ThaWorldIsYours' Noob Journal

[ThaWorldIsYours]

ThaWorldIsYours Noob Journal


Stats:

6'0, around 200 pounds (will do a weigh-in tomorrow morning before the 1st workout)



Background:

23 years old. Just had a baby in November (not me, my girlfriend). Got really sloppy and out of shape during her pregnancy (I think they call this a sympathy pregnancy haha).

First picked up the weights in high school, but never took it seriously. Mostly just wanted to feel cool going into the gym and lifting. Used to do tons of sets of isolation excercises, only compound I really did was bench. Didn't know a thing about lifting, and never saw any results.

I was always chubby in high school. The year after I graduated, I lost 50 pounds (went from a flabby 210 to a skinny 160), this was due strictly to dieting, as I wasn't lifting or even doing much cardio to speak of at the time. I just basically cut out fast food and soda, started drinking more water and cut back on ****ty foods in general. The next 2 years or so I was hovering around a decent looking 170-180. Met my GF in november 2007 and have put on 20 pounds over the past 2+ years, and I'm not carrying it very well. I blame the relationship for my weight gain (LOL)



Motivation:

I'm sick of not being proud of my appearance. Sick of setting goals to get into shape and abandoning them a month later. I want to look good and feel good. I want to feel comfortable and look good in clothes. I want to be able to take my shirt off and not feel like a fat ass.



Short Term Goals:

2 of my best friends are getting married this summer, one in late May and one in early August. I'm a groomsmen in both of them. I want to slim down and be able to look good in a suit. Dare I say, sexy even. That means I need to bring down my waistline a little bit and lose the chubby cheeks. Suffice to to say I will be eating in a deficit while working out, atleast until August. After that, I would like to shift my focus to slowly but surely adding muscle to my body.


Long Term Goals:

Anywhere from 180-200 at single digit bodyfat would be awesome. I don't want to be a huge bodybuilder, a powerlifter, or a ridiculously shredded fitness model with 3% body fat. I just want to look muscular and lean, not scrawny, and not bulky. Somewhere in the middle. I am 6' tall and fairly broad shoulders already so I feel like I have a good frame to add muscle on. WHEN I achieve this goal (not IF, but when), I will decide where I want to go from there. Maintain the current physique, add a little more muscle, maybe drop a few pounds. I'll decide when I get there.


Another long-term goal that has a little bit less to do w/ weightlifting and more with overall fitness and athletic ability: I'd love to be able to dunk a basketball! I've loved the game since I was very little, used to be pretty good at it even (haven't gotten a lot of free time to play as of late, plus I'm out of shape). I think dropping a good amount of body fat, strengthening my legs w/ heavy squats and also gaining some flexibility should get me close. After that, I'll probably need to get creative w/ some plyometrics, jump quats and other crazy stuff. But I feel I could do it. Even now in my fat, out of shape condition I can barely touch the rim.



The WORKOUT


I will be doing Rippetoe's Starting Strength for this program to try to get my lifts up to atleast a respectable level before I attempt any splits or excessive isolation exercises for teh biceptz. While I will be eating in a deficit, I feel I should still be able to make some quality strength gains since my muscles are so noob-ish and my form still leaves something to be desired. With better form, more strength will come.

I first started Rippetoes on March 1st and followed it until March 17th (8 workouts) when I tweaked my back doing squats and took some time away from the gym. I will be resuming the workout April 5th (tomorrow), and starting my workout journal henceforth.

Here was my progress during the 1st 8 workouts:


March 1st starting lifts:

3 sets of each-

Squat: 5x135
Bench: 5x115
Deadlift: 5x115
Overhead Press: 5x65
Bent Rows: 5x95

lifts as of March 17th

3 sets of each-

Squat: 5x205
Bench: 5x145
Deadlift: 5x145
Overhead Press: 5x95
Bent Rows: 5x115


I was able to up the weight on certain lifts rather quickly because I purposefully started at low weights so I could feel out where I should be at weightwise. By the time I did my last workout, the weights were all challenging me significantly.


So thats where I left off, when I pick back up tomorrow I will be dropping my squat back down to a lighter weight so i can work on improving my form (need to quit leaning forward and keep the weight on my heels!!) The other lifts I feel confident enough in my form to continue on from at or near the same weights I was using. I will probably use the same weights on bench, deadlift, and overhead press that I did on my last workout, while dropping my squats down as well as bent rows by a little bit, as I felt I might have been using a little bit too much during the last workout.




Starting Pics:


Will upload these tomorrow after my morning dump, as well as my beginning weight and estimated bodyfat% (using one of those inaccurate floor scales. This will be more for tracking changes, not to accurately guess my actual bodyfat%).

[ThaWorldIsYours]

OK so I took my morning dump and weighed in.

Sitting at 198.6 currently, with 21.7% bodyfat. That number will be used for the purpose of tracking changes only, since those scales are never very accurate at determining a correct body fat percentage.


Starting pics:











That last picture ALMOST makes it look like my back isn't covered in 3 inches of fat. But that would be decieving.



Alright so I'm just finishing up breakfast and I'll be hitting the gym shortly. I'll have a post detailing my workout & diet by the end of the night.

[lovelygiraffe]

Good luck, you can do it :-)

[ThaWorldIsYours]

Monday 4/05/10 - Workout A

Squats: 10xbar, 10x135, 5x185, 5x185, 5x185
Bench: 5x135, 5x135, 5x135
Deadlift: 5x145, 5x145, 5x145


So as I stated in my original post, I wanted to scale back on my squats to improve my form. I performed 10 warmups w/ just the bar, and my form felt terrific. Definitely improved from the last time I was in the gym. I threw a plate on each side, and still my form was drastically improved. So I went up to 185 (down from the 205 I was squatting before my back tweakage) and started repping that. And sure enough, once the heavy weight was on the bar I could feel my torso leaning forward, and putting the weight on the balls of my feet. I didn't drop the weight, I decided I would finish my workout w/ that weight and keep trying to get the form down even if it kills me. It started looking a little better but I wasn't able to go down as far.

I've decided I'm going to keep my squat at 185 until i can finish my 3 sets w/ perfect form. Only then will I start moving up. Hopefully it wont take forever, I'd like to be moving my weight up within the next 3 workouts.

One thing I noticed about my squat after I improved my form, I felt it in my quads and hamstrings both a ton, as well as my glutes. I could tell it was working by the amount of stress I was feeling in those key muscle groups. The 2 1/2 weeks off from the gym definitely hurt me as I was feeling it in my legs even just a few hours after the workout. Usually I don't feel anything until the day after, so I know I must have hit them pretty good.



Diet

10 AM (pre-workout)- 1 scoop of whey, 1 packet of instant oatmeal, 1+2/3rd's cup of milk (1 cup for the shake, 2/3rds cup for the oatmeal

12:30 PM (post workout) - 2 scoops whey, 1 banana

3:30 PM - lean chicken breast strip sandwhich w/ whole wheat bread & 1 slice provolone cheese

6:00 PM - Lean Cuisine (lemongrass chicken) + 2 snack size cheese slices

9:00 PM - protein bar + handful of almonds

12:00 midnight: 1 cup cottage cheese

Calories-2,226
Fat - 57g
Carbs - 192g
Protein - 232g

[ThaWorldIsYours]

Just got signed up on FitDay.com, damn this is way better than using a pen and paper all the time.

According to this though, I burned over 3,600 calories today and only ate 2,200

I was thinking my daily expenditure would be closer to 2,700 than 3,700. I'm waaaay under maintenance. I guess my goal is to lose weight, but I also want to be healthy and be able to gain strength while I'm doing it.

[ThaWorldIsYours]

can't believe how fast your body can lose its muscle endurance. My body is so sore right now, but I love it.

[ThaWorldIsYours]

4/6/10 - Off Day

Today I was off, I was planning on doing some cardio but the legs were too sore from Squats. After a week or so the DOMS should start going away and I'll be able to squeeze in more stuff on my off days.


Diet for today was as such:

Cals: 2,209
Carbs: 172g
Fat: 82g
Protein: 202g

Fat was a little higher than I would have liked, but still pretty consistent w/ what I ate yesterday. Carbs, Protein & total cals were down slightly from yesterday, but thats ok since I'm not expending as much energy. I'm still way in deficit. Could probably stand to eat a little bit more, but I'd like to get down to 180 by the end of May.


Tomorrow we'll see how my legs do w/ squats again. I will need to stretch them out pretty good.

[ThaWorldIsYours]

4/7/10 - Workout B


Squats: 10xbar, 5x135, 5x135, 5x135
Overhead Press: 5x85, 5x85, 5x85
Rows: 5x105, 5x105, 5x105


my DOMS in my legs is still pretty bad today, I didn't even attempt to squat 185, I just threw on a plate on each side just so I could get some work in. On the way to the gym I wasn't even sure I'd be able to squat at all, but I went and shot a little basketball for about 20 minutes and loosened the legs up enough to get a workout in.


Diet

Calories: 2,350
Fat: 46 grams
Carbs: 247 grams
Protein: 234 grams


I have no idea how the hell I managed to eat 247 grams of carbs today, i'm gonna try to cut back on that tomorrow. Still, my calories are well in the deficit again. Hoping to see about 2 pounds come off the scale by monday.

[ThaWorldIsYours]

04/08/10 OFF DAY

Diet:

Calories: 2,315
Fat: 79 grams
Carbs: 239 grams
Protein: 177 grams

Protein was lower than it should have been, must have missed a shake in there somewhere. But it was an off day so I'm not too bent up about it.


04/09/10 Workout A

Squats: 10xbar, 5x135, 5x135, 5x135
Bench: 5x145, 5x145, 5x145
Deadlift: 5x145, 5x145, 5x145
Weighted Decline Crunches: 15x25, 15x25

I kept my squat down at 135 rather than going back up to 185 even though my DOMS has subsided, just because I feel like I can work on my form a lot better at that weight. I also realized I really need to get some flat shoes. I never realized how high the sole is on my sneakers. Thats probably a big reason I'm having problems keeping the weight on my heels.

I also started using more of a sumo-style stance on my deadlift. I've been struggling keeping my back straight when I go down to grab the weight because I feel like I'm dropping down so low. I widened my stance out a lot and kept my arms inside my stance, and it helped a lot with keeping my back straight at the bottom of the lift.


Weekend is off, but I might try to get some cardio in there somewhere since I didn't do any during the week. Maybe some basketball


Diet for today:

Calories - 2,241
Fat - 83 grams
Carbs - 168 grams
Protein - 215 grams

[ThaWorldIsYours]

04/10/10 Saturday & 04/11/10 Sunday - OFF

Saturday diet:

Calories: 2,574
Fat: 84 grams
Carbs: 283 grams
Protein: 172 grams


kind of an erratic day. Carbs are super high and didn't hit 200g of Protein like I usually do.


Sunday diet:

Calories: 2,409
Fat: 95 grams
Carbs: 164 grams
Protein: 221 grams






Bout to hit the gym in about 20 minutes and start week 2. Thinkin about adding the peripheral exercises but I might wait until next week

[ThaWorldIsYours]

04/12/10 Workout B

Squats: 10xbar, 5x135, 5x155, 5x155, 5x155
Overhead Press: 5x95, 5x95, 5x95
Bent Rows: 5x115, 5x115, 5x115
Weighted Decline Crunches: 15x25, 15x25


Diet

Calories: 2,428
Fat: 89 grams
Carbs: 194 grams
Protein: 217 grams


Starting to up my weight now with the new improved squat form. I was doing 205 for sets before I hurt my back. I dunno how long it will be before I get back up there again but I'm not sacrificing form for weight this time.

[x0rcist]

Definitely worth dropping down your squat weight and getting perfect form. Helps avoid injuries. Same with deadlifts. Keep up the good work and you'll see lots of quick progress on SS.

Sounds like you're taking in a lot of protein supplements. Make sure you keep your water intake high. This will also help keep your water levels low and make you less bloated.

[ThaWorldIsYours]

Definitely worth dropping down your squat weight and getting perfect form. Helps avoid injuries. Same with deadlifts. Keep up the good work and you'll see lots of quick progress on SS.

Sounds like you're taking in a lot of protein supplements. Make sure you keep your water intake high. This will also help keep your water levels low and make you less bloated.

I usually have 2 scoops of whey a day, and then occasionally a protein bar at work when I don't have time to eat a proper meal. The rest comes from diet. But yeah i've definitely been drinking a lot of water. Atleast 4 bottles a day minimum