Of Beers and Burger King...

[BluntD]

Workouts looking great lately. How has the low cal eating been going?


Hoping to try the Leviathan in the next couple weeks. How much does it cost in comparison to 90min? How is the SN Tornado IPA as well? I saw that at the store when I was there last and was curious about it.


Still patiently counting down the days until Bigfoot Ale is back on the shelves...

[TonySturch]

Workouts looking great lately. How has the low cal eating been going?


Hoping to try the Leviathan in the next couple weeks. How much does it cost in comparison to 90min? How is the SN Tornado IPA as well? I saw that at the store when I was there last and was curious about it.


Still patiently counting down the days until Bigfoot Ale is back on the shelves...

Thanks bluto. The fullbody routines have been treating me well. I really havnt been eating too low cal, it just so happens that it works out that way on workout days. My off days all see right around 2750 cals. More or less maintenance. Ehhhh, who knows. Ive never bothered to control my caloric intake as well as I should.

The leviathan is about on par with DFH90, about 10 bucks for the 4 pack. Im really enjoying them. Had a 4 pack last weekend at a BBQ, got me nicely caught up to everyone who had already been drinking all day long. I liked the SN tor****, it pretty much tastes just like a stronger SN pale ale would. I dont think youd be disapointed with it at all. Ill be sure to pick it up again next time I run across it. I like bigfoot, but im still not ready to call it one of my faavorites. Reminds me a little too much of the barley wine style ales, like brooklyn monster. Speaking of brooklyn brews, have you tried their IPA? Its pretty good in its own right, and its usually pretty easy to find. Well, it is in NYS anyway.

[BluntD]

I like bigfoot, but im still not ready to call it one of my faavorites. Reminds me a little too much of the barley wine style ales

That's because it is a barley wine style ale.

It's perfect for me during the winter months. Then again I'm not as big a connoisseur as yourself and haven't tried as many different brews.

So my next run to the Total Beverage will include: Harpoon Leviathan, SN Tornado IPA, and Brooklyn IPA. Keep coming with the suggestions!

[TonySturch]

Split: Pull
Weight: 216.6

Pullups: +45x10, +45x10, +45x10
BB Rows: 255x12, 255x12, 255x12
BB Shrugs: 305x20, 305x20
BB Rev Shrugs: 305x20, 305x20
DB Shrugs: 75x40, 75x40
Rack Pulls: 405x5, 425x5, 445x5
DB Curls: 60x12, 60x12
Hammer Curls: 60x15, 60x13
Preacher Curls: 125x10, 125x9

Diet:
2250 Calories, 219g Protein

Chinese Food:
Egg roll, general tso's chicken, pork fried rice.

Comments:
Second day of a random push/pull interjection. Very nice workout. Had some decent energy, although I was certainly sore from yesterday still. BB rows were strong, although my form started to loosen on the last rep or two. My grip was a limiting factor as far as rack pulls. I just didnt have it in me to do deadlifts, so i wimped out. Curls were more difficult than normal, but I had dont a lot of work by that point. Im not too worried about it.

[TonySturch]

That's because it is a barley wine style ale.

It's perfect for me during the winter months. Then again I'm not as big a connoisseur as yourself and haven't tried as many different brews.

So my next run to the Total Beverage will include: Harpoon Leviathan, SN Tornado IPA, and Brooklyn IPA. Keep coming with the suggestions!

Im really dont have a sophisticated a beer palate as it sounds, i assure you. I just know i like IPAs so i try as many as i can. Or rather the girlfriend knows i like IPAs and surprises me with random 6 packs. I think shes sleeping with teh beer distributor guy.

[bigplay_jt]

Im really dont have a sophisticated a beer palate as it sounds, i assure you. I just know i like IPAs so i try as many as i can. Or rather the girlfriend knows i like IPAs and surprises me with random 6 packs. I think shes sleeping with teh beer distributor guy.

nice workouts lately Mr. Sturch, I am pretty proud of you for keeping your diet in line. Now one question, does the woman bring you a sammich with that beer?

[TonySturch]

nice workouts lately Mr. Sturch, I am pretty proud of you for keeping your diet in line. Now one question, does the woman bring you a sammich with that beer?

Thank you sir. No luck on the sammich. She cant cook worth a damn. Thats my job...




















If youre reading this, Im just kidding honey. You cook great.

[TonySturch]

Split: Random deload fullbody
Weight: 216.0

All reps were done in super slow, controlled movements, with full or exaggerated ROM. Most using a 4/4 tempo.

Smith Bench: 225x15, 225x15
Pullups: BWx20, BWx20
Incline Flys: 50x15, 50x15
DB rows: 50x25 50x25
French Press: 35x15, 35x15
DB curls: 40x15, 40x15
DB OH ext: 60x25, 60x25
Hammer Curls: 40x18, 40x18
Lateral Lifts: 20x15, 20x15

Comments:
Had a couple hours to kill during a rainy saturday. Decided to throw in a random deload fullbody workout using light weights and slow concentrated movements. Had a great pump, and really felt a deep burn. My rear delts and upper back were still very sore from those rack pulls on thursday.

[TonySturch]

Split: Fullbody Routine A
Weight: 217.4

Smith Bench: 315x8, 315x8
CGBP: 225x12, 225x12
BB Rows: 255x12, 255x12
BB Shrugs: 305x20 (fwd), 305x20 (rev)
DB Shoulder Press: 60x30, 60x28
Pec Deck: 230x17, 230x15
Seated Row: 230x12, 230x12
Y Rope Tricep Pulldown: 90x12, 90x12
DB Curls: 60x12, 60x12
Reverse EZ Curls: 100x12, 100x12
Squats (parallel):345x10, 345x10

Diet:
2360 Calories, 221g Protein

Subway:
Footling sweet onion chicken teriaki, footlong turkey and cheddar.

Comments:
Good workout. I tried to keep the slower controlled movements with particular attention to ROM on CGBP, Rows, Shrugs, and Squats. The squats were not quite ass-to-grass, but they were below parallel. Tried to hurry my ass up though this workout, keeping my rest times to a strict 90 or 120 seconds, no longer wandering off onto the computer to read an article or post between sets. Also, 6 scoops of blended protein had me pissing out my ass. I wonder if I retained any of it?!?

[BluntD]

6 scoops?!? What the hell? LOL


What's this blended protein all about?

[TonySturch]

6 scoops?!? What the hell? LOL


What's this blended protein all about?

Not in a row!!!

Sorry to disappoint, blunt. Im on Dymatize Elite Gourmet (chocolate peanut butter). Its a whey isolate / casein blend. Its dirty dirt cheap, had free shipping, and tastes pretty good.

[TonySturch]

Split: Fullbody Routine A
Weight: 216.6

Squats (parallel):345x10, 365x10
Smith Bench: 295x11, 295x11
CGBP: 205x18, 205x15
BB Rows: 255x12, 255x12
BB Shrugs: 305x25 (fwd), 305x25 (rev)
DB Shoulder Press: 75x18, 75x15
Pec Deck: 230x14, 230x10
Seated Row: 230x15, 230x15
Y Rope Tricep Pulldown: 80x15, 80x12
DB Curls: 65x8, 65x8
Reverse EZ Curls: 100x15, 100x15

Comments:
First workout after a week and a half hiatus. Had a busy week and needed a week off anyway. First off, squats and bench felt very strong. In fact, new max reps for squats. Most other exercises were slightly below par, but that usually happens to me after some time off. I did finally get a few more 10# standard plates for my screw lock DBs, so I can rig up DBs up to 85 Lbs now. I tried moving some 65 Lb DBs for standing curls, but I wound up using a bit more body english than Id like. Hopefully that will calm down over the next few workouts.

Beer:
Last weekend went out to the north fork of LI (wine country) and they finally finished building the Greenport Brewery in the old firehouse. Its fantastic. They had four brews on tap, free samples only, since theyre not licensed for sale and consumption on the premises (but they do sell growlers). The had a harbor ale that was like an english style ale (like Bass), They had a summer ale, which was similar, but lighter, and infused with a hint of honey. They had an IPA, of course my favorite of the bunch. And my runner up fav, the porter. It tasted like a light weight version of a chocolate double stout (like brooklyn's winter offering). All four beers were similar but with subtle differences, except the porter might not be so subtle a difference. All four were highly drinkable. I could easily see spending an entire night drinking any one of them. Im not sure if these will eventually make their way to bottles, or if its only going to be brewed for local bars/restaurants but if you happen to come across it, give it a shot for sure.

[BluntD]

Harpoon Leviathan

[TonySturch]

Harpoon Leviathan

Glad you liked it. Gonna party with some of those this weekend...

[BluntD]

Glad you liked it. Gonna party with some of those this weekend...

Definitely tasty. Similar to the 90min IPA, but slightly better. The woman actually liked it too; granted she likes beer more then the average chick does, but even I was a little surprised by that. Of course in a way that's kinda a bad thing, because now I have to share with her, and at $9 for a 4-pack, I tend to be pretty protective of my bottles!

[TonySturch]

They do disappear quickly, but remember that nine dollar 4 pack has more alcohol content than most craft beer sixers, and nearly as much as a 12 pack of bud light. So if you look at it from that angle, its not as bad a ripoff. Plus you're being green by reducing waste / empties. But mostly you can just rub it in your buddies faces that you drink such high quality beer theyre only willing to sell them to you four at a time.

[BluntD]

They do disappear quickly, but remember that nine dollar 4 pack has more alcohol content than most craft beer sixers, and nearly as much as a 12 pack of bud light. So if you look at it from that angle, its not as bad a ripoff. Plus you're being green by reducing waste / empties. But mostly you can just rub it in your buddies faces that you drink such high quality beer theyre only willing to sell them to you four at a time.

Yup, exactly. Had a couple before the games Sunday and had a nice buzz walking into the bar. Definitely sneak up on ya! For me though, it's easy to justify the price if you look at it from the angle that if you were at the bar, even for happy hour, the price per bottle in that 4-pack would be cheaper then buying a bottle of Bud Light at the bar. Therefore, No Contest!

Brooklyn will be my next purchase. Wanted to get some when I picked up the Leviathan, but they were sold out. Apparently they got a shipment in and some dude showed up and bought the entire stock, LOL.

[TonySturch]

Yup, exactly. Had a couple before the games Sunday and had a nice buzz walking into the bar. Definitely sneak up on ya! For me though, it's easy to justify the price if you look at it from the angle that if you were at the bar, even for happy hour, the price per bottle in that 4-pack would be cheaper then buying a bottle of Bud Light at the bar. Therefore, No Contest!

Brooklyn will be my next purchase. Wanted to get some when I picked up the Leviathan, but they were sold out. Apparently they got a shipment in and some dude showed up and bought the entire stock, LOL.

Brooklyn brews are good too. THe actually Brooklyn Brewery rocks. When you go, a $20 bill buys you six tokens, each good for a pint of your choice of beer. Not a bad deal.

[TonySturch]

Split: Fullbody Routine B
Weight: 218.0

Incline Smith Bench: 295x9, 295x9
Weighted Pullups: 50x8, 50x8
Incline DB flyes: 75x12, 75x12
Military Press: 150x15, 150x15
DB Shrugs: 75x50, 75x50
Skull Crushers: 100x15, 100x15
DB OH Tri Ext: 75x15, 75x14
Hammer Curls: 65x10, 65x10
Preacher Curls: 115x15, 115x15
Rack Pulls: 395x10, 425x6

Comments:
Good workout. Really feeling the DOMS the following morning. I went down 10 pounds in military but came through with 15 reps, so I was pretty happy on that. Weighted pullups were pretty solid. I cant believe the difference between +45 and +50, much more difficult. Incline flyes felt good, had a great stretch at the bottom. The newer 10 pound plates are really making a big difference as far as control. Much less cumbersome than trying to huck the old 25 pound plates around. Hammer curls were the standout exercise of the bunch. Held decent form for ten reps with the 65's. Mmmmmm. Rack pulls were a nice way to finish up... Just didnt have the time to setup for deads. Id rather do racks than nothing.

[TonySturch]

Split: Fullbody Routine A
Weight: 217.4

Smith Bench: 295x10, 295x11
CGBP: 225x12, 225x12
BB Rows: 255x12, 255x12
BB Shrugs: 305x20 (fwd), 305x25 (rev)
Inc DB Flys: 65x15, 65x15
Chin Ups: BWx20, BWx20
Y Rope Tricep Pulldown: 80x15, 80x13
DB Curls: 65x8, 50x15
DB Shoulder Press: 75x18, 75x14
Reverse EZ Curls: 100x15, 100x15

Comments:
Decent workout after another week long break. I have a slightly sprained ankle from wakeboarding over the weekend, so I decided to forgo any leg exercises, besides, my lower body is pretty well spent from riding anyway. Nothing special, however I must say that im feeling like im carrying a bit higher bodyfat than usual. Maybe its just water / bloating. Ill see what happens after i get back into the swing of things.

[TonySturch]

Split: Fullbody Routine B
Weight: 218.2

Incline Smith Bench: 295x10, 295x10
Weighted Pullups: 50x8, 50x8
Pec Deck: 230x17, 230x13
DB Rows: 80x20, 80x20
Military Press: 150x14, 150x14
DB Shrugs: 80x50, 80x50
Skull Crushers: 100x15, 100x15
Hammer Curls: 65x12, 65x12
OH Y grip Tri Ext: 70x12, 70x11
Preacher Curls: 135x10, 135x105
Rack Pulls: 415x6, 415x6

Comments:
Good workout. Felt very strong. Got through it quickly too, no extended rest periods. Heart rate was pretty high the whole time.

[TonySturch]

Split: Fullbody Routine
Weight: 219.0

Weighted Pullups: 25x15, 25x15, 25x13
Smith Bench: 255x18, 255x16, 255x14
CGBP: 205x15, 205x15, 205x15
DB Curls: 60x10, 55x12, 50x15
DB Shoulder Press: 75x10, 65x20, 65x20

Comments:
Still crazy busy and workouts are gonna be hit or miss for a while. Had a couple free hours so I got a quick workout in monday. Only did 5 exercises at three sets each. Was nice to get that complete burn / soreness that comes with doing that third set. I really miss doing those downward ramps on DB curls. Not sure WTF went on with teh shoulder press, but I just couldnt move the 75s, and control was an issue. But once I dropped 10 pounds off them, I could hit 20 reps for the second two sets. I guess I hit an invisible brick wall, considering the blasting the triceps had.

[TonySturch]

Split: Fullbody Routine
Weight: 220.8

ATG Squats: 225x15, 225x15, 225x15
Inc Smith Bench: 255x15, 255x15, 255x14
BB Rows: 255x12, 255x12, 255x12
Skulls: 110x10, 110x12, 110x12
Hammer Curls: 65x10, 65x10, 65x10
Military Press: 150x14, 150x12, 150x12

Comments:
I had a poor nights sleep and was dog tired all day long, but despite all that this workout felt pretty good. Squats got me surprisingly sore in the hammies. Its been a long long time since I took them ATG so I went light. Inc bench felt great. Ive been trying a narrower grip and keeping my elbows tucked in on all my bench movements lately. And Ive been going slow and watching my form since my shoulder has been troubling me a bit lately. The hammer curls were another standout. I used near textbook perfect form and rocked out 65 lbs x 10, no body english as far as I could tell, although Im sure if i were standing against a wall Id be singing a different tune.

[BluntD]

Nice WO's lately, man you are a beast. Throw up some vids for us!


Had one of these a couple weeks back.. Breckenridge 471. Pretty damn good if I must say. Couldn't find the 471 at my local distributor though, unfortunately. Going back tomorrow to pick up more Leviathan and 90min IPA. Maybe I'll see if I can get them to ship some 471 in.

[TonySturch]

...Breckenridge 471...

Never heard of Breckenridge Ales, although I love Breckenridge mountain! Ill have to look around and see if I can track it down. Sounds great, love the sound of the malty caramel and pine notes, and the 70 IBUs is reasonbly bitter. Sounds right up my alley.

I do want to eventually get some vids up there. One of these weekends I want to 1RM the big three, so maybe ill bust out the camera.

As always, thanks for the motivational speech!

[BluntD]

Never heard of Breckenridge Ales, although I love Breckenridge mountain! Ill have to look around and see if I can track it down. Sounds great, love the sound of the malty caramel and pine notes, and the 70 IBUs is reasonbly bitter. Sounds right up my alley.

I do want to eventually get some vids up there. One of these weekends I want to 1RM the big three, so maybe ill bust out the camera.

As always, thanks for the motivational speech!

Seems Breckenridge is a brewer based out of Denver, CO.

There's a local restaurant here that specializes in making organic-ingredient pizzas and having a large selection of microbrews, many of which I've never even heard of. I settled on the 471 after assuming it would be similar to the others we enjoy. It was very good. I'd like to get back over there and try a few others that they had on menu, but the only problem of course is that at a place like that, the prices for a bottle were not cheap at all. Figuring how much you'd pay for something as simple as a Bud when going out to eat, you can only imagine how much a higher quality beer like that cost!

Funny thing I noticed the other night when out for dinner... So I ordered a Sam Adams Octoberfest with my meal. Now not too long ago before I got more involved in drinking and enjoying heavier, better beers, I used to be a fan of the Octoberfest. It was like my basic entry into being a "more sophisticated" drinker over the regular beer drinking crowd, LOL. Well when I drank it this time, I just did not care for it very much at all anymore. In all honesty it kinda reminded me of nothing much more then a darker Bud Light, and I felt pretty disappointed. I think I'm officially beginnining to graduate into "beer snob" country.


It would be cool to get a new 1RM on vid. That's probably the only time I'll ever bother recording at this point. Also so I can bust out my phone to show off to my non-lifting friends what I'm capable of, LOL!

[TonySturch]

Trust me man, I know about paying through the nose for beer... The GF lives in a nice north shore LI town, so Im used to paying 8 bucks for a regular beer (say bass or sierra nevada) and 10 to 12 for a mixed drink. But when we hop a train to NYC, things get silly. Ten or tweleve bucks a bottle easy. Although, I must say that most places do offer their esoteric brews for the same or nearly the same as a normal one. Then again weve got a couple dive bars around too where you can get a decent IPA on tap for 3.25 during happy hour.

[TonySturch]

Deadlift Debacle

Deadlifts: 385x4 (DOH) 435x2 (Alt)

Comments:
First set went well, and I was going to try for 435x4 on the second set. But after the second pull, the girlfriends small dog came wandering into the basement gym room, ran right under the cluster of plates on one side of the bar, and stood atop the plywood square I put the weights down on. It took a good bit of screaming at him to get him to run away, and he still wont warm back up to me, but I guess thats better than flattening him. Well, its better than dealing with my g/f had I flattened him. Anyway, in all the commotion, keeping 435 off the ground for much longer than usual, I managed to tweak my back, of course. Its really getting to the point where is simply not worth it to try and deadlift anymore. Every time I do, I hurt myself. Its a shame, cause I really wanted to hit a solid 500 or better. Its just not worth the risk anymore. Every time I hurt myself it puts me out of comission for a week or two.

[TonySturch]

Split: Fullbody Routine
Weight: 219.6

Pullups: BWx20, BWx20, BWx20
Inc Flys: 65x12, 65x12, 65x12
DB Curls: 50x12 > 45x12 > 40x12 (45 second rest periods)
DB French Press: 30x25, 35x18, 40x12
DB Shrugs: 80x50, 80x50, 80x50

Comments:
This workout surprised the hell out of me. It really felt surprisingly good. My back is still royally farked up from saturday. Im still favoring it while walking, so I had to really drop the weight down and go extra slow and controlled. Zero body english anywhere. The light weights, slow movements, and full ROM really hit the spot... Couldnt believe the kind of stretch I felt, and how pumped it left me. Glad I didnt just forgo the workout altogether as I had considered.

[TonySturch]

Split: Fullbody Routine
Weight: 221.2

Smith Flat Bench: 275x12, 275x12, 275x12
BB Rows: 255x12, 255x12, 255x12
DB Curls: 50x15, 50x15, 50x15
Y rope tri pushdown: 70x15, 70x18, 70x18
Lateral Lifts: 25x15, 25x15, 25x15

Comments:
Had another quick but good workout today. Making progress with the tucked in elbows on bench. Much less stress on the shoulders to reach full ROM this way. The weight is slowly coming back up to par. BB rows were tough as my back is still in questionable shape. The last three workouts, (curls, pushdowns, laterals) I did as a circuit. That last 15 or 20 minutes was pretty damn high on the intensity. I was nearly out of breath the whole time, I practically felt like I was doing cardio. Anyway, i was happy with this workout, got it all done in under an hour.