The get un-sleepy-ified diary

Sleepy

After reading G'em and Dragan's cut diary's yesterday I got inspired to hit the gym for the first time since April and attempt to clean up my diet a little. If you guys can put yourselfs through those kind of punishing regimes, I think I can manage the gym three times a week!

I'm a 5' 10", 26 year old guy who's never been in optimum shape. I've been reasonably fit in the past when I was doing life-guarding classes at 17 and managed to avoid being over-weight through a combination of walking around town (lived in Galway where everything is a walk away) and having physical part-time jobs (stacking minerals in a supermarket) etc but three and a half years of a sedentry job, a crap diet and only making it to the gym/pool in fits and starts has me in the worst shape of my life.

I've got a skiing holiday booked for mid-February that I need to be back into some sort of reasonable shape for and would just like to be fitter and in better shape in general (usual male problem of a beer gut and lack of general definition).

From what I've learned from past attempts to cut I'm drinking about 3 litres of water while at work, eating breakfast again and eating better food with an eye on the calorie/fat/protein contents.

My main problem in my previous attempts to get in shape have consistency. I do great for a month or so before something like illness keeps me out of the gym for a week and I can't pick myself back up to go again. This usually happens a couple of weeks after I hit the point where I'm seeing the initial results, i.e. slightly trimmer, more muscular etc. so I'm hoping this diary will help me over that.

I've a new flatmate and she came along to the gym with me last night so hopefully having someone I'd be letting down by not going will help me through the evenings when I just don't feel like it.

I'm also trying the photos method of judging results, took the first depressing photos this morning, and praying nobody roots through my camera before I get a chance to hide them somewhere on my laptop!

Due to work, I'm not going to get a chance to hit a gym again before Sunday evening (maybe a pool session or some medium intensity cardio over the weekend but no lifting) so I did drop sets to failure on all my lifts yesterday (feeling it today but the pain is the good kind, letting me know I did something right).

Sleepy

So, one week later. My diet has been far from ideal (two take-outs over the weekend) but it's definitely better than before, I've been watching the carb intake, ensuring I get plenty of protein and going for more salads, snacking on fruit etc. Also making an effort to drink at least 3/4 litres of water a day.

Hit the gym again last night and took it a lot easier than last week. By thursday I could barely move my shoulders so I think I totally over-did it at my first go back. Last night's workout consisted of:

Rowing Machine - 10 minutes at a moderate pace
Step Machine - 5 minutes at level 8
Pec Deck - Level 5 for twenty reps, Level 7 for ten
Lat Pulldown - Level 6 for 20 reps, Level 8 for 10, Level 10 for five

Was tired going in and disappointed with how early I left but a combination of being wrecked and not wanting to over-do it again resulted in me leaving feeling I could have done a lot more. Hadn't got my swimming gear with me which was about all I felt able to do after the rest. Left in pretty bad form but I feel a lot better today. Hoping to go back tonight with swimming gear and hit the gym before the pool.

tribulus

Good luck with this.

One thing though, take it easy on the drop sets, use them sparingly and certainly not on every exercise in the same workout - no wonder you were wrecked!

Keep us updated

Dragan

Alright dude, best of luck with it man, if you ever need to get some help with a program, diet or whatever then just post in the main fitness forum. Lots of clever people around here to help out!

Sleepy

Dragan wrote:

Alright dude, best of luck with it man, if you ever need to get some help with a program, diet or whatever then just post in the main fitness forum. Lots of clever people around here to help out!

OK, so this fell by the wayside over christmas andI pretty much stopped doing anything until 3 weeks ago when I went for a skiing holiday to Austria. Pre-holiday I was up at about 13.5 stone which I shed a bit of over there (A skiing holiday always reminds me of how easy it is for those in Hollywood to sculpt their bodies - having 6 hours a day to exercise must be great!).

So, back from the holiday and the endorphins are flying. I hit the pool thee day I got back, went to the local gym in Monkstown the day after that (fine but way too crowded - ditto their pool), hit the pool again 2 days later and went up to the WestWood in Leopardstown the following Saturday to take a look at the place.

Went swimming again on the monday and then last wednesday we got a fax into the office from the Westwood offering a four day trial so took them up on that, went in Thursday and basically totally over-did it on upper-body work. It's four days later and my left tricep still isn't right. Went in again on Saturday and did 20 mins on the treadmill ranging between levels 5.5 and 9 mostly at about 8.7, ten mins on the bike, some leg curls, leg extensions, back work and situps before doing another 10 on the treadmill at a pretty consistent 8.8 with about 4 minutes after of taking it at a walking pace as a cool-down before what I felt was a pretty well deserved sauna.

I've since joined up to the WestWood which was previously something I've always considered to be ridiculously over-priced and still do tbh. However, I'm hoping the fact I'm paying so much for membership will help keep me motivated. I did, however, get another pretty swift kick of motivation when I got onto the scales/bmi calculator machine. At 5'10" I weigh 13 stone 2 giving me a BMI of 26.6. I know BMI's aren't exactly accurate for those with low body-fat percentages but I'm not one of those people. My body fat percentages are probably terrifying (and I'm sure I'll find out just how terrifying when I get my first assessment in the gym this week). The positives to take on this is that between the last time I weighed myself (about a week before the skiing) I was 13 stone 8 so I've lost 6lb in the last three weeks while developing my strength a little too.

My diet's still not great, eating out too much, drinking too much and still having an all out cheat once a week or so (damn Dominoes and their tastiness when drunk!). I have however, managed to make breakfast a much more regular meal and my diet when not cheating is much much better. The diet I'm aiming for and achieving maybe 4 days a week, having a good stab at 1 day and completely failing on the other 2 would be something like:

9:00 - Breakfast bowl of spelt muesli with blueberries and natural organic yoghurt (getting addicted to this) and a mug of green tea (kinda dubious about the health benefit claims of this but I really like it)

11:00 - 180gm carton of Innocent Smoothie, will probably have had a second green tea or a coffee between breakfast and lunch as well.

1:00 - Lunch this changes a lot, can be a bowl of soup and a small bread roll, a chicken tomato lettuce and mayo wrap, a baguette of some sort or I might have my main meal of the day and go for a roast with veggies

6:00 - Dinner (unless I'm at the gym then it's more like 8pm) Thai Rare Beef Salad / Spaghetti Bolognase (home-made, more sauce than pasta) / Grilled Chicken Salad / Salmon and Veggies

8:00/9:00 - Pineapple and Yoghurt

What I can notice myself is that I'm missing some sort of planned afternoon snack which is resulting in the odd chocolate bar/couple of biscuits when in work. Must look into preparing something. Wondering would a protein supplement be a complete waste of time or would I be better off trying to just eat more tuna/chicken etc...

As always any advice is greatly appreciated, I'm a complete novice at this (though maybe that can change over the next year?) and although my motivation is better than it's ever been (I do think part of that is down to having shelled out and gotten myself access to some decent facilities - a trip to the gym is so much easier to look forward to when there's a nice sauna / jacuzzi / steam-room / plunge pool session to look forward to after your workout!) it's great to even just take the time out to write something like this so if you're still reading, thanks, and thanks to all those who've written the stickies, the dietary advice, training ideas and simply some of the inspirational posters who've documented the extremes they go to in a quest for strength / power / health.

The Walsho

All the best man, hope you can stick with it this time!

Sleepy

Thanks king, think it'll be easier to stick to now that I have a gym membership for somewhere I'm actually looking forward to going when I finish work (though how much of that is novelty value at the moment is certainly up for debate.

Went in this evening after work and got a great pump going on my chest with the pec deck, overhead lift and seated bench a couple of sets on the leg curl, couple more on the leg extensions and followed this with my first 15 minutes of straight running on the treadmill at level 9. I know 2k is a puny distance but when I'm just coming off the cigarettes it feels great

Hit the pool for a few quick laps before sauna and home. Today's diet:

Breakfast 9am - Muesli, Yoghurt, Blueberries with a mug of green tea
Morning Break 11am - smoothie
Lunch 1pm - Roast Turkey, Mash potatoes, cabbage, carrots and gravy from the carvery (interested to learn calorie levels if anyone could give a rough estimate?)
Dinner 8pm (post workout) - Bowl of Avonmore tomato and basil soup and a roll with two cans of tuna

I know I should have eaten something in the afternoon pre-workout and should be eating smaller quantities more frequently and this is something I intend to work on (loaded up on the multi-packs of tuna in Dunnes this evening!). Tomorrow I'm going to arrange a session with a trainer to get a gym plan done out on Wednesday night.

Sleepy

First off, a thank you to Dragan for possibly the best work-outs of my life. When I said hi on my way in I didn't think there'd be much more than that or maybe a few words later so set about hitting the fly machine. Was kind of surprised (and delighted) to get the offer of a training session. I hope I didn't hold you back too much! If I ever get to three quarters of the weights you're lifting I'll be a happy camper!

So the session itself as well as I can remember it. I'm going to need to learn to note my weights and count my reps better as much of this is probably inacurate! Would appreciate any corrections Dragan, particularly on weight.

Treadmill Warmup
Lvl 5 for 1 minute
Lvl 9 for 4 minutes

Fly Machine: Warmup, 40 x 10 x 2

[enter the dragan]

Dumbell Benchpress - 10(?) x 25(ish), 14 x 12, 14 x 11
Bent Over One Arm Rows - 12 x 10, 24 x 10, 24 x 10 (for each arm)
Military Press - 20 x 10, 30 x 6, 30 x 3 (including bar )
EZ Bar Bicep Curl - 30 x 10, 20 x 10, 20 x 7 (fail)
Cable Pressdowns - 30 x 10, 30 x 10, 30 x 10

[exit the dragan]

3kms on the Treadmill at lvl 9 completed in a little over 20 minutes.

12 laps of the pool to stretch out, sauna, plunge-pool.

Thoughts on the workout:

1. My left shoulder was letting me down badly throughout, particularly on the Military Press so I'm definitely going to need to get a program of some kind to develop it. Think it must be a hangover from my life-guarding days that my right shoulder is that bit stronger than my left.

2. My shoulders and arms were giving in well before my chest on the bench press, if I can strengthen them, I'm sure that weight can be upped quite easily.

3. Maybe I should have thrown in some Lat Pulldowns to complete the upper body work?

4. My form was awful throughout, really need to work on it. I may have to just grin and bear the indignity of doing the military press with just the oly bar until I can get the form right.

5. I think he may have been showing off a little but holy **** can Dragan lift!

6. The treadmill felt great tonight. 20 mins shows a nice improvement on the 15 I managed on Monday night and my shoulders, chest and arms were pumping during it.

After my shower, I stepped onto the BMI monitor again and got a reading of 13 stone 3. For about 2 seconds I was gutted, all this work and I'd put on weight! After that initial shock I saw myself in the mirror and realised that this isn't about losing weight any more. Even post-workout induced pump, I can see already that I'm in better shape than I was. There's still a hell of a lot of fat to shift but my muscles are more defined than they were even just a week ago and that means they're heavier than they were so I'm taking it that at least that 1lb is a gain in muscle tissue and that whateve adipose I have burnt off, I've put on the same amount of weight in muscle tissue. I'm starting to see how lifting and exercising isn't necessarily all about weight or strength goals but as much about the process of getting there.

{edited for Dragan's corrections on exercise names and weights}

tribulus

Perhaps Dragan had you doing his one arm DB snatches?

He's not quite as angry as you'd expect huh?

As for the lats, a free weight version is usually better, so BB or DB row, or chins/pull ups.

Keep it up.

g'em

Sleepy wrote:

After my shower, I stepped onto the BMI monitor again and got a reading of 13 stone 3. For about 2 seconds I was gutted, all this work and I'd put on weight! After that initial shock I saw myself in the mirror and realised that this isn't about losing weight any more. Even post-workout induced pump, I can see already that I'm in better shape than I was. There's still a hell of a lot of fat to shift but my muscles are more defined than they were even just a week ago and that means they're heavier than they were so I'm taking it that at least that 1lb is a gain in muscle tissue and that whateve adipose I have burnt off, I've put on the same amount of weight in muscle tissue. I'm starting to see how lifting and exercising isn't necessarily all about weight or strength goals but as much about the process of getting there.

what a wonderfully healthy attitude!! And yes D was showing off, but he pulls it off wonderfully . Great session, now keeep the momentum going and give it socks next time round too.

Dragan

Sleepy wrote:

First off, a thank you to Dragan for possibly the best work-outs of my life. When I said hi on my way in I didn't think there'd be much more than that or maybe a few words later so set about hitting the fly machine. Was kind of surprised (and delighted) to get the offer of a training session. I hope I didn't hold you back too much! If I ever get to three quarters of the weights you're lifting I'll be a happy camper!

Ah no worries dude, i was more than happy to help out, and don't worry about it at all, i had a great workout!

Dumbell Benchpress - 15 x 25(ish), 20 x 12, 20 x 11
One Arm Upright Rows(?) - 20 x 10, 40 x 10, 40 x 10 (for each arm)

I think on the dumbell bench presses you were using the 14's???
And the second excercise was Bent Over One Arm Rows ( for zee lats ) and you were using 24kilos?

3. Maybe I should have thrown in some Lat Pulldowns to complete the upper body work?

If you have the energy do a back excercise for width ( chins , pulls, dumbell rows ) and one for thickness ( seated cable rows, face pulls, deads, barbell rows )

4. My form was awful throughout, really need to work on it. I may have to just grin and bear the indignity of doing the military press with just the oly bar until I can get the form right.

I wouldn't say awful by any means, there are just weaknesses in certain muscle chains the need to be worked on, but dropping back the weight and concentrating on the lift will be a great way to work on them.

5. I think he may have been showing off a little but holy **** can Dragan lift!

Just a little bit But i DO have a rep to maintain!!

I'm starting to see how lifting and exercising isn't necessarily all about weight or strength goals but as much about the process of getting there.

Enlightenment, it's a beautiful thing.

Sleepy

Thanks for the corrections there Dragan, thought the plates on the dumbells I was using were 5 kilos so I've even further to go than I thought.

Trib's right though, I wasn't really expecting such a cheerful disposition!

I'm a little stiff this morning, but in a 'this feels like I'm getting results' way. I know once the DOMS kicks in tomorrow, it'll be a 'wtf did Dragan get me to do?' pain but a short session in the pool will take care of that before my training sesssion on Saturday morning with Ross.

Thanks for the encouragement G'em, you can take some of the credit for the attitude, the only reason it's healthy is because I've been reading so much here for the past few weeks/months.

I'm feeling 'un-sleepy-ified already, and if you notice my handle on the teamtest forum, I've moved back to my original internet handle: 'Sleep Comes Tomorrow'. I used this when I was in college and it was partly a nod to the David Kitt song but moreso a reference to the fact I'd be out partying most nights and sleeping half the day. The things we get away with and even take pride in during our youth! :rolleyes: Starting to get in shape is just one of many changes I'm making to improve myself at the moment so the handle means something else to me now: today I improve myself, rest can wait til tomorrow.

Dragan

Sleepy wrote:

Trib's right though, I wasn't really expecting such a cheerful disposition!

I suppose the important thing there is that I post from work, where as you met me in my home!

Sleepy

Have a session booked for tomorrow with Ross in Westwood so thought I'd hit the gym for a gentle session just to get some blood flowing through my muscles to alleviate the DOMS I've been having since Wednesday. Nothing too bad but my back muscles were a little tender and my left shoulder is a bit sore.

Dumbbell Bench - 8 x 10, 8 x 10, 15 x 11, 15 x 10
Military Press - 20 x 10, 20 x 8, 20 x 10
Bent Over One Arm Rows - 24 x 10, 24 x 10, 24 x 10
Cable pressdowns - 30 x 10, 30 x 10, 30 x 10
Dumbell Bicep Curls - 12 x 10, 12 x 11

Pool 20 laps alternating every second lap.

Thoughts:
Went a bit harder than I probably should have with a more full-on session tomorrow but no pain, no gain. Got a lovely pump out of the Dumbell Bench's, I really like that lift and felt a lot stronger in it today (possibly because I hadn't done the dozens of reps with low weight and fly beforehand this time round). The military press is still very weak, just used the oly bar and felt like a child playing with my older brother's weights but I'm not going to get anywhere if I just go in and do a few sets of 2/3 reps of 30's in crappy form (was a bit nervous about adding weight without the benefit of a spotter). The rest of the workout was relatively straightforward, remembered Dragan's advice not to over-work the biceps so quit after two sets even though I definitely had a third in me.

My whey arrived this afternoon. Got the strawberry flavour and am hugely surprised at how tasty they are when made with low-fat milk. I had one with water before my workout and one with milk as soon as I got home from it. Hoping the extra protein will help me get through tomorrow so will probably have another before I hit the hay tonight.

Sleepy

Really wasn't feeling up to it today, was out with friends last night and had a very late one. Managed to drag myself off the couch at 6 and went up with the intention of just doing a few laps but got there and realised I didn't have my swimming cap so decided to do a bit of lifting. There was no plan there for me so I just worked out as I felt like it rather than using any set workout.

Dumbbell Chest Press - 30 x 10, 30 x 10, 30 x 7 (fail)
Bent Over One Arm Rows - 24 x 10, 24 x 10, 24 x 10
Dumbbell Tricep Extension - 6 x 6, 4 x 10
Cable Pressdown - 20 x 10, 20 x 10, 20 x 10
Leg Press - 40 x 10, 70 x 10, 70 x 10
Standing Military Press - 25 x 10, 25 x 10, 25 x 7 (fail)
Galileo Pulldown - 3 sets of 10 reps, can't remember weight but it was tough!
Galileo Fly - lvl 4 x 10, lvl 8 x 8, lvl 8 x 5
Galileo Arm Curl - lvl 4 x 20
Crunches 20, 20

Found the Tricep Extensions really difficult. Seemed to be more an issue with my supporting muscles than a lack of strength in the triceps themselves, was finding it next to impossible to maintain decent form so I switched to cable pressdowns instead. Even though the leg-press still quite terrifies me (it feels like stepping into a guillotine!) I got a nice pump in my legs, absolutely loved how they looked in the shower afterwards. My knees looked tiny between my calves and thighs. Shocked The military press is really coming on as well. I could barely rep the oly bar at this last week but managed the first two sets pretty comfortably today. Kinda hoping there's some DOMS about to kick in so I know I worked myself hard enough because I'm not going to make it to the gym again until Wednesday because of some other commitments. Might try get into the pool Tuesday morning but I'm going to be working 9 to 10 tomorrow and Tuesday so it'll be difficult.

Sleepy

Left work shattered last night having had only 5/6 hours sleep Monday and Tuesday nights but was determined not to miss three days in a row so packed my back and headed up to the gym and now very, very glad I did.

Warmup - Treadmill 5 mins (1 @ 5.4, 4 @ 8.7)

Dumbell Bench Press - 17.5 x 11 (PB), 17.5 x 10, 17.5 x 7 (fail)
Leg Press - 80 x 12 (PB), 80 x 10, 80 x 10
Standing Military Press - 30 x 10 (PB), 30 x 8 (fail), 30 x 4 (fail)
Squat - 30 x 11
Deadlift - 30 x 10
T-Bar Row - 20 x 10, 20 x 10
Lat Pulldown - half stack 10, 10, 10 (almost screamed on the last rep of the third set!)

Treadmill - 30mins (2 @ 5.4, 28 varying between 7.4 and 9.3)

Cooldown - Pool for approx 20 laps alternating breast-stroke and front crawl

Thoughts:
My t-shirt was soaked through and clinging to me leaving the gym floor which I always see as a sign of a good workout. Feel a bit silly adding PB's in at this stage since I'm just a beginner but it'll motivate me so I'm doing it. V. happy with the increases I'm seeing on my bench press and military press. Dragan could tell you how miserable my last attempt at 30k on this was. Probably should have left a little more time between the first and second sets but I'll chalk that down as a learning experience. The leg press was nice too, first lift I've done that's close to my own bodyweight and was *so* tempted to add another 10k to the bar just to say I'd lifted more than myself. The squat, deadlift and T-bar rows were the bad parts of this workout, really struggling to keep good form and that's why they only got a set each. I have another session booked with Ross on Saturday and I'd like to work on my form more with him before trying to hit the weights I think I can lift on these.

The treadmill was an interesting experience last night. I think it's the first time in my life I've ran for 30 minutes without having to drop to a walk. There were a few times on this when I reached quite a zen mindspace when I couldn't feel any pain in my calves and my mind went kind of blank. Paul J. described this far better in one of his journal entries but it was quite an experience.

In other bad news, my diet is slipping a little, life's getting in the way a little and making it harder to prepare proper meals for myself. I'm still sticking to the 5/6 meals format pretty closely but what I'm eating isn't always as clean as I'd like. Add to this that I've crept back onto the cigarettes. Aiming to come back off them on Monday (I've always found it easier to have a target for this rather than just deciding 'that's it, I'm off them'.

So, mixed progress overall, some things are improving nicely and at least I know what to do in the areas I am slipping in.

Sleepy

Lunch time swim - Newpark School Pool

50 lengths alternating front crawl and breast-stroke.

Sleepy

Cheeky Lunchtime Session*

Warmup - 5mins Treadmill @ 9.4

Dumbbell Benchpress - 17.5k x 10, 17.5k x 10, 17.5k x 6 (fail)
Leg Press - 80k x 10, 90k x 10, 90k x 10 (PB)
Standing Military Press - 30k x 10, 30k x 7 (fail), 30k x 4 (fail)
Squats - 30k x 10, 30k x 10
Dumbbell Curls - 15k x 8 (fail), 10k x 10
Cable Pressdowns - 65lbs x 10, 65lbs x 10, 65lbs x 10 (PB)

Thoughts:
The weekend was an absolute disaster in terms of the diet (most cals on Saturday were in the form of Guinness) and I'm going to have to quit the fags again That said, even drunk I'm managing to avoid fast-food and went for chicken wraps/brown bread sandwiches instead of kebabs when dining on the move. Not good but it could have been a lot worse if I'd behaved as I normally do when drinking.

Today's workout really was just a 'get the blood pumping' quickie. I ran out of time before getting to do any back work done. The bench and military press felt really hard today and I'm dissapointed not to have made the sets. I was leaving shorter gaps between my sets than usual trying to be quick and it cost me. The leg press represents my first lift of more than my bodyweight so very happy with that, can't wait for the day when I can bench that much! My triceps are absolutely shredded from the Pressdowns. It really is depressing how weak my arms are!

Going to start the routine Ross did up for me tomorrow night. Haven't had DOMS in a week or so and incredibly, I miss it! Does this mean I'm turning into a masochist? :eek:

*read as 'I was out of the office for the morning and ducked into the gym for an hour before coming in to work'

Sleepy

Finally got round to trying out Ross's program and even though I had to rush through it, I'm feeling it today:

format: weight x reps x sets

Lat Pulldown (reverse grip) - half stack x 10 x 3
Deadlift (from about 10" off the rack with added row) - 40 x 10 x 3
One Arm Rows - 25 x 10 x 3
Bench Press - 20 (ex-bar) x 10 x 2, 20 (ex-bar) x 5 (fail)
Incline Bicep Curls - can't remember the weight of the barbell, 10, 8 (fail)
Low Row - 85lb x 10 x 3

The gym was pretty busy last night so I had to improvise a bit with the program, switch around the order of some of the exercises, alternate some of the exercises (ditched t-bar for one arm rows, dumbbell presses for a barbell (first time using one to bench!), dumbell bicep curls for a barbell) and I was having a nightmare of a day so only had 45mins to get through it. Ran out of time so wasn't able to do my d/b flies.

The reason I was in such a rush? I'd only gone and locked my feckin keys in the boot of my car so had to be out of the gym in time for a taxi. In retrospect, I should have booked the cab for half an hour later than I did but you live and learn I suppose. Then to top things off, I broke my feckin' glasses in the dressing room Rolling Eyes

Enjoying the burn I have in my shoulders and upper back today, feels like I did some good. Dissappointed that I didn't have longer to get through the program fully and that I failed on a few of the sets that I've completed before. Was absolutely shattered going in and it showed. Probably should have just gone home last night and gotten a decent nights sleep so I could hit the gym properly tonight. Was good to see Dragan up there again and from watching an animal looking super-set he was doing, can't wait to read his own entry.

Dr4gul4

Keep it up lad, how heavy is the half stack ?

and go get sum contact lenses

Sleepy

Well, the plates in the Westwood are just numbered 1 to 20, there's no indication of weight on them so I've no idea?

Contact lenses? I've thought about them but I'm currently thinking that if I can get myself into a shape I'm happy with by summer, I'm going to splurge and reward myself with some laser surgery... "Sleepy's Extreme Makeover" will be coming to a crappy digital channel near you!

Dr4gul4

i'll have a look @ the 1 in TF to morrow nite, but im guessing that if there are 20 plates on it, and the 1 in TF goes to 127.5 KG then ure lifting about 60 Kg's.

This is all guess work of course


Try sum squats maybe also, there quite easy to work in if you're doing Bench press's and Deadlifts.

Sleepy

Squats are day 2 of my program

hunnymonster

Sleepy, which westwood are you in? In Clontarf the latt pull down etc in the old spinning room have weights on the stacks. In both kgs and lbs.

Dragan

Hey Sleep, you best to use the Lat Pull down near the low row you were using yesterday, just to the left of it on the other side of the cable cross overs.

It's numbered and weighted, in both lbs and kgs and has better track and control than the other older ones. It's also a lot higher, so you can get zee stretch on.

Sleepy

Sweet, cheers Dragan.

I'm in Leopardstown hunnymonster.

Sleepy

Missed my Cardio on Wednesday due to my mishapo with my keys so went up to get some in last night.

Treadmill - 32 mins, 4.2km done in 2 min walk, 13 minute run, 2 min walk, 13 minute run, 2 minute walk
Pool - 20 laps alternating front crawl and breast-stroke.
Sauna / Plunge Pool

Shoulders are pretty tight today and were telling me that maybe swimming wasn't such a good idea as soon as I hit the pool. Got a nice sweat built up on the treadmill though so happy enough with it.

I have to go out to a client's site this afternoon which means putting on a suit (if I'm in the office I just wear jeans and a t-shirt or whatever) so I ironed and threw on a shirt and noticed in the mirror that my shoulders were filling it out a lot nicer than they used to which got me to wondering if my 'other' suit would fit me now too...

The last time I tried the suit on was before my skiing holiday in February and then I couldn't do up the three buttons on the jacket without looking like a Leitrim farmer that was holding his trousers up with bailing twine. This was the suit I got for my graduation for college when I was a lot slimmer. Today, it fits like a glove

Sleepy

So, life got in the way and this was my first workout since last Thursday. Not good. Glad I went for a split program now so I can go in again tonight though.

Leg Day

Warm-up - Treadmill for 5 minutes

Squat - 50k x 10, 50k x 9, 50k x 10
Incline Leg Press - 80k x 10, 80k x 10, 80k x 10, 80k x 10
Leg Curls - 50 x 10, 50 x 10, 50 x 10, 50 x 10
Leg Extensions - 50 x 10, 50 x 10, 50 x 3 (fail)

Cool down - Some Power Clean and Jerk's with the oly bar (no weight til I get the form right). Thanks for the instruction Dragan, I definitely owe you a pint or two at this stage!

Pool - a pisssy 6 laps. Sad

Thoughts:
Screwed up right at the start by only doing 3 sets of the Squat, I was so keen to start doing them (was my first proper go at doing sets of squats) that I went straight for the rack without consulting my workout sheet, this should have been 4 sets. Still, they felt good. I got my behind below my knees for about 80% of them and I can see why they're considered the lift. Had a nice sweat going from the second I stepped out of the rack. From here, things got difficult. The leg press was agony from the second set and my third and fourth were done with no inconsiderable amount of grunting and mumbling curses under my breath. The leg curls were pretty much the same and the extensions simply weren't happening past the second set which had numerous pauses between every two/three reps. My legs felt like jelly at this stage and my back was pretty tight from the squats. I honestly thought my legs were going to go from under me on my way down to the changing room which I'm going to take as a good sign.

Dr4gul4

Ohh i know sum 1 who's gonna have DOMS tomorrow !!!!

im still recovering from sunday, so be carefull

good set of squats though, 50 K is very decent (i should be doing the same now )

Sleepy

As long as the DOMS stays off til tomorrow I'll be fine, tonight is chest, back and arms night

Sleepy

Hit the gym last night which was probably a mistake.

Dumbbell Bench Press - 20kg x 10(PB), 20kg x 6, 17.5kg x 10, 17.5kg x 7
Dead Row - 40kg x 10 (four sets)
Assisted Pullups - 10, 7, 4 (not sure of the level of assistance but I was having to make them ridiculously easy.
One Arm Dumbbell Rows 20kg x 10 (two sets per arm)
Bicep Curls - 8k x 10 (two sets)
Cable Pressdowns - 75lbs x 10 (three sets)

Thoughts:
That looks a little better up above than it felt. I completely blew the session through my insistence that I was gonna bench 40kg tonight. Couldn't actually manage any more than the 8k dumbbells at the end. Got a great pump on my forearms from the dead rows and yeah, the 20k dumbbells went up but overall I'm pissed off.

Sleepy

Tried out my new workout plan tonight and it kicked the daylights out of me. Could definitely still feel the tiredness from lack of sleep earlier in the week and it hurt my performance from about half-way through the program.

Squats - bar x lots, 50k x 10, 55k x 8, 55k x 10 (PB)
Leg Press - 80k x 10 x 3
Dumbbell Bench Press - 15k x 10, 15k x 9, 15k x 8
One Arm Dumbbell Rows - 20k x 10 x 2 (both arms)
Standing Military Press - 20k x 10, 30k x 6, 30k x 3, 20k x 10
Bicep Curls - 20k x 10 x 2
Cable Pressdowns - 27k x 10 x 3

Thoughts:
Starting to enjoy the squats and the leg press felt like a medieval torture device that I literally wobbled out of. The bench press was lighter than I've been using recently but my form was way better at that weight. The Military Press was when I started to really feel my tiredness, haven't struggled as badly with these since the first time Dragan showed me how to do them. Got a nice pump going and finally managed to get some wholewheat pasta in my local Supervalu so had a nice minced turkey bolognese afterwards

Dr4gul4

thats a pretty decent workout man, you'll get used to the press after a while, just make sure you have a spotter when you're doing it if you really want to push ure self.

also maybe throw in sum lunges when you get off it just to add insult to injury as it would be.

Sleepy

Saturday:

Came home to Galway so no access to a gym

Luckily nature gave Galway a good natural gym in the shape of the twelve pins. Climbed Diamond Mountain, hit the summit after about an hour by which stage the back of my t-shirt was soaked through. No better low intensity cardio than climbing a steep mountain on a sunny day!

Hopefully I burnt off enough calories and gave my legs enough of a thrashing to make up for my Easter Egg.

Sleepy

Monday:

Gym was fantastic tonight, hardly anyone in there at all so I had the run of the weights area to myself. Went in with the intention of destroying my chest and arms and think I accomplished it!

Bench Press - 40k x 12, 50k x 6(PB), 50k x 4, 45k x 7, 40k x 9
T-Bar Row - 20k x 10, 30k x 10, 30k x 10
Superset: Dumbbell Flys / Bicep Curls - 4k x 10 / 4k x 10, 8k x 10 / 8k x 10, 8k x 10 / 8k x 10, 8k x 10 / 8k x 10
Skull Crushers - 4k x 10, 4k x 10, 4k x 10
Dumbbell Bench Press - 15k x 10, 15k x 11
Squat - 40k x 10

No great weights lifted but my form was *far* better at these weights. I culdn't finish out the squat set because the gym was closing (and I was the last one on the floor) but definitely had another 2 sets in me at a higher weight (was planning on upping to 50k). Nothing outstanding but I really enjoyed this tonight. Came out with endorphines flying all over the place

Sleepy

Is it that long since I updated this?

Thursday April 12th
Squat - 40k x 12, 60k x 10, 70k x 10(PB), 60k x 10
Low Row - 105lb x 10, 120lb x 10, 105lb x 10
Chin Up - Bodyweight x 0, Bodyweight x 0 (came within an inch the first time, and about 2 the second)
Bench Press - 40k x 10, 40k x 10, 40k x 7, 40k x 10
Leg Press - 70k x 10, 70k x 10, 70k x 10

A short but nice session, really enjoyed the squats. The chin-ups were frustratingly close, my biceps were just too fried from Monday night. Bench Press was low for the same reason but was really only doing them to get some blood through my chest. Really suffered from only having 4 hours sleep last night (look at the time I'm posting this at and my username and you'll figure out why) though I'm wondering if I'm attacking my first lift of each session with a bit too much gusto, I really tend to fade at the end of my sessions. I'm guessing it'll improve as my fitness levels get better.

Thursday April 19th
Squat - 50k x 10, 70k x 10, 70k x 9, 80k x 3(PB), 50k x 10(fast)
Low Row - 27k x 10, 40k* x 10, 40k* x 10
Dumbbell Bench Press - 15k x 12, 17.5k x 12, 20k x 10, 20k x 7
Military Press - 30k x 8, 30k x 6
Cable Pressdown - 27k x 10, 40k* x 10, 40k* x 4 (fail)
Weighted Crunch Machine - 20k x 12, 20k x 8, 20k x 5

*can't remember exact weight will check the stacks more closely next time but remember it being 2/3k up or down from the 40

Happy with the squats and learning what Hanley means about lifts costing him blood vessels, my face was purple during the last rep at 80k. I can definitely do more than this but nervous about going for lifts over my bodyweight without a squatter. The Bench presses were weird, my left tricep kept twitching at me on the last two sets, like it was trying to tell me it was going to tear but I know it can handle more weight than that. My military press still sucks balls but part of me wonders if that's because I nearly always leave it to the end of my workout.

Saturday April 21st

5 min treadmill warm-up

Deadlift - 60k x 10, 80k x 9 (PB), 80k x 8, 60k x 10
Dumbbell Bench Press - 17.5k x 12, 22k x 10

[kicked out of gym at 8.30 despite website saying open til 9 Evil or Very Mad ]

Run approx 1 mile around racecourse

Drive home

Press-ups 10, 10, 7
Crunches 20, 20

Thoughts:

1. My deadlift sucks balls, I keep rounding my back while lowering the weight, I'm sure I can lift quite a bit more than 80k but I'm afraid of doing in my back lowering it Evil or Very Mad. Back is nice and tight though.

2. Benchpress is coming along nicely, was going to have a go at upping the weight before being kicked out.

3. If you're going to close a gym in stages (i.e. floor half an hour before dressing rooms, advertise the fact or let people work til the end and change at home)

4. Running outdoors is *way* harder than indoors. My lungs hate the cold air and I end up having a mini asthma attack. Evil or Very Mad

I was really looking forward to beating the **** out of my chest tonight because I'll be in Scotland until Thursday and doubt I'll get near a gym before Friday. Planning plenty of hill-walking etc. though so at least I'll be active for the week. Only real positive thing was a friend (and ex) commenting on the fact my chest and shoulders were getting big.

Sleepy

Thursday May 3rd

Training Partner - Dragan

Waarm-up - D/bell flies - 6k x lots

Incline D/bell Bench Press - 15k x 12, 15k x 9, 15k x 7
Superset - Press-ups - 7, 3, 1
Chest Supported Row - 15k x 13, 18k x 10, 20k x 11
Cable Complex - no idea of reps or weight but my shoulders were killing by the end and the reps slid down as I went
Random close-grip Chins between sets, 3 being the best consecutive
EZ Curl - 5k x 8, 5k x 4, 5k x 10 (weight not including bar)
Skull Crushers 5k x 10 with 4 count negatives - (weight not including bar)
Tate Press - 6k x 10, 6k x 8
Leg Press - 80k x 20 (PB for reps), 90k x 20(PB) (lots of pauses), 90k x 7
Deadlift 40k x 10

Thoughts:

1. Good workout! Supersetting incline bench with press-ups is incredibly difficult!
2. Cable Complex is torture but in a good way
3. Had to switch skull crushers for tate press as my left elbow was giving me serious grief

Saturday May 5th - Mini Test Fest!

Barbell Benchpress - 40 x 12, 50 x 6(PB for reps), 50 x 4, 40 x 10, 60 x 1(PB), 65 x 1(PB), 70 (fail), 67.5 (fail), 70 (fail) - Singles were done about 20 mins after initial sets and spaced reasonably widely apart
Chins 4(PB), 2,2,2,2,1
One arm row - 25 x 12/11, 35 x 8/7(PB), 25 x 10/10
Preacher EZ Bar Curls - 5 a side x 14, 10 a side x 2(PB), 7.5 a side x 6
Cable Pressdowns - 40 x 12, 40 x 8

Can't remember reps or weights but also did a number of reps of:

floorsweepers
squat
leg raises from dip station(?)

Incredible to train with you guys and looking forward to the next one already to set a few more PB's at!

Friday May 11th
Hit the gym tonight straight from work because I hadn't made it in since the Test Fest thanks to a stupid members only after 6 rule in the hotel I was staying in this week. Was totally wrecked going in, hadn't slept properly all week and my diet's been an absolute mess.

Squat - 50k x 12, 50k x 10, 55k x 10
DB Flies - 10k x 15, 10k x 10, 10k x 10
DB Curls - 15k x 10 each side
Assisted Pull Ups (Wide grip) - 10, 6

and that was it. Couldn't continue and have spent the rest of the night thoroughly drained. I'm totally out of it. The one good point of the gym tonight was when I weighed myself and I'm now 13 stone exactly which given the fact I've put on muscle means I've lost over a stone of fat since February Smile

Still bloody pissed that I quit but I just didn't have the energy.

Monday May 14th

Managed to grab a quick session today which I was well happy about because I didn't think I was gonna be able to make it down. Gym was mobbed with the usual Monday night crowd so just ran a TBT session using what I could get my hands on.

Deadlift - 50 x 10, 70 x 10, 80 x 9 (PB)
Low Row - 48 x 10, 48 x 9, 48 x 6
Wide Grip Chins - 2 (failed by approx 2 inches on the first and about 4/5 inches on the second)
Bench Press - 50 x 10, 50 x 6, 50 x 4*
Concentrated Curl - 12.5k * 10/10, 6/7
Rope Pulldown - 24 x 10, 32 x 9, 32 x 10

* failed badly on this, couldn't rack the left side of the barbell and had to pretty much roll off the bench, luckily I was using the low bench.

I think I'm seeing a trend in my sessions that I'm fading after my first couple of lifts badly, really need to work on my endurance / energy levels. While it wasn't a particularly heavy session in terms of how much I got done, it was a bit more intense than usual because of time constraints and I really felt it. Very nearly threw back up my PWO protein shake and my CNS doesn't seem to like these sessions. My entire upper body was shaking uncontrollably (quite like shivering) afterwards. Feel great for having done it now though

Tuesday May 15th
Wprk Out of the Week - Hung Over

This shagging killed me, kissed the clown and had to swallow it back before chugging my PWO shake. I've never felt weaker or more unfit but at the same time, I've never felt hardcore before and the 'crazy bastard' looks I was getting while attempting this definitely made me feel hardcore (guess it helps that I train in the WestWood and had D as my training partner!)

Chins/Pushups 3 rounds, only managed full rom on the first set of chins and the rest were single fails, after the first set of press-ups the rest were done in multiples of anything from 6s to 2s with pauses between where I lay on the ground like a helpless kitten.

Power Cleans Scaled due to unfamiliarity with the lift and dreadfull form. Can't remember the weight but a LOT lower than 60% of bodyweight. 3 sets of 6

Farmer's Walk 62k x 106 (in 3 sets), 40k x 110 (unsure of count so threw in an 'extra' ten for safety. Didn't manage a second round, grip was completely gone, hands covered in blisters tonight.

500m Row Forgot to check time, guess at 2:30?

Total time:about 22 mins.

Stats: 26/M/83k

Thanks to D for driving me through this. I know the only reason I didn't quit was pride. I just couldn't quit when he was doing it with so much more weight! I can see why he's been leaning out so well, workouts like this are too torturous not too work. The awful/great thing is, I'm growing to like this torture...

Sleepy

Tonight in WestWood

Training Partner - Dragan

Press Ups - 10 x 4
Dumbell Swings 10k x 11 x 3 (each arm)
Stairs Run - 5, 4
Power Cleans - 5 x 2 (unsure of weight - D?)
Floor Sweepers - 20 x 2 (two pauses on second set same weight as cleans)
250m Row - 47s

My first RAM shake (2 scoops) - L&L nyom! Very Happy

Pool - 40 lengths alternating front crawl with breast stroke
Jacuzzi, Sauna and Plunge Pool for a well-earned chillax

1 scoop of RAM

Verdict - Hell of a workout, retched after the stairs run and threw up after the Row (but before my RAM thankfully). Cardio vascular fitness is really my weak spot atm, anything that hits my lungs hard kills me. Only one way to fix it and it ain't gonna be pleasant. Crossfit is great, feel fantastic after the session but they sure are tough to do!

Sleepy

Saturday Session in Pinnacle

Training Partners: Kenny, Dragan, kwalsh, Wasabi, colmconn

Savage session, Pinnacle even smells of testosterone, it's incredible, absolutely loved it.

Wide Grip Pull Ups - 5(PB)
Squats - 40 x 10, 50 x 10, 60 x 7, 82.5 x 2 (PB), 60 x 8
Decline DB Flies - 10 x 10, 10 x 10, 10 x 10
Chest Supported Rows - 20 x 10, 20 x 10, 20 x 10
Bench Press - 60 x 7, 70 x 2(PB), 75 x 1(PB), 77.5 (f), 80 (f)
Floor Wipers - 40 x 20

Thoughts:

The squat PB is one I'm v. happy with as I can now squat my bodyweight. I'm still a little nervous of these, I'm sure I can do more weight but fear of doing my back in is holding me back from pushing the weight up too much.

The decline flies should really help my bench as they really focus in on the pecs and my problem with my bench is the first 4/5 inches so will try include these as often as possible.

The Prodigy came on just as I set up for the Rows and led me to really hammer through these. Have never lifted so quickly before and it gave me the most intense pump I've ever experienced. I could feel the test flowing through me which set me up nicely for the bench...

Absolutely thrilled with this. I failed quite badly with 70k up in TF at the mini test fest and just three weeks later I repped it and managed to grind up a 75k!

So I've now got one of the big three up to bodyweight, my bench is only 7.5k short of it and I've yet to test my 1RM at the deadlift. Might give it a go tomorrow or tuesday depending on how my form is feeling.

- A very happy Sleepy!

Sleepy

Wide Grip Pull Up - 3, fail on 4
Deadlift - 50k x 10, 60k x 10, 80k x 10, 100k x 3 (PB), 100k x 1
Military Press - 30k x 10 x 3
Bench Press - 24k x 6 x 3
Bench Dips - 12 x 3
Bicep Curl Machine - 5 plates x 6 x 2

Treadmill - 6mins @ 10.7

Thoughts: fun quick workout. Deadlifts felt good, definitely have more in it for a 1RM, grip went on the last one which stopped me from repping it further. First time I've ever made it through 3 sets of military pressing. Bench Press was tough, pecs are still fried from Saturday. First shot at bench dips, man they hurt after the first 7/8 reps.

Sleepy

Tuesday May 22nd
Superset Chins / Press-ups - 5/15 - 4,2 / 15 - 5 fails - 8 / 7
Power Cleans - 30k x 6 x 3
Farmers Walk - 35k x 124, 37, 36, 47 (total of 244)

- And that's where the owie comes in. I now know it's not a good idea to try and re-rack 35k dumbbells while failing from a farmer's walk. Got my hand trapped between the DB and the rack. Never been so glad I'm not stronger! Ran it under the tap for a while and it seems okay even though it's still tender.

Leg Press - 100k x 20(PB), 14, 8
Incline Barbell Bench Press - 40k x 10, 6, 4

Wed May 23rd Sligo Park Hotel

Limited equipment and time so a quick session thrown in because I probably won't get near a gym again til Monday.

Squats - 50k x 12, 70k x 8, 70k x 9
Wide Grip Pull Ups - 3
Chins - 3
DB Bench Press 16k x 14, 20k x 10, 20k x 10
Chest Supported Rows - 20k x 12, 20k x 10, 20k x 10
Concentrated Curls - 12k x 8/10, 12k x 6/8

Thoughts - Was up before 6am for a drive to Sligo so tired before I got here and was stuck in a conference all day so really wanted to blow some cobwebs out of the head. Lowered my usual weights and reduced the breaks between sets and exercises to try and work on my intensity/cardio vascular system as it's probably the weakest area of my fitness. Surprised that my left arm was the stronger on the curls though guessing that might be a result of my right arm taking more of the weight on the chins(?) Have a great pump going and RAM has never tasted so good.

Tuesday May 29th
Poor effort tonight, I was shattered all day after the weekend's over-indulgences. Really went up as much to keep the habit of going as to lift and it shows:

Deadlift - 60 x 10, 80 x 7, 80 x 5, 120 x 1 (PB), 120 (F)
Seated Military Press - 30 x 10, 30 x 7, 30 x 7
Incline Bench Press - 17.5 x 7, 17.5 x 4, 17.5 x 1
Bench Press - 17.5 x 7
One Arm DB Rows - 26 x 10, 26 x 10, 26 x 10 (each arm)
Preacher EZ Curl* - 13 x 10, 13 x 7 (unsure of bar weight, think 8k, so just posted plates)
Dips - 8, 3, f

Barely broke a sweat, not a good session but glad I went.

Thursday 31st May - Westwood
Training Partner - Dragan

I can't recommend this one enough, absolutely riddled with DOMS today, my pecs are in agony.

Superset - Pull-ups / Press-ups / Isometric Dip holds(?)
5 / 20 / 30s
4 / 15 / 30s
3 / 10 / 30s
2 / 5 / 30s
1 / 5 / 30x

Power Clean & Jerk - 40 x 3, 40 x 3, 40 x 3, 40 x 3, 40 x 3
Man Makers 10kg dbs - 8, 10, 10

Superset - Hanging knee raises / Bridge
15 / 30s
15 / 30s

(?) Don't know the name, basically it's holding the top of a dip position for time.

Thoughts: Well clearly, I loved this one. Felt strong on the chins and press-ups, these have really come on for me. Made a mess of the first few sets of the clean and jerk (instead of jerking the weight I military pressed it for the second and third sets) and form still needs some work but felt great holding 40k over my head . Man makers need to be re-named, forget torture: force any man to do enough of these and you'll break him.

This was, imho, the perfect work-out. I felt strong throughout (hell I even pulled ahead of Dragan for a short while on the man makers!), thoroughly knackered at the end and DOMS riddled today. I think this has to be made a WOW D!

Sleepy

Saturday 2nd of June
Tried out the Rocky Balboa soundtrack as a workout motivator. Fun Smile

Pull Ups - 5
Squat - 40 x 10, 60 x 10, 60 x 7, 60 x 8
Superset: Flies/Dumbbell Press - 15k x 10 / 15k x 10, 15k x 8 / 20k x 10
One Arm Rows - 28k x 8 / 28k x 9, 28k x 9 / 28k x 10*
Preacher EZ Curls - 10k x 10, 20k x 8, 20k x 3, 10k x 10 (plate weight only)
Rope Pressdowns - 4 x 10, 6 x 10, 6 x 9, 6 x 10

Thoughts - A quick session before a party with friends I hadn't seen in a while. Comments on the night - "well someone's found the weight section of the gym!", "Looking buff" and my favourite "You're not going to get too big are you?". Me = Very Happy

My squat is still piss weak though the form is getting a lot better, still can't remember the weight settings on the pressdown machine so just listed plates, unsure of the weight of the DB I used for rows - one of the old ones with 7 plates on each side. Recommend adding 'Gonna Fly Now' and 'Eye of the Tiger' to your playlist for the gym, fun to lift to Rocky's themes Smile

Sleepy

Yesterday - WestWood - Paying the Piper

Pull-Ups - 7 (PB)
Deadlift - 60k x 12, 100k x 8, 100k x 8, 140k (f), 120k x 1, 130k (f)
Military Press - Bar x lots, 40k x 6, 40k x 3, 30k x 10, 30k x 7
Decline Flies superset with Decline DB Press 12.5k DBs
8 / 10, 9 / 10
Floor Wipers w/ 50k - 20, 20, 13
Power Clean$ - 30k x 10, 30k x 10, 30k x 7
Preacher EZ Curl* - 15k x 10, 15k x 7
Cable Pressdowns - 42k x 10, 42k x 10, 42k x 8

2 Scoops RAM

Treadmill - 20 mins covering roughly 3.25k at various speeds w plenty of sprints thrown in.

1 Scoop RAM

* - Plate Weight Only
$ - Last set were jerked


Thoughts:
Hadn't been in the gym since Saturday so it was time to pay the piper and hit it with gusto. Equalled my PB on the deadlift, the 140k didn't move from the ground and the 130k failed at lock-out. Should have hit the chest with another set on the superset. Floor wipers felt good and was getting some mad looks when doing them. Couldn't resist jerking the power cleans on my last set. Came off the gym floor covered in sweat cos it was pretty warm in there today.

Strangely, the treadmill was the bit of this workout I'm proudest of. I hate cardio. Just plain and simple hate spending time at it. Knew I was leaving the C/V side of my workouts fall behind so said I'd hit the treadmill for 10 minutes at the end and ended up spending twice that on it. The reason? 'Gonna Fly Now' came on 7/8 minutes into the run and drove me through the rest. Guess my body's as childish as my brain at times!

Weighed myself after and was 13 stone dead.

Sleepy

Have been in the gym since last post but don't have access to my other log so:

Tonight
Squat - 60 x 10, 60 x 10, 80 x 6
Leg Press - 80 x 20, 80 x 11, 80 x 13
Wide Grip Pullups - 4, 2
Bench Press - 50 x 10, 50 x 7, 50 x 5
Floor Wipers - 50 x 20, 50 x 20
Chest Supported Rows - 20 x 10, 20 x 10, 20 x 10
Rope Pressdown - 38 x 10, 38 x 10, 38 x 4

Was wrecked tired going in and this was not fun at all. Energy levels are still totally sapped. Need to sort out my sleep patterns.

ali.c

Sleepy wrote:

Was wrecked tired going in and this was not fun at all. Energy levels are still totally sapped. Need to sort out my sleep patterns.

Hey there, are you sleep patterns all over the place or are you just not able to sleep? When that happens to me, i make sure i get up at the same time (usually 7am) everyday for a week or two and it sorts it right out!

Sleepy

Just coming out of a bit of a slump. W/Outs from the past few weeks:

Wed Jun 20
Wide Grip Pull-Up - 3
Deadlift - 80k x 10, 90k x 6, 90k x 3, 90k x 4
Superset - DB Flies / DB Bench - 12.5k x 10 / 22k x 10, 12.5k x 10 / 20k x 6, 12.5k x 10 / 20k x 3
Pull Ups - 4
Barbell Curl - 25k x 10, 25k x 9
Dips - 7, 3

Treadmill - 1k in 5.24

Friday Jun 22nd - Westwood

A quick session before driving home to Galway for the weekend

Smith Bench Press - 40 x 15, 60 x 8(PB), 60 x 6, 60 x 4, 50 x 8, 40 x 10
Pull Ups - 4
Bent Over DB Row - 35 x 10/10, 35 x 8/7
EZ Curl - 20 x 10, 20 x 8
Floor Wipers - 50k x 20, 10, 14
Assisted Dips - 10, 10
Clean and Jerk - 35k x 10, 35k x 8

Time: 35 mins

Thoughts - Got an unreal pump out of this but afraid it may have been a mistake. I was still hungover going into the gym at 6 after a stupidly heavy Thursday night and didn't realise until about 2 hours ago that it wasn't just a hangover, think it's a dose of my old nemesis Tonsilitus. Not sure about the science but it seems logical that the body having to recover from a gym session will negatively impact on it's ability to fight off the tonsilitus.

Sat Jun 30th
Feeling a bit better this morning after last night's work out and subsequent drinking session (Paulaner for the no hangover win!). Took it pretty easy in the gym as I'm still getting over this infection but it was a pretty draining workout nonetheless:

Smith Machine Bench Press - 60 x 10(PB), 60 x 7, 60 x 5
One Arm Rows - 24k x 10, 24k x 10, 24k x 10 both arms
Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 15k x 10, 17.5k x 7, 17.5k x 4
Floorwipers (w/ 50k) - 30(PB), 21
Barbell Preacher Curl - 25k x 10, 25k x 10

Time: 34mins

The Bench Press feels a lot better in the Smith Machine, don't know if it's because I'm not having to stabilize, if my strength's improving or a combination of both. Overall this was a sapping workout, my energy levels haven't been great this week and my diet's been ****e - keep carb loading to keep me going in work. Good to get in though, enjoyed feeling some iron in my hands again.

Tuesday July 3rd in WestWood

Squat - 50 x 10, 70 x 5 x 5
Low Row - 55 x 10, 75 x 5 x 5
Smith Machine Bench Press - 50 x 10, 60 x 5 x 5
Man Makers - 10, 4, 3
Preacher Curl Machine - 5 plates x 10, 7
Assisted Dips - 3 x 10 (can't remember level of assistance)

Thoughts:
1. I like 5 x 5 training, have worse DOMS in my chest today than I usually get from working in an 8 - 10 range.
2. Very nearly dumped the fifth squat of my third set, just lost my balance somehow but managed to hold it.
3. I'm definitely putting on muscle but I'm not going so well on the cutting fat. Need to sort out my diet, sleep patterns and maybe add in some HIIT.

Wednesday July 4th
Training Partner: Dragan

A1 - Pull Ups: 5 x 4
A2 - Bodyweight Squat: 20 x 4
A3 - Isometric hold at top of Dip position: 30s x 4

B1 - DB Swings: 10k x 10, 10k x 10, 12.5k x 10 (a side)
B2 - Bench Jumpovers: 10 x 3

C1 - Floorwipers: 50k x 31, 50k x 20, 50k x 7, 50k x 3

D1 - Plate Loaded Bench Press: 40k x 10, 50k x 10, 50k x 5, 50k x 4

E1 - Bicep Curl Machine Dropset - can't remember weight or reps but brutal.

F1 - Bodyweight Dips: 10, 7, 3

Thoughts: Lungs were burning at the end of the two combos though I should have been using the higher weight for the swings from the start. Floorwipers felt great, really building up the reps now. Got a great pump and the intensity was as high as it always is when I train with big D. Good session, pretty sore now. Will take tomorrow off and try get in Friday evening to try Xplode

Sleepy

Friday Night

Xplode pumps you up like ****in crazy!

A1 - Wide Grip Pull Ups - 5
B1 - Deadlift - 60k x 10, 100k x 5, 100k x 5, 100k x 3
B2 - Pull Uos - 6, 4
C1 - Seated Press - 40k x 5, 40k x 5, 40k x 5, 40k x 4, 40k x 3
D1 - Incline Flies - 10k x 10, 10k x 10, 10k x 10
D2 - Incline Situps - 10, 10, 10 - 30 seconds rest between each pair of sets
E1 - Flat Bench Press - 50k x 5, 50k x 5, 50k x 5, 50k x 5, 50k x 6(miss)
F1 - Bicep Curl Machine - 45k x 12, 45k x 7, 35k x 10, 35k x 7
G1 - Bench Dips - 10 x 3

Thoughts: My grip is letting my deadlifting down massively. Right hand just won't hold the bar when I start repping. Nearly lost the last rep of my 4th set on the flat bench and got a spot for the last set. There were some more pull ups in there somewhere as well. Xplode? I like it. Didn't feel a huge difference to my workout except I was breathing harder through most of it and tbh, I was knackered before hitting the gym and still got through a fairly decent session. I do love it's pump up effect though. My arms are bigger than they've ever been right now (about half an hour pwo).

Sleepy

Saturday Morning Session in Pinnacle with ali

Warm-up:
Wide Grip Pull Up x 7 (PB)
Bench Press - 50k x 12 (PB for reps)

A1 - Press Ups - 20, 15, 10, 5
A2 - Pull Ups - 5, 5, 5, 5
A3 - Isometric Hold at top of Dip - 30s x 4

B1 - Power Clean and Jerk - 35k x 6 x 4
C1 - Floor Wipers (50k)- 24, 6, 31
D1 - Bench Press - 50k x 10, 60k x 7 (reset at 3), 60k x 5, 80k (miss), 60k x 3
E1 - Preacher Curl - 25k x 12, 25k x 3, 20k x 8

Random pull ups thrown in between the last 4 sets as well.

Thoughts:
Took 3 scoops of Xplode half an hour before this session and was jittery as hell between sets. Have a headache now too so guessing I should just use the 2 scoops.

Missed 80k yet again though not really surprised. I'm going to Spain for a week on Wednesday so I've been in the gym 3 of the last 4 days (and plan on going every day til Tuesday) and I always hit the chest somehow, had already done a considerable amount of chest work by the time I went for it and I reckon fatigue was all that stopped me from getting it. Will have another shot at it when I get back.

Good session and always good to lift with ali.