Never-ending Quest to be Leaner, Stronger and Faster.
As anyone who has a weight problem knows it truly is a never-ending quest to get the weight off and then to keep it off. My fitness quest has taken me through many stages and I am finally at what I hope is the final of my weight loss goals. When that is achieved I can focus on my strength training and running goals. For your amusement I will chronicle my goals, failures and successes along the way to a Leaner, Stronger and Faster Me.
Current Weight 195# July 24, 2006
Goal Weight 175# January 1, 2007
Sunday July 23, 2006
5k training on the track running/walking 3.25 Miles in 32.30 Minutes
my goal is to complete a 5k running by August 18 at the latest.
Monday July 24th
!0 minute WU on the treadmill running/walking
Incline DB Bench 15 x 45# 8 x 70# 8 x 70# 8 x 70# 8 x 70#
Assisted Pullups Underhand Close Grip 12 x 60# 12 x 60# 12 x 60#
Military Press Standing 12 x 85# 12 x 85# 12 x 85#
Roman Chair Rows 8 x 80# 8 x 80# 8 x 80# 8 x 80#
Close Grip Bench 12 x 135# 12 x 135# 12 x 135#
Two Bears Dadda? Two Bears Benno, just two. ______________________________ ___________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971
I am 5'7" and the last time I had my BF% taken was in May before the Summer gauntlet of Festivals, Tailgates and Vacations. At that time I weighed in at 185 and the bodyfat was at 13.5%.
It was raining at 4:30 this morning so I opted to train inside on the treadmill as much as I hate running on them. I can't get the same motivation running inside as I can when I am running outside. I finished 3.25 miles in 34 minutes but I couldn't push past a 1/2 mile before walking and I was only able to pull that off twice. I had planned on running 2 runs of 3/4 miles and 2 at a 1/2 today with some walking inbetween. Hopefully it will be dry Thursday for my next attempt.I finished up with a body weight/core circuit consisting of:
I performed the circuit 4 times with no rest between excercises and 2 minutes between sets. The final set of planks was 45 seconds which I will perform in each set the next time I do this WO.
Wednesdays are my scheduled sessions with my trainer. I have been working with him foir the past 2 years and not only does he keep me motivated his sessions generally kick my ass.
We did a push/pull session with all excercises done as supersets with no rest between excercises and 90 seconds between supersets.
Bench Press WU 12 x 135# 10 x 185# 10 x 185# 10 x 185#
Lat Pulldowns WG 10 x 117.5# 10 x 117.5# 10 x 185#
Cable Press 12 x 70# 12 x 70# 12 x 70#
Assisted Pullup UH Grip 12 x 60# 12 x 55# 12 x 55#
CG Bench 12 x 115# 12 x 115# 12 x 115#
BB Curl 21's 50# 50# 50#
(Not in the squat rack)
Standing Arnold Press 12 x 30# 12 x 30# 12 x 30#
Incline Reverse Rows 12 x 35# 12 x 35# 12 x 35#
I finished with a 20 minute HIIT session using a 5 min wu 10 intervals at 7mph for 1 min/4mph for 1 min then a 5 min CD.
I am on a 12 hour fast today so that I can have blood work done for my annual physical. I wanted to get in one more training run before my next 5K which is Saturday. My goal today was to run longer segments and cut down on time walking. It was also the first day I timed myself accurately with a stop watch while running on the gyms 1/4 mile outdoor track. My first 2 runs were 3/4 miles with a 1/4 mile walk after each followed by two 1/2 mile runs with a 1/8 mile walk after each. My finishing time was 35:49. I wasn't very thrilled about the time but I was pleased that my running intervals are getting longer. I followed the run up with some core work and a few laps in the outdoor pool to cool down and stretch out.
Superset 1
Standing cable crunch 3 sets of 15 x 140#
Swiss ball crunch 3 sets of 15
Superset 2
Hanging knee raise 3 sets of 10 to each side
Plank knee crossovers 3 sets of 15 to each side
Side planks 3 sets of 30 seconds on each side each side
No rest between excercises of the SS 1 minute after both excercises are complete and 2 minutes between SS.
Felt Ok after the run but pretty trashed after the workout and I am starving now and I won't get to eat or drink anything except water until at least 10:30.
All single sets today with 90 seconds rest between sets and 2 minutes between excercises. I finished up with the Crossramp eliptical for about 20 minutes for something low impact as I have a 5K Saturday Morning.
Incline DB Bench 12 x 45 8 x 70# 8 x 70# 8 x 70#
Incline rows DB 12 x 25 # 8 x 35# 8 x 35# 8 x 35# 12 x 35#
Standing BB military press 12 x 85# 12 x 90# 12 x 90#
UnnderHand grip assited PU 12 x 55# 12 x 55# 13 x 55#
Close grip bench 12 x 135# 12 x 135# 12 x 135#
WG Lat pulldowns 8 x 125# 8 x 125# 8 x 122.5# 8 x 122.5#
I ran in the 5K Brewer Sausage Walk/Run today. The race was run through the grounds of Miller Park which is our ballpark in Milwaukee. the temperature was a hot, humid and sunny 85 degrees at the start of the race. We had about 300 yards of shade on the whole course and between the heat and the sun it set a slower pace for everybody. I finished at 36:02 and my running partners were about 3 minutes off of there pace as well. The funniest part of the run was the Klements Racing sausages who ran the race in their full mascot costumes which had to be very hot. When I made the last turn for the finish line I saw what I thought was the last of the sausages about 100 yards ahead of me. With a 1/4 mile to go I couldn't let the mascot beat me. I set my sights on what I found out later was a young lady and I crossed the finish line a few yards in front of her. I was just picturing myself tripping on the timing mat at the end of the race and taking out the poor girl but I managed to stay on my feet. When my friends saw me finish they were cracking up because they could see I was pushing it and they knew why. As we were laughing about it the fasteset of our group said that as she made the final turn their was a sausage ahead of her and she couldn't catch her. So I still ended up getting beat by a mascot. We were happy to all finish but running in that kind of heat with all that sun was brutal. We are looking for another run towards the end of August otherwise the next run will be in the Middle of September for Al's run which is a 8K. Then the week after that we are going to Madison,WI for a 3 x 5K relay.
"Focus on making the 5 lifts stronger and getting enough food. There will be plenty of time to worry about glycemic indexes, PERs, and Bulgarian Split squats later. Much later."-Mark Rippetoe
Nice job. You always could have taken the sausage out like the guy for the Pirates did a couple years ago.
Which one did you beat? The hot dog, polish, brat, or italian?
I believe that the Chorizo was the one that came in under 30 minutes. The sausage I raced to the finish was the Hot Dog and I had passed the other sausages earlier in the race. I didn't feel to horrible when I found out that the girls in costume ran college track. I was impressed that they could run in those costumes at all.
I believe that the Chorizo was the one that came in under 30 minutes. The sausage I raced to the finish was the Hot Dog and I had passed the other sausages earlier in the race. I didn't feel to horrible when I found out that the girls in costume ran college track. I was impressed that they could run in those costumes at all.
Beat by a sausage. That's funny.
Nice job on the race.
__________________
"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."
Only in Wisconsin. I was supposed to run in the Monroe annual Cheese Chase but it is on the same day as I race we are doing in Milwaukee. Lucky for me because I don't think that my fragile ego could handle getting beat by a sausage and a wedge of cheddar in the same year.
I ran and walked 3 1/8 miles on the outdoor track in 37:46. It was 81 degrees with 85% humidity at 4:45am but at least no sun. I have to start pushing the run intervals and cutting back on the walking if I plan on doing a solid run 5k by August 26. I seem to have a problem getting past that 3/4 mile mark.
Finished up with 4 body weight circuits using no rest between excercises and 2 minutes between circuits. The circuits consisted of:
Russian Twists 15 to each side with 10# plate
Swiss Ball Push Ups 15
Swiss Ball Crunch 15
Swiss Ball Planks 30 seconds for the first 3 circuits and 45 on the last.
Thanks BFG the race was pretty humorous. Next year I will have to have my friends shoot some video.
August 2 I worked out with my trainer today. We started with some wu push ups and reverse push ups then we went into his workout
Incline DB Bench 5 x 75# 5 x 75# 5 x 75# 7 x 80#
Cable Flys 3 sets of 12 at 70#
Military press to collar bone 3 sets of 10 at 85#
Underhand Grip assisted PU 12 x 60# 12 x 55# 12 x 55#
Assisted Dips 12 x 55# 12 x 55# 12 x 55#
DB Incline Rows 12 x 30# 12 x 30# 12 x 30#
DB curl 21's 1st set x 25# 2nd set 25# then drop to 20# for 10 reps then drop to 15# for 15 reps
I finished with 2 miles of interval training on the outdoor track running the corners and walking the straights in 22:52 then a 1/4 mile cool down if you could call it that. At 6:00am it was 82 degrees with a 80% + humidity. Thank God my office is Air Conditioned
Thursday August 3, I did a timed 3 mile run/walk in 34:08 which did not include my 1/4 mile warm up and cool down. I was able to run the first mile and finished up with 1/2 and 3/8 mile intervals with walking in between. I need to keep pressing on that opening distance to eliminate more of the walking to bring the time down. At first I thought my times were getting slower than I realized I am just getting more accurate times on the last couple of runs since I started using a stop watch instede of just a watch.
I followed my run with with some core and ab excercises as well as some ball squats to test out my knee. I injured my knee playing tennis in late May and kept doing my lower body workouts until late June. The knee was not getting any better so I layed off my lower body work for the last month. It's still not perfect but I don't think it is going to get any better than it is now without some medical attention. I plan on starting back on my Lower body splits with some average loads on Sunday to see how it works. I will have the knee looked at in November when all of our scheduled runs are completed.
I completed the following circuit 4 times with 2 minutes rest in between each circuit.
Swiss Ball Crunch 15 x 25#
Side Planks 30 seconds each side
Ball squats 15 x 40# DB's
Plank knee crossovers 15 each side
I finished with 4 sets of Stading Cable Crunches using 155# with 90 seconds rest between sets.
Friday August 4th
I didn't sleep worth a crap last night and felt a little weak because of it.
1 minute rest between sets and 2 minutes between exercises
5 minutes of bodyweight warm ups
BB Bench Press 10 x 155# 10 x 155# 6 x 185# 6 x 185# 6 x 185#
Assisted PU Underhand grip 10 x40# 8 x 30# 8 x 30#
Standing Military Press 12 x 75# 12 x 75# 12 x 75#
DB Incline Rows 12 x 30# 12 x 30# 12 x 30#
CG Bench 12 x 135# 12 x 135# 10 x 135#
Drop Set Preacher Curls 10 reps at each weight for 2 sets 60#, 50# & 40#
Now I am off for 18 Holes of Golf followed by a nap then State Fair tonight to do some damage to my Diet and Liver. I will attempt to have steak on a stick as opposed to all the greasy deep fried cheese. Unfortunately there is no healthy alternative for Beer at the Fair.
With a break in the weather, your running will seem a lot easier.
Have fun at the fair. I'll be in your neck of the woods for a family thing near the end of the month. It will be a week of beer, brats, a pig roast, and hopefully a Brewer's game.
Saturday August 5. Well I survived 18 holes of Golf followed by 6 hours at the State Fair. I don't believe that the 1.25 mile walk to and back home from the fair offset the 11 hours of occasional beer drinking. At least I was able to dodge any consumption of a huge varitey of deep fried pastries, vegtables, meats and cheeses that seem to be looming around every corner of the park. Today was my off day but since I was feeling good (no hangover) I went on a 45 minute walk/run through the local park and finished with some body weight exercises.
Sunday August 6 Today is my first lower body workout since June 1st. I thought it had only been 1 month until I checked back into my log book for some comparison weights. The knee did not give me any problems except for a brief shoting pain on the first step up of each set on the left leg.
Squats 12 x 95# 12 x 135# 8 x 185 8 x 185# 5 x 225# 5 x 225#
Static Lunges 12 x 25# 12 x 25# 12 x 25#
DB Step Ups 12 x 20# 12 x 20# 12 x 20#
ST Leg Deads 12 x 125# 12 x 125# 12 x 125#
Good Mornings 12 x 85# 12 x 85# 12 x 85#
20 miutes of HIIT on the outside track running the corners and walking the straights.
Monday August 7 I am definetly feeling the lower body work from yesterday but fortunately I don't have any running planned until Tuesday. Today was a upper body push pull session using supersets. I had no rest between excercise and 2 minutes between supersets.
BB Bench Press 15 x 135# 6 x 190# 6 x 190# 6 x 190# 6 x 190#
Reverse Push Up 12 x BW 12 x BW 12 x BW 12 x BW
Arnold Press 12 x 30# 12 x 30# 12 x 30#
Lat Pull Down WG 12 x 117.5# 12 x 117.5# 12 x 117.5#
Assisted Pull Ups UH Grip 12 x 55# 12 x 55# 12 x 55#
CG Bench 10 x 135# 10 x 135# 10 x 135#
Drop Set Preacher Curls 10x60# 10x50# 10x40# 10x60# 7x50# 10x40#
Tuesday August 8 My Sunday morning WO really hit me full force this morning. Today was a scheduled running day but I didn't think the soreness would let me get any kind of a run in. I went to the track early just to see what I could do anyway. I walked a 1/4 mile to see if I would loosen up any more and that didn't help so I just started running to see if it would get any better. Much to my amazement I was ablbe to go the distance and finish a 3.25 walk run with only 3/4 of a mile of walking. The pace was pretty slow due to a slower than normal walking pace but at least I got it in. Since I have been keeping track it was my slowest time of 39:20 but at least I finished the damn thing. Next time I will know that I can push through it.
I followed up my run with some core work consisting of:
4 Giant sets with 3 minutes in between sets:
20 Incline Situps
15 Russian Upper Body Twists with 14# ball
15 Swiss Ball Push Ups
15 Reverse Crunches
3 Super Sets with 2 minutes between sets
Standing Rope Crunch 15 x 155#
Plank Position Knee Crossovers 15
After sitting at my desk for about an hour the legs have really tightened up again. Thursday is my next scheduled run and my next lower body work is slated for Friday. Hopefully the soreness has deminished by then.
Thursday August 10 I postponed my scheduled run this morning due to rain. I will attempt to get it in tonight. I worked out with my trainer today. I started with some BW warm ups and then started working with him.
The first 5 sets today were straight sets with 90 seconds in between each.
DB Incline Bench 12 x 50# 6 x 75# 5 x 80# 5 x 80# 5 x 80#
Assisted Dips 12 x 55# 12 x 50# 12 x 50#
Reverse Push Ups 12 x BW 12 x BW 12 x BW
Arnold Press 12 x 30# 12 x 30# 12 x 35#
Close Grip Bench 12 x 135# 12 x 135# 12 x 135#
Incline Curls Drop Sets 10x35#10x25# 10x35#10x25# 10x35#10x25#
Finished with 20 minutes HIIT 1 min run7mph/1min walk4mph 5 min CD
Hopefully the rain is finished so I can get a 3 mile run in after work. With all the beers I have consumed at the state fair over the past few days I need to burn a few extra calories off.
August 11 4:35 AM It was a beutiful day for a run, which made me glad that I never got around to it on Thursday. It was 60 degrees with a breeze and humidity was not a factor. I was scheduled to run 1.5 miles, walk .25 miles, run 1 miles and walk .25. When I started running it felt so good that I pressed for longer distances and I hit the longest steady run of my life. Doing 2 miles, walked .25 and ran 1 mile for a 3.25 mile time of 37:55. I was hoping for a better time but I was very happy about the longer distance. The running people that I chat with have told me not worry about the time right now just concentrate on the distance.
I finished up with core and ab work:
Supersets 2 minutes between sets
Hanging knee raises 2 sets 0f 15 1 set of 10
Plank knee crossovers 3 sets of 15
Upper body Russian Twists 3 sets of 15 with 14# ball
Swiss Ball Crunches 3 sets of 20
Standing rope crunches 3 sets at 155#
Pike ups with slow leg lower 3 sets of 15
Never-ending Quest to be Leaner, Stronger and Faster.
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