Wednesday, July 27, 2011

July 27, 2011 Workout Summary

My 23nd StrongLifts 5x5 workout.

Squat
I completed 5x5 at 200 lbs. I was pretty surprised that I just blew through this.  I really just focused on pushing down with my legs as hard as I could and tried not to focus on the pain or the fatigue. I think it's really counter-productive to guess what rep I'm going to fail on, and when I think about it, I psych myself out. When I just push my hardest, it takes care of the mental part of the game.

Bench
I completed 5x5 at 165 lbs. I lifted my ass off the bench a little bit on the last rep, but I was really pushing. So I counted it.

Rows
I completed 5x5 at 115 lbs. My form is still pretty bad, but I'm going to wait for 135 lbs to get really picky. It's just too hard to keep the form perfect when I have to set the weights down on other plates.  When I can start setting the weights down on the floor, I'll care more.


Abs
I completed 5/5/4/3/3 at 35 lbs.  I can really feel myself working which is a nice feeling.


Weight
I weighed 167 lbs. I'm trying to push up to 170 lbs and I'm getting really close. It seems like my weight is sitting still over the past week, but I think it's just inconsistencies in the measurements. Usually a week of stagnation is followed by a jump in weight on the scale. I'll be looking for that next week :-).

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

July 25, 2011 Workout Summary

My 22nd StrongLifts 5x5 workout.



Squat
I completed 5x5 at 195 lbs.  I stalled on this lift last workout so it felt good to blow through these like they were nothing.

Overhead Press
I completed 5x5 at 95 lbs.

Deadlift
I dropped all the way down to 185 lbs.  I feel like my form was just not at all what it should have been, so I took the weight all the way down to where I felt comfortable.  I'm going to only go up by 5 lbs each workout so that my form doesn't suffer again. I know that my deadlift should be higher than my squat, but I think that if deadlift is really an easier lift than squat, then it will eventually catch up.

Calves
I completed 5x5 at 140 lbs.  I feel like I'm going up really well on these.  They aren't exactly easy, but they don't seem to be getting too much harder either even though my weight has gone up alot.

Abs
I completed 5x5 at 30 lbs.  I skipped 27.5, because I couldn't hold the plates.  This weight actually felt easier than 25 lbs.  I'm having a hard time determining what counts as a full rep, because when my abs are fully contracted, I'm not completely up to my knees. I think these reps were pretty solid though. I can feel a difference in my abs when I fail on reps.

Weight
I weighed 165.4 lbs.  This was a disappointing drop from 166.6 lbs, but I'm eating plenty so I know that I didn't lose any real weight.

Notes
I've upped my calorie intake to 3900-4000 kcals a day.  When I look in the mirror, my abs are becoming more visible.  That says one thing to me: I can and should eat more.  I want to make sure that I'm gaining muscle as fast as possible.  If I'm not gaining fat then all my excess calories are all going to muscle, my body could probably take more.  When I start gaining fat then I'll know that I'm eating enough.

I saw the guy that I thought was doing StrongLifts again on Saturday.  He actually spoke up and asked if we were doing StrongLifts.  So that was pretty cool.

I went a few workouts without drinking whey protein, and I think it really reduced my recovery. I noticed a big difference when I drink whey after my workout Saturday and then nailed my squats on Monday. I tried to do some more research on WHEN you should take protein.  I read that the original study that everyone uses as gossip on "you should take protein within 30 mins after a workout" was done on fasting.  A new study suggests that the best time you should take protein is before a workout so that's what I'm going to try to stick to.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

A Typical Day of Eating

I use livestrong.com to track my calories.  It fits my needs well. It's a bit of a pain to put in your own food, but it already has a ton of food from other users. So you can find just about anything you need. Even my protein shakes and post-workout were already in their food database. Anyway, LoneWolfArcher asked for a nutritional log of a typical day. Note that I'm trying to get 3200 kcals per day or 20x my body-weight in lbs. I would also like to get 140 g of protein or 2x my body-weight in kg. The protein comes easy though with all the milk.

Breakfast - 1000 kca/36g protein
Poptarts - 400 kcals/32g protein
Milk - 600 kcals/4g protein

Lunch - 1019 kcals/68g protein
Lasagna - 419 kcals/36g protein
Milk - 600 kcals/32g protein

Afternoon Snack - 250 kcals/0g protein
Cupcake - 250 kcals/0g protein

Dinner - 719 kcals/52g protein
Lasagna (again) - 419 kcals/36g protein
Milk - 300 kcals/16g protein

Evening Snack - 410 kcals/13g protein
Peanuts - 260 kcals/13g protein
Milk - 150 kcals/8g protein

Grand Total: 3398 kcals/177g protein

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

July 4, 2011 Workout Summary

My 13th StrongLifts 5x5 workout.
StrongLifts 5x5 Progress 7/4/2011
StrongLifts 5x5 Progress 7/4/2011


LiftStart (6/6/2011)Current (7/4/2011)Gain
Squat135 lbs185 lbs+50 lbs
Deadlift185 lbs235 lbs+50 lbs
Bench145 lbs165 lbs+20 lbs
Rows60 lbs90 lbs+30 lbs
Overhead Press45 lbs70 lbs+25 lbs
Calves90 lbs115 lbs+25 lbs
Abs0 lbs7.5 lbs+7.5 lbs
Weight154.6 lbs163.2 lbs+8.6 lbs

Squat
I completed 5/5/5/2/0 at 185 lbs.  I had to get up and go straight to my workout which I've never done before. I literally felt like I was still asleep when I was doing squats. It was just no use. I couldn't motivate my body. This is my third failure and I'll have to deload 20 lbs next time. I won't complain though. To be honest, I don't really like squatting when I don't feel like I'm going all the way down. Going back down to 165 lbs should make it easy enough to drop below parallel and actually feel good about my squats.

Bench
I completed 5/5/5/5/4 at 165 lbs.  After my first set of bench, I felt my body come back alive. My 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sets went really well, and I felt strong doing them. My 5th set, I was really close. I got the 4th rep with a struggle, but I only made it about half way up on my last rep. The guy spotting me decided I didn't need a lot of help and BARELY helped me on the last rep. It felt like it took a minute to complete the last rep with the tiny amount of help he was giving me, hahaha.

Rows
I completed 5x5 at 90 lbs

Calves
I completed 5x5 at 115 lbs. I was only taking 30 seconds rest because another guy was waiting on the machine and didn't want to work in. My calves were really tight when I stepped off the machine. I think that I'm going to move calf raises to my other workout, because 5x5 rows is starting to take extra time, and I'd like to knock out calves on my 1x5 deadlift days.

Abs
I completed 5x5 at 7.5 lbs. Just like I'd hoped, my form was good, and I nailed all my reps.

Weight
I weighed 163.2 lbs. Another personal record. I guess I should stop being surprised when my weight goes up. Weighing myself after working out is turning out to be pretty consistent. And I'm eating 3200 kcals everyday without fail. I never miss a day even on weekends which most people seem to struggle with. I guess that I've been fed up with my weight for so long that I'm dead serious about gaining now, and I would never accept a day where I cheated. If you want to gain weight, eat your calories and don't leave any excuses. Same for losing weight. Don't go over your calories, ever. If you over-eat in the morning, don't give me any of that crap about "Oh, well I missed up and now the day is ruined so I'll eat whatever I want today and do better tomorrow". NO. If you overeat in the morning, STOP eating. Yeah, you'll be hungry, but it's your fault. Just like if I don't get my calories in the morning.  I don't give up, I eat until I want to puke in the evening to make up for it. Sorry for the rant, but I'm tired of excuses. I will no longer except them from myself, and I think anyone else serious about changing their weight should do the same.

July 1, 2011 Workout Summary

My 12th StrongLifts 5x5 workout.
StrongLifts 5x5 Progress 7/1/2011
StrongLifts 5x5 Progress 7/1/2011

LiftStart (6/6/2011)Current (7/1/2011)Gain
Squat135 lbs185 lbs+50 lbs
Deadlift185 lbs235 lbs+50 lbs
Bench145 lbs165 lbs+20 lbs
Rows60 lbs85 lbs+25 lbs
Overhead Press45 lbs70 lbs+25 lbs
Calves90 lbs110 lbs+20 lbs
Abs0 lbs7.5 lbs+7.5 lbs
Weight154.6 lbs162.8 lbs+8.2 lbs

Squat
I completed 5/5/5/5/3 at 185 lbs. This was a good attempt, but my form still had room for improvement. Dropping all the way down really taxes my legs.

Overhead Press
I completed 5x5 at 70 lbs.

Deadlift
I completed 5x5 at 235 lbs. This actually felt better than 225 lbs, but I was really sore the next day. I could tell that my lower back really had to work to stay straight.

Abs
I completed 5x5 at 5 lbs. Again, the form was much better than the first time around. I think 7.5 lbs will come easy and with good form next time.

Weight
I weighed 162.8 lbs. Another personal record. This was a nice jump. I may not have to increase my calories after all. Of course, when I hit 165 lbs, I will increase to 3300 kcals to stay with the 20x ratio.