Flyin' Ryan: A New Beginning

[Flyin Ryan]

Well hello.

Many things have changed since I've last posted on these great forums...

- I found a new job... I am an Assistant General Mananger at a restaurant called Bagger Dave's.
- I started dating this girl.
- I herniated a disc in my back. That disc turned into a very painful bulging disc.
- I started smoking weed and drinking on a regular basis.
- I underwent physical therapy 3x a week for 6 months to avoid surgery. It was successful.
- I cleaned up my bad habits for the most part and slowly got back into the gym.
- That girl I mentioned earlier cheated on me with someone she works with.
- I developed a 'FTW attitude' and put my lifting at the top of my list of priorities.
- I've since moved on and found a new lady friend. Major upgrade in every aspect.

That, basically, is my last 18 months in a nutshell.

As far as lifting goes, my 7 month hiatus took a major toll on my strength.
My body composition didn't take that big of a hit, but I'm not at the spot I once was.
Will upload current pics soon.

Stats
Height: 5'6
Weight: 176

As far as my lifts go...

5 Rep Max

Bench: 210 (previously 255)
Deadlift: 310 (previously 405)
Squat: 255 (previously 310)
Military: 130 (previously 175)

My routine has been shaky for the past few months, but my plan is to run a 4 or 5 days split.
My goal is to squat 3x a week whilst deadlifting and benching 2x a week and throwing accessory lifts in as needed.
I'm not using any supps out of the ordinary... just your typical creatine, multi, fish oil, and DAA.
I don't use pre-workouts or intra-workouts, and I don't do protein powder.

My plan for this log is to get me back on track with my diet more so than anything.
I've never had an issue staying motivated to work out and work out hard...

I haven't decided if I'm going to be strict with counting calories or if I'm going to take a more relaxed approach.
I do, however, want to clean up my diet and achieve better body composition and overall better health.

Oh yeah, pics of foods will be included.

Hope you guys follow me on yet another journey to Swole City.

Get big.

[Flyin Ryan]

Couple photos from the past couple days...





Yes the pictures are in different lighting and are a few days apart, but essentially this is where I'm re-starting from.
Not a terrible place to start, but not a great one either.
I'm hoping to acquire more size first, then cut it back down a little down the road.

[Jmadden44]

Good call gaining some mass first. In. Good luck brah

[The Solution]

Back at it Ry. Get after it.

[gymjunki3]

slipped disc crew checking in.

[Flyin Ryan]

Thanks gents.
Should be a fun ride.

I'm getting back in the gym today after a 2-day hiatus, as long as it's open.
They've been shut down since Sunday evening due to this awesome weather.

[Flyin Ryan]

First question of the log:

Does anybody have a lifting routine they would suggest for me to use?
I've had some success running the 4-5 day split where my main focus is deadlifting, squatting, and benching... but I'm always open to suggestions for new routines.

Previously I've done Lyle McDonald's Upper/Lower split and Madcow 5x5s.

[Merial20]

Sup man good to see u back. Laynes PHAT?

[Flyin Ryan]

Sup man good to see u back. Laynes PHAT?

whaddup bro! good to be back
I'll google that one. I've never heard of it.

[ErikTheElectric]

He lives.



In on this amigo. (hope you remember me..

[Flyin Ryan]

He lives.

In on this amigo. (hope you remember me..

Absolutely. Lookin' good buddy.

[gymjunki3]

I ran layne nortons phat for 4 months good program made gains but the volume just got too much for me, started to get injured too often.

ive been running Lyle's for 3 weeks now so far so good. I know you have done it before but it doesn’t mean you can’t start it again if you aren’t going to get bored.

or Jim wendlers 531 is pretty popular.

[The Solution]

I ran layne nortons phat for 4 months good program made gains but the volume just got too much for me, started to get injured too often.

ive been running Lyle's for 3 weeks now so far so good. I know you have done it before but it doesn’t mean you can’t start it again if you aren’t going to get bored.

or Jim wendlers 531 is pretty popular.

5/3/1 for sure.
You can google tons of outlines.

[ErikTheElectric]

Absolutely. Lookin' good buddy.

You too buddy. Hope everything is going well for you (bishes gonna be bishes)

[Flyin Ryan]

Workout from 1/7/2014

Squats
110 x 5
160 x 5
200 x 5
220 x 5
240 x 5

DB Military Press >> Seated Curl Machine
45's x 6 >> 125 x 8
45's x 6 >> 125 x 8
45's x 6 >> 125 x 8
45's x 6 >> 125 x 8

DB Front Raises
30's x 6
30's x 6
35's x 6

Tricep Pulldowns >> Cable Crunches
70 x 8 >> 100 x 12
70 x 8 >> 100 x 12
70 x 8 >> 100 x 12
70 x 8 >> 100 x 12

Standing Cable Curls
35's x 10
35's x 11
35's x 12

Treadmill
20 minutes
1.75 miles

---

First time I've squatted in a couple weeks. Definitely feeling it this morning.
Did a bit of work with shoulders and biceps as well.
Nothing really more to say about this session.

---

After reading over each of the routines a few of you suggested for me, I think I'm going to start running 5/3/1 today.
I like the fact it's pretty to the point, and it makes the most sense for me IMO.
I found a pretty solid spreadsheet to use when figuring out my weights and reps and things like that, so I scored pretty nicely.

[Flyin Ryan]

You too buddy. Hope everything is going well for you (bishes gonna be bishes)

yes they will. but it's all good. she knows she fu*ked up, and she regrets it every day.
i'm in a much better spot now than I was a few months ago all around... with myself, with my job, with my relationship, with my body.
this boy on a roll!

[Flyin Ryan]

Workout from 1/8/14
First Official Day of 5/3/1

Bench Press
110 x 5
130 x 5
150 x 5
170 x 5
190 x 5
200 x 5

DB Iso Incline Press
65's x 6
65's x 6
65's x 6
65's x 6
65's x 7

DB Chest Flies
40's x 6
40's x 7
45's x 6
45's x 6
45's x 7

Dips
BW x 12
BW x 12
BW x 12

Treadmill
20 minutes
1.75 miles

---

I figure since I did squats yesterday, it was my perfect chance to start officially start 5/3/1 with bench today.
I like it so far... I will admit, I was pretty sore/pumped when I was done with my last set of flies.
This routine seems pretty promising after Day 1.

I also started supplementing with D-Aspartic Acid today.
I've used it before and it seemed to give me a bit of an extra kick in the pants once it got into my system.
Still rolling without a pre-WO, and I don't think that's going to change.
But, as always, I love to hear suggestions for great supplements that you guys have tried and had good success with.

---

Food pics should come within the next 24 hours.
As of now, I don't have a camera so they'll be taken with my crappy camera phone.
I should be upgrading to an iPhone 5s within the next month or so, so hopefully the shiiitty pics will be very temporary.

gb2
Get Big.
God Bless.

-r2

[ErikTheElectric]

inb4 Epic food p0rn.


Solid numbers Ry Ry. Keep up the good work.

[Flyin Ryan]

A Few Food Pics


Chicken, wild rice, brown rice, broccoli, carrots, cheddar cheese, and Santa Fe sauce


Chicken, sausage, broccoli, red onion, FF mozzarella cheese, and white con queso dip.


Chicken, steak, cheddar, chive/onion cream cheese, and red onion wrapped in lavash.

---

Told you the pics were pretty rough. :P
I'm working on getting a new camera and/or phone ASAFP.

Two of my pics were corrupt when I sent them to my email, too.
One was a "Tijuana Salad", which is one of the few things I'll eat at work if I'm trying to eat 'healthier'.

The other was a Panera coffee... hazelnut with skim milk and splenda.
I drink 1-2 of these every day. Now that I'm back at Panera very part time (for a little extra... dough...) I get it fo' free.

Couple other notables that I've purchased recently, but have not yet consumed are:

- Ben and Jerry's Vanilla Caramel Fudge
- Ben and Jerry's Mississippi Mud Pie
- Kellogg Krave: Smores
- Sugar Cookie Pop Tarts
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter

As some of you probably remember, I am a Ben and Jerry's fanatic.
I've had every single flavor at least once, most more than that.
This includes the newer flavors like Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, Cotton Candy, Pina Colada, Peanut Butter Jam Session, Rockin' Blondie, Scotchy Scotch Scotch, etc etc.
Believe it or not, however, I've not tried either of the two flavors sitting in the freezer.

That being said, I cut back on the sweets a pretty good deal.
While I was injured, I kind of let myself go on my diet for a bit and got my fill of sweets and things of that sort.
I didn't feel as good as when I eat vitamin-rich foods... but I think that goes without saying.

---

Thank you for checking out the log!

gb2
Get Big.
God Bless.

r2

[The Solution]

Starbucks > Panera coffee (dont kill me)
What accessory are you doing for 5/3/1?

[determined4000]

wow
he lives
just noticed


in

[Flyin Ryan]

Starbucks > Panera coffee (dont kill me)
What accessory are you doing for 5/3/1?

Wont kill you. My lady loves the shiit out of Starbucks. I don't mind it, I just think Panera's has a better taste.

As for your accessory question, I guess maybe I'm not understanding the routine 100%

From everything I've read that makes sense to me, I'm supposed to do 6 sets of whichever compound lift I'm doing, followed by 2 additional lifts at 5 sets per lift, followed by a few sets of abs. Therefore, if this is accurate, my accessory lifts for bench day were DB Iso Inclines and DB Flies... for deadlift day I will do Seated Cable Rows, Lat Pull, and a few sets of one-arm DB rows... for military press day, I'll do Front Raises and Side Raises, and possibly a few sets of upright rows/bb shrugs to touch on my traps.

wow
he lives
just noticed


in

Allllllllllright.

[Flyin Ryan]

Workout from 1/10/14

BB Deadlifts
130 x 5
150 x 5
175 x 5
210 x 5
240 x 5
280 x 5

Seated Cable Rows
160 x 8
160 x 8
180 x 6
180 x 7
180 x 8

Wide Grip Lat Pull
140 x 7
140 x 7
160 x 5
160 x 5
160 x 6

Pushups >> DB One Arm Rows
3 sets of 10 @ 40 lbs each

Worked from 7:30-10:30 this morning and now I'm back from 3:00 til around 12:00am.
Slept a little longer than I would have liked between shifts, so the workout got cut short today.
No abs or cardio.
Will make up for it tomorrow.

gb2
Get Big.
God Bless.

r2

[Flyin Ryan]

Workout from 1/12/14

BB Military Press
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 5
95 x 5
105 x 5
115 x 5

DB Seated Shoulder Press
45's x 8
45's x 8
55's x 6
55's x 7
60's x 6

DB Side Raises
20's x 6
20's x 6
20's x 6

DB Front Raises
30's x 6
30's x 6

DB Standing Curls
40's x 6
40's x 6
40's x 6
all with long negatives. killer.

Cable Pulldowns
70 x 8
85 x 8
70 x 8
85 x 8

Cable Crunches
100 x 12 x 4

---

No cardio today.
I forgot my headphones at home and I hate running without them.
Will resume cardio tomorrow.
I ran Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thurs this past week... so that's not too bad.

[Flyin Ryan]

Workout from 1/14/14

BB Squats
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
190 x 5
220 x 5
240 x 5

BB SLDL
175 x 5
200 x 5
200 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5

BB Shrugs
225 x 10
225 x 10
225 x 10

Seated Cable Rows
180 x 7
180 x 7
180 x 8

DB Side Bends
45's x 12
45's x 12

Treadmill
20 minutes
1.75 miles

---

I would like to apologize for the lack of FOOD PORN that made me a semi-superstar around these parts.
I'm working on getting a new camera so I can re-capture my glory.
The phone isn't cutting it anymore... none of the pictures I take end up saving properly.
They're all discolored and 'fuzzy', like static on a television set. Very strange.
It might have to wait a little bit though... I just threw over $1000 into my car. Fun, I know.

gb2
Get Big.
God Bless.

r2

[The Solution]

Kinda phone you have?

[Flyin Ryan]

Samsung stratosphere from like 4 years ago.

[Flyin Ryan]

Workout from 1/15/14

BB Bench Press
125 x 5
140 x 5
160 x 5
180 x 5
190 x 5
205 x 5

DB Isolation Incline Press
65's x 6
65's x 6
65's x 6
70's x 6
75's x 6

DB Flies
40's x 8
40's x 8
40's x 8
45's x 8
45's x 8

Dips
BW x 10 x 3

Tricep Pulldowns
70 x 8 x 3

Cable Crunches
100 x 12 x 3

---

No cardio today as I ran out of time before work.

Feeling pretty good.
I will say I am embarrassed to admit that benching the 205 for 5 reps was harder than I thought it would be.
I have fallen off so bad on my strength since getting hurt at the beginning of last year... makes me so sad.

gb2
Get Big.
God Bless.

r2

[determined4000]

strength will return with time

I had pneumonia and was basically sick for almost 3 months
My bench was literally cut in half and I had to start working my way back up
Just about there now

[Flyin Ryan]

strength will return with time

I had pneumonia and was basically sick for almost 3 months
My bench was literally cut in half and I had to start working my way back up
Just about there now

Right on. Pneumonia is no joke. Hope everything is okay now.

Obviously I know it will come back in due time, it's just a bit frustrating right now when I struggle with that weight now... and I used to rep it out for 12-13 reps.