So, I’ve decided to open my training log up to public criticism. You’re not going to see anything too impressive here (yet), just the record of a guy trying to remake his physique.
When I started lifting I weighed 285 lbs at a very high bf%, I’m now down to ~196 and somewhere around 25% bf. I’ve been working on this for the last three years focusing on eating a VERY clean diet for most of the year (I tend to give it up for a loss between my birthday in October and New Years, too many temptations to resist them all), lifting and ‘functional’ cardio (hiking and swimming).
I’m currently coming off of a knee injury and am engaged in active PT, so no leg work for me in the gym at the moment. Otherwise, here’s what I’m doing. I would love some feedback, otherwise I hope that committing to keep this thing updated can help with points of low motivation etc.
I’m currently following my own very flawed program, I’ll be doing this for the next 6 weeks and then move onto something a little more thorough.
My current goal is to get my weight back up to 200lbs at somewhere under 20% bf.
Week 1 (of 8) Day 1, 1/18/10
Chest and shoulders
Incline DB bench - warmups, 30 x 6, 35 x 5, 40 x 5
DB bench - warmups, 30 x 5, 35 x5, 40 x 3
High incline DB press (seated DB press) - warmups 30 x 5, 35 x 5, 40 x 3
I was going for 5-7 on the top lift for all three of these. I should have realized at this point that these three back to back are a problem for me.
Week 1, Day 2, 1/20/10
Back
Wide grip pulldown - warmups, 80 x 8, 90 x 6, 100 x 5
Low cable row - warmups, 70 x 8, 80 x 6, 90 x 6
Rack chins - 3 sets of 6
I was going for 6-8 on these, 100 x 5 on the pulldown was hard, I think I could have gotten 6 but my form was falling apart. I also did my first strict pullup (neutral grip) EVER during my warmup for this workout. That’s right, first pullup in my life that wasn’t jumping, assisted or off of a box.
It doesn’t sound like much, but it was a major goal for me and I was stoked when I did it. So, missed one rep, but pulled my body weight through free space…I’ll call it an overall success.
Week 1, Day 3, 1/25/10
Arms
Incline DB curl - warmups, 20 x 9, 25 x 6, 30 x 3
EZ bar pullover triceps extensions - warmups, 30 x 12, 35 x 9, 40 x 6 (includes bar weight)
Rope pulley curl - warmups, 60 x 6, 70 x 6, 80 x 3
Rope pulley pushdown - warmups, 60 x 6, 70 x 6, 80 x 6
I really misjudged my starting weights for my biceps, I was going for 6 - 8 for all of these.
Week 2, Day 1, 1/28/10
Chest/Shoulders
This day was a serious wipeout. It was a ROUGH work day with a really long drive and I didn’t eat even close to enough, like, probably 1000 cals short of maintenance. I felt ok going into the gym, but by my first lift I was feeling taxed.
Flat DB bench - warmups, 30 x 6, 35 x 6, 40 x 5
Incline DB bench - warmups, 30 x 9, 35 x 6, 40 x 2
High incline DB press - warmups, 25 x 8, 35 x 3, ouch
So, yeah, lost ground on two lifts and didn’t even finish all working sets on my last. There’s a lesson or three in there somewhere.
Week 2, Day 2, 2/1/10
Back
Wide grip pulldown - warmups, 80 x 6, 90 x 6, 100 x 6
Low Row - 70 x 6, 80 x 6, 90 x 7
Rack chins - 3 sets of 8
My range was 6 - 8 reps on all lifts, with a goal of lifting at least one more rep than last week, so, fuck yeah.
Week 2, Day 3, 2/3/10
Arms
Incline DB curl - warmups, 20 x 6, 25 x 6, 30 x 4
EZ bar pullover extensions - warmups, 30 x 12, 35 x 6, 40 x 7
Rope pulley curl - warmups, 60 x 6, 70 x 6, 80 x 6
Rope pulley pushdown - 40 x 9, 60 x 6, 80 x 7
So, rather than back off on weight for my biceps, I’ve decided to just roll with my initial judgment and work up to the rep range that I intended on. Incline curls felt a little stronger, my cable curls on the other hand were positively easy. By the time I go to the triceps pushdowns I was feeling nice and loose so I omitted my usual warmup sets and went straight to work, good times.