Darwin's Training Log

Training Training Logs
121

[quote]lordstorm88 wrote:
so what did the huge lady do? did she stomp her foot and create an earthquake?[/quote]

As amusing as that would have been, no… She kind of gave me a weird look and then waddled (rolled?) away. The people around us were a mixed bag, too… some were stifling laughter, and others just looked at me like I was the anti-Christ.

I don’t care, though. My son is learning the healthy lifestyle, and he’ll be lightyears ahead of his peers. And when my daughter is old enough, I’ll start teaching her, too. My kids, at the very least, won’t ever be able to claim they weren’t given the tools and opportunity to keep from getting fat.

122

so long as you can make em mature up fast through the teen years then they’ll probably keep listening to it :wink:

teens are stupid… i should know. i was one

123

[quote]lordstorm88 wrote:
so long as you can make em mature up fast through the teen years then they’ll probably keep listening to it :wink:

teens are stupid… i should know. i was one[/quote]

Well, if all this becomes part of his lifestyle now, then in 10 years, it should be fairly rock solid. Then again, I could be wrong, but that won’t stop me from trying. :slight_smile:

I know that for me, personally, if my Uncle (who lifted for wrestling) had sat down with me and taught me, I would have listened, and probably have done okay. But there was no one in my life who could teach me these things. The closest I had was my best friend, but I’ve come to realize (now that I’m educating myself on this subject), that most everything he knows is wrong, or at the very least WAAAY off-base and ineffecient.

124

Today was HIIT day. I’m going to keep it up on Tuesdays and Thursdays until I am personally satisfied with my leanness. Then I’ll switch to steady-state cardio for an endurance boost.

I did 20/60 intervals for about half the time, but it just felt like it was getting easy. So I switched to 20/40 intervals and, well… AAAGH. That did the trick. 15 minutes of hell, once again. I love it.

It’s also great, because people look at me like I’m crazy. Even more so when I’m done, and walking around like I’m drunk, because my legs are so wobbly.

125

I was BAAAAD last night. It was weird, like I was on auto-pilot. My band practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and tonight we were working on a bunch of new songs. Before I knew it, I had cracked open a beer. It was really sub-conscious.

Sadly, I finished it. And now I really hate myself for it. I’m going to HAVE to kick my ass in the gym today. My progress is NOT worth sacrificing over some petty alcohol.

Other than just saying “NO,” what are some tricks you guys use when you’re avoiding alcohol for training purposes?

After reading Shugs’ new article, I feel I’m hovering between Stage 2 and Stage 3. For the most part, I make the right choices and resist the temptations (although it is hard sometimes), but at other times (like last night) I slip up and know that I’m doing the wrong thing, but do it anyway.

Given the topic views on my thread, I know people are paying attention to my progress. And, really, I do NOT want to let you all down. I am NOT a failure.

126

basically i just love lifting more than what i eat. unless im starving. :wink:

plus i never really liked alcohol all that much. its overrated. but dont worry so much about 1 beer

127

[quote]lordstorm88 wrote:
basically i just love lifting more than what i eat. unless im starving. :wink:

plus i never really liked alcohol all that much. its overrated. but dont worry so much about 1 beer[/quote]

With food, I’m listening to my body, and as long as I’m eating clean, and eating 5-7 meals a day, I’m not worrying about it (for this month, at least). As long as I’m making steady and consistent gains in the gym, and looking better in the mirror, then I’m happy.

What bothers me most about this is that it was completely sub-conscious. I don’t know how to describe it, but my conscious mind was not aware I had opened the beer until after I had taken the sips. It was really, well, disassociative…

But, you’re probably right, 1 beer isn’t going to kill all my progress so far. I’ll just have to be even more aware next time I’m out with the guys (I’m very strict about not having alcohol in my house right now).

128

dont worry. lots of people even professionals sometimes drink alcohol or have crappy food choices sometimes.

personally im hungry all the time haha. what would get me absolutely full when i was cutting down now is just a normal meal to me. so i end up eating way lots of calories. i dont mind it. my metabolism is way high so it will help with cutting down later too.

129

In the long run, I’m not worried about the alcohol. But, for right now, I’m sure I’ll make better gains without it. :slight_smile:

My favorite is peanuts, because I can eat a small amount and satiate my hunger, without adding too many calories. Either that or some nice celery sticks.

130

haha yeah peanuts have that effect for some reason. i think its cause they are so dry, cause if i drink water too i get hungry again hahahah

131

Dense, energy packed calories in peanuts. Perfect combo for satiating your hunger. Drinking water doesn’t usually make me hungry, unless I haven’t been keeping myself properly dehydrated.

30 minutes to gym time. I’m anxious.

132

get in that 205

try a 210 or 215 single at warmup this time. it helpsss

133

For my squat, you mean? I was considering do the single rep higher than my working set. I think I’ll try that today, and see if it makes a difference. I know going 1x5 1x3 1x1 on my warmup helped a lot.

134

WEEK 7 - Wednesday 5-14-2008

Holy shit was today a damn good day in the gym! It was packed, which probably added some extra incentive; I also credit the fact that I’m angry at myself for my alcohol consumption last night, and the excess over the weekend while visiting family (granted, all that was a minor infraction).

LIFTS:

SQUAT:
(warmup) 135x5, 155x3, 215x1
(working) 205 3x5
→ Thank you Lordstorm! I think doing my last warmup at a higher weight helped me push through my working set. I’m stoked. I thought I’d be stuck at 205 for a few sessions.

DEADLIFT:
(warmup) 135x5, 155x3, 185x1
(working) 225x5
→ WTF?? That’s a 15 pound increase from last week. But, it just felt right to load the bar this high. I experimented with mixed grip, but it felt so wrong.

BENCH:
(warmup) 65x5, 75x3, 85x1
(working) 120x5, 120x5, 120x3
→ This also surprised me. Having a spotter helped, but I didn’t think I’d get this many reps done today. Only 75 pounds to go to bench bodyweight!

DIPS:
BWx5, BWx3
→ No change today. I’m not concerned. I did BWx8 on Sunday when I wasn’t fatigued, so I know I’m building the strength where it counts.

INCLINE SITUP:
BW+25 3x5
→ I finally felt the pain on these. I’m proud of myself, though.

HYPEREXTENSIONS:
BW+25 3x5
→ I’m feeling the burn on these, too.

All in all, this session ROCKED! I really felt on top of my form, and my intensity was burning up the room, lol.

I’m taking measurements tonight, and I’ll post those tomorrow, along with the measurements I took about 5 weeks ago. I’m curious to see what changes have occurred.

135

during the start of the deadlift try with only pushing with your legs, i tried it lately and it helps lot both with using more weight and keeping my back straight. push only with your legs till it comes over your kneecaps while keeping your back/hips rising at the same time, then push hips forward and back backwards. i used to do them all together from the start but that made my hips rise too fast

136

[quote]lordstorm88 wrote:
during the start of the deadlift try with only pushing with your legs, i tried it lately and it helps lot both with using more weight and keeping my back straight. push only with your legs till it comes over your kneecaps while keeping your back/hips rising at the same time, then push hips forward and back backwards. i used to do them all together from the start but that made my hips rise too fast[/quote]

I’m pretty sure that’s what I’m doing, but now I’m questioning myself. I’ll pay attention to it during my next dead lift session (Monday). I experimented with mixed grip because last DL session, it felt like the bar was going to drop from my hands at the top position. Today, it didn’t feel like that, so I don’t know. Maybe I was just holding it sub-optimally on Friday?

It was cool in the gym today, coz there were two guys in the squat rack squatting with proper form! I worked in with them, and we helped each other with finer points of our form. It was really nice being able to talk knowledgeably with other people about a lift, and get educated advice in return.

137

i know what you mean. at my gym there are a few bodybuilders… though they ALWAYS go to the machines. they are pretty big. one of em said he has 20 inch biceps… i thought they were even bigger. oh well at least they bench press.

honestly idk what to say about the deadlift… i just tried it myself and it was so much better. i THOUGHT i was fine before but its hard without a video. try taking a vid of yourself from a side angle and see

138

If I had an easy way to take worthwhile video of my lifts, I would, because I’d love the critique I’d be able to get on here. But I don’t have that luxury at this time, so I try to find people at the gym working with correct form (based upon numerous videos, etc), and get them to check my form for me. It really has helped.

139

What’s the opinion on doing chin-ups instead of pull-ups for this routine?

140

[quote]darwin420 wrote:
What’s the opinion on doing chin-ups instead of pull-ups for this routine?[/quote]

Minutiae. . . go for it!

-Matt