Gainsdalf's Workout Log

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

So here are my beginning shots:

[ATTACH]1048[/ATTACH][ATTACH]1047[/ATTACH][ATTACH]1049[/ATTACH]

Here I'm 251 lbs, Squating 170, Deadlifting 170, Benching 135, Overhead Pressing 75, and rowing 95 (all 5 sets of 5, except for deadlift which is 1x5). I'll add my measurements when I can grab them from home.

My planned workout is 3x a week, switching between 2 workouts. Workout A is 5x5 Squats, 5x5 Bench, 5x5 Rows and workout B is 5x5 Squat, 5x5 Overhead Press, 5x1 Deadlift.

I'll usually run or uphill walk on the treadmill 1-2 miles after these and run 2-3 miles on off days if I make it to the gym. I'll usually do that a few times a week as my wife likes to run every day during the week.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Here we go! I have been keeping track of this on my iPhone, but I want to be able to make progress spreadsheets later, so i need to know more than just my beginning and current weights. All workouts except for deadlift are a constant weight at 5x5, deadlift is 5x1. So as Mario once said "Here We Go!"

11/7

Squat- 165 lb

Bench- 135 lb

Row- 95 lb

11/9

Squat- 170 lb

Overhead Press- 75 lb

Deadlift- 170 lb

11/14

Squat- 175 lb

Bench- 140 lb

Row- 100 lb

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

I won't be able to make it to the gym tomorrow (Friday), so I did the bench and row from that workout so that I'll only miss progress on the squat. I was feeling squirly when I was doing the dead lift as my last exercise and ended up doing it 5x5 instead of 5x1. My lower back is definitely more sore today. Not a big deal since I won't be lifting again until Monday. I also accidentally added an extra 10 pounds to my overhead press and rows because what I thought were 10 pound bumpers were 15's. I managed to get em done though.

11/16

Squat- 180 lb

Bench- 145 lb

Row- 115 lb

Overhead Press- 90 lb

Deadlift- 190 lb

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

11/21

Squat- 185 lb

Overhead Press- 95 lb

Deadlift- 195 lb

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

11/23

Squat 190

Bench 150

Row 120

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

11/27

Squat- 195 lb

Overhead Press- 100 lb (Boy were those last reps hard on sets 4 and 5. Thought I was going to have my first fail. Maybe next time!)

Deadlift- 205 lb

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

11/29

Squat- 200 lb

Bench- 155 lb

Row- 125 lb

Calf Raises (2x10)- 95 lb

Dips (BW)- 4-2-0

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

12/1

Squat- 205 lb

Overhead Press- 105 lb (I thought I struggled last time, I didn't know what struggling was. Fail next time!)

Deadlift- 215 lb

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

12/5

I have a wedding to attend Friday that my wife is in and we'll be leaving after work Wednesday, so I'm only going to be getting 1 weight lifting session in this week. Since the double workout worked well last time, I figured I'd try it again.

Overhead Press- 110lb 5-5-3, 195lb 5-5. I failed! After struggling last week I figured I'd move this to before squats to see if it would help not to kill myself on those first. It didn't, I failed hard on the third set. I'll try it again next time and if I don't get it I'll download to 100.

Squat- 210lb 5x5

Bench- 160lb 5x5

Row- 130lb 5x5

Dead Lift-225lb 1x5

Next week I'll be starting a 6 week challenge and reducing weight lifting to twice a week in order to focus on fat loss. Hopefully I'll be able to keep the gains I've had and even gain some more while losing minimum muscle during this cutting cycle. If it works out well I'll do another cutting cycle after. I want to be 235lb or lower by my March Phillies spring training trip.

I'm going to start keeping track of calories consumed and what percentage came from fat, protein, and carbs as well here. This will help me be more consistent in tracking and help me evaluate month to month. My goal is for protein to be above 30% and carbs to be below 30% on a daily basis. Today was 2836 kcal 45% fat, 39% protein, 16% carbs.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

12/8

Away for the weekend, so no weights. I jogged to the local park and I tried to give http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/03/10/angry-birds-workout-plan/ a try and liked it. Here are the stats:

Squats level 4, 2 stars, 60-30-25

Push ups level 3, 2 stars, 25-15-10

Back level 2 no stars, 5-4-4-4-3

Edit: Planks, level 2, 2 stars. I did it in two set, but bad form, hence the loss of a star.

I did the first 3 in the park. I suck at inverted rows, but the park made me even worse since I couldn't find a horizontal bar at the right height. I had to use a swing gripped as shown below and my grip was giving out way before my back. I may have made it to 1 star otherwise. I definitely like the work out and will keep doing it on day's that I can't get to the weights.

[Guest Snake McClain]

hey partner it looks like you're doing great and making some progress. I love this strength training stuff. Keep it at. can't wait to see your final results (whenever you deem them to be).

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

12/13

I had that wedding this weekend then I had a nasty cold, so I still haven't gotten my butt to the gym since last week, hopefully tomorrow, at the latest Thursday. To make up I've made sure to eat at a calorie deficit every day (except the wedding reception, that rocked. I may have worked it off "lighting up" the dance floor.). I did another Angry Birds Workout to do something, so here are the stats:

Squats level 4: 3 stars, 60-40

Push ups: level 3, 2 stars, 30-11-9

Back: level 2 (Inverted Rows) no stars, I tried these on the kitchen table and couldn't complete one. Maybe it's just that I'm tired, I did a bunch of these last week. I did a dozen or so negative pullups to make up for it.

Planks: It's late and I'm beat, time for bed. I'll do these tomorrow when i get home whether I go to the gym or not. Edit: Screw that, procrastinating is for pussies. Level 2, 2 stars 1:20 and 0:40. I could barely get to that, so I called it there.

Note to self: Working out while very tired sucks.

So I think one of the reasons my pushups have regressed (used to be able to do 3 sets in low 30's to high 20's) is because I've changed my form. I now try to keep my elbows in close to my body instead of flared out like when I am bench pressing, which makes them significantly harder. This focuses the exercise more on the triceps and my arm muscles have always been notoriously week compared to my other muscles. I'll keep doing them this way even though I get lower numbers since they tend to work my weak links this way. I do feel my form slip in the low 20's on that first set, so maybe that's where I'll pause next time.

[ETFnerd]

CoreyD, way to go on pushing though tiredness. I always have a voice in my head that talks to me when I get tired and want to quit. It keeps saying to my body: "YOU can't beat me, NOTHING that's thrown at me can stop me, NOBODY can stop me!". When I get through a tough workout it is especially satisfying because I know that I worked out not only my physical toughness, but also my mental toughness. My grit that overcomes all challenges, swallows them and sh!ts them whole.

Muhammed Ali once said that he doesn't start counting how many situps he does until he gets to the point where his body is telling him he can't do another one. Then he starts counting.

Sometimes it's a recipe for injury, but I decided to live 5% beyond my capability, and to make my home there. It's a tough balance, risk of injury against the reward of pushing your limits consistently and relentlessly. In order to live here, you have to clean house and make sure that things that can get in your way are cleared. Sleep, stress, professional and personal relationships. There's a lot that goes into this in my mind. That's why when I was younger I never understood or had the patience for yoga. Now I do.

Should I be taking medication for these voices in my head?

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Thanks ETF. If you end up having to take medication for the voices in your head, I should probably take some for telepathically taunting the barbell during my squats.

[Damzie]

Keep up the good work and I hope you get feeling better!

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Slowly but surely. I still have sniffles and wake up with a sore throat, but not enough to keep me from lifting heavy shit. I have my gym cloths today.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

12/14

Was planning on lifting today, but the wifey wasn't feeling well so we headed home, picked up a tree, and picked up Outback to go (6 oz special, extra serving of greens instead of potato). When I got home, I wanted to work out since I want to get in the habit of doing SOMETHING every day. So, deciding I wanted a bit of cardio along with a little muscular work, I did the following cycle for 10 times. This is a total of 100 pushups, 100 situp, and 200 body squats.

pushups x10

body squats x10

situps x10

body squats x10

I performed the cycle 5 times in a row nonstop, then 3 times, then 2 times. I'd like to know what the set-rep type terminology is for this if anyone knows.

Anyway, my body wanted me to quit after the 3rd cycle in the first set, but after reading ETF's quote from Ali saying how he didn't start counting reps until the first rep after his body told him he couldn't do anymore, I pushed for 2 repetitions of the cycle before stopping that set. This is the first time in my life I have ever pushed myself in a workout to the verge of puking, and I feel great about it.

I actually really ended up liking this workout and am going to keep it in my repertoire. Next time I'm going to aim to complete it in sets of 6-4. It REALLY got me sweating and out of breath.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Finally got to the gym on Friday and since I was going to have all weekend to recover instead of just 2 days and hadn't worked out all week, I did all 5 workouts.

12/16

Squat- 215 lb

Bench- 165 lb

Press- 110 lb 5-4-2, 95 x4

Row- 135 lb

Deadlift- 235 lb 5x1, 255 lb 5x1

So the squats were easier after the long break I had from lifting. I had been struggling on my later sets at the lighter weights before, but this wasn't too bad. I'm hoping to be able to hit my body weight before I stall on it.

Bench went fine, I am hoping to hit 200 before stalling.

Press pissed me off. I was hoping after the long break that I would be able to do 5x5 at this weight after failing last time, but I finished about the same reps as last time. At least I know it's not a recovery issue now. I waited a full 5 minutes between some of the sets, so I know it's not fatigue. I think I just need more work on them, so what I'm going to do is keep the progression I'm supposed to on 5x5 the days I have planed to do presses already, and on the other workout day do 5x3's at a higher weight to get more work in. I'll try that out today and see how it works.

Row went well, another lift that was easier after the break. I tried the other day and got 2 parallel bar pullups in a row. My doorways aren't wide enough to be able to use the normal pull up position, so these are what I have to settle for until I can figure out how to mount a wood strip above the one wide doorway I have so I can hang the bar there. Since I can do a few now, I'm going to start greasing the groove a bit and doing the pullups a few times a night. Once I can get to a set of 5, I'm going to work toward being able to do 5x5 then adding that into my routine.

Deadlift went great and continues to be be the lift I think I have the most time left in before stalling. I wasn't tired from the 235 lb 1x5, probably because I hadn't lifted in 10 days or so, so I went for slightly over my body weight and got it. I won't be moving right to the 255 for the workouts as I want to go with the linear progression and make sure my back is where it is supposed to be for lifting this amount, I'll hit it in 2 weeks anyway. the last thing I want to end up with is a back injury.

[chairohkey]

Press- 110 lb 5-4-2, 95 x4

Press pissed me off. I was hoping after the long break that I would be able to do 5x5 at this weight after failing last time, but I finished about the same reps as last time. At least I know it's not a recovery issue now. I waited a full 5 minutes between some of the sets, so I know it's not fatigue. I think I just need more work on them, so what I'm going to do is keep the progression I'm supposed to on 5x5 the days I have planed to do presses already, and on the other workout day do 5x3's at a higher weight to get more work in. I'll try that out today and see how it works.

Check your form against this article. From my own experience pressing form is more crucial to a sucessful lift then any of the other major ones.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

just finished reading it and my form is actually pretty darned good. My elbows might be slightly too forward, but that's about all I can see. I do have a little hitch once I get it past my head where the motion slows a bit as I get under the bar, but I'm working on that one.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

12/19

Squat-220 lb

Bench-170 lb

Row-140 lb

Press 5x3- 115 lb

Completed all the lifts. I think I like doing the 5x3 press on this day and will progress is separately from my press on the other day. As long as I don't run into shoulder recovery issues, I should be good. Squats and rows are starting to be challenging. on the bench I realized my grip was a little tight, so I widened it so that my forearms are vertical at the bottom and it made it much easier to control the barbell, and hence to press it. I'm gunning for 200 before stalling on that one.

I really wish I would have had a good program back when I played football in highschool. I think because of how hard it was to track, I really limited my strength gains. That kinda sucks because my strength was always one of my limited factors in being a lineman. I'm already hitting 5 rep PR's in squats and bench. I still have a bit to go before I hit PR's on deadlifts. Still, if I had these gains back in high school, I would have been a starter much sooner.

[scotticus]

Dude, these numbers are looking amazing! I may have to concede our PvP before it even begins...

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

They're getting up there, which is bad for me in terms of the pvp. I'm going to stall before you. Also, if we are going with the gains divided by weight, you have a big advantage being quite a bit lighter than me.

Now, if we were going with straight total weight lifted, yeah, I'd smash you at this point. That's expected though, I'm a bigger dude.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

12/22

Squat-225 lb, I got to use 4 big boy plates!

Press-110 lb, cake!

Deadlift- 245 lb, cake!

Squats are getting harder, but I should hit body weight before stalling. In bigger news, I finally got the 110 lb 5x5 press cleared, and without too much difficulty. I took Knightwatch's advise last workout and mixed that heavier 5x3 in and I think it really helped, so thanks for that one buddy.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

12/23

At my in-laws for the holidays, so it's angry birds again. Below is my progress, anything with stars is my progress from last time and will be updated as I complete it. I began with a half mile jog to the park for squats, pushups, and rows, but they got rid of the swings for the winter, so I'll have to do pull ups/negatives when I get back to the house since I did bring my pull up bar. Done squats and pushups, jogging a mile to Wawa for breakfast.

Squats (overhead) level 5: 2 stars, 50-30-30

Push ups: level 3, 2 stars, 25-15-10

Back: level 2 (Inverted Rows), did some jumping pullups and some negatives, no stars.

Planks: No stars, forgot to do them.