Polishedball's Journey

[polishedball]

I figured since I just joined a gym yesterday, i had better start a workout log. My workouts will be intense however pretty short. I work 65 hours a week m~f and can only get to the the gym on Sat Sun and Wed. Planning a back day, chest day, and leg day. I'll post the plan below when I am done rambling.

I decided on my daughters birthday to try to get in shape. I had gotten up to 247#'s and very fat. I began by changing my diet to eating small portions clean about 10 times a day. Working a 16 hour shift I have to eat often to avoid the binge's that are always present or the quick fast food load. Luckily my jobs don't restrict me from the restroom as I drink anywhere between 6~8 2 litter bottles of water a day.

Besides the diet I have been doing body weight exercises, Push-ups Pull-ups body weight squatting and some core muscle training (mostly stretch and twists). For cardio I have an eliptical machine 3 sessions a week 20~60 mins. I have a nagging lower back that i found very sensitive when i tried to jump into everything 7 weeks ago. It locked up and would take me almost an hour to get out of bed (this has since gotten better, but yet I am concerned when I start with weights again). My stupidity is what caused the back issues I was going for a PR on deads maybe 5 years ago and my back rounded but i pulled through it anyhow.

The good news is that in just 7 weeks I have been able to drop over 30#'s and pretty easily stick to my plan even with the excessive hours (IMO), only sleeping 4~5 hours a nite on some days, having to 2 kids, and the stress of always wondering how the bills will be paid. Ahhhh working out is such a relief something I can control and be proud of.

If someone that can wouldn;t mind please embed this link for me of my first 7 weeks so'll I'll have it here for reference.

h-t-t-p://home.comcast.net/~polishedball/7week.jpg

Ok here is the current main bread n butter workout. I do lift (or in the past) in what most feel is a crazy manner of intensity, border on puking leg day, or if I try to superset back into a chest workout. I plan to get back to that point after a few routine weeks to get some form back and make sure all feels good.

Chest:
Flat Bench
Incline Dumbbell Press
Hammer strength machine press
Incline fly
also burn out the tri's this day with
Skull Crushers
rope push downs
Dips


Back:
Bent over smith rows
one arm dumbbell rows
Lat Pull down
seated rows or T-bar (not sure this seems to hit the lower back problem so will go very light)
also burn out bi's
Incline dumbbell curl
Rope hammer curl (try to focus outside bi and mine naturally swell to inside)
Pullups assisted drop sets to failure

Legs:
Smith machine squat (till form and balance seem natural)
Leg Press
hack squat
donkey calve raises
This will be on wed so I will also train shoulders / traps this day.
Seated military press (front)
Front / side raises perhaps side machine raises
Barbell Shrugs
Rack Pulls (will try these and see how the back does)

I'll be filling in numbers come this weekend... Split will be Sat BACK, Sun CHEST, Wed LEGs n Shoulders. Any comments will be appreciated positive or negative let me know. Figure if I could get the jump start and get through holidays on plan the new lifestyle will be no problem.

[polishedball]

Just to note my chest workout will not be the first real chest work; I visited my old lifting buddy (he has full gym in basement) that moved 3 hours away about 2weeks into the program and lifted it pretty well. Since then I also hit a workout with the 3rd guy that lifted together luckily he only lives 40 minutes away. We are all getting together on the 2nd for a lift and then going to watch the UFC it will be great to have the old crew back together (going to try to do that every 3 months or so). So my first chest numbers posted should be pretty good for me I was able to keep abit of muscle under the fat.
Time to go get the cardio.... My fingers ache from all this typing.

[polishedball]

Back Today, just to get a feel first time in 5 years...

Bent over rows
145x12
225x10
275x6
225x8

One arm DB's
80 X6
85 X6
90 X6

T-Bar Rows Under Hand
45x 10
90x 10
90x 8
100x 6

PullUps
normal wide grip 4
Hammer Grip 6
Undehand 7

Bi's Rope hammer both hands (have to write this one down next time stack was metric only really remember the last weight)
pryamid up to 5sets

158 X 7


Chest on Sunday. I really like the YMCA i joined (today) have use of the 6 local Y's all new in the last few years, nice people, equipment DB's up to 150's. The hot tub was nice afterward as well. Took my 2 year old back to swim later.

[polishedball]

Chest today: split workout in an odd way. Also did Max flat bench.

Flat Bench
135X10
225X6
295X1
330X1

Incline Bench
225 X 5
230 X 3
225 X 5

DB press Flat
80 X 6
90 X 6
100 X 6

Hammer Strength Press
315 X 4
225 X 7
225 X 6

Tri's

one arm press downs hammer type

20 X 6
30 X 6
30 X 6
(left side needed spot)

standard bar press down

80 x 6
90 X 6
100 X 4

Skull Crushers

60 X 9
90 X 5
90 X 4

4 hours later

Machine Incline Stack 30# off drops till failure

Machine Press Stack 30# drops till failure

Underhand tri cable extensions
30 X 6
30 X 6
30 X 6

Overhead Tri ext
8 X 8
15 X 8
25 X 5

Tri Kickbacks
8 X 8
15 X 5
25 X 3

Then the Hot tub

[polishedball]

Today was a quick traps and bi's.

BB shrugs
135 X 20
225 X 20
315 X 12
365 X 8

DB shrugs

70 X 20
80 X 20 (this was last in workout had no grip strength left to go heavier)

Up right rows to chin.
135 X 12
155 X 6
135 X 10

Incline DB curls
25 X 8
30 X 6
35 X 6

Rope Hammer curls

100 x 10
130 X 10
160 X 6
100 X 19

[2nd_chance]

Welcome to the journals. Some good weight you're moving.

[RdRacer]

Welcome to the Journals...

Good luck with everything!

[polishedball]

Thanks for the welcome....

Today did legs and shoulders.

Legs
Smith Squat, but kept back upright and feet forward. (worried about lower back)

135 X 10
185 X 8
135 X 8

Leg Press
200 X 12
400 X 8
490 X 8
580 X 8
670 X 6

Donkey Calf
50 X 16
120 X 12
170 X 10
210 X 6

BB front press Smith
135 X 10
185 X 7
135 X 9

Arnold Press
40 X 8
40 X 8
40 X 7

Nautilus Lat raise
155 X 10
165 X 8
185 X 6

Nautilus Shoulder Press
Both Grips
165 X 6 X 6
165 X 6 X 6
165 X 6 x 6

Wow today was my first leg workout in 5 years other than body weight stuff and my legs are very shakey and my calves are toast already. Stairs were a B~@(Dh

[polishedball]

Day off today, good thing can barely walk. Thinking might have hit legs to hard. Funny it still feels good when it hurts.

[RdRacer]

"Thinking might have hit legs too hard"

No such thing...

[polishedball]

An hour on the elliptical today, 500 pushups, 28 pullups.

[polishedball]

1-2-10

Chest

Flat bench pyramid
135X10
225X5
275X3
295X1
325X1

Incline Bench
225 X 6
225 X 6
225 X 5

Flat Bench set
275 X 5
275 X 5
275 X 4
295 X 1

DB flat press
70 X 16
80 X 6
85 X 6

DB Fly Incline
45 X 6
45 X 6
45 X 6

Tri's

Skull crushers
75 X 8
85 X 5
75 X 6

Rope press Down
Drop Set




1-3-10 Back lost numbers workout consisted of

Seated Rows
Pull Downs
Bent Over Rows
Reverse Fly's
one arm rows

[Athena]

An hour on the elliptical today, 500 pushups, 28 pullups.

500 pushups? Really?!

Welcome to journaling! Take your workouts slow, don't push anything too far...but never worry about working your legs too hard.

~Athi


P.S. Congrats on the weight loss!

[polishedball]

500 pushups? Really?!

Welcome to journaling! Take your workouts slow, don't push anything too far...but never worry about working your legs too hard.

~Athi


P.S. Congrats on the weight loss!

Thanks, yep 500 that was actually a lot less than I did previously prior to joining a Gym. Takes a few sets but I get there.


Today a quick Shoulder workout. Also need to scale the calories back again. I had added about 500 a day in preparation for this past weekend. I was getting together with my old lifting partners and wanted to get my numbers up/maintained for the lift.

Arnold press's

25 X 10
55 X 8
65 X 7
75 X 6 (these were standard press not long ROM arnolds)

Upright Rows (lower weight as both smiths and cage were in use. Should have gone to a FB and stole the bar thought of it afterwards)

90 X 10
100 X 10
100 X 10
100 X 7
100 is the max weight preloaded bar.

Machine side raise's
150 X 7
150 X 6
150 X 5

Machine overhead press (hammer grip)
170 X 8
170 X 6
170 X 6


Tuesday should be a light cardio, feeling a sore throat and chest congestion so will take it easy. Wed will be legs and some deadlifts i hope. Thursday traps and Bi's, friday cardio. Putting this down as to stick with it as a plan.

[Athena]

Numbers look good ... hope you're feeling okay and the cold doesn't get too bad...

Take care --
Athi

[polishedball]

1-5-10

Cardio ~ brisk walk

27mins on treadmill 3.9MPH.

[polishedball]

Legs today kinda short on time, got there late and babysitting stop at 1.

Sled
200 X 8
400 X 8
495 X 8
585 X 8
675 X 6
725 X 6

Donkey calves

90 X 12
90 X 12
180 X 5 (severe calve cramps)
90 X 16

Leg ext.

Stack x 6
Stack X 6
Stack X 6

[Athena]

How is your lower back feeling? Any ill effects from the Smith squats?

[polishedball]

How is your lower back feeling? Any ill effects from the Smith squats?

Thanks for asking, The lower back is not right. Everything felt fine during the workout, but a couple hours afterwards I had to start being very careful. I was getting the pain that basically drops you to your knees when doing certain motions. I'll be curious how hard it is to get out of bed in the AM.

I plan on next week adjusting some of the pad angles on the sled and ext's to see if I can get the geometry better for my body. I'll then go up in weight if that works as I felt leaving today that I could have added another 50 or 90 pounds to the sled.

Also looking to change up the basics of the diet, food wise. I'm going broke with all the protein bars and lean meat. I have to figure out how to get the protein without the higher $$.

Not sure if I mentioned it earlier in the thread, but I also plan on running my first 5K in May. It should prove interesting as God didn;t build me as a runner. I am doing interval run/walk training now. Want to get my pace at about 6mph so I finish in about 30mins. I believe this to be the reason why my calves are cramping. It happens on the treadmill also. I drink plenty of water, going to get a better pair of shoes and increase potassium.

[Athena]

Thanks for asking, The lower back is not right. Everything felt fine during the workout, but a couple hours afterwards I had to start being very careful. I was getting the pain that basically drops you to your knees when doing certain motions. I'll be curious how hard it is to get out of bed in the AM.

I plan on next week adjusting some of the pad angles on the sled and ext's to see if I can get the geometry better for my body. I'll then go up in weight if that works as I felt leaving today that I could have added another 50 or 90 pounds to the sled.

Also looking to change up the basics of the diet, food wise. I'm going broke with all the protein bars and lean meat. I have to figure out how to get the protein without the higher $$.

Not sure if I mentioned it earlier in the thread, but I also plan on running my first 5K in May. It should prove interesting as God didn;t build me as a runner. I am doing interval run/walk training now. Want to get my pace at about 6mph so I finish in about 30mins. I believe this to be the reason why my calves are cramping. It happens on the treadmill also. I drink plenty of water, going to get a better pair of shoes and increase potassium.

Will you continue the squats if your lower back is still achy? Remember that every time this happens, it's a warning from your body that the nucleus of the disc may be tearing it's way through the annulus fibrosis...once that tear happens fully you're looking at a disc herniation and pressure on the nerve root.

As for not being built as a runner -- you'd be surprised how many people aren't built as runners and still are able to do even marathons!

[polishedball]

I never workout if achy or feeling discomfort. I quit right away if I feel any discomfort in my lower back. However what is odd is the pain seems to appear hours later. Not really sure what to do as I won't quit training. I figure an MRI is in order I switched my insurance for this year so I should now be able to afford to goto the doc; however i think i'll get the usual well if you don;t have a problem if you don't lift just "don't lift".

My back had no issues this morning I was rather happy. Did traps and Bi's today.

BB shrugs
145 X 25
225 X 20
315 X 8 straps
405 X 6 straps (too much weight for good ROM)

DB Shrugs
100 X 10
100 X 10
100 X 9 ( lost grip)

Incline DB curls slow and strict

25 X 8
35 X 6
35 X 6

Concentration curls
30 X 5
30 X 5
30 X 4
30 X 3 (left arm done right could have done 8 reps every time no problem, left arm is 1/2 smaller at 17.5)

Rope Hammer curls
120 X 10
140 X 8
170 X 6


Looking forward to saturdays lift; hopefully someone will be around to spot me on bench.

[Hibiscus09]

Nice workouts!

If you still want this embedded:



All you have to do is use image tags.

In front of the address you posted above, just type [img]

and then at the end of the address, type [/img]

You would also have to take the dashes out of http:

Hope that makes sense.

If you click on FAQ at the top of the page and then General Forum Usage, scroll down and you can find all the info you need for posting messages such as including images and emoticons.

You've made great progress so far!

[polishedball]

Nice workouts!

If you still want this embedded:


All you have to do is use image tags.

!

Thanks for the comments, I do not have enough posts yet for the forum to let me post links or use image tags. Soon i'll be there. I get this error:

To be able to post links or images your post count must be 30 or greater. You currently have 24 posts.

Please remove links from your message, then you will be able to submit your post.

Thanks again. Progress continues seeing improvements still every couple days.

[Hibiscus09]

Thanks for the comments, I do not have enough posts yet for the forum to let me post links or use image tags. Soon i'll be there. I get this error:

To be able to post links or images your post count must be 30 or greater. You currently have 24 posts.

Please remove links from your message, then you will be able to submit your post.

Thanks again. Progress continues seeing improvements still every couple days.

Oh! I had no idea there was a post requirement. I guess you could have figured out how to post an image yourself at 30 posts.

And you're welcome! Happy Friday!

[polishedball]

Wow came down with the flu today out of nowhere, seems like it was a quick hit. I felt awful for about 2 hours, then puked numerous times and started to feel normal a couple hours later. Still gonna hit the gym on Saturday.

[polishedball]

Did back today went really well considering I was sick not 24 hours ago.

Bent over BB rows.

135 X 12
185 X 10
235 X 8
285 X 6

T-Bar rows hammer grip
45 X 12
90 X 12
135 X 6
185 X 6

Widee Grip pull downs to front.

135 X 8
152 X 6
192 X 5

One Arm DB rows
110 X 6
115 X 6
120 x 6

Assisted chins to failure drop set.

Getting stronger it has been feeling pretty good, hopefully be back where I was within 6 months.

[polishedball]

Forgot to add did incline reverse fly's/

30 X 8
40 X 6
50 X 5

[polishedball]

Chest today, really is a bummer with no workout partner to spot ya.

Flat Bench

135 X 10
225 X 10
275 X 5
285 X 5
295 X 4 (didn;t try 5th with no spotter)

Incline Smith

225 X 8
275 X 6
225 X 6

Flat fly's n press afterward till failure (didn;t count presses)
55 X 8
60 X 6
65 X 5

Incline press DB's
70 X 10
80 X 6
85 X 5

Machine press drop set
Stack Down till burn/fail

Tri's overhead extensions

12 X 20
20 X 8
30 X 7

[polishedball]

1-11-10

35 minutes of cardio on the treadmill. ~ should get another session in tuesday and then back to weights wed and thursday.

[polishedball]

1-12-10

33mins of cardio, wed will be leg day.