Oh god I posted like 6 times haha
Uh…maybe 7th time is a charm.
.
Bought kettle bells and a scale. Weigh 168.4 lbs. Food and exercise log for this week:
Monday 3/23:
Coffee
Meal 1: Quest bar
Meal 2: Beef jerky and cashews
Meal 3: Turkey sandwich w/ honey mustard and spinach leaves; snap peas, carrots and hummus; string cheese
Meal 4: Yogurt; protein shake
Gym- Legs
Meal 5: Curry chicken w/ veggies and brown rice
Meal 6: Avocado; 2 slices turkey bacon; ¼ grape fruit; peanut butter (very little amount)
Supplements- Juice Plus
Tuesday 3/24:
Coffee
Meal 1: Oatmeal w/ peanut butter; egg whites; 2 over-medium eggs; ¼ grape fruit
Gym- Shoulders/abs/10 mins HIIT
Meal 2: Surge Recovery (1 scoop)
Meal 3: Curry chicken w/ veggies and brown rice
Meal 4: Cashews and beef jerky
Meal 5: Turkey sandwich w/ honey mustard and spinach leaves; snap peas, carrots and hummus
Meal 6: Yogurt
Wednesday 3/25:
Coffee
Meal 1: Quest bar
Meal 2: Beef jerky
Meal 3: Cheat Meal: Hamburger, fries, and root beer from Gunther Toody?s
Meal 4: Pistachios
1 beer
Meal 5: Curry chicken w/ veggies and brown rice
Meal 6: Salami; yogurt w/ hemp seeds
Supplements- Juice Plus
Thursday 3/26:
Coffee
Meal 1: Quest bar
Meal 2: Pistachios and beef jerky
Meal Prep
Meal 3: Chicken burger w/ spinach leaves and avocado; sweet potato fries; roasted asparagus
Coffee
Meal 4: String cheese
Meal 5: Turkey sandwich w/ honey mustard and spinach leaves; snap peas, carrots and hummus
Meal 6: Yogurt
Friday 3/27:
Meal 1: Coffee and quest bar
Meal 2: Beef jerky and cashews
Meal 3: Chicken burger w/ spinach leaves and avocado; sweet potato fries; roasted asparagus
Meal 4: Pistachios and string cheese
Gym- Chest/triceps
Meal 5: Surge recovery
Meal 6: Turkey sandwich w/ honey mustard and spinach leaves; snap peas, carrots and hummus
Saturday 3/28:
Meal 1: Oatmeal w/ peanut butter; 2 slices turkey bacon; egg whites; two-over medium eggs; ¼ grape fruit; milk
Coffee
1 hour hike
Meal 2: Pistachios
Meal 3: Quest bar
Meal 4: Beef jerky and cashews
Meal 5: Chicken burger w/ spinach leaves and avocado; sweet potato fries; roasted asparagus
1 mint mojito
Sunday 3/29:
Coffee
Meal 1: Peanut butter toast; milk
Meal 2: Beef jerky and cashews
Meal 3: Chicken burger; brown rice; yogurt
Meal 4: String cheese and almonds
Meal 5: Pasta w/ bell peppers and mushrooms in red sauce; milk
Decaf coffee
Meal 6: Broccoli, carrots, and hummus
Supplements- Juice Plus
Some of your food choices are still fairly high in calories, but at least the junk factor seems to have gone down considerably. Congratulations.
Now, I’ve said this before and I’ll repeat it: your lifting routine is not ideal. you do zero back work yet dedicate half a workout to triceps. Here’s what I would do, on three non-consecutive days:
day 1
lunges or split squats - 3x10 for each leg
incline dumbbell press - 3x10
dumbbell row - 3x10
hanging leg raises - 2x as many as possible
day 2
squats - 4x8
shoulder press - 4x8
pulldowns - 4x8
back extensions - 2x as many as possible
day 3
deadlifts - 5x5
close grip bench - 5x5
barbell row - 5x5
hanging leg raises - 2x as many as possible
Most of this isn’t mandatory, but the basic idea is this - you go to the gym three times a week and always train your whole body by doing one leg exercise, one push exercise and one pull exercise. Every day, you’ll do 20-30 reps for each exercise. These reps should be challenging but never, ever use bad form - especially for deadlifts. It’s easy to get hurt with heavy weights if you are untrained and careless.
nighthawkz pretty much nailed it kid !
Although i would be more inclined to have you do 3 to 5 sets of ten with you Squat, Bench and Deadlift the first 6 month.
This way you can still use a reasonable amount of weight, yet really work on getting your good technique dialed in.
You are still young, and if you want to stay injury free then take it slow.
Nothing will kill a lifters progress worse or for longer than EGO.
Congrats on a good week !
[quote]rubberducky7o3 wrote:
Bought kettle bells and a scale. Weigh 168.4 lbs. Food and exercise log for this week:
[/quote]
This post was so beautiful it brought a little tear to my eye.
[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
[quote]rubberducky7o3 wrote:
Bought kettle bells and a scale. Weigh 168.4 lbs. Food and exercise log for this week:
[/quote]
This post was so beautiful it brought a little tear to my eye.
[/quote]
Are you feeling proud?
It’s amazing what can happen when a motivated individual asks for advice, then actually follows it rather than trying to debate every suggestion.
feels good man.
[quote]rubberducky7o3 wrote:
Bought kettle bells and a scale.
[/quote]
Cool, what’d you get?
I see that you’re getting lots of workout advice from several sources, including myself, and they’re all good suggestions but it might be overkill to give you too many different programs to sort through and follow. So, if I may respectfully make a request of the contributors to this thread, rather than overwhelm ducky with suggestions for a program that she may or may not actually be able to execute, let’s take a step back for a moment on that score until ducky has answered the following:
You mentioned at one point that getting to the gym was hard (I thought so, anyway) but it seems that you’ve been able to make it a few times a week. Can you clarify this? The reason I was so gung-ho on the kettlebell recommendation, besides that I like them myself, was because I thought you needed an at home workout solution.
There’s a great way to marry the two (i.e. a 3-day-a-week barbell program like that recommended above plus 1-2 sessions of conditioning/HIIT at home doing swings, squats, etc with your newly purchased kettlebells) but I want to hear from you first.
-
Gym practicality - how many days/week, for how long etc. Can you go for 45 minutes 3 days a week? Is it a financial strain? Or is this something you can reasonably do?
-
Desire to work at home vs. in gym. Like working out at the gym? Prefer at home? Is a mixture (i.e. 3 days a week at the gym plus 2 quick at-home morning workouts) your preferred solution?
Knowing exactly what is available to you, the practicalities of executing gym vs. at-home workouts, and something that is all too often ignored - what you actually like doing - should yield better workout suggestions.
[quote]killerDIRK wrote:
Although i would be more inclined to have you do 3 to 5 sets of ten with you Squat, Bench and Deadlift the first 6 month.
This way you can still use a reasonable amount of weight, yet really work on getting your good technique dialed in.
[/quote]
This is entirely a matter of programming philosophy, but I strongly disagree. Doing a good set of ten on deadlifts is harder for a beginner than doing the same thing for 5 reps because the required time under tension is longer. To take the argument to the extreme: you would not let a beginner do 20-rep squats on their first day. To learn movement patterns, I feel that sets of 5 with a weight that is challenging but very doable is much better.
nighthawkz: apologies senior’.
I thought you where going with a 5 rep at 85% angle. I did not think this through.
Although I was thinking 10 reps with a 35-50% of max angle, just for clarification.
Meathead thinking, you know ?
Anyway back to the thread …
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
[quote]rubberducky7o3 wrote:
Bought kettle bells and a scale.
[/quote]
Cool, what’d you get?
I see that you’re getting lots of workout advice from several sources, including myself, and they’re all good suggestions but it might be overkill to give you too many different programs to sort through and follow. So, if I may respectfully make a request of the contributors to this thread, rather than overwhelm ducky with suggestions for a program that she may or may not actually be able to execute, let’s take a step back for a moment on that score until ducky has answered the following:
You mentioned at one point that getting to the gym was hard (I thought so, anyway) but it seems that you’ve been able to make it a few times a week. Can you clarify this? The reason I was so gung-ho on the kettlebell recommendation, besides that I like them myself, was because I thought you needed an at home workout solution.
There’s a great way to marry the two (i.e. a 3-day-a-week barbell program like that recommended above plus 1-2 sessions of conditioning/HIIT at home doing swings, squats, etc with your newly purchased kettlebells) but I want to hear from you first.
-
Gym practicality - how many days/week, for how long etc. Can you go for 45 minutes 3 days a week? Is it a financial strain? Or is this something you can reasonably do?
-
Desire to work at home vs. in gym. Like working out at the gym? Prefer at home? Is a mixture (i.e. 3 days a week at the gym plus 2 quick at-home morning workouts) your preferred solution?
Knowing exactly what is available to you, the practicalities of executing gym vs. at-home workouts, and something that is all too often ignored - what you actually like doing - should yield better workout suggestions.[/quote]
-To answer your question, it may be easier to explain my daily routine. Keep in mind, it’s about about a 20-35 minute drive anywhere because I live practically in the mountains.
Every morning I have to drive to my brother’s house and pick up his dog, then bring her back to my house. (Job #1)
Then I either have to work from home (usually involves writing scripts, scheduling shoots, or editing footage) (Job #2). OR, I have a business meeting to go to. OR I can hit the gym! This just depends on what I have scheduled. [In the process of starting a production company with two colleagues so it’s madness right now and we also have two projects we are working on.]
Then I have to take my brother’s dog back home (around 4:30pm) before going to Big 5 (Job #3) where I close from 5:15-9:45.
However! If I get a sub call (Job #4) I work from 7:30am - 3:30pm. Depending on if I close at Big 5, I have the night off.
Every week is different. I usually work on the weekends at Big 5.
Getting in 3 days at the gym is easy. Getting in one day for Abs/Shoulders, Chest/tri, Back/bi, legs, and a hike (I live in Colorado, I have to hike if it’s nice out it’s almost mandatory here) is very exhausting. So…that being said…not sure why I didn’t think to work full body every time I go to the gym. It seems almost too easy! Wow. So I think I will do that and start with the work out regimen recommended above.
-
Working out at home helps for days when I feel rushed, have way too much to do, or just really don’t feel like driving again because I spend 2+ hours a day driving.
-
I like doing most workouts, really no preference. I do have really shitty knees and hip flexors. Roman chairs, or hanging leg raises are nearly impossible because something pops every time I lift my right leg. I need to get to a physical therapist I think to work on all the popping going on. Ankles are horrible too. And my left clavicle. Basically everything I broke as a kid or being drunk has started to take it’s revenge. I’ve had many trips to the ER in my past.
-
Also, in response to a comment above, thank you for noticing the cut of junk food. As long as I ease myself into new habits very slowly, I tend to do alright. I do agree that my meals probably have too many calories cumulatively. I do not measure my food. I have no idea how many ounces of anything I am eating. Suggestions?
[quote]killerDIRK wrote:
nighthawkz: apologies senior’.
I thought you where going with a 5 rep at 85% angle. I did not think this through.
Although I was thinking 10 reps with a 35-50% of max angle, just for clarification.
Meathead thinking, you know ?
Anyway back to the thread …[/quote]
No offense taken. Eventually she’d reach that point, but I’m all for starting slow and focused.
Great answers, ducky.
With that knowledge - that three days a week in the gym is easy, even with the variable schedule - I would also recommend the notion of a three-days-a-week, full-body template as nighthawkz and killerDIRK have suggested. What nighthawkz posted is fine, or something similar to that. I would argue that the specifics right now are not as important as getting in the gym consistently, three days, every week, and doing some strong work on those days. You don’t even have to go on the same days every week. Just get there three times, on non-consecutive days if possible, and do your thing.
On the non-gym days, you could rest (if you did lifting and HIIT at the gym the preceding day) or do some kettlebell work with those new toys of yours, if you feel up to it or skipped the interval work the day before. You can get a pretty solid “quick” workout in with KB’s that would essentially serve as HIIT. Something like doing KB swings in a pattern of (20 seconds on, 20 seconds off) for 15 minutes will work beautifully in that regard, but it’s just one option.
Hiking is obviously a fantastic option when practical for some non-gym activity, as well. Highly recommend this.
I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to do a new work out routine. I’ve been doing Jamie Eason’s 12 week program (modified) on and off for like 2 years. Wow. I mean sometimes I would go to the gym and just do whatever the hell I wanted, but today felt great. Here’s what it looked like:
Sumo squats: (I did these because they feel better on all my joints but they were definitely easy so I’ll do barbell squats next time)
40lbs x8
42.5lbs x8
45lbs x8
52.5lbs x8
Shoulder press:
20lbs 2x8
22.5lbs 2x8
Lat pulldown:
71lbs x8
77lbs x8
82lbs 2x8
Back extensions: (I felt these the most!)
1x25
1x20
10 mins HIIT on stairmaster
Post workout: Surge Recovery (1 1/2 scoops)
This was a quick and fun workout that had me sweating and out of breath (mainly from back extensions and HIIT). Thanks for the help and advice feel free to send more workouts! BTW, that was a personal record for lat pulldown today. Pretty sure I’ve never gone above 75lbs. Then again, I never even tried.
I had a situation a few years back where my schedule affected my gym time massively. What I found great for motivation was to set up a program with a “wildcard” workout or two. I had “essential” workouts, the meat and potatoes of the program, and if I could get to the gym I threw in a few “wildcard” workouts to keep it fresh. Worked a treat, and gives you plenty of time to experiment with different workouts.
I’ve been lurking here for a while now and this thread has provided the impetus for me to sign up and join in.
I’m so impressed by all the encouragement and advice you’ve all offered to the OP - you all ought to be congratulated. Kudo’s.
I’m just starting on my journey (3 weeks in) at 41 years old.
Best of luck, Ducky.
I think I will be good with three gym sessions a week with a day of complexes and a day of hiking. Or at least one of those. Today was an exhausting day. It was my day off technically but I had a bunch of film stuff to do and I had to do a photo shoot in my underwear which was a first. But good news is I have a very high quality before pic now. Before as in, I want to see some real results by May 24th.
That being said, it was an exhausting day and I think I’m just going to go to bed because I finally got done with everything a few minutes ago and I’m pooped and don’t have the energy to do complexes. I guess that happens sometimes. But definitely getting to the gym tomorrow! Didn’t really eat very much today but maybe that’s a good thing since I didn’t workout. There’s just not enough time in a day!
[quote]MeanderingGirl wrote:
I’ve been lurking here for a while now and this thread has provided the impetus for me to sign up and join in.
I’m so impressed by all the encouragement and advice you’ve all offered to the OP - you all ought to be congratulated. Kudo’s.
I’m just starting on my journey (3 weeks in) at 41 years old.
Best of luck, Ducky.
[/quote]
I think the great benefit of this site is that it brings people into contact with other motivated people with similar goals, something that many of us don’t get in real life.
Good to have you on board, can we expect the log to start soon?