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!

Diet Plan for July

Dieting has been one area where I’ve typically suffered during training.    My training days were usually pretty good, but I failed to get enough protein during my off days as well.   In general, you need protein to build and repair muscle damaged during exercise, and you need fat/carbs to fuel your workouts so you are able to put forth maximum effort.    The barriers to achieving this are usually time, cost, and lack of planning.   I will be exploring these topics in more detail in other posts, but for now, I am listing a rough eating plan here. 

This diet plan will be in flux for the next month or so, because I haven’t decided how I will do my supplementation.  

Meal #1 ~5:00 AM – Shake or other easy to consume food

Meal #2 ~ 6:30 AM – Post-workout shake.   I will likely spend the bulk of my supplement budget here

Meal #3  ~9:30 AM – Mid morning snack, consumed at work.   Will likely be something easy like oat meal or PB and toast.   Protein Bar would be nice, but kind of $$

Meal#4 ~ 12:00PM – Lunch

Meal#5 ~ 6:00PM – Dinner – there is a big gap here between lunch and dinner, will see how that works out

Meal #6 ~ 10:00PM – Shake – Important to get some protein in before bed

Note that this is my eating plan for Mon-Fri.  On weekends I think I will consume a shake in the morning and evening, but let the rest of the day be a cheat day… within reason.   

How to Record a Workout

I am going to be recording every set, rep, and poundage in my workouts.   In the past I have not always done this, and the chief difficulty I ran into was remembering the specific poundages I used the last time I exercised.   I am planning on going into the need for logging workouts in a later post, but for now I just want to comment on how to physically record the workout.   I will be posting my results to this journal, but obviously won’t be doing it from the weight room!  

For me an index card and short pencil seems to work the best.   I want something I can easily write on my knee, a wall, a bench, etc.   Sheet paper is too easy to tear.  Pen’s can leak ink all over the place, and you can’t erase.   Nowadays there are all kinds of apps for iPhone, Android, etc, but why do you want to bring your expensive toy into a gym where someone can drop a plate on it?   Plus they have other obvious distractions, and your goal is to lift hard, not mess around on twitter.  

Here’s what you want to record on your card:

• Date and time if you do not work out the same time each day. 
• Abbreviated exercise name
• For each set record:
• weight
• reps

It’s best to record your full workout on the card before you lift.   Unless you are a highly disciplined person, you do not want to decide your pounds and sets while you’re working out.   You can always pencil out/change what you’ve written after you do the exercises.  

After you finish, you may want to record the results in some other system, but remember to keep the data entry during the workout as simple as possible.

Workout Plan for July

This month I’ll be easing into a routine.  Going to keep the weights really light for a bit.   It’s been at least a year since I picked up a barbell, so I need to take it easy for a bit.   For the first couple of weeks it is easy to get your muscles sore, which is bearable but uncomfortable.   When doing squats for the first time in a while I am prone to getting leg cramps, which while painful, could cause injury if they stiffen up at the wrong time.   It’s pretty easy to detect when it starts though, and I will usually just stop my sets if I am starting to cramp up.  

The pounds listed will be for the first week.   If I am free of cramps I will increase the poundage each following week.   By the end of the month I should be at my limit, then the real building can begin!

Monday - Chest

Barbell Bench Press	3x10 95
Dumbbell Flies	2x10 15
Dumbell Incline Press	2x10 bar
Situps	3x15

Tuesday - Arms

Barbell Curls	3x10 bar
Lying Triceps Extensions	3x10 curl bar
Dips	2x5
Pully Pushdowns	3x10 15

Wednesday - Legs

Squats	3x10 bar
Leg Curls	2x10 20
Leg Extensions	2x10 15
Calf Raises	3x10 15
Situps	3x15

Thursday - Shoulders

Dumbbell Shoulder Presses	3x10 15
Upright Rows	2x10 curl bar
Wrist Curls	2x10 curl bar
Reverse Wrist Curls	2x10 curl bar
Dumbell Side Laterals	2x10 5

Friday - Back

Deadlifts	3x10 bar
Dumbbell Rows	3x10 20
Lat Pulldowns	2x10 15
Pullups	2x3
Situps	3x15

Workout Place and Time

As I mentioned in my first post, I do own a weight bench, plus some assorted free weights. I even have some PowerBlocks, which are pretty nice for home-use, but are really expensive.     I do not have a squat rack, which is a must in a serious lifting program.   There simply is no reason why you should do heavy squats without a catch bar in place!   A decent squat rack will run about $500-$1000+.   That’s a lot for me to spend right now, and I don’t have room for it either.    I recently moved to a new home this past April, and all the available rooms are in use now.    The only room I have is in the garage, and unless I want to convert an entire stall into a gym, fitting one bench in alone would be a challenge… 

So the only realistic option for me is to go to a fitness center.   There are some good plusses to a fitness center:

• While some are better than others, most will have such a variety of equipment that would cost $5000+ to replicate in your home
• No home distractions.  Yes there can be distractions at the gym, but when you’re at home, it’s easy to get distracted in another room…
• Spotters are typically available, and you may meet people who can give you training advice. 
• In the short-term it’s cheaper

I live in a small town, so my current options are quite limited.   We have a municipal wellness facility, and I believe the college has a weight room as well.   I’m going with the municipal facility for now.   The rates are decent, but the hours suck.    $29 Monthly or $240 yearly.    They close at 10PM on weekdays, 1PM on Saturday’s, and closed on Sunday.   For me that is not an issue, because I do not plan to work out in the evenings or the weekends.  Personally I think if you pay for a membership you should have access to it 24x7…

In the past my ideal workout time was between 3PM-5PM, but that is no longer an option for me.   I work from 7AM-5PM, then watch my kids most evenings.   The only guaranteed time I have during the week is before work, from 5:30AM-6:30AM.   It’s going to be an adjustment, but really it’s the only option I have if I want a serious workout program.   I want to point out here that this is a critical step…if I do not wake up at 5AM each weekday, I will not have a successful lifting program, period.   What is the point of buying memberships, equipment, clothes, extra food… if you can’t show up on time, week in, week out.   This is a serious problem, because the natural tendency is not going to be “wake up and get to the gym”, it’s going to be “hit that snooze button until 6:30”.   The hardest part of lifting is simply showing up each day, being ready to work hard.   

Getting Back into Lifting

Approaching the big 3-0, and I’ve decided it’s time to get serious again about training.   I had previously lifted 1996-2002, but after college it sort of just fell apart.   At my peak I had even put up some pretty respectable numbers, 235 Bench, 350 Squat, and 450 Deadlift.   I’m 5’11”, and my normal training weight was between 180-190 with a 32” waist.  I was never super-lean, but nothing to complain about either…  Today I’m sporting a 36” waist at about 210, and maybe could pull off a 185 bench.   Eight years of computer programming and Mountain Dew have taken their toll…

To be honest, I have never completely stopped lifting.   I probably started up an “exercise program” no less than a dozen times, but none were successful.   I still have my weight bench from high school, and I’m on my second exercise bike.   I think I could “honestly” claim that I’ve tried enough things to say “when diet and exercise aren’t enough” take pharmaceutical X.   But the simple fact is that I haven’t tried the right way, or hard enough.   Lifting is not easy, and it takes discipline to do it for any length of time.   For someone in my line of work, exercise will always be something that happens deliberately.   That doesn’t make it less important, just harder.  

The concept of lifting is really quite simple.   All you need is:

• Set workout times and a place to workout
• Understanding the lifts and what lifts you will be doing
• A way of recording/tracking progress
• A diet / supplementation plan
• Desire and Determination

The primary purpose of this blog will be record my progress.   I am going to be detailing my exercises, diet, and any useful knowledge I learn along the way.   Hopefully this will serve as a motivating tool as well…any little bit counts!