Losing Weight and Rugby Training: A First Journal

[R Pizzle]

Hola, my name is Rich. I'm going to be starting my first journal within the next few days, hopefully with the aid of many of the members of this board. I'm 20 years old, a little shy of 5'9", and rather overweight at 245lbs. I'm a sophomore in college. I'm currently studying biology, psych, and business with an emphasis in pre-medicine. Due to this focus, I've really gained an interest in lifting, and the science behind it. Also, as I play rugby at my school, lifting/training has become sort of an imperative. This is my first go at a journal, and here is some preliminary information before I start in earnest.

Background:
I have to admit, I've never been in really good shape. My
senior year of high school, I weighed in at 316 lbs., eventually dropping to 195 using Atkins. I did not perform any lifting or training whatsoever with this. So while I lost weight, I definitely didn't hold much muscle.

College began, and I decided to join rugby freshman year. It was a good choice overall, which has done much to build cardio. I started lifting in off and on fashion with the rugby seasons. I've gained some muscle since then. Though, I've basically been a waste during the off seasons. I played for fun mostly last year, but seeing freshman stepping up to the A-side this year has spurned a renewed vigor. I'm a sophomore, and there is potential to get the A-side hooker spot next year; one of my friends is a senior and still B-side. I don't want that to happen to me. So, I decided to begin training. I believe that keeping a journal will not only help me stay on track, but give me better advice from more experienced members of this forum.

My current and most paramount issue is to lose some weight. I let myself go a bit since the end of last season, getting up to a hefty 245, not much being muscle on a roughly 5'9" frame. My fit in the scrum is off cause of my weight gain, so that needs to be addressed rapidly. My second issue of concern is to strengthen my cardiovascular system. Finally, I hope to work on gaining overall muscle (build/strength/explosive power). This third portion will primarily be addressed after the weight loss phase.

Process:
I've allotted 26 weeks to lose weight, as I could use it. Hopefully this will be a good platform for beginning a bulk at the start of the next school year. I'm going to do four, four week cycles with decreasing reps. The first cycle will have circuit training emphasis. It will be start 15 reps, dropping to approx. 12 reps over four sets for upper body, five sets legs. The other cycles will progressively decrease reps, 6-12, 4-10, and 1-6 in the other four week cycles.

Diet:
I'm going to begin with a ketogenic diet, Atkins to attempt to lose a little weight quickly with a minimum intake of 2500 kcals. Afterward, I will attempt my first clean cutting style diet.

Supplementation:
ON Whey Protein 2/Day
GNC Ultra Mega Green, then Animal Pak
EFAs 12/Day
ON Creatine Mono, then CEE caps 2/Day
CL Green Bulge (Drop to one serving CEE/Mono since it recommends 2nd cre?)
CL Glycergrow (Fantastic supplement, good pumps from it).
CL Red Acid (After diet is secured).
Synephrine (Depending on RA results).
BCAAs/Glutamine (Muscle preservation, especially on Atkins phase).
Vitamin C/E, Selenium, Chromium (Cheap...so a little extra supplementation).

Lifting: Focusing on DB exercises (5-6 exercises per muscle group).
Monday: Chest/Calves
Tuesday: Biceps/Back
Wednesday: Legs/Plyometrics (1-2 exercises)
Thursday: Triceps
Friday: Shoulders/Core
5x week: Push-ups, moderate core (3 exercises), stretch, dynamic warm-up

Cardio: Focus on fat loss, building a decent base cardiovascular system. I'm hoping the glutamine/BCAA will help prevent muscle loss. At my current state, good cardio base is paramount to muscle/lifting for now.
Monday: 40 min. Elliptical
Tuesday: 20 min. Interval
Thursday: 40 min. Elliptical
Friday: Hour Walk
Saturday: 45 min. Jog
Sunday: Hour Walk

It's a bunch of cardio, but I will be taking it lightly. I will probably have 3-4 rugby practices a week focusing on jogging/sprinting. The one additional jog/sprint in the week will supplement practices.

Hopefully you will all enjoy the journal. Now that I've written so much, I better put my money where my mouth is. I hope that this will also help me get on track academically, since I don't want to let down on this journal. Organic very well could be an exception, though. Outside of that, I hope I don't disappoint.

-Rich

[pu12en12g]

Great detail

Good luck with it !!