Leo's Map and Compass

[blueleo65]

Hey everyone,

New to this site and forum, but was inspired to post a journal.

I"m 40 years old, 6ft, 205lbs. I have been playing with weights since high school with minimal results. So, I decided to throw everything out the window and start from scratch like I"ve never touch a weight in my life before. Here is my current routine.

3 times a week, M. T. F., for the next 4 weeks 2 sets of 8-12 (except calves 10-15 & abs 15-30)

Workout on 5/24/2006:

-Leg press
220 x 7 /220 x 7

-Seated Row (Lifefitness multistation)
97.5x11 /97.5 x 11

-Bench Press 85 x 11 /85 x 11

-Front Shoulder press 60 x 8 /60 x 9

-Lying tricep extension (w/EZ curl) 40 x 10 / 40 x 10

-EZ Curl Bicep Curl 45 x 10 /45 x 10

-Standin calf press (weight stack machine) 80 x 10 /80 x 10

-Crunches (-) x 25 / (-) x 24

Woke up this morning feeling great and not dead tired, fatigued like I have before with my previous routine. I'd like to post progression pics, but not sure how yet. Thanks for the comments.

Mike

[jtroster]

Welcome.

[GREENFEATHER]

Welcome to the old folks home!! :D

[blueleo65]

Thanks for the welcome.

My thanks for any "future" coments that I might get regarding my workout.

As far as the old people's home, I don't know about you, but I don't feel old yet. Maybe I'm delusional :)

[blueleo65]

Ok.I've figured out how to post my pics. I'm thinking of these as the "before" shots.

Mike

[RioGringo]

This place is a great help.

[bulletman]

Welcome aboard Mike! Good to have ya here!

[pastorgbc]

From one new guy to another, its good to have you here.

Good luck with the workouts,
Ray

[blueleo65]

UPDATE!

Well sort of!....

I was in Orlando over the weekend. I ran around so much and lack of sleep, I was too exhausted to workout :-(

The good news is, I flew back this morning, and I was able to make it to the gym this afternoon so I only ended up loosing my Friday lifting day. :-)

Last week, I received my order of Animal Pak and I bought Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass. I really feel that they are working. I never beleived in supplements. But, I have had more energy this last week and today, then I've felt in a long time. I also felt that I recoverd quickly from my workouts after taking the shake and supplementing with the Animal Pak. I hope I'm not fooling myself and this is all just phsycological.

Well on the plane back, I decided to alter my routine slightly. I'm going to try a 6-10 rep scheme instead of the 8-12 I'm using now. Up until now I have not been able to recover for a few days after lower my reps. I'm hoping with the Animal Pak and the Mass shake that would change.

Until my next update with new numbers from my journal, hopefully by the end of the week.

Mike

[mom24boys]

*waves Hiyas* welcome

[blueleo65]

Hey Everyone,

Coming on here and adding my journal has really added another motivation for me to stay focused and keep lifting.

As of yesterday this is were I'm at. I've finished week 1 of 12 whole body 3 times a week, 2 sets each 8-12 reps. I've tried to bring down the reps to 6-10, but decided to go back to an 8-12 rep scheme. I also added leg curls to the routine.

Leg Press 220x10 / 220x9
Lec Curl 85x9 / 85x8
Seated Rows 105x8 / 105x8
Bench press 90x9 / 90x9
Shoulder press 60x11 / 60x11
Lying Tricep extensions (skull crushers) 45x8 / 45x8
Bicep Curl (EZ bar) 50x8 / 50x8
Standing Calf Press 80x11 / 80x11
Hyperextensions -x9 / -x8
Crunches -x20 / -x20

- = no weights used

Supplements: taking 1 animal pak daily after lunch or dinner
1 serving of 12oz Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass with 2% lactaide milk.

Till next, and bigger numbers :-)

Mike

[Hibiscus09]

Welcome, Mike! Nice workouts so far -- good luck to you! :)

[Gunn27]

Hi Mike, sorry for being so tardy in catching up on your journal. Good luck with your goals, you'll get lots of support and encouragment here. :)

[jaguarr]

Coming on here and adding my journal has really added another motivation for me to stay focused and keep lifting.



Shhhhhhh! You'll give away our big secret! ;) Workouts look like they're going well, man. Keep at it!

jag

[blueleo65]

HEHEHE!

Thanks a lot guys! I really apreciate the welcome and the positive responses.

I can't tell you how much it phsycs me to know someone is reading my journal and supporting me. Although I don't know any of you, I still feel like I have to keep at it now.

Sorry if I'm being a little selfish and not posting on any other threads. I just don't know what to say at the risk of sounding stupid, but please keep the replies coming.

Thanks!

Mike

[blueleo65]

It's another Update time!

Thanks to all that have responded to me and gave me that extra umph to keep me motivated.

I've had a few setback, for the last 4 weeks or so, I've only been able to lift about twice a week instead of 3. It seems like I'm travelling all the time and too many things are getting in the way. So I need to refocus on my lifting and make sure I don't miss any workouts.

I've also tweeked my workout a few time since I began posting here. So as of yesterday this is what my journal looked like.

5 min warm up on stationary bike, followed by about 5 minutes of stretching.

Leg Press 220 x 8 220 x 8 220 x 8
Leg Curl 85x10 85x10
Calf Press 80x10 80x10

Bench Press 90x10 90x10

Shoulder Presses to the front 60x9 60x8

Lat Pulldown 97.5x10 97.5x10
Seated Rows 105x8 105x8

Bicep Curl 50x10 50x9
Lying tricep extensions 45x8 45x7

Crunches -x10 -x10

I picked up this routine from the "Animal Pak" handbook. They claim it's a good novice to intermediate routine and that I should be able to gain a lot of muscle using it. I'm giving myself 12 weeks. If I don't see any resutls, I'll have to find another routine.

Still taking the "Animal Pak" one pak a day and a proten shake right after each workout.

Until the next time. I would apreciate any feedback or comments.

Mike

[blueleo65]

Quick update|||||

I moved up on a couple of lifts today

Bench moved up to 95lbs
Bicep Curls moved up to 55llbs

If all goes well, next week will see more lifts moving up in weight.

YEA\\\\\

[blueleo65]

Hello, Time for another update.

This is straight from my workout journal.

Leg Press 220x9 220x8 220x8
Leg Curl 95x9 95x9
Lat Pulldown 112.5x7 112.8x7
Bench press 100x7 100x6
Press Behind the Neck 70x8 70x8
Tricep Extension 50x6 50x5
Bicep Curl 55x8 55x7
Calf Press 85x7 85x7
Crunches -x10 -x10

Cardio 20 minutes on level 1, Random program

I'm staying on Animal Pak and a protein shake after each workout. It seems to be working since I have had more energy then ever before. I also noticed that I recover quicker too.

This is week 4 of 4. Next week, I'll start a new 4 week cycle where I will be adding a few sets to the major lifts.

Thanks for reading, and as always, I would sure apreciate comments.

Mike

[Hibiscus09]

Looks like you're doing well! :) I'm glad the Animal Pak and pw protein are helping. It seems your bench is gradually moving up. Nice job!

[blueleo65]

Thanks Hibiscus. I've noticed that too :-)

I really apreciate your comment. It helps in the motivation department. Till the next update and bigger numbers.

Mike

[blueleo65]

Well I passed my first 4 workout weeks (it took me actually 7 weeks) and I'm adding some sets. I decided to go to 3 sets on the bench and I switched to Lat pulldown instead of seated rows for the back. With the exceptions for legs, I dropped all my reps to 8 max. I'm keeping my leg press, leg curl and calf press to 10 reps max. I think that will help me get stronger. My journal today read like this:

Leg Press 220 10x9x9

Leg Curl 100 10x10

Lat Pulldown 120 5x4x4

Bench press 105 5x5x5

Overhead Press 75 8x7

Tricep Extensions 50 8x7

Bicep Curl 60 8x7

Calf Press 85 10x9

Crunches - 10x10

20 minutes of low intensity aerobics on lifefitness recombant bike.

Nutrition: 1 animal pak a day (it's working miracles for me)
1 12oz Chocolate "Serious Mass" by optimum nutrition after every workout

Starting this week, I'm adding a teaspoon of AST Micronized Creatine to my shake.

Till next time and bigger numbers.

Mike

PS. the way I switched from 2 to 3 sets on the bench and pulldown is I divided the total number of reps I did on my last day doing 2 sets, and I divided them by 3. It seemed to have workout. Any comments?

[blueleo65]

I've decided to add new pictures taken today. The change seems small, but I decided to post new pics every 4 workout weeks, good or bad. If they are good pics then I celebrate, if not then I might have to change something, hopefully with a little help from this board.

Thanks

Mike

[blueleo65]

Ohh and some legs pictures.....(I painted the underwear over the picture)

[blueleo65]

Hello everyone,

Time for this week's update.

I realised the last couple of weeks that I wasn't able to maintaine a M/W/F schedule due to several factors. One big factor was recovery ability. Sometimes I needed more than just one day between workouts. So I redefined my week to 3 workouts within a 10 day period, instead of 7. That said, if I'm able to do the workouts within a 7 day period, I'll do it and call it a week. I organise my workouts in 4 week periods or cycle. I'm currently on a my 2nd 4 weeks period. Next Cycle, I change my workout a little. I'm very happy with the gains I've attained since I dropped my max reps to 8. As you can tell from when I started, I was doing reps from 8-12. That was good, but I wasn't gaining muscle as fast as I wanted to. I have to admit, my body is a lot more sore after the 8 reps workout, but I've been able to deal with it (Thanks Advil) and deal with monitoring the recovery ability.

Journal:

8/15/2006

Leg Press 230 7x6x6
Leg Curl 105 8x7

Lat Pulldown 120 6x6x5

Bench Press 105 7x7x7

Press Behind the neck 80 7x7

Lying Tricep Extensions 55 5x5

Bicep Curls 65 6x6

Calf Press 90 7x7

Body Curl (upside down, upper body lift) (--) 2x1-1

Low intensity recombent bike 20 minutes on level 1

So here it is. I'm happy that I've been able to keep moving up in reps and weights.

Till next week and bigger numbers.

Mike

[blueleo65]

Hello Everyone,

It's been a while since my last update, so I'm going to bring my thread up to date. The last few weeks, I have had some minor set backs. I was off for a week due to fatigue. But when I recovered, it seems like I'm doing better and better. This is a sample journal from 8/23/2006

Leg Press 230lbs 7x7x7
Leg Curl 105 9x9

Lat Pulldown 120 6x6x5

Bench Press 105 7x7x7

Press Behind the Neck 80 7x6

Triceps Extensions 55 5x5

Biceps Curl 65 6x5

Calf Press 90 9x9

Upside Down Body Curl (-) 2x1-1

Rcumbant Bike 20 min at level 1

I am down to 202lbs. I can visibly see more muscle now, and my waist is shrinking. So I must be doing something right.

My nutrition supplements are:

*Post Workout:
-16 oz of lactose free 2% milk with 1 scoop of ON nutrition Serious Mass plus 5 grams of AST Creatine
*Daily:
-1 Animal Pak
-12oz of crytal light mixed with 1 teaspoon of AST creatine

My recovery ability has been amazing. I turned 41 last month, and I have more energy than when I was in my 30's. I finally feel that I must be doing something right.

Thanks for reading. And if you have any comments, please post.

Mike

[blueleo65]

Well, This post is for today's workout. Starting today, I have split my routine in 2. I'm doing Pecs/Delts/Tris/Abs on day A and Quads/Hams/Lats/Bis on day B. I will do an aerobic workout every other day. I'm hoping to squeezing in a workout weights workout 4 times a week, but I'll be also satisfyed if I only do 3 days, depending on my energy and fatigue level. So either I'll do A/B/off/A/B/off/off or I'll do A/off/B/off/A/off/B or a combo of the above.

today 9/6/2006
Day A Cycle 1 of 4 weeks.

Bench Press 110 6x6x6
Incline Dumbell Press 40 5x5

Seated Shoulder Press 75 4x4
Arnold Dumbell Shoulder Press 15 8x8

Tricep Extensions 60 4x4
Dumbell Tricep Extensions 25 5x5

Upside down body curl (-) 2x2

I will update Day B after my next workout.

Thanks for ready and posting any comments.

Mike

[blueleo65]

Ok this the first Leg/Back/Bis day since I've slpit my routine.

Leg press 240 4x4x4
Hack Squat 50 5x5
Leg Curl 115 5x5

Lat Pullodwn 120 6x5x5
Seated Rows 112.5 6x5

Bicep Curl 65 6x5
Seated Alternate Dumbell Curl 30 5x5

Calf Press 110 7x7

Recumbant Bike 20 minutes level 1

Until next time.

Mike

[UCANDOIT]

Great workouts and journals, I have found this is a great source of encouragement for me to keep pushing. I am busy try to do the lean mass buildng thing and something I have picked up is most people do not pay attention to the their heart rates when doing cardio, this greatly influences the outcome of the cardio. Have a look at this link if you are interested.

www.thewalkingsite.com/thr.html

[ShapingUp]

Hi Leo,

I just found your journal and read it from the beginning. I'm so glad that you keep coming back & posting even when nobody answers you. Don't worry though, lots of people are reading & cheering you on, it just takes time to put thoughts onto the keyboard. :)

How do you like your new split? I have tried full body wos 3x week, and 5 and 6 day splits. It's good to change things around every couple of months. (not that I'm an expert by any means - just yakking).

Have you discovered yet that what you eat is even more important than what you do in the gym? I had no idea! Unfortunately it is the combination that gets the results. :D

Keep up the good work!

[blueleo65]

Hello shapingUp.

I have to admit, my eating habits aren't the best, but I'm still losing the weight and gaining muscle. The big change in my diet is that I stopped eating sweets and drinking sodas. I only drink diet cola or diet juices with low sugar and no more candy or chocolates (well, maybe once in a while lol)

The journal has been a big motivator for me, and any comment is apreciated. But even without, it's still cool to type the progress and share it with others. The good part is that I didn't receive any negative comment regarding my routine or my progress. So I must be doing something right.

Thanks for the reply!

Mike

[stephenlouis]

Just read your journal and checked out your pictures, I can see your body fat has dropped a bit...good stuff.

eating right is tough...I sure as heck don't.

Keep up the good work!

[blueleo65]

thanks for the reply.

I have lost some weight, but nothing dramatic yet. As I get stronger, I am gaining some mass, so it's offsetting the fat loss. I am concentrating on getting stronger because I feel that's going to help with the fat burning as I gain muscle mass.

Nice to know someone is reading my jibrish.

Mike

[ShapingUp]

Sep 12 - Sep 17 = not much jibberish going on in here :D

[blueleo65]

it's update time!

I have been very happy with my new progression. I have been recovering much better since I split my routine and working out every other day. At first it felt like it's too much time between working a certain body part, but it seems to be working. I'm on my 4th week now, I will be monitoring my progress.

Journal 9/26/2006

Bench Press 115/ 5-5-5
Incline Dumbell Press 45/ 5-5

Seated Barbell Shoulder Press 85/ 4-4
Dumbell Presses (Arnold Twist) 25/ 7-6

Close Grip Bench Press 105/ 8-7
EZ Curl Tricep Extensions 60/ 7-6

Upside Down sit Up -/ 4-3

Cardio 20 Minutes Level 1

------------------------
Journal 9/28/2006

Leg Press 240/ 8-7-7
Hack Squats 60/ 8-6
Leg Curl 120/ 8-8

Lat Pulldown 120/ 6-6-6
Seated Rown 120/ 6-6

Biceps Curl 65/ 7-7
Incline Bench Alternate Dumbell Curls 30/ 7-7

Calf Press 100/ 8-8

Cardio (skipped) :-(
----------------------

Again, any comments or critique of my routine would be appreciated. Till next time and bigger numbers.

Mike

[blueleo65]

Just for kicks, I want to compare 6/29/2006 with 9/29/2006 (3 months) progress.

Leg Press----------------6/29/2006---220lbs------9/29/2006-----240lbs
Leg Curl-------------------------------85------------------------120
Lat Pulldown--------------------------97.5-----------------------120
Seated Rows-------------------------105------------------------120
Bench Press---------------------------90------------------------115
Shoulder Press-------------------------60-------------------------85
Bicep Curl-----------------------------50-------------------------65
Triceps Extensions---------------------45-------------------------60
Calf Press-----------------------------80-------------------------100

[blueleo65]

Well it's been a while since I posted anything on my thread. Ever since the Fall started, I've been on a slide. My workouts haven't been consistant. I've been struggling to make it to the gym. I've been sick for the majority of November with either a cold or bronchittis. Last week, I went back to the gym after a 3 week layoff and I was just starting to get back into the groove and BANG! I get hit with another cold. IT"S SO FRUSTRATING!

I don't want to end this on a negative note. SO! I look forward to getting better and the chance to hit the weights again! I was very happy with my progress until September. I hope I pick it back up again soon!

Mike

[GREENFEATHER]

What kind of supplements are you taking? I'll give you a tad of advice that has kept me cold free for a few years, or if I get one it doesn't last very long. Vitamin C 2x per day.

[blueleo65]

Hi Geenfather,

Thanks for the reply. I hear that a lot, I might just try that. I was taking C as part of my regular multi (animal pak) but maybe I need to up that!

Mike

[blueleo65]

Well, it's been a about 3 months since I've been in a gym and I'm really looking forward for my 1st workout back today. I know it sucks to start all over again, so I'm not going to burden myself with expectations. I'm going to treat this like it's my first time in a gym. This is what I'm planing and I'll report to you (and self mainly) my post workout notes.

Leg Press 2x10
Seated Rows 2x10
Bench Press 2x10
Shoulder Press 2x10
Close Grip Bench Press 2x10
Biceps Curl 2x10
Calf Press 2x10
Ab crunches 2x(?)

Cardio 12 minutes at a low level.

Can't say what type of weights I'll be using, but I'll will report.

Mike

[ShapingUp]

Hey! Welcome Back!

Your planned workout looked pretty good to me. How did it go?

We're waiting for the report. :)

[blueleo65]

Hi Shaping up,

Thanks for the response. Here is my post workout report.

My first workout wasn't the best. About the third through I was feeling very tired and acky. But I labored on until I was done. Seeing myslef not able to lift much weights wasn't very encouraging either, but I tired to be as positive as I can.

Leg Press 180x10 180x8
Seated Rows 97.5x10 97.5x8
Bench press 95x8 95x6 :-(
Shoulder Press 65x8 65x6
Close Grip Bench Press 70x10 70x10
Bicep Curl 30x10 30x10
Calf Press 80x8 80x8
Crunches 2x15

Cardio on Lifecycle 9100 12min on Level 2

I took 2 advils right after as I felt that my body was very tired and was getting ackes in my joints. The next morning I woke up feeling like I overtrained, blood rushing fast, headche, fatigue, stiff joints.

On Saturday I went back to the gym

Leg press 180x9 180x9
Seated Rows 180x9 180x9
Bench press 95x6 95x6
Shoulder Press 65x6 65x6
Close Grip Bench Press 75x8 75x8
Biceps Curl 40x8 40x8
Calf Press 80x10 80x10
Crunches 2x20

Cardio on Lifecycle 12 min at level 4, Hill workout.

I felt better the second workout, but still a little tired and fatigued. So I'm taking it easy as I break back in. My next workout will be Tuesday March 6th.

My plan is to keep this workout for one more week before I add another set to the leg press, seated rows and bench press. I started taking 1 anmial pak again with 12oz of ultimate mass mixed with AST creatine.

till my next update, thanks for reading, and any encouragment, critique (be nice) would be apreciated.

Mike

[blueleo65]

Day: 3 of 3 / Week: 2 of 4

Recore Smith Machine Squats 100x11 - 105x9 - 110x7
Cable Seated Rows 95x11 - 100x9 - 105x7
Bench Press 90x11 - 95x9 - 100x7
Front Shoulder Presses 50x10 - 50x9
Biceps Curl 50x10 - 50x9
Cable Triceps Extension/Pushdowns 50x10 - 50x9
Calf Press 90x10 - 90x9
Hyper Extension: 2x10
Crunches: 2x20
Cardio: Hill/L3/18min

Post workout: Body Fortress 8 oz milk/1 scoop of chocolate Whey shake.

[blueleo65]

In Details: 3 parts to the above. Lifting, Cardio and meals.

As far as food, I'm not going to make it complicated, just eat less and more nutritious food. Period.

Cardio: Using a recombant bike, every four weeks I will increase the length or the reistance of the bike. I don't see myself on a bike for more than 25 minutes though. I get bored and keep looking at my watch.

Lifting: Using basic and simple progressive resistance. Every 4 weeks I will increase the number of sets and lifts per body part in a reasonable fashion. My rep ranges will be between 6-12. I found out that I recover better in that rep range. The First 8 weeks will be whole body workout with few sets per body part (2-3). The each 4 weeks thereafter, I will split into 2 on 1 off with weekends off. Major muscle groups will go up to 3 lifts, ie. Chest: bench press, Incline bench press, cable crossovers), shoulders, bis, tris will go up to 2 lifts, max of 8 sets total. This will be tweaked further as i go along.

[blueleo65]

Day: 2 of 3 / Week: 4 of 4

Recore Smith Machine Squats 105x11 - 110x8 - 120x6
Cable Seated Rows 100x11 - 105x8 - 110x6
Bench Press 95x11 - 100x8 - 105x6
Front Shoulder Presses 50x12 - 50x12
Biceps Curl 50x12 - 50x12
Cable Triceps Extension/Pushdowns 50x12 - 50x12
Calf Press 100x9 - 100x9
Hyper Extension: 2x10
Crunches: 2x20
Cardio: Hill/Lev 3/18min

Post workout: Body Fortress 8 oz milk/1 scoop of chocolate Whey shake. 3 tablets of Body Fortress NOS.

[blueleo65]

On Monday I started my 2 on 1 off cycle. Day 1 pec/delts/tris/abs day 2 legs/back/bis/lower back. Cardio is still 3 days a week, either m/th/f or m/t/f.

Thursady 9th July, 2009 pecs/detls/tris/abs
Bench Press 95x11-100x8-104x6
Incline Barbell Bench Press 75x9-75x8
Standing Front Shoulder Presses: 55x8-55x8
Dumbell Side Raises: 12.5x12 - 15x12
Cable Tricep Extension: 55x9 - 55x8
Single Arm Dumbell Extension: 15x12 - 15x11
Reverse Crunshes: 0x8 - 0x8
Crunshes: 0x24 - 0x24

Cardio: Level 4, 18 Minutes, 3 Minutes cool down, Hill program on recombant bike.

[blueleo65]

Friday 10th July, 2009 Legs/Back/bis/Lower Back

Legs: Recore Smith Machine Squats: 105x11-110x8-1120x6
Leg Curls: 85x12-85x12

Back: Seated Rows: 100x11 - 105x8 - 110x6
Lat Pulldown: 85x8 - 85x8

Biceps: Barbell Biceps Curl: 55x8 - 55x8
Alternate Arm Dumbell Curls: 15x12 - 15x12

Calves: Calf Press: 100x8 - 100x8

Lower Back: Hyper-extensions: 0x12 - 0x12

Cardio: Level 4, 18 Minutes, 3 Minutes cool down, Hill program on recombant bike.