the people who eat peppermint and puff it in your face,
They never would be missed--they never would be missed!
Then the idiot who praises, with enthusiastic tone,
All centuries but this, and every country but his own;
And the lady from the provinces, who dresses like a guy,
And who "doesn't think she waltzes, but would rather like to
try";
And that singular anomaly, the lady novelist--
I don't think she'd be missed--I'm sure she'd not he missed!

CHORUS. He's got her on the list--he's got her on the list;
And I don't think she'll be missed--I'm sure
she'll not be missed!

And that Nisi Prius nuisance, who just now is rather rife,
The Judicial humorist--I've got him on the list!
All funny fellows, comic men, and clowns of private life--
They'd none of 'em be missed--they'd none of 'em be missed.
And apologetic statesmen of a compromising kind,
Such as--What d'ye call him--Thing'em-bob, and
likewise--Never-mind,
And 'St--'st--'st--and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who--
The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you.
But it really doesn't matter whom you put upon the list,
For they'd none of 'em be missed--they'd none of 'em be
missed!

CHORUS. You may put 'em on the list--you may put 'em on the list;
And they'll none of 'em be missed--they'll none of
'em be missed!

-- W. S. Gilbert

[Braindrop]

/boggle

[Gunn27]

Good luck getting a nap in Brain, sounds like you need one today. Great job sticking to the cardo even tho' it would have been easy to bail out, that makes all the difference. :)

[DrivenToTransform]

" quitting one time makes it easier to quit the next time. "


wow great quote!!! :) so true :)

to me quitting or skipping a day when ya really shouldn't have leads to a word i hate.... "RUT" hate being in a rut!

[Braindrop]

Spent most of yesterday asleep, and it seems to have helped.

Cardio Only
~~~~~~~
Treadmill 1 hour LVL 6 Hill 3.4mph 726 cals

Missed arms/legs again yesterday, but I don't want to skew the rest of the week. I'm flying out to Cali on Sunday.

[DrivenToTransform]

wow you go faster then me! when i do treadmill i do 3.2 :)

[jaguarr]

Spent most of yesterday asleep, and it seems to have helped.


Man, when you take a nap, you don't EFF around! :D

jag

[Braindrop]

Heh. It was one of those where I lay down to nap, woke up briefly for dinner and to watch _Miami Ink_, then slept until noon the next day.

[Braindrop]

I'm pretty pleased with these, they let me know things are working even though the poundage isn't dropping as quickly as I'd like.

Measurement Changes for the Month of January
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the fat places:
Belly down 1.25" (48" to 46.75")
Neck down 3/4" (20" to 19.25")
Chest down 1.5" (51" to 49.5")
Hips down 1.5" (46" to 44.5")

From the lean places:
Bicep up 1/2" (14" to 14.5", cold, unflexed)
Thighs up 1/2" (26.5" to 27")
Calf up 1/2" (17.5" to 18")

[Braindrop]

Mrs. Brain wanted to go, so I just finished with the gym. I hate working out this late, but oh well.

!!!!!PERSONAL RECORD!!!!!! Managed to mash three different fingers on the damn dumbell rack! Meh.

Chest/Shoulders/Back
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbell Bench: 2x10 @50, 1x16 @50**
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @45
Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @30 (this friggin hurt, the difference in 25 and 30 is amazing)
Dumbell Milit. Press: 2x10 @40 1x9 @40 (failure)
Dumbell Upright Row: 3x10 @40
Dumbell Front/Back Shrugs: 3x20 @45
Lat Pulldown Front: 3x10 @120
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @40
Seated, Bent Lat Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @15
Treadmill 45mins LVL6 Hill 3.4mph 540 cals**

** moving up next time

[jaguarr]

You're making progress! This is good! :cool:

jag

[DrivenToTransform]

awww. hope your fingers are okay.. i used to do that all the time when i worked at a gym and was putting weights back that people LOVED to leave out and all over the floor... in the winter time when i did that i'd run outside, make a snow ball and stick my finger in it.. then put it in the freezer when i wasn't using it.. I made a few "finger balls" so when ever someone smashed their finger i'd pull it out of the freezer for them :)

[Braindrop]

So I'm here in California. Crappy weekend food/excercise-wise, but the hotel I'm at now has a decent weight room. It's all machines (I saw a few dumbells, but I don't think they have anything big enough to really work with), but at the least I'll be able to knock out an hour of cardio plus some weights of questionable effectiveness.

At work now, workout this evening.

[Braindrop]

And no sooner do I post this than my boss comes up "Hey, we need to go to the colo in San Francisco tonight and install/test some new equipment. Plan on getting out of here at four, you should be back to the hotel by midnight. I'll take you to dinner."

Grrrr.

[joed]

...I'll take you to dinner." Grrrr.

I wouldn't settle for anything less than the Fairmount Hotel, high on the hill. Forget Chinatown if he's buying.

[DrivenToTransform]

working out at a hotel is hardcore! its easy to just say f*** it when you're at a hotel.. but the fact that you are working out there is HARDCORE.. just do what ya can with what ya can.. good for you!

[Braindrop]

Got a workout in yesterday anyway. Just took a 2-hour lunch :)

And we went to Sushi Groove, possibly my favorite spot in SF.

The hotel has all Cybex -- I was correct that their dumbell collection is useless for anything beyond flys. I spent the first few sets figuring out how much weight to use -- since there was essentially only 1 machine per body part, I just slowly worked up and burned. There was almost no rest at all between sets or machines, I was slamming through as fast as I could.

Cybex Chest Press: 16@5, 10@7, 10@8, 5@10, 3@11
Cybex Shoulder Press: 10@4, 8@6, 7@8, 6@9, 3@10, 2@11
Cybex Lat Pulldowns: 10@10, 8@12, 4@13
Cybex Row: 12@6, 10@8, 8@9, 6@11, 5@12, 4@13 (I actually like this machine, I wish my gym had one)

Treadmill: LVL 6 Hill 3.4MPH 45 mins 546 cals

[Braindrop]

working out at a hotel is hardcore!

I spend 1-2 weeks per month on the road, so if I didn't, I'd be hurting.

[Braindrop]

Limited options at the gym today. No leg machines, no dumbells heavy enough to do anything useful with. Machine burn.

Cybex Curls: 10@5, 8@6, 4@7
Cybex Tris: 10@5, 10@6, 8@7, 5@8

To make up some for legs, I cranked the treadmill incline way up.
45 mins, LVL 9 Hill, 543 cals

Sitting in my hotel room wishing I was home for v-day. I got to talk to my wife some earlier, but the conversation mostly consisted of me explaining the arcane combination of remote controls required to turn on the home theatre. :) I think it makes her feel naughty to handle the remotes, cuz when I'm home, she's not allowed :)

I decided it would be hopeless to try and find a decent place to eat tonight, so I'm eating 8 oz of chicken, some cottage cheese and oranges.

Off day tomorrow. Meh. I may just walk a couple of miles to get outside some. Maybe even tonight.

Damn, this post wasn't meant to be bummer when I started it :(

[DrivenToTransform]

" I think it makes her feel naughty to handle the remotes, cuz when I'm home, she's not allowed "

oh man thats funny :) lol.. i think its nice to just have the bed to sprall out in when my boyfriend goes away..

good for you for doing the best with what you can at the hotel gym and same with the food.. you are inspiring me to pull myself out of my "temporary rut" :)

[Braindrop]

Off day yesterday. I've gotten where I can tell what days I don't work out just by how restless I feel when I'm trying to go to sleep. I'm gonna hammer it this evening after work.

Two more days until flying home. Yay.

[johnspeed]

Grats on the new personal best!...hee hee

Couple of things I noticed.

1) If your shins are hurting they are likely "splinting". I had this happen and it was a combo of a couple things. I went and bought better shoes for starters. And on a treadmill you are often pushing your body to fast. For heavier dudes like you and I when you get too much speed or incline going it will cause you to move your feet to slowly and get heavy on your feet. Which is a real problem for us as it seems you do the same big-ass long sessions on the tredmill that I tend to favour. Best advice, check your footwear and back off the speed a notch on the treadmill bout halfway through you hour. Don't look at it as slacking but just keeping yourself in a good balance. I grew past that problem in like 2 weeks so it shouldn't persist. Then I was right back up to 5-8% incline at 4.1!!!!

2) For cooking, use a butter and oil mix. Milk instead of cream. Or plain yoghurt will do in a lot of cases. Throw away the margarine if you have any. And just try using butter as you normally would only a little less. And if you are cooking at home or not entertaing...skip the "mont-buerre"....that is just showing off (although man it is good)

Nice to meet someone in the same boat as me.

good luck man

[Braindrop]

The shins were a one-day thing apparently, related to the fact that I spent the next 48 hours knocked out with a cold/flu. They weren't a problem before that day, and haven't been since.

Margarine and other "spreads" are tools of Satan.

I use a hand-pumped spray bottle to "spritz" olive oil if I'm just doing 1-2 chicken breasts or the like. If I'm cooking a pan full of stuff, I use a non-stick pan with maybe 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of butter.

I've banned cream from the house :( Arrowroot is my current thickener of choice, dissolved in warm milk.

Thanks for dropping by my journal!

[Braindrop]

More hotel-y goodness. I must have worked my triceps harder than I realized on Tuesday, because they gave out on the lat pulldowns. I really hammered the delt rows, though, felt great. My back is already sore and it's only been 3 hours.

One more day then home! Yay.

Cybex Chest Press: 10@5, 10@7, 10@8, 10@9, 8@10, 5@11
Cybex Shoulder Press: 10@4, 10@6, 10@8, 8@10, 3@12
Cybex Lat Pulldowns: 10@10, 10@11, 4@12
Cybex Row: 10@8, 10@9, 10@10, 10@11, 10@12, 7@13
Treadmill: LVL 6 Hill 3.4MPH 45 mins 542cals

[DrivenToTransform]

" I've banned cream from the house "

haha cream is evil! i used to have a good 20% of my coffee be cream and i could also drink the stuff.. i used to dump sugar in a creamer at the restaurant.. close it up and shake it, then drink it... lol... very bad...

Congrats on keeping it all up at the hotel and being able to go home very soon! Woot! :)

[Braindrop]

Cardio only tonight.

Treadmill 45m LVL 6 Hill 3.4mph 530cal

I fly home in 12 hours. Yay!

[Braindrop]

It's good to be home. It's freezing and drizzly, and I didn't want to go to the gym this morning, but I did anyway. Felt good once I was there, other than smashing two fingers with a dumbell. :P I gained 3 pounds in California, which pisses me off. There is no graceful way to avoid eating out with people while I'm there, since I only go there once a month. And I'm there two weeks in March, including one that will be a vacation with Mrs. Brain along. Oh well.

Switched up a couple of excercises to keep things fresh. Dropped flys for decline bench, switched to a wide grip on lat pulldowns, and dropped shrugs for front delt raises.

Chest/Shoulders/Back
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @55
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @45**
Dumbell Decline Bench: 3x10 @45**
Dumbell Milit. Press: 3x10 @40
Dumbell Upright Row: 3x10 @40
Straight-Arm Front Delt Raises: 3x10 @20
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 3x10 @120
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @40**
Seated, Bent Lat Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @15
Treadmill 45mins LVL6 Hill 3.4mph 543 cals

** moving up next time

[DrivenToTransform]

Its cold in texas? Its horrid in NY!

you will get those 3 lbs off quick.. don't worry.. try drinking a couple cups of hot water with a fresh lemon 1/4 squeezed into them.. it helps flush out salt which can cause water retention from eating out :)

[Braindrop]

The 3 pounds were gone this morning. Go water weight :)

So I wait to work out until tonight so Mrs. Brain can go, and we get to the gym late, and she decides she just wants to do cardio :( I think I'm just going to do my regular morning workouts from now on, and if she wants to go to the gym, I'll go and spot.

15 mins Stairmaster LVL 9 random
35 mins Treadmill LVL 6 Hill 3.5mph

[DrivenToTransform]

LoL :) The night workouts with her can be the "bonus workouts" for extra credit ;) Sometimes if i go with my bf after i have already worked out that day.. ill just go mess around.. do like 10 min. cardio here or stretch or play around with a machine ive never tried before...etc :)

[Braindrop]

Arms/Legs today.

So I added in real squats instead of leg press. Holy crap, I'd forgotten what they felt like. By the end of my second set, my hamstrings had crawled up into my butt. Clearly they're going to have to be eased in...

All in all, a good workout. This is the first time I've gotten to iso my arms in about 3 weeks between travel and other problems.

Arms/Legs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bent-bar Curls 2x10 @75
Dumbell Preacher Curls 3x10 @25
Dumbell Hammer Curls 3x10 @25
Tricep Pushdowns 3x10 @70
Overhead Tris 3x10 @25
Bench Tri Kickbacks 3x10 @20
Squats 1x10 @135, 1x10 @185
Treadmill 45mins fat burn 3.2mph 325 cals

[DrivenToTransform]

"hamstrings had crawled up into my butt"


HAHAHA oh man your'e funnny!

[GSCampbell]

"hamstrings had crawled up into my butt"


HAHAHA oh man your'e funnny!

Nothing funny about that - I am feeling it right now. :D

Good work - keep it up.

[Braindrop]

Yeah, I was laughing hard when I tried to get out of bed this morning. Not. :)

I have a massage this afternoon, that should improve my mood, if not my ability to walk. Off day today.

[DrivenToTransform]

You and your massages you lucky boy! My bf and i are taking a 3 hrs class next month on how to give a good massage (sitting or laying down) I'm psyched cuz i never get a massage.. nor does he.. maybe if we knew how ;)

http://www.oceanpointresort.com/spa_and_fitness/spa_and_fitness.cfm
Best massage ever was here ^ from a girl name Sarah (pronounced sar-ahhh)
had it in a cabanna out by the ocean.. it was wonderful :)

[Braindrop]

Well, something good must be happening, my massage therapist bitched about the amount of muscle I've put on. Apparently I'm not stretching enough...

My legs are still completely thrashed from squats on Wed.

[DrivenToTransform]

Day 2 after squats.. yep right on schedule to be killin.. you should be good by monday ;)

your massage person is prob just mad because its harder for her to kneed all that muscle ;) prob is tired as hell at the end ;) hehehhe :)

[Braindrop]

Good workout today! I upped the cardio intensity a bit, which felt nice. I'm still stuck at 20 pounds lost, hopefully that will break through this week. I stretched a lot before and after, hopefully that will keep things from seizing up as much and my massage therapist won't scold me.

Chest/Shoulders/Back
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @55
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @50
Dumbell Decline Bench: 1x10 @50, 1x8 @50 (failure), 1x10 @ 45
Dumbell Milit. Press: 3x10 @40
Dumbell Upright Row: 3x10 @40
Straight-Arm Front Delt Raises: 3x10 @20
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 3x10 @120**
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @45
Seated, Bent Lat Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @15
Treadmill 45mins LVL7 Hill 3.4mph 583 cals

** moving up next time

[Braindrop]

Cardio only today.

Treadmill Lvl 7 Hill 60 minutes 3.4mph 876 cals

[DrivenToTransform]

1 hr cardio! Excellent! :)

[Braindrop]

Another good day. Texas is starting to heat up, and the gym (located in what is basically a giant metal barn) was warmish, which I like -- reminds me of hs football :)

Made it through all 3 sets of squats this time -- I'm going to have to just sneak up on doing a real weight until everything is accustomed to it.

My damn left arm is noticably weaker than my right when doing dumbell preacher curls. :(

Arms/Legs
~~~~~~
Bent-bar Curls 3x10 @75
Dumbell Preacher Curls 3x10 @25
Dumbell Hammer Curls 3x10 @25
Tricep Pushdowns 3x10 @70**
Overhead Tris 3x10 @25**
Bench Tri Kickbacks 3x10 @20
Squats 3x10 @135**
Treadmill 45mins fat burn 3.4mph 417 cals

** moving up next time

[DrivenToTransform]

It must be really interesting getting to check out all kinds of gyms all over the country!

[Braindrop]

Well, the only one I've checked out other than my home gym is the hotel gym at the place I stay at in California. My business travelling is pretty much 100% between Austin and San Jose/Cupertino.

[Braindrop]

Cardio only today. Felt pretty good once my hams stretched out from squat DOMS.

I've been playing with my split yet again, and I'm really liking it this week.

Mon/Fri: Chest/Shoulders/Back, 45m cardio
Wed: Biceps/Triceps/Legs, 45m cardio
Tue/Thu: 1 hour cardio

I may add an hour of cardio on Saturdays as well, just so I can eat 2500 cals on Sat :)

Cardio
~~~~
Treadmill LVL 7 Hill 3.4 mph 60 minutes 780 cals. Did the last 3 minutes with incline set to max (15%) for that good burn...

[Braindrop]

Not sure if counts as cardio, weights, or both.

Spent six hours today moving all the non-woodworking-related crap out of my woodshop into a new shed in the back yard, along with working on the roof of my house. If I'd done this day 3 months ago before I started working out again, I'd be dead I think. As it is, I'm just sore and sleepy :)

[jtroster]

Funny, I spend 3 hours yesterday cleaning up my woodshop. I have lots more to do before I can get back to the coffee table I have been working on sporadically for 2 years.

[Braindrop]

When we moved to our new place summer before last, I enclosed and extended our carport to turn it into a 1000 square foot shop. It, of course, became the default storage for everything. I've done a few projects in it, but it has been too crowded to really be functional. We got a storage shed for the backyard a few months ago, but the weather and work travel haven't cooperated until yesterday.

It still needs another day of organization work, but the crap that's in there now is all woodworking or glass-related, as opposed to gardening, box after box of computer & audio cabling, etc. :) I'm psyched.

[Braindrop]

Well, it was a successful month, if not as big a weight loss as I'd hoped for. Three pounds down, bringing the total to 21 pounds in three months.

March is going to be a challenge. Next week is Spring Break, and me and Mrs. Brain are going to spend it in Northern Cali. Then I stay there another week for business. Last month I gained 3# in one week on the road, even with the hotel gym. I'm thinking about not weighing again until April :)

Body Changes This Month
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Neck down 0.75" (still fat)
Bicep up 1" (can no longer pinch anything on bicep or tricep)
Forearm up 0.25" (also no fat there)
Chest down 0.5" (pecs are shaping up, still covered with fat)
Belly down 1.25" (rawr)
Hips down 1" (still a little fat in the ass, but not much -- it's always been my abs that get it)
Thighs up 0.25" (like rocks. if my upper body was like my lower atm, I'd be shredded. It's from hauling that fat upper body around... ;)
Calves up 0.25" (see above)

[DrivenToTransform]

21 lbs is close to 25 lbs and if you think of it.. thats 25% there.. thats like a BIG chunk of change.. just keep hitting the gym and making healthy choices.. maybe not PERFECT choices.. but try not to make HORRID ones ;) good luck!

[Braindrop]

Good workout today. It's starting to get hot here, and the gym is warming up. I like it -- it's a gym, not a spa. The owner was in doing a training session with a woman who started the session saying "I don't want to sweat today".

/boggle

I added a couple of sets of Good Mornings to start working on strengthening my lower back. For cardio, I did the last 5 minute with the elevation cranked to max (15 degrees). Nice burn to close it out. Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do for dinner tonight, I'm a bachelor again.

Chest/Shoulders/Back
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @55
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @50
Dumbell Decline Bench: 3x10 @50
Dumbell Milit. Press: 3x10 @40 ** Absolutely crushed these today.
Dumbell Upright Row: 3x10 @40 These, on the other hand, sucked. No clue.
Straight-Arm Front Delt Raises: 3x10 @20
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 3x10 @130
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @45
Seated, Bent Lat Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @15
Good Mornings: 2x10 @45 (bar only)
Treadmill 45mins LVL7 Hill 3.4mph 599 cals

** moving up next time

[Braindrop]

Went shopping today for some new clothes for the vacation -- my waist has dropped from a 42 to a 38, and the 38 isn't even tight. Rawr.

[Braindrop]

Cardio Only Today
~~~~~~~~~~~
60 minutes Treadmill Hill LVL 7 3.4 mph 802 cals

Did the last 5 minutes on 15 degree incline, felt pretty good.

Vacation starts in 3 days. /shiver

[DrivenToTransform]

RAWR!!!! Yay for new pant sizes :)

[GSCampbell]

Went shopping today for some new clothes for the vacation -- my waist has dropped from a 42 to a 38, and the 38 isn't even tight. Rawr.


FAN-Tastic! Gotta love that.

[jtroster]

Brain,

Next will come the 36s and then the 34s...

Buying new clothes is one of the hidden costs of training - a cost I am glad to pay:)

[DrivenToTransform]

I shop at Steve & Barrys while i am changing sizes... Everything in the store is $6.98! I love it cuz its cheap clothes :)

http://www.steveandbarrys.com/website/index.html (find a store here)

[kimsquit]

Buying new clothes is one of the hidden costs of training - a cost I am glad to pay:)

I'm headed in the other direction...all my clothes are too small now. It's like I need two sets: one for off-season and one for on

:)

[jaguarr]

It's just awesome to see people realizing their goals like this and winding up having to get new clothes to fit their new physiques. Congrat's, Brain! I've had Chris's problem, lately. My old clothes are getting too small for me.

jag

[Braindrop]

I've got some size 42 pants I can send you guys... :)

[Braindrop]

Time crunch, cardio only again today. I bumped the intensity level up a notch as well.

65 minutes Treadmill LVL 8 Hill 3.4 mph 803 cals

Vacation starts in 48 hours. I'm both looking forward to it and dreading it. I've decided I'm not going to weigh myself again until April. I'll have a week alone on the road after Mrs. Brain flies home, I'll bust ass in the hotel gym to try and counter the vacation week.

Massage tomorrow morning. Mmmm. I need to lift afterwards, but I'm skeptical. I usually just feel like napping.

[jaguarr]

I'd advise against lifting after a massage. Your muscles have already been worked for the day (albeit in a different way) and your relaxed enough that you might EFF yourself up. :)

jag

[Braindrop]

Whee. So we're in California.

1) Never again will I fly on Spring Break. When I booked, I had an aisle seat. I'm mildly claustrophobic, but it's no problem on an aisle seat. By the time my flight got moved around three times on Saturday, I was in the very back row inside seat where there would be a window, except there's not. Three hours into the flight I spent about 30 minutes just standing in the aisle near the galley so I didn't freak out.

2) We get to San Francisco and it snows. WTF is up with that?

3) While I haven't gone near the gym, we've been walking a ton every day (6-7 hours) doing touristy crap.

4) Eating has been interesting. We're in an extended stay suite, so we have a kitchen, so we have only been eating out lunch & dinner. The first few nights dinner was at places that have great fish (French and Japanese), so other than the wine, dinner has been pretty healthy... which leads me to

5) For lunch today, we were in Mt. View and had to hit Clarkes. Clarkes is an old-school burger joint that has been here for like 500 years. I had a cheeseburger and a basket of fries. ... which leads me to

6) This was the first full-on *grease* my body has had in it for a couple of months now. I don't talk about my diet a lot on this thread except in meta-terms (# of cals, balance, etc.) because I think typing about (or reading) a list of every scrap of cottage cheese someone eats is boring, and I want to keep my throng of readers on the edge of their seats... which leads me to

7) About an hour after lunch, I don't feel so good. If you have a weak stomach, stop reading. Here, I'll give you some space to decide. Have a smiley.

:)

Here's another.

:)

Ok. My stomach says "screw you, hippie" and expunges what can only be described as an oil slick of grease and semi-digested lunch. I vomited so hard that it injured my esophogaus (sp?) and I was spitting out blood.

We drove out to a friend's house in the mountains and I smoked several medicinally-indicated bong hits, which made my tummy feel better. Then we had sushi for dinner, which I love, and the rice did a good job of absorbing the bile that was churning about in there.

Oh, and we were going to go to the damn Great America park today to ride roller coasters, because their web site says that March is a great time to go and avoid crowds. Technically, they're correct. The park doesn't open until April 1. We didn't find this out until we pulled into the parking lot.

So that's my vacation so far. More good than bad, but I'm not going to be eating anything fried for the rest of the trip. If you'd told me 25 years ago that I would be eating raw fish as comfort food, I would not have believed you.

[DrivenToTransform]

1) Im glad you're on vacation
2) amusement parks rock
3) walking a lot REALLY helps on vacation

have fun! :)

[joed]

...Oh, and we were going to go to the damn Great America park today to ride roller coasters, because their web site says that March is a great time to go and avoid crowds. Technically, they're correct. The park doesn't open until April 1. We didn't find this out until we pulled into the parking lot...

ROFL. That's a classic.

[jaguarr]

:D

Glad you're having fun in the Bay Area, Brain. My body doesn't tolerate grease very well these days, either. However, I feel your pain on not being able to hit the coasters. I love those things!

jag

[DrivenToTransform]

wow i missed the part about the park being closed.. i'd email the park and tell them that you drove hrs.. to get to the park (as the site suggested to do in march) and it was closed.. maybe they will give you free passes for a visit for your troubles.. :)

[Braindrop]

Mrs. Brain has been packed off home, the vacation has ended. I'm back in the office for the rest of the week. I'm going to try and get into the hotel gym tonight.

I've already decided I'm not weighing for two weeks when I get home. I've had way too much to eat, and way way too much to drink, over the last ten days.

[DrivenToTransform]

Good idea on the not weighing for 2 weeks..i dont want to weigh for 6 months lol... don't worry about it.. its VACATION! thats what people do on vacation.. other wise it wouldn't be one.. just get back on the horse (something i have to do!) :)

hey what day did you start your 100lb loss quest and what is the date of your wedding day? :)

[jaguarr]

I've had way too much to eat, and way way too much to drink, over the last ten days.


That's what vacations are for. Have no guilt. :)

jag

[Braindrop]

Well, the good news is that I'm back home. The bad news is my gym log and my tennis shoes aren't. :P Allegedly they've been located (along with the suitcase containing them) and I'll get them back tomorrow.

[GREENFEATHER]

You'll have periods where you'll want to eat badly, then you'll go through easy times. I find that if I slack off the cardio, I get lazy with diet and whammo, I'M FAT BASTAGE all over again. Nose to the grindstone brain and you'll succeed!!

[DrivenToTransform]

gym log and tennis shoes can want to take a vacation too can't they? :)

[Braindrop]

My luggage showed up last night. Yay :)

Two weeks of decadent living were paid for today. My strength is down a little bit, and the cardio nearly killed me. Massage tomorrow, that should help some.

All in all, I'm happy to be back in the gym. I know I said I wasn't going to weigh, but I did anyway, and only gained 3 pounds on vacation, so I feel better about it :)

Chest/Shoulders/Back
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @55**
Dumbell Incline Bench: 2x10 @50, 1x7 @50 (failure)
Dumbell Decline Bench: 2x10 @50 1x8 @50 (failure)
Dumbell Milit. Press: 1x10 @45, 1x7 @45 (failure), 1x6 @40 (failure)
Dumbell Upright Row: 3x10 @40
Straight-Arm Front Delt Raises: 3x10 @20
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 3x10 @120
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @45
Seated, Bent Lat Dumbell Flys: 3x10 @15
Good Mornings: 2x10 @45 (bar only)
Treadmill 45mins LVL7 Hill 3.4mph 576 cals

[DrivenToTransform]

3 lbs??? Not bad! Its prob just some water weight. Drink a couple cups of hot lemon water :)

I think all the muscle you built before vacation helped keep your metabolism up and let you play more... good for you :)

Congrats on getting your stuff back and paying off your vacation.. hell it takes me over a month to pay off my vacation when i go to miami beach lol

What date did you start your Quest and how much have you lost so far?
When is your wedding date? :)

[jaguarr]

Two weeks of decadent living were paid for today.

From the looks of that workout, I'd say you didn't have to pay too badly for it. Nice work!

jag

[Braindrop]

Between lifting Monday and deep-tissue massage yesterday, I hurt like hell. I've almost gotten rid of the vacation bloat though, I'm back down to 252.

60 mins treadmill, LVL 7 Hill 3.4 mph, last 10 mins on max incline, 800 cals.

[Braindrop]

Changing my routine up again. I'm going to a full-body 2-3 times/week. I don't seem to be motivated on biceps/triceps/legs, so I'm moving legs to the main day and ignoring the guns for awhile. They get a pretty good workout without isolating them.

Added a third set of good mornings, really tweaked my lower back to the point that after the first set of squats I decided to just go straight to cardio. I'll work the squats in one set at a time I guess, I have no desire to wreck my back.

Moved up to 60# dumbells on flat bench. Of course, it seems to have cannibalized my strength for decline bench :(

Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @60
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @50
Dumbell Decline Bench: 1x9 @50 (failure) 2x10 @45
Dumbell Milit. Press: 1x10 @45, 1x8 @45 (failure), 1x8 @40 (failure)
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 3x10 @130
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @45**
Good Mornings: 3x10 @45 (bar only)
Squats: 1x10 @145
Treadmill 45mins LVL7 Hill 3.4mph 579 cals

**moving up next time

[joed]

...Added a third set of good mornings, really tweaked my lower back to the point that after the first set of squats I decided to just go straight to cardio. I have no desire to wreck my back...

Brain, I'm gonna stick my nose in here & if it doesn't sound right to you, ignore it. IMO work on the squats & drop the good mornings. I think if your form isn't absolutely perfect it will be a bad morning. I haven't heard many experienced lifters say don't do squats. As I said, IMO.

[Braindrop]

I have some weakness issues in my lower back that I'm working out in massage and by starting to work the area in the gym. I'll try reversing the order of them next time, but I don't want to ditch the GMs.

Thanks,
Loyd

[Stonecoldtruth]

I have some weakness issues in my lower back that I'm working out in massage and by starting to work the area in the gym. I'll try reversing the order of them next time, but I don't want to ditch the GMs.

Thanks,
Loyd

Why not use like rack pulls or SLDLs? They would be a tad easier on your lower back than GMs but still give you the workout you are looking for.

Anywho, just thought I'd drop in and tell you I subscribed. Hopefully I don't get flying tackled for posting in the over 35 section, muwhahaha.

Josh

[jtroster]

Why not try alterating chest and back exercises. That will give the chest more time to recover.

[Braindrop]

Why not try alterating chest and back exercises. That will give the chest more time to recover.

That's an idea. I'd want to do them at regular speed rather than supersetting them, but it might work out. I'll let you know tomorrow :)

Thanks everyone who is taking the time to read this.

loyd

[DrivenToTransform]

i am ashamed to say that im a personal trainer and don't know what a good morning is.. :( what is a good morning? is it like a happy ending? haha j/k

[Braindrop]

Barbell on your shoulders like you are squatting (I use just the bar). Slowly bend forward at the waist, like a bow, legs stiff, until you get to 90 degrees. Slowly straighten back out.

[Braindrop]

Cardio only today. Back felt fine.

Treadmill 60 mins LVL 7 Hill 3.6mph (last 10 mins on max 15 degree elevation) 822 cals

[DrivenToTransform]

thanks for letting me know what it is.. i have no back problems and it made my back hurt just thinking about it... lol

[Braindrop]

JT, you're a genius. I supersetted the squats in with flat bench, and the good mornings in with incline, and had my best workout in weeks. Felt so good I upped my cardio speed.

Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @60
Squats: 3x10 @145**
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @50
Good Mornings: 3x10 @45
Dumbell Decline Bench: 3x10 @50
Dumbell Milit. Press: 2x10 @45, 1x8 @45 (failure)
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 3x10 @130
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @50
Treadmill 45mins LVL7 Hill 3.5mph, last 10 mins on max 15 degree elevation, 614 cals

**moving up next time

[DrivenToTransform]

Go Brain Go Brain!

[Braindrop]

Missed working out Wednesday -- Mrs. Brain got accepted into a PhD program, and we went out and celebrated to the point that I didn't feel much like working out Thursday either :)

Strong workout today however -- I'm going to be moving up in weight on a ton of stuff on Monday. Have a good weekend everyone!

Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @60**
Squats: 3x10 @155**
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @50**
Good Mornings: 3x10 @45**
Dumbell Decline Bench: 3x10 @50**
Dumbell Milit. Press: 3x10 @45
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 3x10 @130
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @50
Treadmill 45mins LVL7 Hill 3.5mph, 579 cals

**moving up next time

[DrivenToTransform]

brain you are so good on getting back on the horse! congrats to mrs dr brain.

[Braindrop]

Thanks. Basically I've decided that I want to do this the rest of my life. I feel better, and am looking better. The fact that I missed a workout yesterday is not an acceptable excuse to miss a workout today. In fact, it bespeaks the opposite.

By extension, it applied to any time frame. Just because you haven't worked out in a month doesn't mean you can't work out today. Right now.

brain

edit: p.s., broke 250 today, first time in 13 years. Rawr.

[Stonecoldtruth]

edit: p.s., broke 250 today, first time in 13 years. Rawr.

Rock on bro! I like watching the progress of those who are slightly ahead of me, keeps me driven and motivated.

Keep up the great work!

Josh

[DrivenToTransform]

you are in inspiration brain!

[apipedream0750]

congratulations, you strike me as so motivated and are making huge progress. I owe you a lot, and will try to keep following your journal. KEEP IT UP!

[Braindrop]

Thanks for dropping in!

[Braindrop]

Great workout today. Moved up in weight on 5 excercises, and made all reps on all 5. I was ready to collapse by the end -- I'm gonna go back and do cardio tonight with Mrs. Brain.

Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @65
Squats: 3x10 @165
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @55
Good Mornings: 3x10 @55
Dumbell Decline Bench: 3x10 @55
Dumbell Milit. Press: 2x10 @45, 1x7 @45 (failure)
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 3x10 @130
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @50

[Braindrop]

Spent all day yesterday at the hospital with my Mom. Dad had rotator cuff surgery on his shoulder, and had to have a bunch of calcium ground off and a bone spur removed in it as well.

The surgery went great, but it was kind of shocking to see him when he was awake again post-op. He's in his late 60s, but this is the first time he's ever looked (to me) like what I remember *his* father looking like. Disconcerting to see my grandfather suddenly appear.

But he's OK, and I took mom to Fry's and we got him a DVD burner with a builtin VHS video player so he can dub his collection of 6514616136414 Hill Street Blues tapes.

Mrs. Brain and I are flying out to Cali this morning. Peace all.

[almostnuts]

keep it up!
Good job.

[jaguarr]

Bone spurs. Ouch! Glad Papa Brain came out of it okay. Sounds like he'll be in gadget geek heaven for awhile.

jag

[joed]

When he's ready to leave the hosp you should tell him "Hey, let's be CAREFUL out there."

[Braindrop]

Dad's doing great. Ms. Brain and I spent the day yesterday hiking around San Francisco in the rain, which might perhaps counter the dietary sins I've committed in the last 96 hours. I put her on a plane early this morning, I'm stuck here another week working. My goal is to hit the hotel gym 3 times.

[apipedream0750]

great 2 hear that your Dad is doing well.. hit that gym hard even while ur away!

[joboxer]

Why do you do abs?

I always heard you have to be at a certain bodyfat percentage for them to show up anyway. Why not wait for 30 more pounds before you start?


Do ab exercises have some sort of fat loss benifit that I don't know about?


You have a very impressive goal btw. Even if it takes 2 years instead of 1 I think you should keep a photo record and go for a transformation of the week!

[Braindrop]

Well, if you look at my recent workouts, I essentially *don't* do abs :) I've gone to a 3-day/week full body workout, and haven't managed to slip abs back in yet due to being totally wiped out by the end of what I consider the essential excercises (chest, legs, shoulders, upper/lower back). It's on my list, though.

Even if they can't be seen for another year, they help build up your core strength (and especially help strengthen lower back, one of my weak areas).

There is no special fat-loss property to ab work, in spite of what the tv commercials want you to believe. For most guys, the midsection is the first place fat is added and the last place it comes off. My belly has dropped 2-3 inches since I started this (2 new holes drilled in the belt so far), but still has the longest way to go of any part of my body.

[Braindrop]

Back in the hotel...

Cybex Bench Machine: 1x10 @150, 2x10 @165
Smith Squats: 3x10 @165**
Cybex Shoulders: 1x10 @10 plates, 1x10 @12, 1x5 @12 (failure), 1x5 @10
Cybex Row: 1x10 @10 plates, 2x10 @12
Treadmill: 45 mins lvl 7 hill 579 cals

[jaguarr]

Even if they can't be seen for another year, they help build up your core strength (and especially help strengthen lower back, one of my weak areas).



Yep! You've got it! :cool:

jag

[Braindrop]

So, if given the opportunity to get sick while on the road, and then fly home for 4 hours running fever, I recommend you pass. I get 5 weeks at home before I have to fly out again, so yay.

Got home Saturday and slept for 48 hours. Started feeling human again Monday, went in for a massage yesterday, and decided to try the gym again today.

I got halfway through my lifting today and hit a wall, so I did a slow (2.8 mph) 45 min walk on the treadmill and called it a day. I'll get the other half of the workout tomorrow.

Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @65
Squats: 3x10 @165
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @55
Good Mornings: 3x10 @55
Treadmill: 45 minutes lvl 7 hill 2.8 mph, 481 cals

[DrivenToTransform]

hope you feel better. sleep is the best medicine... get lots of it!

[jaguarr]

Oh, man, I hate flying when I'm sick. Hope you're feeling better today, Brain!

jag

[DrivenToTransform]

I hear that... Circa 2001 I went to marti gra.. left ny at 2pm, got to new orleans about 7pm... partied all night.. flew back at 4am.. ugggg I felt horrid.. nautious with nothing on me but my ID, a plane ticket $10 left and tons of beads that i couldn't get untangled from around my neck so i couldnt even really lean my head against the window....

sick on airplain = :(

hope you feel even better :)

[Braindrop]

Felt kind of drained yesterday, so rested again. It paid off today, great workout.

Superset #1
Dumbell Military Press: 3x10 @45
Lat Pulldowns: 3x10 @130

Superset #2
Hammer Curls: 3x10 @25
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @50

Overhead Dumbell Tri: 3x10 @25 each arm

Treadmill: 45 minutes lvl 7 hill 3.7 mph, last 10 mins on max elevation, 602 cals
**(new PR for 45 mins)**

[Braindrop]

Well, so much for the "feeling good enough for the gym" theory. Can't talk, sore throat, fever back.

sigh.

[Gunn27]

Get your rest, hope you are back on your feet soon. :)

[Braindrop]

Thanks. I once again feel human -- I finally stopped running a fever on Friday -- but still have a ton of sinus congestion and am coughing like mad when I get even slightly overheated. I'm going to take another week off and hope everything is back to normal by Monday.

[apipedream0750]

blaming this one on the kids at your wives school again? hah just kidding bro.. journal is lookin good and get better soon!

[Braindrop]

Well, I live. Last Thursday was the first time I felt like I could handle the gym, but after the relapse of 2 wks ago, I decided to wait until yesterday. Easing back in.

Treadmill 60m LVL 7 Hill 3.4 mph 730 cals

Massage this afternoon, then start the weights again tomorrow.

[jaguarr]

Glad things are on the upswing, man. Better to heal and be able to be in top form in the gym than have to half-ass your way through workouts that make you feel sick again the next day.

jag

[Braindrop]

Started moving some metal again. Lost a little bit of strength after 2 weeks, but not bad. Not a full workout, but as much as my body was happy with.

Dumbell Bench: 2x10 @65, 1x8 @65 (failure)
Squats: 3x10 @165
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @50
Good Mornings: 1x10 @65, 2x10 @45
Treadmill: 45 minutes lvl 7 hill 3.3 mph, 550 cals

[RioGringo]

I just came across your journal - GREAT JOB !!!

[Braindrop]

Thanks for dropping in!

For Friday, cardio only.

Treadmill 60 mins LVL 7 Hill 3.4mph, 703 cals

[Braindrop]

Ahhh. Finally feeling 100% again. Good workout today. I'm pushing cardio from 45 mins to 60 mins on lifting days, my diet has been teh sux0r for the last three weeks, I've gone from a low of 244 back up to 248, and I really, really don't want to go back above 250 again. I fly out for a week in Cali on Sunday, so I'm gonna push it hard here and try to carry it over to the road.

Supersetted the flat bench & squats, then the incline & GM, then the curls & overhead tris.

Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @65
Squats: 3x10 @165
Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @50**
Good Mornings: 3x10 @45
Dumbell Preacher Curls: 3x20 @25
Dumbell Overhead Tri (1-arm): 3x20 @25**
Dumbell Bent Rows: 3x20 @50
Treadmill: 60 minutes lvl 7 hill 3.4 mph, 725 cals
**moving up next time

[jaguarr]

my diet has been teh sux0r for the last three weeks,


LOL! You've bee spending too much time on the internet, man. (So have I, because I understood what you were writing! :eek: ) Glad you're feeling back in the swing of things with the workouts!

jag

[Braindrop]

Back on the road, hotel gym. Got a free upgrade to first class, so my back wasn't nearly as hosed as it usually is after flying.

Cybex Bench Machine: 3x10 @165
Smith Squats: 3x10 @165
Cybex Shoulders: 2x10 @11 plates, 1x10 @9
Cybex Row: 2x10 @11 plates, 1x10 @10
Treadmill: 45 mins lvl 7 hill 511 cals

[Braindrop]

Got back home Monday, massage yesterday, back to the gym today. I've got to figure out some way to get more workouts in on the road. Between 12-hour days and socializing (read: drinking and eating sushi), I usually get a workout in on the day I fly in and that seems to be it. :( :(

Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @65 superset with
Squats: 3x10 @165

Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @50** superset with
Goodmornings: 3x10 @45

Dumbell Milit Press: 3x10 @45** superset with
Crunches: 3x10

Treadmill: 45m LVL 7 hill 3.5 mph 568 cals

[joed]

Hey brain, looks like you're about ready for your monthly weigh-in. Are you gonna wait for a couple of good days of eating/lifting beforehand? I would.

[jaguarr]

Welcome back, Jetsetter!

jag

[Braindrop]

You would have to remind me about the weigh-in :( I knew it was going to be a bad month, I spent the whole month thinking "Damn, this month sucks." Sure enough, it did. This month will be better.

I also bit the bullet and did a long-term goal re-evaluation. Well, the goal hasn't changed, but the time frame has stretched. I'd hoped to sustain a 2#/week loss, but that's just not happening. I'm still averaging slightly over 1#/week, and I'm ok with that as long as it keeps going.

Just got back from the gym, good workout, it's turning into a sweatbox here in the Texas sun. I switched from a bar to the small close-grip V on the lat pulldowns, which both increased the isolation I got on my back and decreased the amount I could handle.

Dumbell Preacher Curl: 3x20 @25#
superset with
Overhead Dumbell Tri: 3x20 @25#
Lat Pulldown: 1x10 @130#, 1x6 @120#, 1x4 @110#, 1x10 @100#
superset with
Tricep Pushdowns: 3x10 @70#
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @55#*
Treadmill: LVL 7 hill 50 mins 3.5 mph 645 cals

*move up next time

[Braindrop]

Good workout today. I mowed the lawn before I went, and my form sucked on the first set of every upper body excercise. I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but it's documented now, so I can watch for it next time :) Plus I'm back to 248, which has cheered me up some.


Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @65
superset with
Squats: 3x10 @165**

Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @55
superset with
Goodmornings: 3x10 @45

Dumbell Milit Press: 1x10 @50#, 1x9 @50# (failure), 1x10 @45#
superset with
Crunches: 3x10

Treadmill: 45m LVL 7 hill 3.5 mph 563 cals

** move up next time

[Braindrop]

Got finished with weights a few minutes ago, realized I'd read the clock wrong, busted ass to get home for a conference call. Going back after the call to do cardio.

Good workout though, felt strong throughout, and will be moving up on a couple of things.

Dumbell Preacher Curl: 3x20 @25#
superset with
Overhead Dumbell Tri: 3x20 @25#**
Lat Pulldown: 3x10 @110#
superset with
Tricep Pushdowns: 3x10 @70#**
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @60#

** moving up next time

[jaguarr]

Looking good in here, Brain! I expect to see some PB's in here, soon! :cool:

jag

[joed]

...I'd hoped to sustain a 2#/week loss, but that's just not happening. I'm still averaging slightly over 1#/week, and I'm ok with that as long as it keeps going...

A pound a wk is reasonable & doable, but if you don't quite make it don't beat yourself up. Let us do that. hehe. You've gotta remember that you may be on one timetable but your body has to compensate & adjust lots of things, so it may have a different one. Keep plodding on, you're doing really well I think.

[Braindrop]

Thanks guys.

Went back, did cardio:

Treadmill 60m LVL 7 Hill 3.5mph 772 cals

edit: jag, pretty much every time I increase the weight I'm into PB territory. I work out alone (i.e., nobody else in the building), so I'm not doing any maxes. Just steadily adding weight.

[Braindrop]

Just remembered to update before passing out. Good workout, shoulders were a bit weak.

Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @65
superset with
Squats: 3x10 @175

Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @55**
superset with
Goodmornings: 3x10 @45

Dumbell Milit Press: 1x10 @50#, 2x10 @45#
superset with
Crunches: 3x10

Treadmill: 45m LVL 7 hill 3.5 mph 559 cals

** move up next time

[jaguarr]

edit: jag, pretty much every time I increase the weight I'm into PB territory. I work out alone (i.e., nobody else in the building), so I'm not doing any maxes. Just steadily adding weight.


That's the way to do it, man. I work out alone at home as well, and that's exactly what I do myself. :cool:

jag

[Braindrop]

Cardio only today. My left knee is tweaked from squats yesterday. I'm going to have to watch it closely, it's an old high school football injury, and I really don't want to screw it up to the point I'm off my feet for any time.

There were like 5 people in the gym this evening, which is amazingly crowded for here. I almost never work out in the evening, but Ms. Brain wanted to go with me, and I encourage that whenever possible.

Back down to 246 this morning. Rawr.

Ellip Machine - 15 mins, 220 cals, while I waited for someone to get off my treadmill.

Treadmill - 45 mins LVL 7 Hill, 3.5 mph, 572 cals

[Braindrop]

Upped cardio from lvl 7 (of 12) to lvl 8, and increased to 3.6 mph. It was much harder than I expected.

Dumbell Preacher Curl: 3x20 @25#**
superset with
Overhead Dumbell Tri: 3x20 @30#**
Lat Pulldown: 3x10 @110#
superset with
Tricep Pushdowns: 3x10 @70#
Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @60#
Treadmill 45m lvl 8 hill 3.6 mph 627 cals

Warmed up with 6 mins of high-intensity on the stairmaster, then lifted, followed by treadmill.

** moving up next time

[Braindrop]

Back on the road. Walked a mile yesterday, but I should have time to hit the hotel gym this evening.

[Braindrop]

I don't know what to do about business trips at this point. Didn't touch the gym for 10 days. Sigh. Ate pretty well, at least.

I made the mistake of not eating my usual granola/PB bar before I went, and hit a wall 15 mins into cardio. I pushed through and caught a second wind at the 30 minute mark, but it wasn't fun. On the up side, didn't lose any strength from the layoff.

Stairmaster 6m warmup, lvl 8 random, 97 cal

Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @65
superset with
Squats: 3x10 @175

Dumbell Incline Bench: 1x10 @60, 1x9 @60 (fail); 1x10 @55
superset with
Goodmornings: 3x10 @45

Dumbell Milit Press: 1x10 @50#, 2x10 @45#
superset with
Crunches: 3x10

Treadmill: 45m LVL 8 hill 3.5 mph 599 cals

[Braindrop]

Cardio only today.

60 minutes Treadmill lvl 8 hill 3.5 mph 836 cals

[Gunn27]

Your workouts looking good Brain. The road trips must make it difficult, but it looks like you are doing the best you can. Keep up the good work!

[Braindrop]

Off yesterday, drug Mrs. Brain to the gym with me today. Got called "obsessive" by her when she realized that it was going to take me 2 hours to work out. At first it pissed me off, then I decided there were worse things to be obsessive about...

Dumbell Preacher Curl: 3x20 @30#
superset with
Overhead Dumbell Tri: 3x20 @35#**

Lat Pulldown: 3x10 @110#
superset with
Tricep Pushdowns: 3x10 @70#

Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @60#
superset with
Dumbell Hammer Curls: 3x10 @30#

Treadmill 60m lvl 8 hill 3.5 mph 813 cals

** moving up next time

Speaking of obsessive, these are the first pics I've posted. I'm happy with the progress, though there's clearly much more to be made.

[Braindrop]

What a week. Ms. Brain's car broke, and spent 4 days in the shop. Since she has classes all day, she took my truck, stranding me at home from early morning until late at night. I did some walking, and was a diet nazi, so managed to drop a few pounds, but no weights were moved. The day I got my truck back I had a massage at least...

Got to the gym this afternoon and the AC had gotten turned off -- it was 107 inside. Made for a fun session. I added a few more reps on crunches.


Stairmaster 6m warmup, lvl 9 random, 103 cal

Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @65
superset with
Squats: 3x10 @175**

Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @60
superset with
Goodmornings: 3x10 @45

Dumbell Milit Press: 1x10 @50#, 2x10 @45#
superset with
Crunches: 3x12

Treadmill: 45m LVL 8 hill 3.5 mph 592 cals

[Braindrop]

Cardio only today.

Treadmill 60m lvl 8 hill 3.5 mph 696 cals

[Braindrop]

Sometimes it's the small things. While I was stretching yesterday, I noticed that, without any warmup, I bent down and touched my toes, held it for 10, then straightened up.

This was nice for several reasons:
a) My gut has shrunk enough to actually allow this to happen
b) My flexibility is such that I didn't end up in a hospital bed
c) I wasn't out of breath after

I also noticed that, even after an hour of cardio that had my heart peaking at the high 160s, within 2 minutes of ending it I was breathing normally.

Intensity gets upped next time. I don't think my knees are up to running with the weight I'm still carrying, but it's getting closer...

I'll be moving up on a lot of these next time (though next time probably won't be until I'm back from California).

Dumbell Preacher Curl: 3x20 @30#
superset with
Overhead Dumbell Tri: 3x20 @40#**

Lat Pulldown: 3x10 @110#**
superset with
Tricep Pushdowns: 3x10 @70#**

Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @60#**
superset with
Dumbell Hammer Curls: 3x10 @30#

Treadmill 45m lvl 8 hill 3.5 mph 606 cals

** moving up next time

[Gunn27]

I see nothing but progress being made here Brain, great job indeed! Keep it going, I trust you are having a more normal week this week?

[maidenfan]

Off yesterday, drug Mrs. Brain to the gym with me today. Got called "obsessive" by her when she realized that it was going to take me 2 hours to work out. At first it pissed me off, then I decided there were worse things to be obsessive about...

Dumbell Preacher Curl: 3x20 @30#
superset with
Overhead Dumbell Tri: 3x20 @35#**

Lat Pulldown: 3x10 @110#
superset with
Tricep Pushdowns: 3x10 @70#

Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @60#
superset with
Dumbell Hammer Curls: 3x10 @30#

Treadmill 60m lvl 8 hill 3.5 mph 813 cals

** moving up next time

Speaking of obsessive, these are the first pics I've posted. I'm happy with the progress, though there's clearly much more to be made.

Awesome progress brother!

[Braindrop]

Ten days on the road, too much booze & eating out, gained 8 pounds, but fortunately it was mostly water weight. Only 2 pounds of it was still around after workout today.

Today's workout sucked. I ate a powerbar, and was about to leave for the gym, then Mrs. Brain phoned and was coming home early, so I decided to wait for her. 90 minutes later, we leave. I should have eaten something else, because clearly my energy was way down.

Still, made it through, although I nearly dislocated my shoulder doing military press. I've got a massage scheduled for tomorrow.

Stairmaster 6m warmup, lvl 9 random, 103 cal

Dumbell Bench: 2x10 @65#, 1x7 @65# (failure)
superset with
Squats: 3x10 @175#**

Dumbell Incline Bench: 2x10 @603, 1x7 @55# (failure)
superset with
Goodmornings: 3x10 @45#

Dumbell Milit Press: 1x10 @45#, wrenched shoulder, stopped.
superset with
Crunches: 2x12, 1x7 (failure)

Treadmill: 45m LVL 8 hill 3.4 mph 567 cals

** moving up next time

[Braindrop]

Massage yesterday. Mmmm. Massage.

Mrs. Brain went with me again today, and didn't even whine about the supersets!

Dumbell Preacher Curl: 3x20 @30#**
superset with
Overhead Dumbell Tri: 3x20 @40#**

Lat Pulldown: 2x10 @120#, 1x10 @110#
superset with
Tricep Pushdowns: 1x10 @80#, 2x10 @70#**

Bent Dumbell Rows: 3x10 @65#
superset with
Dumbell Hammer Curls: 3x10 @30#

Treadmill 45m lvl 8 hill 3.5 mph 611 cals

** moving up next time

[Braindrop]

Yesterday

Cardio Only
Treadmill 45m lvl 8 hill 3.5mph 582 call

[joed]

Good job getting all that cardio in.

[Braindrop]

Good workout today, Mrs. Brain came along as well.

Stairmaster 6m warmup, lvl 9 random, 103 cal

Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @65#
superset with
Squats: 3x10 @185#

Dumbell Incline Bench: 2x10 @60#, 1x5 @60# (failure)
superset with
Goodmornings: 3x10 @45#**

Dumbell Milit Press: 3x10 @45#
superset with
Crunches: 3x12

Treadmill: 45m LVL 8 hill 3.5 mph 595 cals

** moving up next time

[Braindrop]

On the road through labor day. Think of me :(

[joed]

Brain, that's a lot of concrete under those tires. Have a safe trip.

[Braindrop]

Five airports in seven days. Whee. Finally settled in here in Cali, made it to the hotel gym last night.

Universal machine, did close grip and wide grip bench until I couldn't move, then an hour of cardio (778 cals).

[Braindrop]

Managed a decent arm workout in the hotel gym.

Dumbell Preacher Curl: 3x20 @30#
Dumbell Overhead Tri: 3x20 @30#
Hammer Curls: 3x20 @25#
Tricep Pushdown Machine: 3x10 @75#
Treadmill: 45 mins lvl 8 hill 565 cals

[empresscat]

Inspiring to read... Excellent progress!

[Braindrop]

Thanks for dropping by! Always nice to see a new face, especially another Texan.

[thruxton]

Ahhhhhhhhhh massages.. they rock!! :) Hope you loved it :)

i was going out with a massage therapist for a summer; should have married that gal =)

hey brain, keep up the good work. if you are like me, it's just impossible to take a picture of yourself, but it would be cool to see a then and now: especially when you hit that 170!

[empresscat]

I'm a former chef, I love Monty Python, and now I'm a massage therapist..
A friend of mine says I'm the perfect woman.

[Braindrop]

st impossible to take a picture of yourself, but it would be cool to see a then and now: especially when you hit that 170!

If you go up a bit, I've posted a starting pic and a pic at 25# down. Next one will be posted when I hit 50#.

Thanks for dropping in!

[Braindrop]

60 mins cardio yesterday, 778 cals. Took today off and went clothes shopping, which I almost never do, but way too much of my stuff is either getting old or way too big.

[Braindrop]

Cardio only today.

45 mins treadmill, lvl 9 3.5 mph, 591 cals

[jmc53]

way too big.

Cool!

[Hibiscus09]

Morning, Brain! :) It looks like you're working hard and making nice progress. Congrats!

Happy Tuesday!

[Braindrop]

Finally back home (actually, back home 2 days ago, but had a massage one day and was just freakin lazy yesterday).

So 3 weeks on the road, made it to the gym 3 times, walked for an hour a day four different days. Drank too much, ate too much. Thankfully, I'm only travelling for 1 week a month for the next 4 months at least.

Felt good to be back in the gym today, although it kicked my ass. I'm going to hold off until next week doing my monthly weigh-in and measurements.

Stairmaster 6m warmup, lvl 9 random, 100 cal

Dumbell Bench: 3x10 @65#**
superset with
Squats: 3x10 @185#

Dumbell Incline Bench: 3x10 @60#
superset with
Goodmornings: 3x10 @45#**

Dumbell Milit Press: 1x10 @50#, 1x7 @50# (failure), 1x8 @45# (failure)
superset with
Crunches: 3x12

Treadmill: 45m LVL 9 hill 3.3 mph 609 cals

** moving up next time

[joed]

...Felt good to be back in the gym today, although it kicked my ass...

Ya gotta pay yer dues
fer havin' all that booze.

Welcome back brain.

[Gunn27]

Great looking workout to get you back in the groove, well done!

[iamkman]

Great work keeping it up (although I didn't read all 11 pages of logs). Quite a motivation for someone like me in a similar position to you.... Thanks for posting and best of luck! Impressive...

Sorry if you addressed this before, but did a particular event motivate you to start or just looking in the mirror one too many times?

[Braindrop]

Sorry if you addressed this before, but did a particular event motivate you to start or just looking in the mirror one too many times?

Thanks for dropping in! It was the damn mirror, and getting out of breath walking up stairs, etc.

Update: I pinched a nerve in my neck on my last workout (I'm guessing on squats or good mornings). It's been a over a week, I had my massage therapist work on it, but I finally went in to the doctor today. He's got me on muscle relaxers and a ban on the gym for 2 weeks. I can still go walking at least...

Hope everyone had a good week. I'm heading to the coast for a mini-vacation with Mrs. Brain, my parents, my sister/bro-in-law/niece, and a couple of friends.

[Braindrop]

So, it's been an interesting 6 weeks. If you've been following this, note back on post http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpost.php?p=10932030&postcount=227 in late July when I felt like I dislocated my shoulder. We'll get back to that.

After 2 weeks of muscle relaxers, there was no real improvement, so ended up getting an MRI. Apparently when I tweaked my shoulder, I did some nice little micro-tears in the rotator cuff. In compensating for it, I strained the hell out of my right trapezius, probably aggravated by the squat bar resting on it.

The good news was that it wasn't bad enough to need surgery. The bad news, no weights for a month. (Well, no *real* weights. I've been doing PT with 5# and 10# dumbells).

So I got clearance on Friday to hit the gym for real as long as I promised to ease back into it, and to avoid military press with any substantial weight for another month. I'm going to switch back to leg press and avoid squats for the time being.

So six weeks off, gained roughly a pound a week, but I'm hoping to work that off back off quickly and see how close I can get to my 50# goal by Dec. 9.

Dumbell Bench: 1x10 @60#
Leg Press: 1x10 @320#
Incline Bench: 1x10 @45#
Good Mornings: 1x10 @45#
Treadmill: 45m lvl 7 hill 3.2 mph 535 cals

I know, not much of a workout, but I should be able to move tomorrow, and the shoulder felt solid throughout.