Tallcall's journal

[DOMS]

You're coming along pretty damn well, man!

What ever happened with that cute guy you were talking about? Was he on the market?

 

[tallcall]

You're coming along pretty damn well, man!

What ever happened with that cute guy you were talking about? Was he on the market?

Thanks.

That's still up in the air, but he did say he'd like to go for some coffee or something when he has some free time. If nothing else, at least I have a new friend in the area (that's still nice).

 

[Double D]

Hi TC. How are things buddy?

 

[tallcall]

Hey man, I missed you. I heard about the baby, congratulations!

Not too much has been happening here, I lost a few more pounds and am doing a lot more work. I set a few new records in there too.

 

[tallcall]

9/16/07

Sunday:

Shoulders:

Superset:
Ab Rollout/Crunches

BWx15/BWx15
BWx15/BWx15
BWx15/BWx15

Rotator Cuff Warmup and Stretch

Smith Shoulder Press: RI - 60

Bar+50x12
Bar+60x10
Bar+70x8
Bar+80x6

Superset:
Smith Shrugs/DB Front Raises: RI - 60

Bar+150x20/10x12
Bar+190x20/10x12
Bar+200x12/10x12 PR for Weight

Superset:
Cable Upright Row/Cable Rear Delt Row (each arm separately)
: RI - 60

90x10/50x15
90x10/50x15
100x10/60x12

Side Raises: RI - 45

12x12
12x12
12x12

Cardio: 30 Minutes HIIT

Rowing for 5 minutes (Starting HR - 60, max hr - 160, level 10).

6 minutes on the stair mill HIIT (3 sets of 60/60 at 145 bpm (intervals) and 135 bpm (rest)....kind of abysmal, but I was very tired from the last two days).

Treadmill for 20 minutes HIIT. Starting hr - 99, max hr - 160. 7 sets of 60/60 at 155-160 bpm (intervals) and 137 bpm (rest) followed by 6 minutes of SS cardio. Speed went from 3.5 mph to 6.5 mph and the incline was set to 0.0 the whole time.

There, I'm done! I was so tired from all of yesterday's fun with our live coverage of the new UCF Bright House Stadium. We had 3 live trucks out there and a live remote production truck with a full crew on site at the stadium - my god it was a massive undertaking - everyone was called to work on Saturday, and it was a long day for everyone. Then I just didn't get enough sleep last night, makes for a draining day today.

The cardio could have been longer (I cut 30 minutes out of it because I was just not able to do it today - that means only 3 hours for the week ). On the other hand, the weight lifting session went pretty smooth.

I finally met my first true gym idiot today who kept approaching random people to give them his advice. He didn't come to me, but I still wanted to tell him how much I thought all of his advice was going to get someone seriously hurt (given that they are not on any performance enhancing drugs like he was on). This was all basically improper lifting regarding the rotator cuff and I could foresee many injuries coming to the new people he was "advising." Oh well, you can't shine shit, so no use in trying to improve guys like him (he was probably a really nice person, but he clearly didn't know what he was talking about).

 

[tallcall]

9/18/07 Weigh In

9/18/07 Weigh In

Weight: 291.5 - up 1 pound from last time

Waist: 37 inches - no change
Stomach: 38 inches ??? down 1 inch from last time
Chest: 50 inches - no change
Shoulders: 60.5 inches ??? up 0.5 inches from last time
Neck: 20.0 inches ??? down 0.5 inches from last time
Bi's: 18 inches - no change
Calves: 19.5 inches - no change

Lean Body Mass: 267.53 - up from last week's 265.87 (+1.66 pounds)
Body Fat Weight: 23.97 pounds - down from last week's 24.63 (-0.66 pounds)

Caliper readings - 4 point test:
Abs ??? 7.5 mm ??? no change from last week
Suprailiac - 12 mm ??? down 1 mm from last week
Thigh ??? 9.5 mm ??? no change from last week
Triceps ??? 7.5 mm ??? no change from last week

Estimated body fat % is 11.22% (I raised it 3% to account for any errors I may have introduced) down 0.26% from last week.

I am pretty sure that extra pound is added muscle, I was able to increase my maximum bench to 135 (+10 pounds) last Thursday and I'm guessing that may have added some mass. Not a bad week over all!

 

[BoneCrusher]

How tall are you tallcall?

 

[tallcall]

How tall are you tallcall?

Well, I'm about 6'9" - 6'10" (with shoes)

I also have about a 17" reach - makes it harder to do bench presses (a long way to press the weight).

 

[DOMS]

Thanks.

That's still up in the air, but he did say he'd like to go for some coffee or something when he has some free time. If nothing else, at least I have a new friend in the area (that's still nice).

That, my friend, is a win-win.

Do keep me up to date!

 

[BoneCrusher]

Well, I'm about 6'9" - 6'10" (with shoes)

I also have about a 17" reach - makes it harder to do bench presses (a long way to press the weight).

I was just reading back a few pages in your journal and saw you post that you're 6'10. I was worried about the body stats 'til I saw that. What calorie range do need to stay within to reach your goals?

 

[tallcall]

Right now I'm cutting with between 3200 and 3600 calories a day to try to lose about another 20 pounds. 3200 on non strength training days (3 days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and 3600 on strength training days (the other 4 days, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday).

After losing the next 20 pounds or so, I expect that my maintenance calories will be between 3500 and 4000 a day.

Here is my routine:
Monday - Off
Tuesday - Trainer - Legs and 20 minutes cardio Solid State
Wednesday - Off
Thursday - Trainer - Chest/Triceps and 30 minutes cardio solid state
Friday - Abs and 30-60 minutes cardio solid state or HIIT (my choice)
Saturday - Abs/Back/Biceps and 30-60 minutes cardio solid state or HIIT (again, my choice)
Sunday - Abs/Shoulders and 30-60 minutes cardio solid state or HIIT (you guessed it, my choice)

Cardio must equal 3-3.5 hours a week with 40-60 minutes of that being HIIT (usually with a 60 sec interval and 60 second rest rhythm)

Strength training will not exceed 1 hour except in very rare cases (some idiot won't get off the machine I just set up, is a good one)

I have one cheat day a week - usually Tuesday (I deserve it for going through some of those leg workouts, though they are very fun)

Every couple of weeks my trainer and I go all out for power on deadlifts, bench press, squats, leg press, and Dips.

My max bench is 135, squats are 200 pounds (just below parallel) and 240 pounds (to parallel), deadlifts are at 295 pounds, probably will go up soon, leg press is at 540 pounds (6 plates on each side of the sled), and my dips are still lagging at about BW (291.5 pounds)-64 (with decent form).

I hope that helps people understand what I'm going through a little better.

By the way, Joe Lauzon is my favorite up and coming MMA fighter. The 155 pound division will be very interesting with him around. Remember, he knocked out Jens Pulver and came so close to winning TUF5. Now he's training with BJ Penn in Hilo, Hawaii, this kid's great!

 

[tallcall]

I should clarify, my arms are 17 inches from just below the shoulder to the wrist - full range of motion for the bench press.

 

[wala]

Wow, strong arms

Nice plan Tallcall.

hows it going buddy.. you should get this going over at EB

 

[tallcall]

9/18/07

Tuesday:
Legs:

Superset 1:
Lying Leg Curl/Plyometric Squat Jumps: RI - 30

70x15/BWx16
90x15/BWx20
135x10/BWx20

Superset 2:
Smith Back Squat/Stiff Legged Deadlifts: RI - 60

90x10/35'sx10
150x10/35'sx10
170x10/45'sx10
200x6/45'sx10

**Squats were with excellent form and just below parallel - those last 2 inches are freaking hard**

Superset 3:
Hack Squats/Leg Press (with feet pointed into center): RI 45-60

90x10/270x10
135x10/315x10
180x10/360x10

Cardio - 20 minutes SS

8 minutes on a stair mill before the workout (starting hr - 64, max hr - 150, level 7).

12 minutes on the stair mill after the workout (starting hr - 110, max hr - 145, level 5).

Wow, my heart rate stayed at about 170 bpm throughout this whole session. I felt like I was going to puke doing that last set of back squats. I don't know how I made it to the end, although that 3rd superset was a little easier than he led me to think it would be (he was warn out, I wasn't).

Legs feel great, just like jello (wouldn't have it any other way, DOMS and like the pain)! The cardio was nice today too, it really let me relax.

Does anyone else have a hard time not laughing at some of the fools around them, I'm really getting better at picking out the true dumb asses from the new guys who don't have a clue (can't argue, we were all there at some point, but those other dumb asses have no excuses).

 

[wala]

Thats a good session dude. I can see why you wanted to puke with all those supersets! I was doing something similar to that about 2 months ago, leg day is hard enough without types of supersets and drop sets. good work mate

 

[tallcall]

Thats a good session dude. I can see why you wanted to puke with all those supersets! I was doing something similar to that about 2 months ago, leg day is hard enough without types of supersets and drop sets. good work mate

Thanks man, it's always nice to hear from you. I've been over at EB a few times, I just think it's easier to keep this journal going in one place (more difficult to manage two journals at the same time).

Yeah, I think my arms are much stronger than they look, there's a lot of force involved in moving that weight up that high, oh well, bench is improving slowly but surely.

 

[wala]

Thats right. My arms are a fair size in length, especially to some of the guys in my gym who are shorter. Its definately harder to shift heavy weight. I seem to be stuck on 225! I can get 10 reps out but once I start adding, it drops straight down to like 5 or 6 reps and then one or 2 if its a bit more!

I'm not too bothered - its not a race, more of a journey.. and i've constanty made progress no matter how small.

I see what you mean about keeping more that one journal i tried keeping 3 at one point and with me also having many vids to accomany the workouts, its was taking up much time and your is well kept too, i was just flicking through in now.. good lifting all round!

 

[tallcall]

Thats right. My arms are a fair size in length, especially to some of the guys in my gym who are shorter. Its definately harder to shift heavy weight. I seem to be stuck on 225! I can get 10 reps out but once I start adding, it drops straight down to like 5 or 6 reps and then one or 2 if its a bit more!

I'm not too bothered - its not a race, more of a journey.. and i've constanty made progress no matter how small.

I see what you mean about keeping more that one journal i tried keeping 3 at one point and with me also having many vids to accomany the workouts, its was taking up much time and your is well kept too, i was just flicking through in now.. good lifting all round!

Aww geeze, thanks man

Where are you posting those videos anyways?

 

[goob]

What were those pylometric jumps like? They sound trying!

 

[tallcall]

What were those pylometric jumps like? They sound trying!

Basically you squat down as far as you can and from there jump as hard/high as possible. I use a platform to jump onto and off of. Once you jump on the platform, let your legs act like springs and squat back down and jump back off the platform (squat - jump on, then squat - jump off in one fluid movement). or you can do the same thing side to side. I'm almost good enough to jump clear over the platform when doing it side to side (I just place one foot on the platform, then squat - jump and land with the other foot on the platform, then squat - jump back to the original position).

Mine are sort of like this:

 

[wala]

Aww geeze, thanks man

Where are you posting those videos anyways?

In my journal on EB.net. not as many these days (once you've seen one, you've seen em all I guess!) So I usually put in a vid or 2 when I hit a new PR - like last night, I did DB lunges with 112.5lb DBs.. not easy! But the vid is in my journal for anyone thats interested i guess

Those plyo jumps look cool.. good for explosive power, I'll have to try em!

 

[tallcall]

Well, those pictures are pretty close, I squat lower than he did though. It's supposed to be very spring like. Don't forget to let your legs coil back into a squat on the landing so you can rebound and spring right back to the starting position.

 

[tallcall]

In my journal on EB.net. not as many these days (once you've seen one, you've seen em all I guess!) So I usually put in a vid or 2 when I hit a new PR - like last night, I did DB lunges with 112.5lb DBs.. not easy! But the vid is in my journal for anyone thats interested i guess

Those plyo jumps look cool.. good for explosive power, I'll have to try em!

Awesome, I'll have to check your journal out later! And yeah, those jumps are very nice (they wore me out and that was before the heavy lifting).

 

[wala]

Awesome, I'll have to check your journal out later! And yeah, those jumps are very nice (they wore me out and that was before the heavy lifting).

Great. So is that the recommeded time to do the plyos? before your workout?

 

[BoneCrusher]

Plyo's are killer tallcall. Good to see you include them. With a big guy like you doing heavy impact box jumps I'd be very cautious about the slightest knee or shin pains. Just a thought.

 

[soxmuscle]

I'm having knee pains right now, they're not fun.

Rest up if you're feeling any sort of ache and pain as TT indicated.

 

[goob]

Shit! Those box jumps look nuts. Definately trying them.

 

[tallcall]

9/20/07

Thursday:

Chest/Triceps:

Rotator Cuff Warmup and Stretch

BB Flat Bench: RI - 30

75x12
105x9
Dropset 1 - 125x3, 95x5
Dropset 2 - 125x4, 95x5

Superset:
Cable Reverse Fly/Cable Incline Press: RI - 45

30x15
35x10/35x10
45x10/45x10 PR for weight and reps

DB Decline Fly:

20'sx20
**I could not continue - I get really freaked out on decline benches and always feel like I'm slipping off**

Peck Deck: RI - 45

Dropset 1 - 105x10, 90x8, 75x8
Dropset 2 - 120x8, 105x4, 90x4, 75x7
Dropset 3 - 120x8, 105x3, 90x3, 75x3 I think this is also a PR for weight anfd reps

Cardio - 20 minutes SS

5 minutes rowing (starting hr - 100, max hr - 185, level 10).

15 minutes on a treadmill (starting hr - 114, max hr - 150, functional range - 130-140bpm, speed - 3.0-5.5mph, inc0.-6.0).

Today was kind of fun. I got to go heavy (for me) on the bench presses again. I am in love with those reverse flys but those decline flys really freaked me out. I had to get used to the decline bench press, because I felt the same way, so I'm sure I'll get used to this one too, but it still made me nervous (I kept feeling like I was sliding off the bench).

I banged my head nicely on the Peck Deck machine when I was getting off it, got a little battle scar to prove it .

My trainer wants me to go light on things for the next week. I was told to cut my cardio time in half and reduce my weight training to a very low level (starting a de-loading period for the next 7 days). I still intend to get some work in, but just go very light and probably get a lot more rest between sets.

Oh well, my weight's been coming down slowly and I've maintained and even increased my strength, so I think I can handle one light week! I still plan on my two HIIT cardio sessions, but I'll limit every cardio session for the next week to 15-20 minutes.

 

[tallcall]

9/22/07

Saturday:

Abs/Back/Biceps:

Abs:
Reverse Crunch: RI - 45

BWx10
BWx10
BWx10

Cable Crunches: RI - 45

Machine #10x15
#11x15
#11x15

Dips: RI - 60

BW-112x8
BW-112x8
BW-112x8

Neutral Grip Pullups: RI - 60

BW-112x8
BW-112x6
BW-112x6

Machine Hyper-Extensions: No Rest

90x12
130x12
200x12

Seated Cable Row: RI - 30

90x12
105x12
120x12

Preacher Curls: RI - 45

15'sx12
25'sx12
25'sx12

Farmers Walk: RI - 45

60'sx100 steps, 85 steps, 86 steps, 76 steps

Cardio - 30 minutes HIIT

5 minutes rowing (starting hr - 100, max hr - 160, level 8).

15 minutes on a treadmill HIIT. 4 sets of 60/60, Intervals @170 bpm, rest @139bpm, interval speed - 6.5mph, rest speed - 3.5mph. Then 3 sets of 20/100 (all out sprints), Intervals @180 bpm, rest @140 bpm, Interval speed - 8.0mph (PR for Speed ), rest speed - 3.5mph. Incline was set to 0.0 the whole time.

10 minutes of SS cardio on the same treadmill (began at 135 bpm, maxed at 156 bpm, speed was anywhere from 3.5-4.0 mph and incline was 10-15).

I skipped yesterday's cardio session so I'm making up for it today and tomorrow. This is my second de-loading day, and I feel great. I did everything with perfect form and don't feel as burned out as I sometimes do. My de-load week ends on Friday this week (Friday-Friday ~7 days).

 

[goob]

Great work on the HIIT. 60/60 is usually what I do. 60 all out (12-14 mph), and 60 jogging (6-8 mph). Incline at 2-3. You only need 10-12 minutes at it because it's so hard. Means that instead of 30 minutes cardio, you only do 10. Less is more. (in my lazy world anyway....)