Swe's Path Fun & Change

[swe]

Hey everyone,

 

I've been active on Nerdfitness forums on and off the last year. Had a bad semester, in terms of working out, this autumn because I lived at a bad location and couldn't find any good gyms so for the first time, since I started working out, it just wasn't fun going to the gym anymore.

 

Now I've moved, I'm at a gym with a squat rack and a bench press and I'm giving stronglifts a go.

 

A little about me:

I'm a swedish student, 21 years old, been working out since I was 16 but never really had a good understanding of how important it is to keep good track of what you eat in order to get good results. So I basically never achieved the goals I wanted and fluctuated back and forth in weight.

 

I have some experience with lifting (compound movements) so I didn't quite start stronglifts with the weights you're supposed to. Instead I did the following

 

Workout A

Squat 30kg

Bench 35kg

Barbell Row 35kg

 

Workout B

Squat 32.5kg

Overhead press 30kg

Deadlift 50kg

 

I've only done two sessions so far next session is on monday. Basically this will be my workout log that I update every day and I'll jump on to all the challenges and make individual goals for the challenges. My long term commitment now is to do stronglifts and pack on some weight but minimize fat gain. I want to be able to squat 100kg and bench 80kg before I think about changing the program. A major problem now is that I have no workout partner so I'm a bit nervous about what will happen when I get to heavy weights on bench press. But I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

 

Calorie goal for now is 1400-1500 per day because I want to try to cut a bit at the beginning of the program while weights are light.

I don't know my exact weight because I let a friend borrow my scale and she keeps forgetting to give it back to me but I'm somewhere around 73kg. I'm 1.85m tall. Don't know my bf% exactly but I'm fairly skinny with the typical probelm of stomach and lower back fat. The goal is for that to change. But first I need to pack on some muscle with the stronglifts program. Cutting at this point would just make me look like a twig.

 

Ok that was quite a ramble but from here on I'll make short updates on calories (and possibly macros), sleep and workouts.

 

General goals are stronglifts three times a week (never two days in a row), sleep AT LEAST 7 hours a night but preferably 8-9 hours and eat 1400-1500 calories a day until I start hitting plateaus in the program, at which point I'll start upping calories to be able to get stronger.

 

Excited to get started. Have really missed this.

[swe]

Log for January 19th 2014

 

Yesterday I did an entire day of fasting due to a cheat day on saturday. So all i did was drink water, an espresso and a diet coke. Didn't feel hungry so it was the right decision I think.

Didn't work out and didn't do any of my life goals.

 

Since I don't have internet I will be logging one day late for most of this week because I'm doing this at a café where I go to study. So today's log will be done tomorrow.

[swe]

January 20th

 

Calorie tracking + strongifts session done. (a little over my goal on calories. roughly 1600-1700).

[swe]

January 21st

 

Some lower back pain and stiffness during stretching today which can only mean I'm squatting wrong. Really irritating and I have videos I want to upload in "form check" but they are 110MB and I have time to fix with a youtube account.

 

Calories on track so far will update the rest tomorrow.

 

Ended up eating a little under my calorie goal since I ate a bit over it on the 20th. So i logged at 1364 before going to bed which is good.

 

Did my stretching and my guitar. So far this week I'm at 4 stretching sessions and played guitar once. Gotta get that second life goal in. 

 

Sleep - Some nights I'm a terrible sleeper and can't seem to fall asleep or keep waking up. I make sure to go to bed and lights out 9 hours before I need to get up and so far that has been working well.

[swe]

January 22nd 2014

 

Not a good day in terms of fitness. Did my stronglifts workout session and it went well. I add two bicep exercises on workout A day and two tricep exercises on workout B day.

 

So the workout was:

Stronglifts workout B (all weights in kg)

Squats 37.5

Overhead Press 32.5

Deadlift 55kg

DB Overhead tricep extension 22.5kg 3x10

Tricep cable pull-down 7.5kg 3x10

Stretching

 

 

The not so good part is that I went out partying with friends and the whine + beer means I was way over calories. Also had pasta when I came home. The partying is gonna happen fairly often and I am not gonna deny having a social life simply to get down to sixpack bf% though I will have to try to drink as little as possible. 

[swe]

January 23rd 2014

 

Today will be a mostly fasted day. I'm gonna eat some protein (probably just in form of whey powder) but I need to make up for the high amount of calories I consumed yesterday.

 

Resisting the urge to go down the street and benefit of the special offer 7.99 euro for any domoni's pizza any size + ben & jerry's ^^ (failed)

 

Really get a craving for unhealthy food on days after partying.

[swe]

January 24th 2014

 

Did an entire day of fasting here. Felt right since I didn't get hungry at all. Made sure to drink plenty of water.

 

Got my guitar playing and stretching done. Drank 3l of water. Good day overall

[swe]

January 25th

 

Good start to the day.

 

Breakfast

220g turkey breast

250g broccoli

15g shredded emmental cheese

 

Did my stronglifts workout A

Squats 40kg

Bench 40kg

BB row 40kg

 

Protein shake two scoops (50g) + 250g of milk

 

Weights still feel light though it won't be many weeks til the squat starts to feel intense. I need to go buy some lifting shoes. Atm I am squatting in socks but the floor is slippery so I'm thinking I'll go buy some converse because I know that they are supposed to be good flat shoes for lifting. Though they are like 60 euro here so fairly expensive for a student. but i guess good equipment should be the last thing I should save money on.

 

Tonight probly won't be good though I think I'm going out. I skipped the night out last night cuz I wanted to be healthy and get some work done today but I don't think I'll skip two days in a row.

[swe]

Sunday 26th of January, 2014

 

Ate at a strong deficit today to make up for going out yesterday.

 

150g Broccoli

15g emmental cheese

50g whey

225g milk

25g cottage cheese

130g Apple

250g Turkey Breast

 

Calories 783

 

 

Also ran today. Tried to use runkeeper to track but the gps messed up completely. Think I ran roughly 4km. Am going to run or do some form of cardio (even if it's just walking on a treadmill) three times a week now. And still maintain my goal calories on 1500 until I start to stall on my lifts. 

[swe]

Monday 27th of January, 2014

 

Workout:

 

Stronglifts workout B

Squats : 42.5kg

Press: 32.5kg

Deadlift: 60kg

 

Press is now getting heavy. Need longer rests (2 min) to manage the last two sets.

 

Nutrition:

Don't know the exact amount because I ate lunch at the cafeteria but I'm definitely below my goal of 1500kcal

 

Breakfast (this is a great one I just started with. Easy and tasty!)

250g Turkey

150g Broccoli

35g cottage cheese (just a table spoon is enough)

15g shredded emmental cheese

15g hot taco sauce

 

AMAZING meal. just turkey and broccoli which is as healthy as it gets and the other three ingredients only add up to roughly 80kcal and make it test so much better than just eating it dry.

 

Lunch:

Apetizer: Salad

Main Meal: Chicken Thigh with haricots vert

Dessert: Small fruit salad

 

After gym meal/snack

Two scoops of protein powder + water

Apple

 

Everything I've logged comes in at 500kcal and there is no way that the lunch which consisted of just chicken, veggies and a little fruit goes up to 1000kcal. In fact I'm probably at a bit too strong of a deficit but tomorrow I will log so I know I'm at exactly 1500.

 

Life goals:

Stretching done

Guitar done

 

Sleep

Absolutely awful night last night in terms of sleep. went to bed early like 9:30 and was getting up at 7am. didn't fall asleep til after 12. I get that sometimes though just not a good sleeper. 

[swe]

Tuesday 28th of January

 

Workout: Rest day

 

Nutrition: cal/pro/cho/fat   1451/133/107/34

 

Life goals: Stretching and guitar done

 

sleep: not great but decent. Got around 7 hours. I keep trying to go to bed so I can get 8-9 hours but it takes so long for me to fall asleep 

[swe]

Wednesday 29th of January, 2014

 

 

Workout: Stronglifts workout A

Squat 47.5kg

Bench 45kg

BB row 45kg

 

Went well. Had a guy come up to me and try to help me with squats but didn't like his input. He wanted me to move the bar further up on my back. Didn't feel good when I tried it. He also wanted me to look straight ahead rather than down 2m in front of me.

 

Nutrition: cal/pro/cho/fat     1361/142/143/28

 

Life goals: Stretching Done

 

Sleep: As usual around 7 hours. Really need to get to sleep faster. Going to try to start reading in the evenings. Though it seem no matter what I do I lie awake just unable to fall asleep.

 

Overall great day.

 

As usual between 2.5-3 liters of water

[swe]

Thursday 30th of January, 2014

 

Got all my protein in, stretched and.... HAD A CHEAT DAY.

 

Domino's pizza and ben & jerry's. man that's good. but bad. Around 3000kcal total. Tbh I'm not too concerned because it's not like I'm aiming for a 6-pack atm. I only weigh 70kg and 185cm tall so i'm gna have to start eating more in a few weeks when stronglifts gets heavier so I won't be cutting down until this summer.

[swe]

Friday 31st January, 2014

 

Ok so today hit the gym

 

Stronglifts workout B

Squat 50kg

Press 37.5kg

Deadlift 65kg

 

Incline treadmill 10% incline 7kmph 25mins

 

So far so good. Press is heavy. Squat is getting there. Definitely not a walk in the park anymore. 

 

Ate a meal after I came back:

Broccoli

Turkey breast

sweet potatoe

apple

 

Just 450kcal. Making up for the cheat day a bit. Tomorrow I'm gna eat as usual (except maybe leaving some calories for a beer I'm having in the evening when going to watch rugby)

 

Water 3l+

Stretching: done

Guitar:

[swe]

Sunday 2nd of February, 2014

 

Today went well. I didn't eat optimally because I had some macdonalds but got all my protein in and was just under 1500kcal and since I'm only tracking calories and protein I see it as a success.

 

Obviously I can't eat mcdonald's every day but I figure 5 days with purely healthy food + one day with on the mark calories and protein is a win. Only issue is the cheat day on Thursday but I made up for that with less calories the other days and some extra cardio.

 

No stretching or guitar done today. Feel kinda sick. Think that the cottage cheese I have in my fridge might have gone old (only food I have eaten other than the cheese that could have given me an upset stomach but the cheese is too new to be the cause). 

 

So that's annoying. Overall it's been a good week though. Did my lifts, tracked my nutrition accurately 6 days out of 7, completed my stretching and made sure to go to bed early every single night. Only thing I didn't get done was the guitar playing (grrr).

 

So no cheat day and guitar playing would have made the perfect week. I'm soon going to reach the end of my calorie deficit days anyway because I'm going to start stalling on lifts and will have to eat a bit more to make up for that (basically the moment I stall on a lift twice I will try to start eating a bit more)

[swe]

Monday 17th of February, 2014

 

Alright back again have been on a holiday. Skiing so food and exercise has not happened.

 

Workout: Changed my routine simply because I enjoy hypertrophy routines more and I also want to go the gym more often. I am now going 5 times a week rather than 3. It is a great way for me to relieve stress.

 

Did my workout. Leg chest and triceps. (won't be writing it all out here anymore because it takes too long. I track it in an app called gymgoal 2)

 

Tracked my calories to 2304 (aiming at roughly 2500 but not over that. Maintanance according to online calculators is 2722 but I want to take it carefully. Should be able to gain on a slight deficit anyway considering I am gaining back muscle and I can make noob gains).

 

Track 2.5 liters of water. Aiming for 3 liters at least.

 

Will also be tracking sleep.

 

Starting weight on February 17th: 72kg (went up a little during the holiday but will lose it quickly again with healthy food)

 

Pictures taken. Will stick with these calories for at least 4 weeks and see what happens. If I feel that I get weaker rather than stronger I will increase.

 

Also I'm making sure to stretch plenty. Stretched twice today. Before the workout to make sure I am flexible enough when squatting and in the evening before going to bed. Was really stiff in the evening so I might also stretch after the workout on days when I do squats.

[swe]

Tuesday February 18th, 2014

 

Workout done: Back day only.

 

Slept 8 hours last night. Will be aiming to have light out at least 8.5 hours before I have to wake up. That way I should be able to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night.

 

Nutrition: Tracking calories. Will complete tonight. (ended on 2456 and got my protein in).

 

Stretched, played guitar, studied. overall a good day

[swe]

Wednesday 19th of February, 2014

 

Slept 9 hours last night. Great success. Will probably go out for a beer tonight so I'll see how I do on the calorie front.

 

Calories went well. Only ended up having one beer. I didn't know what kind but i logged it as heineken. Also had an apple when I came home.

 

Workout done, stretching done, over 3l of water have been drank, calories logged to 2445 (as all other days this is an estimate because I can't be sure I'm getting calories in meat, veggies and fruit right)

[swe]

Thursday 20th of February, 2014

 

Rest day. Well earned.

 

Calories logged to 2555 so a little more than I should have eaten. Still ok because I've been a little under on other days.

 

Made chocolate chip protein pancakes with maple syrup and banana. Was amazing.

 

Sleep: Hard to say because I'm a bad sleeper but I had lights out 9 hours before I was getting up

[swe]

Friday 21st of February, 2014

 

Lights were out 9.5 hours before getting up last night. But didn't sleep too great so that's really annoying.

 

Workout done (with 20 min cardio on bike)

 

 

calories tracked to 2245. Not going out so it's a good day in terms of tracking/health/gainZ

 

Stretching: Done

Guitar: Done

Protein: 140g

Water 3-4 liters

[swe]

Saturday and Sunday (22nd and 23rd of February, 2014)

 

Two perfect days in terms of workouts done, stretching done, calories tracked water drank, sleep caught

[swe]

Squat 75kg 5x5

Bench 65 5 62,5 5x5 (will try 65 all the way through next time)

Row (couldn't do it. only one squat rack in my entire gym with a BB and it was being used)

Dip 3x12 with BW (will do weighted from now on to stick to 3x8

Calfs (will throw these in monday and friday. great do do on the calf machine)

 

calories tracked to 2200. 1800 will be tomorrow's goal. Drank my water and stretched and did some abs

[swe]

Rest day

 

calories 1900

 

water done. no stretching or ab workout done today

[swe]

Sleep is mediocre as usual. Think I got roughly 7 hours but I woke up an hour too early and had to fall back asleep. Do this very often. Think it's because the isolation in my building is horrendous and I wake up when people are walking up and down the stairs.

 

Will try to get 8 hours tonight.

 

 

Workout today

 

Squats 75kg 5x5 (tendency to fold knees in a little when it gets heavy. this lifts my heel of the ground at the bottom of my upward movement. not good)

Shoulder press 40kg 5x5

Deadlift 85kg 1x5

Deadlift 60kg 2x10 (i can't do back extensions so this is my substitute)

BB Row 50kg 5x5 (lighter day)

Tricep extension 20kg 8/8/6 (was supposed to be CG bench but it was being used)

BB Curl 25kg 3x8 (form was bad on the last set so I'm gna stick to the same weight)

 

Calories 1894 (a lot of fruit, some brocolli, two cans of tuna, 75g of whey, oats and peanut butter sandwich the workout)

Stretching done. no abs today. 

Will need to do some abs tomorrow for sure! 

[swe]

Rest day. 

 

Calories tracked to 2020. Managed to squeeze in a ben&jerry's cookie dough in my macros today.

I say macros but i really only diligently track calories and protein. At the end of the day I want to have had 1g of protein per lb of BW and my calories to be at 2000 every day. I don't really do calories cycling atm. 

So today I'm at cal/pro/cho/fat   2020/166/170/80. Basically ate two boring lean meals of just tuna/turkey breast plus broccoli. But it was worth it to get that B&J's. Been too long ^^

 

Water drank, stretching done, abs done. I'm also using my phone to do a 100 pushup thing. For funsies.

Dream is to be lean by summer and be able to crank out 100 pushups. Then slow bulk for many months. Will see if it happens. Not making any fast progress with my cut although 2000kcal should be low.