24 Weeks with John Meadows

Training Training Logs
1

Stats:
Starting Weight - 278 lbs
Height - 5 feet 7 inches
Body Fat - ~22%

I decided to do the 24 week Get Lean Package with John mainly for personal reasons (look better, get in shape, etc) but I will also be getting married Nov 3, 2012 and obviously I would like to look my best. My end goal is to be around 8-10% BF. I don’t really care at what weight as long as I keep most of my strength.

I have been training seriously for the past 15 years with mostly a powerlifting type program(s). I definitely look like a powerlifter in that I carry all of my fat around the middle (waist), big chest, huge thighs, good traps, big tris, no biceps :slight_smile: I had my ACL replaced with my patellar tendon back in 1996 and have since had minor meniscus tears in both knees.

Three months ago I decided to stop squatting and focus on improving the strength and size of my right leg which is the one I had the ACL surgery on. As a result of these plus numerous other injuries my numbers have not improved, except for my bench, so I really want to improve my deadlift as well.

I have switched my workout routine to Dave Tate’s Trilogy program
Mon - Off/Cardio
Tues - Off/Cardio
Wed - Chest/Biceps
Thurs - Traps, Low back, Hamstrings (deadlift day)
Fri - Off/Cardio
Sat - Lats, Triceps
Sun - Quads, Shoulders

I rotate the intensity and reps as follows:
Wkout 1: High volume, high reps, low intensity
Wkout 2: Med volume, med rep range, med intensity
Wkout 3: Low volume, low reps, High intensity
…and then repeat

This way I sometimes have 2 low rep high intensity workouts on some weeks which I really enjoy but the high rep days prevents me from overtraining while cutting calories.

I am actually already one week into the diet and I am happy to report that I lost 4.5 lbs the first week. Looking at myself it all seems to have come from my love handles as well! Unfortunately yesterday, which was my low rep high intensity day for my deadlifts I really screwed up my lower back. Three weeks ago I tried 365 and it went up very slow but I got it.

Yesterday 365 was a smoke show so I decided to add 10 lbs and go for a PR. I got it up but hitched at the top and according to my chiro I jammed the facet joints in my lower back. This has caused a lot of inflammation but two chiro visits later I am feeling and walking much better. I won’t be able to work out much this week but I can do slow cardio on the recumbent bike and John has already advised me to stick with the non workout day nutrition he provided me with.

So far this has been a great experience and I look forward to pushing the weight loss even further in the coming weeks.

2

Gratz on the results. He’s really been great to work with. Since working with JM I’ve also changed up my routine to Westside for Skinny Bastards 3 and I’m loving every minute of it. I actually can’t wait to get to the gym every lifting day.

3

I’ll be checking in purely because I love John Meadows stuff. Be interesting to see what is revealed with a big weight drop like that!

4

I had a really bad day yesterday with my back, it was extremely stiff for the first 4 hours of the day. Today however has been the complete opposite. Woke up feeling great and my back barely had any stiffness to it. I managed to do abot 40 minutes of cardio this morning, just slow walking on the treadmill but I figured its better than nothing. Just got back from doing a light lat workout since my chiro advised that’s about the only healthy thing to do at this point.

Wide grip pulldowns 3 x 15
Close parallel grip pulldowns 3 x 15
Kneeling high pulley rope rows superset w/rope face pulls 3 x 15
Another 20 minutes slow walking on treadmill

I was able to get through the workout without any lower back pain but we will see how I feel tomorrow. I am due for another chiro appointment in the morning and I hope everything continues to heal properly.

5

Did 60 minutes walking on treadmill first thing this morning. My back is feeling 100% better but I’m still waiting for the word from my chiro before I start working out again. Hopefully this won’t stall my weight loss too much.

6

I managed to get in another lat workout this morning. I went a bit heavier than I did on Sunday and kept my rep range between 8-10. My lower back injury continues to improve greatly to the point where I can really no longer feel it. I’m still going to take it easy with my workouts though. I don’t want to do something stupid and wind up worse off than I was. Tomorrow is my weekly weigh in! My clothes are fitting as though I still lost a few pounds this week despite the lack of workouts.

Today:
Thib pulldowns 3 x 12
Assisted pull ups 5 x 5
Chest supported T bar row 3 x 8
Parallel grip wide Half pulldowns (to top of head) 3 x 8
DB pullovers 2 x 8
Stretchers (Meadows style) 3 x 8

7

[quote]roidrodeo wrote:
Did 60 minutes walking on treadmill first thing this morning. My back is feeling 100% better but I’m still waiting for the word from my chiro before I start working out again. Hopefully this won’t stall my weight loss too much.[/quote]

dont rush it man. Just because it feels betters doesnt mean it has had time to fully heal and re stegnthen. Ive made the mistake of rushing injuries many times and its the worst possible thing.
Sit back, focus on core and low back strength and try not to load the spine to much, kinda phase it in week by week. Baseballs are awesome for rolling out the erectors and glutes which if u wake up feeling stiff, this can release that real good.

Good luck man

8

The weigh in for the end of week 2 was today and I’m down another 4.5lbs!!! I was 269.00 this morning and its the first time I have been under 270 in at least 5 years. My chiro also told me yesterday I could start working out again so I had my first real workout oday in about a week and a half. My strength was still great despite the lack of workouts recently and I did a little bit of everything for upper body.

Machine chest press 3 x 15 warmup
Rope pushdowns 3 x 15 warmup
Low incline DB bench 1 x 15 x 55
1 x 12 x 70
1 x 12 x 80
Speed Bench (w/EFS pro short mini bands on bar)
7 x 3 x 185 various grips
Lean away side laterals
1 x 15 x 15
1 x 12 x 20
V-grip Pushdowns (ladder set)
1 x 4 x 40
1 x 4 x 50
1 x 4 x 60
1 x 4 x 70 No rest between sets
1 x 4 x 80
1 x 4 x 70
1 x 4 x 60
1 x 4 x 50

Overall workout felt great but the weight loss has definitely affected my leverages on the bench press. First couple of sets of the first two exercises I’m sure I looked like a newborn horse trying to walk. I’m having to relearn how to stabilize everything but I’m not complaining :wink:

9

Solid workout today, back is doing great.

Bench
1 x 15 x 45
1 x 8 x 135
1 x 5 x 185
1 x 3 x 225
1 x 3 x 245
1 x 1 x 275
1 x 1 x 300

Pin Press from Bottom
3 x 1 x 275

Straight bar curls
2 x 15 x 45
Incline DB curls (3 sec negatives)
1 x 8 x 20
2 x 8 x 25
Spider curls
3 x 8 x 40

Assisted pullups
3 x 5

Face pulls
4 x 15

I could not believe how weak I was on pin presses. I have known for a while that I was weakest at the bottom of my bench but I had no idea just how weak I was. I’m going to make this movement a regular in my programming from now on.

10

Another solid workout this morning! Strength is doing well and my back has been cooperating so far.

Wide grip pulldowns (warmup)
Superset w/straight arm pulldowns
3 x 12

Assisted pullups
1 x 8
1 x 6
1 x 4
1 x 3
1 x 1 (30 sec negative)
I decreased the assistance each set and actually got a PR for the lowest amount of assistance I have ever used. But I have also lost over 9lbs so I am much lighter than before.

Superset w/rope pushdowns
3 x 15 warmup
4 x 8 incr weight each set

Hammer Strength Rows
1 x 8 x 2pps
1 x 8 x 2pps quarters
1 x 8 x 3pps
1 x 10 x 2pps
1 x 12 x 1pps

DB Pullovers
2 x 8

Single arm DB Overhead Ext
3 x 8

Straight arm pulldowns
4 x 12 (45 sec rest between sets)

11

Weighed in today for my weekly check in and I was 269.4lbs which is an increase of 0.4lbs. I did have a cheat meal Wednesday night because it was my fiancee’s birthday but I didn’t think that would mess with my progress this much. Maybe I’m just being dramatic. This could be do to a million different things for all I know, afterall you can’t expect to loose 4.5lbs every week. It may have been because this was my first real week back working out after my back injury. At this point I will just wait to hear from Jon and see what he thinks.

12

Sunday 4-8-12 Workout Quads/Shoulders - late post

Leg Press (feet low and close together)
3 x 15 x each leg seperately (warmup)
1 x 8 x 4pps
1 x 8 x 6pps
1 x 12 x 7pps
1 x 15 x 5pps

Belt Squats
3 x 8

Machine Leg Press
3 x 12 (paused at bottom, right leg only)

Bulgarian Split Squats
2 x 12 (right leg only)

Hammer Strength Military Press
3 x 15 (45 sec rest between sets)

This was my first leg workout since the back injury. I wanted to give my back extra time to heal before I put any kind of load on my spine due to the fact that the first time I screwed up my back it was in fact on the leg press (long story). Everything felt great and I didn’t really push the weight to my max. Just wanted to get a good workout in without any back pain. John emailed me and said the weight gain might be due to extra sodium intake from the one cheat meal I had last week so I’m drinking 1.5 gallons of water per day for 3 days to flush my system. I will reweigh on Wednesday 4/11/12 and get back with him to see if we need to make any changes.

13

Todays workout - Chest/Biceps

Rope Tricep Ext
3 x 15 (warmup)

DB raises (front, side, and rear delts)
2 x 15 (warmup)

Bench
1 x 15 x 45
1 x 8 x 135
1 x 6 x 185
1 x 3 x 225
1 x 3 x 245
1 x 1 x 275

Pin Press from bottom
1 x 2 x 275 ****PR
1 x 1 x 280 ****PR
1 x 1 x 285 ****PR
1 x 1 x 295 ****PR
1 x 1 x 300 fail

DB Flat Bench
2 x 10 x 90

Straight Bar curls
2 x 15 x 45
3 x 8 x 45 (3 sec negative, 45 sec rest between sets)
1 x 6 x 65 (3 sec negative, immediately strip 20 lbs off)
1 x 6 x 45

I was very happy with the 20lb PR on the pin press. I mentioned last week how weak I was on these and I seemed to have improved a lot. I will reweigh tomorrow morning and hopefully all this water I have been drinking will bring the weight down some.

14

Hammer Strngth Shrugs (3 sec squeeze at top)
1 x 15 x 1pps
2 x 10 x 2pps
1 x 8 x 3pps

Seated Hamstring Curls
1 x 15 squeeze at bottom
2 x 8
1 x 6 w/5 partials

Lying Hamstring curls
2 x 15

DB Rear Delt raises
2 x 12
1 x 20 (swinging DB rear delt)

Rear delts on cable machine
2 x 15

I only had 30 minutes to workout this morning so it was kind of crappy. I did reweigh and came in at 269.9 lbs which is 0.5 lbs more than Saturday. John detects a little insulin resistance so he made some changes to the diet. We will see how things go with the new plan. Going to the beach for a three day weekend with the fiancee so I’m pumped about some R&R.

15

Yesterdays Workout (4/16/12) Quads

Leg Press

Worked up to 8pps and then did the following drop set:
1 x 8 x 8pps, stripped 2 plates
1 x 8 x 6pps, stripped 1 plate
1 x 6 x 5pps, stripped 2 plates
1 x 10 x 3pps, stripeed 1 plate
1 x 18 x 2pps (teardrop killers - toes only on bottom of platform)

Bulgarian Split Squats (right leg only)
2 x 10 x bodyweight
1 x 8 x 25lb DBs
1 x 6 x 30lb DBs

After that I called it a day. My legs were nice and pumped!

16

Today - Chest, Shoulders, Biceps

Warmup
Rope Pushdowns 3 x 15
Front, side, rear DB raises 2 x 12

Incline Bench
1 x 10 x 135
1 x 8 x 185
1 x 3 x 225
1 x 2 x 245
1 x 1 x 275 - Fail

Blast Strap Pushups
3 x 10

Lean Away side laterals
2 x 8

Blast Strap Rear delts
3 x 10

Hammer Curls
3 x 8

I definitely feel like I could have had 265 on the incline. I regretted making the jump to 275 from 245 after I missed it but oh well. I am thinking about switching my bench workouts to Westside style as my chest does not seem to like the high rep high volume day that rolls around every third week with the Trilogy program. The week after the high rep high volume week my bench goes to shit and even 135 feels heavy. So far I definitely feel as though I have maintained if not gained some strength while on the diet.

17

Hamstrings/ Abs

Swiss Ball Crunches superset w/planks
3 x 15 - crunches
45 secs - plank

Seated Ham Curls
2 x 12
1 x 10
2 x 8
1 x 8 (left leg only)

RDL on T-Bar row
3 x 10

Giant Set:
Single leg RDL w/DB
Single leg RDL w/low pulley
Single leg RDL w/high pulley
1 set each leg (didn’t quite have the coordination to keep going on this one)

Glute Ham Raises on Seated calf machine (negatives only)
3 x 4

18

Lats/Triceps/Speed Bench

Speed Bench (w/EFS pro short mini band, varying grips)
135 x 3
135 x 3
155 x 3
155 x 3
185 x 3
185 x 3
185 x 3
135 x 3

Thib Pulldowns
3 x 12

Chest Supported T-Bar Row
5 x 5 (45 sec rest between sets and 1 sec squeeze at peak of movement)

Straight arm pulldowns superset w/kneeling high cable rope row
3 x 10

Close grip cable row
3 x 6 (1.5 reps = 1 rep)

Skullcrushers (straight bar)
6 x 10

Stretchers (John Meadows style)
3 x 8

Today was weigh in and I was 267.4 this morning, so down another 1.4 lbs. I’m very happy with my results so far considering it doesn’t even feel like I’m on a diet because I’m always eating.

19

4/23/12 (Sunday) Quads

Leg Press (3 sec negatives)
3 x 15 (warmup)
1 x 10 x 4pps
1 x 10 x 6pps
1 x 10 x 7pps
1 x 5 x 8pps
1 x 8 x 6pps
1 x 10 x 4pps

Bulgarian Split Squat (right leg only)
3 x 12 x bodyweight

Adductor Machine
3 x 10 (3 sec negatives, 2 sec squeeze at top)

It was an OK workout. Could not get my VM on my right leg to fire like I wanted it to so I cut it kind of short.

20

Bench

Rope Pushdowns (warmup)
3 x 15-20

Incline Press
1 x 10 x 135
1 x 6 x 155
1 x 6 x 185
1 x 3 x 205
1 x 1 x 225
1 x 1 x 245
1 x 1 x 265 (got about 3/4 of the way up and lost it)

Seated Military Top Half Pin Press
1 x 6 x 185
1 x 6 x 205
1 x 6 x 225
1 x 6 x 225

Assisted Pull Ups
3 x 6
1 x 3
1 x 2
1 x 1 (got a PR on this one, the least amount of weight I have ever had to use on pullups)

Cable Rear Delts
2 x 15