rlonghe753 Battles Life

[rlonghe753]

I am creating a battle log to track a few things that I have really wanted to change. I would have signed up for a 4 week challenge but i figured I would get my feet wet with one of these.

 

Goal #1: Eat at least 3 meals a day every day each containing a protein, a healthy carb and at least one vegetable.

• Why this goal is important
  • My eating habits are poor at best and I frequently miss meals. Not exactly the best execution of a strategy when one is trying to put on some weight
  • I have been really lethargic lately and lack of food could definitely cause some of that
• What am I trying to accomplish by doing this?
  • I want to gain lean mass so I can be more of a physical presence on the basketball court
  • I want to stay healthy so I can live life to the fullest for as long as possible
  • I want to build healthy habits so that when I eventually have kids I can pass on good habits to them
• How am I going to accomplish my goal?
  • Keep emergency food at work for the days that I forget my lunch or have to rush out of the house
  • Bulk cook food on Sunday and have healthy meals readily available
  • Get up when my alarm goes off instead of hitting the snooze button so that I have time for breakfast in the morning (I am allowing myself to break the vegetable rule for breakfast. that will be added in later as a progressive goal)
• Things that are going to get in my way
  • Forget lunch at home - Will have emergency food at work
  • Wake up late - Emergency food at work
  • Laziness during the week - Readily available leftovers for the win

 

Loot for goal 1 if successful: (3 days or less in the next 3 weeks failing to stick to the plan.)

• Sign me and my girlfriend up for a cooking class to learn how to make delicious things

 

Goal #2: Don't hit the snooze button in the morning anymore

• Why this goal is important
  • I have an extremely hard time getting out of bed in the morning, this is on the verge of becoming a problem at work in a job market that is less than healthy.
  • I spend around an hour in bed in the morning when I could be getting other things done or actually sleeping
  • My wakeup habits cause my girlfriend a large amount of stress as she has a difficult time falling back asleep after she wakes up. She means a lot to me and I would be crushed if this was the thing that caused our relationship to fail
• What am I trying to accomplish by doing this?
  • I am looking to get more out of my day, if I wake up early enough I can make myself a good breakfast instead of a quick one. I might even be able to take my dog for a walk in the morning so that I don't have to worry about it as much after work.
  • If I can build the discipline to start listening to my alarm I can eventually go to the gym in the morning so I have more free time after work to do as I please
• How am I going to accomplish my goal?
  • Starting this week I am going to commit to getting up as soon as my alarm goes off at least one time, next week the commitment will be 2 times and by May 8th, I will be getting up as my alarm goes off every day that I have an alarm (no alarm on weekends)
  • Go to bed at a reasonable time and try to average around 8 hours on a rolling weekly basis
• What will get in my way
  • Extreme resistance to getting up - Put alarm clock in a place where I must get up to turn it off

 

Loot for goal 2 if successful: (stick to the plan 100%)

• Allow myself to go for coffee/tea in the morning once per successful week at Tim Hortons, McDonald's, Starbucks, Second Cup, etc.

 

Goal #3: Workout at least 3 times a week (preferably 4) and stick to my 5/3/1 lifting cycle

• Why this goal is important
  • I really enjoy powerlifting and would potentially like to compete in the future
  • The longer i do this program the more life proof my body is becoming, I want to stay healthy for as long as possible
  • Getting stronger/more athletic in general for rec sports
  • Look better naked
• What am I trying to accomplish by doing this?
  • Build my powerlifting total to a point where I will be somewhat competitive in my weight class
  • Build a life proof body that is more resistant to injury and better able to perform under different conditions
    • Strength in sports is always useful
    • I want to be able to rescue myself and others if there was ever an emergency situation to arise
  • I feel more confident when I am strong
• How am i going to accomplish my goal?
  • Set dedicated times to go to the gym every week, no excuses
  • Involve my girlfriend in my pursuit of fitness
  • Put my gym time on my shared calendar so that there are less opportunities for scheduling conflicts
• What will get in my way
  • Time working on the road with no access to a gym - perform equivalent body weight exercises in place of weights
  • Currently working on renovations - 3 hours a week at the gym should not detract from renovation progress

 

Loot if I am successful: (100% sticking to the plan)

• Look into buying some weights (bar, bumper plates, etc.) for working out at home

 

I am going to write in this log once every day or two to report on progress from all three goals. Also on workout days I will be making a note of what I did and if there are any other notable things about the workout.

 

 

 

[rlonghe753]

Goal 1 this week: missed on the veggies but have eaten 3 meals a day since starting this

 

Goal 2: going exceptionally well, haven't hit the snooze button once yet, my new bed is amazing for making me feel recharged

 

Goal 3: Been busy with renovations but I managed to get 2 workouts in at the gym and 1 at home, I am also playing hockey and volleyball this weekend

 

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[rlonghe753]

Gym on 4/6/2017

 

Back Squat:

Thorough warmup with high knees, but kickers, lunges, side lunges, 20ish full depth air squats

 

5xbar

5x135lbs

5x155lbs

5x185lbs

5x225lbs

3x255lbs

AMRAP (3 reps)x 285lbs

 

10x155lbs

 

I wanted to do the boring but big assistance work but after the 1 set of squats at 50% my hamstring was feeling a little tender so I decided it was a better idea to take it easy and squat another day instead of overdoing it

 

Bodyweight at 221.5lbs

 

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[rlonghe753]

Gym on 4/8/2017

 

Bench Press:

Warmup with a couple sets of 10 pushups

 

5xbar

5x95lbs

5x115lbs

5x135lbs

5x165lbs

3x185lbs

AMRAP (4 reps)x215lbs

 

5 sets (8x135lbs)

 

Completed everything I wanted to. Next gym session is deadlifts and then I am going on a deload week as I am feeling a bit stressed out. During my deload I will be doing only bodyweight exercises and I will be focusing on including a little bit of cardio and spending more of my time on recovery than anything

 

Did not measure BW this time

[rlonghe753]

Goal #1: So far so good, still missing on the veggies in a couple of meals but I am eating something 3 times a day minimum

 

Goal #2: I have gotten up twice this week without a snooze which is far from last weeks performance but it is still within the bounds of my parameters so i am happy to see progress.

 

Goal #3: Have not hit the gym this week, have a plan to play hockey and hit the gym tomorrow and i will probably do some recovery work tonight.

[rlonghe753]

As a side note I have been establishing a meditation habit which is another thing that i have really wanted to do for a while, so that is a big win for me 

[rlonghe753]

Had some personal issues come up over the weekend, will be putting most of this on hold for a bit while everything gets figured out... will be starting a fresh 5/3/1 cycle when i come back.

 

I will be restarting my original challenges from scratch when i do come back

 

[rlonghe753]

Had a bench session with my buddy from Vancouver, nothing major just stress relief and bro time, no agenda, no structure... ramped up to comfortable but heavy 3 rep set (1.5 reps left in the tank) and then backed off to add some volume.

 

Bench:

45 (bar) * 5

95 * 5

135 * 5

185 * 5

225 * 3

135 * 8 * 3

[rlonghe753]

Starting to get back into the gym game again. Was on night shift for a bit on a shutdown so i didnt have a lot of time for working out

 

started back last night with some sprints with my dog and some assisted pistol squats later in the evening

[rlonghe753]

First day back at the gym was a good one, squat day.

 

Warmed up with 10 sprints (1/4 track w/ a 3/4 track rest and recover walk) and then got into my squat sets

 

Warmup

5*135lbs

5*155lbs

5*185lbs

 

Working Sets

5*205lbs

5*235lbs

1.5*265lbs

 

Assistance Work

3sets*10reps*155lbs - Squats

5sets*12reps*95lbs - Hamstring curls

Stretching&Soft Tissue Work

 

Was supposed to get at least 5 on the 265lb squat set but my form was going to hell so I bailed mid rep. I am going to put my ego to the side and I will be reducing the weight for the rest of the lifting cycle and really focusing on doing the reps well and attacking the weight.

 

 

[rlonghe753]

June 27, 2017 Training Log Link

 

Deadlift Day - 218lb BW

Warm-up

5 x 145lbs - Conventional

5 x 145lbs - Sumo

5 x 185lbs - Conventional

5 x 185lbs - Sumo

3 x 225lbs - Conventional

3 x 225lbs - Sumo

Work Sets

3 x 255lbs - Sumo

3 x 255lbs - Conventional

3 x 290lbs - Sumo

3 x 290lbs - Conventional

3 x 330lbs - Sumo

5 x 330lbs - Conventional (AMRAP)

Assistance Work

3 sets of 5 chin ups

Notes

Calculated 1RM: 385lbs

Total Volume: 10,560lbs

 

Trying to work sumo in as I have not truly considered it as an option before, my sumo stance is only slightly wider than my conventional stance and I feel like it has true potential to be better than my conventional. Furthermore, doing both styles will keep me strong and carry over to the week points on the opposite lifts. Normally I would do Ed Coan style bent over rows as an assistance exercise but the gym was busy and I was feeling spent.

[rlonghe753]

June 30, 2017 Training Log

 

Bench Day - 220lb BW

Warm-up

5 x 85lbs

5 x 105lbs

3 x 125lbs

Work Sets

3 x 155lbs

3 x 170lbs

9 x 190lbs

Assistance Work

12 x 135lbs Regular Bench (Immediately after AMRAP)

Close Grip Bench
10 x 65lbs
10 x 80 lbs
10 x 95 lbs

Incline Bench
10 x 95lbs
10 x 95lbs
10 x 115lbs

Notes

Calculated 1RM: 247lbs

Total Volume: 11,080lbs

 

Felt great today, I do need to work on tricep strength though as I feel that it is a limiting factor to my bench.

[rlonghe753]

July 1, 2017 Canada Day Training Log

 

Squat Day - 218.6lb BW

Warm-up

5 x 135lbs 

5 x 155lbs 

3 x 185lbs 

Work Sets

3 x 215lbs 

3 x 245lbs 

3 x 275lbs (AMRAP)

Assistance Work

Front Squat
10 x 135lbs
8 x 155lbs
5 x 185lbs

Farmers Walk
100lb dumbells in each hand for 1 lap of the track (distance TBD)

Notes

Calculated 1RM: 302lbs

Total Volume: 8,725lbs (farmers walk counts for 1000)

 

Tried my 4th rep on the main work AMRAP and failed. Day started out slow however as I needed an extra long warmup for my knees to feel good enough to squat. My quads are a lagging muscle in terms of strength, I notice this issue in the deadlift as well. Going to start including more grip work on a regular basis as I feel as though the recovery is quick and it will help the deadlift significantly; more time and attention should be spent on the pinky and ring fingers as they are what fails.

[rlonghe753]

July 2, 2017 Training Log

Overhead Press Day - 221lb BW

Warm-up

5 x 45lbs 

5 x 65lbs 

3 x 75lbs 

Work Sets

3 x 85lbs

3 x 95lbs

10 x 105lbs  (AMRAP)

Assistance Work

2 sets of 8 chin ups
3 sets of 10 diamond pushups

Notes

Calculated 1RM: 140lbs

Total Volume: 2515lbs

 

Nothing to report, was a good workout. Volume is a bit low but that will be improved with more time to spend at the gym.

[rlonghe753]

July 5, 2017 Training Log

 

Deadlift Day - 218.5lb BW

Warm-up

5 x 145lbs - Sumo

5 x 185lbs - Conventional

5 x 225lbs - Sumo

Work Sets

3 x 235lbs - Conventional

3 x 275lbs - Sumo

5 x 315lbs - Conventional (AMRAP)

Assistance Work

None

Notes

Calculated 1RM: 367lbs

Total Volume: 6900lbs

 

Felt like garbage coming in to the gym so I just put in the work I needed to do and went home. Lifts were feeling weak and i didnt want to risk anything.

[rlonghe753]

went on a bit of a writing hiatus, things to note from the past few weeks:

 

Strict IF style eating is not for me, I do far better when I eat when I want to. IF might work if I needed something to shake my diet up but for the most part I feel much better (stronger, smarter, sharper) when I eat 2-3 meals a day with snacks in between; sometimes I skip breakfast. on another note 24hr IF on something like Sunday might actually work for me.

 

Hurt myself coming into playing basketball for the first time in a while; I am fairly certain that it is a minor quad strain. I am lucky as it is not that bad and i should be back to normal in a couple of weeks. Deciding to look at the positive side of things, it is forcing me to work on the lifts that I am not good at, namely bench press and OVHP. Starting to see some real progress in those lifts now that I am spending some real time on them.

 

Need to put more of an emphasis on sleep, I have been sleeping like garbage lately for reasons that are completely avoidable. Going to start implementing a bed-time ritual in order to make the most out of my sleeping hours.