Keeping the tenacious in tenaciousglee

[tenaciousglee]

In thinking through my goals for my 5th challenge, I couldn't help but revisit my first four challenges and see where I succeeded and where I fell short.  I realized there are some goals that I didn't achieve, but I don't want to just drop them in the name of trying something new.  So I'm starting this Battle Log to track my goals across challenges and have a central location to see how I'm doing.

 

Level 1: [Grade: Incomplete]

1. Gain 5 pounds (started at 163.2 #, ended at 161#, ultimate goal is 175#)

2. Get my chest measurement to be bigger than my hip measurement (38.25" and 39") by finishing the Dumbbell Division Rank One (no change)

3. Start working on Handstand Push Ups (didn't start - not really ready)

4. Learn 2 complete songs on the banjo (1 song)

 

Level 2: [Grade: A]

1. Lift 3 days a week, mixing it up with a dumbbell day, a bodyweight day, and a sandbag day.

2. Burn some fat by Running, Sprinting, HIIT, or Tabata 2 days a week. (Lost 1" on belly and 1.25" on waist.)

3. Drink six 8-ounce glasses of water a day.

4. Finish reading "Becoming Your Spouse's Better Half" by Rick Johnson and take my wife on at least 4 date nights

 

Level 3: 

1. Double my pull-ups and chin-ups (10 and 8 to 20 and 15) (got to 13 pull-ups and 12 chin-ups)

2. Drop an inch from my midsection using the "6 Minute Abs" routine from The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss and a modified version of his "Slow Carb Diet". (dropped 1/2")

3. 4 sets of 20 push ups and 4 sets of 20 decline pushups (100% achieved)

4. Limit my iPhone distraction time and don't check it while driving (some progress)

 

Level 4: [Grade: C]

1. Conquer the Handstand Push Up (completed 1 HSPU)

2. Conquer soda (Grade: C)

3. Conquer the gun show (add some inches to my arms) (no increase - failed to follow through with Eat Big Lift Big mentality)

4. Conquer the clutter (email inboxes, desk at home, and bedside table) (progress on inboxes only)

 

Level 5:

1. Create a meal plan to put on some pounds

2. Compile all my existing fitness and exercise data into a spreadsheet/app for easier tracking

3. Unidentified Fitness Objective

4. Practice banjo and upright bass at least 20 minutes each 2 times a week

 

Level 6:

1. Lose 3 inches from around my waist

2. Exercise 5 days a week

3. Lay out clothes and make lunch every night before work

4. Read every blog post on NerdFitness.com

 

Level 7:

1. Lose 2 inches from around my waist

2. Complete Rank One of the Barbell Battalion using sandbags

3. Do at least one yoga/flexibility/mobility workout each week

4. Organize desk and maintain organization system for mail at home

 

Level 8:

1. Gain 6 pounds

2. Sleep 7 hours a night

3. Perform 'Becoming Bulletproof' resets 7 days a week

4. Knock out half of my honey-do list (5 out of 10 items)

 

Level 9:

1. Gain 10 pounds

2. Balance/Core workouts 3x/week

3. 5 sets of 10 pull-ups in one workout

4. Tame the iPhone addiction

 

Level 10:

1. Get to 32" waist, 15% body fat (intermittent fasting)

2. Add inches to arms, chest, shoulders

3. Cut back on sweets

4. Practice upright bass 1 hour/week 

 

Level 11:

1. Progressive overload on 4 "marriage" lifts (242 method)

2. Eat at maintenance

3. Get a total of 300 hours of sleep over 6 weeks

4. Track lifting, eating, and sleeping and compile with historical data

 

Level 11.5:

1. Follow the prescribed workouts in Phase 1 of Engineering the Alpha, 4 days a week

 

Level 12:

1. At least 1 set of bodyweight exercises every day for 31 days

2. Complete Prime and Adapt phases of Engineering the Alpha

3. Track calories and macros 5 days/week & use 16/8 intermittent fasting

4. 3 GeekDad activities with the kids

 

Level 13:

1. Weigh more at the end of the challenge than I did at the start

2. Have a lower body fat percentage at the end of the challenge than I did at the start

3. Do some accessory exercises 3 times a week

4. Break my iPhone addiction

 

Level 14:

1a. Eat 100 grams protein per day

1b. Eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day

2a. Finish reading A Praying Life by Paul Miller

2b. Pray for 10 minutes every day 

3a. Progressive progress on dumbbell bench press

3b. 30 second frog stand hold 

3c. Progress on Pistol Squats

 

Level 15:

1. At least one good form one-armed push-up with each arm

2. Run 2.5 miles in 20 minutes

3. Reduce my belly measurement to below 35"

4. Finish reading 3 books

 

Level 16:

1. 3 sets of 20 uneven push-ups

2. 5 days a week of 16/8 intermittent fasting

3. Earn Dad points - do something the kids want to do

4. 5 couch dates with my wife

 

Level 17:

1a. Finish reading Body By Science

1b. One BBS Big Five workout a week

1c. One accessory workout a week

2. Bodyweight Skill work

3. Work up to 12 cups of water a day

4. Family Time

 

Level 18:

1. 15 workouts from the New High Intensity Training

2. Eat 300-500 calories above maintenance every day

3. Progress photo collage

4. Play guitar, bass, or banjo 1 hour a week

 

Level 19:

1. Analyze fitness data

2. Weighted dips - go from 3x5x5# to 3x5x30#

3. Daily weight gain shake + creatine + 6 cups of water a day

4. Hollow body hold practice 3 days a week

 

Level 20:

1. Daily posture exercises

2. Walk 30,000 steps per week

3a. Eat 500 extra calories per day

3b. Continue to analyze historical fitness data

4.  Write down 1 daily positive

 

Level 21:

1. Lose 2" from midsection

2. 5x5x95# OHP

3. Watch ANW 1x/week

4. Practice banjo 30 min/week

 

Level 22:

1. Increase weight on 6 key lifts (1-2 lbs per week)

2. Test drive at least 3 different workouts

3. Lose 5 pounds

4. Increase deep sleep

 

Level 23:

1. Progress towards Pistol Squats

2. Do calf raises 3 times/day

3. Eat 120 grams of protein a day

4. Have 2 date nights and 2 guys nights

 

Level 24:

1. Consistent strength gains on "marriage" lifts

2. Consistent progress on bodyweight skills

3. Maintain (or decrease) weight and midsection measurement

4. Average 7 hours of sleep a night

 

Level 25:

1. Add 10# to my sandbag floor press

2. Hit 3 sets of 6 reps of seated pistol squats for each leg

3. Eat at a 250 calorie surplus each day

4. No phone time from 6-9 PM each day

 

Level 26:

1. Eat 1 pound of meat a day

2. Before Bed Benjamins

3. 1 Dedicated Chest Day a week

4. Finish reading DVRT book

 

Level 27:

1. 242 Method - 8 workouts

2. DVRT - 4 USB workouts

3. Kinobody Intermittent Fasting

4. Beast Skills - Pistol Squats and One Arm Push-ups

[jimmie65]

This is a great idea. I need to use my battlelog like this.

[tenaciousglee]

Added Levels 6 and 7 to original post. Need to come back and update how I'm doing on the habits I've formed.

[tenaciousglee]

I'm bored and have nothing to update in my challenge thread, so I thought I might start logging my strongest lifts to have a central place to look back at them.

 

Deadlift 160# 5RM

Back Squat 135# 1RM

Front Squat 70# 5x5

Push Press 85# 5RM

Overhead Press 65# 3x5

Bent Over Row 65# 5x5

Floor Press 90# 6RM

[tenaciousglee]

Bent Over Row 5x5x75# today

[tenaciousglee]

Front Squat 5x5x75#

Bent Over Row 5x5x80#

[tenaciousglee]

Front Squat 5x5x85# 

Bent Over Row 5x5x85#

[tenaciousglee]

PRs this week!

Front/Zercher Squat 5x5x100#

Overhead Press 5x5x70#

Bent Over Row 5x5x90#

[tenaciousglee]

The nice thing about Strong Lifts 5x5 is constant PRs!

 

This week's PRs:

Deadlift 1x5x170# (but it wasn't pretty)

Front/Zercher Squat 5x5x120#

Overhead Press 2x5x85#

Bent Over Row 5x5x105#

[tenaciousglee]

I didn't have this listed above, but this morning I did Incline Bench Press for 8 reps at 100#.  If it's not a PR, it's at least a defined starting point.

[tenaciousglee]

Added Levels 9 and 10 to original post.

 

Also did Incline Bench Press - 8x115# this morning and had a 5x190# deadlift on Monday.

[tenaciousglee]

This week's PR's

 

Deadlift - 5x200#

OHP - 8x85#

[tenaciousglee]

THE SUMMER OF STRONG

June - August 2014

 

Re-booting the Daily Battle Log!

 

After 14 six week challenges, I have noticed a pattern of losing focus/motivation after 3-4 weeks.  So, I'm taking a break from the 6WC this summer to try my own month-long challenges.  I'll set goals for June, July, and August and I should wrap up about the same time as the August-September 6WC.  My theme for the 3 challenges is Summer of Strong.  While my long term goal has been and continues to be packing on muscle, after reading Waldo's post on bulking, I've decided I'm not strong enough to start a true bulk yet.  He has some standards listed on his site for basic levels of strength using bodyweight, so I'm going to try and focus on those this summer.

 

5 pull-ups (already there, currently can do 10+)

1 one-armed push-up each arm

60 second wall handstand (currently can do 30 seconds pretty easily)

5 pistol squats each leg 

15 second hanging leg raise hold (currently a sloppy 5 seconds)

 

Here are my goals for June:

1. Finish 45 days of PLP (currently on Day 17)

2. Continue progress on Handstand Push-ups (will work on Dumbbell Overhead Press and wall handstands)

3. Continue progress on Pistol Squats (Dedicated day on Friday, will work in negatives and assisted practice throughout the week)

4. Try a scaled-down version of GOMAD (I know this is a bulking method, but I've been curious about it for a while and just want to give it a try)

 

Workout Plan

PLPV - every day (I added in V-ups for core work)

Monday - Dumbbell Strength Day

Wednesday - Skills/Conditioning: work on some holds and do a 20-minute run

Friday - lighter weight circuit work with bodyweight and dumbbells

[tenaciousglee]

Summer of Strong - Day Two

 

Dumbbell Strength Day

Incline Bench Press - 3x8x100#

Bulgarian Split Squat - 3x5x50# each leg

Hanging Leg Raise Hold - 5 sec, 6 sec, 5 sec

DB Clean and Press - 3x6x50#

[tenaciousglee]

Summer of Strong - Day 4

PLP day 19
Pull-ups - 10,6,3
Lunges - 10,9
Push-ups - 10,9
V-ups - 10,9

30 second wall handstand

20 min run - 2.13 miles

[tenaciousglee]

Summer of Strong - Day 5

 

PLP day 20

Pull-ups - 10,10

Lunges - 10,10

Push-ups - 10,10

V-ups - 10,10

 

Got a copy of the new C-MASS e-book on adding muscle mass using calisthenics last night.  Hopefully it will provide some tips to level up my training.

[tenaciousglee]

Summer of Strong - Day 6

 

PLP Day 21

Pull-ups - 7,7,7

Lunges - 7,7,7

Push-ups - 7,7,7

V-ups - 7,7,7

 

The nice thing about PLP is that even if I stay up late the night before and chose sleep over my scheduled workout, I can still bust out a mini-workout in 10 minutes.

[TheCrimsonFist]

4. Try a scaled-down version of GOMAD (I know this is a bulking method, but I've been curious about it for a while and just want to give it a try)

 

I know some guys who have had good success with LOMAD (liter instead of a gallon). I think really just adding any increased amount of dairy to your diet will help tremendously with caloric intake and therefore with gainzzz

[tenaciousglee]

I know some guys who have had good success with LOMAD (liter instead of a gallon). I think really just adding any increased amount of dairy to your diet will help tremendously with caloric intake and therefore with gainzzz

 

Yeah, my goal is HGOMAD3DAW.  Half gallon of milk a day 3 days a week.  I hit it on Monday and then missed on Wednesday.  Will try again today.  Of course, that only works out to 1.5 gallons a week as opposed to the Rx'd 7 gallons a week.  Hopefully it's like you said, any increase will have some benefit.

 

Edit:  I just looked up how many cups are in a liter.  I could totally do 4 cups a day.

[TheCrimsonFist]

Bear in mind, the amount is going to be entirely dependent on your needs, so experiment with different quantities for a while if you need to. In my opinion, GOMAD is way overkill, but I think that is by design. It's impossible to not get enough calories if you're eating decently and then throwing a whole jug of milk on top of it. But finding your minimum effective dosage would probably be a wiser decision in the long-term

[QuirkyDM]

The nice thing about PLP is that even if I stay up late the night before and chose sleep over my scheduled workout, I can still bust out a mini-workout in 10 minutes.

I agree. I'm just starting PLP, but there's never an issue of time. You can do it pretty much anywhere, anytime and it only takes a few minutes. I have to think it has a lot of potential for carrying through to 60 days, or at least for a long time, because of the ease and simplicity of it.

 

Hmmm, maybe I should add some core work in to my PLP, too.

 

Keep up the good work.

[Phayze]

I think GOMAD would wreck my guts, but that's just me. Dairy and I have... history best left untold. The CF is right, I think, and it would be worth some experimenting to find your minimum effective dose. Cheaper, too, but then it's not like milk is pricey if you don't mind walking past the organic stuff.

Looks like a solid plan. Looking forward to seeing where it takes you!

[tenaciousglee]

Actually, my trick with GOMAD is lactose-free milk. I had 8 cups on Monday with no ill effects.

[tenaciousglee]

Summer of Strong - Day 9

 

PLP - Day 24

Pull-ups - 10, 10, 4

Lunges - 10, 10, 4

Push-ups - 10, 10, 4

V-ups - 10, 10 4

 

Still haven't missed a day!  It was a challenge this morning because I was young and dumb last night and went to a concert in DC and didn't get home until 2 AM.  I then got up at 6 and did my PLP.  I skipped my usual Monday morning workout, though.  I may hit it tomorrow if I get to bed (aka collapse) at a reasonable time tonight.

[tenaciousglee]

Summer of Strong - Day 10

 

PLP - Day 25

sets of 10, 10, 5

 

Need to get back to my lifting.  I had my alarm set for 5, but decided to skip the make-up day and just do PLP.  Tomorrow's my usual run day, but if it's raining I'll lift tomorrow and run on Thursday.

 

LOMAD isn't going well.  I am not in the habit of drinking milk yet.  I remembered to bring some to work with me last week, but haven't yet this week.