Alkell's BB Journal

[alkell]

I am married, 2 beautiful kids (2yo and 4 yo) and live in Tasmania Australia

Age 33
Weight 86kgs
Height 6 foot 1

Motivation for BB, get fit and healthy (started to put on weight around the waist which is something I hadn't done for 10 years and felt unfit and lazy), also to demonstrate a healthy life style to my kids.

Started weight training 21 October 2006.

I am doing a 3 day a week full body beginners routine:
Bench press 4 x 12,10,10,8
Barbell curl 3 x 12,10,10
French press 3 x 12,10,10
Bent over row 4 x 12,10,10,8
Seated military press 3 x 12,10,10
Shrugs 3 x 12,10,10
Squats 4 x 12,10,10,8

I increase the % of One Rep Max each set.
I am using ORM to track my progress. I increase the % of ORM over a6 week cycle and then re set.
I am focussing at the moment on my style, trying to perform the exercise as intended, not boost my ego by cheating with extra weight.
My ORM at the beginning for each exercise (absolutely no cheating):
Bench press 56kgs
Barbell curl 36kgs
French press 19kgs
Bent over row 51kgs
Seated military press 32kgs
Shrugs 67kgs
Squats 72kgs
I will let you know my next ORM in a couple of weeks.

[jmc53]

Welcome to journalling Al.
Program looks interesting - not sure about shrugs and french press in a beginning strength type program, but all the other exercises are solid gold.
Most eveyone here will tell you, that whilst still a newbie you will make gains, but once this honeymoon period is over, diet becomes more than half the battle. It would be beneficial, when you're ready, to post an example daily diet and ask for suggestions.
Do they measure bodyfat at your gym?
If not, you could use this simple online calculator here (http://www.linear-software.com/online.html): in mens section use tape measure method on far right. It's very helpful if you're able to monitor you bodyfat as you progress.
Again, welcome. It's good to have a fellow Aussie on board.

[Chubby Mom]

Welcome Alkell, I am relatively new here too you came to the right place if you want help and motivation.

[StlBarbie]

Welcome!!
I hope you enjoy it here!!:)

[mom24boys]

Hiyas and welcome :)

[Hibiscus09]

Welcome alkell! Hope you don't mind hanging out with a bunch of senile people! :D

[alkell]

Thanks for the well wishes.
Thanks for the link JMC, mmm it's not good 18.6% body fat.
At the moment my nutrition guidlines have been plenty of protein and trying to break my meals up (so smaller meals and more of them).
I know this is an ordinary approach and have investigated measuring of calories, ratios of fats to carb to proteins.
Also trying to eat healthy; fruit, vegies, seafood, meat, oatmeal and avoiding junk.
Have cut back on beer intake (this is a hard thing for an Aussie) especially with summer and BBQ weather approaching.
My diet excuse at this stage is focussing on exercise style and building a solid base whicle eating healthy and getting plenty of protein.
I don't know if the shrugs and french presses were put in for this reason, but they do seem to give me a chance to get my breath back and recover before moving on (while still working out, IE they dont feel as physically demanding).

[joed]

Oh no, another aussie. Now I've got two of you to say g'day to before I go to sleep. Stick around, we have lots of fun here & even work out from time to time. Look forward to following your progress.

[GREENFEATHER]

Oh no, another aussie. Now I've got two of you to say g'day to before I go to sleep. Stick around, we have lots of fun here & even work out from time to time. Look forward to following your progress.


I work out ALL the time and sometimes I do it 2X a day!

G'day Alkell and welcome aboard.

[ChocoChick]

Hi Alkell! Glad to see you made the journal plunge. :)

[jmc53]

G'day Al,
Diet plan sounds solid.
18% odd bf is not a bad place to be starting at all - many start much higher and achieve excellent results.
Are you a Cascade or a Boag man?

[alkell]

Good to see a few aussie floating about. Hi Joed
Definately a Boags man JMC.
Thanks again to everyone for the welcome.

[pastorgbc]

Nice looking routine, Alkell. The only suggestion I would make is to move the curls and french press to the end of the routine. This will probably allow you to have more endurance and handle more weight on the bent over rows and military press.

To good to have you journalling with us. I look forward to following your progress.

Ray

[alkell]

Thanks for the feedback Ray, at this stage I am just going to stick with the current plan and give it some time to work.
I had a great workout last night and this morning it's like I can feel the muscles growing.
I am due to reset my ORM and de-load next week and am excited and scared to see how much it has improved in 6 weeks. I hope to see these "newbie gains" everyone talks about as I really have been giving it my all, training hard and eating lots of protein rich and healthy food.

[alkell]

29 November 2006
I am resetting my one rep max tomorrow, can't wait.

I checked my measurements today and have found:
Biceps - grown by 3 centimeters (1.2 inches)
Chest - grown by 5 centimeters (2 inches)
Waist - no change
Upper thigh - grown by 3 centimeters (1.2 inches)

This is using a tape measure and doing it myself. Trying to measure in the same places and in the same way to make it consistant.

[jmc53]

I checked my measurements today and have found:
Biceps - grown by 3 centimeters (1.2 inches)
Chest - grown by 5 centimeters (2 inches)
Waist - no change
Upper thigh - grown by 3 centimeters (1.2 inches)
.
Well done. Congrat's.

[powerman2000]

Welcome alkell! Hope you don't mind hanging out with a bunch of senile people! :D

Hey wait a minute, I resemble that. :p nyuk-nyuk

[alkell]

Reset my one rep max last night (30 November 2006).

My new ORM's are:
Bench press 64kgs
Barbell curls 42kgs
French press 23kgs
Bent over row 65kgs
Seated military press 43kgs
Shrugs 86kgs
Squats 90kgs

They have all increased pretty dramatically (I think), so overall I am very happy with the progress. Now I'm all set for the next 6 week cycle and eager to get started.

What are some good goals for a beginner to set in body building? At this stage my goal is simply to progress every cycle on my ORM. Should I be setting any other goals, what goals did you set yourself for strength gains when you started?

[jmc53]

What are some good goals for a beginner to set in body building? At this stage my goal is simply to progress every cycle on my ORM. Should I be setting any other goals, what goals did you set yourself for strength gains when you started?

Most guys like to aim to bench press their bodyweight, as a goal to start with. Bodybuilding goals would be more like, aiming for 15" arms (if yours are less, or aiming for a certain chest size).
I think a good goal to aim for is to take 1" off your waist and add 1" to your chest. If you haven't already taken all your measurements, its a good idea to do it now and record them somewhere so you can check as you go along.

[alkell]

Hi JMC, I do need to lose some weight around the waist, at the moment I am making sure I eat enough to gain muscle but not monitoring the calories. I am thinking about making up a food diary and tracking my calorie intake and weight situation. I am a bit concerned that if I try to lose weight that it might affect my strength gains. I also need to do some cardio.
I have taken my measurements and my biceps are just over 15 inches, I am using this as well as my one rep max to track my progress.
How long did it take you to be able to bench press your own weight?

[jmc53]

How long did it take you to be able to bench press your own weight?
21 years!
Not really, I joined my first gym when I was about 20 y.o. and I think it took about 6 months. This time around (only recently started back) it only took about three months, but I had been doing some physical work in recent years.
Some guys are naturals at bench, some guys struggle all their lives.
One thing for sure - everyone always wants to bench more.
Keeping track of intake is a good idea - in fact, it's essential to maximize success.

[joed]

Reset my one rep max last night...They have all increased pretty dramatically (I think), so overall I am very happy with the progress...

(joed, speaking in his best New York City accent) Yep, ya done good kid!

When I first started, again, I couldn't figure out what goals to set for myself. So instead, I tried to keep adding a rep or two per week, and when I reached my target reps I'd lower them and raise the weight. That plan has worked well for me, in general. My overriding concern was, and still is, getting my nutrition/diet where I want it to be, consistently from day to day. That's the real struggle.

Congratulations on your progress alk.

[alkell]

Thanks Joed, that sounds like a solid plan you've got.
Working out is something you can make time for and get done, but nutrition follows you around all day everyday and is alot harder to track than how much weight your lifting or how many reps your doing.

[alkell]

Well I am two and a bit weeks into my next 4-6 week cycle. As Christmas approaches (work, family and social life a lot busier) I am struggling to find the time to workout, but haven't skipped one yet and don't plan on missing one either, in fact I am determined not to.
I have found that working out has changed me into a happier person. I feel physically healthier, but mentally healthier/ happier as well.
Since my last post my wife has started to lift weights as well, she is enjoying it, but gets bored if she is training without a partner. It's nice to share this interest with her (although I am a bit more obsessed than she is, according to her anyway. I don't get obsessed I just like to give things my all, well maybe she is right).

I am currently taking the following supplements:
VP2 whey isolate
Micronised Creatine monohydrate
Multi vitamin
Flaxseed oil capsules

Hope everyone has a merry Christmas and a safe and fun new year. We are having a new years party where everyone has been give a letter of the alphabet and you have to come in a home made costume as something or someone starting with that letter.

[alkell]

I am into my 5th week of my second cycle, looking forward to the 6th week and re-setting my ORM to see what progress I have made.
Have been having some lower back pain. I was cheating a couple of extra reps on my biceps curls so I could lower the weight really slowly and get an extra burn, so I have cut this out (as it involved moving the hips and back) and also started squatting to just below parallel rather than as low as I could go. After a week or so of these changes my back pain has gone.
My shirts are fitting me better, it feels really good to be filling out the shirts on the arms and around the upper body.
Once I finish this cycle I would have done 3 months weight lifting and 1.5 months body weight exercises. I am wondering when I should move from a fullbody routine training the same muscles 3 times a week to a split doing the same muscles twice a week. People have said when you stop making progress you should change. Some have said not for at least 6 months. I wonder how long a persons body can take training the muscles 3 times in a week, I suspect it is linked to the amount of weight you are lifting. Any input would be appreciated.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and now have a safe and happy new year. I will be sinking a few cold ones (beer) tonight.

[SR800]

There is the old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

[alkell]

Well I have been naughty and it has caught up with me, I have been so enthusiastic that I started doing my fullbody routine every 2nd day instead of 3 times a week, this allowed me to get an extra workout in every 14 days. But I have discovered what it feels like to be overtraining. I havent been feeling very well for a couple of weeks, I thought I was just a bit sick and kept working out every second day. Now I feel like a truck has hit me, my joints are aching, it feels like my actual bones are aching, I am not sleeping very well, I am not hungry, I feel terrible. For all those people who keep asking if they might be overtraining, let me tell you, you will know when it hits you. I suppose hopefully if you spot it early enough you can avoid it. I did body weight exercise for 6 weeks, then straight on to 12 weeks of weight lifting without having a week off anywhere, so I suppose this may have contributed too. So I am having a week off and hoping this will be enough time to let me recover.
I have re-done my ORM (I know I should have left it, but I wanted to check my progress.
My ORM's at 7.1.07 are:
Bench press 71kg's (up 7 kg's)
Barbell curl 42ks's (hasn't moved, which is very disappointing, I dont know what has gone wrong there)
French press 26 kg's (up 3 kg's)
Bent over row 76 kg's (up 11 kg's)
Military press 48 kg's (up 5 kg's)
Shrugs 108 kg's (up 22kg's)
Squats 108 kg's (up 18 kg's), although I now only do them till my upper legs are parallel to the floor or a touch below as I think this was causing me back trouble.
My weight has dropped 1 kg to 84.4 kg's.

I am going to consider changing to a split routine after my week off, doing each body part 2 times a week instead of 3.
Had my bodyfat measured at 20.7%

Would appreciate any input, particularly on my lack of progress on barbell curls. I am pretty happy with the rest of my progress.

My goal at this stage:
Bench press my own bodyweight by my birthday 21st of April.
I don't know what would be a realistic goal for extra size on biceps and chest, but I would also like to increase these.

[SR800]

It really saves the joints and the tendons to just do each body part one time per week, that way you can really hit the parts hard, heavy weights, lots of intensity, really go for it, and not have to worry about a lot of the issues you describe. Plus the other muscles will get assistive work when you are working other parts anyway.

[alkell]

I am half way through my week off, and I am missing lifting weights and the feeling that it gives me. But my wife said she would remove my right testicle with a blunt pair of scissors if I didn't take the whole week off. I am feeling heaps better, joints have stopped aching, eating better and sleeping better, feeling less fatigued. So other than hitting myself in the head with my tennis racquet while playing last night, all is well.
I have decided to do one more 4-6 week cycle of my current fullbody routine, but only 3 days a week. The reason being, I have been happy with my gains and think that the overtraining was more a matter of me doing to much (IE sneaking in extra workouts). Also I want some time to find a good split routine doing each body part twice a week. And I need to buy a lat machine and some more weights.
I will post my new routine in advance, to see if anyone has any comments.

[alkell]

Had my first workout back after a week off, it went well. Back at the first week of a 5-6 week cycle with de-loading as part of the cycle.

I bought a lat machine yesterday, as my new workout will include lat pull downs.

My new workout is:
Mon and Thu
Bench Press 12 reps, 10, 10, 8, 6
Dumbell Flyes 12, 10, 10
Barbell curls 12, 10,10
Concentration curls 12, 10, 10
Close grip bench press 12, 10, 10
French press 12, 10, 10

Tue and Fri
Bent over row 12, 10, 10, 8, 6
Lat pull downs 12, 10, 10
Military press 12, 10, 10
Side laterals 12, 10, 10
Shrugs 12, 10, 10, 8
Squats 12, 10, 10, 8
Leg extensions 12, 10, 10, 8
Leg curls 12, 10, 10, 8

Once again the weights are based on % of my one rep max and increase as the reps go down (in the set). Each body part twice a week.

Any comments on this routine would be greatly appreciated.

[powerman2000]

How much volume are you eliminating when you deload?

[alkell]

I drop 15% off each set (based on my new one rep max), then build back up 5% per week over 3 weeks, then peak for 3 weeks before resetting max.

I should of said, my new routine is the one I will be starting at the end of my current 6 week cycle for my full body routine.

[alkell]

Am into the 3rd week of my current 5-6 week cycle. Am feeling good, no niggles or aching joints of which I had a couple before my one week break.
Had a cheat meal Friday, I ate a ton of pizza (first full on cheat meal I have had in a while).
Read a great quote on someones post the other day, it was something like
"Focus on the process not the goals and you will get there quicker"
This was really helpful for me as I tend to focus on what I will be doing at the end of the cycle, where I want to be at this time, and what my training will include in the future. But focussing on the process (exercise form and concentrating on the muscle being worked) takes the emphasis away from getting the workouts done so I can move on, to getting the most out of each workout.

[alkell]

Found out I have been cheating on my barbell curls, by bringing the elbows forward a bit at the top of the curl (I knew I was supposed to keep my elbows at my side but I thought a little movement at the end was natural). I have found not moving my elbow at all is keeping more constant tension on the bicep. Hopefully this will help break my barbell curl plateau I had at the end of my last cycle. Before I started body building I had no idea it was such a complicated thing (or so much to it), exercise form, diet, carb-fat-protein ratios, workout regimes, cycles, de-loading, cutting, bulking. Not only to I love doing it, there is lots to learn (which makes it interesting as well).

My wife is on a break (summer/ Christmas) from sports, and has been anti-healthy the longer the break goes on, eating rubbish, staying up late, drinking more than normal, smoking more than normal. It has had a small impact on me, as I know I am not looking after myself as well as I would like, although I am still being vigilent with my diet (not so much with the sleep and drinking). Only a couple weeks to go and she will be back into sports (and exercise) and hopefully our life will return to normal.

[alkell]

I decided to skip my squats on the last workout as my knee was sore. I felt a twinge in it when I lifted the barbell for the shrugs. By skipping the workout it will give my knee nearly 5 days break from squats. I am working out tomorrow afternoon and my knee is still a bit sore, I guess I will see how it feels tomorrow but I hate skipping anything and dont want to skip squats 2 workouts in a row.

Well now its off for more tuna, cottage cheese and salad. I am a bit over tuna, I guess that is a problem most bodybuilder face. Isn't it expensive to eat healthy??? Tuna isnt too expensive, but the salmon, chicken, high protein muesli, steak is fairly expensive, coupled with all the extra food I am eating and my supplements.

I am going to post a couple of pics, shortly and would appreciate any comments. (assuming I can get them onto the computer then onto this site)

[jmc53]

I agree it's quite expensive to both eat well and eat lots.
Do you have an Aldi supermarket near you? They have large cans of Atlantic red salmon for $4.30 or so (I get two meals out of a large can). They also have small cans (95g) of flavored tuna for about 60c. There's only about 20g of protein in a can, but it's good value.
(Pizza seems to be the cheat of choice! Mine also).

[alkell]

Hi Jason, no we don't have an Aldi supermarket near us. I'll just have to watch out for the specials and stock up.
The pizza went down a treat and didnt leave me feeling yuk afterwards either (like some other junk foods do). Now I just have to try and not cheat too often.
1st workout of my 4th week today, this is where by workout gets really hard for the next 2-3 weeks.

Oh no, Andrew Symonds if out of the cricket for the rest of the tri-series with a bicep injury. I hope todays game against NZ has a close finish.

[jmc53]

Oh no, Andrew Symonds if out of the cricket for the rest of the tri-series with a bicep injury.

Sh*t!
(I hadn't turned the radio on yet today).
I wish they'd stop stuffing around with the bowling attack, and wish they'd play Hogg more often (they may have to without Symonds off-breaks as an option).

[alkell]

This could be Hogg's chance to gain favour with the selectors, I think he is what's missing from the bowling attack. They seem to be caught up in getting the biggest scores possible, but it makes it difficult if the opposition bat first/ and or you can't get enough wickets to place them under pressure.

[alkell]

I have started a diet diary (so I can start to track what I am eating), here is what I ate yesterday:
Meal 1:
1 Cup high protein muesli
1 Cup light milk
1 Apple

Meal 2:
1 Bowl of Tuna with salad and cottage cheese

Meal 3:
1 Cup cold chicken pieces
1 Apple

Meal 4:
1 Bowl of Tuna with salad and cottage cheese

Meal 5:
8 ounces light milk with scoop VP2 whey

Workout

Meal 6:
8 ounces light milk with scoop VP2 whey

Meal 7:
1/2 Foot Chicken teryaki low fat (<6grams) subway

[jmc53]

Great game last night!
I've never been a Hodge fan (despite being a Victorian) but he was impressive last night. I've previosuly been impressed with Johnson but he looked ordinary without any swing or sideways movement off the pitch - makes me wonder how he'd go in the 5 day game?
Diet looks good.
Post workout shake is better to have some carbs as well, including simple carbs. I add a scoop of weight gainer to mine, which contains maltodextrin, dextrsoe and fructose.
The carbs help your body more quickly process the protein after a workout.

[alkell]

Hi Jason,
Mitchell Johnson was ordinary all right. Hodge came through when it counted, I could see a collapse if him and Ponting didn't have a reasonable partnership. It was the best game to watch all series.
Thanks for the advice on the carbs, I will do that. What weight gainer do you use?
My diet for the next day was:
Meal 1
1 Cup high protein muesli
1 Cup light milk
1 Banana

Meal 2
8 Ounces light milk with scoop of VP2 whey

Meal 3
1/2 Foot Chicken Teryaki low fat Subway

Meal 4
1 Cup of vegies cooked (carrot, peas, corn, broccoli)
1 Cup silverside

Meal 5
8 Ounces light milk with scoop of VP2 whey
Vanilla slice (someone bought it for me and I couldnt say no!)

Meal 6
Sweet potato bake (sweet potato, zuchini, bacon, light cheese and light cream)

No workout on this day.

[alkell]

Missed squats in one workout due to a sore knee, then did squats on the next workout no problem, but couldn't do them again today as my left knee was too sore. This was really frustrating.
My work out today (usually includes squats) in pounds
Bench press 12 x 100, 9 x 117, 9 x 117, 7 x 125
Barbell curl 12 x 64, 9 x 70, 7x 70
French press 12 x 40, 10 x 44, 10 x 44
Bent over barbell rows 12 x 117, 10 x 125, 10 x 125, 8 x 134
Military press 12 x 75, 9 x 79, 7 x 79
Shrugs 12 x 167, 10 x 178, 10 x 178

[Oxxy]

Nice going dude, good journal we have almost the same body stats, I will be looking on in interest. shame your not posting in kg though ehheeh

[powerman2000]

What's the deal with your knees?

[alkell]

My left knee has been sore usually only under weight, IE while doing squats. Although since the last post I haven't missed anymore squats and it feels ok. I have slowed down my squatting speed (as it was at the end of my workout probably rushed them a bit) and this seems to have helped. I think I am getting old, have to treat the body a bit more nicely.

Am resetting my ORM next week, am looking forward to checking my progress again.

I am struggling a bit with fatigue at the moment and wonder whether the split routine I plan on doing next (posted earlier on in this journal) would be better done Mon Wed Fri, IE workout 1, workout 2, workout 1, workout 2, etc on Mon Wed Fri's only instead of Mon and Tue, and Thu and Fri.

[jmc53]

What weight gainer do you use?

Brand name is Vital Strength. (made in Sydney).
Product is called Positive energy carbo fuel.
It's sickly sweet, but does the job.

[alkell]

Thanks Jason, I will check it out.

[alkell]

Played in our tennis doubles grand final last night (we play a set of mens doubles, 2 sets of mixed doubles and the ladies play 1 set of ladies doubles) and won. It is a very social night of tennis (although finals are taken a bit more serious) but I was happy because it was my first roster and I have never really played tennis before, other than a game with my wife or friends when on holidays (about once a year). I am pretty buggered today, it was hot and humid and I had the sweat pouring out of me. Todays workout is going to be hard going.

[alkell]

These pics were taken 5th November 2006, so I had only been lifting weights for a couple of weeks, but had been doing body weight exercises prior to that for 2-3 months

[alkell]

These photos were taken 11th February 2007. Lighting is a bit different from previous (taken with a flash in this lot). Any comments appreciated.

[jmc53]

Showing steady improvement - traps look good.

[alkell]

Thanks for comment on pics Jason. Still seeing steady improvements which is keeping me highly motivated.

I reset my one rep max and have seen improvements on all lifts:
Bench press up 3 kgs to 74kgs (162.8 pounds)
Barbell curl up 3 kgs to 45 kgs (99 pounds)
French press up 2 kgs to 28 kgs (61.6 pounds)
Bent over row up 14 kgs to 90 kgs (198 pounds)
Military press up 5 kgs tp 53 kgs (116.6 pounds)
Shrugs up 12 kgs to 120 kgs (264 pounds)
Squats up 14 kgs to 122 kgs (268.4 pounds)

I have also put another:
2 centimetres on my forearms,
1 centimetre on my biceps (now have 16 inch arms woo hoo)
1 centimetre on my quads

My weight is up slightly to 84.8 kgs (186.5 pounds)
My bodyfat is down 1.5% to 19.2%

[alkell]

18 February 2007
I will be alternating my new routine, doing it Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Workout A
Bench press 5 sets of 12, 10, 10, 8, 6
Dumbell flyes 3 sets of 12, 10, 10 ORM = 22 kgs (48.4 pounds)
Barbell curls 3 sets of 12, 10, 10
Concentration curls 3 sets of 12, 10, 10 ORM = 20 kgs (44 pounds)
Close Grip bench press 3 sets of 12, 10, 10
French press 3 sets of 12, 10, 10 ORM = 48 kgs (105.6 pounds)

Workout B
Bent over rows 5 sets of 12, 10, 10, 8, 6
Lat pull downs (to the front) 3 sets of 12, 10, 10 ORM = 76 kgs (167 pounds)
Military press 3 sets of 12, 10, 10
Side laterals 3 sets of 12, 10, 10 ORM = 8 kgs (17.6 pounds)
Shrugs 4 sets of 12, 10, 10, 8
Squats 4 sets of 12, 10, 10, 8
Leg extensions 4 sets of 12, 10, 10, 8 ORM = 108 kgs (237.6 pounds)
Leg curls 4 sets of 12, 10, 10, 8 ORM = 58 kgs (127.6 pounds)

[alkell]

Did my first workout A yesterday, and am feeling some good DOMS in my chest, biceps and triceps. First time I have had any DOMS for a long time. It feels great. I expect I'll have some more after my first workout B.

I am going to start working out my ABS a couple of days a week, on my days off from weight lifting. I am doing some research and trying to find somewhere to start at the moment. I am thinking of picking 3 exercises and doing them in sets (perhaps with weights to reduce the number of reps). Any comments or suggestions on a good ab workkout (with no equipment IE swiss balls, etc) or a good link on this topic would be appreciated.

After I have added ABS, I plan to add some cardio. Thinking about getting an exercise bike as it is easier to fit in cardio if I can do it at home so I can be with/ look after the tin lids (kids).

[alkell]

I am loving the new workout, my body is recovering better by using the split and I am also enjoying the variety in the exercises.
Last night while walking past a mirror (no I didnt stop to have a look at myself, well maybe I did), I noticed a V at the bottom of my triceps, my arms are growing really well and really starting to get some definition in the triceps. Now if only I could get my pecs to catch up.

[alkell]

I have been sick the last 4 days and had to go the doctor. He said it was the first time I'd been in 2 years. My blood pressure was good and I am off for a cholesterol check, it better be good considering all the healthy food I am consuming. I haven't eaten very much over the last few days and had to put off 1 workout as I was too sick to lift (with any intensity anyway).

I am now half way through my cycle with my new workout, all is going well. When I finish this cycle it will be interesting to see how much the increases in ORM for the exercises from my first workout are?

[alkell]

Well I have purchased an exercise bike and have been researching "heart rate zones" and am going to start an interval cardio routine 2 days a week (between my weight lifting) so I can still have my weekend off. I will be tracking my progress by my resting heart rate, apparently as my fitness improves my resting heart rate should lower. This is typical of the approach I like to take with things, research, take a scientific proven approach, record my progress in a workout diary and track my improvements.

I am also going to start ab training on the same day as cardio, keeping it pretty simple 3 set of crunches and 3 sets (to each side) of crossover crunches.
I have upgraded my weights bench, it was probably a beginners type bench although sturdy enough. As I use it as a squat rack and for leg extensions and lat pulldowns the weights were slowing getting to much for the bench (it just looked a bit "light" on for stability. I have upgraded to a more commercial grade bench, bigger and heavier tubing and attachements, and a more wide sturdy base. My wife was very understanding about it all I must say although I expect her to show me some new clothes/ shoes shortly as payback ;)

There is about 2.5 weeks to go on my current weight lifting cycle, then I will reset my ORM and post the results.

It never ceases to amaze me how in depth weight lifting is, all the different exercises, techniques, workout programs, supplements, nutrition, fitness, health. It is as much a journey of learning as about improving health, fitness and muscle.

[alkell]

Well I am still lifting, my ORM's have kept increasing, although at the moment I am sacrificing some weight for better form but still keeping the intensity high and stress on the muscles.
My current routine is:
Sunday
Bench press
dumbell flyes
barbell curls
dumbell curls hands facing in at the bottom twisting to facing up at the top
close grip bench press
french press

Tue
barbell rows
lat pulldowns
military press
dumbell lateral raises
shrugs

Thu
squats
leg extensions
leg curls
seated calf raises
cable crunches

I have reached my short term goal of bench pressing my body weight (ORM > my weight).
I am now trying to reach 17 inch for upper arms. I also want to have my ORM for bench press > 100 kg's before my one year at lifting (21st of October 2007).