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  1. #1
    Registered User R_Bid's Avatar
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    Impossible. The Quest for "Perfection".

    F**k the Olympia.

    yeah, i'm a fan of the sport of bodybuilding, but i'll be damned if i want to look like anyone who has to suck in their gut just to look like they're carrying twins instead of triplets! for that matter, as much as i'm a fan of the old Arnold, Franco, and Frank Zane physiques, i'm not even considering the possibility of going into that realm.

    so what is perfect for me? dunno. haven't seen it yet. don't expect to, for that matter. still, the beauty is in the pursuit, and in the rewards that come along with it. lean and mean year 'round is my only set-in-stone goal as far as how i want to look. not about to jump on the seesaw program of bulking/cutting. while i want to improve how i look, i'm comfortable with my body. everything from this point forward is just making a good thing better as far as i'm concerned.

    instead of going with multiple journals (this is already my 2nd time starting one. my other journal died even though my personal workout and nutrition logs stayed strong at home), i'm going to try to keep this one going, and as my program and plan changes, i'll just include the new directions in update posts.

    thanks for checking in, don't be shy about dropping a line, and... good luck in your own endeavors! here we go!
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  2. #2
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    Progress and Plans as of July 5, 2008

    sooo... right now i'm 2 months into my return to the gym after a loooong (3.5years) period of eating ***** and ****ing* off.

    before that, i was a trainer, and was 6'2", 187 pounds at 7% bf. certainly not huge, but i was still playing a lot of basketball, and i was comfortable with that size and condition.

    i had a lot of groundwork to do when i first got back in the gym, so i did a 1 month program to get myself back into the swing of things. after that, i switched over to the program i'm currently on, and refined the diet a bit.

    going forward from here, this is the basic plan:

    A. the weight program: Bill Starr's 5x5, with pullups sometimes in place of bent over barbell rows, and with some extra core work thrown in.

    B. cardio... usually 2-3 times a week over the last month. i like to mix up my cardio. about half the time, it's just 30 mins on an eliptical. other times, it's HIIT variations-- alternating sprint/walks at a track, doing laps around the track and doing stairs whenever i get to them, etc. basically, i want to sweat and promote health.

    C. nutrition! this has been the fun part...

    an average workday has looked about like this:

    1. breakfast-- 1/2 cup oats, 1 tbspn natural style peanut butter, 1/4 cup raisins. 16 oz. water + 1 scoop whey. mutli. 2 creatine caps.

    2. first 10 minute break: 16 oz. water + 1 scoop whey, 1 scoop weight-gainer.

    3. lunchbreak: sandwich-- two slices whole wheat bread, 4 slices low sodium turkey, 1/4 cup raw spinach. green tea. 2 creatine caps.

    4. second 10 minute break: 16 oz. water + 1 scoop whey, 1 scoop weight-gainer.

    5. after work/preworkout: 2 oz. whole wheat pasta, 8 oz. chicken breast, 1/2 cup low sodium tomato sauce. about 40 mins later, 16 oz. water + 1 scoop whey.

    6. postworkout: 4 scoops weight-gainer + 16oz water.

    7. late meal: 1 cup steamed broccoli, 8oz. chicken breast. 16 oz. water. 2 creatine caps.

    8. bedtime shake: 2 scoops casein + 1 tbspn natural style peanut butter + 16oz water. multi.


    D. Supplements:

    1. ON Gold Standard 100% Whey
    2. ON Gold Standard 100% Casein
    3. Prolab N-Large2
    4. multivitamin
    5. ON Creatine Mono 2500 caps


    that's the nuts and bolts of it at this point...
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  3. #3
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    sunday 7/6, and monday 7/7

    worked sunday from 5:45am until around 3pm. nice, easy day. got home and my 3 year old, Ella, was at the door and ready to rock and roll. "COME ON DADDY, YYYYETS GO WIDE MY BIKE!!!" after a quick CCB (change, chicken, and broccoli), we were off to the high school track to let her go all Danika Patrick on her trike, and to let daddy burn off some cals and extra energy.

    so... right off the bat, Ella is just flying around down there on her trike. "going wwweeeeeaaaalllyyyy fast!" as she likes to say. we had the whole place to ourselves, so i let her know how big her area to roam was, and i started doing tire-flips with a tractor tire they had on the football field sideline. when i'm doing these, i talk to ella when i'm at the top of the flip so she'll answer me and give me a sort of radar for where she is in relation to me. well, she was pretty into what daddy was doing. after i had done about 20 flips, and was just getting ready to turn around and go back to my starting point, she yells "daddy, YYYOOOOKKK!!!

    i turn around, and just blew up laughing. i couldn't have been more proud. my little girl had picked out a tire appropriate for her size, and was copying what daddy was doing--flipping her little tire right along behind me. the killer was that her form was pretty awesome. i snapped a picture with the camera on my phone and sent it to my wife right away. that's the wallpaper on my phone now.


    soooo... as mentioned, i did tire flips on sunday...


    and i'm on a 5x5.

    monday's workout--

    squats:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 155
    5 @ 185
    5 @ 225
    5 @ 245

    still felt like i had something in the tank. i thought about pushing it for 8-10 reps at 245, but decided against it. i think by wednesday's workout, i should be able to bump up the weight, so that's the plan.

    bench:
    5 @ 115
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 155

    on the fourth and fifth reps of the third set, my right shoulder felt kind of funky. the weight didn't feel too hard, i just felt some pain in the shoulder. that hasn't been an issue for me so far, but i decided to call it good for flat bench right there. since i still didn't feel 'done' with my bench work, i set up an incline.

    incline bb bench:
    5 @ 115
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 140

    still felt like i had something in the tank weight wise, but i haven't done incline bb or db bench since about 4 years ago. no pain at all in the shoulder. i think if i have pain in the shoulder doing flat benches on friday, i'm going to switch things up and do incline bb bench on monday + friday, and flat bench on wday in place of military presses. we'll see how the week goes.

    bent over barbell rows:
    5 @ 95
    5 @ 115
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 155
    5 @ 165

    felt good. i feel like maybe 175 for 3 on friday.

    nautilus machine seated ab crunches:
    10 @ 150
    10 @ 160

    only two sets today. i felt a brutal protein gas attack coming on and got the hell out of dodge. i'm not one to abort a workout, even with only one set remaining, but it really had to be done for the sake of all mankind. or... at least for the sake of everyone in the weight room. seriously. it was about to go down.



    so that was today. all things considered, i felt great about the workout. i had to use wraps on my last set of rows to manage the grip (thx to tire flipping sunday-- i usually don't use wraps), but i don't see that being ongoing thing on rows. deadlifts... maybe. i want to still have grip left for pullups after deads on wday.
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  4. #4
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    cardio + core & calves

    cardio:
    25 mins HIIT on the eliptical. (3 mins high intensity, 2 mins low intensity) x 5.

    calves:
    did standing calf raises on the machine with 25 pounds. one leg at a time. not going for high reps. very slow/controlled reps. 6 each leg, 6 each leg, 5 each leg.

    core:
    1. plank/reaches. normal plank, but lifting one arm at a time off the ground and extending it ahead of me as though i were punching 'above' my head. 3 sets of 20 reps (10 each arm). i love these for a core workout.

    2. static hip bridge with alternating leg extension. on the ground, facing the ceiling. lifting midsection off the floor and holding that while alternately lifting left and right legs. 3 sets, 20 reps (10 each leg per set).

    3. swiss ball twists while holding a 25 lb plate. laying on a swiss ball as though i were going to do crunches, except holding a 25lb plate with both hands, at arms length, above me and in a pressing position. slowly turning to a side while trying to hold the ball still, then rotating back so the plate is above me in the mid position. 3 sets of 20 reps (10 twists to each side/set).


    that was about it. rest periods were 30 sec between each core exercise, including a 30 sec transition from one exercise type to the next when i had completed all 3 sets in each exercise.


    good workout. if my forearms/grip weren't still suffering wicked doms from sunday's maniacal tire-flipping, i'd have probably added a couple kettlebell exercises.


    i'm fired up for tomorrow's workout. going to be getting up at about 8am to get my workout done early enough that i'll have time to take in a pwo protein shake and a whole food meal before work at 12:30pm. military presses, rack deads, pullups, squats, and swiss ball crunches on the agenda for tomorrow. i love all those exercises. can't wait!
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  5. #5
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    wednesday's workout

    i was curious to see how i'd hold up today after my workout last night. i wrapped up the core workout in the early evening, and because of my work schedule today, i was under the squat bar by 9:30am this morning.

    my doubts about how hard i'd be able to go went out the window right away.

    squats:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 185
    5 @ 225
    10 @ 245. i got to 5 on these and went "**** it. here we go" and ground out 5 more reps. when i got the last rep out, i was smoooooked. i had to get on the volume control in a hurry, because a bunch of foul language started streaming out of my mouth. felt awesome and terrible all at once. you know what i'm talking about.

    seated smith machine military presses: (only weight of plates listed, not bar)
    5 @ 50
    5 @ 100
    5 @ 110
    5 @ 120

    i do them slow and controlled. to the front, bringing the bar juuuuuust below where my arms are parallel to the floor. felt pretty good. next week, i'm going for 130.

    weight-assisted pullups:
    5 w/ 50lbs assist
    5 w/ 40lbs assist
    5 w/ 30lbs assist
    3 w/ 20lbs assist + 5 more w/ 50lbs assist

    those felt good. the kind of gnarly part was that my grip was trying to fail when i hit 30lbs assisting. i still have some doms from the sunday tire-flipping, so i was seriously considering strapping in for these. that would have been embarassing. still, if i had to do that to get the pullups out, i would have. i left my ego in the rearview mirror when i came back to the gym after 3 and a half years away.

    rack deadlifts:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 155
    5 @ 185
    5 @ 205

    when i do these, i don't set the bar down or touch it to the rack at the bottom of reps. i prefer using a weight i can do perfect reps at to using a weight that requires me to reset between, or to get sloppy. i was going down to about 4 inches below the knees. felt pretty good. when i got the last rep on my last set, i was at a point where i couldn't hold form any longer. i did strap in for these, even the warmup sets. friggin' doms.

    swiss ball crunches:
    3 sets, 10 reps.


    great workout all around. i felt like i finished squats, deads, and pullups with exactly the right feeling. the military presses... i could have done a little more there, i think. i felt the work being done on those, just felt i had a liiiiittle more to put into them without going overboard.


    ****unrelated****

    i keep up with a few friends from ages ago via myspace, but i've been really lazy about checking in there because i've been so focused on the gym, bb.com, and keeping in the loop with a couple of my buddies on the phone. i have kind of a 3 musketeers thing going on with my friends jason and kim (male. i love telling him i'm thinking about trying for another daughter so i can name her after him). jason and i have known each other since J was about 11, and i was 14. we met at a basketball court, and he kind of followed me around for a couple years. wound up basically taking him in as a brother since his parents weren't really in a great place at that time. J and i met Kim around '97. he's a year older than J, and we took to him right away. the 3 of us have been really tight ever since.

    i bring all of this up because Kim has been on a tour in Iraq for a good while, and he's coming back tomorrow night. i'm pretty fired up. i'm definitely the worrier of the group, and i was pretty stressed while he was over there. he's been on US soil (in georgia) for a couple days, so i've been able to relax, but it's going to be awesome just having him back in the area. both of these guys are like family to not just me, but my wife, daughters, and even my brother and my parents. knowing Kim is coming home now is really letting me be happy in a way i haven't been since i dropped him off at his house the day before he left.

    i hope everyone is lucky enough to have friends like Kim and Jason. anyone who does definitely knows what i'm talking about when i say that even the idea of something happening to one of these guys is enough to bring you down.

    i'm definitely cheating on my diet a few times this weekend.
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  6. #6
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    diet explosion

    diet cheating has happened.

    CURSE YOU, SHARI'S!!!

    after two cheat meals in two months, i had to do it again. went to Shari's with my friend cindy and put down a side of hashbrowns (with extra butter!), and an order of mozzarella sticks. got home, ate a brownie. BOOM!!!

    i feel so gnarly right now. ugh. the butter was a bit much, i think.

    looking forward to eating clean for moooost of the day tomorrow. Kim says he's on a mission to get a blizzard as soon as i pick him up from the airport tomorrow. no Dairy Queen for a few months, he's going nuts.

    food is amazing, isn't it? it has so much power over us...
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  7. #7
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    Friday's workout

    took my buddy to the gym with me today and had him start out doing the same lifts with light weights to see how he felt about the program in general. he got comfortable with it pretty quickly, and he was really enthusiastic by the end of things. we didn't spot for each other, just set up side-by-side and worked through things at the same time. it was pretty good stuff having him there. i don't anticipate it turning into a situation where we're always in there together on m/w/f, but i could see comparing notes from week to week.


    squats:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 185
    5 @ 225
    8 @ 255... i was going for 3 here, but just kept going when i realized i had more left. skipped the usual reduced weight, 8 rep set that i usually do for set #5 on fridays because i felt pretty good about where i was after the 8th rep at 255.

    bench:
    5 @ 115
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 155
    3 @ 165
    8 @ 135

    still had a little shoulder tightness in the right shoulder on these, but much less than wday. encouraging overall.

    bent over barbell rows:
    5 @ 115
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 155
    5 @ 175-- was going for 3, had two more in the tank. felt good.
    8 @ 155-- had to cheat juuuuuust a little on 7 and 8

    dips:
    bw x 8
    bw x 8
    bw x 8

    didn't push it on these. bodyweight was very easy after doing them with added weight last friday, but the tightness in my shoulder on bench kept me from throwing more weight on this week. looking forward to next friday.

    nautilus machine 1-arm preacher curls:
    8 + 8 @ 40
    8 + 8 @ 50
    5 + 5 @ 60

    a monster 1-rep improvement over the previous friday, but i'm ok with that given how rows went.



    had a great couple days all around. kim's flight got delayed, so by the time we got him and left the airport, it was about 11:15. still managed to make it to a midnight showing of Hellboy 2. it's always fun doing things with the guys we had together, but the movie got some mixed reviews.

    my personal take on Hellboy 2:

    it looked like a bunch of Jim Henson's ideas forcefully impregnated some of George Lucas' ideas, and this movie popped out 9 months later. fraggle rock meets Mos Eisley in an unholy union, and felt dirty and cheap.

    the elf twins were awesome. hellboy, blue, and Liz are always awesome. the gaseous suit-thing with the overdone german accent? not so much. all the extra critters could have been throw-outs from Men In Black II. i'm just sayin'...
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  8. #8
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    saturday's workout

    felt like some cardio and core work were in order. had a blast.

    eliptical:
    30 mins total in 3/2 intervals. for 3 minutes, i'd go balls out in terms of speed, and set the precor on resistance 10. for the following 2 minutes, i'd cut resistance to 5 and slow down to a stroll.

    plank + alternating reach: 30 reps x 3 sets.

    swiss ball twists w/ 25lb plate: 10 reps x 3 sets

    jackknifes: 10 slow reps x 3 sets.

    swiss ball crunch w/ 3 second pause: 10 reps x 3 sets

    weighted hypers: 2 sets of 10 holding a 45lb plate




    good times.
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  9. #9
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    monday workout

    squats:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 185
    5 @ 225
    5 @ 245
    5 @ 265. this last set felt like serious work.

    bench:
    5 @ 115
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 155
    5 @ 165--felt comfortable
    2 @ 175--didn't think i could get a 3rd rep out
    4 @ 165--did these right after peeling 10 pounds off the previous weight, didn't think i could get a 5th rep.

    bent over barbell rows:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 155
    5 @ 155
    5 @ 165
    5 @ 175-- no straps this time. didn't have to deal with forearm doms this week, which was a nice change. grip was a little sweaty on the last 2 reps, though. might go ahead and use straps on final sets for that reason in the future.

    nautilus machine weighted crunches:
    10 @ 146
    10 @ 156
    10 @ 166
    10 @ 176-- didn't realize until i was done that someone had actually set the pin on the 1lb additions. kind of peeved at myself for not checking more closely. i'm generally very attentive to detail.

    weighted hypers:
    2 sets holding a 45lb plate


    good workout overall. i'm kind of pissed off at my bench weights being so low. very motivated, though. i'd really like to be able to bench 225 for working sets. once i hit that mark, i may switch gears and begin working for high rep sets with that weight, just to see what i can do compared to guys at the NFL combine. it has no relevance in my life other than curiousity, but it's something to build towards, right? 225 is a long way away, but we all know how time flies when you're seeing progress...
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    tuesday morning

    i was in a time crunch this morning, but i got into the gym long enough to knock out 30 mins of HIIT. 3 mins of high resistance, high speed eliptical alternated with 2 mins of low resistance, low speed.
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    tuesday evening

    went to the gym with the fam tonight. wife had spinning, and i wanted to get my core work done. after all was said and done, liberated the offspring from the childcare area and hit the pool for some splish splash.

    core:
    (superset)-- planks w/ alternating reach: 3 sets x 30 reps. hip bridge with alternating leg raise- 3 sets x 12 reps.

    swiss ball russian twists w/ 25lb plate- 3 sets, 10 (slow) reps each

    floor wipers-- 3 sets, 10 reps



    good stuff. fired up for tomorrow morning! wdays are always fun for me. i love doing shoulder presses.
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    wednesday's workout

    squats:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 185
    5 @ 225
    5 @ 265

    weight-assisted pullups:
    5 w/ 50
    5 w/ 40
    5 w/ 30
    5 w/ 20

    seated smith machine overhead press (only plate weight listed):
    5 @ 50
    5 @ 100
    5 @ 120
    5 @ 130

    rack deads w/ continuous tension:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 165
    5 @ 185
    5 @ 205

    swiss ball crunches w/ pause:
    3 sets of 10


    good workout. got 2 extra reps with 20 pounds assisting on weight-assisted pullups, and i felt a lot stronger on those. next week i'm going to push for 10lbs assisting and see how it goes. on seated OH presses, went for 130 after 120 the week before, and it felt great. the 5th rep was definitely the last one i had in the tank at that weight. probably going to be increasing weight on OH presses in 5lb increments from here out. most likely the same case with squats. 265 is a lot of work for me.
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    thursday's workout...

    ...has been skipped!

    woke up this morning with the feeling that i should take today off. i feel good, just slept in a little longer than i usually do, and felt a little fatigued. going to skip my usual thursday cardio + core day today and either do it on saturday again, or maybe friday night after work.

    resting feels great, doesn't it? relaxation is underrated.

    still riding a little satisfaction high after yesterday. fired up for tomorrow!
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    friday workout and looking ahead

    my buddy assed out on me today, so i worked out solo again. i'm more accustomed to that than having a workout partner since he's only been back from iraq long enough to hit the gym with me 3 times, but i did find that i kind of missed having him there to share the victories with me.

    since he wasn't there, i decided i would go nuts and throw my progress without him in his face. that's just how we are. the added bonus is that if he doesn't make up the missed workout at some point this afternoon, i get to call him 'fatass' for a week without feeling guilty. friends are awesome.

    so... here's what went down today:

    warmup-- 3 mins on the eliptical.

    squats:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 185
    5 @ 225
    10 @ 275!!!

    i have been scared of 275 since the first time i got 265. for some reason, it felt really far away, and the confidence just wasn't there with that jump. when i was getting ready for this set, i set up the bars so i could drop out from under it if i had to, and i really had to get psyched for this. when i hit my 5th rep, i was in a good groove, and i got that "i think i have a little more left" voice talking to me... "one more" turned into 5 more. when i racked the weight, i knew i didn't have a fifth set in me. pretty much toast right there. the reps were great-- just below parallel, and controlled all the way down, with a good amount of pop on the way up.

    bench:
    5 @ 115
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 155
    5 @ 170
    5 @ 170

    on monday, i could only get out 2 reps at 175, so i wasn't expecting much at 170 today. surprised myself with how smooth 170 went the first set. decided to give it another go, and boom... 5 more reps. the last one was a bit of work, but i was confident i would get the weight back up to the hooks without incident. felt pretty good!

    bent over barbell rows:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 155
    5 @ 155
    5 @ 175
    10 @ 155

    i've gotten 175 for 5 before, but it felt really locked in today. didn't comprimise form at all, the reps were controlled all the way through, and i brought the bar up to my sternum in a good rhythym. the set of 10 was the same, and by the time i was done, i felt like i'd done some good.

    dips:
    bw + 30 pounds x 10
    bw + 40 pounds x 8
    bw + 50 pounds x 8

    i haven't really pushed it hard on dips before today. since i was alone again, and pretty amped up at this point in the workout, i went for it. surprised myself. not sure if it's just me, or if any of the rest of you have this experience, but my first rep or 2 on dips is always weird. i don't get really deep into it, and i feel out of my groove for the first 1-2. by the 2nd or 3rd rep, i'm always in a good groove, going to the right depth, and moving through the pattern in a good rhythym. for that reason, i did 10 reps instead of 8 on the first set. on my 2nd and 3rd sets, i felt locked in. by my last rep on my third set... i was finished. wow. i really surprised myself here, and my arms are still feeling it.

    barbell curls:
    6 @ 80
    5 @ 80
    4 @ 80

    yyyeeeaahhhhh. going to start lower next friday. arms were J E L L O.

    close grip bench press:
    6 @ 115
    6 @ 115
    6 @ 115

    after those dips, i was pretty much shot. did these just to wrap it up and put a little bow on the workout.


    so glad to be done with the day. i had a blast doing the workout, but i'm glad to have this one in the log and to be moving on with my day. whew. two days of recovery ahead of me before monday. already starting to get mentally prepared for the workout that day...


    to any lurkers popping in to check up on me-- even the views are encouraging, even if it's just me posting so far. i'm hoping all your workouts are going well, and that your progress is steady!
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    just went to the gym and ripped out 30 mins of HIIT on the eliptical. same as before. 3 mins on 10 resistance going balls out for speed, then 2 minutes on 5 resistance at a very slow pace. by the time i'm half way through with that, i'm sweating like Patrick Ewing in the playoffs. if you're a basketball fan old enough to have seen him play... you know that's Epic Sweating.

    about to take my girls over to the high school track to let them go crazy riding their bikes. they're pretty stoked. overcast day today, but it feels great outside.
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    monday workout!

    more good times. i don't think i've really had a bad workout since i started the 5x5. the progression is really linear, and i'm pretty comfortable adjusting on the fly when i feel it's appropriate. i have to admit i've become really enamored of the steady strength gains you get with this program. when i lifted in the past, strength gains were far slower, but i gained a good amount of mass and stayed very lean. this time around, i'm leaning out more slowly than before (although i'm making visible progress), but the strength gains are coming quicker and more consistently from week to week. mass gains are maybe a little slower at this point, but i'm cool with that.

    so... the details:

    squats:
    135 x 5
    185 x 5
    225 x 5
    275 x 10

    almost matched what i had done on friday. my 3rd set was 225 this week vs 245 on the 3rd set on friday, but the 10 reps at 275 felt slightly lighter. i still had to grit my teeth and push myself to get through the set, but i felt like i had maybe 1-2 more in the tank when i was done. i thought about dropping to 245 and going for 10 more, but decided against it.

    bench:
    115 x 5
    135 x 5
    155 x 5
    170 x 5
    175 x 5

    175 was daunting after only eeking out 2 reps at that weight 7 days ago. i decided to do 170 in set #4 to see how that felt, even though i was a little nervous about trying 175 right after such a close weight. managed to get all 5 reps out, and felt strong through the first 3.

    low-pulley cable flyes:
    40lb each hand x 10 + 50lb each hand x 10

    did those just for a little extra chest-pump. i love that lift. 0 rest between sets, and i did these about 20 seconds after my last set of bench--before racking my plates.

    bent over barbell rows:
    135 x 5
    155 x 5
    155 x 5
    185 x 5!
    175 x 5

    peaked on set #4 just to see if i could do it. i felt a lot stronger on these this week. the fifth set with 175 felt really light after 185. i actually expected i'd be more tired after doing 185 in the 4th, but i managed to get out 5 reps at 175 with only about 1 minute of rest after the 185 set. after my last set, i really didn't want to do anything other than stomp around and cuss, but i had two things left to do...

    nautilus machine weighted situps:
    10 @ 150, 10 @ 160, 10 @ 170, 10 @ 180

    weighted hypers w/ 45lb plate:
    2 sets of 10
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    tuesday & wednesday...

    tuesday i got in for more HIIT on the eliptical. that just kicks my ass. 30 minutes of it on tuesday morning. same as usual. 3 minutes on resistance 10 going balls out for speed, then 2 minutes strolling at resistance 5. rinse, repeat.


    wednesday workout:
    warmup-- 3 mins eliptical

    squats:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 185
    5 @ 225
    5 @ 245

    i definitely felt that this was the week to start using wednesday as a light day. up to this point i'd been feeling really strong going into the day, but i'm going to start actually cutting the weight down on this day to keep strength up for monday & friday squats.

    pullups... weights listed are for assist:
    5 @ 50
    5 @ 40
    5 @ 20
    BW x 4
    BW x 3

    happy day for me. one of my big ambitions as far as weights is trying to get to where i'm doing pullups with +45 pounds. breaking through to having working sets at bodyweight is a start! in a couple weeks i think i'll be starting with weight-assisted and ending with BW + 10.

    seated smith machine overhead press-- bar weight not included in poundage:
    5 @ 70
    5 @ 90
    5 @ 110
    5 @ 140... eeked out the last rep after really working on the 4th.
    2 @ 140 + 6 @ 90 (drop set)

    a few years ago, i was doing these with 180 pounds. i'm making progress getting back to that, but still lots of work to do. this is one of my favorite lifts. not sure why, i just really like the motion of it. it's the only thing i do on a smith.

    continuous tension 'rack' deads:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 155
    5 @ 185
    5 @ 215

    same as always-- i go to about 4" below the knees and don't rack the weight until the set is done. i keep these lighter than squats for cautionary reasons.

    swiss ball crunch/pauses:
    3 sets of 10




    Ego Lifting...

    damn near anyone will tell you they don't do it. some are being honest. most... probably aren't. i tend to believe most of us have a lift or a group of lifts we love more than anything else just because we respond well to them and are able to move an amount of weight with them that we take great pride in. i'm not saying we go so overboard that we're slopping weight all over the place, but lets be honest: there are some lifts we will attack with a fervor we just don't have for others. we're more aggressive looking for weight increases with them, we get a rush mashing them out, and when we rack the weight, we look at it and go "UUUUUNNNNNNNNNNGGGHHHHh!!! NEED CAVEWOMAN! GROG MAEK WATES MOOV BIG! GROG NOW WANT MAEK BABEEZ!!!" seriously. don't act like you've never done it. you rack that **** up, look at it, and feel like you're 10 times the size you were less than 1 minute before. maybe you're a big guy who likes moving big stacks. maybe you're a small guy who likes to surprise people. whatever it is, you know you've got that lift, or a handful of them like that.

    don't be ashamed, man. bask in it. just don't get busted looking around to see if anyone else is staring at you. that'll put you in one of those "that guy at the gym" stories. hahaaha
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    friday workout...

    squats:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 185
    5 @ 225
    5 @ 280--PR
    8 @ 245

    bench:
    5 @ 115
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 165
    5 @ 180--PR
    8 @ 160

    bent over barbell rows:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 155
    5 @ 175
    5 @ 190--PR
    8 @ 165

    dips:
    BW + 30 x 8
    BW + 40 x 8
    BW + 50 x 8
    BW + 50 x 8


    <superset>
    barbell curls: tricep rope-grip press downs:
    8 @ 70 8 @ 40
    6 @ 70 8 @ 40
    8 @ 40
    DB hammer curls: 8 @ 40
    8 w/ 35s
    8 w/ 35s


    wheeeeeeeee!!!
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    supp changes...

    about to make a change. going away from Prolab's N-Large2 to start using ON's Pro Complex Lean Gainer (5lb, double chocolate flavor) for my post workout shake.

    the N-Large2 has yielded great results for me in the past (and through today), but the ON seems to have a lot more going for it in terms of quality ingredients, and i just got a pretty hefty raise at work, so i figure the upgrade will be my way to reward myself.


    also... going to be leaving tomorrow afternoon for a 4 day mini-vacation. i'll be missing my wednesday workout at the gym, but i'm going to take my blender, my whey, and my workout journal, and make sure i'm still getting in a workout to hit the correct parts on wednesday. probably going to be things like pike pushups, supermans, super planks, squat-jumps, and inverted rows hanging off a table or something... i should be *very* rested for friday's workout.
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    hey r bid, good detail on your workouts. i'll be following along.
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    Originally Posted by Frankie75 View Post
    hey r bid, good detail on your workouts. i'll be following along.
    thank you, Frankie!

    btw, man... 6'5", 270? that's Ferrigno dimensions, man! yeesh!


    edited because i've been looking ahead to when i rotate off the 5x5 in the next month or so. i've had a lot of thoughts in my head, many of which revolve around factors that are going to shape the routine i wind up using for the next period. i'm definitely going to keep the next routine relatively simple. i love the core lifts, and i'm not at a point where i need to worry so much about all kinds of isolation moves or detail. i also want to make sure i keep the time spent on each workout down to 45 mins-1 hour. i also want to keep progressing in terms of strength, although for this next period, i intend to do that at a more relaxed pace than i am during the 5x5.

    as far as how to build the routine... i want to be hitting chest, back, and legs twice each week, with shoulders getting most of their work done via the chest and back. my shoulders tend to respond well to that type of training, so i don't have any hesitation to continue with that for the time being.

    i'm going to start to pencil out the program, and tweak it as i get closer to the time at which i'll transition into it.

    here's a few rough versions of what the days could look like:

    monday: squats + back/bis

    squats-- 3 sets of 5 ramping weights. final set for 5-10 reps at max working weight.
    continuous tension rack deadlifts-- 4 sets of 5 ramping weights.
    wide grip pullups-- 4 sets of 5 ramping weights.
    hammer strength seated rows (narrow grip)-- 4 sets of 8-10 ramping weights.
    db curls-- 2 sets of 6-8
    db hammer curls-- 2 sets of 6-8


    tuesday: chest/tris

    bb bench press... 4 sets of 5 ramping weights
    hammer strength incline press... 4 sets of 6-8 ramping weights
    weighted dips... 4 sets of 8-10 ramping weights
    (superset) cable flyes + cable pressdowns... 4 sets of 8-10 each


    thursday: legs
    squats... 4 sets of 8-10 ramping weights
    unilateral leg press... 4 sets of 8-10 (each leg) ramping weights.
    SLDLs... 4 sets of 8-10
    leg extensions... 4 sets of 8-10


    friday: upper cleanup
    bench press... 4 sets of 5 ramping weights
    seated smith machine overhead press... 4 sets of 5 ramping weights
    bent over barbell rows... 4 sets of 5 ramping weights.
    (superset) 4 sets of weighted dips (8-10 reps) + wide grip pullups (5 reps)



    that's about the first draft. i kind of like how it looks, but we'll see how it evolves before the time comes when i go off the 5x5.
    Last edited by R_Bid; 07-27-2008 at 11:28 PM.
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    Originally Posted by R_Bid View Post
    thank you, Frankie!

    btw, man... 6'5", 270? that's Ferrigno dimensions, man! yeesh!
    haha. too bad (for me) it's not all muscle, like lou. down to 255, need to update.
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    going to start a weekly weigh-in every monday morning on an empty stomach. just did my first one, and i've dropped 4 pounds since the last time i weighed myself (2 weeks ago, also first thing monday morning). the weight loss doesn't disturb me given what the mirror and my workout journal are telling me about my progress.

    i'm definitely going to have to up my cals/day, though. my energy levels and strength are great on 2800/day right now, but losing much more bodyfat might start to tax my workouts pretty soon.

    the hard part will be balancing gains with retaining a lean physique. i'm going to start adding about 200 cals/day and see how that rolls, then adjust from there, etc. i definitely don't want to do a true bulk and bury my stomach in goo. may take some time to find the magic number of cals/day.

    happy with progress so far, though.


    lol just realized i forgot to post my actual weight as of this morning-- 178.
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    Originally Posted by R_Bid View Post
    going to start a weekly weigh-in every monday morning on an empty stomach. just did my first one, and i've dropped 4 pounds since the last time i weighed myself (2 weeks ago, also first thing monday morning). the weight loss doesn't disturb me given what the mirror and my workout journal are telling me about my progress.

    i'm definitely going to have to up my cals/day, though. my energy levels and strength are great on 2800/day right now, but losing much more bodyfat might start to tax my workouts pretty soon.

    the hard part will be balancing gains with retaining a lean physique. i'm going to start adding about 200 cals/day and see how that rolls, then adjust from there, etc. i definitely don't want to do a true bulk and bury my stomach in goo. may take some time to find the magic number of cals/day.

    happy with progress so far, though.


    lol just realized i forgot to post my actual weight as of this morning-- 178.
    Should do it every morning to monitor how water weight fluxes. Atleast for me, that's the tricky part; being able to lose 4-5 lbs in a single cardio session can be misleading!
    Witness the Final Days of My Sanity: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=144537581
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    good point, D. i think i'm going to do that.
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    monday workout... 0 weights again until friday.

    leaving for the beach in a couple hours, won't be back until thursday evening. i'm going to do some bodyweight stuff on wednesday to satisfy my addiction to working out, but no access to weights. i'm hoping there'll be a table in the house that will allow me to do some inverted rows for back on that day... wish me luck.

    so... knowing i wouldn't have iron to work with on wednesday, and that i'd be resting extra hard this week (i'm on day 3 of 6 consecutive days off), i went bat**** ****ing crazy in the gym today. here's how it went down:

    squats:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 185
    5 @ 225
    5 @ 255
    5 @ 280... *whistle* 280 kind of sucks for me right now. it's a lot of work. i love it and dread it all at once. as soon as i rack that bar after the final rep, i'm in an awesome mood. still going to just below parallel. looking forward to skipping weighted squats on wednesday. going to be good getting back under the bar on friday, though.

    bench:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 155
    5 @ 175
    3 @ 185--PR. PRs in terms of actual weight used two weeks in a row. happy with that, even though i know i've done bench at a similar or higher intensity with lower weight at higher reps, etc.
    8 @ 135

    bent over barbell rows-- one of my favorite lifts!:
    5 @ 135
    5 @ 155
    5 @ 175
    5 @ 190... cheated juuuuuuust a tad on the last rep.
    5 @ 190... cheated a little bit on the 4th rep, and a little more on the 5th. i was pretty fired up after these. i don't know what it is, something about bb rows just get me fired up...which is probably why i decided to...

    superset! weighted dips + pullups:

    dips: BW + 40 x 8, pullups: BW x 5
    dips: BW + 50 x 8, pullups: BW x 4
    dips: BW + 50 x 8, pullups: BW x 3

    i did those 3 supersets with 0 rest between dips-pullups, and about 30 seconds of rest from pullups to the next set of dips. by the end of that, i was basically holding my heart inside with my teeth, and the pump was... well... if the pump was a person, it would be an athlete in the special olympics, and it would be wearing a big, drooly smile. i know. i'm going to burn for saying that.

    dumbell laterals:
    8 @ 27.5s
    8 @ 30s
    8 @ 30s

    aaannnddddd i think if i'd have continued, my body would have crumbled.

    celebrated the workout by slugging my first serving of ON Pro Complex Gainer. taste wasn't too shabby. definitely not the sugary taste of the N-Large2 i replaced with it, but part of that was because of the other proteins in it. you can taste them just enough that this one varies in flavor from the Gold Standard Whey (which tastes friggin' awesome).

    feeling great. now that this one is in the books, i'm stoked to hit the beach... where... it's... probably going to be about 50 degrees and overcast. good times, though!
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  27. #27
    Registered User R_Bid's Avatar
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    vacation post!!!

    out here in Lincoln City, OR... it's a lot sunnier and warmer than we expected it to be, and we're loving it. i've eaten a lot of crap, but i brought my multis, some whey, and my blender, and i've been eating a ton of meat out here. there's a big ass grill out back at this giant beach house, and i'm one of seven adults here--5 of whom are guys. as it happens, the one guy i didn't know before this trip happens to have gone to culinary school! we've had some really bad ass steak and chicken meals.

    i've also been really taking it easy and enjoying the strong rest.

    still, i wanted to make sure i got in some measure of activity. the day we got here, i scouted the house for someplace to do inverted rows. i was pretty bummed out that there really didn't appear to be a suitable piece of furniture or architecture, but then i remembered the ping pong table in the garage...

    so this morning, i did a pretty wicked circuit.

    1x30 bodyweight atg squats, 1x20 pushups, 1x10 inverted rows

    1x20 bodyweight atg squats, 1x20 pushups, 1x10 inverted rows

    1x20 squats, 1x20 pushups, 1x10 rows

    1x20 squats, 1x20 pushups, 1x10 rows

    1x20 squats, 1x20 pushups, 1x10 rows

    did all those sets with about a 30 second break from the end of one sequence until the start of the next, and no rest between each exercise in a sequence.

    after that, i did 3 sets of super planks, 30 reps. then i did 3 sets of 20 pike pushups.

    /whey

    /wholefood meal

    then finished the whole thing off with 1x1... nap. i was in a perfect horizontal position, and maintained that strictly throughout the hour.
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    back from vacation, weddings, and nutrition...

    vacation was great. 6 straight days with no work is awesome, even for those of us lucky enough to love our jobs. i feel really refreshed mentally, and found that the timing was great to help me prepare for my transfer to a new location (with the same company), which will be coming up in 2-3 weeks.

    so... today is the last day of vacation. tomorrow morning i start a string of six consecutive work days, then... off for another 4-5 days for a wedding i'd rather skip. i'm already looking forward to that being over with.

    what i'm going to wind up doing leading into that next stretch of days off is doing my friday workout on friday, my wednesday workout on monday, then my friday workout again on wednesday. basically just going to up the intensity this week since i have that 5 day stretch to recover.



    other stuff...

    still very happy with the strength gains i've seen on this program, but i'm at a point where i really want to start putting weight on for a bit. as i've mentioned, i don't really want to get smooth in the process, but i definitely have to bump up calories from where i've been at. since i'm already eating all the whole food meals i can really manage time-wise, i've gone ahead and picked up some ON Serious Mass. i won't be using it the way they suggest-- they suggest 2 scoops, which = 1250 cals/50g protein. i'll be basically eating the way i have been to this point, but adding 1 scoop of Serious Mass each day in order to add 625 cals/day. if i start getting soft doing so, i'll adjust by cutting out some of my other powder calories during each day. i don't want to mess with my whole food meals. i'm very happy with what i'm eating, and with how often i'm eating it.

    as suggested by Drekkor, i'm going to start weighing myself daily, and when i get back from this wedding, i'll be starting my paper nutrition log up again to try to refine my calorie intake. hopefully those will yield some extra quality pounds.
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    just sat down and penciled out a sample meal plan for a work day/workout day.

    4am breakfast-- 1/2 cup oats, 1/4 cup raisins, 1 scoop whey. multi, creatine.

    7am (at work) 10 min. break #1-- 1 scoop whey, water.

    9:30am(at work) lunch-- 2oz whole wheat pasta, 1/2 cup low sodium tomato sauce, 8oz chicken breast, green tea.

    11:30am(at work) 10 min break #2-- 1 scoop ON Serious Mass.

    1:30pm preworkout meal-- 1/2 cup oats, 1/4 cup raisins, 1 scoop whey.

    3:30pm PWO shake-- ON Pro Complex Gainer.

    4:30pm dinner-- 8oz. chicken breast, 1 cup steamed broccoli.

    7pm late meal-- (sandwich) whole wheat bun, lean ground turkey patty, 1/4 cup raw spinach. creatine.

    8:30pm before bed-- 1 scoop casein, multi.


    whole thing came out to 3415 cals, 320g protein. not very high in fats, so i may wind up supplementing with flax or fish oil caps, but this is very similar to what i've been doing to this point, except i added the Serious Mass during my 2nd break at work, and cut 120 cals/24g from my first 10 min break. that wound up equating to about an increase of 1g protein, and 500 cals.

    on top of the increase in cals, switching from N-Large2 to the ON Pro Complex Gainer, and adding the Serious Mass have the nice side benefit of adding a truckload of vitamin & mineral goodness, as well as extra antioxidants. not too shabby.

    i'll be doing something roughly equivalent to this every monday/wednesday/friday, and a little bit fewer cals on the other 4 days of the week... probably gunning for about 3k cals the other 4 days to start, and adjusting as needed.
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  30. #30
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    Originally Posted by R_Bid View Post
    just sat down and penciled out a sample meal plan for a work day/workout day.

    4am breakfast-- 1/2 cup oats, 1/4 cup raisins, 1 scoop whey. multi, creatine.

    7am (at work) 10 min. break #1-- 1 scoop whey, water.

    9:30am(at work) lunch-- 2oz whole wheat pasta, 1/2 cup low sodium tomato sauce, 8oz chicken breast, green tea.

    11:30am(at work) 10 min break #2-- 1 scoop ON Serious Mass.

    1:30pm preworkout meal-- 1/2 cup oats, 1/4 cup raisins, 1 scoop whey.

    3:30pm PWO shake-- ON Pro Complex Gainer.

    4:30pm dinner-- 8oz. chicken breast, 1 cup steamed broccoli.

    7pm late meal-- (sandwich) whole wheat bun, lean ground turkey patty, 1/4 cup raw spinach. creatine.

    8:30pm before bed-- 1 scoop casein, multi.


    whole thing came out to 3415 cals, 320g protein. not very high in fats, so i may wind up supplementing with flax or fish oil caps, but this is very similar to what i've been doing to this point, except i added the Serious Mass during my 2nd break at work, and cut 120 cals/24g from my first 10 min break. that wound up equating to about an increase of 1g protein, and 500 cals.

    on top of the increase in cals, switching from N-Large2 to the ON Pro Complex Gainer, and adding the Serious Mass have the nice side benefit of adding a truckload of vitamin & mineral goodness, as well as extra antioxidants. not too shabby.

    i'll be doing something roughly equivalent to this every monday/wednesday/friday, and a little bit fewer cals on the other 4 days of the week... probably gunning for about 3k cals the other 4 days to start, and adjusting as needed.
    The calories coming from Serious Mas & Gainer? FFS... 3400, tugging in a full 1k more than I am / day.
    Witness the Final Days of My Sanity: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=144537581
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