On My Way To The Top - Aldric

[Aldric]

All right! Here we go! First challenge ever for me and I'm quite excited!

 

My goals are:

 

0. Get a full medical checkup done (including bodyfat percentage, cholesterol, ... everything) and talk to a doctor about the paleo diet and the exercise routine I will be going through for the next couple of months. This is not really a goal but I feel I need to check with a medical professional before I do all this stuff.

 

1.  Stick with Starting Strength for the entire challenge --> work out 3 times a week. Actually use the rest days for RESTING!!! (18 Days = 100%, from there I will go down percentage wise and grade myself that way) 3Str./2Sta.

2. Do one pull up (can’t do a single one yet…) (This is a do or don't - If I do it, it is completed otherwise it's not!) 2Str./1Sta.

3. Keep eating primal (need to introduce cheese and milk again to get enough calories) with as few cheat days as possible (42 Days = 100%, from there I will go down percentage wise and grade myself that way) 2Wis./2Cha.

4. Work my butt of for my geohydro - modeling class exam on the 11. February. (If I pass, I pass the goal!) 3Wis.

 

To start off here are my measurements from my daily battle log (where I will not be posting for the remainder of the challenge, since I'm posting everything here!)

                                                

Size: 187cm

Weight: 84,7kg

Chest: 101cm

Waist: 92cm

Neck: 41cm

BMI: 24,3

Body fat: 18% (US Navy Calculator, I don't think it's very accurate...)

[sylph]

Good luck! Smart move on the checkup, methinks. Should give you some peace of mind. Don't freak out if your doctor tells you not to squat because it's "bad for your knees"

[Caution]

Good luck on the challenge! I use a body fat caliper which is fairly accurate, plus it is only 10 bucks.

[Aldric]

Thanks you two! I actually already ordered one should be here any day now. Once I have it I will hopefully do some more accurate measurements.

[Panczo]

Good luck on the challenge! I use a body fat caliper which is fairly accurate, plus it is only 10 bucks.

 

Agree, I use similar. First few measurements were tricky, but once you learn to do it in a consistent manner, it will give you valuable data, much more important than just weight IMHO.

 

What is your plan with training progression for this pull up goal? I think Steve had one on his blog. I also recommend you to check on mark daily apple for making up your own progression.

 

Great goals, good luck!

[Aldric]

I figured I would stick to the Starting Strength plan and build up strenght through the six weeks and toward the end focus more on the pull up. Still not sure how exactly, but I will figure something out since I WANT to do at least one!

[Aldric]

Alright todays workout consisted of squads, bench and the deadlift.

 

Squat: 45kg 3x5

Bench: 56kg 3x5

Deadlift: 55kg 1x5

 

It was a good good workout, but the gym was packed to the brim, as it usually is around january... -.-

 

Still have not cheated on any meals and I don't really crave anything I used to eat. Feeling excellent and still motivated!

[katscratch]

Yay first challenge!!  And you're off to an awesome start!!  

 

I have a friend named Aldric  

 

Oooh medical checkup, that's a great goal.  Something I put off every year, ha.  I was pleasantly surprised that my (disclaimer: internal med, so has more nutrition info than most) doc gave me the go-ahead for ultra-low-carb (i.e. paleo) diet -- all my numbers are A-Ok and she thinks it would be beneficial for me to go more paleo (I still eat dairy, sooo hard to get my calories in without it).  So putting off my appointment was not as warranted as I feared!

 

Let us know if you need anything!

[Aldric]

thank you very much katscratch!

 

I still need to make the appointment, gonna do it today or tomorrow.

 

I do have a small problem though... It seems that I'm not competent enough to measure my own body fat percentage with this caliper thing. Is there some sort of special trick to it? When I do it is tells me that my body fat percentage is around 13%. And that is most likely not the case!

[Caution]

I do have a small problem though... It seems that I'm not competent enough to measure my own body fat percentage with this caliper thing. Is there some sort of special trick to it? When I do it is tells me that my body fat percentage is around 13%. And that is most likely not the case!

 

Take about a 2-3" width starting pinch then squeeze. 

Here are some videos to check out that may help: 

 

[Aldric]

@ Athena Yes, I thought so too. I love the deadlift btw! Such an awesome exercise. Ha... seems like I'm not that well prepared as I thought I am... Oh well, I changed the goal to 18 days for 100% that should get me on the right track. And I also changed the stat points, thank you very much for pointing that out to me! I must have missed that part...

 

@ Caution Thanks those are sure going to help me tomorrow, I will try and get some good measurements. I took the old ones on the 4th so it's been a week.

 

Today's workout consisted of Squad, Overhead Press and Deadlift.

Squat: 47,5kg 3x5

Overhead Press: 30kg 3x5

Deadlift: 57,5kg 1x5

 

I am still able to go up linear on the weight and hope this will continue for a while!

[Aldric]

Thank you for pointing that out to me as well! I'm from Germany and we call it "Kniebeuge" that I can spell correctly!

[Aldric]

awesome lifting session today!

 

squat: 50kg 3x5

bench: 57,5kg 3x5

deadlift: 60kg 1x5

 

I took the new measurements this morning but I just don't think I'm all that consistent doing it at this point. I will keep on doing them once a week under the same circumstances and hopefully get some practice in that area.

 

Size: 187cm

Weight: 84,4kg

Chest: 103,5cm

Waist: 88,5cm

Neck: 40cm

BMI: 24,1

Body fat: 16% (US Navy Calculator) / 11% Caliper (now that is completely not true!!! I did it exactly like they did in the first video and used their calculator but I don't have a caliper thingy that snaps into place like theirs. I have to press it down and hold it, so that might be the problem here...)

[Panczo]

Body fat: 16% (US Navy Calculator) / 11% Caliper (now that is completely not true!!! I did it exactly like they did in the first video and used their calculator but I don't have a caliper thingy that snaps into place like theirs. I have to press it down and hold it, so that might be the problem here...)

 

check out this site: http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

 

I use it for more than a year now. It has diferent formulas for u to choose (I use the most common JP/3 for men). They also have cool videos and pics on how to measure those spots.

 

it takes time to get good practice. Dont stop, measure once in a week and u will be fine.

IMHO it doesn't really matter what is your BF% but as long as u track it constantly with the same equipment and formula u will see THE CHANGES OF IT - and that is what really matters - IMHO of course

[Aldric]

I have two more workouts under my belt since the last post.

 

Todays weights were:

 

Squat: 55kg 3x5

Bench: 61kg 3x5

Deadlift: 65kg 1x5

 

I feel like all exercises might come to a halt very soon, except the deadlift which I feel can go a lot higher! But we will see.

 

Today was the first time I ate in a restaurant (yes all other meals so far have been prepared by myself - I always loved cooking!) and I of course ordered something wrong... I had the "Gulasch" and requested to have it without the potatoes but I didn't think about the sauce. I was pretty thick and probably full of starch and stuff like that... Oh well lesson learned, I need to think more about the food I order.

 

Tomorrow morning I have an appointment to get some blood drawn for my blood work. It might take a while to be analyzed but I will post the results as soon as I get them... Let's find out if I'm healthy^^

[Aldric]

Yesterday's workout (the last weight training for the week):

 

Squat: 57,5kg 3x5

OHP: 35kg 3x5

DLift: 67,5kg 1x5

 

Assisted Pullups: 6x at -20kg of Bodyweight, 2x at -10kg of BW, 2x at -10kg of BW  My triceps is killing me... Oh boy! But I think with me resting till tuesday (except for a short sprint workout tomorrow) I'll be fine and actually think I might just be able to do a non assisted pullup at the end of the challenge.

 

Still eating amazing food and still keeping it Primal. I switched to more organic eggs today. Since I'm a college student and don't really have a ton of money I try to get everything as organic and free of "bad stuff" as possible but it's pretty hard...

[Aldric]

All right. I'm completely healthy! At least that's what my doctor says. She even compared my bloodwork with a win in the lottery!  

 

Here is a short snippet of it.

GGT 11U/L
Cholesterol 134mg/dl
Triglycerides 36mg/dl
HDL 51mg/dl
LDL 57mg/dl
Creatinine 0,9mg/dl
 

The workouts are coming along nicely and Today I was still able to advance everything up 2,5kg again.

 

Squat: 60kg 3x5

Bench: 62,5kg 3x5

DLift: 70kg 3x5

 

Food wise I'm still going strong and my studying is starting to get serious. I also am going to incorporate some assisted pull-ups into the workout starting the day after tomorrow. Which will also be the first day of me wearing my ne vibrams to the gym. Just got them in the mail today!^^

[katscratch]

Wow, yay for winning the health lottery

 

Last summer I got my eggs from my coworker's chickens- it was UNBELIEVABLE how much better they tasted!  And the yolks were sooo dark.  Mmmmmmmm

 

Great progress!  

[Aldric]

Thank you!

 

Here is where I'm at currently.

 

Squat: 70kg 3x5

Benchpress: 65kg 3x5

OHPress: 37,5 kg 3x5

Deadlift: 80kg 1x5

 

The Deadlift seems to be the only one where I should be able to put on more for now next time. Doing and feeling awesome! Hope you guys are as well!

[Panczo]

2. Do one pull up (can’t do a single one yet…) (This is a do or don't - If I do it, it is completed otherwise it's not!) 2Str./1Sta.

 

 

 

Assisted Pullups: 6x at -20kg of Bodyweight, 2x at -10kg of BW, 2x at -10kg of BW  My triceps is killing me... Oh boy! But I think with me resting till tuesday (except for a short sprint workout tomorrow) I'll be fine and actually think I might just be able to do a non assisted pullup at the end of the challenge.

 

triceps are killing u after pullups? No way man, just NO WAY. I mean u work your biceps not triceps during pull ups right? Or I should just get back to basics again

 

Here is where I'm at currently.

 

Squat: 70kg 3x5

Benchpress: 65kg 3x5

OHPress: 37,5 kg 3x5

Deadlift: 80kg 1x5

 

I am thinking two things reading this:

1. Dude these are some GREAT numbers to lift. I really do mean that. I wish I could lift like that.
2. How the hell can you lift all these weights, yet not being able to do a pull up? I can benchpress 1x1 max 50kg (yes I tried) and ohpress 22kg 4x5 and deadlift 30kg 3x8, yet I can do about 5-6 good pullups.
3. So am I inbalance in favor of pull muscles or u are inbalance in favor of all the muscle exept pull?

 

I don't know, just thinking at loud.

[Panczo]

Triceps do get sore after pullups, and even after chin-ups, depending on what's the weakest link!

 

I think, Panczo, that you might be getting chin-ups and pull-ups confused. Pull-ups are where you've got a wide grip, and you're looking at the backs of your hands, the palms facing away from you. You use your back muscles and triceps more in pull-ups. Chin-ups has a close grip, and the palms of your hands face towards you. Chin-ups utilise the biceps much more than pull-ups.

 

2. Do you do chin-ups or pull-ups? Chin-ups are a bit easier. See how many pull-ups you can do. And in regards to Aldric, I reckon he shouldn't be far off getting a chin/pull-up - maybe he just needs a little more back/triceps strength?? Or he might be heavier than you are. Bodyweight makes a big difference for pull-ups.

 

Athena: U are absolutely right about BW and pull up difficulty. I didn't take that into acount writing my post.

 

Ok, lets make this one clear: http://cdn.stronglifts.com/wp-content/uploads/pull-ups-vs-chin-ups.jpg

 

Left guy: Pull Up

Right Guy: Chin Up

 

Right?

I wil assume that I got this right so lets move on...

 

Ok I am absolutely no expert so please SCREAM AT ME IF I AM WRONG but I believe that pulling exercises dont work triceps - u use biceps to bend your arm in elbows (going up in pullup) and then u still use your biceps to control ecentric part of the movement (going down in pull up). In what way do triceps work in this movement? After all they are responsible for straightening your arm under load - in pull ups/chin ups u have gravity to do that. All u have to do is to use your biceps to work against that evil force.

 

Saying that pull ups works your triceps is like saying that curls with overhand grip works your triceps. I hope they don't.

The grip u use, change a bit tension distribution between biceps and lats but dosen't involve triceps anyway. I agree that chins work biceps more and pull ups work lats more.

 

I just wanna add one thing: yes I believe pulling your own body is complex movement and it might involve some tricep work as stabilizer for elbow but that is it - it dosen't pull your body up nor it control your rate of going down in the movement. I am not sure if this is true about this stabilizing, but even if it is - I dont think it can cause DOMS

 

right or wrong?

[Panczo]

Your pic is correct.

 

I don't know in what ways triceps work in pull-ups. All I know is that sometimes mine hurt after doing them. So LMGTFY.

 

Here you go, triceps are stabilizer muscles when doing pull-ups. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ridgely9.htm

 

And IMO, anything can cause DOMS if the muscle gets worked hard and it's not used to it. But I could be wrong, there. *shrug*

 

Agree then

[Aldric]

Oh wow! Thank you for all those comments!

 

I'm still pretty heavy (currently at 81kg, yes I lost a total of 11,2kg since I started!!!)  so that might be the major factor in the pull up area.

 

I'm still adding weight to the deadlift but not the squat. It seems I can't get over the 70kg on that one... Next time I'm in the gym (on Saturday) I will attempt to lift 90kg on the deadlift. Very excited for that!

 

I currently do quite a few assisted chin ups after the main workout. Today I did 9-7-6 with minus 10kg to my bodyweight. They are far easier than pull ups but I will start doing those
after I can do 10 continuous chin ups with the minus 10kg. So I shouldn't be that far from the pull up goal.

[Aldric]

Today was the last workout of this challenge and I did not miss a single one of them!

Very proud o that!

 

Squat: 75kg 3x5

OHP: 37,5kg 3x5 (don't know whats going on, but I can't do more...)

Deadlift: 97,5kg 1x5

 

On monday I will attempt the pullup but I'm not sure if I
can make it. I put a lot of time into the assisted ones but I don't
think it's quite the same. We will see.

 

On tuesday I will lift 100kg with the deadlift, I CAN'T WAIT!!!

[Panczo]

great job man with all these weights.

 

Now go and kick this pullup !!!