Week 4 Review

Current body weight: 213.4 lbs

- 1.6 lbs

Made it to the gym twice this week.  Diet still rough

Week 3 Review

Current body weight: 215.0 lbs

+ 1.6 lbs

Did not go to the gym this week.   Feeling non-sick today, so tomorrow should get back on schedule

Week 2 Review

Current body weight: 213.4 lbs

+ 2.2 lbs

Did not go the gym this week.  Picked up something from the kids, and basically had a sick week.  

Week 1 Review

Current Body Weight: 211.2 lbs

+2.4lbs

This week started off with a low note… they gym attendant didn’t show up… I left at about quarter after five, and did a few things at home…

Tuesday and Wednesday went well, but Thursday and Friday fell apart.  

But hey, next week is a new week…

Week 0 Review

 

Current body weight: 208.8 lbs

This past week I tried out my new circuit-based routine.  I quickly found out that I really need to drop the poundage when not resting between sets!  

My diet wasn’t very solid this week, really need to hunker down and stick with my plan…no cheating!

Oct 2011–Jan 2012 Lifting Goal: Lose Body Fat

 

I've decided that the goal for my next cycle is to lose body fat.   I'm currently sporting a generous chunk of flab around my middle, with a current weight range of 210-215.   I'd like to cut that by about 20 lbs, to around 190-195.   To do this I will need to lose an average of 1lb - 2lbs a week, which seems reasonable with a solid program.  

Workout

Using a circuit training + cardio routine, 5 days a week

Monday - Gym - 5:00 AM

- Chest & arm circuit - 4x
    - DB Bench x12
    - DB Alternating Curls x12
    - Cable Pressdown x12
    - Dips x12
- 20 min, Treadmill

Tuesday - Home - 5:00 AM

- 30 min, Stationary Bike
- Ab Circuit (doing a PT circuit detailed in the November 2010 issue of Muscle & Fitness)

Wednesday - Gym - 5:00 AM

- Leg & Shoulder circuit - 4x
    - Front Squat x12
    - Standing DB Press x12
    - Calf Raises x12
    - DB Side Laterals x12
- 20min, Treadmill

Thursday - Home - 5:00 AM

- 30 min, Stationary Bike
- Ab Circuit

Friday - Gym - 5:00 AM

- Back Circuit - 4x
    - Deadlift x12
    - Lat Pulldown x12
    - DB Row x12
    - Seated Cable Row x12
- 20min, Treadmill

Diet

Going for general calorie reduction while keeping up protein levels.  Skipping meal before workout to help aid in fat burn.

• Meal #1 6:15 AM - Recovery - Orange Juice + 2 scoops whey protein + multi-vitamin
• Meal #2 8:AM - Oatmeal + Peanut Butter + brown sugar + 1 scoop whey protein
• Meal #3 12:00 PM - Rotating meal - protein + carbs + veg
• Meal #4 6:00 PM - Rotating meal - protein + veg
• Meal #5 9:00PM - Milk + casein protein + multi-vitamin

Moving to Three Month Workout Cycles

After a good run in July and August, September and October have been unfocused.   In early September, I was able to put up some decent numbers.  I did a back squat for 315x3, and a bench of 200x1.   Then I got sick for a week or so,and that derailed my progress.   That's OK though, because I’ve achieved my goal of “getting back into lifting”.

One of the difficult things about lifting long-term is having a steady supply of goals to achieve.   When starting out or re-starting, it is easy to see good progress in the first 3-6 months, but after that gains come more slowly.   In my last workouts, I've begun to approach the zone where I am lifting heavy all the time, and without proper goals, I don't believe there is a way to sustain this.  

So I've been thinking that 3 months / 12 weeks is a good time-frame to set workout goals, try new methods, supplements, etc.
- It gives you enough time to properly evaluate the effects of the program
- It keeps things fresh & helps with motivation
- It prevents overtraining
 
This is how it works

Week 1-2 - Plan new workouts, set goals, try new techniques

Weeks 2-14 - Workout using the plan, monitoring goals on a weekly basis

Week 15 - Off weeks - rest & evaluate plan

This basic system gives you about 3 months on a plan, and 1 month off / preparing for the next plan, so you get three major "cycles" a year.  

So what of the goals for each cycle?  The following are possibilities:

- Increase strength - Increase bench to 250, squat to 400, etc.  
- Lose Body fat - Drop from 215 to 190, etc.
- Increase endurance - 100 pushups in a minute, run 5 miles in 45 min
- Increase muscle definition / appearance - hard to measure, but this is basically what bodybuilding amounts to
- Prepare for a particular sport / event - prepare to run a marathon, hike up a mountain, etc.
- Maintain current levels - I suppose this is a possibility, but it's not very motivating.   I would make sense if you saw the next months as being impossible.  You could simply say you will do 1-2 workout per week, and try to eat sensibly.  

The best part of this type of planning is that you can set very big long-term goals without getting discouraged.   Dropping 100lbs of body fat is hard.   Benching 315lbs is hard.   You won't get there in 3 months, or even a year.   But with the right goals/ focus, dropping 10lbs is not hard, and neither is adding 20lbs to your bench.   The same could be said for virtually anything else in life...

August 23

BB Bench	10/135	10/145	9/135	10/115
Leg Raises	10	10	10
DB Flyes	10/35	10/35
DB Incline Press	10/35	10/35
Treadmill	10 min

 

5:00 AM
6:30 AM
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM

Weekly Review August 15-21

	This Week	Last Week	+/- Increase	% Change
Body Weight	209	209.7	-0.7
Body Fat	26%	27%	-1%
Total weight benched	5065	4470	595
Total weight deadlifted	5850	5250	600
Total weight squatted	5850	5250	600

Steady gains this week, but hitting failure a lot more at the end of my sets.  

August 20

Deadlifts	10/195	10/195	10/195
DB Rows	10/55	10/55	10/55
Lat pulldowns	10/90	10/90
Seated pulley rows	10/96	10/96

Deadlifts were particularly exhausting today

5:00 AM	promax bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

August 19

DB Shoulder Press	10/40	10/40	8/40	5/30
Upright Rows	10/60	10/60	10/60
Wrist Curls	10/40	10/40
Reverse Wrist Curls	10/25	10/25
DB Side Laterals	10/20	10/20

 

5:00 AM	Promax bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

August 18

Squats	10/195	10/195	10/195
Leg Curls	10/60	10/60
Leg Extensions	10/150	10/150
Calf Raises	10/55	10/55

 

5:00 AM	Promax Bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk ; multi-vitamin
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk ; multi-vitamin

August 17

BB Curls	10/70	10/70	10/70
Lying Tricep ext	9/45	10/45	10/45
Pulley pushdowns	10/60	10/60
CB Curls	10/70	10/70	9/70
Dips	5	5

 

5:00 AM	promax bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk ; multi-vitamin
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk ; multi-vitamin

August 16

BB Bench	10/135	10/135	9/135	10/115
DB Fly	10/35	10/35
DB Incline Press	8/35	10/35

This is the second week I’ve added the drop set to my bench, and makes me almost useless for flyes and incline press!

5:00 AM	promax bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

Weekly Review August 8-14

	This Week	Last Week	+/- Increase	% Change
Body Weight	209.7	207.6	2.1	1%
Body Fat	27%	26%	1%
Total weight benched	4470	3510	960	27%
Total weight deadlifted	5250	4650	600	12.9%
Total weight squatted	5250	4650	600	12.9%

Another decent week, with steady gains.

August 13

Deadlifts	10/175	10/175	10/175
DB Rows	10/50	10/50	10/50
Lat Pulldowns	10/90	10/90
Seated Pulley Rows	10/84	10/84

Last set of deadlifts took a lot of energy

5:00 AM	promax bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

August 12

DB Shoulder Press	10/40	10/40	6/40	4/30
Upright Rows	10/55	10/55	10/55
Wrist Curls	10/35	10/35
Reverse Wrist Curls	10/25	10/25

I am now including curl bar weight (20lb)

5:00 AM	promax bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

August 11

Squats	10/175	10/175	10/175
Leg Curls	10/60	10/60
Leg Extensions	10/130	10/130
Calf Raises	10/50	10/50

 

5:00 AM	promax bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

August 10

BB Curl	10/70	10/70	10/70
Lying Tricep Extension	10/45	10/45	10/45
Pulley Pushdown	10/60	9/60
Seated CB Curls	3/85	10/70	9/70

Barely got any sleep last night, and I can feel it today

5:00 AM	Promax bar
6:30 AM
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM	Protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

August 9

BB Bench	10/135	10/135	8/135	6/115
DB Flyes	10/35	10/35
DB Incline Press	4/35	7/35
Treadmill	10 min

 

5:00 AM	Promax bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, mult-vitamin
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk, mult-vitamin

Weekly Review August 1-7

	This Week	Last Week	+/- Increase	% Change
Body Weight	207.6	205.2	2.4	+1.2%
Body Fat	26%	29%	3%
Total weight benched	3510	3750	-240	-6.9%
Total weight deadlifted	4650	4050	+600	14.9%
Total weight squatted	4650	4050	+600	14.9%

This week I finally started hitting a few failure sets.   While my squat and deadlift didn’t feel easy, I probably won’t hit failure until I’m pushing past 200.   My bench weight dropped off because I only hit 6 on last set…  I think I am going to start incorporating drop sets into my main lifts so I am sure I work the muscles thoroughly. 

My diet is still poor, other than during my supplement times.  

August 6

Deadlifts	10/155	10/155	10/155
DB Rows	10/45	10/45	10/45
Lat Pulldowns	80/10	80/10	80/10
Seated Pulley Rows	10/48	10/72	10/84

 

5:00 AM	Promax Bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

August 5

DB Shoulder Press	10/35	10/35	10/35
Upright Rows	10/30	10/30	10/30
Wrist Curls	10/15	10/15
Reverse Wrist Curls	10/5	10/5
DB Side Laterals	10/20	10/20

 

5:00 AM	Promax Bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

August 4

Squats	10/155	10/155	10/155
Leg Curls	10/50	10/50
Leg Extensions	10/110	10/110
Calf Raises	10/50	10/50

 

5:00 AM	promax bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

August 3

BB Curls	10/20	10/20	10/20
Lying Tricep Extensions	10/20	10/20	10/20
Pulley Pushdowns	10/60	6/60
CB Curls	10/35	10/35	10/35

 

5:00 AM	water
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM	promax bar
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

August 2

BB Bench	10/135	10/135	6/135
DB Flyes	10/30	10/30
DB Incline	10/30	10/30

Took my last set of BB Bench to failure

5:00 AM	GNC Amplified NO Loaded
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk
10:00 AM
12:00 PM
7:00PM
10:00 PM

This morning I used my sample pack of the Creatine/Nitric Oxide/etc supplement.   Definitely woke me up, and have a mild tingling sensation in my hands.   It didn’t sit very well with my stomach, so maybe I need to take a half packet instead.   At any rate, that’s the only packet I had, so I have to decide if I want to order a bottle and try it for a month.  

Weekly Review July 25-31

	This Week	Last Week	+/- Increase	% Change
Body Weight	205.2	205.2	0	0
Body Fat	29%	29%	0	0
Total weight benched	3750	3450	300	8.7%
Total weight deadlifted	4050	3450	600	17.4%
Total weight squatted	4050	3450	600	17.4%

Diet was a total disaster this week, that’s about all I have to say about that!   Interesting that my bodyweight has been exactly the same for the past few weeks.   Still, I’m staying consistent with getting up for my workouts.   

July 30

Deadlifts	10/135	10/135	10/135
DB Rows	10/40	10/40	10/40
Lat Pulldowns	10/60	10/60	10/60

July 29

DB Shoulder Press	10/30	10/30	10/30
Upright Rows	10/25	10/25	10/25
Wrist Curls	10/15	10/15
Reverse Wrist Curls	10/5	10/5
DB Side Laterals	10/15	10/15

July 28

Squats	10/135	10/135	10/135
Leg Curls	10/45	10/45
Leg Extensions	10/50	10/50
Calf Raises	10/45	10/45

July 27

BB Curls	10/15	10/15	10/15
Lying Tricep Ext	10/15	10/15	10/15
Dips	-	-	-
Pulley Pushdowns	10/45	10/45
CB Curls	10/35	10/35	10/35

July 26

BB Bench Press	10/125	10/125	10/125
DB Flyes	10/25	10/25
DB Incline	10/25	10/25

 

5:00 AM	promax bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
7:00 AM	Red bull
12:00 PM	Pizza, dr pepper
7:00PM	cheese soup + ham, mountain dew
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

Neck was feeling OK today, but there still is some soreness there

Weekly Review, July 18-24

	This Week	Last Week	+/- Increase	% Change
Body Weight	205.2	205.2	0	0
Body Fat	29%	27%	+2%	7.4%
Total weight benched	3450	2850	600	21.0%
Total weight deadlifted	3450	2850	600	21.0%
Total weight squatted	3450	2850	600	21.0%

Another week of consistently making it to the gym.   I’m getting closer to the point where my workouts will have some measure of intensity, as all these lifts are pretty easy.    Obviously the big disappointment this week was my neck issue.  Hopefully it is just an aggravation and not an injury.   I really do feel like I been taking things easy, but perhaps at 29 it takes longer to get back into active exercise.    So yeah, the older you are, the slower you should get into lifting!

My diet was a mess this week, especially later.   It just isn’t going to cut it once I hit those intense workouts, so I need to figure something out soon.   

July 23

Deadlifts	10/115	10/115	10/115
DB Rows	10/35	10/35	10/35
Lat Pulldowns	10/50	10/50	10/50
Pullups	2	-
Situps	-	-	-
Treadmill	5 min

Had a problem with neck today.  It has been bothering me all week, but this morning it was really stiff, and my workout was fine until I did some pullups, and that really seemed to aggravate it, so I am going to avoid any exercises that place stress on the neck area until it heals!  

5:00 AM	Promax Bar
6:30 AM	Protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM	?
12:00 PM	?
7:00PM	?
10:00 PM	?

July 22

DB Shoulder Press	10/25	10/25	10/25
Upright Rows	10/20	10/20	10/20
Wrist Curls	10/10	10/10
Reverse Wrist Curls	10/5	10/5
DB Side Laterals	10/15	10/15

 

5:00 AM	Promax Bar
6:30 AM	Protein Shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM	?
12:00 PM	?
7:00PM	?
10:00 PM	?

July 21

Squats	10/115	10/115	10/115
Leg Curls	10/40	10/40	10/40
Leg Extensions	10/40	10/40	10/40
Calf Raises	10/40	10/40	10/40
Situps	10	10	10

 

5:00 AM	Promax Bar
6:30 AM	Protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM	?
12:00 PM	?
7:00PM	?
10:00 PM	?

July 20

BB Curls	10/10	10/10	10/10
Lying Tricep Ext	10/10	10/10	10/10
Dips	5	5
Pulley Pushdowns	10/36	10/36
CB Curls	10/30	10/30	10/30

 

5:00 AM	Promax bar
6:30 AM	Protein Shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM	whole wheat bread + peanut butter
12:00 PM	Meat & Cheese sandwhich, Red bull
7:00PM	Pasta + Ham
10:00 PM	Protein Shake + milk, multi-vitamin

July 19

BB Bench	10/115	10/115	10/115
DB Flyes	10/20	10/20
DB Incline Press	10/20	10/20
Situps	10	10	10
Treadmill	10 min

 

5:00 AM	Promax Bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, multivitamin
10:00 AM	Monster Energy Drink
12:00 PM	Pizza, Mountain Dew
9:00PM	Eggs, toast, Dr Pepper

Eating today left something to be desired…

Weekly Review, July 11-17

	This Week	Last Week	+/- Increase	% Change
Body Weight	205.2	205.2	0	0.0%
Body Fat	27.0%	28.0%	-1.0%	3.6%
Total weight benched	2850	0	0	0
Total weight deadlifted	2850	1350	1500	111%
Total weight squatted	2850	1350	1500	111%

First full week in the gym. My most important accomplishment was getting up each day, and by the end of the week, going to bed before 10 PM. I am still below my current workout capacity, so the workouts themselves have not been very difficult. As I reach my current capacity, I will need to stay consistent with getting up, eating, and also putting forth a good effort in the gym. Showing up is absolutely necessary, but is only the beginning.

I still have a ways to go in my diet. I am being very careful about my before workout and before bed times, but as I start progressing I will need to work on those “in-between” times.

July 16

Deadlifts	10/95	10/95	10/95
DB Rows	10/30	10/30	10/30
Lat Pulldowns	10/40	10/40	10/40
Pull-ups	3	3
Situps	10	10	10

 

5:00 AM	Promax Bar
6:30 AM	Protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
7:00 AM	Red bull
12:00 PM	Chicken, Pasta, Muffin
7:00PM	Chicken, Pasta
10:00 PM	Protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

 

Getting to bed at 9:30 last night made a huge difference today, especially getting up.    I didn’t get tired at work like I had been for the past few days either.   

July 15

DB Shoulder Press	10/20	10/20	10/20
Upright Rows	10/10	10/10	10/10
Wrist Curls	10/5	10/5	10/5
Reverse Wrist Curls	10/5	10/5	10/5
DB Side Laterals	10/10	20/10
Treadmill	10 min

 

5:00 AM	Promax bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM	two slices whole wheat bread + peanut butter
12:00 PM	leftover pizza, mountain dew
6:30PM	ham, cheesy pasta, corn
9:00 PM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

 

My tub of protein from GNC is now here, so now I’m set for supplements for the next 30-45 days.   Feeling very tired today, especially getting up.   I’m going to go to bed about 9 PM tonight, but I doubt I will be able to get to sleep much before 10.

July 14

Squats	10/95	10/95	10/95
Leg Curls	10/30	10/30
Leg Extensions	10/30	10/30
Calf Raises	10/30	10/30
Situps	10	10	10
Treadmill	10min

 

5:00 AM	promax bar
6:30 AM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin
10:00 AM	Mountain Dew
12:00 PM	Chinese Takeout
7:00PM	Pizza
10:00 PM	protein shake + milk, multi-vitamin

 

Today I was tempted to squat with 135, but I was getting some stiff cramps coming on during my last set of 95, so it’s better that I took it easy.   I wasn’t able to avoid soreness the past few days, but keeping things light has helped.    Diet today left something to be desired… Need to get into the mindset of eating as fueling the body.   

July 13

BB Curls	10/bar	10/bar	10/bar
Lying Tricep Ext	10/bar	10/bar	10/bar
Dips	5	5
Pully Pushdown	10/24	10/24	10/24
Curl Bar Curls	10/20	10/20	10/20
Treadmill	10min

 

5:00 AM	1 slice whole wheat bread, peanut butter
6:30 AM	Protein shake + milk, Red Bull
10:00 AM	2 slices whole wheat bread, peanut butter
12:00 PM	Breaded fish, broccoli + cheese, cookie, mountain dew
7:00PM	Promax bar, fish, cookie
10:00 PM	Protein shake + milk + multi-vitamin

My Promax bars arrived today, with my multi-vitamin.   Feeling pretty tired, It’s been hard to fall asleep before 11:30, Hoping for around 10PM tonight.  

July 12

BB Bench Press	10/95	10/95	10/95
DB Flyes	10/15	10/15
DB Incline Press	10/15	10/15
Situps	15	10	4
Treadmill	10min

 

5:00 AM	slice of whole wheat bread + peanut butter
6:30 AM	Protein Shake + milk
10:00 AM	2 slices of whole wheat bread + peanut butter
12:00 PM	Pork Chop, Corn, cornbread + mountain dew
7:00PM	Ground turkey + Broccoli + cheese
10:00 PM	Protein shake + milk

My Promax bars aren’t here yet, but according to UPS tracking should be here tomorrow with my vitamins. 

Weekly Review, July 4-10

	This Week	Last Week	+/- increase	% Change
Body Weight	205.2	0
Body Fat	28.0%	0
Total weight benched	0	0
Total weight deadlifted	1350	0
Total weight squatted	1350	0

This was not a full workout week since I wasn’t able to go to the gym until Wednesday.   The goal was to show up on time, and do the lifts without cramping or soreness the next day.   As of Saturday i am only feeling very mild muscle soreness, so I’ve accomplished my goals.  

Note that my weight / body fat measurements are being done with a cheap scale, but I will try to be as consistent as possible so the measurements are more useful.   Perhaps it will show me at 20% bodyfat when I am really at 15%, but the real goal is to be able to track changes, which it should be able to do. 

July 9

Deadlifts	10/bar	10/bar	10/bar
DB Rows	10/20	10/20	10/20
Lat Pulldowns	10/30	10/30	10/30
Pullups	3	3
Situps	15	12	7
Treadmill	10min

 

5:00 AM	Promax Bar
6:30 AM	Protein Shake (30g) + skim milk
10:00 AM	2 slices of whole wheat bread + peanut butter
12:00 PM	12oz steak + mt dew
7:00PM	pasta + marinara sauce, 4 cookies
10:00 PM	skipped shake

OK so I made today into a cheat day for dieting, but I did manage to get up at 4:50 and get to the gym when I went to bed past 1…  Still, I paid for that the rest of the day, so today was definitely off.  

July 8

DB Shoulder Press	10/15	10/15	10/15
Upright Rows	10/bar	10/bar
Wrist Curls	10/bar	10/bar
Reverse Wrist Curls	10/bar	10/bar
DB Side Laterals	10/5	10/10
Treadmill	10min

 

5:00 AM	1 Promax bar
6:30 AM	Protein Mix with milk
10:00 AM	2 slices whole wheat bread + peanut butter
12:00 PM	roast beef sub with mayo, cheese
7:00PM	chocolate shake, 3 slices of pepperoni pizza (at a friends house)
10:00 PM	Protein mix with milk

July 7

Squats	10/bar	10/bar	10/bar
Leg Curls	10/20	10/20
Leg Extensions	10/20	10/20
Calf Raises	10/20	10/20	10/20
Situps	15	15	6
Treadmill	15min

First workout!  No cramps yet, so I’m glad I took it easy.   So far I’m happy with the gym… not too busy at 5:30 AM, and a good selection of equipment.  

5:00 AM	1 slice whole wheat bread + peanut butter
6:30 AM	Protein Mix with water. 12 oz Mt Dew
10:00 AM	2 slices whole wheat bread + peanut butter
12:00 PM	4 beef tacos with cheese, veggies, 20 oz Mt Dew
6:00 PM	1/4 lb ground turkey, pasta + marinara sauce
10:00 PM	Protein mix with milk

Supplement Plan for July

Keeping things simple this month.   I probably won’t be engaging in any hard workouts for another 4-6 weeks, and my feeling is that unless you are putting forth maximum effort, you should just stick to the basics.   For me that means basic protein supplement and vitamins.  

Last weekend I stopped by a GNC to see what was new.   I had been a gold card subscriber previously, and I really liked their 100% Whey protein.   If you bought it at the right time it was always pretty cheap, it tasted good, and it was high-quality protein.    The lady at the store showed me a new, higher grade blend of protein, called Amp Wheyabolic Extreme.   The long and short of that protein is that it costs roughly twice as much as the 100% whey protein.    I did buy a seven serving trial size, but I will be buying the 5 lb chocolate whey protein from them. 

I’ve never particularly liked vitamins, but I’ve never used them for any length of time either… So I’m going to start off with them and see how it goes.   I previously took GNC’s mega men vitamin pack, but even at a discount ($35 for 30 packs), that is over a buck a day!   I can get AST’s Multi-pro 32x, for $15, and it has over a hundred tablets.  While they recommend 2-3 a day, one should be good for beginning, and that works out to $0.15 a day!  

I’ve decided to switch my 5AM shake to a 5AM protein bar, more specifically a Promax bar.    I used to get these things all the time, and I figure that I need a blend of protein and sugar before my workout.  Since getting up early each day will be challenging enough, it doesn’t hurt to have something to look forward to!  I bought a few from GNC and they were as good as I remembered.   It’s expensive to buy them individually, ($1.75) so I will be buying them in cases of 12.  

One thing I am going to be doing is recording a record of all supplement purchases in this journal.   This is for my own reference, and to be 100% up front about any non-normal food item I take

Netrition.com 7/7/10

Promax Bars – 12 – Black Forest Cake 12.99
Promax Bars – 12 – Lemon Bar 12.99
Promax Bars – 12 – Cookie and Cream 12.99
Promax Bars – 12 – Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough 12.99
AST Multi-Pro 32X (Vitamin) – 100 tablets – 14.95
Shipping – 4.95
Sales Tax – 0.00
Total - $71.86

Gnc.com

Pro Performance Whey Protein – 5lb – 38.39
Shipping – 0.00
Sales Tax – 2.30
Total – 40.69

I actually had to phone in my order… I purchased the GNC gold card last Saturday, but it takes “4-6 weeks” for that to be active online.   Hey GNC, it’s not 1999 anymore, get with the program!