Middle age guy and GST.

[pcaracer]

Well, just about to start a full GST program. Little background. 41 going on 42 years old. I was 250 pounds of nothing two years ago this November. Lost a bunch of weight and got skinny fat. Then did two rounds of P90x and got real lean and cut but not much muscle mass. Looked OK but still skinny but now lean and in shape.

Now its time to put on some muscle in a controlled way. Im having Ryan put together a plan for me including tweaking my diet for muscle gain. I understan I will gain a little fat along the way, heck I already have. I have already gone from 170 to 178 pounds on my own. I have not gained too much fat and gotten a little stronger but need a better plan that I can stick to and keep it fun and real.... good balance.

Program will probably start next week. I will just journal here, diet included.

In the mean time:

Today was a press day for me. Im using some of the GST principals Ive read this month just to give me something to do.

Today was a 90% day.

Warm up: 5 min on my elliptical
Stretch and shoulder warm up

Flat BB bench press:

Bar x 15
prime press
95 x 15
Prime
115 x 10
Prime
160 x 8
Prime
205 x 3
Prime
215 x 3
Prime
215 x 3
Prime
215 x 4 with a little nudge by the wife to get the 4th.

Incline bench

100 x 20
100 x 7
100 x 11

Decline bench

120 x 15
120 x 15
120 x 13

Dips

BW x 10
BW x 12
BW x 12

[pcaracer]

Ok, Ive been instructed to take a deload. Probably a good Idea since Ive not taken one for some time. Cardio only for a week or so.

Today is a complete rest day.

More to come.

[Jasonpan]

looking forward to this!!

I took an entire week off prior to starting my GST routine...best of luck!!

[pcaracer]

looking forward to this!!

I took an entire week off prior to starting my GST routine...best of luck!!

Thanks!

I'm a very much "all in" kind of guy. Been at this for two years. Looking forward to some size if my body can do it. The scariest thing is putting weight back on and some fat. Price you got to pay I guess. At least it will be very controlled. Glad to have Ryan looking over my shoulder.

Probably a good time for a de-load and some rest as well. Everybody and I mean Everybody around me has been sick as hell. Not sure how Ive avoided it. Im feeling run down today but otherwise well. Ive slept 15 to 16 hours over the last 24 hours. Not normal for me.

Keeping my diet at 3100 calories on workout/ cardio days. Cutting back calories on complete rest days to just over maintance at 2700. For now keeping my Macros at P:40% C:40% F:20%

Not sure what Im gonna change yet if anything.

[pcaracer]

Today

Weight 177

Elliptical for 40 min.
level 9
rolling hills
Avg heart rate 140

Killer abs from P90x

Diet plan: 3100 Kcal 40/40/20

[pcaracer]

1/21/11

40 min elliptical Low intensity.

Goal today is 2700 kcal

Getting program this weekend.
Start date should be sometime next week
Needed this deload.


edit: Work was crazy and had to work on call until 10pm. Ended up eating 3600 kcal. Weight is stable so not gonna make myself crazy over it. All extra calories were at least good stuff. No junk. whole grain pita, lean turkey, Quinoa and an apple.


New diet plan to be started this weekend. Then its back on track and back to the weights.


Im feeling ready.

[pcaracer]

Sprint intervals

1/2 mile warm up around the yard.

40 yards:

10 x 40 yard sprints

30 yard touch and go sprints, total distance 90 yards. Im sure these have a name LOL.

90 yards x 6

Had fun racing my 10 year old daughter. Gave her 1 and 2 second head starts and could just catch her. Good to have a rabbit to chase. Few more years and she will be giving old dad a 2 second head start.

Still waiting on my diet and program from Ryan to get started. Should start this week on micro 0. Really looking forward to seeing what diet changes I get and how many calories.

Jeff

[pcaracer]

Ok, here it goes...

Macro 1 Micro 0 (1/0) Starting weight 180 pounds this morning.

Squat day:

Warm up 5 min on elliptical: Man @ level 9

1. 60 x 15
2. 95 x 10
3. 115 x 6
4. 135 x 4
5. 185 x 4
6. 205 x 4
7. 225 x 4
8. 245 x 4
9. 255 x 4
10. 265 x 4 rep max Form break down.

DB lunges

40# x 15
40# x 15

Front squat

95# x 15
95# x 15
95# x 15 Working on form here. New to me.

Calf raise

295 x 15
295 x 15 with block under foot. Hard to balance on the block with this weight.
225 x 15 with block under foot and 1 second hold at top of lift. Much better form here.

Weighted planks

25# on back x 90 seconds
25# on back x 90 seconds
25# on back x 60 seconds to failure then 30 seconds body weight.


Good workout and much harder than I expected. I thought I was working hard before. I really pushed myself here. I have a lot of room for improvement.

[pcaracer]

Warm up elliptical Manual setting/ 5 min @ level 9

stretching and shoulder warm up for 5 min.

Core lift: Incline BB bench.

explosive prime/ plyo pushups

Sets:
1: 65 x 15
2: 95 x 10
3: 115 x 8
4: 135 x 4
5: 165 x 4
6: 185 x 4
7: 190 x 4
8: 195 x 1 Failed on #2

Est ORM 215
Actual ORM 195

Supp 1: Incline dumbell bent arm flys

1: 30 x 15
2: 35 x 15
3: 35 x 15

Supp 2: Half dips

1: BW x 20
2: BW x 20
3: BW x 17

Supp 3: Skull crushers

1: 40+bar x 15
2: " x 15
3: " x 15

Abs: Decline crunch

1: 25# x 20
2: 25# x 20
3: 25# x 19 failed on last rep

Light ballastic cool down stretches.

Ryan definitely picked the right core lift here. I feel weak on this one.

[pcaracer]

3.7 miles
Run at 10.xx min pace
Avg HR was 140. Goal was only to hit the 120 range. Had a hard time keepint it down that low when I run. Felt like I was dragging at the 10 min pace. I think the HR was up more than usual for that pace because my DOMS has not resolved from mondays squat day. Legs felt like lead durring my run. Heart and lungs felt great.

Total time at 140 was 40 min. 5 min warm up and cool down.

[pcaracer]

Warm up elliptical 5 min, Manual setting 9.
5 min stretching, static and ballastic.

BB close grip flat bench:

1: 75 x 20
2. 90 x 20
3. 90 x 20 Last few tough.

DB flat bench flys:

1: 35 x 20 Last few on every set were tough but could squeeze them out. Mostly fatigue.
2: 35 x 20
3: 35 x 20

Dead lift

I forgot the explossive primers... duhh... : (

1: 135 x 10
2: 185 x 4
3: 205 x 4
4: 225 x 4
5: 245 x 4
6: 270 x 4
7: 290 x 4
8: 305 x 4 Started feeling some strain in my right low back and form started to slip so I stopped here.

Max 305 x 4

Step back lunges: Avg HR durring lunges was 130 LOL. I did one leg at a time and did not alternate. Let me know if this is OK or should I do both at once. This is how I did them on P90X.

1: 35 x 20
2: 35 x 20
3: 35 x 20

Leg curls:

1; 65 x 17
2: 65 x 15 Tough
3: 65 x 15 very tough...

Cool down 5 min elliptical Man setting 1.

Very spent today. Had not completly recovered from Mondays squat and my little cardio yesterday just felt hard as well. Can't wait for my legs to adapt and get into some serious shape. Feels good though. Yesterday was 40 min of low/ medium intensity cardio. Did 3.7 miles at a 10.xx pace. HR avg was 140. Had a hard time keeping it lower than that as my legs were very heavy and tired still from Mondays squats and I felt every step. That pace usually would not stress me much.

Im impressed how much these leg workouts drain me phisically and mentally. I was in a fog for 30/40 min after. Funny, your workouts looked much easier on paper than mine but they are MUCH harder. Crazy good.

One more to go to finish out my micro 0.

[pcaracer]

Complex 1

Squat 3 sets of 12 with 45 pound bar.
overhead press
Bent barbell rows
Romanian dead lift

Complex 2

BB stationary lunge 3 sets of 12
Upright rows
Dead lift
BB floor press

Followed by an hour of full body stretching.

[Jasonpan]

Complex 1

Squat 3 sets of 12 with 45 pound bar.
overhead press
Bent barbell rows
Romanian dead lift

Complex 2

BB stationary lunge 3 sets of 12
Upright rows
Dead lift
BB floor press

Followed by an hour of full body stretching.

I typically do a circuit style routine with the complexes. Ill do a combo of like 4-5 exercises that go from the floor to the ceiling....IE

RDL
Row
Clean
Squat
Overhead Press

Do like 1 set of 10-15 reps. Then rest 5 minutes and do it again...for a total of 3 sets.
Then i foam roll and stretch....but not for an hour!!!! lol thats awesome....I would never have the patience for that!

[pcaracer]

I typically do a circuit style routine with the complexes. Ill do a combo of like 4-5 exercises that go from the floor to the ceiling....IE

RDL
Row
Clean
Squat
Overhead Press

Do like 1 set of 10-15 reps. Then rest 5 minutes and do it again...for a total of 3 sets.
Then i foam roll and stretch....but not for an hour!!!! lol thats awesome....I would never have the patience for that!

I did it circuit style. All 4 exercises one after the other with no rest. I rested 2 min between sets and three sets per complex. between complexes I rested 3 min. Ryan is giving me a different set of complexes each week. Just mixing it up.
Hardest ones were the BB lunges on complex two. My legs and back were pretty spent from Lift day the other day. Maxing Deads is killer on the posterior chain. Good thing the wife doesent mind rubbing my back...

As for stretching for an hour, I just plugged in my P90X X stretch video and followed it. Its an hour of warm up, and full body stretching. It actually feels like a minii workout. I don't think it misses any muscle group LOL. I really need to do this 2 to 3 times per week. The older I get the more important this is...

Today is my micro 0 pull day and then its time to hit micro 1. Gonna max out on chin ups. Ryan wants me to do BW chins until I can do 12 reps. I think I can do that many right now but not for 3 sets. We will see.

Thanks for stopping by. I need / like feedback.

I need to get back to your thread. Can you give me a link to yours again, I did not put it in my favs and so lost it. Its nice to read how everybody else is doing for modivation.

Jeff

[pcaracer]

Pull day today. This workout was as brutal as my squat day as far as fatigue. This was much harder than I thought it would be. Probably why I always dreaded pull up day. They really wear me out. I was winded after every set. I will say though, I felt a little tired / fatigued before I started today. Not sure if an off day or what. I had plenty of sleep. Feel good otherwise. My shoulder is liking my new routiene. Its MUCH better than it was.

I was up to over 20 chin ups several months ago but I don't think they were the full range of motion and dead at the bottom like Im doing now. I probably was using momentum then looking back.

Micro 0 Pull day


Warm up elliptical 5 min as usual.

black resistance band warm ups:
1: Black x 15
2: Black x 10
3 Black x 5
4 Black x 4 core prime
5. 180 pounds body weight x 12
6. BW x 8
7. BW x 5

DB bench rows:

45 x 15
45 x 15
45 x 16
BB bent rows

85 x 15
85 x 15
85 x 16
EZ bar curls.

40 +bar x 15
40 x 15
40 x 16
Hanging knee raises

BW x 15
BW + 5lb ankle weights x 15 Grip limited.
BW + 5lb ankle weights x 15 Grip limited to failure of grip.

[drudixon]

Great workout man. I've done the P90x too, so I know what you mean about the size. Keep rocking the front squats. I miss doing them in my new program. I finally got comfortable with doing them without hurting my wrists or choking myself when I switched to my current program. Keep rocking it.

[pcaracer]

Great workout man. I've done the P90x too, so I know what you mean about the size. Keep rocking the front squats. I miss doing them in my new program. I finally got comfortable with doing them without hurting my wrists or choking myself when I switched to my current program. Keep rocking it.

Thanks! Yes, front squats, Im determined to master them. My shoulders got pretty tired durring my first trial at them. Gotta get the form down and Ill be off to the races.

Next squat day will be tuesday. Im sick I guess as Im looking forward to it.

[pcaracer]

Been on Ryans Nutritional plan for one week. Its easy to follow and Its all the foods Im use to eating, just timed and partitioned a little different than the way I use to eat.

I was eating 3100 to 3500 calories per day. I was gaining right at 1/2 to 3/4 a pound a week.
This week on his diet I lost 4 pounds. I was very strict this week. I want to get a good feel of where I am with this amount of exercise and this diet level. Seems 3150 may not be enough to gain some weight on this program for me. By next week we will know for sure. Its kind of a fun science experiment LOL. Its amazing once you get pretty lean what your body is capable of burning up in a day. My body doesent feel the need to hang onto much fat. Crazy since I use to be 250 pounds.

One more week at this level and Ill probably get to add a few hundred more calories.

[pcaracer]

Had an OK workout today. Every new workout is a learning curve. Today my AMRAP set of squats was not limited by my legs or back but my endurance and ability to cope with the stress of the weight on my back. I actually got dizzy and almost passed out on rep 12. I was not holding my breath but I guess the constant valsalva caused my Blood pressure to drop or HR to drop and I faded out. Another reason to get that rack ASAP. Anyway, the 12 reps felt really good and I felt I could have done more but stopped there for safety. Front squats were much better today. Probably could go up a little weight there.

Warm up 5 min elliptical level 9 as normal.

Squats:

Jump squat primers between every set.

WU:
bar x 15
95 x 10
135 x 8
145 x 8
Working sets:
165 x 8
165 x 8
165 x 12 Almost passed out. Need to slow down and work more on my breathing.

Dumbell lunges: Average HR after each set of these was 135 to 140. I alternated each leg this time as per your video. These were tough.

50 x 10
50 x 10
50 x 10

Front squats: Much better today.

125 x 12
125 x 12
125 x 12
125 x 11 Got light headed again on rep 11

Standing BB calf raises standing on a 35 pound plate for Increased ROM.

285 x 12
285 x 12
285 x 12
285 x 12

Abdominal planks: 35# plate on my back.

35 x 60s
35 x 60s
35 x 60s
35 x 60s

[pcaracer]

Incline press @ 125 AMRAP was 12.

Incline Bent Arm DB flye 42.5 Reps: 12/12/12/12 Last few were always hard

Partial dips BW + 45 pounds. 12/11/8/8 These were tough.

BB skull crushers 61 pounds 12/11/11/11

Decline crunch 25# vest plus 25 pound plate on chest. 12/12/12/11


Just seemed to poop out faster than I thought I should on the AMRAP set on press. Good thing is, I can only go up from here LOL.

[pcaracer]

Elliptical

2 min warm up
45 min rolling hills at level 8. AVG HR was 130
2 min Cool down.

[pcaracer]

Today felt pretty good overall. I was still a little sore from press day two days ago so felt the flys in my chest pretty good. Triceps were minimally sore and so felt fine today. Im sure there is an adjustment period starting up this program.

LIFT micro 1

Warm up elliptical as usual
upper and lower body stretch, static followed by ballastic stretching.

Close BB flat bench
Bar x 15
75 x 10
95 x 8
110 x 12
110 x 12
110 x 12 Not too hard. Prob need to go up a little here as I got 100%
Flat bench DB flye
45 x 12
45 x 12
45 x 12
45 x 12 Last few reps on most sets were 7-8/10 hard. Same here, got 100%
Dead lift
110 x 15
135 x 8
155 x 8
185 x 8
185 x 8
185 x 20 Grip started to slip and form getting a little sloppy so I stopped here. Never felt really heavy on legs or back. More fatigue and grip limited towards the end.
DB step back lunges. These were a good choice for me as my grip seems to be a little weak. I was getting grip fatigue towards the end. Forarms got a good pump...This should improve quickly...I hope.
45 x 12
45 x 10
45 x 10
45 x 12 Rested a full 3 min before this set.
Leg curls
80 x 12
80 x 9
80 x 9
80 x 8

[pcaracer]

Complex 1

BB lunge
Reverse grip bent row
Wide grip overhead press
Good mornings.

3 sets of 12 reps, 2 min rest between complexes.

Complex 2

BB pushups
BB curls
BB front squats
BB upright rows.

Same as above

[pcaracer]

Warm up


Chin ups: Body weight today with all my gear, shoes etc... 182 pounds. I hung a weight on my assistance bands to estimate my average assistance where the weight hung about mid ROM. So more help at the bottom and less help at the top. I pooped out on Chins a few reps before I really wanted to. My goal was 15 to 20 reps and I only got 12. SUX but lots of room for improvement. Funny, I could do 12 reps on my first set with full body weight a week ago. I really fatigue out fast on these.

primers: medicine ball slams

50# assistance x 10
50# assistance x 10
40# assistance x 8 This is progressive assistance so its 40# in mid Range of motion so Id need to check to see how much at the top but Id guess around 25 to 30 pounds, and more at the bottom of the rom.
40# assistance x 8
40# assistance x 12. This is where I could not touch the bar to my chest anymore. I could have gotten more reps if I just wanted the bar to go under my chin but I chose Full ROM for my cutoff.

DB bench rows:

55 x 11
55 x 12
55 x 12
55 x 12 The last 2 to 3 reps were hard on every set but I could squeeze out all my reps.

Bent BB rows

105 x 9
105 x 9
105 x 10
105 x 9 Working on really focusing on using my back and good form here.

BB curls

61 x 12
61 x 12
61 x 12
61 x 9

Hanging knee raises

BW + 21# x 12
Same x 12
same x 12
same x 12 Last 4 were always tough to keep good ROM.

[FastCatChamp]

Good start pcaracer. On the chinup assistance bands....what are you using? I have a few from elitelifts. I too have been trying to find a way to measure there assistance.

Also, on your warmups.....take it easy on the amount of reps. Most GSTers will pyramid downward toward their work set weight. For example:

Squats
95x10
135x6
175x3
195x1
--------------
205x6
205x6
205x11 AMRAP

It will make a big difference when you get into Micros 3 &4.

Once again...good start. Hope all is going well.

[pcaracer]

Good start pcaracer. On the chinup assistance bands....what are you using? I have a few from elitelifts. I too have been trying to find a way to measure there assistance.

Also, on your warmups.....take it easy on the amount of reps. Most GSTers will pyramid downward toward their work set weight. For example:

Squats
95x10
135x6
175x3
195x1
--------------
205x6
205x6
205x11 AMRAP

It will make a big difference when you get into Micros 3 &4.

Once again...good start. Hope all is going well.

Hey thanks! I especially noticed getting a little fatigued early on chinups. I really wear out fast on those. Im so use to lower weight and higher volume I have to change my thinking. Once I go heavy, Its amazing how quickly I wear out. I thought I was in good shape but this kind of lifting is amazingly taxing. Totally different than all the cardio I was doing.

As for estimating my assistance, I used some dumbell hangers to hang from my resistance bands and I shot for a band that had the amount of weight I was looking for balanced at about mid range of motion. So I put the strap over my pull up bar and hung the hangers through the handles. I then hung my 40 pound dumbell and kept switching out bands until the 40# hung mid Range of motion. Sure, as the band is stretched max it gives a little more help but at the top of the ROM it gives less. Thats why I chose the mid range of motion to get the 40# so it would average out. Worked pretty good as my AMRAP set showed. I then remove the dumbell and put my foot into the dumbell hanger like a stirrup and cross my other leg over the front to stabilize. Then do chinups as usual. I should have got more reps but Im just starting out and learning how to do all of this. Ive never had such a good overall plan and I really hope once I get through the learning curve, I start to make some real gains.

Ill keep updating all this.

If anyone needs pics of how Ive done this let me know and I can post a few pictures.

Jeff

[pcaracer]

Here is a pic of my resistance band calibration. I stick my foot into the dumbell hanger as a stirrup and off I go. That Dumbell is hanging about mid range of motion for an average assistance of 40#.

The second picture is of my added resistance for hanging knee raises. Thats about 21 pounds of added weight to my feet. Im holding the small dumbells on my ankles using 2.5 pound ankle weight straps. This worked well. I may make something else as the weights start to rise for more comfort. Thinking about a loop of velcro between the two ankle weights where I can hang my dumbell hangers.
These Dumbell hangers come in very handy for other things as well like weighted dips. I just put on a weight belt and hang them off the front of me. This will work until I can get a propper belt attachment.

Enjoy.

[pcaracer]

Warm up on Elliptical 10 min manual setting level 9
Lower body stretch and warm up.

Squat
BW x 15
Bar x 15
95 x 8
135 x 5
155 x 3
185 x 1
190 x 5
190 x 5
190 x 21
DB lunge
60 x 6
60 x 6
60 x 6
60 x 6
Front Squats
135 x 1
155 x 6
155 x 6
155 x 6
155 x 6 These are getting easier.
Standing calf rasie
350 x 6
350 x 6
350 x 6
350 x 6
Front plank
45 x 30s
45 x 30s
45 x 30s
45 x 30s
Cool down elliptical Manual setting level 9 for 10 min.
Light stretch.

[FastCatChamp]

What did you think of the downward pyramiding warmup scheme?

[pcaracer]

What did you think of the downward pyramiding warmup scheme?

As you can see, my AMRAP set went way up. Thanks, helped a lot.

MUCH MUCH better.