Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Catching up
I've been remiss in not updating this blog... I need to keep at this regularly. I'm thinking at this point, I'm just going to use this to document progress for myself. Not that anyone reads this anyway. This blog will cease to have boring lame introspective content and will now begin to have regularly tracked fitness progress.
I'm not really sure why I've gotten into this again, but I guess it's just something that I've always enjoyed but got away from it for some reason over the past couple years. It's been a lot of fun re-dedicating myself to it.
So currently here are the stats:
Weight - 170 lbs (probably a little small, I think I'd like to be closer to 180, but with the same BF that I'm at now)
Bodyfat - Between 14 and 15%
Shoulder Press - 5RM @ 115 lbs
Bench Press - 5RM @ 170 lbs
Back squat - 5RM @ 115 lbs
Deadlift - 5RM @ 200 lbs (might be some rounding of the back, I think I might stay at this weight for the next couple weeks)
Pull-ups/chin-ups - Max set of 10, either overhand or underhand grip
I've been doing a Starting Strength type split, which looks like the following:
Monday - Warmup, then 3x5 Back Squat
-Warmup, then 3x5 bench press
-3 sets of max pull-ups
Wednesday - Warmup, then 3x5 Back Squat
-Warmup, then 3x5 shoulder press
-Warmup to 1x5 deadlift
Friday - Warmups, then 3x5 Back Squat
-Warmup, then 3x5 bench press
-3 sets of max pull-ups
On off days I try to do some kind of cardio, usually some HIIT (high intensity interval training). Current 400 meter split is somewhere around 1:21-1:24 based on the day.
Some thoughts: Obviously I need to increase my squatting strength, because there's no way I should be able to put more weight overhead than I can squat. That was one of the reasons I chose this sort of plan, because I could work on squatting 3 times a week. Also, with the program, the goal is to increase your weight every single time in the gym. The problem is that I am going to stall out on bench press and shoulder press long before the back squat. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle that yet.
Also, I need to get the diet thing figured out. I tried the anabolic diet for a couple weeks and ended up crashing really hard with no carbs. So I'm giving up on that for now. The other hard part is getting enough protein on a daily basis. I've been supplementing with lots of protein shakes, since it's hard to get 1 gram or more per pound of body weight just from meat. I'd be eating insane amounts of chicken if I tried to do that. So far, I think I have not been getting enough calories in. I think that's why my weight has drifted downward to where it is.
Anyway, goals for the end of the year (December 2009):
-Back squat: 5 RM @ 225 lbs
-Overhead press: 5 RM @ bodyweight
-Bench press: 5 RM @ 210 lbs
-Deadlift: 5RM @ 340 lbs
-Pull-ups: 20 strict (I'm giving up on learning kipping)
I think once I hit these goals I'll jump back into CrossFit. I just realized that my strength was not where it needed to be to get the most out of the workouts and I just felt like I would never be able to get to doing the WODs as RX'ed without some serious focus on strength. Plus I just like lifting weights. I will not miss Cindy and Fran in the meantime, ugh.
I've been experimenting a bit with supplementing also. Right now, for heavy lifting days I usually take some nitric oxide to get a little energy boost going into the workout. And I usually try to get a serving of creatine in each day. As previously mentioned I'm going through a lot of protein powder too. Finally I have been taking a fish oil supplement as well to combat inflammation. I'm not really sure if it's working or not.
Finally, I signed up for Grandma's Marathon. Mark is kind of my partner in crime for it. Neither of us has really started our specific training for it. I get kind of a knot in my stomach just thinking about it. Once the weather gets nice I'll probably get back into running regularly, but it's just too hard when the track or treadmill at the gym is all you can do. We'll see if Grandma's is going to happen. The memory of TC marathon is still fresh in my head.
Anyway, that's it for now. I've got my official yard marker now. Hopefully this will help hold me accountable.
I'm not really sure why I've gotten into this again, but I guess it's just something that I've always enjoyed but got away from it for some reason over the past couple years. It's been a lot of fun re-dedicating myself to it.
So currently here are the stats:
Weight - 170 lbs (probably a little small, I think I'd like to be closer to 180, but with the same BF that I'm at now)
Bodyfat - Between 14 and 15%
Shoulder Press - 5RM @ 115 lbs
Bench Press - 5RM @ 170 lbs
Back squat - 5RM @ 115 lbs
Deadlift - 5RM @ 200 lbs (might be some rounding of the back, I think I might stay at this weight for the next couple weeks)
Pull-ups/chin-ups - Max set of 10, either overhand or underhand grip
I've been doing a Starting Strength type split, which looks like the following:
Monday - Warmup, then 3x5 Back Squat
-Warmup, then 3x5 bench press
-3 sets of max pull-ups
Wednesday - Warmup, then 3x5 Back Squat
-Warmup, then 3x5 shoulder press
-Warmup to 1x5 deadlift
Friday - Warmups, then 3x5 Back Squat
-Warmup, then 3x5 bench press
-3 sets of max pull-ups
On off days I try to do some kind of cardio, usually some HIIT (high intensity interval training). Current 400 meter split is somewhere around 1:21-1:24 based on the day.
Some thoughts: Obviously I need to increase my squatting strength, because there's no way I should be able to put more weight overhead than I can squat. That was one of the reasons I chose this sort of plan, because I could work on squatting 3 times a week. Also, with the program, the goal is to increase your weight every single time in the gym. The problem is that I am going to stall out on bench press and shoulder press long before the back squat. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle that yet.
Also, I need to get the diet thing figured out. I tried the anabolic diet for a couple weeks and ended up crashing really hard with no carbs. So I'm giving up on that for now. The other hard part is getting enough protein on a daily basis. I've been supplementing with lots of protein shakes, since it's hard to get 1 gram or more per pound of body weight just from meat. I'd be eating insane amounts of chicken if I tried to do that. So far, I think I have not been getting enough calories in. I think that's why my weight has drifted downward to where it is.
Anyway, goals for the end of the year (December 2009):
-Back squat: 5 RM @ 225 lbs
-Overhead press: 5 RM @ bodyweight
-Bench press: 5 RM @ 210 lbs
-Deadlift: 5RM @ 340 lbs
-Pull-ups: 20 strict (I'm giving up on learning kipping)
I think once I hit these goals I'll jump back into CrossFit. I just realized that my strength was not where it needed to be to get the most out of the workouts and I just felt like I would never be able to get to doing the WODs as RX'ed without some serious focus on strength. Plus I just like lifting weights. I will not miss Cindy and Fran in the meantime, ugh.
I've been experimenting a bit with supplementing also. Right now, for heavy lifting days I usually take some nitric oxide to get a little energy boost going into the workout. And I usually try to get a serving of creatine in each day. As previously mentioned I'm going through a lot of protein powder too. Finally I have been taking a fish oil supplement as well to combat inflammation. I'm not really sure if it's working or not.
Finally, I signed up for Grandma's Marathon. Mark is kind of my partner in crime for it. Neither of us has really started our specific training for it. I get kind of a knot in my stomach just thinking about it. Once the weather gets nice I'll probably get back into running regularly, but it's just too hard when the track or treadmill at the gym is all you can do. We'll see if Grandma's is going to happen. The memory of TC marathon is still fresh in my head.
Anyway, that's it for now. I've got my official yard marker now. Hopefully this will help hold me accountable.
