RayD23's Road to Summer!

[RayD23]

Friday

Sleep: 7:48 / 93% s.e.
THIS

Workout: Rest
Cals Burned: 2,081
Worked from home, always more active by design with the stairs in my house

Nutrition: 1,735 Cals, 67.7 F, 162.7 C (45.1 F), 139.1 P
Lunch - Chipotle Steak Bowl with Rice, Guacamole; Banana, QB PB&J
Dinner - GV + Trutein, 2 Chicken Burgers, Alexa Sweet Potato Fries, Almond Dream Non Dairy IC

Sat AM Weekly Check-In

Weight: 137.2 (+0.6 lb.)
Waist: 28.3" (n/c)
Avg BF% Ch. (three point calipers, Tanita BF Scale, Omron Monitor): no change

A little surprised to be up in weight but last Sat's beer fest may have brought in more cals than I thought. Deficits on rest days haven't been huge either.

Today I'm gonna pop my 2012 running cherry and try to bang out a 2 mi. jog. Saturday's normally a p90x workout day, but gonna shift to tomorrow due to the bad eating accompanying Easter. I'm also done with exclusively p90x2 workouts. For the most part, I enjoyed it, but I basically spun my wheels the last 3 months. It's almost like it allowed me to calorie cycle and eat crap on workout days vs. complement each other, even though the calorie cycling was a purposed goal vs. my own need (and some nights felt like forced feeding). I just don't see any discernible progress these past few months, and the #'s say the same. Since Jan 1, I am down 0.2 lbs and 0.4% BF and waist measurements are exactly the same. Trying to recomp with p90x2 = fail.

What I am hoping is that these total body workouts now put me in a good position to re-start a lifting routine. I STRUGGLED with Deads last time around and hoping I can get more out this time. I'm thinking of keeping things real simple (again) as I did last fall. RPT, 3 days a week with Deadlifts, Bench and Squats anchoring each of the days. 1-2 days a week of cardio (via jogs) or a p90x2 routine.

Today I dust off the bench.. tomorrow, it begins again!

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:03 / 79% s.e.
Not this

Workout: 2 mile boardwalk jog
Cals Burned: 2,529
Fun to hit the boards again

Nutrition: 1,675 Cals, 71.5 F, 144.4 C (27.4 F), 137.8 P
Lunch - Surf Taco Beef Tacos, GV + Trutein, B&J Strawberry Shortcake GY, QuestBar
Dinner - 2 Chicken Burgers, Cadbury Creme Egg
Not a bang-up day for micronutrients but solid deficit in anticipation of Easter

[RayD23]

Sleep: 5:35 / 83% s.e.
Errrrrr.. my basic problem is almost no matter how late I go to bed on a weekend, I still wake up close to 6 am

Workout: RPT Day 1!
Cals Burned: 2,276

Deadlift .. don't laugh!
45x5 (warmup)
55x5 (w)
80x5 (w)
110x3 (w)
135x5 (set 1)
Rest 2-3 min
120x6 (2)
Rest 2-3 min

Chin-Ups
BWx8 (warmup)
+30x6 (1)
Rest 2-3 min
+15x7 (2)
Rest 2-3 min
BWx8 (3)

Started off real slow.. went back to my Starting Strength final numbers from last Fall and then lowered a bit. With DL's, I am starting off way conservative and focusing on form to avoid tweaking my back.

Nutrition: Write-off
Hit fat & protein goals but with some of the snacking probably ended up upwards of 2,500 cals on the day. In any case, Sat's big deficit has me covered from serious fat gain.

Read through Andy Morgan's site the past 2 days and am going to just keep it real simple for RPT. The Big 3 paired with a second ex and that's it. Sat or Sun - DL/Weighted Chins; Tuesday - Bench/Dips or Bench/Push-Ups; Thursday - Squats/Weighted Pull or Squats/Press. Still not 100% on the 2nd ex for Tues/Thurs. Hope to also get in fasted LISS one day a week and one day of HIIT.

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:26 / 80% s.e.
Drugged myself

Workout: HIIT, 20 min
Cals Burned: 2,356

Took the day off.. did a 20 min HIIT session with erratic intervals (3 min proved too ambitious) but amazing how I also sat in a movie theatre for 2 1/2 hours today and still easily surpassed my burn for an average day of work. I suspect the people that scream about not counting calories are the ones that aren't chained to a desk 40-50 hours a week..

Nutrition: 1,770 cals, 65.6 F, 171.3 C (40.1 F), 142.1 P
Lunch: Chicken sausages & peppers, QuestBar
Snack: GV + Banana + Casein Shake
Dinner: Asian Steak Wrap & Sweet Potato Fries
Ate out for dinner, pulled a best guess here. Knowing this motivated me to get out and burn a little extra via the HIIT though. Also had a couple chocolates for another 100 cals.

Also got a protein pumpkin (cheese)cake cooling.. tried to go mostly lactose free so it's more pumpkin pie than cheesecake this time around and upped the casein to compensate for some thickness. We'll see how it goes tomorrow!

[RayD23]

Sleep: 5:50 / 79% s.e.

Workout: Bench & Dips
Cals Burned: 2,203

Bench
45x5 (warmup)
45x5 (w)
65x5 (w)
95x5 (w)
125x2 (w)
155x6 (set 1)
140x8 (2)
125x10 (3)

Dips
BWx8 (warmup)
+35x6 (1)
+20x7 (2)
+5x8 (3)

Push-Ups
2x20

Thirty minutes and done. Felt a little guilty. First bench since mid-December so kept things a little conservative which ended up not all that conservative since another 5-10 lbs and things would have gotten sloppy. Also threw in those push-ups just to get to 30 min.

Nutrition: 2,029 cals, 38.3 F, 246.3 C (42.8 F), 180.3 P
Lunch: Salad with chicken, veggies, Banana, Balance Bar Bare
Pre-WO: Proatmeal
Dinner: Shake, Ground Turkey, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin Pie

Sooo... a little protein pumpkin pie with a hint of cheese (from lactaid CC)... the full out cheesecake is definitely better. But this works, and shouldn't have any post-GI to deal with.

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:15 / 82% s.e.

Workout: Rest
Cals Burned: 1,943

Scheduled day off.. squats 2012 kick-off tomorrow.

Nutrition: 1,713 cals, 63.2 F, 161.0 C (48.4 F), 157.3 P
Lunch: Salad with chicken, veggies, Banana, QB, WCW PB
Dinner: Chipotle Steak & Guac Bowl, Protein Pumpkin Pie, Green Vibrance + Trutein

[RayD23]

Sleep: 5:34 / 74% s.e.
Movie before bed, bad idea

Workout: Squats & Pull-Ups
Cals Burned: 2,139 (proj.)

Squats

Bar x 5 (w)
Bar x 5 (w)
65 x 5 (w)
100 x 5 (w)
130 x 5 (w)
155 x 5 (1)
140 x 7 (2)
125 x 8 (3)

Pull-Ups
BW x 8 (w)
+25 x 5 (1)
+10 x 7 (2)
BW x 9 (3)

Over and out in 30 min.. Still appears I'm tracking to a 2,100+ kind of day, which is about what a 50-60 min p90x2 workout was pulling. Squats were modest, originally planned to get back into it at 165 after 4 months off but the warm-ups told me to ease up.

Nutrition: 2,039 cals, 31.5 F, 259.3 C (36.7 F), 184.2 P
Lunch: Ground Turkey, Chobani GY, Banana, Cadbury Egg
Pre-WO: Proatmeal
Dinner: Ground Turkey, Sweet Potato, Protein Pumpkin Pie, Green Vibrance + Trutein + Berries

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:05 / 75% s.e.
2 am stomach ache.. second time this week. blaming the pie.

Workout: Rest
Cals Burned: 2,018 (proj.)

Nutrition: 1,760 cals, 72.0 F, 144.6 C (39.9 F), 159.4 P
Lunch: Salad with chicken, onions, sweet potato, QB Peanut Butter Supreme, WC Wonderful, Banana
Dinner: Italian Seasoned Ground Buffalo, Almond Dream Ice Cream

My stomach seems to have tightened up a little this week after just 3 weights sessions, or maybe it's my imagination? If so, just in time since I may have a beach day on my hands this Sunday. Downside, the pumpkin pie was a bad situation. Not sure if I didn't cook it long enough.. all I know is while my mouth enjoyed, the rest of the body was in open revolt.

[RayD23]

Weekly Stats:
Weight: 136.0 (-1.2)
BF: +0.2%
Waist: 28.3" (+0.1")

Sleep: 6:35 / 84% s.e.

Workout: Deadlifts & Chins
Cals Burned: 2,378

Deadlift .. big problems
45x5 (warmup)
55x5 (w)
85x5 (w)
115x3 (w)
140x5 (set 1)
Back strain.. clicking sound on 5th rep. Felt my form break down after the 4th. Immediate pain and still feel stiff and sore (but not in a good way). My prob, I think, was using 25s instead of 45s created too great a ROM due to my short arms. Having had issues from Aug-Dec and now again.. not sure if this exercise is in the cards.

Chin-Ups
BWx9 (warmup)
+30x7 (1)
+15x8 (2)
BWx9 (3)

Nutrition: 1,965 Cals, 45.2 F, 265.0 C (46.0 F), 148.6 P
Probably ended up 100 higher with a couple small snacks otherwise.

After the week I had, I'm thinking about scaling back IIFYM a little as far as allowance for dairy, glutens and sugar and maybe just allowing 1 day a week to get a small fix (but within macros). Just not worth the gas/bloating and inconsistent sleep. Gonna read Robb Wolf's Paleo Diet this week..

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:56 / 79% s.e.
Love the new BMF Activity Manager sleep settings.. had me "sleeping" during American Reunion, but now I can just move the slider.

Workout: 40 min fasted LISS walk
Cals Burned: 2,395

In pain during the walk.. actually felt like my right hip was a little bruised.

Nutrition: 1,753 Cals, 70.1 F, 133.3 C (38.5 F), 160.6 P
New discovery: Arctic Zero Frozen Dessert.. it's fake ice cream at its fakest. But I can have half the pint at 74 cals and have a bowl full of something vs. a spoonful of B&J picking a fight with my lactose intolerance.

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:10 / 79% s.e.

Workout: Rest
Cals Burned: 2,006
Originally planned on an HIIT day but feeling wiped out and back still in ridic pain. Much love for Icy Hot. Going to try either HIIT or a walk tomorrow evening instead and move bench day to Wednesday and squats day from Thurs to Saturday. Hoping my back probs aren't so bad I can't do squats by then. If so, I'm gonna need a new game plan, which would blow.

Nutrition: 1,630 Cals, 58.5 F, 149.8 C (43.2 F), 152.8 P
Erring on the lighter side now as I think I'm drifting back into a cut after the half-assed recomp went nowhere.

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:57 / 87% s.e.

Workout: HIIT Sprints 12 x 60 sec (75 sec rest)
Cals Burned: 2,268
Awesome evening.. perfect running weather. Back's on the mend, but still feeling it.

Nutrition: 1,750 Cals, 74.4 F, 126.5 C (24.2 F), 149.7 P
Lunch: Banana, Salad with chicken, veggies, White Choco Wonderful, Balance Bar Bare
Dinner: Organic Ground Beef with veggies, Green Vibrance + Trutein

Nothing like eating a 1/2 lb of savory ground beef... def no hunger issues afterwards.

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:32 / 83% s.e.

Workout: Bench & Dips
Cals Burned: 2,078 (proj.)

Bench
45x5 (warmup)
45x5 (w)
65x5 (w)
95x5 (w)
125x2 (w)
140x6 (set 1)
125x8 (set 2)
110x10 (set 3)

Dips
BWx8 (w)
30x6 (set 1)
15x7 (set 2)
BWx8 (set 3)

Push-Ups
2x20

Last night's HIIT not a good idea, back was achy last night into the afternoon today. So tonight's workout was about caution. I didn't even want to touch the 45 lb plates out of fear of screwing up my back getting them off the bottom rung of the weight rack. Sucks, but what can ya do.

In any case, forget Deads, I think even squats on Sat isn't looking realistic. If that's the case, I'll try to find a revised workout plan. In general there's gotta be a warning on DLs. I read articles and watched videos on form for 2 hours Fri night into Sat morning only to screw up my back in all of 10 seconds.

Nutrition: 2,078 Cals, 43.3 F, 262.1 C (52.8 F), 171.4 P
Lunch: Salad with chicken, veggies, QB Apple Pie, Banana, Chobani
PreWO: Proatmeal
Dinner: Chicken Sausage with Stir Fry Vegs, PWO GV + Whey + Casein + Berries Shake, 1/4 cup B&J GY Ice Cream + 1/4 cup So Delicious Cherry Amaretto

And that makes today's net deficit exactly 0.

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:20 / 79% s.e.

Workout: Rest
Cals Burned: 2,014

Nutrition: 1,750 Cals, 75.4 F, 127.5 C (37.2 F), 154.7 P
Lunch: Banana, Salad with chicken, veggies, White Choco Wonderful, QB Mixed Berry
Dinner: Organic Ground Beef with veggies, Green Vibrance + Trutein

Back's still bugging me.. Pissed about missing out on good jogging weather today and tomorrow. Hoping this thing sorts itself out soon.

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:20 / 86% s.e.

Workout: Rest
Cals Burned: 2,108

Nutrition: 1,669 Cals, 60.4 F, 149.5 C (42.2 F), 161.5 P
Lunch: Banana, Salad with chicken, veggies, White Choco Wonderful, QB Cinnamon Roll
Dinner: 2 Organic WF Chicken Burgers, Arctic Zero + So Delicious "IC", Green Vibrance + Trutein

Still achy. Seems to have migrated a little higher up my back.. strangely, it's now almost similar to the pain I had when I first started using insoles in my shoes to fix the ITBS. Tomorrow's workout definitely modified. No squats. Will go with chin-ups, lat pull downs and find a leg exercise.

[RayD23]

Weekly Stats:
Weight: 135.6 (-0.4)
BF: -0.4%
Waist: 28.1" (-0.2")

Sleep: 6:37 / 83% s.e.

Workout: Chins, Lat Pull Downs, Goblet Squats, Walking
Cals Burned: 2,310

A little improvising since I'm not sure how long I'm OOC.

Chin-Ups
BWx8 (warmup)
+35x6 (1)
+20x7 (2)
+5x8 (3)

Lat Pulldowns
20x5 (w)
40x5 (w)
60x5 (w)
80x5 (1)
70x6 (2)
60x7 (3)

Goblet Squats
10x5 (w)
25x5 (w)
40x5 (1)
30x6 (2)
20x7 (3)

Wasn't excited by this.. but better than sittin' on the couch, right?

Nutrition: 2,537 Cals, 85.3 F, 294.7 C (31.8 F), 150.9 P :-0
Fats way too high for what turned into a +maintenance day eating out.. but after a few weeks at or below, probably not he worst thing.

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:13 / 77% s.e.

Workout: Rest
Cals Burned: 2,831

Huuuge burn day and not a workout.. but on my feet all day swapping out old door knobs and cleaning the garage. Good times.

Nutrition: 1,693 Cals, 64.4 F, 151.2 C (41.8 F), 145.6 P
Lunch: Banana, Ground Buffalo + Stir Fry Veggies, QB Vanilla Almond Crunch
Snack: Trutein + Green Vibrance
Dinner: WF Bacon & Cheese Chicken Burger, Sweet Potato Waffle Fries, Arctic Zero + Almond Dream "IC"

Back was good most of the day and only started to stiffen up this eve.. come on come on.

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:47 / 87% s.e.
Reading before bed..clutch

Workout: Rest
Cals Burned: 2,011

Back pain in my ass...

Nutrition: 1,648 Cals, 58.9 F, 151.2 C (43.8 F), 149.0 P
Lunch: Banana, Ground Buffalo + Stir Fry Veggies, QB Choco PB
Dinner: WF Bacon & Cheese Chicken Burger + Stir Fry Veggies, Arctic Zero + Almond Dream "IC", Trutein + Green Vibrance

With the weather and back pain flaring up today, gotta be honest, could have gone for a big fat burger and fries...

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:53 / 90% s.e.
Ya-yuh

Workout: Bench + Dips
Cals Burned: 2,055

Bench
Bar x5 (w)
Bar x5 (w)
65x5 (w)
95x5 (w)
125x2 (w)
145x6 (1)
130x8 (2)
115x10 (3)

Dips
BWx5 (w)
40x6 (1)
20x7 (2)
BWx8 (3)

Pushups
2x20

Weak sauce, but still not even close to testing the back..

Nutrition: 1,884 Cals, 45.3 F, 230.5 C (34.8 F), 142.9 P :-0
The sorta-carb cycling is probably unnecessary.

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:34 / 83% s.e.

Workout: Rest
Cals Burned: 2,027

Oddly, I'm burning almost 100 extra on rest days since hurting my back. Prob all the extra focus on posture plus a morning and evening foam roll.

Nutrition: 1,659 Cals, 59.3 F, 145.6 C (37.9 F), 164.7 P
Lunch: Banana, Salad with chicken + veggies, WCW, QB Choco
Dinner: 2 WF Chicken Burgers, Arctic Zero + Almond Dream "IC", Trutein + Green Vibrance

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:49 / 86% s.e.

Workout: Leg Ext. + Pull-Ups
Cals Burned: 2,064 (proj.)

Leg Extensions
25x5(w)
50x5(w)
60x5(w)
75x7(1)
60x8(2)
50x10(3)

Pull-Ups
BWx8 (w)
30x5 (1)
15x7 (2)
BWx8 (3)

A little rumble roller in the AM and pre-workout.. starting to turn the corner on back pain 2012.

Nutrition: 1,840 Cals, 48g F, 234g C (37g F, 57g S), 145g P
Made the switch from fitday over to myfitnesspal...mind blown by the scanner.

[RayD23]

Friday

Sleep: 6:00 / 79% s.e.
Allergies.. dry cough develops overnight. Lovely.

Workout: Rest
Cals Burned: 1,998
Lethargic.. almost took a sick day but manned up. But even errands after work kept me under 2k.

Nutrition: 1,673 Cals, 65g F, 152g C (42g Fi, 61g S), 148g P
Lunch - Salad with chicken, veggies, Banana, QB, White Choc Wond. PB
Dinner - Chipotle Steak Bowl with Rice, Guacamole; Arctic Zero, GV + Trutein

Saturday

Weigh-In
Weight: 136.0 (+0.4 lb.)
Waist: 28.1" (-0.1")
Avg BF% Ch. (three point calipers, Tanita BF Scale, Omron Monitor): no change

Probably closer to 135 since the usual Sat AM "cleanse" hit in the PM.

Sleep: 4:56 / 60% s.e.
Grrr.. won't even get into this.

Workout: Lats & Chins ["Rehab" Series]
Cals Burned: 2,949 (proj.) !!

Lat Pulldown
20 x 5 (w)
40 x 5 (w)
70 x 5 (w)
85 x 6 (1)
75 x 7 (2)
70 x 8 (3)

Weighted Chins
BW x 8 (w)
+30 x 6 (1)
+15 x 8 (2)
+5 x 9 (3)

Front Squats
Bar x 5 (w)
Bar x 5 (w)

Stellar burn day (for me) since I worked on my place all day, with a workout in between. Would love to be this active every day. Also a disclaimer that workouts since the back went out 2 weeks ago during dead lifts are heavily scaled back.

Nutrition: 2,303 Cals, 66g F, 287g C (43g Fi, 95g S), 166g P
Lunch - Sweet Potato Pancakes (awesome), Chicken Sausage, Trutein + GV + Banana Shake, QB, B&Js
Dinner - Chicken Burgers + Peppers, Sweet Potato Fries, Arctic Zero

Dinner, solid:


No picture, but tried the Leanbodylifestyle SPP recipe and it was on point, except for a little overcooking. It's probably been a year since I've had pancakes and these didn't make me miss the real thing.

I think I mentioned that I picked up a "Rumble Roller" earlier in the week and whether it is that or just natural healing, the back is feeling MUCH better. I thought about Front Squats but realized after two warmup sets I couldn't get my elbows out and didn't want to cause a new problem. I may be ready to reintegrate LIGHT back squats next week and hopefully light jogging..?

[RayD23]

Sleep: 7:25 / 89% s.e.
There it is son!

Workout: p90x2 Recovery & Mobility
Cals Burned: 2,557 (proj.)
Spoke too soon, back ACHED this morning.. started to feel it shortly after last night's post. Argh.. Today's burn based on more housework since the p90x2 thing was basically just prolonged foam rolling. First time I actually did this "workout" and probably not the last, but definitely a once in awhile kind of deal.

Nutrition: 1,870 Cals, 86g F, 141g C (33g Fi, 44g S), 158g P
Lunch - Salmon Pinwheel and Sweet Potato Pancakes (had to.. thought I had snapped a pic but evidently lost in cyberspace), QB Apple Pie (fast becoming one of my favorite flavors)
Dinner - Santa Fe Steak Salad in Tortilla Bowl, GV + Trutein

I'm a huge fan of myfitnesspal after just a few days.. huge fan. iPhone scanning aside, just for the fact that I don't have to log in to the damn website or app every friggin time unlike fitday.

Not really sure what this week's plan is gonna be. My back is still real creaky ATM, which probably means keeping things light for awhile longer and no HIIT running. It drives me crazy thinking about that 1 last rep on the DLs that's put me in this spot!!

[RayD23]

Sleep: 5:55 / ??% s.e.
Bodymedia stopped registering a couple times last night so had to fill in the gaps

Workout: Rest
Cals Burned: 1,913
Didn't move around a whole lot today

Nutrition: 1,716 Cals, 74g F, 133g C (34g Fi, 64g S), 159g P
Lunch - Salad with chicken, veggies, QB PB Supreme, Banana, WCW
Dinner - Ground Buffalo, Arctic Zero + Almond Dream IC, GV + Trutein

Declarations of my recovery were premature. Worst pain yet today, so I'm going all rest this week. If I'm feeling up to it, will go for a midweek walk after work, but that is all. Will bench on Saturday if I'm pain free by midweek. Frustrated..

[RayD23]

Sleep: 7:17 / 87% s.e.
Betta

Workout: Rest
Cals Burned: 1,954 (proj.)

Nutrition: 1,676 Cals, 70g F, 133g C (32g Fi, 61g S), 159g P
Lunch - Salad with chicken, veggies, QB Cinnamon Roll, Banana, WCW
Dinner - Ground Buffalo, Arctic Zero + Almond Dream IC, GV + Casein Banana

Not sure I'm keeping this going as long as I can't do anything. GD DLs!

[RayD23]

Sleep: 6:49 / 82% s.e.
Betta

Workout: Rest
Cals Burned: 2,012 (proj.)

Nutrition: 1,610 Cals, 59g F, 149g C (37g Fi,59 S), 154g P
Lunch - Salad with chicken, veggies, QB Coconut Cashew, Banana, WCW
Dinner - Florentine Chicken Burgers + Peppers/Onions, Arctic Zero + So Delicious IC, Oatmeal, GV + Trutein

Pain more subdued and manageable, so wasn't totally anchored to my desk today.

[RayD23]

From Adversity comes Opportunity...

My back is on the mend, a family member who is a doctor said it was just a bad strain based on no radiating pain in my legs or elsewhere.. thank God.

In any case, I'm taking it easy until this thing is kicked and I'm not sure I'm going to ever get back into DLs. In the meantime, I bought a juicer and am taking one foot out of the IIFYM wagon except for occasional "cheat" days. Felt an instant buzz and good mood after my first juice on Saturday. Today, I made cookies out of this afternoon's juice pulp. Not gonna lie, it wasn't pilsbury, but they were edible.

This is probably my last post in this journal unless this spur's sudden conversation.. you can find my daily nutrition on myfitnesspal under username RayD23 if interested.. and that is all.