I’m trying to hold myself accountable, I’ve been over weight for most of my adult life and have some victories along the way but not as many as I would like.
I’ve 41 years old 179cms and 117kgs. I’ve been training for the last few months and started at 129kgs. I’ve been stuck at 117kgs for a few weeks so I’ve increased my calories and added carbs into my diet.
I’ve worked my way up to 20,000 steps per day and 3 full body weight training days.
I’ve set a goal to try a 531 program I found for 12months and complete 20,000 steps per day. I’ve dabbled with ilfting for a number of years when I was younger but I don’t think I’ve ever trainned for 12 months in a row before.
11 Likes
I’ve never made a New Year’s resolution before, but as 2024 came to a close I thought it would be a great Idea to make a couple of health goals.
My overall goal is to lose weight and I hope to acheive that by tracking my calories every day and move around more. 20,000 steps per day is my step goal with 3 - 4 weight sessions per week (unless injured or sick).
I messed up a little bith with porridge amounts, I had no idea it had so many calories.
Today I wanted to find my 1 rep max for squasts as I start 5,3,1 next week.
Squat
70kg x 7
70kg x 5
70kg x 5
Seated Rows
I did 5 sets but my wife was takling to me betwen sets and moving the pinsI actually don’t know what weight I was doing. but did
15,12,12,9 reps
RDLS
40kg x 15
40kg x 12
40kgx 12
40kg x 7
7 Likes
Great to see you follow through on the log, it will help keep you consistent and people here will provide regular feedback (remember to take it as a positive, everyone here is rooting for you, no one will be attacking you personally).
You mentioned you overdid it on the porridge, was that cooked weight by any chance? I have a hard time believing anyone could eat 237g, uncooked weight, because that would make a crazy amount of porridge.
For reference this is what Google is telling me about cooked weight (presuming water)
Yes it was cooked weight it looks like I’ve entered it wrong then !
1 Like
That’s a ton! How long have you been doing this?
I like your behavior-based goals overall - great stuff.
Congrats on the weight loss so far!
For the past few weeks I’ve been doing any where between 10-25k I decided to do 20k a day about a week ago now. I’m also doing some garmin step comps. with random people. I’ve blocked out their names, I’m sure they wouldnt like their names all over a forum.
3 Likes
That’s a cool way to keep it interesting! Now I think of you having to beat Mr. Ice Cream
Unfortunately, the scale hasn’t budged despite increasing my steps, and I’ve now been stuck at the same weight for a month, even though I’ve doubled my calorie intake. I expected to see some progress, but after doing some research, I think I may be overdoing it. So, I’ve decided to cut back on my walking and reduce my activity for a bit.
I would absolutely have recommended you reduce the walking - it doesn’t look anywhere near sustainable. 10k seems to be a good daily goal for most of us.
Are you saying you doubled your caloric intake and expected to see the scale go down?
1 Like
Glad to see you logging! Good luck, can’t wait to see your progress!
1 Like
Yes I know it sounds crazy but I was eating around 900 to 1000cals per day. I went to a dietion and followed her advise. It went well for a little while but it wasn’t great on my body and mind.
So my thinking was my body has gone into starvation mode and up my calories, I’ve doubled them and didnt put on any weight.
I think that’s a great place to be for now. You’re learning a lesson we all put ourselves through at some point or other: you can’t force this process to go any faster than it does. A sustainable activity and calorie level are the right behaviors, and the outcomes will follow
2 Likes
Today, I started a 5/3/1 program. I didn’t create the template myself, I just followed a pre-existing one. My plan is to stick with 5/3/1 for the next 6-12 months.
Deadlift:
- 57.5kg x 5
- 67.5kg x 5
- 77.5kg x 15
Leg Press:
- 120kg x 20
- 120kg x 20
- 120kg x 20
- 120kg x 20
- 120kg x 20
The first 3 sets were great with a slow descent, an explosive push up, and a 2-second pause at the bottom. The last 3 sets started out the same but didn’t maintain that pace throughout.
Leg Curl:
- 20kg x 12
- 22.5kg x 15
- 25kg x 12
- 25kg x 12
- 25kg x 12
EZ Curl (5 sets until failure):
- Used 10kg, didn’t count reps
3 Likes
5/3/1 Flat Barbell Bench:
47.5kg x 5
55kg x 5
62.5kg x 12
Pendlay Rows:
40kg x 12
40kg x 12
40kg x 10
Face Pulls:
32kg x 15
36kg x 17
36kg x 14
Lat Pulldown with Lat Bar Pro:
63kg x 12
63kg x 13
63kg x 11
– I really liked how this bar felt. It was my first time using it, and I’m definitely adding it to my routine moving forward.
Tricep Pushdown with Straight Bar:
32kg x 15
32kg x 14
32kg x 12
I’m getting better with my diet, I would like to increae my protein more so I am going to try and eat more fish as seems to be the biggest bang for buck cal/protein wise.
3 Likes
What 5/3/1 template are you running?
Also, do you have any of JW’s books? I’d recommend 5/3/1 Forever, it’s a must-read if you really want to understand his programming.
I watched a YouTube video where the guy that wrote the programed interviewed Jim. I decided to reduce some of the volume since the program is geared toward more experienced lifters. I’ve read the first book, but I found it a bit confusing. Even though I’ve lifted before, there’s a lot of information to take in, which is why I decided to just go with something without overthinking it too much.
My plan is to deload after every three cycles, as I understand that you can do two full cycles before deloading. I think I’ve got a handle on the Joker sets now. That said, I’ll try to dive deeper into the material and get the book. I prefer learning from videos where people explain things, but of course, you can never be sure if they’re sharing the full picture.
1 Like
All good, man—I get where you’re coming from, and overthinking things is definitely an issue (for me, especially, but for many others, too).
The key piece is to just do something and develop the habit—and you’re already on your way with that.
Definitely looking forward to your journey!
I’ve adjusted my calories now that I’m back at work and not moving around as much. Since I work from home behind a desk, I’ve reduced my intake from 2000 to 1600/1700 calories. I’m hoping to see some results, though it does feel a bit low. I’ll give it a week or so and see how it goes. Also, I’ve added FSL to my 5/3/1 routine.
Military Press (5/3/1)
- 32.5kg x 5
- 37.5kg x 5
- 42.5kg x 11
- FSL: 32.5kg x 5
Incline Bench Press (Smith Machine)
- 36kg x 10
- 36kg x 10
- 36kg x 10
- 38.5kg x 11
- 38.5kg x 9
Cable Row
- 45kg x 12
- 47kg x 15
- 50kg x 10
- 50kg x 8
Side Lateral Raises (Dumbbells)
- 7kg x 10
- 7kg x 10
- 7kg x 10
Tricep Pushdown
- 32kg x 15
- 32kg x 15
3 Likes
I was meant to do some bicep work at the end but I work out from home, its very hot and the kids are home on school holidays, it wasn’t happening today.
- Squats (5/3/1 Program):
- 42.5kg x 5
- 47.5kg x 5
- 55kg x 12
- FSL (First Set Last):
- Smith Machine Lunges (left leg only, right knee tender from hiking):
- 16kg x 8
- 16kg x 8
- 16kg x 8
- Smith Machine Lunges (left leg only, right knee tender from hiking):
- Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs):
- 40kg x 10
- 45kg x 10
- 45kg x 10
- 45kg x 9
- 45kg x 8
- Seated Leg Extensions:
- 40kg x 12
- 40kg x 10
- 40kg x 10
3 Likes