Jacko's Journal: Couch Potato to Spartan

[jlucas1635]

Introduction
My names Jack, I'm a 15 year old (turning 16) from Australia. I started lifting at around 14 at the school gym which was only to be used during school time and on tuesdays, so it was inconsistent but it was nice to gain some understanding with weights and form. This year I started properly getting into the gym in January, I undertook this program: THE COMPLETE 4-WEEK BEGINNER'S WORKOUT PROGRAM & Couch to 5k, I saw some alright gains but nothing extraordinary, this was due to inconsitency of training.


Cliffs
I work 10-20 hours per week at Casual Job, shift work and roster changes weekly.
Completing High School Studies.
Have lots of homework & study with a bunch of after school testing and exams.
Need to balance social life as well as school, work & fitness.
Wrist is currently healing after bad sprain a few weeks ago.
Transport to and from isn't always consistent.

With that being said, no excuses, no bull****.

Strength & Other Stats:
Height: 6'0
Weight: 76kg
Bench: Will update
Squat: Will update
Deadlift: Will update
Military: Will update

Current Fitness
45 Hand Push Ups // 40 Knuckles (Using Knuckles as my wrist hurts when flexxed.)
Plank: 2:30 Minutes
Situps: 100+
Beep Test: 10.5
2.4km run: 10:37 Minutes
Pull Ups: 10
5km Run: 28 Minutes

Currently I'm a middle distance runner, I'm training to join the Australian Army as Infantry and therefore cardio is a heavy part of my fitness regime. After completing above workout routines, I managed to do more push ups etc and achieve a 5km run + a faster 2.4km run time. Although endurance is an important component for the military, I feel that at my age I need to work on strength based training to further my development. Foundation before we begin to build. So in saying that, my goals are both lined towards military fitness of endurance & aerobic activity mixed with strengthed based training so I can build off that in the future.

Overall Fitness Goals
Build stronger back for load bearing
Build stronger legs for rucking and running
Build Strength
Build Endurance

I need to better my squat, deadlift and overhead press as I will be carrying a lot of weight with those muscles.
Stamina & Endurance needs to improve longer duration and faster run times.

Specific Goals for Strength Training
Bench: Will update when current is updated
Squat: Will update when current is updated
Deadlift: Will update when current is updated
Military: Will update when current is updated

Method
Undertaking Don's Couch to Commando Workout Routine developed for military applicants and current serving soldiers.

Future Method:
Running 3-4 Days per week - mixture of sprints, middle distance runs, SLOW aerobic run, interval training and farkleg
Fierce 5 Novice Routine - Build Strength

Following 4-8 weeks after beginning of program, I will undertake testing to see results regarding my sport specific criteria.

I am currently on Week 2 of Don's Program.

[jlucas1635]

Week 1, Day 1
Today I undertook Fierce 5 Novice Routine after comparing it to my other routine they have similar components and I will be undertaking Fierce 5 with an additional cardio modules.

Workout A
Squat 3x5 - 35kg ( I haven't done Squats in a while and so have decided to start with 35kgs, it went well. Form was nice, need to use gluts more. Quads are sore.)
Bench 3x5 - 40kg
Pendlay Rows 3x8 - 20KG (First time doing Pendlay Rows, was fun)
Face Pulls 3x10
Calf raises 2x15/Tricep pressdowns 2x10 Superset
Preacher Curls 4x10

Cardio
2.4km row

Notes:
I'm sore but it's good! Especially in the legs which is nice, hoping to build some massive quads!
I felt good today, was pretty aggresive and wanted **** done. I effin suck at Face Pulls and not really acustomed to Pendlay Rows so will have to read up more about them.

[jlucas1635]

Week 1, Day 2
Completed: 19/04/18

Workout B
Front Squat 3x5 - (hurts wrist so just did a normal squat.) - 40kg
Overhead Press 3x5 - 15kg (first attempt doing them, weight expected to increase.)
Romanian Deadlift 3x8 - ?? Forgot weight
Lat Pulldowns 3x8 - Short grip, 8
Ab work 2x15/Bicep curls 2x10 Superset - inverted situps with 20kg & preacher curls for bicep, 4.

Cardio
3 x 800m sprint + 1 x 800m warmup w/ dynamic stretching.
4:00 minute km speed

Notes:
Felt pretty good, had a good workout and got a mad pump.
The sprint was done at 5 degrees celcius and was a nice start to the day. Need to work on Overhead press technique and roman deadlift.

[jlucas1635]

Week 1, Day 3
Completed: 21/04/18

Workout A
Squat 3x5 - 40kg
Bench 3x5 - 40kg
Pendlay Rows 3x8 - 20KG
Face Pulls 3x10
Calf raises 2x15/Tricep pressdowns 2x10 Superset
Preacher Curls 4x10

Cardio
5km Run - 28 Minutes

Notes:
Need to increase speed and endurance.

[Niahz]

Are you adding wait once a week?

Increase the weight each session if you can.
2kg for squat and 1 for bench and OHP

[jlucas1635]

Are you adding wait once a week?

Increase the weight each session if you can.
2kg for squat and 1 for bench and OHP

Yeah mate, only on my 2nd week this week so will be increasing, cheers man!

[jlucas1635]

Week 2, Day 1
Completed: 27/04/18

Workout A
Squat 3x5 - 42kg
Bench 3x5 - 42kg
Pendlay Rows 3x8 - 23KG
Face Pulls 3x10
Calf raises 2x15/Tricep pressdowns 2x10 Superset
Preacher Curls 4x10

Cardio
4km Row

Notes:
My workout was on friday/saturday this week. Sorry, I haven't posted, been a bit busy with school and work.

====================

Week 2, Day 2
Completed: 28/04/18

Workout A
Front Squat 3x5 - (wrist isn't healed yet, continuing with normal squats) - 42kg
Overhead Press 3x5 - 17.5kg
Deadlift 3x5 - 50kg
Lat Pulldowns 3x8 - Short grip, 8
Ab work 2x15/Bicep curls 2x10 Superset - inverted situps with 20kg & preacher curls for bicep, 4.

Cardio
5km Run - 26 Minutes

Notes:
My workout was on friday/saturday this week. Sorry, I haven't posted, been a bit busy with school and work. Only did two workouts. Aiming for 3-4 this week.

[jlucas1635]

Week 3, Day 1
Completed: 30/04/18

Workout A
Squat 3x5 - 42kg
Bench 3x5 - 42kg
Pendlay Rows 3x8 - 23KG
Face Pulls 3x10
Calf raises 2x15/Tricep pressdowns 2x10 Superset
Preacher Curls 4x10

Cardio:
2.4km in 10:40 Minutes

Notes:
Solid run, new PB for 2.4km.

[jlucas1635]

Week 3, Day 2
Completed: 3/05/18

Workout B
Squat 3x5 - 50kg
Overhead Press 3x5 - 20kg
Deadlift 3x8 - 60kg
Lat Pulldowns 3x8 - Short grip, 8
Ab work 2x15/Bicep curls 2x10 Superset - inverted situps with 20kg & preacher curls for bicep, 4.

Cardio:
N/A

Notes:
Did no cardio today, having foot issues due to footwear. I'm not looking to injure myself haha. Cardio bright and early tomorrow!
Started lifting heavier as my technique has improved and now I can continue to progress.

[jlucas1635]

Week 4, Day 1
Completed: 7/05/18

Workout A
Squat 3x5 - 50kg
Bench 3x5 - 50kg
Pendlay Rows 3x8 - 25KG
Face Pulls 3x10 - 5
Calf raises 2x15/Tricep pressdowns 2x10 Superset

Cardio:
30 pushups
40 situps
50 swings

20 pushups
30 situps
40 swings

10 pushups
20 situps
30 swings

Rest 5:00 and repeat

Notes
The cross fit styled cardio was hard a f#ck! I kept pushing through it and overall was happy with the result. Squat and deadlifts have improved heaps.

[jlucas1635]

Week 4, Day 2
Completed: 9/05/18


Workout B
Squat 3x5 - 50kg
Overhead Press 3x5 - 20kg
Deadlift 3x8 - 60kg
Lat Pulldowns 3x8 - Short grip, 8
Ab work 2x15/Bicep curls 2x10 Superset - inverted situps with 20kg & preacher curls for bicep, 4.

Cardio:
5km Run - 28:02
Avg Pace: 5:35

Notes:
My foot is getting acute pain from road running in the middle of the arch, buying new shoes Nike Winflo 4 which arrive on 22 May. My fastest time was the 1st km at 5(min/km) and the slowest was 4th km at 6:10m/km
Need to pace myself better. My overhead press is ****e and need to work on that a lot more.

[jlucas1635]

Monthly Journal & Report

So far so good, I'm a month into my program. I'm simply going to use this as a means to write about overall goals for next month, relfect on the past month and what needs to be improved, also will add thoughts and other ideas. I'll be using this in the future and so can others, to simply look at what works, my trials and hurdles I have to jump and maybe even help others.


People reccomend all these things! There is so many options and advice out there. You should be doing this or that and don't do this or that etc etc etc. My goals are straight forward, I want to join the army as Infantry and be the best I can be physically in that role. I'm young, completely understand but this is a dream of mine and I'll pursue it. I've come to a conclusion though, in the mil you need to be a jack of all trades.

You need to have:
Stregnth
Power
Endurance
Swim
Run fast
Run long distance
Run mid distance

etc.

You can't however do that all at once, unless you train 8 hours a day and if you do, you're stupid. I would end up over training, lose focus on school etc. So this is what I'm going to implement for the next month.

Hypertrophy Cycle
Very high volume with low intensity. Focused on adding muscle and building a greater foundation for strength endurance and absolute strength. This phase in prior to a true strength program and then will be revisited again at the beginning of the next periodisation schedule. Eat and sleep as much as possible. No extended cardio with this program...interval sprints are ok.

Strength Training Cycle
Moderate Volume with moderate / high intensities. Focus on strength training with weights etc. Goal of this program is to become a lot stronger and put on more muscle.

Calisthenics Cycle
Heavy focus on cardio with things such as HIIT & Endurance. Lots of cardio & bodyweight training. Casual weight lifting with a small caloric deficit.

The cycles will go from 6-12 weeks.

I'm at an age where I can experiment with things like this and not lose too much! It'll still allow me to build a foundation and grow stronger, hopefully. You can't be constantly trying to improve your 5km run time while you're trying to add mass and strength. It just conflicts each other so one needs to be prioritised at a time and then needs to be maintained once I feel like the level is achieved.

Macro Tracking
So for a while I wasn't intrested in tracking calories etc etc, well turns out the **** I was putting into my body was indeed crap and myfitnesspal was a great way to fix that. That's great! I'm starting to bulk with a however, I'm struggling to hit protein macros on the daily. So that will be the next thing, how to get more protein in my diet.

New Gear
So I didn't buy anything for the first 5 months to make sure I got into it, I just trained in whatever. I now have new shorts, t shirts, socks and shoes. I'll let you guys know if it makes a difference

That's about all I have to update for now, I've seen some solid progess from a 35kg Squat to 60kg Squat and am looking to improve further. Only a month in so it's a baby step but I feel stronger and healthier already, just gotta finely tune my goals

[jlucas1635]

Month 2, W1, D1
Completed 21/05/18

Workout A
Squat 3x5 - 60kg
Bench 3x5 - 40kg
Pendlay Rows 3x8 - 30KG
Face Pulls 3x10 - didn't get these in today
Calf raises 2x15/Tricep pressdowns 2x10 Superset

Cardio:
4x400m with 5% incline and ankle weights. Lots of fun.

Notes:
My squats increased a lot and feels great!
My bench press has decreased, it might be due to the night or what not but i'll get it back up for sure.
Pendlay row form needs correction, struggling on last reps to complete with perfect form, might lower weight in order to do so.
I was sweating bullets when doing that cardio session! Felt great.

[jlucas1635]

Month 2, W1, D2
Completed: 23/05/18

Workout B
Squat 3x5 - 60kg
Overhead Press 3x5 - 22kg
Deadlift 3x8 - 60kg
Lat Pulldowns 3x8 - Short grip, 9
Ab work 2x15/Bicep curls 2x10 Superset - inverted situps with 20kg & preacher curls for bicep, 5.

Cardio
2.4km in 9:12

Notes
Haven't posted, been really busy.
My fastest 2.4km yet, not sure how accurate it is however using Map My Run

[jlucas1635]

Month 2, W1, D3
Completed: 26/05/18

Workout A
Squat 3x5 - 60kg
Bench 3x5 - 40kg
Pendlay Rows 3x8 - 30KG
Face Pulls 3x10 - didn't get these in today
Calf raises 2x15/Tricep pressdowns 2x10 Superset

Cardio:
3x400m
5x100m - 15s

Notes:
Running form is ****eeee

[jlucas1635]

Month 2, W2, D1
Completed: 04/06/18

Workout A
Squat 3x5 - 62.5kg
Bench 3x5 - 42.5kg
Pendlay Rows 3x8 - 20KG (dropping weight, must be ego lifting or something when I wrote the post, my mistake, will fix and adjust accordingly)
Face Pulls 3x10
Calf raises 2x15/Tricep pressdowns 2x10 Superset

Cardio
12KM Bike Ride

Notes
Feels like I'm lacking on cardio recently, will pick up. I've noticed patterns as well, my self discipline on going to the gym needs work. I understand that I have lots of things going on in my life and am really busy but fitness is a major priority for me and I need to stop making excuses. I will get in 3 Gym Sessions & at least 2 cardio sessions a week.

[jlucas1635]

Month 2, W2, D2
Completed: 06/06/18

Workout B
Squat 3x5 - 62.5kg
Overhead Press 3x5 - 23kg
Deadlift 3x8 - 65kg
Lat Pulldowns 3x8 - Short grip, 10
Ab work 2x15/Bicep curls 2x10 Superset
100 Push Ups
9x4 Pull Ups
100 Situps
2x1 Minute Plank

Cardio
2.4km Run - 9;30

[jlucas1635]

Month 2, W2, D3
Completed: 09/06/18

Workout A
Squat 3x5 - 62.5kg
Bench 3x5 - 42.5kg
Pendlay Rows 3x8 - 22.5KG
Face Pulls 3x10
Calf raises 2x15/Tricep pressdowns 2x10 Superset
100 Push Ups
9x4 Pull Ups
100 Situps
2x1 Minute Plank

Cardio
4x400m Sprints

Notes:
I have weak ass shoulder muscles, will focus more on them.