The "I just got back from the gym" and this is what I have eaten thread.

[SenselessChiefsFan]

Okay, so there are a ton of guys in here that are working out, trying to work out, or 'thinking' about working out.

So, I figured I would start a thread. I am all about making myself accountable. The more people that I tell about working out, the more people I would let down by not going.

If you go to the gym.... then post here when you get back. If you do P90X, post here when you get done. If you ride the excercise bike.... post it here.

Anything you do to get in shape.... share with the board. I know I have gotten some great advice and feedback.

Also, post what you eat. If you post everything you eat, and you know others will be critical, you may think twice before you grab a Twinkie.

Okay, so, I went to the gym. I did five minutes on the cross climber to warm up. I stretched for about three minutes.

Then, I did three sets of squats with just 135. I did back extensions and hanging leg lifts. Three sets each. I did leg curls, calf extensions, abductor and adductor excercises as well.

On my leg day, I do very light chest exercises to work on my explosive power. I do three sets of six pushups as explosively as I can. I throw the excercise ball up like a chest pass while laying on the bench.

Then, I finished off my workout with 30 minutes on the eliptical.

As far as my diet.

Breakfast two pieces of peanut butter whole wheat toast, protein shake, and banana.

I have had another banana, two yogurts, and a handful of cashews as snacks.

I didn't have a 'lunch' per se.

Kids had sloppy joes with lean beef (as if that makes it great).... I took a baked potato, and put a serving of sloppy joe over it, with jalapenos and 2 oz's of lowfat cheddar cheese.

I have also had shotgun with water, and synthesize with water.

I won't eat again before bed.


Okay, I know putting everything down here will open me up to criticism. I know some will think that I am doing things all wrong. I appreciate any advice, but I have done a lot of reading and talking to trainers.... so, I have an idea of what I am doing.... or at least what I think I am doing.

The point of this thread, isn't to get into pissing matches about how to do things.... but rather to give ourselves a gold star for making an effort.

Try not to beat anyone down on this thread, because this is about encouragement.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by SensibleChiefsfan

Here's to a quick recovery.

Thanks, man. I know it will go away, because I've had it before... but then I did the exercises that caused it in the first place. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Anyway, good luck with the diet stuff. I don't think you need to do anything that extreme. Just eat healthy stuff... and eat less of it. It's always going to boil down to calories in vs. calories out, no matter how those calories come.

[SenselessChiefsFan]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

Ignore your wife.

Said like a man who doesn't have a wife.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by SensibleChiefsfan

Said like a man who still has balls.

FYP

Every dumbass female in my life was "concerned" that VD sounded "unhealthy." Bitches think they are such experts on eating healthy.

[NewChief]

Hit it on Monday. Took Tuesday off. Hit it again this morning. One of the trainers at my gym told me that I'm starting to look ripped. Sort of gay, but also sort of an ego boost.

Diet continues to be a problem. I'm doing a lunchtime tutoring program for our low-socioeconomic kids, and we provide pizza. As part of my "pay" for doing it, there's also pizza provided for me. I have very poor willpower if unhealthy food is around. My solution at home is just to keep only healthy food around. So yeah... basically I ate 7 pieces of pizza yesterday for lunch. Ridiculous.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

FYP

Every dumbass female in my life was "concerned" that VD sounded "unhealthy." Bitches think they are such experts on eating healthy.

Heh, there's nothing at all unhealthy about it. Unhealthy for your wallet, maybe, if you buy all of the Biotest crap... but it's not going to hurt you.

[SenselessChiefsFan]

Originally Posted by NewPhin

Hit it on Monday. Took Tuesday off. Hit it again this morning. One of the trainers at my gym told me that I'm starting to look ripped. Sort of gay, but also sort of an ego boost.

Diet continues to be a problem. I'm doing a lunchtime tutoring program for our low-socioeconomic kids, and we provide pizza. As part of my "pay" for doing it, there's also pizza provided for me. I have very poor willpower if unhealthy food is around. My solution at home is just to keep only healthy food around. So yeah... basically I ate 7 pieces of pizza yesterday for lunch. Ridiculous.

The gym is the one place one guy can tell another guy he looks good and not have the situation feel uncomfortable. I have a couple guys that I look up to there, and it is always encouraging when they compliment me on the progress I am making. It is funny how much other people notice, what we don't sometimes. With me, I know my body has changed, but I also know the body I want is a ways away.

Others just see my arms, and my shoulders, and how much thicker I am (in the chest and back), and they gauge my success on how much different I am from what I was.

I gauge my success by how close I am to being what I want to be.

But, nothing gay about another guy in the gym giving kudos. It means more coming from a guy putting up 315, than from my wife who doesn't know a bench press from a hack squat.

[SenselessChiefsFan]

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

FYP

Every dumbass female in my life was "concerned" that VD sounded "unhealthy." Bitches think they are such experts on eating healthy.

It is a lot easier to ignore a girlfriend than a wife. My wife doesn't like all the supplements I am taking. But, the reality is that it doesn't affect our lifestyle. I can still have family meals. We have two kids, and we try to have a sit down dinner with them almost every night. So, it would be a reminder every night. Not something I want to deal with.

[SenselessChiefsFan]

Yesterday was an off day. I was working out nearly every day of the week, with only three days rest for each body part.

I am going to start doing things a little differently. I am going to try to add an extra day of rest in each cycle. I considered going to two days rest, so that I get five days between each body part. But, I am going to try four first. I am really trying to focus more attention on doing things 'right'. I know that I will get stronger regardless. But, I have 11 months to bench 80lbs more. So, I have to make efficient use of my gym time.

[Silock]

What kind of strength cycle are you following now? I'm a fan of three types:

Standard increasing:
Pick a weight that's 10 lbs over your current max. Then work that number backwards 10 times by increments of 5. So, if 10 lbs over your current max is 225, you'd work backwards to 220, 215, 210, 205, 200, 195, 190, 185, and 180. Start at 180. Do one set of 5 reps at 180. Rest 90 seconds. Decrease the weight on the second (and last set) by around 10%. Do the next set at 170. That's it. 2 sets, 5 reps each. It sucks at first, but concentrate on form and contracting the muscles and training your body to lift the weight properly. Lift for 5 straight days, rest on the weekends, do the last 5 the second week. By the end of that second week, you should be able to hit that increased number.

Second method:
Similar to the first, but you don't start so far down. 10 workouts, rest on weekends, lift every week day, 2 sets, 5 reps. For this one, it's the same principle, but you don't start so low, and lift the same weight 2 days in a row. So, it would be something like 205/195 on Monday and Tuesday, 210/200 on Wed & Thur, 215/205 on Fri and Mon, 220/210 on Tue Wed, and 225/215 on Thur Fri.

Third method:
Wave training, same workout schedule, same sets, same reps. 210/200, 205/195, 210/200, 215/205, 210/200, 215/205, 220/210, 215/205, 220/210, 225/215. That kind of thing.

All of these are effective and lend themselves to quick workouts every day, so they're easy to squeeze in no matter how much time you've got. Rest periods are to just take a week off every 4 weeks or every 2 cycles.

[SenselessChiefsFan]

I had been working Chest/Triceps Monday/Thursday. Then I was working Back/Biceps on Tues/Friday. I was working legs on Weds/Saturday. I do core work every workout. I do planks on chest days. I do renegade rows on back days. Obviously, I also work lower back on back days. I do situps and leg lifts on leg day.

As far as reps, I originally started with a traditional pyramid. I went with a warm up set at 50% max. Then, 10 x 60%. Then 8 x 65%. Then 6 x 70%. Then 4 x 75%.

I made great progress initially. I increased my bench by 50lbs in less than three months. The problem is that I have increased it only 10lbs in the last two months.

So, I started doing five sets of five reps. I started at 170lbs. The next workout I will move up to 175lbs.

I based it on a workout that claims to increase your bench 50lbs in eight weeks.

It says to workout your chest every five days. I am probably going to shave a day off of that. And do it every four days.

After the eight weeks, I think I am going to try your program for a month and see how it works.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by SensibleChiefsfan

I had been working Chest/Triceps Monday/Thursday. Then I was working Back/Biceps on Tues/Friday. I was working legs on Weds/Saturday. I do core work every workout. I do planks on chest days. I do renegade rows on back days. Obviously, I also work lower back on back days. I do situps and leg lifts on leg day.

As far as reps, I originally started with a traditional pyramid. I went with a warm up set at 50% max. Then, 10 x 60%. Then 8 x 65%. Then 6 x 70%. Then 4 x 75%.

I made great progress initially. I increased my bench by 50lbs in less than three months. The problem is that I have increased it only 10lbs in the last two months.

So, I started doing five sets of five reps. I started at 170lbs. The next workout I will move up to 175lbs.

I based it on a workout that claims to increase your bench 50lbs in eight weeks.

It says to workout your chest every five days. I am probably going to shave a day off of that. And do it every four days.

After the eight weeks, I think I am going to try your program for a month and see how it works.

I had similar gains initially. Increased my working weight to 185 and my max to 225 (I felt like a badass when I had 2 45s on each side... I want to get my working weight to there). Anyway, I seem to have leveled off. I think a big part of the problem is I don't have anyone to spot me, so I chicken out on increasing weight.

[SenselessChiefsFan]

Originally Posted by NewPhin

I had similar gains initially. Increased my working weight to 185 and my max to 225 (I felt like a badass when I had 2 45s on each side... I want to get my working weight to there). Anyway, I seem to have leveled off. I think a big part of the problem is I don't have anyone to spot me, so I chicken out on increasing weight.

Hey, if you come workout at the Fitness 19 in Lawrenceville, GA, I will spot you.

In all seriousness, just ask someone. I know it feels rude, but I encourage anyone that works out at the same time I do that I will be happy to spot them. And, because of that, I will ask someone else to spot me.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by SensibleChiefsfan

I had been working Chest/Triceps Monday/Thursday. Then I was working Back/Biceps on Tues/Friday. I was working legs on Weds/Saturday. I do core work every workout. I do planks on chest days. I do renegade rows on back days. Obviously, I also work lower back on back days. I do situps and leg lifts on leg day.

As far as reps, I originally started with a traditional pyramid. I went with a warm up set at 50% max. Then, 10 x 60%. Then 8 x 65%. Then 6 x 70%. Then 4 x 75%.

I made great progress initially. I increased my bench by 50lbs in less than three months. The problem is that I have increased it only 10lbs in the last two months.

So, I started doing five sets of five reps. I started at 170lbs. The next workout I will move up to 175lbs.

I based it on a workout that claims to increase your bench 50lbs in eight weeks.

It says to workout your chest every five days. I am probably going to shave a day off of that. And do it every four days.

After the eight weeks, I think I am going to try your program for a month and see how it works.

I can tell you right now that you're not working out chest enough to make good progress. A lot of the major lifts definitely have to do with putting on muscle, but a lot of it is training for the central nervous system. If you're not training your CNS to send instructions to your muscles to contract harder, you won't be able to lift a lot. And the only way to really train your CNS is to lift hard and lift hard often.

I don't understand why that program would say only to do it once every 5 days. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. It makes sense if you were fatiguing the muscle and going strictly for growth, but low strength reps don't damage the muscles the same way that high reps do. So, where you need more rest for muscles in order for them to grow, you don't need as much rest for muscles to be trained for strength. Odd indeed.

[RedThat]

fellas, I feel a little like crap, but I feel okay as well. I got mixed emotions.

Let me first start off by saying, dieting is tough man. the discipline part doesn't bother me so much, what bothers me more about dieting is that is has a tendency to interfere with ones social life. It really does if you're completely strict and uptight about it, then yes it will interfere with your social life.

Buddy of mine calls me today, and says, "lets go out for a few bruskies." Now I haven't seen him in a long time, so I figured hey sure why not man? Lets do it. But deep down inside Im thinking nah its not a good idea to go because then what about the diet? Beer sure as heck doesn't help? The other side of me says, "quit it Dom! Why do you got to be so selfish for? Give some time to other people, compromise a bit, and then you can get right back to what you want to do, diet. Your cheat days are on Sundays anyway? Cheat today, sacrifice Sunday, don't cheat Sunday, as a matter of fact, you go out with Dave then you don't have to cheat for the next 2 weeks? Hows that?"

I said: "Fine!" Sounds pretty reasonable. its kinda like I had an angel talking to me on one shoulder, and a devil talking to me on other.

so I went out ate some chicken wings, drank some beer, had a desert, dairy queen blizzard...THATS ALOT OF CALORIES!!

Now this voice creeps up inside me..and has this silent, evil laugh..."hahahaha, how does that feel? Here is one for you, BOOM! Suck on that guilt!! hahahaha!"

The other voice says to me: "relax my brother, its okay, you created a fine balance for yourself..you gave time to your brother, compromised a bit, showed you were unselfish...Now, you are going to go back to dieting, and put that guilt away after all. Don't be concerned about what that devil has to say, were are going to destroy his weapon of guilt..The discipline I give you will overcome it! Now, you are not going to cheat for 2 weeks my brother. I believe in you. You will do this!"

[Silock]

Focus on calories for the week, not calories for the day. Just even it up later.