Matt's Journal

[Azanmi]

Ok so months later, my lower back is feeling much better and I just ran my first 10K in 2 years! I won't mention the finish time so as not to embarrass myself

Anyway so I completed the 10k as a short term goal and I am now moving on to reclaiming the mess that the past year has left. I recently weighed in at 209 w/ 24%bf:confused:. That puts my LBM at 157lbs... Funny, I used to weigh 155lb in high school! I will be 30 years old on November 20th of this year and I would like to crack the 10%bf (or 173lbs at current LBM) marker before then... THATS THE GOAL!! Does it seem realistic?

I would like to get back into a heavy lifting Max-OT style program with (nod to Maverick) some o dat crazy Guerilla cardio to crank up the furnace! I am however, open to suggestions! The only modifications to the program that I found helpful to me was a bigger emphasis on Core-centric exercises like pullups and such. I'm still open to any thoughts before I lock in and fire it up.

I miss the encouragement and support this board has afforded me in the past. Barring any more back injuries, I plan to stick around!

[.V.]

Actually, what you've just mentioned in your last post sounds like a solid plan.

Hit it.:

[.V.]

I just saw your post about the back injury. It sounds similar to what I do sometimes when I squat and deadlift. Sometimes if my form slips a bit and my hips aren't lined up just right, I'll sublax the SI joint. Never a serious injury but it certainly feels like it.

A DO, Chiro, and PT all showed me the same stretches to do for it. Still takes me out for a couple of days sometimes a week, but the stretches do help.

1. Lie face down on the floor, leave your pelvis on the floor and do a pushup, arching your back to keep the pelvis down. Do it slow and hold it as long as you can, arched as much as you can without being too painful.

2. Lie on your back on the floor. Leave one leg straight out, bring the foot of the other one as close to your butt as you can get it, bending the knee and keeping the foot flat on the floor. Now take the knee that is bent up over across the straight leg to the floor gently stretching and twisting the lower back. Take the knee as far over as you can get it without causing too much additional pain. Hold the stretch for as long as you can. Get someone to help you with this stretch if you can.

3. Repeat # 2 on the other side.

4. Sit on a chair with stiff arms or a stiff high back. leave your knees pointing forward, grab the back of the chair (or one arm with both hands) and gently twist your torso around and stretch the lower back out.

5. Repeat # 4 on the other side.

6. I really can't reccomend this but I do it myself with great results when I have access to one. Do # 4 and 5 using a seriously overloaded nautilus oblique machine...instant relief or permanent paralysis...one or the other. Sometimes it hurts bad enough to be worth the risk. I've been lucky I guess.

7. This one is good if you have access and no history of aneurism in the brain or hypertension. Inversion table for 10 minutes or less. Ohhhh yeaahhhhh....feels good. Feels so good that old people with hypertension and aneurisms have been known to stay in too long and have strokes. Avoid that part. My wife uses an inversion table and it sounds like a string of firecrackers going off when she first inverts. She has relief from her back pain for weeks after using it.

Good luck, take care, and looking forward to your workouts.

Originally Posted by Azanmi

Funny, I used to weigh 155lb in high school! I will be 30 years old on November 20th of this year and I would like to crack the 10%bf (or 173lbs at current LBM) marker before then... THATS THE GOAL!! Does it seem realistic?

I think it is a bit too optimistic given your recent efforts but prove me wrong and I will be privately cheering for you.

As far as turning 30? You are a young pup!

[Azanmi]

Alright! sounds like some good old fashoined "prove me wrong" motivation! I have a friend that is willing to commit as an accountability partner for our workouts, so that should help. : Thanks for the stretch advice a welch, I will try them and see if it helps.


Got the first Guerilla session tomorrow so we'll see if I survive to post the results!

[Azanmi]

G Cardio:
Well I found out that I am not allowed to run on the school track before school so I will have to see if I can get on after school is out.

Shoulders and Traps:
(Warmup sets before)
Military BB 3x4@145
Seated DB Shoulder Press 2x6@55s
DB Lateral Raise 2x6@25s
BB Shrugs 2x6@225
Upright Rows 2x4@90

[Azanmi]

Thursday
Back

Pullups (BW) 1x6, 2x5
Seated Cable Rows 2x6@165
Good mornings 2x6@110
Hyper Extensions 2x6@35(plate)

All these weights felt too light but I am trying to find my range after being out for so long. I'm doing the pullups in place of the Lat pulldowns because I beleive in what Peirini says about them!:

[Azanmi]

didn't have time to post yesterday, so here's yesterday's workout:

Friday Chest Day

Flat BB Press 2x6@185, 4@185
Incline DB Press 2x6@65s, 4@65s
Dips (BodyWeight) 2x6,5

I was a bit dissappointed with the weight and the dips but I havn't been lifting in 6 months so I probably shouldn't expect much the first week.

Gonna try to get out today and tomorrow for G Cardio, on the off days for Max-OT. :

Does anyone have a good idea of the amount of fat grams to limit on a daily basis? I am trying to cut bf as well and I am within my calorie goals (see fitday journal link on left) but I am eating too much sugar and fats.

[.V.]

Originally Posted by Azanmi

Does anyone have a good idea of the amount of fat grams to limit on a daily basis?

Depends really on your individual goals and your plan to get there. If you want to go for low fat, start with around 20% of your calories coming from fat and adjust from there based on your results.

Some can go lower, some can tolerate higher. I burn fat most efficiently eating around 40% of my calories from fat. The lower you go with your fat intake, the faster things move through the digestive system, as long as you aren't passing undigested food, it's probably not too low...remember the person who posted the question about passing undigested vegetables? I think they were eating very low fat but don't remember how low exactly - around 10% perhaps??

[Azanmi]

Gearing up for leg day tomorrow! I'm a bit worried about the lower back but I will try to do all the streches. I suppose I will be taking it easy as well.

[.V.]

Don't forget - warm up first. Stretch gently. Workout. Stretch well.

Have a good workout.

[Azanmi]

Yesterday I did Guerilla Cardio only because I ended up staying till 7pm at work and order to do Guerilla I had to jump the fence at the local High School! For some reason they had locked the gate. I guess they will be opening it up as of tomorrow when school is out. I can't beleive how quicly you cna be brought to your knees with 16 minutes of running. It's crazy!

Today is Arms and abs, details to follow

[.V.]

Run on the road if you have to.

Like the Nike ad says, "just do it".

[Azanmi]

Ahms and abs day

Warmup sets before
Bis
Straight bar curls: 6@75, 6@85, 2x6@95 (Had a hard time finding the right weight on this one)
DB Curls: 2x6@40s
Hammer Curls: 5@40s, 3@40s, 6@35s

Tris
Cable Pulldown: 3x6@100
Cable (w/rope) Skulls: 2x10@150 (that's all the weight they had on the stack)

Abs
Hanging leglifts: 2x14(side) 2x10(front with 2 sec L position hold)
Weighted Cable Crunch: 3x14@160

Decent workout, I don't feel like I'm really pushing it though, I'm driving up the intensity but I don't have the soreness I usually have when doing Max-OT

[Azanmi]

Traps and Shoulders
Warmup Prior
Shoulders
SetsReps
* Military Barbell Press (in front)3x6@135

Seated Dumbbell Press (Palms facing in at bottom of the movement and rotated forward at the top)2x6@55s
Standing Side Lateral Dumbbell Raises2x6@35s
Traps
Barbell Shrugs2x6@225
Upright Rows (close grip)9@160 (too light), 6@180



I ate like CRAP today! If you don't believe me, look at my fitday log!