Lift2Live's -Size Matters- Journal

[Lift2Live]

I'm new to the site as of a few days ago and think since so many post thier progress for others to learn from, it's only fair I do so as well. I am going to try and get some photos soon, until then it's just routine and diet.

BACKGROUND:
I'm 29 years old, 5'10" & i'm tipping the scale at 219 right now. Bodyfat hasn't been checked anywhere close to recently. I've been out of the gym for 2 years and am back at it.

PRESENT:
I'm back in the gym now for 5 1/2 weeks. I've dropped 16lbs. so far. I have been concerned mainly with ripping things up but, now that my body has re-acclimated itself to the gym and lifting, I am going bulk.

My routine has been very erratic these first weeks due to the afore mentioned re-acclimation process. A 2 year break and a bad diet will put you in a bad physical and mental position. Especially a person with a panic disorder or rather condition. My lifts and sorts up until now have been weak obviously but, having lifted seriously in the past, it is coming back much quicker than it took to gain. I am only going to start listing my routines and diet from today forward for obvious reasons of time it takes to do so. Only the last 2 1/2 weeks are hard-logged at this point anyhow.

Today's Diet:

Thanks to fitday.com, you can see my numbers in my journal online! Yay, less typing! lol

My Fitday.com Online Journal

All foods were obviously split into 5-6 meals. If someone is reading and thinks it would be more helpful that I note the times and what was eaten at those times, I can do that too.

*Please note i've been shredding fat lately and not bulking therefore the caloric intake is lower.

Routine:

Today was weak and small, still building up strength with form. I will post my bulking schedule as my phase changes next week.

Cardio:

32 Minutes on the eliptical.

Triceps:

Skullcrushers - 3x8 @ 40lbs.(Bb)
Behind Neck Press - 3x8 @ 30lbs.(Db)

* Shoulda done one more exercise...

Abs:

Side Bends - 3x12 @ 45lbs.(Plate)
Torso Twists - 3x24 @ 25lbs.(Plate)
Machine Crunches - 3x12 @ 105lbs.
Incline Leg Raises - 3x12

Since i've mainly been trying to JUST burn fat and keep the muscle I have, the weights aren't heavy and the volume shoulda been more but, as i've said things are about to kick into high gear.

See yuh tomorrow, happy lifting...

[Klinger]

Welcome to the Journals section, Lift2Live. It's always cool to check out another person's routine/progress. What's your split look like?

[rrouleau]

I cant wait to see you progress! Im glad to see that you are back at lifting and getting in shape!!! Enjoy!

[Lift2Live]

Howdy and thanks Klinger and rrouleau.

As far as what my split will be, this is it:

Sunday: Cardio & Abs
Monday: Chest & Tri
Tuesday: Cardio & Abs
Wednesday: Back & Bi
Thursday: Cardio, Delts & Abs
Friday: Legs
Saturday: OFF

It's a fairly basic push/pull 4 day split. Any suggestions are more than welcome. I am off to the gym soon and i'll be posting today's routine in a few hours also. Thanks again and happy lifting!

[Lift2Live]

8.11.04

Today was a pretty good Back day, no Bi's. I went about 70% heavy with no problems. I'm basically finding my weights and rep ranges for next weeks implementation of my bulking phase. I'm a pretty big guy as it is so, I am only going to go 2 months out bulking, maybe 3 as I could easily cut up and have good size right now anyhow. I'm hoping for between 5-10lbs. of lean mass in this time. I may go longer but, as it is that's just the current goal.

Today's Lifting: Reps x Weight

Cable Rows:

6 x 150lbs. *
7 x 150lbs. *
7 x 150lbs. *

Lat Pulldowns:

6 x 150lbs. **
7 x 120lbs. **
7 x 130lbs. **

Deadlifts:

6 x 145lbs. ***
8 x 145lbs. ***
8 x 155lbs. ***

Cardio: 20 minutes treadmill uphill walk and jog variation.

* Should have gone heavier by 10lbs.
** Go to 140lbs. working weight.
*** Could easily go 35-45lbs. heavier to 200-205lbs. working weight.

I stress that all of these are done with perfect form. Cheating only hurts your gains, IMHO. All in all though, not bad for my first weight range assessment lift. Feels good and the back WILL be tight tomorrow, if not by tonight!

[Lift2Live]

(8.12.04) - Today's work was PATHETIC! lol I went to the gym all psyched up for a great shoulder day but, it turned out to be one of those really crappy, can't do anything that feels right days. They happen so, oh well...

Dumbell Presses:

8 x 50lbs. (Per side obviously, on all exercises.)
8 x 50lbs.
8 x 50lbs.

Lateral Raises (Db):

8 x 20lbs.
8 x 20lbs.
8 x 20lbs.

Front Raises (Db):

8 x 20lbs.
8 x 20lbs.
8 x 20lbs.

Upright Rows (Bb):

7 x 80lbs.
8 x 80lbs.
7 x 80lbs.
8 x 65lbs.
10 x 50lbs.

Abs (Crunches):

Crunches - 40 reps.
Side Crunches - 30 reps per side.

*Shoulda done more but felt worthless after my lifting...

That's it... Coulda been worse, but not much! LOL It'll get better next week.
I am finding it very hard to eat enough as well. I am dirt poor and the added intake is going to kill me. I don't know how long i'll be able to pay all the extra money for the food i'm needing so, my goals may change if by the end of the month i'm struggling too much. Tomorrow is LEG day... Oh how I hate them! Heh!

[Klinger]

Originally Posted by Lift2Live

I am finding it very hard to eat enough as well. I am dirt poor and the added intake is going to kill me. I don't know how long i'll be able to pay all the extra money for the food i'm needing so, my goals may change if by the end of the month i'm struggling too much. Tomorrow is LEG day... Oh how I hate them! Heh!

Workouts didn't look bad at all - don't worry about it. They do happen to all of us.

On a side note, I have found eating healthy to be cheaper in many cases than when I used to eat any old thing. Take your grocery cart to these locations:

Dairy aisle: Stock up on generic, low-fat cottage cheese and generic, low-fat yogurt. Also a dozen eggs or egg whites in a box. Grab some mozzarella sticks while you're there, too.
Meat aisle: Grab a couple packages of chicken breasts or tenders, maybe 3 pounds' worth.
Produce aisle: Stock up on whole fruit, like apples, pears and berries; crunchy, leafy greens; and stir-fry veggies, like peppers, mushrooms, broccoli and zucchini. Grab some yams and garlic, too.
Pasta/rice aisle: Go with some brown rice and some whole wheat or spinach pasta and a bottle of olive oil.
Condiments/bread aisles: Get yourself some natural peanut butter and a loaf of whole grain or whole wheat bread. No enriched wheat flour!

I guarantee that your bill will be cheaper than your best guess. Fresh is SO much cheaper than pre-packaged, and much, much better for you. That should be anough food to make a bunch of meals/snacks. Check out the recipe section for some quick, healthy meals, too. :

[Lift2Live]

8.13.04

Thanks for the ideas Klinger. Here was today's a$$ blasting leg day workout. lol I have an acquaintence that asked me if we could do legs together so I siad sure. I don't normally have a partner so it was really nice to get the extra push. This guy has been lifting for 3 years now and has some very impressive mass already and, he's a nice guy without a bunch of weird lifting notions. lol So here was today's lift;

Leg Press:

10 x 270lbs.
10 x 360lbs.
8 x 450lbs.
8 x 450lbs.

Smith Machine Lunges:
(These were done with a stabalizing ball for the back leg, very VERY tough and new to me so I faded fast!)

10 x weight of smith machine bar ... (Not confident it's really 45lbs.)
8 x 10lbs. + bar

Hack Squats:
(I was toast after the lunges.)

10 x 90lbs.
8 x 90lbs.
8 x 90lbs.

Seated Leg Curls:

10 x 70lbs.
10 x 70lbs.
10 x 70lbs.

That's it! Doesn't seem like much now but, holy he**! Those lunges with only a stabalizing ball were killers! I barely pressed out number 8 on the 2nd set with only 10lbs. on the bar!! How demeaning!!! LMAO! Anywho, I have wobblers underneath me and I KNOW that when I go to sit on the ole' camode in the morning it'll hurt. Haha... Tomorrow is the day off so thank the good Lord there! Happy lifting, next week is a new week!

[Lift2Live]

8.14.04

Today is day off. Complete rest, relaxation and fart around doing nothing day! Waaaaahoooo!! LOL

[Lift2Live]

8.15.04

Cardio & Ab day to begin yet another week of training. I've been thinking alot and while I WILL be adding muscle mass to my frame, i'm going to let that happen alot more gradually than a bulking phase. I had to think about why I was going to go super heavy and it turned out that I really wasn't doing it for myself. I was going to do it because that's what others were doing. I would really like to get rid of my bodyfat and since I am quite muscular underneath my winter coat, I'm sure it will look good as I cut. This means higher volume, a more moderate weight and more cardio. I don't mind and since i'll still be adding mass, i'm cool with it. It just won't be as fast. Here was today's Cardio and ab work.

Treadmill:

45 Minute uphill walking. 3.2mph @ 8.0 deg. for 502 cals. (as accurate as those things are, NOT!) lol

Abs:

Crunches - 50
Side Crunches - 25 per side
Side Bends - 3 x 12 @ 45lbs.(plate)
Torso Twists - 3 x 24 @ 25lbs.(plate)
Incline Leg Raises - 3 x 12

That's all for today. Plenty of ab work and the cardio was fine. Tomorrow is chest/tricep day. Yahooeeee! lol

[Lift2Live]

8.16.04

Today was my chest/tri day. Since i've decided to really cut up, The weights are down and the volume is higher. I'm just maintaining at this point.

Cardio:

Treadmill - 40 Minutes @ 3.2mph @ 8.5deg. incline

Hammer Strength Iso Bench:

3 sets x 12 reps @ 100lbs.

Skullcrushers:

3 sets x 12 reps @ 30lbs.

Incline Flys(Db):

3 sets x 12 reps @ 20lbs./arm

Cable Pushdowns (Straight Bar):

3 sets x 15 reps @ 40lbs.

Pretty simple. I shoulda gone heavier on all sets but that's ok, my form was extra strict and i'll go up next week.

[CF-OC_gal]

If you are not in a hurry, why don't you concentrate on lowering your bodyfat through a more intense cardio routine ( 30-60 min. 5 x per week). You'll get into a weight range/ body fat % where you feel more energetic. During this time you can get your eating habits (and shopping) straightened out while going moderate on your weights.

Once your weight is in check you can either cut out or minimize the cardio and go on a 6-8 week strength/power program to get the working weights up again, then focus on mass building. Or just go straight to a mass building program.

That way you shed the fat while not doing "bigtime - low cal" dieting that messes up your metabolism. You'll probably look and feel great anyway even though you are smaller. The strength cycle will fast track you to using higher rep weights once you pull back to a mass building cycle.

Just a thought.

[Lift2Live]

8.17.04

Thanks for the advice Brat. I'm really not going super low calorie nor am I considered small by any means but, I understand what you are saying and i'm going to look into your advice. I appreciate it very much.

Today was back day. Had to be in and out to take my mom to a dr.'s appt. so it was short and to the point.

Cardio:

Treadmill - 40 Mins. @ 3.2mph @ 8.0deg.

Hammer Strength ISO Rows:

4 sets x 8 reps @ 140lbs.

Lat Pulldowns:

8 @ 120lbs.
3 x 8 @ 110lbs. (better form)

Deadlifts:

3 sets x 8 reps @ 135lbs.

That's it. Simple and very short, which is what I needed.

As a P.S., I have been sleeping horribly lately and i'm wearing out very badly. Thinking about taking a couple days off in a row to try and get caught up since i'm finding it harder and harder to get myself going.

[CF-OC_gal]

Great L2L - I'll be looking in at your journal to see what you end up doing.

Good luck and get some rest.

[Lift2Live]

8.18.04

Thanks Brat! I need all the encouragment I can get right now. lol I'm oh so tired... The lack of sleep is killing me. I may end up going to the dr. to get some Ambien again. Last time I was sleepless that stuff just worked awesome!

Here's how today's Delt day went.

Cardio:

Treadmill - 20 Mins. jog/walk intervals. (Been so tired i didn't wanna do too much that my lifting suffered.)

Seated Db Presses:

4 sets x 8 reps @ 40lb. db's

Front Db Raises

4 sets x 8 reps @ 20lb. db's

Upright Bb Rows: - (I do these on delt days not back.)

4 sets x 8 reps at 70lbs.

Lateral Machine Raises:

3 sets x 8 reps @ 50lbs. (wussy weight but was tired lol!)

Shrugs:

3 sets x 10 reps @ 140lbs. (70/side)

That's it for today. Super tired. It's hot here and i've already had to go do a medium to large sized shopping today. At least the store is nice and air conditioned. We'll see what's up tomorrow if I don't get any sleep. I only have Bi's and Legs left this week so I can manage some cardio tomorrow and obviously I do legs without any other work. My abs have only been done once this week though as I see in the logs. Gonna have to get at least one more in this week so, it looks like some short cardio again and bi's and abs. Is Saturday here yet? I wanna day off! lol