Medicine Ball Challenge

A little late, but I finally got it done. I used a 3kg med ball and I got done in 10mins 11secs. This is ab training for meatheads!

Big Circles = 10/10 (20 reps)
Woodchoppers = 20 reps
Standing Russian torso Twist = 10/10 (20 reps)
Squat to Press = 20 reps
Med Ball sit ups = 20 reps
Rocky Solos = 10/10 (20 reps)
Toe touches = 20 reps
45 degree Twists (Legs up, Knees Up) = 20 reps
Suitcase (10/side) = 20 reps
Diagonal Crunch = 20 reps

Barely Legal

After some pretty satisfying results in TC3, I took a week off to rest and recover. During that time I did some thinking and a little research and I've decided that I want to try a 12 week mass building program and then work on shedding fat later.

My new motto: "Get as big as the law will allow!" I picked that up from CB in an old copy of Men's Fitness.

The first phase will be TT for Meatheads with some small adjustments based on some of the recommendations from Craig's interview with Jay Ferrugia. I will be following the nutritional guidelines of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM).

My goal is to put on 10lbs of lean mass with minimal fat gain. I actually wouldn't mind seeing some fat loss of 2% or so. I don't know if that is realistic to expect or not, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Latest Data - Nov 22, 2008
Body Weight - 157 lbs
Lean Body Mass - 136.8 lbs
Fat Mass - 20.2 lbs
Body Fat % - 12.9%
Triceps - 10 mm
Chest - 8 mm
Midaxillary - 10 mm
Subscapular - 20 mm
Abdominal - 18 mm
Suprailiac - 10 mm
Thigh - 8 mm
Neck - 14.5 in
Shoulder - 48.5 in
Chest - 36.0 in
Upper Arm - 13.7 in
Waist - 31.5 in
Hip - 36.0 in
Thigh - 23.7 in
Calf - 14.7 in

Big lift personal best:
BB Bench Press - 225lbs x 3 reps (Left one in the tank)
BB Squat - 265lbs x 6 reps
BB Deadlift - 245lbs x 1 rep (Freaking embarrassing. My form is terrible as I haven't DL'd in over a year)

I'm looking forward to my first Meathead workout on Monday!

Filling in the gaps

Boy, where to start? Well I'm still working out, but things haven't been going so well lately. I hit my goal weight of 157lbs but my body composition is way off from what I wanted to be. That left me a bit confused and dampened my motivation. I wrap up the transformation contest on Sunday, and if I'm honest, I'm disappointed in my results. This time, though I can honestly say that it is my fault. I let off the gas when I saw the finish line in sight. But I'm not going to stay down. I'll give myself a week off to recover and then it's back to business.

Here are my last few workouts:

Thur - 11/20/2008
SWAT Fatloss DVD - 30 mins of bodyweight intervals

Wed - 11/19/2008
TT2K4 Workout B
1a) Hammer strength V-Squat 234x8, 234x8, 284x5
1b) Hammer Strength Shoulder Press 110x8, 140x8x2
2a) Smith machine Reverse lunge 95x6 / DB Reverse Lunge 35x6
2b) Bulgarian Split Squat 10x12, 10x10
3a) 1-leg Stability ball curl 8, 8
3b) Spider man Climb 12, 12

Review: This workout was terrible. I wasn't feeling well at all but I tried to push though it. In hindsight this was probably a total waste of a workout.

Sat - 11/15/2008
TT2K4 Workout A
Bench Press Test 45x12, 95x10, 135x8, 185x5, 205x3, 225x3
1A) DB Incline Press 70x6x2
1B) DB Rear-Delt Raise 15x10, 17.5x8
2) Cable Row 160x6, 160x5
3A) DB Triceps Extension 25x8x2
3B) DB Seated Curls 25x8x2

Fri - 11/14/2008
TT2K4 Workout B
1A) BB Squat 245x8, 265x6 (Personal Record)
1B) DB Shoulder-Press 50x8, 55x8
2A) DB Reverse Lunge 40x6x2
2B) Bulgarian Split Squat BWTx8, BWTx10
3A) 1-Leg Stability Ball Curl BWTx8x2
3B) Spiderman Climb BWTx12x2

Tuesday's Journal

Workout: TT2K4 Workout A
Date: 11/11/2008
Time: 5:20am
Location: Fitness 19

Dynamic Warm-up
Specific Warm-up
BB Incline press 95x8
DB Rear-Delt Raise 10x8

1A) BB Incline Press 155x8, 155x7, 135x6
1B) DB Rear-Delt Raise 12.5x10x2, 15x10
2A) DB Row 70x8, 80x6x2
2B) DB Floor Press 60x8x3
3A) DB Triceps Extension 25x8x3
3B) DB Seated Curls 25x8x3

Felt really good this workout. I set a PR on BB Incline press, DB Row and DB Floor Press (I know I did those for the first time recently). Fighting a bit of a cold so hopefully I can improve on these numbers when I'm 100% healthy.

Back and better than ever.

Date: Monday - Nov 10, 2008
Time: 5:15am
Location: Fitness 19 - Snellville, GA

So, I took a week off to let my thumb/wrist recover. It was tough, but I'm so glad I did. I got back in this morning and did TT2K4 Workout B. I'm trying to apply the principle of getting better/stronger each workout and today I was successful setting a PR in the BB Squat.

TT2K4 Workout B
Dynamic Warm-up
Specific Warm-up
BB Squat 185x8
Hammer Strength (HS) Iso Shoulder-Press 90x8

1A) BB Squat 245x8x3
1B) HS Iso Shoulder-Press 110x8x3
2A) DB Reverse Lunge 40x6x2, 30x6
2B) Bulgarian Split Squat BWTx12, BWTx8
3A) 1-Leg Stability Ball Curl BWTx10, BWTx8
3B) Spiderman Climb BWTx12x2

Observations:
* Wrist and thumb felt great. The new gloves w/ the wrist wrap really help.
* Squat is getting better, but it still needs a lot of work. Need to focus on leading with my rear and then sinking down in between my legs. My breathing also needs some work. I feel great during the squat, but I get a little lightheaded after each set.
* Not quite strong enough to use dumbbells for the Bulgarian Split squat yet. My legs were fried after the squats.
* I've never done the 1-Leg Stability ball curls before. Might be one of the hardest moves I've ever done!

Rough Week

This was a tough week. Training was ok. Nutrition was not bad, some days of drastically under eating, and some poor choices as well. I had two days where I ended up working 12-14 hours, with the over time rather unexpected. That let to eating whatever was provided in an already stressful environment.

I did get all of my resistance workouts in this week. But I missed one day of intervals, and all of my extra ab work. I'm looking forward to getting back on track next week.

Wed's Workout

1A) BB Squat 205x8, 225x8, 245x8
1B) DB 1-arm Shoulder Press 40x8, 45x8, 50x7
2A) DB Overhead Reverse Lunge 20x8x2
2B) DB Bulgarian Split Squat 20x8 - My right knee was bothering pretty bad that day
3A) Stability Ball Leg Curl BWTx15x2, BWTx12 - Didn't read instructions properly.
3B) Siderman Climb 12,12, 10 per side

Sat's Workout

1A) DB Incline Press 70x9, 80x7, 70x6
1B) DB Rear-delt Raise 12.5x10, 15x10, 12.5x10
2A) DB Row 70x8, 70x7, 70x6
2B) DB Parallel Press 55x8x3
3A) Iso-Cable Triceps Ext 40x8, 35x8
3B) Cable Curls 50x8x3