Keepin' it real

DadofTwo · 02-16-2009, 11:49 AM

Yes this is my first post. However I have been following the JP board off and on for the past 2 years or so. Much of my inspiration comes from many of you on here. And now here I am buckling down and starting a log for myself. I hope this way I can keep a better track of my progress rather than all those numbers put to paper only to have my 2 year old use them for his "art projects". So a bit about myself....

Age: 34
Weight: 177.2 lbs
Height: 5'10"
bf (based on my Tantia scale): 19% (seems to me this sounds high.. but its a number to go by)

I started training about 4 years ago. Prior to that I never really did any workout routines and I just wasn't very active. But once I hit 30 and had my first son I decided it was time to put my health into perspective.

I recently completed HGM. This by far was an excellent routine and I would recommend this to anyone. I very much enjoyed having a new routine to look forward to every month. Half way through HGM I picked up NROL and was eager to start working on it.
So now I am on week 3 of the intermediate Break-in phase of NROL. However do to all my colleagues at work coming down with a cold, they were kind enough to give it to me.

So I am thinking in the next day or two to be back in business.

Things I need to work on:

Diet. I find myself under eating most of the time. I do eat clean 90% of the time, however, I just don't eat enough. I need to start eating much more fruits and vegetables and keep a closer eye on my protein intake.

Form. Most of the time I do have good form. However when I am trying for new personal bests, I tend to have tunnel vision and just do the motions so that I can say I was able to do it. I need to work on telling myself thats its okay to lower the weights to do it right, rather than risk an injury.

Goals:
Drop body fat percentage. I would love to get in the 10 or below range however to be more realistic for now... 15%

So with all that being said, I hope to be starting, and actively working on daily/weekly logs to keep an eye on my progress.

liftintexas · 02-16-2009, 01:14 PM

welcome, man!

Anxious to read/see your progress. I hear you on the cold thing - I have been out sick for 7 days with some allergies/cold/virus stuff.

DadofTwo · 02-20-2009, 09:18 AM

Ok I'm still not ready to get back into it. This cold is just lingering. So I figured I would take this time to get caught up with my log from the starting point of the break in.

Workout A:

Straight sets:
Mon. 2/2/09 Squat – 2 x 15 x 135 (Realized after this was a bit too much to chew and dropped the weight)
Fri. 2/6/09 Squat - 2 x 15 x 115
Wed 2/11/09 Squat 2 x 15 x 115

Superset:
Mon. 2/2/09 Static Lunge – 2 x 15 x 65
Two Point DB Row – 2 x 15 x 30

Fri 2/6/09 Static Lunge – 2 x 15 x 75
Two Point DB Row – 2 x 15 x 30

Wed. 2/11/09 Static Lunge – 2 x 15 x 85
Two Point DB Row – 2 x 15 x 35

Superset:
Mon 2/2/09 Push-Up – 2 x 15 x B
Swiss-Ball Crunch – 2 x 20 x B

Fri 2/6/09 Push-Up – 2 x 15 x B
Swiss-Ball Crunch – 2 x 20 x B

Wed 2/11/09 Push-Up – 2 x 15 x B (legs raised on bench)
Swiss-Ball Crunch – 2 x 20 x B

Workout B:

Straight Sets:
Wed. 2/4/09 Deadlift – 2 x 15 x 135
Mon. 2/9/09[/b] Deadlift – 2 x 15 x 145
Fri. 2/13/09[/b] Deadlift – 2 x 15 x 155

Superset:
Wed. 2/4/09 Step-Up – 2 x 15 x 30(db in each hand)
DB One Arm Shoulder Press – 2 x 15 x 30

Mon. 2/9/09 Step-Up – 2 x 15 x 30(db in each hand)
DB One Arm Shoulder Press – 2 x 15 x 30

Fri. 2/13/09 Step-Up – 2 x 15 x 35(db in each hand)
DB One Arm Shoulder Press – 2 x 15 x 35

Superset:
Wed. 2/4/09 Close Grip Lat Pulldown – 2 x 15 x 70
Reverse Crunch – 2 x 20 x Bw

Mon. 2/9/09 Close Grip Lat Pulldown – 2 x 15 x 80
Reverse Crunch – 2 x 20 x Bw

Fri. 2/13/09 Close Grip Lat Pulldown – 2 x 15 x 90
Reverse Crunch – 2 x 20 x Bw

The second week I started doing HIIT directly following the lifts consisting of:

3 rounds - 1 minute 85% all out
2 minutes 50%

DadofTwo · 02-23-2009, 08:14 AM

NROL Intermediate Break-In Day 7

Date: 2/23/09
Time: 5:00am
Weight: 172.6 lbs
Mood:

Workout A

Straight sets:
Squat – 2 x 15 x 115

Superset:
Static Lunge – 2 x 15 x 75 -10 lbs (read comment)
Two Point DB Row – 2 x 15 x 35

Superset:
Push-Up – 3 x 15 x B (Feet elevated)
Swiss-Ball Crunch – 3 x 20 x B

HIIT
3 rounds
5 min warmup
1 min 90%
2 min 40%

Comments: After a week off due to a cold, the first day back I felt really great. (With the exception of nasty stuff coughing up every couple of minutes.) I didn't have my log handy so I had to do everything from memory. So I ended up dropping 10 lbs on my lunge by accident. Which I don't think is really to bad considering being away for a week. I decided to throw one more set of push-ups and crunches since I was feeling good. Also on a side note I decided to start up with creatine again after not taking it for a year.

DadofTwo · 02-25-2009, 06:51 AM

NROL Intermediate Break-In Day 8

Date: 2/25/09
Time: 5:00am
Weight: 178 lbs (opps.. realized I messed up my weight on Day 7. Should have said 176.2)
Mood:

Workout B

Straight sets:
Deadliftt – 2 x 15 x 185 (+30lbs)

Superset:
Step-up – 2 x 15 x 35(each hand)
DB One Arm Shoulder Press – 2 x 15 x 35

Superset:
Close Grip Lat Pulldown – 2 x 15 x 110 (+20)
Reverse Crunch – 2 x 20 x B

HIIT
5 min warmup
3 rounds
1 min 90%
2 min 40%

Comments: Added considerable weight to my deadlift. I knew in my head I could do far more than I was doing so I figured I would go for it. Much to my belief I pulled it off. However, I suffer from a pinched nerve in my neck. And when I get close to my max efforts I get pain in that spot. So my last rep I felt it acting up. So next week I may drop it back 10 lbs. We will see. Added more to my pulldown. Again I underestimated my ability. Last rep was very difficult but it felt good. I need to improve my grip strength. It'd definitely my weak spot. I could probably add more weight to some exercises if it wasn't for that.

liftintexas · 02-25-2009, 08:21 AM

Good work on getting back post-cold. I had that issue, too, and I know that's a struggle.

Have you considered straps to help with grip?

DadofTwo · 02-25-2009, 09:18 AM

Thank you! And I was looking at possibly buying a set. I may just do that. But I still need to work on the grip and the only way of doing it is to keep at it.

DadofTwo · 02-27-2009, 08:00 AM

NROL Intermediate Break-In Day 9

Date: 2/27/09
Time: 5:00am
Weight: 179.4 lbs (+1.4lbs)

Mood:

Workout A

Straight sets:
Squat – 2 x 15 x 125 (+10lbs)

Superset:
Static Lunge – 2 x 15 x 85
Two Point DB Row – 2 x 15 x 35

Superset:
Push-Up – 2 x 20 x B (Feet elevated)
Swiss-Ball Crunch – 2 x 20 x B

HIIT
3 rounds
5 min warmup
1 min 90%
2 min 40%

Comments: Overall not too bad of a day. Woke up and wasn't very motivated. But after the first set of squats I really go into it. As far as the weight gain. The only thing I can think of is water weight gain from starting the creatine. For some reason I was really getting winded on the HIIT more than normal. The last 10 seconds of each round left me almost crying. lol Next week I will add another round for a total of 4.

DadofTwo · 03-02-2009, 07:24 AM

NROL Intermediate Break-In Day 10

Date: 3/2/09
Time: 5:00am
Weight: 179.6 lbs
Mood:

Workout B

Straight sets:
Deadliftt – 2 x 15 x 185

Superset:
Step-up – 2 x 15 x 40(each hand) (+5)
DB One Arm Shoulder Press – 2 x 15 x 40 (+5)

Superset:
Close Grip Lat Pulldown – 2 x 15 x 110
Reverse Crunch – 2 x 20 x B

Comments:
Overall good workout for today. About 30 seconds after my last set I got a phone call saying my employer is closing the plant due to a snow storm. (Suprising since it never closes). I didn't do my HIIT only cause now I have 9+ inches of snow to shovel. We'll see how those deadlifts help with shoveling.

Now that the break-in is complete onto Fat Loss II. Since I had to take a week off in the middle of the break-in phase I'm not going to take the week off. So Wednesday I start right in. Im doing the "Serious about lifting, but seriously overweight" program. Not that I am seriously overweight, but because I have never been able to get my body fat below 18%. I figure this can help get me past that platue.

DadofTwo · 03-05-2009, 07:34 AM

NROL Fat Loss II Day 1

Date: 3/5/2009
Time: 5:00am
Weight: 180.2 (+ .6 yet the scale says I'm down to 18.2% bf

)
Mood:

Workout A

Superset:
Front Squat – 3 x 12 x 135
Cable Seated Row (Wide Grip) – 1 x 12 x 60 (way underestimated)
2x 12 x 85

Superset:
Supine Hip Extension with Leg Curl – 3 x 12 x B
Barbell Push Press – 1 x 10 x 115 (Bit to much to complete 12 reps )
2 x 12 x 95

Superset:
Dynamic Lunge – 3 x 12 x 40(each hand)
Upper Body Russian Twist – 3 x 12 x Bw

Comments: Yesterday I woke up and my back was still a bit sore from shoveling on Monday. So I decided to take it as a rest day. Plus I donated blood that day so I didn't feel bad taking that day off.

After my second set of squats, I had a shooting pain to my forehead. After resting for a few minutes I felt better and was able to complete the routine, however, it caused me to have a nasty headache for the rest of my sets. I did take a bit longer on my rest periods only because of the headache. I wonder if it could of come from donating blood earlier yesterday morning? We will see what happens next time.

I wasn't able to do my cardio afterwards, only because I ran out of time. I hope to be able to do it later tonight.

MindPower · 03-05-2009, 04:36 PM

welcome and good luck