Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Lower Body Workout

Back Squat
45lbs x 10
135 x 3
185 x 1
205 x 1
205 x 1
215 x 1
225 - Failed
(Forgot to do a burn-out set)

Wow, I've been away for TOO LONG! 205lbs felt heavy! Moved up to 215 and got it. Dumped 225lbs, couldn't stand it up (my PR is 260lbs). I'm confident that within a month I'll be back up to where I was before.

For my front squat/Romanian Deadlift superset, I was supposed to do 135lbs/145lbs, and do 12-9-6 reps. I knew that I wouldn't be able to do 135lbs on the front squat for 12 reps, not on my first day back anyways. So I used 115lbs for the front squats, and 135lbs for the RDLs. Even with that, my supersets looked like this:

9/9
6/6
4/4

My quads literally locked up after the front squats. Killer!! Loved it though, so great being back training legs again. I can 100% see how this programming will help me build some serious muscle.

After this, I walked SLOWLY (so my legs would stop cramping up) to the pull-up bar, and did three sets of 10 of laces to bar.

Immediately post-workout I had a shake with:
40g whey protein
25g glutamine
7g creatine
3 tablespoons of orange gatorade powder

Last night I slept a full 10 hours, and had another perfect day of just meats and veggies. I can't wait for Friday's workout!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Pat's Programming

Started Pat's programming today. I spent the better part of the past two months not exercising, but eating right (meats and veggies) and getting 8-10hrs of sleep a night. I leaned down to 154lbs, and felt great - leaner than when I was lifting 5-6x per week. Pat was right - I was doing too much then, too much cortisol being released, and I was "fat" even though I was exercising every day.

My new programming that Pat put together for me follows a basic M-W-F schedule. Focus is still on getting plenty of sleep, and eating meats & veggies 90+% of the time. My goal now is to just put on muscle, and this should do the trick. Here is the schedule, followed by what I did this morning:


Workouts start at 6:30am (they’ll only take 45 minutes total)

Monday
Bench Press – work up to a single rep max, then do a burnout set at the end.
Chins/weighted chins
Superset:
Close grip bench/bent over barbell rows
Little METCON/Competition like wall sit dumbell curls, max clapping push-ups, 21-15-9 kipping pull-ups, push-ups. These are very short (less then3min), but competitive
Abs – planks, knees to elbows, Ab Ripper X, etc.

Tuesday
Off, completely off, get extra sleep

Wednesday
Back Squat-and do the burn out. Remember the burn out sets will get you breathing hard, and give you that METCON dose you want
Front Squats
Romanian Deadlifts - RDLs
2 Supersets=Done fast, another METCON dose
Back Extensions
Knees to elbow

Thursday
Off, completely off, get extra sleep

Friday
Repeat Monday, alternating between trying to hit a 1RM, doing heavy sets of 5, etc.

This is what this morning looked like (first time back in months, so I know these numbers will increase rather quickly over the next four weeks):

Bench Press
135lbs x 8
185 x 5
205 x 1
135 x 15 (burnout set)

Deadhang chins
x8
25lbs weighted x 5
25lbs weighted x 4
x6 (no weight)

Superset close grip bench press (135lbs) and dumbell rows (55lbs):
x8, x8/8
x4, x8/8
x5, x8/8

6 minutes of 1 minute planks (15 second rest in between).

PWO: 40g whey protein mixed with 20g L-Glutamine. Will look into picking up some gatorade powder and creatine this week to experiment with Pat's whey/gatorade/creatine PWO (post workout) drink.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Friday Fun Day

Was joined this morning at the CDW gym by my good friend Brian Maastricht today! We did a great mix of weights, abs, and having fun playing a sport. We did:



3 minutes of planks - 1m front, 1m left, 1m right
Incline Bench Press: 4 sets of 6-10 reps
3 minutes of planks - 1m front, 1m left, 1m right
Flat dumbbell press: 4 sets of 6-10 reps
3 minutes of planks - 1m front, 1m left, 1m right
Cable Crossovers: 4 sets of 10 reps
3 minutes of planks - 1m front, 1m left, 1m right
Dips: 4 sets of 15-20 reps

We then played 3 on 3 volleyball for 30 minutes. I never realized what a great workout volleyball is, and it was a ton of fun!!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Where ya been, Dave??

As mentioned in my last post, on Saturday, April 24 I fractured my finger helping my buddy Matt setup his Crossfit Gym (http://www.crossfitamrap.com/ - tell your friends, it is a SWEET gym!). I spent most of the four weeks after that NOT working out. During this non-workout time, I experimented with Pat's idea on losing weight WITHOUT working out.

I ate clean, and I ate light. Typically 1-2 small meals per day, less than 1500 calories per day. And I lost weight, and have kept it off! I quickly dropped to 155 (from a starting weight of 165lbs), and have remained there the entire time. Pat was right - you don't have to exercise to lose weight. In fact, exercising can potentially INHIBIT weight loss - either by making you think you can eat more because "I've earned it", or by making you even more hungry post-workout.

Of course you need to consider what Pat says, too, in that if you ARE exercising, you may be more inclined to WANT to eat healthy. I know that's typically how I am - though have been able to stick to a clean diet with or without exercise.

About two weeks ago I started hitting the workouts really hard again. Back at the CDW gym in the mornings, doing a solid mix of weights, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), lots of sprinting, TONS of planks/ab work, pullups, pushups, other bodyweight stuff.

In the evenings I have been doing INSANITY, which is a DVD workout series by BeachBody (same folks who made P90X). Let me tell you, these workouts are TOUGH! 40 minutes of non-stop bodyweight/cardio/plyometric work. Sweating after the 5 minute warmup, and sweating all the way until the end.

So I'm back, and back with a vengeance. I'm at a nice, lean, 155lbs, doing two workouts per day, and continuing to eat light and clean. And I feel great!! This "being healthy" stuff really isn't that tough - I wish it didn't seem so complicated for so many people. Do exercise that makes you feel good, eat real foods (read: meat and vegetables) in moderation, and you can be healthy!