Big Show lifts things

[Big_Show]

The gyms have just reopened and I have a brand new training programme, so this seemed like the time to return to the boards!  And what's more, for the first time, as a Warrior!  I'm too heavy to run without injuring myself so not currently feeling too Ranger-y, and I figure reading more in this forum will help me find practical lifting tips & advice easier.

 

Since the beginning of July I have been working hard to log Every. Single. Damn. Calorie. and get my daily step target up to 7000, but being more concerned with the weekly amount/average rather than any one single day (within reason).  As such the lockdown weight has finally begun to stop going on, and actually start gradually dropping off.  Quite a relief.

 

Seeing as the Welshman & I took the decision to postpone our wedding for two years due to Covid-19 restrictions (no certainty restrictions would be lifted enough in order to have the day we want in 2021, plus all the good dates at our venue had already been taken next year), I now have a full two years to get into the kind of shape I want to be in for my wedding photos and that involves getting bigger & stronger, so I've decided to return to a primarily barbell-based way of training for a while.   It's quite a few years since I did this consistently, and the last four months have further deconditioned me, so I'm basically coming into this like a total beginner and tbh it feels incredibly liberating. Zero expectations.

 

I've been recording all my data in a spreadsheet running from Wednesday (the day I count my weigh-ins from to avoid any distortion due weekend shenanigans) through to Tuesday, so this where my weekly totals start and finish.  I'm sure it'll make more sense as I start recording it on here.

 

So my goals for this challenge are:

 

1) Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 Beginner programme three times a week - it was recommended to me by a mate from the gym and it looks like it meshes perfectly with my goals.  I like how it deliberately lowballs the training weights at first to ease you into it - that'll help with working hard on form at first.

 

2) Accumulate at least 49,000 steps for the week (7,000 daily)

 

3) Keep total calories to +/-1000 of my weekly calorie total (exact figure depends on my weight that week) - i.e. current daily target is 2634, so the goal is to be between 17,438 - 19,438 (2,491 - 2,777 daily)

 

LQ) Find a job - after being rejected from lots of places during lockdown, suddenly my area is opening up again and there are noticeably more job roles being advertised, so I'm very hopeful about finally getting off paid by someone other than the government for the first time since March.  Not gonna happen if I don't keep checking sites daily and getting the applications in, so that's plan.

This all looks achievable and based on principles that I've started proeprly following since the beginning of the month, so I'm excited to see what I can achieve over the next month!

 

I had a session at the gym yesterday morning to estimate my currents 1RMs, so the programme starts tomorrow with a Monday morning session!

[Sloth the Enduring]

[h3r0]

 

Welcome to the warriors! 

 

5/3/1 is a great program. You are going to have fun with it. 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

2 hours ago, Big_Show said:

2) Accumulate at least 35,000 steps for the week (7,000 daily)

 

I don't know if you are using metric weeks or what, but here in Murica the week is seven days long so 7k steps a day comes out to 49k per week.

 

 

Good luck finding a job and enjoy your foray with the Warriors.

 

 

Dammit Big Show.

[Sloth the Enduring]

Weekends off.

[Harriet]

Welcome to the guild, and have fun with 5/3/1! 

 

We want to hear about any and all PRs.

[Big_Show]

15 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I don't know if you are using metric weeks or what, but here in Murica the week is seven days long so 7k steps a day comes out to 49k per week.

 

 

Good luck finding a job and enjoy your foray with the Warriors.

 

 

Dammit Big Show.

 

12 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

Weekends off.

 

I wish that were the case - this is just a total maths* fail.  Editted and corrected... 😅

 

 

9 hours ago, Harriet said:

Welcome to the guild, and have fun with 5/3/1! 

 

We want to hear about any and all PRs.

 

Thanks!  I think it'll be a fair while until I hit any of them but I promise to shout from the rooftops when I finally do 😀

 

 

A quick update to show where my stats currently are for this week so far:

Weight: 120.2kg

Sunday steps: 7145 (9962 over target for the week)

Sunday calories: 2575 (1812 over target for the week) - we got a bit carried away on Saturday night this week, but I'll compensate for this over the net few days.

 

This morning I went to the gym for my first day of Beginner 5/3/1.  Very pleased to see only one other person in there (which seems likely at 9am on a Monday anyway), so I got on with my workout in peace.

 

Squats seemed good. The work sets were:

52.5kg x5

60kg x5

67.6kg x5+ (I did 7)

I'm really concentrating on my form right now, so I'm glad it started off so light. 

 

Bench press felt very light as well.  The work sets were:

35kg x 5

40kg x 5

47.5kg x5+ (I did 8).

 

Then I used the hack squat machine for my assistance work.  Nice & simple - 5x10 @ 40kg (no idea how heavy the actual sled is), and that was enough to have my quads burning by the end of the sets!

 

Workout lasted 50mins, and probably a good 10mins of that was wiping down all the equipment before and after use.

 

Back on Wednesday for my first go at the Deadlift/OHP workout - for the accessory exercise at the end of this I'm think of doing 5x10 bent-over DB rows.  I want to eventually get to doing chin-ups, but I'm well off that right now and my gym doesn't have any assisted machines or bands, so I figure I might as well start with some back work while I shed some weight.

 

 

*we have more than one of them over here

[h3r0]

Very nice workout! 

[Scaly Freak]

Well, I was going to rejoin the warriors for this challenge period, but if there's going to be lots of threads about gym access, while I still can't go to mine, I may have to reconsider...

 

Nah, not really. Congratulations on reuniting with the barbells, and welcome to the Warrior Guild!  

[miss_marissa]

19 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I don't know if you are using metric weeks or what, but here in Murica the week is seven days long so 7k steps a day comes out to 49k per week.

 

I'm laughing so hard. 😂 Well done Tank.

 

Glad you decided to go Warriors! without me even prodding you at all DB row is a good choice for the accessory on deadlift day!

[Big_Show]

37 minutes ago, miss_marissa said:

 

Glad you decided to go Warriors! without me even prodding you at all DB row is a good choice for the accessory on deadlift day!

 

Cheers, now I just need to decide what to go for on the third workout to follow the 5/3/1 Bench and Squat - part of me wants to just Bro out with a tonne of bicep curls, but I can't help thinking there would be a more productive option somewhere else...

[h3r0]

BB Rows go well with bench press. Or you can get your bro on with curls and /or close grip bench. Tickets to the gun show. 

[Big_Show]

17 hours ago, h3r0 said:

BB Rows go well with bench press. Or you can get your bro on with curls and /or close grip bench. Tickets to the gun show. 

 

Cheers for the tip, I've never tried them with a barbell before so I'll look into it 👍

 

Update for the week so far:

Weight: 119.8.kg - tomorrow is offical weigh-in day so at the moment I'm feeling tentatively confident for it.

Sunday steps: 6442 (9404 over target for the week) - we got out for a walk at lunchtime, then every time I went to head out again to top my daily total up it started raining.  Eventually I took the hint and gave up.  Today's sunnier so I'll do a few more to compensate (even though I'm over-target anyway).

Sunday calories: 2232 (1410 over target for the week) - was very tempted to have a cheeky drink last night, but after one rum I stopped and went back on to the tea.  Decided I just wanted a different taste instead and would rather keep my calorie total a bit lower instead.  Need another day like that to get my weekly target back under total, so gonna do my best to stay focussed.

 

This morning I've been on the exercise bike for 30mins as my non-lifting day cardio, so that's out of the way now.  Gonna attack the Excel course I've been studying to try and get a fair bit out of the way, do my regular daily trawl of the job sites at lunchtime, go for a walk, and then plan out next week's menu and shopping list ahead of the big weekly shop tomorrow (I'm still doing one big weekly shop for us and also my parents to avoid them having to go to the supermarket as Mum works in a care home so we're trying to shield her as much as possible).

 

Also very much looking forward to making my bacon & eggs for breakfast in an hour or so - I've found having a protein-rich breakfast as late morning as possible has definitely helped me keep calories on target for the rest of the day.

 

Right, time to crack on!

[Endor]

Big and strong like king kong!  Sorry to hear you had to postpone but at least you get lots of prep time. Following.

[Big_Show]

11 minutes ago, Endor said:

Big and strong like king kong!  Sorry to hear you had to postpone but at least you get lots of prep time. Following.

 

Cheers mate, good to have you along.  You got a thread going anywhere atm?  Not been on the boards regularly for a while so I keep losing track of where people are these days.

[miss_marissa]

4 hours ago, Big_Show said:

 

Also very much looking forward to making my bacon & eggs for breakfast in an hour or so - I've found having a protein-rich breakfast as late morning as possible has definitely helped me keep calories on target for the rest of the day.

American  bacon? 😉

[Big_Show]

1 hour ago, miss_marissa said:

American  bacon? 😉

 

Nah, I was in the mood for actual food 😉

[AgentsSka]

11 minutes ago, Big_Show said:

 

Nah, I was in the mood for actual food 😉

 

Whoa!!

 

[h3r0]

3 hours ago, miss_marissa said:

American  bacon? 😉

 

Metric Bacon

[Endor]

4 hours ago, Big_Show said:

 

Cheers mate, good to have you along.  You got a thread going anywhere atm?  Not been on the boards regularly for a while so I keep losing track of where people are these days.

I haven't been on for a few months,  might do the next challenge. Will tag you if i do! 

[GodzillaKong]

Came for the challenge, staying for the Excel and what looks like someone from the right side of the pond! 😁

[Big_Show]

Tuesday update:

Tuesday steps: 9004 - went out later on in the afternoon for another two mile walk while listening to a podcast, which nicely topped my total up for the day.

Tuesday calories: 2421  - nicely below target for the day, which took a bit more from my weekly average.

 

This left my weekly results as 11,408 steps over my target (awesome), and my calories as 1,197 over target for the week (wanted to be within 1000 but it's still close).

 

Wednesday's where I've been taking my weekly weights from, and today scales put me at 118.9kg which I'm very pleased about - here's a graph of my progress so far since my respawn on 1st July:

 

 

So from here on out just need to carry on with what I've been doing!  My calorie target for the next week is decreased accordingly to 2619 , and I'm keeping my step target at 7,000.

 

This morning started with the weekly shopping trip - very glad to see everybody wearing masks and nobody kicking up a fuss.  Dropped my parents' shopping round to them, put ours away, had a quick coffee, then got changed and headed straight to the gym for my first go through Workout 2.

 

Deadlifts seemed really light, so I concentrated on getting my form right so it becomes more automatic when things get heavier. The work sets were:

60kg x5

70kg x5

80kg x5+ (I did 10)

 

Overhead press felt very light at first, but the last set was definitely hard work.  This figures as my shoulders have always been even weaker than the rest of me! 😆 The work sets were:

27.5kg x 5

30kg x 5

35kg x5+ (I did 7).

 

Then I had a go at the bent-over DB rows - I clearly picked too light a weight, as 5x10 @ 12.5kg felt too easy by the end of it.  Higher weights next week!  And it gives me a good starting point for the BB rows on Friday I guess.

 

Other than that, been for a walk with the Welshman at lunchtime and planning on heading out again later on to top my steps up again.  Applied for several more jobs over the last few days and still waiting to hear back about the interview I had last week, so there's things bubbling away on that front to still.

[Harriet]

Nice job. I'm so envious of that barbell workout. So gyms are open where you are? Are they comparatively empty or how are they managing? 

[Big_Show]

12 minutes ago, Harriet said:

Nice job. I'm so envious of that barbell workout. So gyms are open where you are? Are they comparatively empty or how are they managing? 

 

Mine's a little family-owned one on a trading estate in a small town, and two-thirds of the membership left during lockdown so it's quiet even compared to normal right now.  There were two of us there on Monday morning and only me today, although admittedly I have only been there so far when most people would be at work.

[Scaly Freak]

41 minutes ago, Big_Show said:

 

Mine's a little family-owned one on a trading estate in a small town, and two-thirds of the membership left during lockdown so it's quiet even compared to normal right now.  There were two of us there on Monday morning and only me today, although admittedly I have only been there so far when most people would be at work.

 

That's the best time to go to the gym, especially right now.

 

I miss the barbells so very much.