Doy's journal

[doydoy]

Hello! I haven't been on the forum in quite a while. These past months, I haven't been able to keep up a regular workout routine due to business and also lack of motivation. I recently moved out into my own place and now I have full control over what I eat. I also have more time on my hands now, so I figured this would be a good time to get back in shape.

This will be my progress page.

I'm just planning out my workout and diet. Input (corrections!) very much appreciated!

(excercises removed. see progress page for weights, etc ^^^ )

I can be fairly content with eating similar things each day. I just want to figure out something that will be healthy, not taste bad, and still be satisfying (I eat alot ). I know right now my diet is not very good, so especially need help here! This is what I've been eating so far. I'm not quite sure how to change it.

Breakfast
- 5 egg whites + 1 egg yolk
- 16 oz chicken breast
- 2 pieces toast or tortillas
- Orange juice (I think I drink too much. I LOVE orange juice )

Snack
- 1 cup low fat Cottage cheese
- 1 orange
- A couple strawberries

Lunch
- Noodles
- Chicken thigh (boiled) + ketchup + chili sauce
- Soy milk
- Apple

Dinner
- This one varies. Sometimes rice and asian dishes. Other times fast food. I need to plan something out for this.

My main targets are abs and arms. Any suggestions?!

[doydoy]

So far, I'm keeping up pretty well with my workout schedule and the exercises planned. I'm feeling pretty ok so far.

I tried doing deadlifts today for the first time. I did 3 sets of 10 reps at barely 70 lbs. Is it supposed to be so hard?? :confused:

[doydoy]

Fourth week and still going strong! I've been keeping up pretty well with the workouts. As for eating, well...I'm still having a little problem eating at the right times (ie. before/after the workout). But, I've been making my own yogurt and thats been helping with my night-time cravings

[gcs118]

Yes deadlifts are supposed to be hard lol. I'm not so sure 10 reps on deadlifts is your best bet. You really have some full workout days, sheesh!

Post up your numbers here in the journal...it's easier for us and you to watch progress, and makes it more interesting for us

[doydoy]

Numbers are now up in the progress page.

So far so good. I just started studying for my masters (while continuing my full-time job) and thankfully I have been able to keep with my plan of working out three times a week (MWF), playing ball twice a week (tennis on M, basketball on Su), and sometimes even trying for some extra lifting on Sa (max weights). I feel pretty good about being consistent though it seems like I'm not "seeing" any real gains yet...that can be a little discouraging. But, from the little chart I'm keeping, the weights are slowwwly going up

Three concerns so far:
- I eat quite a bit (I work from home, so I'm constantly eating). Alot of eggs (mostly white), yogurt (home-made), veggies (stir-fry), some white rice (can't help it! its been ingrained ), a lot of soy products (soymilk + tofu), chicken breast, fish, cottage-cheese, and a few other small misc. When I started hitting the weights again several weeks ago, I was in the 145 range. I weighed in at 139.5 last week. This week I weighed in at 138.0. Should I be losing weight?
- I wonder if the combination of muscles I'm hitting on the different days are causing my workouts to be less effective then they could be. For example, on Mondays, by the time I get to the barbell curls, my arms seem a bit too tired and I'm having trouble with those excercises. Any suggestions for better muscle combos for different days?
- My right pec is still noticably smaller than my left I've tried benching with 2.5lb added to the right side. Hasn't seemed to make a difference yet. How do you guys keep symmetrical?

[doydoy]

Today's workout was not phenomenal. I'm seem to be stuck at 137.5 for the bench press and 65 for the military press. I didn't feel so pumped after the chest exercises so I threw in 3 sets of flyes. That helped a lot. I think I'll be adding that in permanently.

On a diet note, I tried making my own soy milk today. It tastes ok I also made another batch of yogurt...still a learning process

[gcs118]

If what you listed is what you're eating in excess, you are definitely on the right track. And if you're losing weight, eat MORE! Strenght will increase as well. Definitely do NOT add 2.5 lbs more to one side of the BB for benching. Use DBs and stop when the weaker side can do no more.

You could also cut out concentration curls and preacher curls and shoulder shrugs for starters. Go harder on the other exercises and you'll definitely be glad you cut the volume.

[doydoy]

My calves continue to feel really nice and tight after I work them. The thighs seem to be a little less affected. My abs were burning from the crunches and oblique crunches, but not as much from the hip thrusting and situps. I guess it really varies from day to day...

Thanks for the advice ^^^ I'll definetly give it a try!

[Klinger]

Hey there - I was looking at your measurements and scratching my head. You weight 139 or so and have a 29-inch waist. I can't see that adding up to 20 percent body fat. Get that retested at a gym if you can. It doesn't add up.

[doydoy]

Ahh, actually that was based on trying to use my Accu-Measure body fat calipers since I don't have access to a gym. And now that you mention it, I just noticed I use the women's chart But am still a little confused. In the picture, so I take the reading from the red side? or the green side? Depending on that, the chart says I'm either 11.6% or 15.4%. :confused: I stand 5' 9" by the way.

[doydoy]

Back to lifting! Last week I only worked out on Wednesday due to being very busy with other things. That was not so great. This week I'm back into it. Monday was pretty ok.

Today I tried lowering the weights for my curling. I had to admit that I was trying to increase in weight too quickly and at the end of my sets I was resorting to bad form in order to finish the sets. Dropping the weights a little bit allowed me to finish all the sets with perfect form. Arms were burning. Feels gooood. Same thing with the squats. I must have been doing them wrong before, but after reading many, many threads and trying it slowly today, I was totally dead by the end of the third set for squats. I tried the stiff-leg dead lift but I can't seem to figure out the proper form for it, even after reading many threads. If my knees aren't locked, I feel rather wobbly. If they are locked, I feel the strain is there (at the knees), rather than in the hamstrings. And in either case, I feel pressure on my lower back. Bad eh? At least I'm gaining weight! Up to 142 lbs now.

Also, I went out and bought a bottle of Flax oil from Trader Joes today. I hope it helps with something

Oh, and I decided to add a plyometric session on Thursdays in an attempt to run faster and jump higher when I play basketball, volleyball, and tennis :

[gcs118]

Just a couple SLDL tips...First of all, the motion is in your hips, not the waist. Move your hips/butt backwards to go down. Do not bend at the waist. Likewise, thrust the hips forward to come up. You can squeeze your buttcheeks to aid in the thrusting forward part if you want lol. It may or may not help. Second, do keep a slight bend in the knee. It doesn't have to be much, very slight will do. Try it out right now, just stand up, thrust your hips back and feel where the stress is with knees slightly bent v. completely locked. Big difference. Otherwise man, you are doing great, keep up the excellent work

[doydoy]

Thanks for the tip! I tried it without the weights and I could definitely feel the tightness and burn in the upper leg instead of the knees. So I guess its a matter of doing it properly even while carrying the weight. I have a younger friend who works out at his high school gym and he told me about a special bar called a hex-something-or-other that encircles you and probably centers the weight instead of having it in front of you pulling you foward?

Anyhoo, I tried these plyometrics yesterday and some were tough, others were easy, and one of them hurt my ankles. I probably need to take that really slow

[gcs118]

Those animations are fun. The hex-bar thing would be used for regular deadlifts, not stiff-legged ones. The BB shouldn't really be pulling you forward if you do it right.

[doydoy]

Man, yesterday I went to eat out to celebrate with two friends who graduated from college. I had steak, shrimp, chicken, beans, rice, guacamole, and flour tortillas. I think I over ate

Monday: I hit the weights hard. At first I was sluggish because I'd just woken up from a nap, but then I got into it pretty quickly. Chest felt strong and I was able to hit the increased weights solidly. I threw in lyling tricep extensions and my arms are feeling pretty good right now!

I went over what I ate today so far and I'm wondering if maybe I'm not eating enough to really gain much muscle. So far its been:

7:00 - 6 egg whites, 1 egg yolk, 2 glasses orange juice
9:30 - 2 cups granola, 1 mango, water
12:30 - 16 oz beef, 2 cups bok choi stir fried with garlic using Pam olive spray, 1 glass orange juice
3:30 - 2 cups soy milk, 1.5 scoops Optimum whey protein powder, 1 glass orange juice (half of the shake)
4:00 - Workout
5:45 - Rest of shake
6:00 - Now I'm looking for something to chow on because I'm heading out in 5 minutes to play basketball and tennis (usually around 2.5 hours)

Am I eating too little? I just weighed in at 140 lb, 5' 9".