Love the guitar story, Brent. Did you see RL there? I'm sure he would have written you up. Great progress on your lifts. I'm trying to hit 205 on my wide-grip DLs tonight so I now have something to compete against here.
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"Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right." - Henry Ford
"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss
"Life is no brief candle to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
Yup - got 'er done, Brent. Of course, it was only a 5X5 but with my back issues, I'm pretty pleased with that.
__________________
"Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right." - Henry Ford
"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss
"Life is no brief candle to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
The pads from the calf raise left bruises again on my shoulders, despite my trying to move the seams from my shirt out from under the pads. In the future, I will try to do this exercise on the seated calf raise machine only.
These 25-rep days are killers. I thought my arms would never recover after the chinups.
however, seated calf != standing calf - if your knee is bent, it will emphasize soleus whereas if your knee is straight it emphasizes gastrocnemius.
If the "machine" is causing issues and you want to do standing - just rack up the bar in the squat rack, take it as for back squat and do your raises. If you want the pre-stretch, you can put your toes on plates.
however, seated calf != standing calf - if your knee is bent, it will emphasize soleus whereas if your knee is straight it emphasizes gastrocnemius.
If the "machine" is causing issues and you want to do standing - just rack up the bar in the squat rack, take it as for back squat and do your raises. If you want the pre-stretch, you can put your toes on plates.
Lisa:
I didn't realize they would be different. That's a great suggestion. Thanks for the tip.
__________________
"Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right." - Henry Ford
"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss
"Life is no brief candle to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
You know, Rob, I consider that number suspect because just a few days ago I was at 204 again. I measured both before and after the workout, and it was the same. Go figure. The trend, however, is moving up. That's more important.
In any case, I should start tracking body fat again. I've had two people (one of them being the wife) comment on the little roll I have reappearing around my middle. It may be time to reconsider the daily calories. Next week, I'll be doing a week of classical guitar with Karla from this board and 20 other like-minded adults, and I will be off the weights. I'll probably take advantage of the top-notch running track at the university where we'll be for some HIIT and slow cardio.
We had a great discussion in the training board about how much lean mass is possible to gain given your height. We all have upper limits and my have reached yours... At least the easy part. Now comes the decision time. Do you do mini cuts or a hard cut and start the bulk over or do you just keep bulking fat be damned???? Interesting place to be. Definately a cross roads.
And don't worry RE next week. I'll run with your pudgy bottom on that track. It is really a beautiful track so it will be fun!
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
DB incline BP
55e/8 55e/8 60e/8 55e/8 55e/8 55e/10
Dip
+30/4 +30/4 +30/4 +30/4 +30/4 +30/4
Decline bench crunch
BW/12 +20/12 BW/12
This was a big workout for me. I've been anxious to increase my bench press, as I've felt weak there. I've always been afraid to push my limits because I workout alone without a spotter. This day, I pushed a flat bench into the squat cage and set the safety bars at chest level. I was able to increase weights and try a last rep without fear of dropping the bar on my chest (which I have done in the past regardless - man, that sucks). 160 was the most I had done before. I just kept increasing weight, until I finally failed on the last rep of the last set, only getting 2. So, bench press +20 lbs. Goal is body weight times 10, so I still have a way to go.
I'm still protecting my left shoulder. While the dumbbell bench press is below my strength, I can't get the barbells into and particularly out of position without pain in the left shoulder. So, I'm keeping the weight lower and the reps higher to prevent further injury. The 60 pounders there were too painful, even though I was able to get the reps. I'm working the shoulder and getting better.
Big progress on dips, being plus one rep times the six sets. Progressing from sets of 3 to sets of 4 is a big increase. I'd like to be doing sets of 10 at this weight, or BW sets of 20.
I added a pair of 10 lb dumbbells to the crunches for the middle set. That hurt, and I went back to body weight for the last set.
Between sets of crunches, I saw a t-shirt that said, "Pain is the feeling of weakness leaving the body." What a great motto.
I'm still protecting my knees on the lunges and step-ups. I used the plastic adjustable steps instead of the 20-inch bench to reduce the height by about 3". And, I used weights less than I think I normally could. I'm happy with the 5 lb increase on the deads.
Lunchtime workout, so I'm not reporting body weight or calories.
The biceps curls were very hard, and I had to resort to negatives, using the other hand to assist on the concentric movement. I can feel my left shoulder getting stronger and better, but it's still not the equal of the right.
I was out of time and skipped the Russian twists at the end. I will be doing lots of abs work this next week, so I'm okay with the compromise.
Brent way to get that final workout in before the weekend! I don't know about you but I am just dying to go on vacation. 2 more hours for me!!! Woohoo!!
Nice PRs again my pudgy friend! See ya on the running track!
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Nice job! You and I are at about the same weight and maybe some body fat but I think you are definitely stronger than me! Well done!
Well, I am 30 so that means that I have a few years to "catch up" with your strength .
Hey, thanks. I've never felt particularly strong, though I have a lot of muscle mass. That's changing, and I'm becoming more confident and stronger with my lifts.
I'm jealous! I want to try and gain weight too! Unfortunately, I don't have to try very hard....
Congrats on the progress you are making with so many of your lifts! Keep up the hard work!
mel
Mel:
You say that, but look at you! You look great!
I think you'll find that when you're working out hard, the body puts on muscle, not fat. If you really want to put on some mass, just increase your calories by 300 to 500 a day and continue your workouts. You'll get stronger, and put on muscle mass as well. It's harder for women, but it's not impossible. And it's certainly not magic.
I will be taking the next week as a vacation and rest week from weights. I will be doing some cardio, pushups, abs, and body weight exercises. I will also be reducing calories to try to drop body fat a bit. I haven't decided whether I am ending my bulk and beginning to cut, or whether this is just a rest.
I want to post the chart showing the progress of my bulk over the last 5 months. You can see that the slope decreases slightly towards the beginning of April. I'm not sure what that is about, but the trend was still a pretty constant up. In summary:
January 5, 2008: 185 lbs, 14% body fat
June 12, 2008: 207 lbs, 15% body fat
Brent way to get that final workout in before the weekend! I don't know about you but I am just dying to go on vacation. 2 more hours for me!!! Woohoo!!
Nice PRs again my pudgy friend! See ya on the running track!
Are you kidding? It's like being 8 years old and waiting for Christmas. Two hours for me, and I've finished everything I've promised at work. I'm cleaning the desk and leaving tie-ins with my team.
I'm back from my vacation with all my guitar-playing buddies. It was an amazingly good week, and I feel refreshed mentally and physically. I was able to stick very closely to my plan, and dropped daily calories to 3000-3200 of clean food, while getting in some cardio and pushups.
6/15/2008
3288 calories
2 miles
Pushups: 25 25
1.75 miles
Bleachers: 5 5 (20 rows each)
6/16/2008
Calories: 3164
2 miles
Bleachers: 5 5 5 5
6/21/2008
Calories: 2995
2 miles
Bleachers: 5 5 5 5
6/22/2008:
Calories: 3000
6/23/2008
Calories: 2771
6/24/2008
Calories: 3116
The first lap each day was run (1/4 mile). Afterwards, the first 100 yards was sprinted, the end of the track walked, the bleachers were done in sets of 5, the other end of the track was walked, and then the next lap began with a sprint.
I did three sets of 30 pushups for the first time ever, so there's my PR for the week.
I weighed in last night at 202 lbs, 16% body fat. I have been off the gainer this week, and it contains creatine. I'm guessing that somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 to 3 lbs of the loss was water loss associated with stopping the creatine. The remaining 1 to 2 lbs of the loss would (hopefully) be fat. I think I'll continue the cut for a while and see how that works.
My friends last week, many of whom haven't seen me in a year, were amazed at the width of my shoulders and back. In the words of one, "You look like you're wearing shoulder pads." This is an exciting journey, and one I don't plan on quitting any time soon.
It was good to be back in the gym, and I felt strong. I chose the same weights I had used last time I did this workout because I expected to be weaker due to reduced calories. I surprised myself by PR-ing almost everything with extra reps. The workout took everything out of me, though, and I struggled with reps towards the end. The mile was the longest mile I can remember.
Weight is down another pound. The cut is working well.
Those are great changes over the last six months, Brent! Nice work. And glad the cut is going well, too.
Sounds like you had a great time at guitar camp. At least you wouldn't have to feel weird about taking your guitar into the shower with you there, right?
Those are great changes over the last six months, Brent! Nice work. And glad the cut is going well, too.
Sounds like you had a great time at guitar camp. At least you wouldn't have to feel weird about taking your guitar into the shower with you there, right?
Thanks, Marty. The dorms we were in were beautiful - suites of 2 to 4 private rooms with a common bath, kitchenette, and sitting area. A central mezzanine with a fireplace. Very nice campus. It was a perfect place for music.
I let the guitar sit while I was in the shower and on the track. Otherwise, I was mostly playing.
Good workout. Muscles on the outside front of my lower leg are hurting shortly after I begin running. I thought it was just a tightness from lack of use, but a friend says this is shin splints, and I'm looking into stretching and other exercises to help. This is holding back my times, as it just hurts to run much. I haven't been doing much running over the past 4 months. She also told me it can be aggravated by having calf muscles that are stronger than the other muscles in the lower leg. Since I have been training so hard this year, that's possible.
I'm pleased with the deadlifts. Numbers are compared with the previous same workout from May 22. I increased every lift over the same lift from the previous workout, for a personal record of +20 pounds on the last set.
Lunges were with 75 lbs in each hand. These were hard, and while I didn't increase my best ever here, I did increase the first four sets over my previous best for that set in this workout.
Step ups were plus 1 rep.
Calories are in a deficit to reduce fat. In that light, I'm particularly pleased with these numbers.
Nice PRs Brent! I am always impressed when someone in a deficit PRs.
Shin Splints suck. I wonder if UConn-Julie can tell you what to do to help them? Post the question in her folder Brent and she can possibly give you her insight.
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Thanks, Marty. The dorms we were in were beautiful - suites of 2 to 4 private rooms with a common bath, kitchenette, and sitting area. A central mezzanine with a fireplace. Very nice campus. It was a perfect place for music.
I let the guitar sit while I was in the shower and on the track. Otherwise, I was mostly playing.
Did you carry the guitar with you to the bathroom though?
Great lifting. Those lunges are a impressive. For shin splints I have heard that ice works well. It just takes time to heal them up. Then when you get back to running, run at a slow and easy pace. It makes running for HIIT harder, but you will get them healed up faster then pushing the runs.
I can happily report that the shin splints problems appears to be solved by stretching prior to running. You would think that someone who played sports through high school would know that, but stretching then was just something that was done, not something I had any firsthand knowledge of what would happen if not. I ran HIIT for 2 miles on 7/1 in 22:15 with no ill effects after a thorough stretching. I think there is no harm or longterm effects from this, and that the pain was just a muscle tightness that could have been trouble, but that I caught in time.
7/1/2008
201 lbs
13% BF
3120 calories
Brisk walk 1.5 miles at lunch
HIIT 2.0 miles in 22:15 (good stretch, no shin pain)
This workout almost killed me. When I got home afterwards at about 9pm, I laid down on the bed and never got back up. Slept until 7am this morning. Being in a caloric deficit and working out hard really takes it out of me. On the other hand, if I believe the numbers, I'm down 5 lbs and 3% body fat on my cut, and I can see that difference.
The chinups aggravated the soreness in my elbows again. Looking online, I appear to have tendonosis on the inner side of my elbows, which is also called golfer's elbow, or climber's elbow, and it can be caused by doing things like chinups where the muscles are stronger than the tendons, causing inflammation. The solution seems to be to stop the particular exercise, and doing stretching and low intensity strength training to allow the tendons to catch up to the muscles. Continuing to work through the pain can cause permanent damage. Stopping and allowing the tendons to strengthen should fix it forever. All in all, good news in the bad.
Left shoulder pain is all gone. Left arm is still weaker than right on the curls, so I did negatives where I had to.
Dang, I'm learning a lot about my body that I never had to worry about when I was younger. I'll just substitute lat pulldowns for chinups and pullups for a while - a couple of months at least. Not a terrible thing, but I'll miss the chinups. What a great upper body exercise they are.
Great progress on your lifts. I'm trying to hit 205 on my wide-grip DLs tonight so I now have something to compete against here. 
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