Transforming Thad

Training Over 35 Lifter
41

Day 7.
I felt better today, strength and energy wise, than I have in a long time. Not sure why since I only got about 4 hours of sleep last night. I should have been dog tired but nope, instead I’m FULL OF ENERGY.
Tomorrow I’ll post my weight as it will have been a whole week since I started. I hope the news is good.

I didn’t have the time to get by the doctor’s office today but hopefully will be able to get by there tomorrow or Wednesday.

The doctor did call me about a high liver function test and wants to see me again for more bloodwork but without knowing the numbers, I can’t really say how high it is or what it potentially means (probably means I’ve been drinking too much but I sort of already figured that one out…)
Anyway, today’s workout went like this:

9 minutes jumping rope.
I was going for 8 but got distracted by the TV at the gym and overshot my time.

A1) Assisted Chins (130lb assist): 10
A2) Assisted Dips (130lb assist): 10

2 rotations. No Rest

These were going REAL WELL. I was feeling really strong and even thought of dropping some of the weight off.
Instead I decided to keep doing them and add some other exercises in.

B1) Assisted Chins (130lb assist): 10
B2) Assisted Dips (130lb assist):10
B3) DB Front Inclined Squat: 30 x 12
B4) DB Bench Press: 25 x 12

4 Rotations. I must say I was both impressed and completely wiped after the last set.

30 minutes on the elliptical on level 5. My heart rate stayed about 157 the whole time and I left the gym feeling REALLY GOOD!!!

I’m going to take tomorrow off from the gym since I’ve worked out three days in a row. I plan to try to continue with the 3 on 1 off schedule for a while and see what happens.

42

OK I got my bloodwork results.
I’m not sure what half this crapmeans but here goes.

Hematology Profiles
WBC - 6.2 thousande/mm3
RBC - 4.9 million/mm3
HGB - 16.1 g/dl (High)
HCT - 45.3%
MCV - 92.5 fL
MCH - 32.9 pg (High)
MCHC - 35.5 g/dL
RDW - 12.3%
PLT - 204 thousand/mm3
MPV - 8.7 fL

General Chemistry
Glucose - 83 mg/dL
ALT-SGPT - 92 unit/L (High)

Special Chem/Reference
Cholesterol - 204 mg/dL (High)
Triglycerides - 115 mg/dL
HDL Cholesterol - 45 mg/dL
LDL (Calculated) - 136 mg/dL
Cholesterol HDL Ratio - 4.5

Vital Signs
Temperature - 36.2 C
Heart Rate - 74 bpm
Respiratory Rate - 18 breaths/min
SBP NIBP - 124 mmHg
DBP NIBP - 88 mmHg

Height-Weight
Height - 177.8 cm
Weight - 116.1 kg
BMI - 37

This test was drawn after a 12 hour fast. My doctor did call and say he wanted to see me again in 3 weeks for another test (non-fasting) concerning my liver function.
I don’t know which one these test say liver function.

43

Day 8: Weigh In

My weight this morning is 248.
That means I’ve lost 4 pounds this week.
While I’m trying not to get overly focused on the scale, I am pretty happy with these results.

44

I was scheduled to have a cheat meal again. I had figured that I’d take my wife out to dinner and get away from the kids.

NOT!!! Unfortunately I forgot to tell me wife so get home from work around 6 last night and she already had dinner on the table.

Anyway, I had just eaten a snack around 4 and honestly wasn’t hungry so I passed on dinner and ended up just having a PN Super Shake around 7:30.

Why don’t my Cheat Meals work out? You’d figure a fat guy like me would be running out for wings and beer regardless of anyone was going with me. I seem to have just completely lost those cravigns for now. Weird.

TOday I’m back to the gym with my Cheat Meal safely tucked away in my back pocket. Who knows, maybe I’ll use it another day this week.

45

Good luck Thad and everyone else losing fat.

You can do it, sounds like you are making progress too.

I 2nd the recommendation for Metabolism Advantage by Beradi, its a good book.

Curse this fast food nation. I was in Australia where it was not that bad, quite a lot of healthy places to get fast food, but now in London, forget it, everything is fried chicken and kebabs. Chips in gravy, or curry, or both. arghhhhhhhhh

46

[quote]Mad Thad wrote:
OK I got my bloodwork results.
I’m not sure what half this crapmeans but here goes.

I don’t know which one these test say liver function.
[/quote]

Here is an article on understanding blood tests for you:

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=461891

47

Dealing with restaurant meals.

We all have different experiences, but I’ve never yet had a restaurant meal force me off plan. The trick is the same as when eating at home… food selection and portion control. Just think in terms of ingredients instead of “meal.”

A French Dip sandwich is lean roast beef. Eat the beef, leave the bun on the plate, have oil & vinegar dressing (or none) on the salad and presto! Even fried chicken isn’t a bad choice if you simply pull the skin off and just eat the lean meat underneath. If the meatloaf comes covered in gravy, simply ask them to hold the gravy. Ask if you can have veggies instead of mashed potatoes.

Sure, when eating in restaurants I often leave half or more of the meal on the plate, but so what? You can eat on plan at McDonalds if you put your mind to it. Pull the meat out of the burger and throw the rest away. Eat the tomato. Ask for “no secret sauce.” All FF places have salads now. Get the O&V dressing or have none. Most have apples or some form of fruit. Don’t order fries. Take what you need and walk away from the rest.

Remind yourself that nothing tastes as good as being lean feels.

48

Thad, you’ve got a lot to be proud of. You’re heading in the right direction, your results from your 7/9 workout post shows progress, and you’re clearly motivated. Good for you, man. Just stick with it and you’ll be golden.

49

Day 9
Hunger is a strange beast. What’s strange is that yesterday, when I took my day off from the gym, my body seemed to almost sense that it wasn’t going to get pounded and eased off on the hunger.

I didn’t really think about it until the end of my day whe I noted that I was 2 FULL MEALS SHORT of plan.
Now normally, fat guys like me eat a lot but not yesterday, I only had four meals and was not hungry.

Of course the fact that my body apparently forced me into hibernation may have had something to do with it as well. Believe it or not, I was sound asleep in my living room by 8pm!!!

Anyway, this morning, same thing. Not hungry. I fixed my meals inot my lunchbox and by the time I got to work (6:15) I was good for breakfast. I ate on plan, even though I wasn’t hungry until I got home. Went to the gym, got home and had a PN Berry Blast Super Shake and haven’t been hungry since.

Like I said, hunger is a strange beast.
Enough of that crap.
Here’s today’s workout.

9 minutes jumping rope for a warm-up. I’m getting better at this. I think by this time next year, I’ll be jumping rope like a pro.

A1) Flat DB Bench Press: 30 x 12
A2) DB Inclined Front Squat: 30 x 12
A3) DB Flat Bench Flies: 15 x 12

These weights are a 5lb increase from last week. I did 3 rotations

B1) Dual Pulley Row: 35 x 12
B2) Seated Leg Press: 170 x 12
B3) Dual Pulley Pulldown: 35 x 12

3 rotations.

C1) Overhead Barbell Press: 40 x 12
C2) DB Front Raises: 15 x 12

2 rotations.

My rest for each exercise was essentially do all the rotations then rest. Rest was pretty minimal between sets. Just enough to get to the next station.

I finished up with 15 minutes on the elliptical. Level 10. My heartrate when I got on was lower than it has been. It read 148 when I first got on the elliptical, then climbed and leveled out at 155 for most of the exercise.

I also want to thank everyone again for your responses. Your coaching is really helping me a lot to stay focused and motivated on my goal. Not that I need a ton of motivation since everytime I look in the mirror I get a stark reminder of why I need to get off my ass and go to the gym. That being said, I REALLY appreciate the help and encouragement I’m getting. Thank you.

50

Day 10

Finally a good cheat meal!!!
My kids spent all day at the pool while the old man was at work and when I got home, the wife told me she wanted to go out to eat.
Fortunately for me I have 2 spare cheat meals unplanned for this week so we load up the family car and head out for dinner.
My wife and I decide on Ruby Tuesdays which, for the uninitiated, is an American Grill with a great salad bar.

There are 5 of us in the family so we order Guacamole and some Spinach Artichoke Dip to start. While that is getting going, I head over to the salad bar anf fix myself a nice big spinach salad with lots of veggies to go with. No croutons or crackers but plenty of veggies. Ranch dressing for the salad and I head back to the table.

About this time the appetizers arrive and I get me some guacamole (which by the way is actually a registered official side dish in PN world) and a couple of chip fulls of spinach artichoke dip.

I ordered a Bison Burger, no cheese or bacon please, on a whole wheat bun and some mashed cauliflower instead of fries.

No let me take a minute to say that whomever invented the mashed cauliflower as a substitute for potatoes should be promptly taken out behind the barn and SHOT!!! YUCK!!!
I cut the burger in half and ate one half and then put the other half in a doggie bag.
The left most of the cauliflower on the plate. I seriuosly thought that crap was terrible.
I washed it all down with unsweetened ice tea with lemon.

All in all, I think I had a good healthy meal. I didn’t go overboard on anything and tried to make good choices.
Of course like the good contientious fat boy that I am, I got home and headed straight to the gym.

Let me also say that working out on a full stomach is not all that much fun either but I figured I had to pay for my dinner somehow and I might as well suck it up and stay on plan.
My workout went like this:

10 min. jump rope.

A1) Seated Overhead DB Press: 25x12
A2) DB Step-ups: 20x12
A3) 10lb ball wood choppers: 12

3 rotations with a i minute rest between the second and third sets.

B1) Cable Flies: 35x12
B2) Seated Leg Press: 190x12
B3) DB Side Raises: 10x12

3 rotatins. Same rest scheme as before

I finished up with 15 min on the elliptical. Level 5 Hill Training. My heart rate stayed around 155.

51

Looks like things are going according to plan. Well done!

Now that you are in the groove, I would recommend that you lower your reps & increase your poundages.

It can get a bit complicated…for example, cycling low, medium and high reps for strength, hypertrophy and endurance…but, in general, you will have better results in the 6-10 rep range with the last rep being tough. There is no need to go to failure on a set. Keep your form strict as you raise poundages.

You might consider going to 10 reps for a couple of workouts and then going to 8 reps.

Remember that big compound movements are always best for weight reduction.

52

Day 11 (yesterday)
Another day on plan.
I got what seemed like good advice on the board to reduce the reps on my workouts and try increasing the weight. I am trying to put together a plan for workouts in the coming weeks that will allow me to utilize the equipment I have available to me (limited) and not get overly complicated.

As I’ve said before, I am trying to subscribe to the KISS principle here and make small changes all the way around gradually so that I can assimilate them into a long lasting overall lifestyle change.

My thoughts going into this is that for the first few weeks I would just stick to trying to get my ass to the gym and do something, anything, that I think helps me start getting into shape. It has evolved over the few days I’ve been doing it into something of a routine but that’s really just because I know what I can and can not do.

I actually tried a weighted lunge yesterday using 10lb dumbells. I got 1 set done and couple barely walk. I mean I was in some real pain and figured I might want to try getting in a little better shape before trying those again.

So my plan is to continue with what I’m doing right now for at least another week until I quit feeling so exasperated at the end of my workout. I figure that will be my body’s signal that it is ready for a new challenge. Additionally, as I will be on the road next week I don’t want to try to learn a new routine because I know my time will be extremely limited on the trip.

Here’s my workout for yesterday.

10min jumping rope

A1) Assisted Chins (130lb assist) x 10
A2) Assisted Dips (130lb assist) x 10
A3) Flat DB Bench Press: 35 x 12

3 rotations. I think maybe I should lower the assist a little. I think I’m a little stronger now and will probably lower it a little next time.

B1) Flat DB Bench Press: 35 x 12
B2) Hammer Curl: 15 x 20

3 rotations.

I tried to do lunges in here as well and got one set in with 10lb and basically almost crippled myself. After that I decided to give my legs a break.

30 minutes on the elliptical on level 7 Hill Training. My heart rate was 135 when I got on, climbed to around 150 and stayed there for the whole elliptical thing.

Today, Saturday (Day 12) is a day off from the gym.

53

Day 13
Chicago.

I made it here to the hotel and my plan, based on the information I received through my confirmations last week was to get here and head over to Bally’s for my workout today.
Of course when I get here I am told that:

  1. Bally’s is not right across the street, as I was told. In fact it’s not really even in walking distance.

  2. Yes the hotel does have a shuttle but not until tommorrow.

  3. the hotel’s “fitness center” is a treadmill and a stair master and a bike.

So I am off to the “fitness area”. I guess I’ll try the treadmill for and hour and see how that goes.

54

Ok. So I go down to the fitness area and let’s just say the equipment is dated.

Nevertheless, I get on the treadmill and get to work.

I had planned on going for an hour. I got my speed up to 5.0 and set in for a little running (for me level 5 on the treadmill is running).
I got about 30 min into it and was feeling a little out of breath so I slowed down for 5 min, checked my heart rate had slowed down to something reasonable and then got back up to speed.

At 45 mintutes the treadmill JUST STOPPED!!! No warning, it just quit!!!

I slammed into the front of the treadmill, let out a few chioce words and started trying to figure out what happened. I still don’t know.
Anyway, I got 45 minutes of an increased heart rate run and that will have to do for today.
Tomorrow, I’m going to get to the gym for sure.
Now I need to figure out dinner. No restaurants are really near by and all I’ve found to eat today was a blt on wheat.

I’m getting pretty hungry. I’ve got a meeting in an hour so maybe I’ll eat after that.

55

Day 14.
Chicago.
I got the Bally’s gym this morning. IT was really nice to work out in a real weight room.
Here’s my workout.
Warm-up–5 minutes on the bike

A1) Declined BP: 135 x 12
A2) Barbell Squat: 135 x 12
A3) DB Flies: 20 x 12

3 rotations. 1 minute rest after each rotation.

B1) Cable Flies: 25 x 12
B2) Angled Leg Press: 180 x 12
B3) Lat Pulldown: 60 x 12

3 rotations. 1 minute rest after each rotation

C1) DB Military Press: 15 x 12
C2) I don’t know what to call this exercise. Its a seated hammer curl that goes into a DB military press: 15 x 12
C3) DB side raises: 15 x 12

2 roations.

I finished up with 15 minutes on the elliptical. Level 7.

56

Day 15
Chicago

The word for the day is SORE!!!
I do actually feel like my workouts the past two days has been enjoyable.
I did not weigh in today because I don’t have my own scale and figured whatever the weight was wouldn’t really mean much. I’ll wait until I get home for weighing in.

Here’s my workout today.

5 min. on the bike.

A1) DB Bench Press: 40 x 12
A2) DB Military Press: 25 x 12
A3) DB Front Squat: 25 x 12

3 rotations. 1 minute rest between each rotations.

B1) Angled Leg Press: 180 x 12
B2) Hammerstrength Lat Iso Press: 90 x 12

3 rotations. 1 minute rest between each rotation.

C1) Hammerstrength Lat Iso Row: 90 x 12
C2) Plate side raise: 10 x 12

3 rotations. 1 minute rest between each rotation.

D1) T-Bar Row: 45 x 12
D2) Lat Pull down: 35 x 12

3 rotations. 1 minute rest between each rotation.

15 min on the elliptical. Hill training level 7.

I felt really good after today’s workout but as the day goes on I’m getting pretty sore. Tomorrow is a day off from weights but I think I will likely still go to the gym and do some light cardio to work the stiffness out.

57

Day 18. HOME AGAIN!!!
Here’s a recap of the past three days.
On Wednesday I did 45 minutes of elliptical training. Level 7 on the Hill method. My heart rate stayed up there pretty good and averaged 150 for the whole workout.

I took Thursday off from the gym.

Today, Friday, was my last day in Chicago and I went to Bally’s again.
My workout looked like this:

5 min. on the bike for warm-up.

A1) Inclined Bench Press: 95 x 10
A2) Inclined DB Press: 30 x 10

1 minute rest between each rotation. 3 rotations

B1) Declined Bench Press: 115 x 10
B2) Declined DB Press: 30 x 10

Same rest as before.

C1) Cable Flies: 25 x 10
C2) T-Bar Row: 45 x 10

Same rest as before.

I was going to do some squats but couldn’t because of some jerk-off doing curls in the f#*%ing power rack!!! AARRGHH!!

I finished up with 15 minutes on the elliptical. Level 7 Hill workout. Heart Rate stayed around 150.

After working out ina real gym this past week, I’ve come to the realization that the Anytime Fitness place is not going to work. I went to a new gym in town tonight to check it out called Pro Fitness. They have a few trainers there that are CSCS certified, the full line of Hammer Strength equipment and a great free wieght area.

Dumbells go up to 150lb in 2.5 lb increments. I got a free week long pass to check it out and will go tomorrow.

Based on soem of the feedback I’ve gotten about starting a real program, and reading some of the stuff on here about Escalating Density Training, I went out tonight and picked up Charles Staley’s book Muscle Logic and will start using it for my workouts this week.

I’m basically three weeks into my program now and feel I’m starting to be ready for a real program and EDT looks like it promises results without having to spend all day in the gym.

58

Progress Update 7/21/07

After being gone for a week, and missing my weigh-in on Tuesday, I weighed myself this morning.

My scale says 249. That means I’ve actually gained a pound over the last two weeks.
I basically went into a panic!!! Then my wife reminded me of my committment to not pay too much attention to the scale and told me that she thought I looked like I’ve lost weight.
This lead me to breaking out the tape measurerer and here’s the results:

Waist (at navel): 45.5 Was 47.5 Difference -2.0
Chest (at nipples): 47.0 Was 48.5 Difference -1.5
Neck: 17.5 Was 18.5 Difference -1.0
R Arm: 16.0 Was 15.75 Difference +.25
L Arm: 16.0 Was 15.75 Difference +.25
R Thigh: 24.5 Was 24.0 Difference +.50
L Thigh: 23.75 Was 24.25 Difference -.50
Butt: 46 Was 47.25 Difference -1.25

Total Inches Lost over the past 3 weeks = 5.25
THIS IS F%%#*@ng AMAZING!!!

This means my diabolical plan is definitely working. I believe I have gained muscle and lost fat (although I really don’t know how I would prove that imperically) If I’m looking at these number right, my arms and legs (where I really wasn’t carrying much fat) have either stayed where they were or gotten bigger while my chest, belly, and butt (fat central) have gotten smaller!!!

OOH RAH!!! PT…GOOD FOR YOU…OOH RAH…GOOD FOR ME!!!

I am definitely F**&%#ng MOTIVATED right now!!!

59

Day 19
Here is my workout for today

5 minutes on this new Nautalis Trainer. Its pretty cool. I guess it was a treadmill but it dodn’t really look or function like other treadmills I’ve tried.

I then did some Flat Barbell Bench Presses combined with some dumbell bench presses as a super set.
I started out with 95X10 on the BB Benchpress and 25X10 on the DB Benchpress. I then went up 20lb each set until I got to 155 and then did 2 sets there. Then I went back down to 95. The sets at 155 were x 6. Overall I did 9 supersets.

Then I went on to the Hammer Back workouts.
I did and iso front row, iso lateral row, pull over, and high row. 4 supersets.
Rest was minimal.

I finished off with 15 min on the elliptical.
I really need to start writing these workouts down.

60

Day 20
As I said the other day, I’ve been working my way through Muscle Logic by Charles Staley and today I went to the gym to try to test myself and find my 10RM for some of the exercises that will be in the EDT workout that I will likely start next week.

I got to the gym and did a quick 5 minute warm-up on the treadmill and then headed into the weight room for my exercises.

Here’s the rest of the workout. All sets are 10 reps.

Bench Press: 95/135/155/165 I recorded my 10RM at 165.

Hammer V-Squat: 145/230/250 I recorded my 10RM at 250

Barbell Overhead Press: 45/65/85 I recorded my 10RM at 85

Lat Pulldown: 75/100/120/120 I recorded my 10RM at 120

Hammer Linear Leg Press: 170/260/350/440/530 I recorded my 10RM at 530

I am going to keep doing this kind of thing all week to try to work out my real 10RM for the various exercises Staley mentions in his EDT routines.