Ice Cream Newb

[sgtneo]

So, despite my profile seeming to suggest im a regular truth is i haven't been lifting for around 10 years and this is my old account which I'm still surprised exists. Anyway what with being green I've decided to stick with it, despite the matrix/gamer username that reminds me of how young i was when i first started.

I'm 29 now and when i was 19 i was pretty into my lifting and did what i thought was reasonably well but struggled with weight gain, guess what that's not an issue now, although up until recently i was fairly active with my cardio, doing multiple long distance bike rides (most in excess of 100 miles) and attempting crazy challenges like walking hadrians wall in 48 hours. This all kept me relatively healthy and in shape until recently where i am driving to work everyday and doing nothing in the way of exercise, suddenly I have gone from 5'7" and hovering around 10-11st (140-154lbs) to now sitting at 13.5 stone. So to cut a long story short, despite holding the fat well (muscle memory to some extent i guess) I'm not what you would call the picture of health, and my diet was atrocious. So i have decided that now i can put the weight on I'm going to have another serious attempt at strength training and body building, with a build like Hugh Jackman being my goal.

I looked at digging out my old routine when a friend of mine that used to compete actually suggest i try Jason Blaha's Ice Cream 5x5 routine. He has also suggested i ditch my diet for a macro controlled one of 200g carbs, 150g protein and 60g fat and use intermittent fasting.

So my diet is as follows (i've been on this and the workout for just over a week now):

Two meals a day between 12pm-8pm and no snacking
Each meal is currently 140g Basmati rice (dry weight), 200g salmon or chicken, and as much veg as i want. I have completely stopped all bad foods, dairy, crappy sugars etc and only drink water and coconut water (will also be on whey once it arrives).

This will continue for 8 weeks followed by a two week break and then back to another 8 weeks of this and so on.

I have to admit that despite my strength being lacking in some areas more than i had hoped I'm sore after every workout, noticing an increase in chest and shoulder definition and have already made some strength increases. Also the diet is making me feel better, less headaches and more attentive that i have been, so hopefully this will aid my study (CCIE Security for those that know how much effort will be required).

So the point of telling you all of this and attempting to keep a journal... Well the one thing i remember about lifting in my early days is that the thing that kept me going was this very community and being part of a group of people that enjoyed the sport. So I'm hoping that by keeping this up it will keep me motivated and going to the gym when times get tough as they inevitably will.

So will upload my previous work outs tonight as im on a 3 day break to get my routine to start on a monday (I have torn my right tricep with a nice black bruise so the recovery will be welcome) and as always i appreciate any comments, tips, hints, obscenities for making a royal mess of things etc etc so feel free to post.

 

[sgtneo]

So had to can the skull crushers today as tricep still badly bruised and could feel it on the bicep curls. Work out is as follows all weight including barbel weight (20kg)

5x5 deep squats 75kg
5x5 bench 45kg
5x5 bent rows 40kg (might increase next round as felt easier)
3x8 barbel shrugs 55kg
3x8 barbel curls 25kg
2x10 hyper extensions 5kg plate
3x20 cable crunches 36kg

squat is up from previous as is bench and barbel shrugs, hit all reps on all sets and feeling good. Just annoyed at having to skip skull crushers again. Will see how cgbp goes on Wednesday.

 

[sgtneo]

Ok so few pics (unflattering and hairy but hopefully enough to keep me going) which were taken today. Ideally if anyone can help estimate bf% (will be high) that would be great, i did want to buy some callipers myself but no idea where to start. I know pretty much everywhere is lacking in definition at the moment. Oh and the 3rd armpit shadow (right tricep near elbow) is the bruise from tearing the tricep last week, seems to have been slow coming up.

 

[sgtneo]

So todays workout (B) as follows.

squats 5x5 at 75kg (going to increase Friday to 80kg)
deadlift 1x5 70kg (up from previous)
standing press 5x5 40kg (managed 55443 rep wise, struggle with this one, but improvement over last week)
bent over row 5x5 40kg (this was 10% less set as I've decided to up fridays to 45kg, see how i do)
cgbp 3x8 30kg (room to increase just a bit nervous with the tear injury of going too fast)
barbel curls 3x8 25kg (felt good still struggle with last set, not quite there for increase yet)
cable crunches 3x20 41kg (up from previous, could really feel it this time)

All in all workout felt great, been many years since I've had the lifting buzz that makes me want to stay put and not get home. Happy with progress/gains shown already but still early days.

Oh and if you guys prefer me to convert to lbs as i keep forgetting let me know and ill make an effort.

 

[Conceal30]

why did you choose to only eat twice a day? i think this is counter productive to your goals.

 

[SeattlesBest]

I always thought to drop weight, you want to eat alot of small meals to speed up your metabolism, which in turn will help your body burn more fat to keep energy levels up? Id think with eatting only 2 meals a day your body would be like "what the fuck" I need to store this shit!! who knows when ill get another meal. "that's the body talkin" Sounds like your making progress tho.

 

[raysd21]

Ok so few pics (unflattering and hairy but hopefully enough to keep me going) which were taken today. Ideally if anyone can help estimate bf% (will be high) that would be great, i did want to buy some callipers myself but no idea where to start. I know pretty much everywhere is lacking in definition at the moment. Oh and the 3rd armpit shadow (right tricep near elbow) is the bruise from tearing the tricep last week, seems to have been slow coming up.

Where are the gears?

And hair clippers?

 

[sgtneo]

Where are the gears?

And hair clippers?

Yeah i know, ill get some pics of the legs up, nowt impressive about them though, mind you same could be said for what I've already uploaded. And yeah the clippers are needed on the back, not sure about the chest hair yet, kinda attached

So the reasoning behind the diet is simple, i want to drop weight but only a little and slowly, as all i really want to do is loose the body fat to start with and get lean. Then i will adjust to gain lean muscle mass.

Its called intermittent fasting and is apparently pretty good for cutting. The macros are 200g carbs, 150g protein and 60 grams fat and the idea is to have two large meals in just an 8 hour window. The meals are big and leave me feeling pretty full, and I'm still averaging around 1800-2000 calories a day. Which isn't a lot i know but reasonable for cutting, more so considering how inactive I've been my metabolism will be pretty slow. My window is usually from 12pm - 8pm and in-between the two meals ill be having one scoop of ON Gold Standard Whey on a non workout day and 2 scoops (1 before, 1 after) on a work out day. Plus occasionally a protein bar thrown in, and plenty of water throughout the day keep me hydrated.

Ive also ordered SAN Creatine Performance (use to use the v12 turbo stuff so thought SAN were a safe bet) which i will be having once daily.

Once I'm happy with the BF% ill then start to add in more cals to gain the mass, but will be a gradual increase as to try and remain as lean as possible. Open for any tips/pointers though as usual.

 

[sgtneo]

So today was Workout A again and felt pretty good.

Squats 5x5 at 80kg (up on before and room to increase again but till wait until Wednesday, don't want to rush)
Bench 5x5 at 45kg (will increase to 50kg Wednesday, was too easy today)
Bent Rows 5x5 at 45kg (up on previous and competed all sets/reps just)
Barbel Shrugs 3x8 at 55kg (up on previous)
barbel curls 3x8 at 25kg
Hyper extensions 2x10 with 5kg plate
Cable crunches 3x20 at 41kg
Skull Crushers 3x8 at 20kg

Also tried the skull crushers again, initially dropping the weight i did when i tore it, that was too light so went back to 20kg (assuming ez bar is 10kg?) and completed all sets, so might push to 25kg next time.

All in all felt good and blasted through the workout in an hour and 20 but that could have been down to the gym being packed.

 

[sgtneo]

So no gym tonight, will go tomorrow instead.

Short of it, pulled out of a junction and somehow failed to see the land rover and ripped my bumper off and damaged the hood of my car. Then drove to gym in the misses car and not a single parking space and I got a parking ticket last week when I tried to "improvise"... Not a great couple of weeks

will post routine update tomorrow.

Oh And SAN performance creatine tastes of nothing, it tastes of something alright and is pretty rank. Appreciate any tips for making it more enjoyable.

 

[sgtneo]

So not had much luck recently, Monday was obviously a write off, Tuesday we had snow (bmw + snow = 0 progress) and Wednesday the gym had no parking again. I managed to go at 8pm Thursday but even after nearly two hours in there i only managed to grab a bench briefly for the press, so skull crushers had to be swapped with tricep pull downs (cable/rope machine). At this rate i may be turning my garage into a home gym. Anyway workout was as follows.

(Back on A again as was what Wednesday was going to be)

Squats 5x5 at 80kg (going to increase to 85kg tomorrow)
Bench 5x5 at 50kg (up on previous and managed all reps/sets, so possible increase again soon)
Bent rows 5x5 at 45kg
Barbel shrugs 3x8 at 55kg
Barbel curls 3x8 at 25kg (last set still difficult but going to increase tomorrow to 27.5 as I'm getting little progression)
Hyper extensions 2x10 at 5kg, managed all reps, possibly increase to 7.5kg next time (really hate this one though)
Cable Crunches 3x20 at 41kg, getting easier, might increase again tomorrow.
Tricep pull downs 3x8 at 32kg for first two sets then 36kg for last set.

Overal workout felt good, bench made me happy and likely to be increased again soon. Would have preferred to do skull crushers but had got to the end of my workout and was still no sign of a free bench. 10pm and the gym was still packed, not overly impressed at the moment. Have many here set-up a home gym?

 

[sgtneo]

So yesterdays routine went pretty well i think.

Squats 5x5 at 85kg (up on previous, was hard but managed all reps)
Deadlift 1x5 at 70kg (considerably easier so will increase to 75kg next time)
Standing Press 5x5 at 40kg, finally managed all reps for all sets
Bent row 5x5 at 40kg (10% less set) tempted to up again next time
CGBP 3x8 at 35kg (up on previous and completed all reps)
Barbel curls 3x8 at 27.5kg (forced increase over last time and fell one rep short on last set, was impressed as didn't think it was ready for increase)
Cable crunches 3x20 at 46kg (up on previous, completed all sets)

Work out felt great, still a bit sore on the shoulders and bi's but enjoying that I'm seeing an increase nearly every workout

 

[sgtneo]

So quick update, last two weeks I've been bed bound with flu which completely messed up my sleep. I'm pretty much over the flu and was hoping to hit the gym tonight but its now almost 6am here and I've still not been able to get to sleep so will be ready to pass out after work.

Hopefully can get back on it Tuesday.

 

[TripleOvertime]

Stay determined and stick with it. Just remember the days that you miss the gym for whatever reason still work hard on your diet and keep consistant with it. What you do in the kitchen is more important than the work you put in at the gym.

 

[sgtneo]

Stay determined and stick with it. Just remember the days that you miss the gym for whatever reason still work hard on your diet and keep consistant with it. What you do in the kitchen is more important than the work you put in at the gym.

Im planning on it, hasn't been as difficult cutting the crap out as i thought it would be.

So yesterday was first day back now fully recovered from the flu, started out with workout A and lost none of my strength gains which was nice.

Squats 85kg 5x5
Bench 50kg 5x5
bent rows 45kg 5x5
barbel shrugs 50kg 3x8
skull crushers 22.5kg 3x8 (up from previous)
barbel curls 27.5kg 3x8 managed 887
hyper extensions 5kg plate 2x10 managed 10,9
cable crunches 46kg 3x20

Added 20 minute cardio on a standard hill climb/fat burning program at the end, to help with getting my bf down.

Felt good although sore today, but i was incredibly lethargic almost at the point of vomiting to start with. Can only put it down to the long 3 week break and the fact i did the work out am during the fast. Good to be back on it though.

 

[sgtneo]

So I said in my first post that things will inevitably get tough, well I've been through some shit the last couple of months.

My long term partner, well she had a full on breakdown and went into deep depression after being signed off work with a bad back, so went to a clinic as an inpatient and even though up until near the end we were still amazing happy a small argument and lots of new anti depressant/anxiety drugs and suddenly all the issues she was dealing with were all my fault and she upped and left. Not going to be nice when she does eventually remember the issues were with her parents but not even her parents are able to convince her so thats a lost cause.

Anyway this affected my diet and sleep for a bit etc but i have been trying to keep up the gym and diet for the most part, and bar a 2 week break where i didn't really eat or sleep (helped with weight loss just dropped a bit of strength as well) I've made pretty decent progress.

My routine has changed a bit, and will again once I'm lean enough to start bulking, but currently its squats (3x5), bench (3x5), cable crunches (3x15), hanging leg raises (3x12) every workout, alternating between deads (1x5) and chin ups (3x12 or to failure as I'm not quite hitting all reps there yet) every workout. Im also doing cardio on non workout days.

So body fat has dropped, strength has gone up and physique is starting to improve, i got to 112.5kg on the squats but my form went bad and that was then followed by the no eating etc so I've reset back to 100kg and will be going up to 102.5kg on tuesday. Just managed full reps at 75kg for the bench and dead lift at 95kg so its all getting there.

Anyway heres a couple pics to compare with the previous ones. starting weight was 13st8lbs, now I'm currently 11st11lbs.

 

[sgtneo]

So no sleep last night seemed to affect my workout a little bit today, probably didn't help being fasted and that i forgot to take my bcaa's etc before workout.

Squats 3 sets 5 reps at 102.5kg all reps hits
Bench 3 sets 5 reps at 75kg fell one rep short on last set.
Chin ups managed 11,8,6
Cable crunches 3x15 at 30.6kg managed 12,10,6 (really struggled with abs today, seems to be the case when i don't sleep)
Hanging leg raises 3x12 managed 12,12,10

Felt a bit better after i had eaten but squats is up so still good progress.

 

[sgtneo]

So on better sleep today i managed...

Squats 3 sets 5 reps 102.5kg all hit (was a bit easy so will go for 105kg on Sat)
Deads 1 set of 5 reps, to the floor each rep 97.5kg hit all (had to alternate palms for grip, first time at this weight)
Bench 3 sets of 5 reps at 75kg all hit
Cable crunches 3x15 at 30.6kg managed 15,15,12
Hanging leg raises 3x12 managed 12,12,10

Felt good today, squats and bench will go up on Sat and Dead's will hit 100kg hopefully on Tuesday.

 

[sgtneo]

So despite some really bad nights of sleep where i barely had the energy to lift the bar, the last two sessions have been really good.
Squats 3 sets 5 reps at 105kg all hit
Dead 1 set 5 reps 100kg all hit
Bench 3 sets 5 reps 75kg all hit (77.5 next time)
Cable crunches and leg raises all hit as well, so feeling good, on a diet break this week which is long over due, then back onto it fully next week

 

[sgtneo]

Today felt great.

Squats 3set x 5 reps at 110kg, deep squats
Bench 3 sets x 5 reps at 77.5kg
Chin ups 12,11,7
Cable crunches 30.6kg 12,11,9
hanging leg raisers 12,12,12

Cable crunches suffered a bit but think thats as i was feeling a bit lethargic but dma helped. All the rest are personal bests and bench/squats all reps hit

 

[sgtneo]

So today was more of the same, all reps hit etc, so Saturday will be trying 80kg bench and 112.5kg Squats (big mental thing there as thats where my form went to crap partly due to weight loss and drop in strength). Will post how it goes Saturday

Dead has gone up to 102.5kg now, still going strong although might get form checked. Got myself an inner 10mm lever belt, not sure if its worth starting to use it on the dead yet or if its still to early on?

 

[sgtneo]

Still going strong, managed 112.5kg squats on sat and today due a shortage of 1.25kg micro plates i had to either drop or go up, well not going to drop so did 115kg squats and hit them all was hard to keep the form solid but managed it.

80kg bench first attempt on Sat i managed 544 and then today i managed 543. Would have done same as before, i had another rep in me but last set when i picked up the bar i immediately felt it on my right elbow, must have moved it weird or something and didn't feel comfortable pushing it too much.

 

[sgtneo]

So progression going well today managed the following, converted the weight into lbs as know most of you are across the pond.

117.5KG (259lbs) Squats 3 sets of 5
107.5KG (237lbs) Deads 5 individual reps
80KG (176lbs) Bench 3 sets of 5 (hit all reps )
leg raises and cable crunches etc.

Strength is constantly increasing so my coach is changing me to a more in-depth routine on Monday which ill post up at the weekend, looks painful though lol and I'm finally stopping the cut and starting my gain Monday as well, so initially macros increasing to 300g carbs, 150g protein (might up that myself as same as before) and 60g fat, ill still be doing a fair amount of cardio so coach has already said will likely increase again.