Had fun last night running around with my son. We played a few games of soccer, and did many laps around the house. He’s also beginning to pick up on all the different bodyweight exercises I’ve been showing him.
It’s cool - he wants to “be strong and workout like Daddy,” and it’s helped us to get him to eat better foods, because they’ll “make him stronger.” It’s so awesome.
Here are my long promised measurements. The first set was taken the same day my first pics were taken (2008-04-09). The second set was taken last night.
(area measured - initial / current)
NECK - N/A - 16"
CHEST - 41" - 41" (no change :[ )
STOMACH - 41" - 39" (-2!!)
WAIST - 40" - 38" (-2!!)
THIGH - 24.5" - 24.5" (no change)
CALF - N/A - 16"
BICEP - 14" - 14" (no change)
I’m happy with losing inches off my waist and belly. Even in the areas with no measurement change, I’m starting to become more noticeably muscular and a little leaner. It’s gonna be a slow process, but these initial numbers aren’t disheartening.
That’s solid progress. 2 inches off your waist and stomach is great! You gotta figure that where there was no change in girth you replaced fat with muscle, so that’s progress too. Keep it up!
I’m curious, what is your wrist diameter?
[quote]donpalmero wrote:
That’s solid progress. 2 inches off your waist and stomach is great! You gotta figure that where there was no change in girth you replaced fat with muscle, so that’s progress too. Keep it up!
I’m curious, what is your wrist diameter?[/quote]
Thanks. I can’t keep shaking the feeling in my head that this is going to slow, but then I have to remind myself it’s only been 8 weeks. The mind can really mess with you, I guess. But, mirrors don’t lie, and people aren’t making fun of my protruding stomach anymore (they used to rub it like I was Buddha, and laugh). So, I guess that’s good progress, no matter who you ask.
I don’t have my tape measure here, but using string and a ruler, my wrist measures out at roughly 7.25"
my waist has gone down. my stomach has gone way up.
my legs have gone up too, i measured them yesterday and they were 29.5 dang. that was great moment of the day. no wait, squatting 7.5 kgs was it. oh well
Two weeks to go until I take more pictures and measure bodyfat again. I’ll probably take measurements again, too, just to keep everything on the same schedule.
My legs probably hold the least amount of fat on my entire body, and my calves and thighs have (I think) gotten so much more defined. I’ve never really been able to see/feel the different muscles in my legs.
One worry I have is that my lower body is developing nicely, but I feel like my upper body is lagging behind.
Today I’m going to attempt to dead lift 250. I did 225 last week, so we’ll see if I can manage 250. I’m stoked to try.
Okay, I need some ideas… my gym is closed on Monday, and I don’t have much equipment on home.
Inventory:
1 cheesy bench
1 standard weight bar
1 standard ez-curl bar
~150 lbs of weights (nothing higher than 15 pounds though, so stacking is a bit tough)
Monday’s workout is:
Squat, Milpress, DB Row, Dips, Incline Situps, and Hyperextensions.
I figure I can try Front Squats, instead of Back Squats
MilPress I can do (though seated, since my ceiling is low)
DB Row can be turned into BB Row.
I don’t have a way to do inclines, would regular weighted situps be an acceptable alternative?
What’s an alternative for hypers?
I’ll do dips instead of chins.
Wow… I guess I was able to figure out alternatives by myself, lol.
You might not have enough weight to make front squats difficult if you are back squatting 210. You might consider overhead squats. They have their own balance issues too.
Instead of hypers you can do good mornings.
actually i think he should do front squats. it takes a while for the CNS to adapt to a new movement. my front squat went from 70 kgs to 120 now in a couple months without really training it all that much
[quote]donpalmero wrote:
You might not have enough weight to make front squats difficult if you are back squatting 210. You might consider overhead squats. They have their own balance issues too.
Instead of hypers you can do good mornings.
[/quote]
Overheads required a higher ceiling, though. Maybe I’ll bring my weights outside for my squats.
Given my other numbers, what should I do for weight on the good mornings? Or just start low for warmups, and see where it goes?
Also - why did you ask what my wrist measurement was?
I just realized overheads won’t be possible anyway because of the ceiling.
i’d say go up to 30-40kgs on the good mornings. if the weight goes on your neck its gonna be dangerous.
thats uhm… 66 to 88 pounds.
Oh yeah, with your wrist measurement you can check your so-called “ideal” diameters. There is a calculator at exrx.
Probably worth taking with a big grain of salt, but it certainly can give you something to think about.
Yeah, for sure start light on the GMs. I often do sets of 10 at 30kg (66 lbs).
This is what the calculator spat out at me.
I’ll start studying form on Good Mornings. Thanks, guys!
So, I’m thinking these are my weight goals for the year:
Back Squat: 315
Deadlift: 400
Bench: 200
…doable by the end of the year? Or am I reaching too far, too fast?
WEEK 8, 5-23-2008
Wowie, I’m a retard. I did 2 working sets of my squats before I realized there was an extra 10 lbs on one side. No wonder I felt off balance. D’oh!
LIFTS:
BACK SQUATS:
(warmup) 135x5, 155x3, 225x1
(working) 210 3x5
→ Form was MUCH better today, even with the inadvertant imbalance.
BENCH:
(warmup) 45x5, 65x3, 85x1
(working) 120 3x5
→ YES!! Got 'em. On to 125 next week.
DEADLIFT:
(warmup) 135x5, 155x4, 175x1
(working) 250x5
→ YES YES YES YES YES!!!
CHINS:
BWx2, BWx1
→ Rock on! I like doing chins better on this day.
INCLINE SITUPS:
BW+40 3x5
HYPEREXTENSIONS:
BW+40 3x5
BB CURL:
25x5, 45x5, 65x5
→ I was told the bar weighs 25 lbs. If this is incorrect, let me know and I’ll adjust the weights.
A VERY good day (and I didn’t even split my shorts!). I used chalk for my deadlift, and I’m glad I did. The extra grip really helped, and even so, I still almost ripped off a callous.
Nice job on the dl’s. An Olympic curl bar typically weighs 25 or 35 lbs. I have seen/used both.
Thanks! I was dead set on getting 250 today.
Considering this bar felt like it weight nothing, I’m going to go with 25 for it. I’m amazed, really… when I started two months ago, the Oly bar felt a bit heavy, and now it feels like almost nothing when I need to move 'em around.
[quote]darwin420 wrote:
donpalmero wrote:
That’s solid progress. 2 inches off your waist and stomach is great! You gotta figure that where there was no change in girth you replaced fat with muscle, so that’s progress too. Keep it up!
I’m curious, what is your wrist diameter?
Thanks. I can’t keep shaking the feeling in my head that this is going to slow, but then I have to remind myself it’s only been 8 weeks. The mind can really mess with you, I guess.
But, mirrors don’t lie, and people aren’t making fun of my protruding stomach anymore (they used to rub it like I was Buddha, and laugh). So, I guess that’s good progress, no matter who you ask.
I don’t have my tape measure here, but using string and a ruler, my wrist measures out at roughly 7.25" [/quote]
Slowly but surely… you will accomplish what your mind sets out to do. Considering from where your started to where your at now, you have made signifigant and impressive progress. Nothing to be ashamed of at all!
[quote]This is what the calculator spat out at me.
I’ll start studying form on Good Mornings. Thanks, guys!
So, I’m thinking these are my weight goals for the year:
Back Squat: 315
Deadlift: 400
Bench: 200
…doable by the end of the year? Or am I reaching too far, too fast?[/quote]
definitely doable. ive reached those except for the back squat in way less than 7 months thats left for the year.
INJURY!
Damn. It was bound to happen sooner or later, but I would have much preferred later.
I spent the weekend fixing up the outside of my house, re-organizing the garage (read: moving heavy shit around), and all the fun handy-man tasks that come from owning a home. I tweaked my back yesterday morning, and at the moment I’m having a hard time moving around.
At least I know I’ve only thrown my back out in the classic way. Rest, heat/cold, and a few days off will do me wonders.
I’m going to take this week off, and let my back get back in the green. I’d much rather just let it set me back a week, than risk further injury.