AlexCold's Epic Quest for Badassitude Level 5 - Laying Down the GroundWORK

[AlexCold]

Level 5: Laying Down the GroundWORK.

 

Hello there!!!

 

I come join you from the Ranger forum, as I’m focusing more on lifting than ever before. Got some help from Chairohkey and I’ve got a new program to try out (so far going very well).

 

My overarching goal is to get down to under 15% bodyfat and keep it that way. Currently, I’m around 29-30% after taking a BodPod test about a month ago. I’m about a pound or two lighter than I was then. So I still have 15% of fat to trim, or 30lbs to lose. I’m currently around 204-205 lbs at 5’ 11â€. It’s going to be a long journey, as I hope to do this without losing as lot of lean mass (only 145lbs right now).

 

Why do I do this? This little guy and his mom.

 

And because I want to be a jacked beast for the rest of my life. Done being the fat guy. Done with being ashamed of my body. Done with not doing things because I can’t keep up. Done with can’t.

 

So for this challenge, I want to do a few things, most of which I’ve been doing already but are changing slightly.

 

GOAL 1 - LIFT

 

Follow my new plan, and eventually start going to the gym 4 days a week. This is difficult because with a baby boy at home, my time is limited with work and the gym. Currently I go MWF, right after work. I want to change that to MT,ThF with W as a rest day for two reasons. 1= Rest and 2=My wife likes to go to church on W as she volunteers with the youth group. This will allow me to spend one on one time with the boy and give her a much needed break (because she is awesome). Over the course of these 6 weeks, I’ll transition to this schedule. I may just jump right in and try it out the first week.

 

GOAL 2 - EAT LESS

 

Since I’m trying to lose body fat, I’m at a caloric deficit. Currently at 1960ish calories with a macro split of 200g PRO / 150g CHO / 60g FAT. These are flexible. I weigh my food but I’m fairly lax on strictness. The big one is hitting protein and at least 100g of carbs while keeping fat down. I eat mainly primal, as a lot of grains and milk do have a significant affect on my bowels. The hard part is weekends when I usually run out of pre-made food. My goal is to reign it in on the weekends and make some better decisions.

 

GOAL 3 - SPRINT

 

This is straightforward. Sprinting increases the metabolism, and helps speed up fat loss. I’ll be doing this twice a week on my upper body days. Monday and Thursday. This should be plenty to help me along. I’ve done it so far and this week and last, and it’s helping.

 

LIFE GOAL - BACKYARD

 

In May, I’ll be starting up my Master’s classes. I took a break this past semester due to my volunteer work and the new baby. With that, and my work and gym time, I’ll have very little time to feed myself and be with my son and wife. Right now my backyard is a mess. It’s essentially just dirt. Boys need to be outside, and I want to get the lawn going. I put in sprinklers a while back, but never got to the grass part. So over the course of this challenge, I’ll be working towards having a green lawn.I plan to follow this schedule. Hopefully faster than this but at least this.

 

Week 1: Ensure sprinklers still work.

Week 2: Level out the ground, as best I can.

Week 3. Water ground to soften. Begin tilling.

Week 4. Till in compost, and fertilizer.

Week 5. Seed.

Week 6. Profit?

 

I can do this. I hope you can keep me motivated. I know I’ll need it.

I’ll post up measurements and photos this weekend.

 

[Batwoman]

 

Good luck Alex!

[trendywendypdx]

Awwww!  How cute!  I'm in to witness all the great things that will be happening here this challenge!

[AlexCold]

Good luck Alex!

 

Thanks!

 

Awwww!  How cute!  I'm in to witness all the great things that will be happening here this challenge!

 

 

Oh, you mean the boy?

[Bouldersnap]

I'm Subbing to this. Nothing beats a fellow gardner. We'll have to compare progress!

[chairohkey]

Good luck brother. Let me know if you have any questions about the lifting and I'll see what I can do to help you out.

[AlexCold]

I'm Subbing to this. Nothing beats a fellow gardner. We'll have to compare progress!

 

Thanks, wouldn't consider myself a gardener yet but I'm trying. I'd really like to get a vegetable garden going at some point. 

 

Good luck brother. Let me know if you have any questions about the lifting and I'll see what I can do to help you out.

 

Thank you, will do! I've done a week of it so far and I'm feeling the results. The only thing I've had an issue with is on Upper Body days, I get burnt out on the curls. I can crank out maybe 5 then have to break and then finish out the last 5. I do DB hammer curls and DB curls. The results are looking good tho. My arms are getting notably bigger to me. And really everything else is as well. Definitely come home wiped out but in a good way. Need to get more sleep.

[swe]

Great goals. Seems like a good challenge for a good purpose. Sub'd and good luck 

[wildross]

cute kid and great challenge goals

[AlexCold]

Great goals. Seems like a good challenge for a good purpose. Sub'd and good luck 

 

Thanks!

 

cute kid and great challenge goals

 

Thank you! I think he is. 

[Vella]

Nice goals! Looking forward to watching you kill this one

[AshPS]

Shame shame shame on you Alex for not letting me know you were up!

 

Lol, of course I am sub'd, here and ready to encourage my heart out.   And you got this my friend. 

 

THAT is the cutest baby!!!!!!  

 

(My thread is up)

[Guzzi]

Found ya!

AMAZINGLY cute wee guy you got there man. Definitely interested to see how you get on since we're both going for a bf% goal.

Let's go rock this shit!

[RobMorris]

Good luck bro!

 

My only concern for you would be Squatting after a days Sprints?

 

You might find that you wont be able to Squat too heavy? Just keep an eye on it..

[CactusWren]

Happy day one!!!!!!

 

[trendywendypdx]

 

It begins.

[AlexCold]

Nice goals! Looking forward to watching you kill this one

 

Thanks!

 

Shame shame shame on you Alex for not letting me know you were up!

 

Lol, of course I am sub'd, here and ready to encourage my heart out.   And you got this my friend. 

 

THAT is the cutest baby!!!!!!

 

(My thread is up)

 

I knew you'd find me...

 

And thank you.

 

Found ya!

AMAZINGLY cute wee guy you got there man. Definitely interested to see how you get on since we're both going for a bf% goal.

Let's go rock this shit!

 

 

Hi there! Thanks, we did pretty good I'd say. 

 

Happy day one!!!!!!

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

It begins.

[AlexCold]

Friday's Workout:

 

Definitely feeling the affects of lifting on a caloric deficit. Felt gassed on the accessory work, but I'm not cramping when I started the higher rep work. Aside from that, I feel great. Definitely more tired, but otherwise good. Sleep will need to be increased, along with more efficient time use. I'm ready for this challenge. 

 

Lower Body A:

• Barbell Squat
  • 45 lb x 5 reps36
  • 95 lb x 5 reps50
  • 115 lb x 5 reps57
  • 145 lb x 5 reps83
  • 145 lb x 5 reps83
  • 145 lb x 5 reps83
  • 145 lb x 5 reps83
  • 145 lb x 5 reps83
  •  
• Romanian Deadlift
  • 45 lb x 10 reps33
  • 135 lb x 10 reps61
  • 135 lb x 10 reps61
  • 135 lb x 10 reps61
• Leg Press
  • 90 lb x 10 reps19
  • 180 lb x 10 reps25
  • 180 lb x 10 reps25
  • 230 lb x 10 reps30
• Leg Extensions
  • 40 lb x 10 reps10
  • 90 lb x 10 reps14
  • 90 lb x 10 reps14
  • 90 lb x 10 reps (PR)14
• Seated Leg Curl
  • 40 lb x 10 reps10
  • 120 lb x 10 reps17
  • 120 lb x 10 reps17
  • 120 lb x 10 reps (PR)17
• Standing Calf Raise
  • 15 reps | weighted | 200 lb11
  • 15 reps | weighted | 200 lb11
  • 15 reps | weighted | 200 lb (PR)11
  • 5 reps | weighted | 300 lb

[AlexCold]

Good luck bro!

 

My only concern for you would be Squatting after a days Sprints?

 

You might find that you wont be able to Squat too heavy? Just keep an eye on it..

 

Thanks for the concern. We'll see how it goes. I only sprint around 20-30 minutes. 1 minute sprints with 2 minute rest (walking). Nothing too crazy hard. Slowly kicking the speed up.

[trendywendypdx]

What do the numbers to the right of "reps" denote?

 

When I sprint I do 30s/90s cycles.  I can't go more than 20 minutes either.  I can do sprinting on/after leg day without any issues.  In fact, I find it helps to loosen things up a bit.  I'm much tighter when there isn't a run somewhere close to leg day.

[AlexCold]

What do the numbers to the right of "reps" denote?

 

When I sprint I do 30s/90s cycles.  I can't go more than 20 minutes either.  I can do sprinting on/after leg day without any issues.  In fact, I find it helps to loosen things up a bit.  I'm much tighter when there isn't a run somewhere close to leg day.

 

Those are from Fitocrocy. I was too lazy to delete them. It's a nice way to track workouts but I don't really care for the user interface for the social part of it.

 

I only do the 1min/2min split because that's what's on the treadmill. It's starting to get hot out here so it's a nice alternative. Also, it sets an incline for extra difficulty (I think 4 degrees right now). I'm with you though, I haven't had issues with it yet. I don't run after leg day due to the toll but I do walk at a moderate pace at an incline to stretch it out. I find it has helped greatly in the soreness and tightness.

[Bouldersnap]

I'm interested in your deadlifts. Do you find 3x10 too much on your lower back? I only deadlift 1x5 following SL 5x5 and have wondered about the value on a lighter weight/higher volume with them.

[AlexCold]

I'm interested in your deadlifts. Do you find 3x10 too much on your lower back? I only deadlift 1x5 following SL 5x5 and have wondered about the value on a lighter weight/higher volume with them.

 

I definitely feel it afterwards, but not in a bad way. Just a deep soreness that goes away. It's the first time I've done more than 30 deadlifts at a time(including warmups) since starting lifting this year. It's definitely building my stamina.

[chairohkey]

I'm interested in your deadlifts. Do you find 3x10 too much on your lower back? I only deadlift 1x5 following SL 5x5 and have wondered about the value on a lighter weight/higher volume with them.

 

Keep in mind not only is he using lighter weight but since they're RDL shortened ROM as well. 

[Librarian of Doom]

Found you! Your little man is almost as adorable as mine! But he definitely has more hair. Looking forward to watching you kick this challenge in the ass!!! And good luck with your grad program...I can imagine doing grad school with a newborn, and it fills me with fear and sadness.