Midgetcop for the masses

[Delilah]

Good luck to you midgetcop! Your stats are awesome! I can't wait to get to goal!
My BMI did go down, but it's still not great..still considered obese ...but it won't deter me..from a 43.4 to a 32.1.

Sounds like your goals will be met!

[cursor]

Wanna get your body fat level down? Lift heavier. Um, period. Gradual, progressive & smooth. There's no hurry. More UMPH, less weenie.

[Delilah]

Originally Posted by cursor

Wanna get your body fat level down? Lift heavier. Um, period. Gradual, progressive & smooth. There's no hurry. More UMPH, less weenie.

I am..point taken! LOL!

[LINDA]

Originally Posted by midgetcop

Ah, and I may as well post this here so that mainly I don't forget...

I saw a fitness instructor at my gym about a week ago for an orientation.

Basic stats

Age: 28
Height: 5'2"
Weight: 114 lbs
BF%: 22.2
BP: 124/79
HR: 70-something (crap, where did that paperwork go....)

Keeping my blood pressure in the normal range is a must, as I've had some high BP problems in the past. Getting the BF% down a percentage or two would be awesome, except that I'm not doing anything specific with my diet other than trying to eat cleaner.

Thanks for the update. I was wondering why you were not talking about how great cop-life is. (I have a longtime friend from the bodybuilding world who also does fitness tests for the police force. She herself is an active duuty sargent)

I sent you more about CF Miss in a PM.

[midgetcop]

05 Dec 2009

Strength Day -- Full Body

warm-up: 5 min light run on treadmill

DB Bench: 50lbs x 8, x 8, 60lbs x 6

DB Upright Rows: 35lbs x 8, 40lbs x 5, x 5

Squat: bw x 10, 45lbs x 8, 55 x 8, x 8

Deadlift: 65lbs x 8, 75lbs x 8, x 8

b/w sets I ran over and killed my triceps by doing some cable pushdowns and overhead db extensions. Last workout I did something similar with my biceps where I just did some quick sets as almost an afterthought to Shock 'N Awe my smaller muscles. Some CF mentality creeping into my normally well-planned workouts.

Tri cable pulldown: 40lbs x 8, x 8, 30lbs x 20 (ai-yai-yai!!)

Didn't do back today, because last workout I aggravated an old back injury and I need a few more days to feel optimal.

I've been roughly keeping track of my calories the past week or so through fitday.com. It doesn't help that I'm working night shifts so my sleep AND my eating is out of whack, but I found I'm only eating anywhere b/w 1000 to 1300 calories/day. That may explain why I've felt sluggish and BLAH all the time, but now that I'm working out I imagine that's WAY too much of a deficit. Yet I'm feeling pretty good about my workouts...do y'all think I need to up the cals? I mean, as long as I'm making strength gains with a deficit...that's good, isn't it?

[cursor]

I suspect that fairly soon you'll suffer the negative end of that very low calorie intake. My guess is that your BMR is over 1300 calories (and of course that considers NO activity, much less intentional workouts). I'd bump it a couple hundred calories, without hesitation. My guess is that you'll feel better.

[midgetcop]

That's what I expected to hear. I didn't actually realize how low my intake was, and I was surprised that I was able to get through the workouts like I have. I have a sneaky suspicion that I'm catching up on my calories on my off-work days (i.e. I just got back from a rather unhealthy downtown outing).

[midgetcop]

Ooooooo. Ouch. I pulled something quite badly in my neck. I can barely turn my head from side to side or even forwards.

Hmmm. I avoided working my back because I thought that was what was giving me some aches and pains. But today I'm even worse. Upright rows maybe? Or the squats (bar across the top of my shoulders)?

Either way, I'm out of commission today.

Originally Posted by cursor

Wanna get your body fat level down? Lift heavier. Um, period. Gradual, progressive & smooth. There's no hurry. More UMPH, less weenie.

Sooo true. More muscle is going to help burn that body fat off more easily.

MC, get your rest and heal yourself. Don't push too hard in the gym. One thing that is helpful in a "comeback" is to calculate a 2.5% increase per week...and work your way backwards for about 4 weeks...write it all down, and go to the gym with a plan for a month of "light" workouts that get progressively heavier, getting you ready to actually lift heavy without injury. When you reach your "maximum", instead of pushing forward again...reset your program again. You can ususally go 8-12 weeks between resets this way. Getting stronger all the while.

Consider giving this a try. It's the only way an elderly guy such as myself can keep making progress without constant injury.

And in case my previous description made no sense whatsoever...

Say for example your maximum weight for a lift is 100lbs. Do your "reset" like this.

Week 1: 85
Week 2: 90
Week 3: 95
Week 4: 100
Week 5: 105
Week 6: 110

And so on. Not exactly 2.5% because the smallest increment available in most gyms is 5lbs. But you get the idea.

[midgetcop]

Helloooo!

It looks as though I've aggravated on ongoing neck/back issue that's been going on and off the past few years. Seems as though something in my neck is irritating a nerve that is causing referred pain into my shoulder blades and arms...minimal pain, but it's constant and it's annoying.

My weight training has been shelved until my physiotherapist and I can ultimately pin down what's going on and what I should avoid in the gym. She was pretty stunned when I told her how much I weight I push, and pretty well told me right off the bat "There's no reason someone your size needs to lift that much weight!!'" She just doesn't get it. :P

So I'm pretty well sticking to cardio for now...just something to get my heart rate up. I'm pretty bummed though, because weight lifting is the most enjoyable type of exercise that I do.

Once I feel fully healed up I may join Punkie at XFit or maybe stick to body-weight style strength training (maybe pierini can chime in with some ideas).

Just wanted to explain my sudden absence. I guess for now I'll be looking more like rather than this.

Hopefully LINDA will chime in with some crossfit ideas, or maybe Gymgirl will make an appearance. She's an Xfit expert.

I have nothing to suggest with Xfit other than it may be an answer for you to keep lifting. "not lifting that much weight" is usually the answer for those who don't get it, however until you know the problem...it may be the best course of action.

Just because crossfit uses lighter weights, don't discount it as something less than it is. It's quite demanding and does give good results if you put hard work into it.

[midgetcop]

I hear ya....I realize that I've been stuck in this mentality that lifting heavy is the only way to go. I may have to find an alternative way to stay in shape. I mean....why DO I need to lift heavy, really?

Whether it's Crossfit....or maybe I'll try a martial art of some kind. I had a good run yesterday on the treadmill. I'm thinking of dragging the spouse off to the gym again today for some HIIT. :P

Originally Posted by midgetcop

I'm thinking of dragging the spouse off to the gym again today for some HIIT. :P

And mine is dragging me to the gym today for some heavy 5x5. She's loving it, having never lifted that way before and setting new PRs every week...with me holding her back somewhat so she doesn't hurt herself.

Ok, ok, so it doesn't actually take much dragging to get me there. But it IS our daughter's birthday today and she'll be hanging out at the house with all these presents and cake calling her name...and not touching it till we get back... hehehe.

Have fun at the gym...if HIIT can possibly be called fun.