Tue 9/25 - Legs & Cardio

I've been a real wuss about doing legs since I started working out.  One of the first times I worked out with my trainer (close to a year ago) he had me doing squats and I could barely walk for several days.  I've known for quite some time that the foundation of any weight routine should be squats, dead lifts and bench press.  Well, I've neglected 2 of the 3 and decided it's probably about time I get back to basics a little bit and start doing some squats and deads, even if I don't go heavy and/or do them multiple times a week.  I'm still struggling with how to program them into my WO.  I know how I *should* program them in, but that's not what I *want* to do.  Regardless, I've committed to start doing them, so I started by doing legs/deads today.  I probably won't be able to walk down stairs tomorrow even though I didn't do any heavy weight.

The few times I did legs in the past, I couldn't run effectively for the next couple of days and I didn't want to sacrifice running.  So result, no leg work.  Given my feet and knees seem to keep me from running right now anyway, I might as well hammer the legs a bit.  If anything, it will probably strengthen my quads and might "fix" my knee issue(s).

Workout:

• (100#DBSquats)12,12,12,12 (4)
• (100#DBDeadLift)12,12,12,12,12 (5)
• (180#LegPress)15, (195#LegPress)15,15,15 (4)

45 mins
13 sets (25mins)
Walking c/d (15mins)

Good initial WO.  Walked for 15 mins after the WO to hopefully get some blood running through the quads to clear out some waste from the WO.  I really need a barbell to do these exercises properly, so maybe I can do them at the new gym I joined, but dumbbells were fine for my initial attempt.  It will shock my legs a bit, get them good and sore I'm sure, and then I can work through how I'll program these in and do them frequently enough where I'm not so sore after each WO that walking is extremely difficult.

The weight was fine for these today.  I didn't go close to failure, but the last set of leg presses were more than difficult enough for my first WO.

Cardio:

• Walked 32 mins after work just to get some more blood flow through the legs to *hopefully* help with the pain that's sure to come. 
• Walked 45 mins late evening to get the legs moving again.  Plus, it was a really nice evening with a pretty moon out, so I decided to take advantage of the weather.

Nutrition:
I weighed 172.4 this morning.  This is almost exactly what I weighed last Tuesday after similar refeed from Sunday.  Good nutrition day today.  I don't know if it was psychological, or real, but after doing legs today I was noticeably hungrier all day.

Tue	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
9/25/2012	8AM	BCAA	10g
	11:15AM	WO - Legs
	12:30PM	Creatine	5g
	12:30PM	Whey Shake W1	1 scoop	30	4	1	140
	1:30PM	Chicken	6.3oz	44	0	2	189
	1:30PM	Salad	16oz	9	21	0	114
	1:30PM	Oatmeal	3/4 cup	8	41	5	225
	4PM	Apple	1 med	0	25	0	95
	5PM	Tuna (7oz can)	5.5oz	44	0	2	193
	5PM	Yellow squash	6oz	2	5	0	30
	7:30PM	Casein Protein C2	1 scoop	24	3	1	120
	7:30PM	Oatmeal	3/4 cup	8	41	5	225
	8:45PM	Apple	1 med	0	25	0	95
	8:45PM	Cottage Cheese	3/4 Cup	21	8	2	135
		TOTALS:	Grams	189	172	16	1,561
			Calories	754	689	142	1,584
			Percent	48%	43%	9%	100%

Mon 9/24 - Chest/Tri

Workout:
I had a few extra minutes today, so I went over to the larger Sprint gym.  SO glad I did!  I was psyched for this WO, and it was a good one!

• (185#Bench)6,6,5,3 (4) 20
• (55#Incline)10,5,5,4,4,4 (6) 22
• (Dips)10/+3,3,3,3,3 (6) 25
• (95#CloseGripBench)16/+6,6,6,5,6 (6) 45
• (40#Crunch)15/+6,5,5,5 (5)
• (LyingLegRaise)15/+5,5,5,5,5 (6)
• (50#OHTriExt)16/+4,4,4,3,3 (6) 34

45 mins
Chest: 16 (67)
Tri: 12 (79)
Abs: 11
Total: 28 Sets (activation + mini-sets) Not counting abs in here

I worked out today at the larger Sprint gym.  They don't have barbells eigher, except for on the smith machine.  They do have some bars with pre-loaded weight that I'll be able to use for barbell curls and deads.

I warmed up on bench with 95#'s (just to get a feel for the smith machine) and 135#'s.  Then I did 4 sets at 185#s. Reps were 6,6,5,3. This worked well, but it was still a little hard on the smith to feel exactly like regular barbell bench.  This was still really good. Much better than the chest press machine at the small Sprint gym.

For incline I started with 50#'s and did 10 reps w/o much difficulty.  I'm calling this a warmup set even though it was more of a working set.  I bumped up to 55#'s and did reps of 5,5,4,4,4.  This was REALLY good.  Felt awesome and grinded out the last rep on the 2nd set of 5 and then the sets of 4 felt good.  I'll start with 55's next time.

Dips were pretty good.  Did myo-reps. Not as many activation reps as last WO, but I think chest was a bit more heavily worked first in this WO.

I Was psyched to be able to do close grip bench today (one of the best tri-builders).  Felt good, but reps were a little too high.  Need to up the weight next time.

I decided to give tri's a breather and do core/abs here.  I did 40# decline crunches and then lying leg raises.  This felt great (and hard) after not doing really any abs last week because of my back.  Still not sure about the weighted crunches.  I know they are great for mass, but just not sure if I'm doing them effectively and putting un-needed stress on my back how I'm doing them.

OverHead tri extensions were real good.  Still like these, but will try to do more close grip bench, dips and a new exercises I need to try called Rolling DB Extensions and JM Presses.  From what I've been reading, the recommendation is for these exercises over pushdowns (and OH extensions).  I can take or leave pushdowns, but I do love me my OH Tri Extensions.

Overall a fantastic WO.  Not a ton of volume, but heavy (for me) and intense.  It was 45 mins because of ab work and being in a new gym things took a little longer.  I think chest volume was just about right on with 3 heavy compound movements and DONE.  No need to try to kill the chest with peck deck, cable cross, whatever right now.  Just need to progress on heavier weights week to week.  Tri's were good.  Reps probably too high, but I'll get that dialed in on close grip bench and need to try Rolling DB Extensions and JM Presses.  Today, being in a new gym, doing close grip bench was enough of a change for one day.
 
Nutrition:
I weighed 175.4 this morning.  Maybe I ate more than I though yesterday :)  I thought I'd be about 173.  Pretty good nutrition day.

Mon	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
9/24/2012	10:45AM	BCAA	10g
	11AM	WO - Chest/Tri
	12:30PM	Creatine	5g
	12:30PM	Whey Shake W1	1 scoop	30	4	1	140
	1:30PM	Chicken	5oz	35	0	1	150
	1:30PM	Salad	16oz	9	21	0	114
	2PM	Banana	1small (5.7)	1	23	0	90
	4PM	Egg Whites	3whites	11	1	0	51
	5PM	Jerky	1package	10	0	1	50
	7PM	Chicken	7oz	49	0	2	210
	7PM	Broccoli	5.5oz	4	11	0	55
	7PM	Oatmeal	1/2 cup	5	27	3	150
	7PM	Apple	1 med	0	25	0	95
	8:45PM	Casein Protein C2	1 scoop	24	3	1	120
	8:45PM	Cottage Cheese	1/2 Cup	14	5	1	90
	8:45PM	Oatmeal	1/2 cup	5	27	3	150
		TOTALS:	Grams	196	147	13	1,465
			Calories	786	587	120	1,493
			Percent	53%	39%	8%	100%

Sun 9/23 - Cardio/Refeed/New Gym & Week Recap

Cardio:

• Walked for 40 mins after the Skins game and lying on the couch after first big meal.  I over-ate and my stomach was aching and almost didn't get out for a walk.  I was glad I got out and moved around for a while.  It wasn't that I ate a TON, I just think my stomach shrunk because I haven't been eating a big meals.

New Gym:
I decided to join another gym - Fitness First here in Leesburg.  I joined another gym because:

1. I occasionally need a gym when I'm not at work and it's $15/day for a guest pass.  A weekly membership is only $25 and the normal initiation fee of $150 was only $25 this weekend.
2. I'd like to be able to work from home occasionally when I know most of my team won't be in (i.e. a lot of Friday's) and still be able to work out.  Now I have to drive to work to use the gym.
3. I'd like to work out on weekends and can't now with the gym being closed at work on weekends.
4. I'd like access to a trainer.  Not to have personal training sessions, per se.  But to have someone be able to review what I'm doing and my diet and provide input.
5. With winter coming up, I'm sure there will be times where the weather is bad and it's just easier to do something inside.
6. Might meet new people.

Nutrition:
I weighed 167.8 this morning.  Refeed day.  I was looking forward to this day all week.  It was quite a disappointment.  I ate a good amount, but nothing really sounded all that appetizing.  No good "cheat meal".  I ate a bunch of cereal, some chili and 2 apples.  I did have lunch out, but just had chicken kabob (grilled chicken, a piece of Naan and some steamed spinach), so not a real "cheat meal".  I think the disappointing part was mostly due to what I wrote above.  My stomach got full so fast I could hardly enjoy eating a bunch.  I could have avoided this by extending my eating window, but I didn't start eating until after 1PM and ended after dinner.  Here's a guess at the macro's.  I'm basically using what last Sunday was because I didn't even bother trying to track today.  I figure around 3,000 calories though probably not that high.  I know my protein wasn't near 200 grams and carbs probably a decent amount lower as well.  Oh, I did eat a bagel for the first time in probably a year. 

TOTALS:	Grams	195	498	37	3,010
	Calories	778	1994	333	3,105
	Percent	25%	64%	11%	100%

Weekly ending 9/23 -  3 WO's, 1 run, 1 long walk, 0 doubles.
All three workouts were really good this week.  I hurt my back last Sunday, but didn't seem to hinder my WO's.  My one run was decent, but after the long walk on Saturday my feet were killing me.  Overall a good week with WO's and nutrition.  Just need to get cardio back on track. 

Sat 9/22 - Cardio

Cardio:

• Walked 6.5 miles in 1:48 (15:47, 16:05, 16:40, 16:38, 16:25, 16:57, 9:16).   I walked into old town Leesburg, on the W&OD trail for a while and then back home.  Beautiful morning for a walk.
• Note: tonight at 9:30PM my feet are killing me!  Maybe that long walk wasn't such a good idea right when my feet were just starting to feel a little bit better.  Damnit!

Nutrition:
I weighed 167.4 this morning.  Pretty good nutrition day.  I fasted until 4PM today so I ate quite a bit considering I put it into a 5-hour window.Calories were OK, but protein a little low and carbs a little high (2 apples and 2 servings of oatmeal).  Refeed planned for tomorrow, but going to try to keep it under control.

Sat	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
9/22/2012	7AM	BCAA	10g
	9AM	Walked 6.5 miles
	12:45PM	BCAA	10g
	4PM	Chicken	8.2oz	57	0	2	246
	4PM	Broccoli	5.5oz	4	11	0	55
	4PM	Apple	1 med	0	25	0	95
	4:30PM	Oatmeal	1/2 cup	5	27	3	150
	7:30PM	Tuna (7oz can)	5.5oz	44	0	2	193
	7:30PM	Broccoli	5oz	4	10	0	50
	7:30PM	Oatmeal	3/4 cup	8	41	5	225
	7:30PM	Milk	1/2cup	5	7	0	45
	7:30PM	Apple	1 med	0	25	0	95
	9PM	Jerky (Walmart)	1oz	14	3	1	80
	9PM	Casein Protein C2	1 scoop	24	3	1	120
		TOTALS:	Grams	164	151	13	1,354
			Calories	655	604	119	1,378
			Percent	48%	44%	9%	100%

Fri 9/21 - Back/Shoulders/Bi's

I was going to walk this morning, but my feet were a little tender after the run yesterday and I don't want to take a step back, so I didn't do any cardio.

Workout (Myo-reps):

• (195#RevGripPull)10/+3,3,3,2,2,2 (7) 25
• (120#Military)19/+3,3,3,3,3 (6) 34
• (150#CloseGripPull)10/+3,3,3,3,3 (6) 25
• (15#LateralDelsts)19/+4,4,4,4,4 (6) 39
• (25#HammerCurls)15/+3,3,3,3,3 (6) 30
• (70#RearDelt)17/+4,4,4,4 (5) 33
• (90#WideGripSeatedRow)10/+4,4,4,4,4 (6) 30
• (35#Crunch)17/+4,4,4,4,4 (6)

38 mins
Back: 19 (80)
Shoulders: 17 (106)
Bi's: 6 (30)
Abs: 6 (37)
Total: 48 (activation + mini-sets) (216 reps)

Reverse grip pulldowns were pretty good. Felt pretty heavy and on the 4th mini set I only got 2 reps, so I did 2 more sets of 2. Last week I got sets of 3. Could really feel it in my lats, but not quite as well as last week.

Military was really good again, but I think I went probably 1-2 too many reps on the activation set (I wanted to do more reps than last WO).  Last 2 mini sets I didn't quite get last rep up.  Shoulders felt really good though.  I need to do dumbbell military soon to see where I stand compared to before myo-reps.  Heavy dumbbell military press would just be too difficult/awkward to get them down and then back up ready to go again w/ only a 10-15 second rest.  I might try them, but don't see it going well, so will have to just do straight sets sometime soon.

Close grip pulldowns were great today.  Tried to really squeeze and take it slow, moving weight w/o using momentum.  Lats/mid back felt really good.

Lateral delts were great with 4 reps on the mini sets again and higher rep activation set than last WO.

I did hammer curls today and they were really good. I'm wondering if I should do more than one bicep exercise.  Probably not.  They get worked pretty well during back.

Rear delts were good.  Really squeezed at contraction and kept tension on the entire movement.  As usual, this starts out feeling really light, but gets tough quickly during mini-sets.

I decided to do wide grip seated rows today, 1)to change things up just a tad, and 2)close grip rows have really been hurting my left elbow.  I used the lat pulldown bar and used a wide grip.  Not sure how I felt about this.  I had to use a lighter weight (90#s) and really tried to squeeze at contraction, but had a bit of a hard time making the connection to what it was actually working.  Too much arms in this movement for me maybe.  Regardless, it didn't hurt my elbow, so that's good.  Maybe I should do bent over rows instead until my elbow gets better.

Because of my back hurting since Sunday I haven't done any core/ab work this week and really wanted to today.  I did weighted crunches with 35#'s, but this hurt my back when I went close to flat.  These ended up just being OK.  I'm still getting used to these in the first place, so to not be able to do full ROM didn't help.  After crunches I tried to do lying leg raises.  Not happening.  This hurt my back too much to be worth trying sets of them.

Really good WO.  Some things better than others.  Close grip pull downs and lateral delts were probably the best two movements of the day.

Nutrition:
I weighed 168.2 this morning.  On track and heading down!  Another good nutrition day.  I added just a little chocolate whey protein to my oatmeal tonight.  It was really good and I wanted to eat some more.  This evening was kind of difficult.  I really wanted to carb load this afternoon/evening after my WO....meaning I was bowls and bowls of cereal.  I've got to get over this!  I was good though and didn't give in.  Plan is to eat over maintenance on Sunday.  Tomorrow is probably going to pretty difficult.  Today was 4 straight days with no almonds and fat has been super low during that time (less than 10% of daily calories).

Fri	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
9/21/2012	12:45PM	BCAA	10g
	1PM	WO - Back/Shoulder
	2PM	Creatine	5g
	2PM	Whey Shake W1	1 scoop	30	4	1	140
	2:30PM	Chicken	6oz	42	0	1.5	180
	2:30PM	Salad	16oz	9	21	0	114
	2:30PM	Banana	1small (5.7)	1.1	23	0.3	90
	5:15PM	Egg Whites	3whites	11	1	0	51
	5:15PM	Chobani Yogurt	6oz	18	7	0	100
	7PM	Tuna (7oz can)	5.5oz	44	0	2	193
	7PM	Broccoli	5oz	4	10	0	50
	7PM	Apple	1 med	0	25	0	95
	9PM	Oatmeal	3/4 cup	8	41	5	225
	9PM	Casein Protein C2	1 scoop	24	3	1	120
		TOTALS:	Grams	190	134	10	1,358
			Calories	758	537	90	1,385
			Percent	55%	39%	6%	100%

Thu 9/20 - Cardio - Yes, I did cardio!

Cardio:
Ran 40 minutes (4.4miles) and walked c/d 10 mins.  I started out for a walk this morning and my feet were feeling OK.  I figured it was worth a try to run and see how the feet/calves/knees did after some extended time off (I haven't really run in almost 2 weeks and even limited walks).  They felt OK.  Not great, but OK.  My calves weren't cramping up and/or feeling dead like they have been.  I guess some actual rest helped.  My left knee hurt a little, but not bad.  It wasn't a great run, but I'll take it!  Gotta be careful not to ramp back up too quickly.

Nutrition:
Another good nutrition day.  I weighed 170.0 this morning.  On Monday I thought I'd be just below 170 by Thursday.  I was pretty close to spot on even though I didn't dip below.  I'm getting to know my body and where my weight stands real well in the 170 - 180 range and how long it takes to cut back down to the 170 range after a re-feed or cheat weekend. 

I feel good and lean at 170.  I struggle getting much below 169.  I've been down to 163.8 two months ago and goal is to get below that during this cut.  It's a piece of cake (relatively speaking) for me to get from 175 to 170 with a real clean diet.  170 to below 165 is a whole different story.  I was really lean (for me anyway) when I hit 163. Veins were showing all over my abdomen and even in my back.  I've put on mass since that time, so if I can get below 163, it's going to be an accomplishment.  And I mean below a "real" 163#s.  Not after a run in the morning where I've sweated off a couple pounds.

Thu	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
9/20/2012	6:30AM	BCAA	10g
	8:30AM	Ran 4+ miles
	9:30AM	BCAA	10g
	2PM	Chicken	7.4oz	52	0	2	222
	2PM	Salad	12oz	7	16	0	86
	3PM	Egg Whites	3whites	11	1	0	51
	7PM	Chicken	6oz	42	0	2	180
	7PM	Zucchini	6oz	2	5	0	30
	7PM	Apple	1 med	0	25	0	95
	7:30PM	Oatmeal	3/4 cup	8	41	5	225
	9PM	Cottage Cheese	1Cup	28	10	2	180
	9PM	Casein Protein C2	1 scoop	24	3	1	120
		TOTALS:	Grams	172	100	11	1,189
			Calories	690	402	98	1,189
			Percent	58%	34%	8%	100%

Wed 9/19 - Chest/Tri's

Workout:

• (225#Bench)6,5,4,4 (4) 19
• (50#Incline)7,6,6,5 (4) 24
• (Dips)13/+3,3,3,3,3 (6) 28
• (50#OHTriExt)15/+3,3,3,3,3,3 (7) 33
• (130#Pushdown)10/+3,3,3,3,3 (6) 25 & 80#X10, 60#X12
• (110#PeckDeck)15/+4,4,4,4 (5) 31

38 mins
Chest: 19 (102)
Tri: 15 (80)
Total: 34 Sets (activation + mini-sets)

Bench was really good.  I warmed up and felt good so I bumped the weight to 225# (last week was 210#). I tried to make sure I kept my shoulders pinned back to work the pecs.  I was really pleased with this weight and # of reps.  I had to slightly touch the weight on the very last rep to get it pressed. Although this felt really good, it's still not barbell bench, which I need to be doing.

I was pleased with incline as well.  A couple more reps than last WO, so happy with that (especially while cutting).

Dips were pretty good.  Really worked last rep of last 2 sets barely getting them up.  I only mention because normally with dips when I fail, I only get half way up and just can't get higher.  Today those last 2 reps I was able to get up.

Overhead tri extensions were good and elbow felt OK during them.

I bumped the weight up on pushdowns because I was feeling good with the WO.  The weight was fine, but I think I should have stayed with 120#s just because I feel that 4 reps on mini-set is better than 3 for this exercise.  So, I added two sets at the end with the rope at a light weight and more reps.  Felt good.

The WO was done as written at this point, but I added peck deck.  I was just going to do 1 or 2 sets, but this wasn't bothering my left elbow like it has been lately, so I went ahead and did a full myo-rep "set".

I was very happy with this WO. Calories were pretty low yesterday (under 1200) and this WO was at the end of a 17-hour fast, so I was kind of surprised how well it went.  Pretty good time-wise, but I didn't do any core.  I couldn't do core because of my back.  I tried a few leg raises and it was painful, so I skipped it again.  I didn't take a lot of rest (1-1.5mins) on bench and incline (about 7mins per exercise), but definitely more rest than myo-reps.  I probably didn't need to do peck deck and still got a really good chest WO, but that's what I tend to do, unfortunately.  Very good WO, but gotta get some barbell work in soon.

Nutrition:
Good nutrition day.  I weighed 171.4 this morning.  Again, thought I'd be a bit lower, but I guess that's what not doing cardio will do.  I thought I'd be below 170 tomorrow, but that's probably going to be close.  Either way, I'm just about right on plan and as much as I'm missing running, it's good to be able to control my diet and still get down w/o cardio.  When I'm able to add it back in, it will make a big difference when I really need it for this last cut.

Wed	Time	Item	Size	Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
9/19/2012	12:15PM	BCAA	10g
	12:30PM	WO
	1:30PM	Creatine	5g
	1:30PM	Whey Shake W1	1 scoop	30	4	1	140
	2PM	Chili	1serving	39	23	7	313
	2PM	Banana	1small (5.7)	1	23	0	90
	5:15PM	Cottage Cheese	1/2 Cup	14	5	1	90
	6:15PM	Chicken	4.5oz	32	0	1	135
	6:15PM	Salad	12oz	7	16	0	86
	6:15PM	Oatmeal	1/2 cup	5	27	3	150
	6:15PM	Apple	1 med	0	25	0	95
	8PM	Chicken	4oz	28	0	1	120
	8PM	Casein Protein C2	1 scoop	24	3	1	120
		TOTALS:	Grams	179	126	16	1,338
			Calories	718	505	141	1,364
			Percent	53%	37%	10%	100%