Thread: !@#*LifesHarlequin's Body Transformation Journal*#@!

Good luck with your goals. Since you asked for some input....I think squating three times a week plus three days of running will be brutal on your legs (and recovery). Hell........squating three days a week without running would be brutal for me. I would drop the deads from Workout A and replace the Squats in Workout B with the Deads. Also - I would first focus on your bulk then do your cut. It is EXTREMELY hard to add muscle while cutting.

I do like your exercise selection. Compound movements are the way to go.

Thanks for the input!

The legs are unfortunately punished in this workout, but luckily, in the 2 starting weeks, I've seen no ill effects other than slight knee stress, which is easily cared for with good compression knee braces, which I've had to wear since I was 12 for stress on my tendons from soccer.

The routine, I still need to fully research in Mr. Riptoe's book when if finally arrives from amazon.com (Snailmail is just that when overseas) but several people (including Matta114, Madcow, and Bill Star) say do not mess with this routine, so I'll see how accurate it is after I read the book personally.

You are the second person so far to say bulk, so I'll probably up the calorie intake, which I can probably still handle and easily burn any excess with my running, thus builking and hopefully maybe kinda burn that mythical newb weight that I hear about.

What is the average (ambient) temperature when you run, given you location?

As of current, it is simply too hot to run outside as Im currently in the Kuwait Desert. However, in a month or so, the temp should drop down into the steady 80 deg F, in preparation for the fall (the temperature drop very quickly here, and I can't wait till the winter!). Its just now getting cool enough that when I turn on the "cold" water tap, only slightly warm water comes out instead of scalding water.

Every exercise I do increases in strength and endurance over my last 2 weeks, except bench press.

I finally have Mr. Riptoe's book, and am already avidly studying it for correct form and focus each exercise, but despite putting into play the techniques advocated in his book, my benchpress strength is increasing at a negligible rate.

Im struggling at a sissy weight for a guy, and although I don't judge myself in comparison to the weight others lift, its still becoming frustrating when the skinniest guy in our group is now repping higher benchpress weight than me.

Any suggestions?

Originally Posted by LifesHarlequin

Every exercise I do increases in strength and endurance over my last 2 weeks, except bench press.

I finally have Mr. Riptoe's book, and am already avidly studying it for correct form and focus each exercise, but despite putting into play the techniques advocated in his book, my benchpress strength is increasing at a negligible rate.

Im struggling at a sissy weight for a guy, and although I don't judge myself in comparison to the weight others lift, its still becoming frustrating when the skinniest guy in our group is now repping higher benchpress weight than me.

Any suggestions?

Where is your sticking point? Down by your chest or near lockout ?

Final rep, bar touches my chest, I push, it goes about 4 inches up.. a struggle, and it gets 5-6, and stays there. This is using all the strength I can summon to push that bar.

Originally Posted by LifesHarlequin

Final rep, bar touches my chest, I push, it goes about 4 inches up.. a struggle, and it gets 5-6, and stays there. This is using all the strength I can summon to push that bar.

It sounds like you need to work on your tris a bit. That final push engages your triceps. I would work-in some Close Grip Presses into your "B" workout. You'll be stimulating the same pressing motion but will be putting more stress on your tris.

Alright, that shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks!

Today I noted that the declined situps were starting to lose their challenge. I'm currently using a 45lbs barbell plate while doing 3x20, and another endurance set with no weight for 40 reps (about 10 reps from failure). All reps are done on the highest level of the situp frame, which leaves my feet elevated 3-4 feet above head while at rest.

I haven't tried a 100lbs plate yet, but am a little apprehensive about jumping to this weight. Are there any ways to use something like an EZ Bar or anything that will offer 70-75 lbs of resistance without comprimising the exercise?

I don't know if this is entirely normal, and Im not sure, though I have a good clue as to why, but I go to the gym, workout, losing whatever food weight I have in my stomach from breakfast, then I go do my 20-30 minutes of, if 20 min, HIIT cardio, or, if 30, 6mph slowly increased to 9 mph run; but here's the odd part - I know I weight myself too much.. "Once a week is enough"... said someone on some forum at sometime - I weigh myself after the weights, and I'll be around 183 and dropping, and then I'll weigh myself after the run, and I'll be 8 lbs lighter.

Am I just dropping water weight or what?

I have some BSN Cellmass and Highpower Chromium Picolinate on order and should be here in about a week. Particular company has been taking about 6 days to get deliveries to my desert location, so hopefully, before I go through my next week, I'll have some grape tasting Esterfied Creatine to drink down and help recover my muscles, which I think is what is really holding me back from building up as quick as advertised. I do the required workout in the required schedule with the required warmups and rest periods, but I believe my cardio in the off days is slowing down my progress. Also, the fact that the food here is not very nutritious doesn't help matters.

I see the results from two friends of mine here, and one of them used to the be the scrawniest guy in the group, but is now able to bench, military press, and bi curl more than me, and he's been on Cellmass for only a month, making a 25 lbs gain on all his weights.

Its too cheap not to try, as the whole package set me back only $50, and the Chromium is a 3 month supply at only $5 a bottle.

Striving to be stronger and leaner as always,

-Josh

Originally Posted by LifesHarlequin

I don't know if this is entirely normal, and Im not sure, though I have a good clue as to why, but I go to the gym, workout, losing whatever food weight I have in my stomach from breakfast, then I go do my 20-30 minutes of, if 20 min, HIIT cardio, or, if 30, 6mph slowly increased to 9 mph run; but here's the odd part - I know I weight myself too much.. "Once a week is enough"... said someone on some forum at sometime - I weigh myself after the weights, and I'll be around 183 and dropping, and then I'll weigh myself after the run, and I'll be 8 lbs lighter.

Am I just dropping water weight or what?

8 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Episode 1: Amazing Running Weight Loss!!!

Yeah, 8 lbs. Its nice to revel in the moment of being back in the 170's again, but by the next day, I'm back to the low 180's, usually 1/2lb lighter than the previous day. Its been a bit unsteady lately however, and I'm hoping episode 2 will help this.

Episode 2: Suppliments to be taken!!!

I was surpassed by my friend while we were working out when he used to be the scrawniest of the group. I had the strongest back and biceps, but now he can do 10lbs heavier than me on a couple exercises. However, he's been taking Cellmass and Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Protein. So, to counter attack, Im doing the same, but, to help in the weight loss department, I have Chromium Picolinate on the way as well.

Dosage considered:

Wake: Cellmass followed 30 minutes later by Protein Shake
Pre Workout: Protein Shake
Post Workout: Cellmass
Before Bed: Protein Shake

The Chromium Picolinate will be worked in once I receive the bottle and exact directions for usage, but one bottle contains a 2 month supply.

-Always getting stronger

Josh

You are trying to lose weight. I would drop the whole milk for sure.

Originally Posted by LifesHarlequin

I don't know if this is entirely normal, and Im not sure, though I have a good clue as to why, but I go to the gym, workout, losing whatever food weight I have in my stomach from breakfast, then I go do my 20-30 minutes of, if 20 min, HIIT cardio, or, if 30, 6mph slowly increased to 9 mph run; but here's the odd part - I know I weight myself too much.. "Once a week is enough"... said someone on some forum at sometime - I weigh myself after the weights, and I'll be around 183 and dropping, and then I'll weigh myself after the run, and I'll be 8 lbs lighter.

Am I just dropping water weight or what?

You are becoming dehydrated from "losing whatever food I had in my stomach from breakfast".

You need whey, probably about 2-30g, plus a little olive oil and oat bran if you can find it in your location. The oil is necessary to stop you from heaving, so is the fiber. Gum arabica should be a food staple in that part of the world and might be a quick alternative to bran. In a pinch, use oats, for fiber to help slow down transit and keep the aminos in the food from hitting your sensitive CNS system. You can't tank up on food that has a fast transit time, its overstimulating your nervous system and causing the heaving. This is really, really bad for you.

I'll withhold comments on the Cellmass until we see how it affects you (the glutamine-AKG product).

double D, you're definately right about the milk, and I had just recently started to go down to Reduced Fat... I'll never drink Skim... I can't.. I've tried.. its nasty.. nasty nasty nasty stuff. White Water at best, and reminds me of the time when the water company came out and replaced a section of our PVC pipeline and we had white shower water for a day... *shiver*

Also, Trouble is right. I really don't have much fiber in my diet, so I need to concentrate on getting some breads and definately oat bran. I don't know how easy this will be considering my source of food, but if nothing else I can make sure I get a good serving of Total Raisan Bran (suitable alternative?) everyday.

Good greens are still hard to come by, and I stomach as much as I can, but when they prepare the vegtables, they usually use so much butter I can barely taste the food. Especially in collard greens.. its like a butter sauce.. would be nice if they would just steam them and let me have some vinegar, but oh well.

The Whey is on the way, and I'm really counting the days before I can get this stuff in my system. Especially the CEE and Chromium. Im anxious to see how I react.

As always thanks for all your advice. When all this works, I'll owe a lot to you guys and gals.

2 weeks has come to an end, and Im on the Wed of the 3rd week.

I've been re reading Starting Strength, and found flaws in my techniques which are constantly being worked on. Immediate benefits were finally seeing an increase in my benchpress and continuing an increase in my squats, but most importantly, a HUGE increase in deadlift.

Dietary Changes: I've reduced to lowfat milk instead of whole milk. I've actually started to make breakfast a controlled meal, or as controlled as possible, and I've been getting a good post workout meal.

Breakfast: Preworkout (~1 hour prior to workout)
Omelette w/ Ham,Cheese,Mushrooms,Tomatos, Green Peppers, Onions
Grapefruit (if available, and if not, 100% Unsweetened Grapefruit Juice)
1 cup serving of Total Raisin Bran (Only real source of bran I can get)
.5 Litre 2% Milk

Post Workout (~45 Min After Cellmass Shake and just before Whey Shake)
Salad (Iceberg, Cheddar, Mushrooms, Cruttons*sp*, Honey Mustard {lowest fat dressing we have here})
6-8oz Serving of Tunasalad
1 cup Pasta
1/2 cup- 1cup serving green vegetable (lately brocolli or cauliflower*sp*)
.5 Litre 2% Milk
Grapefruit Juice (Unsweetened/ 100% from Concentrate)

Question here though... I've read that drinking citric acid juice, such as grapefruit juice, is not recommended with Creatine. However, I've never specifically heard it mentioned with CEE or exactly how long you must wait before being able to drink a citric acid juice after taking Creatine? I don't want to take my Cellmass, then suddenly, it just breakdown in my system (even if I do, and will, wait the required half hour before consuming any food) because of the grapefruit or grapefruit juice.

Update on doing Powercleans: I've read the form by Mr. Riptoe, and am just looking for someone or a mirror for me to watch me/myself practice the manuevre. I really hate doing bent rows as I feel like it puts unnecessary strain on my back, and the atheletic benefit of powercleans over bent rows is what I really want.

This was intended for the last post, but something rushed me and I simply forgot to add it in.

However!!!

Changes to my Cardio routine:

It has become apparent that the amount of cardio I was previously engaged in was not allowing my body sufficient rest, nor was it entirely efficient. I find with the new routine that my legs are now able to take more squats and deadlifts, and Im still losing weight at the same rate.

My assumption on this is that the only weight I was losing while doing long distance running after my workout was water weight, which I would gain back easily. If I do my weight training with correct timing, it pumps up my heart rate just as easily as running, and I can sustain it for the duration of the workout if I keep my rest periods down to 1 minute max.

The plan now is to finish the weight training session with 20-30 HIIT via running, ab/core calisthenics, or upperbody calisthenics (This is largely dependant on the workout I just completed, a or b). On off days, I will cut my long distance runs down to more managable 25-30 minute runs @ low speeds followed by 10 minutes of row-machine, just to appetize my boredom.

Quick recap of routine:
Week 1:

Sun: Rest
Mon: Workout A, Upper body calisthenics
Tue: Run 3 miles, 10 min Row-Machine
Wed: Workout B, Core Calisthenics
Thu: Run 3 miles, 10 min Row-Machine
Fri: Workout A, HIIT run
Saturday: 20 min Run, Core Calisthenics, 20 min run

Week2:

Sun: Rest
Mon: Workout B, HIIT run
Tue: Run 3 miles, 10 min Row-Machine
Wed: Workout A, Upper body calisthenics
Thu: Run 3 miles, 10 min Row-Machine
Fri: Workout B, Core Calisthenics
Sat: 20 min Run, Upper body calisthenics, 20 min run

Its only been 3 days since I've been on both Creatine and Whey Protein, but there have been no adverse effects. Im fighting to control my diet still, and relish days like today when the galley serves Omletes and Grapefruit and Total. It becomes even better when lunch serves chicken, pasta, and has the potato bar open so I can get some brocolli.

In any case, Im scheduled to start finally seeing effects of Creatine after the first week, so Im being patient and continuing to make gains in everything but Standing Military Press now.

A setback: There is nothing quite like getting industrial aircraft soap solution in the eyes! Despite 3 sessions of washing my eyes out, I still received a chemical burn on the "skin" of my left eye. Luckily, its nothing permanent, but it still caused quite enough discomfort that on Monday (Week 2) I had barely the attention to put up my squat weight for my working set from the previous Friday. After 2 sets, I realized I had completed maybe 2 squats in correct form out of the 10 reps I had done so far, and had to abandon the workout. I simply couldn't concentrate on form with my eye freshly burned. Luckily, the doctors gave me some antibiotic ointment to apply to the ball directly, and now, 2 days later, the eye has only some residual redness.

Workout A here I come, and Im pissed as hell for missing 2 days of PT.

I hadn't posted in a week or so, and I didn't want anyone thinking I'd given up.

My current progress is steady. I usually increase by 5lbs a week on every exercise, except Standing Military Press, which hasn't gone up at all, and it supposedly is the slowest to build, but is becoming frustrating. The calisthenics after the workouts seems to be the best method of "burning" the muscles, but not destroying them so that the next weight training day is screwed. It also burns as many calories as running, but involves far less water loss (Granted I sweat from the 2nd working set of Squats on, which is really odd, because until bootcamp, I rarely sweated during physical exercise.. they changed more than my mind.. *conspiritorial wink*).

Weight wise I seem to be staying around 180-185, and perhaps its just not having a good reference starting point, but I don't see much fat loss as of yet. The most loss I see is around my face, where my jaw has become far more defined. Then again, I am eating to strengthen, not to lose, which I've decided to concentrate on in the last month of my deployment. 20lbs should be nothing to lose by then when my muscle mass has increased and I switch to just cardio for 45 min/day 6 days a week. I'll of course still do calisthenics at that point to keep all my muscles active. I expect a small drop in strength at this point, but I see the ends justifying the means.. the ends being a new sexy toned and much stronger Josh for the wife to slather over, and for me to feel proud to look at in the mirror.

Again, thanks for all the support and input.

Getting stronger by the day,

Josh

loooks like a good journal . goodluck on your goals

Haha! Standing press finally went up today! *dances about* 'Bout damn time!!!

... as did squats and chinups as normal!!!

Well, I just noticed something quite pleasant... I put on my DCU's (Desert Camoflauge Uniform), which I rarely wear because a:they aren't too comfy to work in, and b: I prefer to get grease and oil on my coveralls. Nevertheless, I haven't worn them in about a month, and I just tried, with the assistance of my horse girdle thick belt with a cast iron buckle, to get the waist of my pants tight, but to no avail. Not a huge sign, but when I have no starting reference point (i.e. before picture) its a nice reassurance that despite my strength gaining diet and concentration on weight training, Im still losing a couple lbs of fat.

Hey as far as fiber goes, dump the bread all together. Plenty other things with good fiber. Just so you know wheat bread isnt all that good for you either and white bread is totally aweful for you. I cant recall what I heard was the good bread, but I would just soon stear away from it.

Update time I suppose! Its been 6 weeks since I started "Starting Strength", and I guess a good detailed update on strength gains is due.

Squat: +30lbs
Bench: +20lbs
Deadlift: +40lbs
Press: +10lbs
Powercleans:... still a work in progres.. not too many people in my gym know how to do them, and the people who I am friends with do it contrary to the method taught by Mr. Riptoe. So, for the sake of not counteracting the workout, I've simply been practicing the manuevre as much as possible. Hopefully in a week or so I'll have the whole movement down.

Weight: Still hovering around 180-185, but not concerned, as the strength gains continue and I see no body weight increase, which means muscle is slowly replacing fat.

Suppliments have stayed the same: Preworkout Protein, Postworkout Cellmass, 30 minutes later Protein with lunch and multivitamins, sleep, wake and Cellmass.

I still plan to keep this routine another 2 months, then go into hardcore cardio for 1 month to drop as much weight as possible.

Again, thanks for all the support and input! So far, I am very pleased with the results.

-Josh

First, the really sad news... Alonso won the 2006 Formula 1 title... not Schumie *sniffles*

Second, the annoying news... This week was PRT (Physical Readiness Test) week, for my squadron, so I haven't been to the gym since Friday to make sure I was "Phyically Ready," but the results were pretty much as I expected for not burning my self out on the test:

*note: as previously stated, my upperbody is still pretty weak, so I HATE pushups*

situps: 100 in 2 minutes
pushups: 60 in 2 minutes
1.5 mile run in 9:48

Decent results, and there are several who did better, but as you can tell by the numbers, I deliberately stopped at certain points, and was just aiming for under 10 minutes with the run. Im alloted 13:15 to do the run, and after I passed my division officer.. didn't really feel like letting up. By the way, running.. in the desert... sucks.. mouth and lungs dried out so fast it felt like I was gonna hack blood. One person actually did...

Anyhow, its Wednesday, and I'll pick up my weight training as of Friday.

As always,

Josh

Alrighty.. well that was probably the shittiest 7 days I've had in a long time. First, my iPod is stolen.. from right out of my locker, but I have insurance, so that's okay. Second, two of my guys almost get into a fist fight on the flght line. Third, I get written up for something completely mundane, but valid I suppose. Fourth, my wife and I have a huge fight via AIM, which causes me to sprint to the squadron and ask my chief for a day off to talk with her, and it was thankfully granted, and all things are good now. Fifth, and finally, while towing an aircraft down to the washrack for its 2 week wash, one of the bearings in the right main wheel mount disentegrates and nearly welds the axle and wheel together, but at least it only completely rubbed through the brake caliper and brake pad.

But, all that is settled and in the past. It is time I start doing what Im good at doing. I'm jumping 2 months ahead, and taking on cardio hardcore.

The Focus: Incredible muscular endurance, stamina, and weight loss.

The Method:

Monday-Saturday:

30 Minutes of running @ tolerable pace (starting at 8mph)
15 Minutes of Calisthenics chosen prior to gym from this selection:

Declined Pushups
-Normal
-Narrow
-Wide

Dips
-Chest
-Triceps

Chinups
-Normal
-Sternum
-Gorilla

Body Builders
Declined Crunches
Russian Twists
6 Inches
Leg Hangs
Bicycles
Flutterkicks
Leg Raises
Squats
Lunges
Hyper Back Extensions

Bridge
-Normal
-Oblique

20 More minutes of running @ tolerable pace (8mph start)
Sprint @ 12mph as long as possible
5 minute cool down jog/walk

The Diet:

More conservative, cutting back on calories, but still taking protein shakes post workout (24g serving) for recovery of legs. Of course continuing intake of multivitamins.

This should put me right back in soccer shape after 2 months, and afterwards I will work on my strength, as the strength program seems to only add lean muscle to me, and I neither gain nor lose weight on it, as mentioned before, so I know it burns fat, but not as quickly as I desperately need to see.

Any comments welcome, and if anyone can think of some good upper body calisthenics, please let me know.

-Josh