This weekend went OK until I drank enough vodka to kill a donkey. I cheated more than I should have yesterday, but I'll be OK.
I haven't weighed myself yet, but today the diet has gone well.
The workout SUCKED, and I am definitely weaker. I need to change it up to where I'm only squatting and deadlifting once a week, on different days. I'm also going to add more rows (which Edgar finally drank the koolaid on!) to my routine as well as more actively doing pullups. I'll iron out what my diet workout plan is and get that posted up soon.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Cutting - Day 3
The diet has been pretty easy (although it's only been a couple of days). I don't get toooo hungry, but I can tell my energy is dragging. The large amount of eggs in the morning is quite helpful.
Here's the diet I'm following, in case I haven't posted it before now:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?s=ae6b337b651ba5533a32b822d4e09539&t=5899101
My energy in the gym last night blew. My legs were crazy sore from squats on Tuesday, which is a new/rare feeling. I just did a few squats with last night's workout.
Squats - 135x8, 185x5, 225x3 - I didn't want to overdo it. I'm probably going to cut down squats to 1 or 2 days per week while I'm cutting, but if I do that, I need to make sure I keep it heavy.
Press - I reset these to 105 and did a 3x5 set.
Power Cleans - 135 again. 3,3,3. I didn't do the last two sets of three because I felt like I was gonna hurl. This was my fault, as I SLAMMED a protein shake in a hurry right before the gym.
Chinups/Pullups - 6,4,3,2,1,1,1 - Messing around with Edgar. I need to get my pullup numbers back up again.
I'm at about 192 today.
Here's the diet I'm following, in case I haven't posted it before now:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?s=ae6b337b651ba5533a32b822d4e09539&t=5899101
My energy in the gym last night blew. My legs were crazy sore from squats on Tuesday, which is a new/rare feeling. I just did a few squats with last night's workout.
Squats - 135x8, 185x5, 225x3 - I didn't want to overdo it. I'm probably going to cut down squats to 1 or 2 days per week while I'm cutting, but if I do that, I need to make sure I keep it heavy.
Press - I reset these to 105 and did a 3x5 set.
Power Cleans - 135 again. 3,3,3. I didn't do the last two sets of three because I felt like I was gonna hurl. This was my fault, as I SLAMMED a protein shake in a hurry right before the gym.
Chinups/Pullups - 6,4,3,2,1,1,1 - Messing around with Edgar. I need to get my pullup numbers back up again.
I'm at about 192 today.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Last Day of Rest
I ate like crap all last week, so today sucked in the gym. That's OK though, I needed the break. Tomorrow I start my diet, so I got a week's worth of food.
Starting weight for the diet: 194lbs
Tonight's workout:
Squats - warmup, 135x5, 185x2, 225x1, 250x1, 285xfail. I didn't feel it tonight, so I didn't try again. I was tired and knew I wouldn't get it. Wrong mindset. I went back and did 250x3, 225x5.
Bench - PR - 200lbs x 1. Failed on the second one, which is fine. I can finally say I bench 200 though, which is good! (I am 115 lbs from my long term goal.)
Deadlift - Failed my 315lb x 1 attempt. I definitely can get this, I did 295x5 a week ago. I just had a bad night.
OHP - Almost pressed 135x1.
Oh well, at least I hit bench. Time to get skinny and try to maintain my strength so that I can GOMAD again and really get "strong".
Starting weight for the diet: 194lbs
Tonight's workout:
Squats - warmup, 135x5, 185x2, 225x1, 250x1, 285xfail. I didn't feel it tonight, so I didn't try again. I was tired and knew I wouldn't get it. Wrong mindset. I went back and did 250x3, 225x5.
Bench - PR - 200lbs x 1. Failed on the second one, which is fine. I can finally say I bench 200 though, which is good! (I am 115 lbs from my long term goal.)
Deadlift - Failed my 315lb x 1 attempt. I definitely can get this, I did 295x5 a week ago. I just had a bad night.
OHP - Almost pressed 135x1.
Oh well, at least I hit bench. Time to get skinny and try to maintain my strength so that I can GOMAD again and really get "strong".
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Lots of Resting
I'm actually not sure I'm going to do much of anything this week. I need the mental break. The unfortunate part of the timing of this is that I'm a bit sad and down this week, so I know working out would help. If I can motivate myself to do some light running, I will.
Now that I'm single again, I will likely have more time to focus on workout stuff. Not that it takes that much focus or time, though.
I've emailed my real estate friend and will be sitting down with her soon to discuss the steps I need to start taking (hopefully quickly). That should definitely take up my time.
I think the biggest challenge right now will be motivating myself to start my hardcore cut diet to drop 20lbs in roughly 4-5 weeks. I'll try to lay that out and set a hard start time soon.
Now that I'm single again, I will likely have more time to focus on workout stuff. Not that it takes that much focus or time, though.
I've emailed my real estate friend and will be sitting down with her soon to discuss the steps I need to start taking (hopefully quickly). That should definitely take up my time.
I think the biggest challenge right now will be motivating myself to start my hardcore cut diet to drop 20lbs in roughly 4-5 weeks. I'll try to lay that out and set a hard start time soon.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Rest Week
On Saturday I was a little disappointed but my body is freakin pooped at this point.
Squats - 250lbs x1, 275lbs x 1. This wasn't too hard, but I'm still 40lbs away from being able to squat 315 one time. It'll come, though.
Bench(3x5) - 185lbs - 5,5,4. Barely missed.
Deads(1x5) - 295lbs - 5. Got all of these, but my back was rounding like crazy on the last couple. I will definitely not move weight up until I correct this. If it happens again next time, I'll have to drop weight a little.
Overall, my body is super tired and I think this is contributing to the slow progress at this point. I've been going super hard the last 7 weeks or so, so I'll take a very light recovery week to let my body heal and grow. I'm pretty sure that when I return to the gym all refreshed and healed, I'll be stronger than I am now.
Squats - 250lbs x1, 275lbs x 1. This wasn't too hard, but I'm still 40lbs away from being able to squat 315 one time. It'll come, though.
Bench(3x5) - 185lbs - 5,5,4. Barely missed.
Deads(1x5) - 295lbs - 5. Got all of these, but my back was rounding like crazy on the last couple. I will definitely not move weight up until I correct this. If it happens again next time, I'll have to drop weight a little.
Overall, my body is super tired and I think this is contributing to the slow progress at this point. I've been going super hard the last 7 weeks or so, so I'll take a very light recovery week to let my body heal and grow. I'm pretty sure that when I return to the gym all refreshed and healed, I'll be stronger than I am now.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Stuff
In preparation for Saturday, I took it easy on squats last night and just did some front squats. These are obviously harder, but after all of the crossfit videos I've been watching lately, I wanted to get some practice in.
FS: 135lbs- 5,5. 185lbs- 3. Could have done more but didn't want to tire myself out. Then for some reason I did like 10 normal back squats with 135.
Press: sucked again. 115lbs - 5,3. 95lbs -5.
Power Cleans: 135 lbs, 3,3,3,3,3. These were tough as I finally feel the weight, but I enjoy it. I can't wait to really focus on this and see my numbers go up. It's vital for crossfit and olympic lifting to get this movement down.
Overall I'm super stressed and very unhappy with a lot of things going on right now, so I am going to try and clear my head and really amp my self up for setting some PR's tomorrow.
FS: 135lbs- 5,5. 185lbs- 3. Could have done more but didn't want to tire myself out. Then for some reason I did like 10 normal back squats with 135.
Press: sucked again. 115lbs - 5,3. 95lbs -5.
Power Cleans: 135 lbs, 3,3,3,3,3. These were tough as I finally feel the weight, but I enjoy it. I can't wait to really focus on this and see my numbers go up. It's vital for crossfit and olympic lifting to get this movement down.
Overall I'm super stressed and very unhappy with a lot of things going on right now, so I am going to try and clear my head and really amp my self up for setting some PR's tomorrow.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
GOMAD Summary
I was on GOMAD for 40 days, and had 1 missed workout.
*These are working sets, not 1RM.
Squat:
Start: 185lbs After: 250lbs
Bench:
Start: 160lbs After: 185lbs
Deadlifts:
Start: 245lbs After: 295lbs
Press:
Start: 95lbs After: 115lbs
Power Cleans:(started with hanging cleans)
Start: 95lbs After: 135lbs
Important Notes:
-The starting weight for the squats and deads was a hair under what I had done before, but had stalled before GOMAD. I didn't do a full reset, I just dropped a few lbs in order to blow through my plateau. My true squat was closer to 200, and my true deadlift was closer to 260.
-Bench was a true start, as I only hit 5,5,4 the first day of GOMAD.
-I had never done cleans before, and babied around with working on getting these to go up. I see lots of room for improvement still left here.
-I see very difficult progress with press, and I think that will take a lot of focus.
-I had large gains in deadlifts before GOMAD, but started to stall a bit. I reset my form to keep myself TIGHT, so I hope these will begin to climb at a fast pace again.
-I gained ~15lbs in 40 days. I was roughly 16-17% bf before I started. I will take current measurements when I can.
-I am 35lbs heavier than when I finished P90X last summer.
I've been really stressed the last few days with personal issues, but I plan to finish hitting the rest of the week as hard as I can to achieve my goals. 1-2 more hard hitting weeks followed by a nice, "recovery" week will do my body a world of good.
*These are working sets, not 1RM.
Squat:
Start: 185lbs After: 250lbs
Bench:
Start: 160lbs After: 185lbs
Deadlifts:
Start: 245lbs After: 295lbs
Press:
Start: 95lbs After: 115lbs
Power Cleans:(started with hanging cleans)
Start: 95lbs After: 135lbs
Important Notes:
-The starting weight for the squats and deads was a hair under what I had done before, but had stalled before GOMAD. I didn't do a full reset, I just dropped a few lbs in order to blow through my plateau. My true squat was closer to 200, and my true deadlift was closer to 260.
-Bench was a true start, as I only hit 5,5,4 the first day of GOMAD.
-I had never done cleans before, and babied around with working on getting these to go up. I see lots of room for improvement still left here.
-I see very difficult progress with press, and I think that will take a lot of focus.
-I had large gains in deadlifts before GOMAD, but started to stall a bit. I reset my form to keep myself TIGHT, so I hope these will begin to climb at a fast pace again.
-I gained ~15lbs in 40 days. I was roughly 16-17% bf before I started. I will take current measurements when I can.
-I am 35lbs heavier than when I finished P90X last summer.
I've been really stressed the last few days with personal issues, but I plan to finish hitting the rest of the week as hard as I can to achieve my goals. 1-2 more hard hitting weeks followed by a nice, "recovery" week will do my body a world of good.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Limbo - Day 1
I officially stopped GOMAD this past weekend. I know I quit a bit early, and I've only hit 196lbs, not 200 (unless I am clothed), but I just felt fat and bloated and I got fed up on Saturday night when I my larger shirts were tight. It'd be great if I felt muscular in that situation, but my stomach was bloated and the shirt seemed to hug that as well. No thanks.
Right now I'm working on dropping my calories to about 2500-3000 in order to get used to less food. I'm still debating between the V-diet and other options, but I'll give myself a couple of weeks before I start.
Last night wasn't the best, but I'm not gonna beat myself up about it.
Squats(3x5): 250lbs - 5,3,2. Considering that in April I failed when I tried to squat 250 one time, I can't beat myself up too badly. I'll hit it with more intensity and rest next time....and hope by Saturday I will have all 15 reps. Keep in mind, this was my stretch goal, so there's a mental element that is making this harder than it should be.
Bench(3x5): PR 185lbs - 5,4,3. This is also my goal weight, so I'm not surprised I had a hard time. If I feel solid on Saturday, I should be able to do this without any problems. I'm close!
Deadlifts(1x5): 295lbs - 4. One rep short. My grip died, and I knew that if I lost my momentum I couldn't pull it again. My form was a buttload better this time, so I should hit it next time with no problem.
My overall goal with all of this is to get much stronger in my lifts, then start doing crossfit with the big boys. I hate doing the crossfit exercises and using the girl weight just to finish. While it may be better to do the CF exercises and work slowly on increasing the weight, I'm having a good time now and actually enjoy the powerlifting aspect of things. I'd love to be able to get a 1 rep max of about the following one day in my exercises:
Squat 405 - I imagine I'd have to be repping about 120lbs over what I am now.
Bench 315 - Ditto on this.
Deads 500 - Even more than 120 on this.
This is all still really far off and going to take a lot of work, but with the right focus and intensity, it will make me that much more effective in crossfit, which is just plain fun.
I watched a video of one of the crossfit "monsters" recently, and this guy can motivate anyone. ESPECIALLY for being only 185 f'ing pounds. He is truly one of the fittest human beings I have ever seen:
Right now I'm working on dropping my calories to about 2500-3000 in order to get used to less food. I'm still debating between the V-diet and other options, but I'll give myself a couple of weeks before I start.
Last night wasn't the best, but I'm not gonna beat myself up about it.
Squats(3x5): 250lbs - 5,3,2. Considering that in April I failed when I tried to squat 250 one time, I can't beat myself up too badly. I'll hit it with more intensity and rest next time....and hope by Saturday I will have all 15 reps. Keep in mind, this was my stretch goal, so there's a mental element that is making this harder than it should be.
Bench(3x5): PR 185lbs - 5,4,3. This is also my goal weight, so I'm not surprised I had a hard time. If I feel solid on Saturday, I should be able to do this without any problems. I'm close!
Deadlifts(1x5): 295lbs - 4. One rep short. My grip died, and I knew that if I lost my momentum I couldn't pull it again. My form was a buttload better this time, so I should hit it next time with no problem.
My overall goal with all of this is to get much stronger in my lifts, then start doing crossfit with the big boys. I hate doing the crossfit exercises and using the girl weight just to finish. While it may be better to do the CF exercises and work slowly on increasing the weight, I'm having a good time now and actually enjoy the powerlifting aspect of things. I'd love to be able to get a 1 rep max of about the following one day in my exercises:
Squat 405 - I imagine I'd have to be repping about 120lbs over what I am now.
Bench 315 - Ditto on this.
Deads 500 - Even more than 120 on this.
This is all still really far off and going to take a lot of work, but with the right focus and intensity, it will make me that much more effective in crossfit, which is just plain fun.
I watched a video of one of the crossfit "monsters" recently, and this guy can motivate anyone. ESPECIALLY for being only 185 f'ing pounds. He is truly one of the fittest human beings I have ever seen:
Saturday, June 13, 2009
GOMAD - Day 39
Last night wasn't the best. My legs and back have been pretty worn out lately. I just did some light squats to get my blood pumping with the intention of letting my legs rest a little. After that, I went straight to bench.
Bench(3x5): PR 180 - 5,5,5. This was hard, but wasn't as bad as it could have been. On Tuesday I should be attempting my goal weight of 185! It may take a couple of tries to get, but I'm hoping by next weekend this goal will also be met.
Deadlifts(1x5): 295 - 1. Booooooo. I was able to pull 5 at 285 pretty easily the last time, so I think this has to do with my lower back being so worn out. When squatting and deadlifting....hell, even bench pressing, if you enact your core the right way, you are working a lot more than a specific "targeted" muscle group. My core and entire posterior chain are really worn out right now, and it showed tonight. To be honest, my setup on my second try (when I couldn't get it more than 2 inches off the floor) showed that I had a serious weakness in my form as well. I was leaning too far over the bar and my shoulders were way out of wack. I'm sure that it was just an off night and my body is tired, so after rest and more milk, I should be fine.
I called it quits after that and decided to make it an "easy" day in an attempt to facilitate a bit more rest.
Bench(3x5): PR 180 - 5,5,5. This was hard, but wasn't as bad as it could have been. On Tuesday I should be attempting my goal weight of 185! It may take a couple of tries to get, but I'm hoping by next weekend this goal will also be met.
Deadlifts(1x5): 295 - 1. Booooooo. I was able to pull 5 at 285 pretty easily the last time, so I think this has to do with my lower back being so worn out. When squatting and deadlifting....hell, even bench pressing, if you enact your core the right way, you are working a lot more than a specific "targeted" muscle group. My core and entire posterior chain are really worn out right now, and it showed tonight. To be honest, my setup on my second try (when I couldn't get it more than 2 inches off the floor) showed that I had a serious weakness in my form as well. I was leaning too far over the bar and my shoulders were way out of wack. I'm sure that it was just an off night and my body is tired, so after rest and more milk, I should be fine.
I called it quits after that and decided to make it an "easy" day in an attempt to facilitate a bit more rest.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
GOMAD - Day 37
I didn't get to take my anger to the gym last night since I told Julia I would go with her. She wanted to wait a bit, so we didn't go until about 8:45 and by that point I was subdued. Unfortunately, it showed in my workout.
Squats(3x5): 245lbs - 5,4,4. - It pisses me off that these were as hard as they were, but it's to be expected when you put 50 lbs on your squat in only a little over a month. Honestly, I think it's partially mental, so I may try a 1 rep max at 275 or something to make my current weight feel lighter.
Press (3x5): 115lbs - 4. 110lbs 4,3. I dropped the weight after I didn't get 5 on the first set. For some reason I totally bonked on these, but before I get too upset I'm just gonna call it a bad night. 110 3x5 was relatively easy last time, so I'm optimistic I'll get more at 115 next time. I really don't want to reset these. Maybe doing push press would help. My biggest concern is that a wall here can sometimes mean a wall in bench press, and I'm so dang close to my goal.
Power Cleans (5x3) - 125lbs - 3,3,3,3,3. - This is technically a PR, but nothing to brag about. They weren't excessively difficult, but my form wasn't quite as solid as I would have liked. This is a tough move, so when I move up to 135 next time, I will need to stick there until I really have the motion down. At least I'll be doing big plates!
Pullups - 5. Julia was ready to go and she didn't feel like dicking around on the assisted pullup machine, so I just left it at that. I was covered in sweat and was hungry anyway.
Squats(3x5): 245lbs - 5,4,4. - It pisses me off that these were as hard as they were, but it's to be expected when you put 50 lbs on your squat in only a little over a month. Honestly, I think it's partially mental, so I may try a 1 rep max at 275 or something to make my current weight feel lighter.
Press (3x5): 115lbs - 4. 110lbs 4,3. I dropped the weight after I didn't get 5 on the first set. For some reason I totally bonked on these, but before I get too upset I'm just gonna call it a bad night. 110 3x5 was relatively easy last time, so I'm optimistic I'll get more at 115 next time. I really don't want to reset these. Maybe doing push press would help. My biggest concern is that a wall here can sometimes mean a wall in bench press, and I'm so dang close to my goal.
Power Cleans (5x3) - 125lbs - 3,3,3,3,3. - This is technically a PR, but nothing to brag about. They weren't excessively difficult, but my form wasn't quite as solid as I would have liked. This is a tough move, so when I move up to 135 next time, I will need to stick there until I really have the motion down. At least I'll be doing big plates!
Pullups - 5. Julia was ready to go and she didn't feel like dicking around on the assisted pullup machine, so I just left it at that. I was covered in sweat and was hungry anyway.
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