Getting swole, my journey.

[IndyMike]

I've been reading logs, reviews, posts and finally decided to keep a log of my workouts and supplements and my progress. I personally didn't like updating the workout tracker in bodyspace. I prefer to do it over here.

Starting stats (January 1, 2010)-Right around there
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 225
BF: 20% or so, guessing, maybe even more
Bench: Around 250

I include bench, not because I think it's better, I just find it easy to measure my progress with it. I used to do powerlifting and at my biggest was 210, benched 365, squated 500, and deadlifted 500. I hurt my back and no longer go anywhere near squat or deadlift, just not worth it to screw up my back again. I have disc issues and it runs in the family so I avoid those lifts now.

Current Stats (June 10, 2010)
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 202
BF: Guessing around 13%
Bench: 325 (245x10)

I work 40 hours over 4 days and get 3 days off so my split is kind of weird. Here is my lifting/cardio schedule.

Monday: Lower, followed by 2 hours of basketball.
Tuesday: Upper, followed by 15-20 minutes cardio.
Wednesday: Lower, followed by 15-20 minutes cardio.
Thursday: Cardio (treadmill, eliptical) followed by 2 hours of basketball.
Friday: Upper, followed by 15-20 minutes of cardio.
Saturday: Rest day, I work 6AM-6PM.
Sunday: 2 hours basketball followed by upper body workout.

Short term goal (July 31, 2010)
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 190
BF: 10%
Bench: 340 (255x10)

Long term goal (December 31, 2010)
Height: 5'11" (Why do I keep putting this, I won't grow)
Weight: 205
BF: 8%
Bench: 410 (310x10) I want to bench double my body weight.

Supplements:
Cod Liver Oil (2x a day)
Garlic pills (2x a day, great for the immune system)
OP Multi-vitamin (3x a day)
OP Whey Protein (2.5 scoops for a mid morning snack, 2.5 scoops post workout)
Higher Power Micronized Creatine (10g a day)
USPlabs Jack3d (Just starting it, will do 2 scoops 30-45 minutes before workouts)
USPlabs Oxyelite (Just start it, 1 pill in the morning, 1 6-8 hours later)

In my next post I'll update my lower body workout from last night. I mix my workout routines up and am currently doing higher reps/lower weights as my goal right now is fat loss.

If you have questions, comments, advise, suggestions, concerns, about anything related to my workouts, supps, or diet let me know.

[IndyMike]

Should've put these pics on the first post, can't seem to go back and edit them in so here are a few progress pics so far. Sorry bout the quality, they ain't great. It's just to get a glimpse anyway of how I'm doing.

[IndyMike]

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Warm up: 15 minutes, walking on treadmill at 4.0 mph, 15.0 incline

Leg press: 400 x 15,15,15,15,15
Calf presses (On leg press machine): 270 x 15,15,15,15,15,12 - Failed
Leg Curls: 105 x 15,15,15
Leg Ext: 135 x 15,15,15
Lunges w/dumbells: 30 x 15,15,15,15
Knee Raises: BW x 16,16,16
Crunches: 150
Thigh abductor: 220 x 15,15,15
Thigh Adductor: 220 x 15,15,15

Cardio: Eliptical, 15 minutes

[IndyMike]

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

Cardio: 20 minutes, treadmill at 4.0 mph at 15.0 incline
2 hours of basketball

[IndyMike]

Friday, June 11th, 2010

Today was my upper body day.

Started with 15 minutes of a warm up, walking on the elliptical at 4.0 mph at 15.0 incline

Incline DB Bench: 75 x 15,14,10 50 x 15,15
Alternating DB Curls: 35 x 15,15,13
Incline Barbell Tricep Extension: 70 x 15,12,11
Concentration Curls: 20 x 15,15,12
Tricep Pushdown: 70 x 15,14,10
Reverse Flyes: 25 x 15,15,15
Seated Military Presses: 50 x 15,15,14
Side Lateral Raise: 20 x 15,15,12
Front Dumbell Raise: 20 x 15,15,12
Flyes (Machine): 130 x 15,15,13
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 130 x 15,15,15
Seated Cable Rows: 125 x 15,13,12
DB Shrugs: 75 x 15,15,15
Pull Ups: BW (Assisted at level 14) 15,15
Dips: BW x 16,16,16,12

Didn't have time for cardio after as the gym was closing and I spent too much time helping someone I know workout. Overall, not a terrible workout.

[IndyMike]

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Saturday was my off day.

Started Sunday with 2.5 hours of basketball from 9AM-11:30AM, proceeded with my upper body workout immediately afterward.

Incline DB Bench: 75 x 15,14,10 50 x 15,15
Alternating DB Curls: 35 x 15,15,14
Incline Barbell Tricep Extension: 70 x 15,15,12
DB Preacher Curls: 25 x 15,15,12
Tricep Pushdown: 70 x 15,15,13
Reverse Flyes: 25 x 15,15,15
Seated Military Presses: 50 x 15,15,15
Side Lateral Raise: 20 x 15,15,15
Front Dumbell Raise: 20 x 15,15,15
Flyes (Machine): 130 x 15,15,15
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 135 x 15,15,9
Seated Cable Rows: 125 x 15,15,15
DB Shrugs: 80 x 15,15,15
Pull Ups: BW (Assisted at level 13) 15,10
Dips: BW x 16,16,16,13

Overall was a pretty solid workout. Didn't go down in any exercise, only stayed the same on the Incline DB Bench (was very close to an extra rep), and improved on most of my other lifts. Very tired afterward.

[IndyMike]

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Warm up: 15 minutes, walking on treadmill at 4.0 mph, 15.0 incline

Leg press: 410 x 15,15,15,15,15
Calf presses (On leg press machine): 270 x 15,15,15,15,15,15
Leg Curls: 110 x 15,15,15
Leg Ext: 140 x 15,15,15
Lunges w/dumbells: 35 x 15,15,15,15
Knee Raises: BW x 17,17,17
Crunches: 150
Thigh abductor: 230 x 15,15,15
Thigh Adductor: 230 x 15,15,15

After the workout I played basketball for 2 hours for my cardio. Tomorrow morning I will weigh in to see where I currently stand, hoping for sub 200.

[IndyMike]

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

I weigh in everyday Tuesday morning first thing when I wake up. I find it's good to keep the time and circumstances as consistent as possible. This morning I weighed in at 199.2, which is a huge deal for me. The last time I was under 200 pounds was back in high school, so it's been a while. I'm continuing to lean out, while keeping my strength and even increasing although the increases are coming slower now because of the continued weight loss which is fine with me. Once I get to around 185-190 I'll start clean bulking again, eating a bit more, and doing a bit less cardio.

Today was my upper body day and it went as follows:

Incline DB Bench: 75 x 15,15,11 50 x 15,15
Alternating DB Curls: 35 x 15,15,15
Incline Barbell Tricep Extension: 70 x 15,15,11
DB Preacher Curls: 25 x 15,15,14
Tricep Pushdown: 70 x 15,15,14
Reverse Flyes: 25 x 15,15,15
Seated Military Presses: 55 x 15,13,11
Side DB Lateral Raise: 25 x 15,15,9
Front DB Raise: 25 x 15,15,12
Flyes (Machine): 135 x 15,15,13
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 135 x 15,15,13
Seated Cable Rows: 130 x 15,15,15
DB Shrugs: 85 x 15,15,15
Pull Ups: BW (Assisted at level 13) 15,12
Dips: BW x 16,16,16,14

Comments: Went down a rep in the tricep extension which pissed me off, but actually improved on everything else and went up in weight on a few exercises from last time since I hit all 3 sets.

[rbempire]

Good log so far Mike. Keep up the good work you are doing.

[IndyMike]

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

Today was my lower body day and a pretty solid workout overall.

Warm up: 15 minutes, walking on treadmill at 4.0 mph, 15.0 incline

Leg press: 430 x 15,15,15,15,15
Calf presses (On leg press machine): 270 x 15,15,15,15,15,15
Leg Curls: 115 x 15,15,15
Leg Ext: 145 x 15,15,15
Lunges w/dumbells: 40 x 15,15,15,15
Knee Raises: BW x 18,18,18
Crunches: 150
Thigh abductor: 235 x 15,15,15
Thigh Adductor: It was broken

After the workout I did a light jog for a bit and some more uphill walking for 15 minutes of additional cardio. Overall I was happy with everything, felt energized, and great. Still putting up increasing weights while my body weight continues to go down.

[IndyMike]

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Today I took a day off from lifting and focused on cardio. Played basketball for about an hour and a half. Fairly mild game as a lot of people weren't around probably due to the finals being on TV tonight. Still got a decent sweat in and some good work. Tomorrow hitting upper body hard with my final day of 15 reps before I move down to 12 as I make my way down to heavier weights and eventually 8 rep sets.

[IndyMike]

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Today was my upper body day and it went as follows:

Incline DB Bench: 75 x 15,15,12 50 x 15,15
Alternating DB Curls: 40 x 15,11,9
Incline Barbell Tricep Extension: 70 x 15,15,14
DB Preacher Curls: 25 x 15,15,15
Tricep Pushdown: 70 x 15,15,14
Reverse Flyes: 25 x 15,15,15
Seated Military Presses: 55 x 15,15,10
Side DB Lateral Raise: 25 x 15,15,12
Front DB Raise: 25 x 15,15,15
Flyes (Machine): 135 x 15,15,15
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 135 x 15,15,15
Seated Cable Rows: 135 x 15,15,13
DB Shrugs: 90 x 15,15,15
Pull Ups: BW (Assisted at level 13) 15,12
Dips: BW x 16,16,16,16

Comments: Felt a bit tired throughout.

[IndyMike]

June 20th, 2010

Sunday I played about an hour of basketball which is much less than usual, people weren't around for some reason. Maybe because of father's day, who knows. After basketball I went and did an upper body workout. I mixed the reps back down to 10 and changed some of the exercises around to constantly keeping mixing and matching to find what is right for me.

Incline DB Bench: 80 x 10,10,10 55 x 10,10
EZ bar curls: 80 x 10,10,10
Tricep Pushdown: 75 x 10,10,10
Overhead Cable Curls: 50 x 10,10,10
Tricep Kickbacks: 25 x 10,10,10
Reverse Flyes: 25 x 10,10,10
Seated Military Presses: 56 x 10,10,10
Wrist Roller: 5 x 4
Wrist Curls: 15 x 10,10,10
Side DB Lateral Raise: 25 x 10,10,10
Front DB Raise: 25 x 10,10,10
Flyes (Machine): 140 x 10,10,10
V Bar Lat Pulldown: 140 x 10,10,10
Seated Cable Rows: 140 x 10,10,10
Bar Shurgs: 185 x 10,10,10
Pull Ups: BW (Assisted at level 12) 10,10
Dips: BW + 25 Pounds x 10,10,10,10

Comments: I felt really energized and fresh and hit all my reps, will be moving up in weight on Tuesday when I complete the same workout again. Had some great pumps as well.

[IndyMike]

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Warmup: 15 minute walking at 4.0 mph with a 15.0 incline.

Lower body day today.

Leg press: 540 x 10,10,10
Calf presses (On leg press machine): 270 x 10,10,10,10,10,10
Leg Curls: 125 x 10,10,10
Leg Ext: 150 x 10,10,10
Lunges w/dumbells: 45 x 10,10,10,10
Leg Raises: BW x 10,10,10
Crunches: 150
Thigh abductor: 250 x 10,10,10
Thigh Adductor: 250 x 10,10,10

Played basketball for about an hour and half afterward. Tomorrow morning is my weekly weigh in. I'm guessing I went up a pound or two since last week because of father's day meals and other little things here and there. Not the end of the world though.

[IndyMike]

June 22nd, 2010

In the morning I weighed in at 199.8, a gain of .6 pounds this week. I'm not upset in the least. My diet wasn't great this week thanks to father's day and some other questionable meals and snacks I've had. This week I plan on being much more focused and would ideally like to weigh in around 197-198 next Tuesday. We shall see.

Came in and did a quick warmup on the treadmill before proceeding to my upper body workout.

Incline DB Bench: 85 x 10,10,10 60 x 10,10
EZ bar curls: 90 x 10,10,5
Tricep Pushdown: 80 x 10,10,10
Overhead Cable Curls: 60 x 10,10,10
Tricep Kickbacks: 30 x 10,10,10
Reverse Flyes: 30 x 10,10,10
Seated Military Presses: 60 x 10,10,10
Wrist Roller: 10 x 4
Wrist Curls: 20 x 10,10,10
Side DB Lateral Raise: 30 x 10,10,10
Front DB Raise: 30 x 10,10,10
Flyes (Machine): 145 x 10,10,10
V Bar Lat Pulldown: 145 x 10,10,10
Seated Cable Rows: 145 x 10,10,10
Bar Shurgs: 195 x 10,10,10
Pull Ups: BW (Assisted at level 11) 10,10
Dips: BW + 35 Pounds x 10,10,10,10

Comments: Quite pleased with the workout. Went up in weight from last week and still hit most of my sets. Will continue increasing the weight accordingly.

[IndyMike]

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Warmup: 15 minute walking at 4.0 mph with a 15.0 incline.

Lower body day today.

Leg press: 560 x 10,10,10
Calf presses (On leg press machine): 290 x 10,10,10,10,10,10
Leg Curls: 130 x 10,10,10
Leg Ext: 155 x 10,10,10
Lunges w/dumbells: 50 x 10,10,10,10
Leg Raises: BW x 10,10,10
Crunches: 150
Thigh abductor: 255 x 10,10,10
Thigh Adductor: 255 x 10,10,10

Comments: Talked too much to friends at the gym, but aside from work that's where I spend most of my time so it's good to be social every now and then. 6 pack is slightly visible under the layer of fat, maybe 10-15 more pounds and it should be in real nice.

[IndyMike]

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Today was my day off from lifting. I played basketball for about an hour and a half and then jogged on the treadmill for another 10 minutes or so. All in all, it was a very good cardio workout.

I measured my stomach, right at the belly button, and I was down to 35 inches. I started in December at 40.5, so I'm very happy with my results so far.

[IndyMike]

Friday, June 25th, 2010

Started with 20 minutes of a warmup, mix of walking and jogging.

Incline DB Bench: 90 x 10,9,5 65 x 10,10
EZ bar curls: 90 x 10,10,9
Tricep Pushdown: 85 x 10,10,10
Overhead Cable Curls: 60 x 10,10,10 - Kept the same to work on getting the flex
Skull Crushers: 50 x 10,10,10
Reverse Flyes: 30 x 10,10,10
Seated Military Presses: 70 x 10,10,7
Wrist Roller: 10 x 4
Wrist Curls: 25 x 10,10,10
Side DB Lateral Raise: 30 x 10,10,10
Front DB Raise: 30 x 10,10,10
Flyes (Machine): 150 x 10,10,10
V Bar Lat Pulldown: 150 x 10,10,10
Seated Cable Rows: 150 x 10,10,10
Bar Shurgs: 195 x 10,10,10
Pull Ups: BW (Assisted at level 11) 10,10
Dips: BW + 45 Pounds x 10,10,10,10

I left my pad at home so I didn't know exactly the right weight on some of the lifts, did it to the best of my memory.

[InjectTest4fun]

im in this man! good job so far...I can really see a big difference in your starting and current pics in that first post! keep up the good work and ill be checking in...


go colts!

[IndyMike]

Sunday, June 27th 2010

I was going to play basketball, but no one showed up so I went straight for the weight room.

Warmed up for 15 minutes on the treadmill.

Incline DB Bench: 90 x 10,9,8 65 x 10,10
EZ bar curls: 90 x 10,10,10
Tricep Pushdown: 85 x 10,10,10
Overhead Cable Curls: 60 x 10,10,10 - Kept the same to work on getting the flex
Skull Crushers: 60 x 10,10,10
Reverse Flyes: 35 x 10,10,10
Seated Military Presses: 70 x 10,10,8
Wrist Roller: 10 x 4
Wrist Curls: 30 x 10,10,10
Side DB Lateral Raise: 35 x 10,10,8
Front DB Raise: 35 x 10,10,8
Flyes (Machine): 155 x 10,10,10
V Bar Lat Pulldown: 155 x 10,10,10
Seated Cable Rows: 155 x 10,10,10
Bar Shurgs: 135 x 10,10,10,10,10,10 - Grip was weak, did more sets to make up for the low weight
Pull Ups: BW (Assisted at level 10) 10,8
Dips: BW + 55 Pounds x 10,10,10,10

Did another 20 minutes of cardio after, felt great throughout.

[IndyMike]

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Got to the gym kind of late so had to hurry through everything, but managed to get most of my workout done before moving onto basketball.

Leg press: 590 x 10,10,10
Calf presses (On leg press machine): 290 x 10,10,10,10,10,10 - Had to hurry
Leg Curls: 135 x 10,10,10
Leg Ext: 160 x 10,10,10
Lunges w/dumbells: 55 x 10,10,10,10
Leg Raises: BW x 10,10,10
Crunches: 150
Thigh abductor: 255 x 10,10,10
Thigh Adductor: 255 x 10,10,10

Went quick and got a good sweat going before playing about 2 hours of basketball. Tomorrow morning I'll weigh in and hopefully be around 197-198 or so.

[IndyMike]

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

In the morning I weighed in at 198.6, a 1.2 pound loss for the week. This is the lowest I've weighed in a long time. My goal is 185 and I think that maybe in a month or so I'll be around there with hopefully no loss of strength.

Came in and warmed up on the treadmill for 15 minutes.

Incline DB Bench: 90 x 10,10,9 65 x 10,10
EZ bar curls: 100 x 10,7,6
Tricep Pushdown: 90 x 10,10,10
Overhead Cable Curls: 60 x 10,10,10 30 x 10,10,10
Skull Crushers: 70 x 10,10,10
Reverse Flyes: 40 x 10,10,10
Seated Military Presses: 70 x 10,9,8 - 1 rep less than last time, pisses me off!
Wrist Roller: 10 x 4
Wrist Curls: 35 x 10,10,10
Side DB Lateral Raise: 35 x 10,10,10
Front DB Raise: 35 x 10,10,10
Flyes (Machine): 160 x 10,10,10
V Bar Lat Pulldown: 160 x 10,10,7
Seated Cable Rows: 160 x 10,10,5
Bar Shurgs: 135 x 10,10,10,10,10,10
Pull Ups: BW (Assisted at level 10) 10,10
Dips: BW + 70 Pounds x 10,9,9,7

[joechow]

Great work so far. Keep it up!

[IndyMike]

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Started with a quick 15 minute warmup on the treadmill.

Leg press: 610 x 10,10,10
Calf presses (On leg press machine): 320 x 10,10,10,10,10,10
Leg Curls: 140 x 10,10,10
Leg Ext: 165 x 10,10,10
Lunges w/dumbells: 60 x 10,10,10,10
Knee Raises: BW x 10,10,10
Crunches: 150
Thigh abductor: 260 x 10,10,10
Thigh Adductor: 260 x 10,10,10

Good workout that took way too long because I was talking with people, spotting people, advising people on various exercises. I don't mind though as I like being in the gym, have nothing better to do, and need to work on being more social.

[InjectTest4fun]

what is your diet like? do you count your macros?

[IndyMike]

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Off day from lifting, just came in and did a bit of light walking on the treadmill and then played basketball for 2 hours.

I'll update this tomorrow with what my diet is like.

[IndyMike]

Inject asked me about what my diet is like.

Admittedly I don't know as much about nutrition as I do workouts. I don't follow a specific diet or count my calories and things.

I have cut out sodas, sugar, and things like that. Basically I only drink water and my protein shakes.

I've also cut out fatty foods, fried foods, chips, snacks, etc.

Generally I start the morning with steal oats and a bit of natural honey for flavoring. I have a piece of fruit a few hours later like an apple or banana. A few hours later I drink a protein shake. For lunch I generally have a sandwich or maybe left overs from the night before. I then have some more fruit a few hours later.

Dinner I generally have some sort of lean meat (chicken, fish, etc) and a side like potatoes or pasta (I know, not great) and some fresh salad. After my workout I have another protein shake and then head to bed.

Nothing specific or too crazy. Any advice guys? This is probably my weakest area.

[InjectTest4fun]

Thanks for responding!

I would recommend counting macros for a month or so to get a good idea of what you are getting and/or not getting the most of.

I counted for about 3 months this year from jan-march and lost 15 pounds really easy. I tried to stick to around 2700 cals with a split of 40-40-20 (protein-carbs-fats). I tried to get in at least 225-250 g of protein a day and the days i didnt work out i tried to keep carbs around 100-150g per day. I think you would be surprised at how much counting and weighing your food can make a difference! Get a nice digital scale at target for like $20 and give it a shot. I have a much better understanding of what I eat now even though I don't weigh or count (bulking again now though).

[IndyMike]

Thanks for the advise, I think I'll start doing that this week and seeing how it goes. Just want to lose this last 13 pounds or so and go from there.

Friday, I went in and felt unbelievably weak. I could barely get my first set of anything and had no energy. I lowered my weights literally in half and did 2 quick sets and called it a day. I don't know if it was because of lack of sleep, food, just a bad day, cycling off Jack3d, or what, but I just had no energy. I didn't want to hurt myself trying to do something I couldn't so I played it safe. Back in the gym tomorrow morning to make up for it all.

[InjectTest4fun]

I have days like that too where I just don't feel it. It's better to just play it safe like you did instead of risking injury. For me I it's a combo of lack of sleep and poor nutrition when I have off days in the gym. I try to eat about 1-2 hours before my workout and some days I don't and I can really tell that I am running on fumes.

To lose those last few pounds you are going to have to do something different that you haven't done yet and really dialing in your nutrition just may be what you are looking for! Good luck