The Mohammed I'm Ard Bruce Lee Journal

[GinjaNinja85]

Background
My name's Mike. I'm a gas engineer and I run my own business, which is great for money, not so good for stress, and in particular, time. I've had a few false starts in my fitness and strength goals because I've let things take over but this new journal is me turning over a new leaf and hopefully staying consistent no matter what the outside demands of life and work bring. My old journal is here - http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=143400343.

Achievements
I managed to reach (in KGs) a 5 rep S/B/D of 132.5/93/157.5 and a test of my 1RMs at the end of 2012 yielded a S/D of 145/172.5. I didn't test bench due to a shoulder injury, something I am VERY keen to avoid this time round. I know it will take some time to acquire these figures again but I fully intend to reach and significantly surpass these. Having been a member of these forums for a while, I don't feel this is a huge deal to do. So many here have gone beyond it and that is why I'm grateful to have a log here!

Here are some of my best lifts...


I also done Tough Mudder with my girlfriend last August!


Goals
Mohammed I'm Ard Bruce Lee is the toughest of the toughest, make no mistake. An all round fit strong b*stard As referenced by our favourite cockney nutcase Brick Top...


In all honesty, noone can become Mohammed I'm Ard Bruce Lee, but the closest you're gonna get is by being a competitive powerlifter and boxer. Which is basically my goal for this year. To compete in both! I'm setting no lifting goals because let's face it, it doesn't really make a difference. Progress comes as progress comes.


Method
1: 5 week fitness and weight loss phase;
I'm not particularly big at the moment, but I do need to get fit and the goal of this phase is to establish a good base diet, lose excess fat in preperation for strength training and build a good base of conditioning. I'll be doing steady state and HIIT in the form of 2-6 mile runs and sprint sessions.

2: 5 week strength re-building and HIIT phase;
I'll be running Starting Strength 3rd Edition, as written, and ramping up the intensity of sprinting sessions by introducing hills and weighted vest work. Steady state will not be included.

3: Strength building and sports phase;
By now I should be pretty fit and also have some strength back. I'll start boxing at this point and hopefully progess quickly with the base of conditioning I'll be starting with. I'll re assess things from here, but this phase could last a long time. It feels a bit OTT to speculate on decisions beyond here so lets get down to business!!

GOOD TO BE BACK BROTHERS

[GinjaNinja85]

STEADY STATE

TIME
27.29

DISTANCE
3.06 miles

PACE
8.58 min/ml

COMMENTS
Surprised at the pace. It's around the same pace as when I was at my fittest bizzarely. I've been fighting off a cold and now I can't stop coughing after this. Lung pain.

I've actually run twice this week already (2ml and 2.5ml) so this concludes week 1 of linearly progressed steady state work. Next week I'll begin HIIT and do a recovery jog/distance run/HIIT/recovery jog setup with appropriate rest and maybe a swim.

[pyaarawala]

In on this log w/ the insane title. Haha, good luck! You're 176 now? Wow, I remember you were around 200 back when you were lifting regularly. How's your BF% looking now?

[GinjaNinja85]

In on this log w/ the insane title. Haha, good luck! You're 176 now? Wow, I remember you were around 200 back when you were lifting regularly. How's your BF% looking now?

Great! Let's hope this log is less lame! I don't even know what my weight and bf are. Significantly below 200lbs. Not as low as 176 though.

[GinjaNinja85]

STEADY STATE

TIME
27.29

DISTANCE
3.02 miles

PACE
9.05 min/ml

COMMENTS
Not exactly a recovery jog because I went with Clare and she doesn't do recovery work. Done this first thing in the morning still stiff from last night's run. More pain. Exactly the same time though!

[Sinaku5]

subbd to new log.

Looking forward to some great work in here!

Great to have you back Mike!

[GinjaNinja85]

subbd to new log.

Looking forward to some great work in here!

Great to have you back Mike!

Thanks Musid! It's gonna be a long road back but I'm here to stay this time

[GinjaNinja85]

STEADY STATE - Distance Run

TIME
37.06

DISTANCE
4.0 miles

PACE
9.16 min/ml

COMMENTS
I felt heavy and sore for this and I could barely walk after. I was ill last week and missed a couple of sessions so I just crammed in 3 days in a row, culminating in this distance run. Pretty foolish really. Also, I just looked at my schedule and I was supposed to do this tomorrow. Double foolish. I'll be having a couple of rest days I think.

[fittofattofit]

I'm glad I found the new log Mike! Your PR lifts looked good so you'll get back to those in a few months with a bit of consistency ... after that I'm expecting to see a whole swag of PRs

BTW, I can't believe that it was as long ago as August that you did the Tough Mudder

[Sinaku5]

Like Andrew, the biggest thing is consistency.

You'll be back to beast status in no time.

[GinjaNinja85]

I'm glad I found the new log Mike! Your PR lifts looked good so you'll get back to those in a few months with a bit of consistency ... after that I'm expecting to see a whole swag of PRs

BTW, I can't believe that it was as long ago as August that you did the Tough Mudder

Time flies eh! I cannot wait to start lifting again but to become Mohammed I'm ard Bruce Lee, I'm gonna need to hammer the conditioning up to a respectable level first

Like Andrew, the biggest thing is consistency.

You'll be back to beast status in no time.

I Hope so! Tbh though, I'm expecting it to take up to 6 months. I dunno, maybe I'm just setting myself up to avoid disappointment.

[GinjaNinja85]

HIIT - Sprints (flat/easy hill)

SPRINT
15 sec

REST
45 sec

QUANTITY
5

COMMENTS
Brutal

Edit: just to add some detail. This was the first HIIT session of the new training schedule. I'll be looking to add a sprint next week. I'm so unfit I feel beaten up after every session at the moment.

[Sinaku5]

Sprints are tough period. Its hard not to feel beaten up after them. GJ

[GinjaNinja85]

Today was much less punishing Musid

STEADY STATE

TIME
27.19

DISTANCE
3.00 miles

PACE
9.06 min/ml

COMMENTS
Same pace as the last 3 mile but much easier. I think my legs have recovered from the hell I put them through at the beginning of last week and I felt pretty comfortable. Something that was REALLY annoying was the earphones I had in, or more to the point not in. The standard ones that come with the iphone 5s are awful. No cushion and they just fall out! Oh well, I have another Phillips padded in ear pair in the van I''ll use in future. It definitely cost me time though.

That rounds off week 2. Week 3 will be advancing this week's format with 2x 3.5 mile jogs and a distance run of 5 miles in between. I'll also do another sprint session. I should be able to start enjoying running again soon.

[Sinaku5]

Lol - I picked up some bluetooth headphones and love em! Theyre starting to break tho .

[pyaarawala]

Man you sure love running. I can't stand running, or any cardio really except for basketball. Keep up the good work though

[fittofattofit]

That rounds off week 2. Week 3 will be advancing this week's format with 2x 3.5 mile jogs and a distance run of 5 miles in between. I'll also do another sprint session. I should be able to start enjoying running again soon.

What's there to enjoy about running?







Actually, I like HIIT sprinting, it's just those 3 mile runs are way too much like hard work
Have you measured out your distances for the 15 second sprints? I find it very hard sprinting to a clock

[GinjaNinja85]

Lol - I picked up some bluetooth headphones and love em! Theyre starting to break tho .

Why the hell am I still using leads

Man you sure love running. I can't stand running, or any cardio really except for basketball. Keep up the good work though

I'm not sure I love it! I like being fit though and I wanna box soon.

What's there to enjoy about running?







Actually, I like HIIT sprinting, it's just those 3 mile runs are way too much like hard work
Have you measured out your distances for the 15 second sprints? I find it very hard sprinting to a clock

The rain, wind and cold of course

I have a round timer so I just run to the 'bong's. I'd much prefer to have a distance marked out though but I change location constantly.

[GinjaNinja85]

STEADY STATE

TIME
33:50

DISTANCE
3.50 miles

PACE
9.37 min/ml

COMMENTS
Done this yesterday. Felt ok but the time and pace look slow, probably due to the route being especially hilly. Getting fitter. 5 mile run next.

[pyaarawala]

I have to admit it does feel good afterward though. I used to do cardio 2x/day back when I was going on a crazy cut. Not right after, but probably 30-45 min after I'd feel great throughout the day.

[GinjaNinja85]

STEADY STATE - Distance Run

TIME
45.05

DISTANCE
4.89 miles

PACE
9.13 min/ml

COMMENTS
Marginally better than last week's 4 mile pace of 9:16. Also beats the 9:15 I done last June for this same route so I guess it's a PR.

I could've gone faster but my head wasn't in it. Me and my gf are arguing at the moment. She said I wasn't being attentive enough since she moved in and that she was weighing things up. I was quite hurt by this, didn't really see it coming tbh but she's moved away from her folks to live with me so I took it on board.

Anyway, we spent some time together on Monday, she went to work on Tuesday night and I left a letter for her to read when she got home. This morning she said she'd read it but couldn't remember a single word of what I'd written. I've flipped over this massively given that she gave me such a hard time about being attentive. Things are really hanging in the balance and I'm not sure how much I should read into her not remembering it. It feels bad. So yeah, training is gonna be a grind if things go south from here.

[GinjaNinja85]

Just realised I'm exactly halfway through this conditioning phase. 2 and a half more weeks until Starting Strength

[fittofattofit]

Upping the distance and improving the pace ... conditioning is happening! Are you going to keep up the distance runs when SS starts?

[GinjaNinja85]

Upping the distance and improving the pace ... conditioning is happening! Are you going to keep up the distance runs when SS starts?

No way Jose. I'll be sprinting 2x a week only with progression focused on increasing sprint quantities, then more difficult gradients, then weighted vest work.

After 5 weeks of that I'll start boxing. I'll be the fittest 'newb' ever to turn up at a boxing gym hopefully!

[GinjaNinja85]

HIIT - Sprints (flat/easy hill)

SPRINT
15 sec

REST
45 sec

QUANTITY
6

COMMENTS
Much better than last week. I mean, I felt like I was gonna have an asthma attack at the end, but I at least had the legs and lungs to do 6 sprints with a solid effort.

Patched things up with the 'wife'. We went swimming the other day and I really enjoyed it. I'm gonna have another go next week and try to do 2 lengths without nearly drowning this time.

[Sinaku5]

just realised i'm exactly halfway through this conditioning phase. 2 and a half more weeks until starting strength

winnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!

[Sinaku5]

HIIT - Sprints (flat/easy hill)

SPRINT
15 sec

REST
45 sec

QUANTITY
6

COMMENTS
Much better than last week. I mean, I felt like I was gonna have an asthma attack at the end, but I at least had the legs and lungs to do 6 sprints with a solid effort.

Patched things up with the 'wife'. We went swimming the other day and I really enjoyed it. I'm gonna have another go next week and try to do 2 lengths without nearly drowning this time.

6 sprints is no joke Mike. Why do you have wife in quotations?

[GinjaNinja85]

winnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!

Hell yeah buddy! Lifting is where it's at

6 sprints is no joke Mike. Why do you have wife in quotations?

Just because she's not my actual wife. The sprints hurt

[GinjaNinja85]

STEADY STATE

TIME
28:11

DISTANCE
3.50 miles

PACE
8:03 min/ml

COMMENTS
Really went at this one. This was the same 3.5 mile route from last week. Beat the 9:37 pace, set a new all time pace record by some distance and felt strong for everything except the big hill in the middle of the route. Must work on strength up hills.

Next week I'll be replacing Mondays steady state session with a HIIT session. The template for the final two weeks of this conditioning phase looks like Sprints/Distance Run/Sprints/Jog with a swim in there somewhere. I'll probably be doing some sort of body weight circuit after the sprints too.

[fittofattofit]

From only 2 weeks ago:

TIME
27.29

DISTANCE
3.06 miles

PACE
8.58 min/ml

COMMENTS
Surprised at the pace. It's around the same pace as when I was at my fittest bizzarely. I've been fighting off a cold and now I can't stop coughing after this. Lung pain..

Great work on that 8 minute pace and sustaining it for 3 and a half miles .. do you think that that's the fittest you've ever been?