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  • Back for the first time.

    I tried a log last July and it quickly fizzled out as the proverbial shit hit the fan in my life. Since then I've stabilized everything, got rid of an extremely negative girlfriend, and am kicking ass at my new school.

    So without further adieu, here's an introduction to the turning point of my young adult life.

    In May my sister is graduating from college, and I'll be traveling up to Boston for it. By then I'm hoping to be leaner and < 200 lbs. I want to show up and have my sister, my extended family, and everyone else I know do a double take as I've begun to transform myself into someone physically different.

    Growing up as a child I was always the lanky, skinny, and awkward kid everyone had in their elementary school class. As puberty began to hit, my body began to react extremely quickly. I began to grow into my size at a rapid pace ( 5'10", 200+ lbs by age 12) and have never been in a relatively "healthy" looking shape at any point of my teen-to-now adult life. Being active was never the problem as I've always been active and played some type of sport ever since I can remember. My senior year of high school I got into a psuedo workout regimen and lost 45 pounds of mostly muscle and water weight as my diet and eating habits were generally terrible.

    But coming into this new year many things have changed for me. I got out of a year long and dead-end relationship last October, I've moved to a new city and am going to a new college, and I've hit an all time high in regards to my weight/bf ratio (Read: 240 31.7% bf according to a Tanita scale) . The big eye opening moment for me was about two weeks ago when I got out of the shower and was drying off in front of the mirror. I looked at myself, did a double take, and started to feel emotionally sick from what I saw. Staring back at me was a 20 year old college student with a gut, a double chin, and a fat face that was doing nothing but going through a life as a glutton, while his peers were enjoying their college lives.

    So I took action. Immediately. I have begun to get my diet down to a routine, I've decided to go on a Monday-Friday Max-OT program, and am going to be doing low-intensity cardio six-seven days a week. In my next post I'm going to put up some pictures I took tonight, and will take new pictures every two weeks. I'm not going to weigh myself but once a month as I believe that weight loss on a short term fluctuates too much to gauge accurately. If I'm seeing a solid 8+ pounds a month every time I weigh in, that's only going to be more fuel to my inspirational fire. Also in my next post I'll put up my projected workout regimen and my diet information.

    So I'll close this introduction to the start of a healthy rest of my life with one of my favorite poems. Ever since I decided to change these things about myself and my life, I've printed this poem out and put it on every mirror I own. Hopefully it has the same effect on you as it does me.

    When you get what you want in your struggle for self
    And the world makes you king for a day,
    Just go to a mirror and look at yourself,
    And see what that man has to say.

    For it isn't your father or mother or wife,
    Who judgment upon you must pass;
    The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
    Is the one starring back from the glass.

    He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest.
    For he's with you clear up to the end,
    And you've passed the most dangerous, difficult test
    If the man in the glass is your friend.

    You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years.
    And get pats on the back as you pass,
    But your final reward will be the heartaches and tears
    If you've cheated the man in the glass.

  • #2
    My diet is being designed to be flexible as my everyday life is rarely routine. I'm in class from 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM on M-W-F and 11:00 - 4:45 on T-TR, so eating every three hours is out of the question. While ideally I'd like to do that, I'm just going to focus on three main meals a day, and worry about filling in my macros as I come to it.

    Breakfast is usually two to three egg whites, one whole egg, a piece of toast, a protein shake, and sometimes a banana. Sometimes I'll substitute something for a bowl of oats, but I don't much care for oats all the damn time.
    Lunch consists of a turkey breast sandwich, protein shake, beef jerky, and some healthy source of carbs.
    Dinner depends on a few things, but its usually a lean meat, green vegetables, and a salad.
    Before bed I down another protein shake with skim milk, a tablespoon of natural peanut butter, and some cottage cheese/pineapple. Snacks are usually a small baggie of almonds or a few pieces of beef jerky.

    My workouts are pretty much standard Max-OT affair.

    Monday- Legs
    Tuesday- Arms & Abs
    Wednesday- Shoulders/Traps
    Thursday- Back
    Friday- Chest

    Cardio will be done everyday after a workout for 40-45 minutes on an elliptical. On the weekends I play basketball, so my two days off will still be days off...but I'll still be getting in some decent form of cardio.

    My reasoning for deciding on Max-OT rather than just a standard high rep cutting routine? Well increasing and maintaining my strength is something I really want to work on as once I reach my my bf goal of 10%, I'm starting on a lean bulk. I'm not going to put poundage as a main goal as I've always been overweight, and a low bodyfat percent is what I want for myself right now.

    Below are two pictures of me as of right now, tonight. I look at them and am disgusted, but I'm going to post them regardless. I want to be able to accurately track my progress as I start on this. Hopefully I'll get some people following me along, I could definitely use the encouragement/feedback.



    Comment


    • #3
      Supplements include: CL Blue Gene, CL Orange Triad, CL Green Mag, Flax/Fish Oil, 1000mg of Vitamin C taken with breakfast, and Muscle Gauge Whey Isolate.

      I'm planning to buy LG Sciences BCAA/EAA to help aid in muscle preservation/anti-catabolism, and if things aren't going as planned, I'll potentially be starting an E/C stack to try and get my weight loss moving.

      I usually consume three liters to a gallon of water a day, sometimes more. I sweat alot, so hydration has always been a big thing for me.

      Comment


      • #4
        Welcome back!
        laurie@controlledlabs.com

        Disclaimer : The above post is my own PERSONAL OPINION and DOES NOT REPRESENT the official position of any company or entity. It DOES NOT constitute medical advice. CONTROLLED LABS products are produced in a GMP for Sport certified facility (no hormones produced in the facility / no cross contamination).

        Comment


        • #5
          Thanks! Things just weren't quite right while I was out of the gym.

          Comment


          • #6
            First workout today and it was great. Got to the gym around 3:00 and got right to work.

            My warmup was done the Max-OT way in which you build up to close to the working weight you'll be using, as you prepare the muscle for a heavy load.

            Squats:
            140x10
            160x8
            180x6
            200x3
            225x6, 225x6, 225x6
            The 225 was pretty light, and next time I'm planning on bumping up to 235 for my working sets.

            Leg Press:
            250x6, 270x6, 320x6
            I started off at 250 thinking it would be around what I needed, but had to continue to move up. I ended up with three plates and a twenty-five on each side at the end of my three sets and I was pounding those out fairly easily. Next week I'm starting at 340.

            SLDL:
            155x6, 155x6, 155x6
            Felt good and I'm not trying to injure myself. Might move up to 165 next week, but I don't want to push it too early and hurt myself as I'm still getting back into this.

            Standing Calf Raises:
            185x8, 185x8, 185x8
            Held these for five seconds every time I would come up with them and really felt the burn in my calves.

            Cardio:
            20 minutes on the eliptical. Average heart rate was around 160 with 212 calories burned. After feeling how tired I was after my workout I think this is going to be normal cardio for me, and jut have longer LISS on the weekends.

            This was the first time in a long time I've done legs seriously and not dicked around in the gym. I'm surprised I've maintained some strength from the last time I had a workout (about 6 months ago), and jumping back into this shouldn't be as hard as I thought it was going to be. Here's to a new beginning!

            Oh, and I'm loving Max-OT. In and out of the gym in an hour and a half, and that's including cardio.

            Comment


            • #7
              I do the first day and stop updating, what a jackass! Lol! I'll start copying and pasting my updates...I'm running an identical log on bb.com

              Comment


              • #8
                Didn't get a chance to post yesterdays workout, but overall it went fairly well. Arms and abs are what it was, and I tried to get after it.

                Straight bar curls:
                50x6
                60x6
                60x6

                Hammer Curls:
                35x6
                35x6
                35x6

                Cable Curls:
                60x6
                70x4

                Skull Crushers:
                40x6
                50x6
                50x6
                These seemed incredibly easy, but when I tried 60, I couldn't get more than four. Gonna try moving some things around and maybe do tricepts first next week so I can hit them harder.

                Kickbacks:
                40x6
                35x6
                Terrible form, got nothing out of these. Going lighter next week to get form down.

                Wrist curls:
                30x6
                30x6
                30x6

                Weighted crunches:
                70x6
                70x6
                70x6

                Hanging Leg Raises:
                Three sets of six, holding my legs at the top for three seconds on every rep.

                Twists:
                80x8
                80x8
                I used the weighted machine on these, might try them with just the oly bar next week for more rotation. Also might throw in a couple sets of side bends.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Today was shoulders and traps, and it was a rather good workout. I got a good bit out of it, and my delts are already sore...so hopefully thats a good sign.

                  Military Press:
                  95x6
                  100x6
                  105x6
                  I barely eeked out the fifth rep on the last set, so next week im just going for 100x6 across the board.

                  Shoulder DB Press:
                  35x6
                  35x6

                  Lateral Side Raises:
                  15x6
                  15x6

                  Straightbar Shrugs:
                  230x6
                  230x6

                  Upright Rows:
                  75x6
                  75x4

                  Cardio consisted of 20 minutes on the eliptical with the setting on keeping my HR at 160. Left the gym sweating like I'd been in the sauna for 20 minutes and I felt good. Started taking my Orange Triad this morning, and I know this wont affect anything, but I figured I'd throw it in there.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Didn't update this Friday or Saturday night because I had two things to attend for my friends. But Friday's workout was short, sweet, and intense. It was chest day, and I have to admit, that next to my arms, my chest is the weakest part of my body.

                    Barbell Bench:
                    Warm Up (95x10, 105x8, 115x6)
                    135x6
                    145x6
                    155x6
                    I wasn't quite sure what my working weight here was, so I kind of took the shotgun approach. Next week I'll be starting at 150 for working weight.

                    DB Incline Press:
                    35x6
                    35x6
                    35x6
                    Tried 40's, could only get out one or two reps. 35 is where its at for now.

                    Dips:
                    (I had to do these on the dip machine because I can't rep them by myself)
                    40 lbs resistance x6
                    40 lbs resistance x6
                    40 lbs resistance x5
                    This may or may not be confusing, but I was going them on the dip machine where you can alleviate how much weight you're dipping. Mine was at 40 lbs lighter, so I'm going to try it again next week and see if I can easily get out all three sets of 6.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Friday and Saturday night have been awful for my diet and nutrition, so I'm only going to have to get on my horse and ride this week. Friday night I went to a Mexican food restaraunt here in Austin (Trudy's), then afterwards went to my friends house for her 21st birthday and had too much to drink.

                      Saturday was more or less the same story. My roommates friend came down and what was going to be a quiet night spent recovering, turned into a beer pong tournament.

                      I'm really thinking of starting an E/C stack at some point this week. My mood and demeanor is always increased exponentially when I take caffeine or energy supps...plus the fat loss properties of ephedrine would only help shed the pounds even more.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Legs were today and I felt like a beast! I hit PR's on everything.

                        Squats:
                        Warmups: (140x10, 160x8, 180x6, 210x3, 230x1)

                        Working: 250x6, 250x6, 250x6

                        The 250 was a 25 pound bump from last week and I still think I can go higher. Next week I'll start at 260 and try and work up to 270 by my third set.

                        Leg Press:
                        300x6, 320x6, 360x6
                        I pounded each set of these out like a madman. Coming into these past two weeks I've never done much weight on leg press, but it just seems like I keep throwing up whatever I put on there. 380 is my starting point next week, aiming for 400 by third set.

                        SLDL:
                        170x6 190x6 190x6
                        I can go heavier but I don't want to hurt myself. I think I'm going to stay around 200 until the rest of my body becomes acclimated to the stress of lifting again.

                        Standing Calf Raises:
                        200x8, 200x8, 200x8
                        I would stretch all the way down, then flex all the way up and hold for five seconds. My calves felt crazy pumped after these and I loved it. I may start doing calves twice a week. When I get down to an athletic physique I'd love to be able to dunk.

                        Nothing I didn't expect here. I was surprised at how easy I was putting up weight today, but legs have always been my strong suit.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Tuesday, February 1, 2010
                          BB Curls:
                          60x4 (terrible form)
                          50x6
                          50x6
                          I could probably get three sets of four on 60, but I don't know how much of a workout I'd be getting out of that. Odds are I'd end up getting out of form and ruining the lift. Might try it next time.

                          Hammer Curls:
                          30x6
                          30x6
                          35x6
                          Finally decided to move up to 35's, and I blew through them. 35x6 is the base for next week.

                          Cable Curls:
                          70x6
                          70x6
                          I've been doing the WRONG exercise for two weeks now. Been curling the straight bar from the bottom of the cable set, I'll fix this next week.

                          Cable Pushdowns:
                          50x6
                          55x6
                          60x6
                          My strength continues to come back as I work through these week in, and week out. What was hard last week (60x6) came easily this week. Going to start there next week and work up.

                          Skullcrushers:
                          60x6
                          60x5
                          60x6
                          The 60 pounds seemed to be perfect for me as long as I took enough of a break between each set. I rushed into the second one and only got five out of it.

                          DB Overhead Tricep Extension:
                          45x6
                          50x6
                          55x6
                          I was using both hands, and 55x6 was too easy. Gotta bump up the weight next week.

                          DB Wrist Curls:
                          Right Arm
                          20x6
                          20x6
                          20x6
                          Left Arm
                          15x6
                          15x6
                          15x6
                          I SWEAR I don't know why my right forearm is stronger than my left.


                          Grip Machine (Finger Flexors):
                          90x20
                          115x20

                          Crunches on Machine:
                          80x10
                          90x10 (The 80 & 90 denote lbs resistance).

                          Twists on Machine:
                          70x10
                          70x10 (The two 70's denote lbs resistance).

                          Hanging Leg Raises:
                          2 sets of 10

                          Strength continues to increase. Idk if it's the Blue Gene or GreenMAG...but whatever it is, I like it.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Wednesday, February 2, 2010

                            Military Press:
                            105x6
                            110x6
                            120x6
                            Strength is taking off. Loving myself right now.

                            DB Shoulder Press:
                            40x5
                            40x4
                            40x5
                            This weight seems about right. I want to be able to get out at least two sets of six before I move up to 45's.

                            Side Raises:
                            15x8
                            20x6
                            20x6
                            The 15's were too easy and the 20's burned just right. Going to go for two sets of six with the 20's next week, and one set of 4-6 with some 25's.

                            Upright Rows:
                            70x6
                            70x6
                            80x5
                            Burned my delts like none other. Strength has gone up considerably even in a week.

                            Shrugs:
                            230x8
                            280x6
                            300x6
                            I did these this week with a barbell, and was able to get a MUCH better workout than last week. I struggled to get six with 300 on there, so my form suffered and so did the workout. I think 280ish is the sweet spot for next week's start.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Thursday, February 4, 2010

                              Lat Pulldowns:
                              130x4
                              110x6
                              110x6
                              I warmed up with too heavy of a weight and I thought I could get 130 for three sets. I struggled to get for. Next week I start with 120.

                              Seated Rows:
                              90x6
                              100x6
                              110x6
                              These murdered my lats. The higher I went the stronger I felt. Going for a start at 110 next week, hopefully move up to 120.

                              Good Mornings:
                              95x6
                              115x6
                              I bumped up the weight by twenty pounds and it really hit my lower back. I don't know if I liked it too much. Might hold off with adding too much more weight.

                              Bent Over Rows:
                              90x6
                              90x6
                              Stuck on the same weight, but I don't mind. I'm getting a good burn from the sets.

                              Hyper Extensions
                              BWx10
                              BW+25x10
                              Held a twenty-five pound weight on the second set. Lower back could definitely feel it.

                              Lateral Row (Free Weight Machine):
                              90x6
                              100x6
                              I thought about adding in another row movement, and this about killed me. Definitely going to try and keep it in the rotation.

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