A picture paints a thousand words,

littlefriend

sent pm there to you

gabgab

Last night, some weights,

Overhead press, olympic bar and 10kgs, sets of ten,
Chinups, Pullups and presses,

I am not too concerned about the weight for now as I was not taking many breaks or long ones and just cranking them out hardish as I was doing some interval training running later on,

Was up there late, it is a much more pleasant place to be late when it is not full of 19 year old messy messy lads that leave stuff lying around everywhere and always seem to wear leinster rugby tracksuit bottoms and shorts....... While drinking a protein drink or some other stuff during training......... ANNOYING!!!! Just clean up after yourself and have some manners when in the gym, rant over :D

Did some interval running, found it good,
2 minute warm up at level 10 then into
1km at 4:36 per km, then 3 minute rest, then
1km @ 4:31 then 3 minute rest, then
1km minutes 4:31 again,
then 4:15 I think for one minute,
then 3:53 or something for another minute,

Walk to wind down, stretching and situps, then home

gabgab

I have my first tri in Athy and am going to use it as a guide, end of May
One in June in Dundalk, aaaaaaaah the craic up there will be mighty

Ideally I would like to come in the top third of people in July, I know it sounds a bit of a copout but I dont think aiming for a time is fair as wind, gradients, transitions weather all play a part, and at my level a little gradient is a big slowdown......

Will see how I get on, but am really looking forward to doing them and then being done with them so I can lift heavy and do a proper picture diary week on week of how quick I can make changes,

gabgab

Some weights, ran some intervals and pool, all round pretty scattered and crap, I have a niggle in my knee that is not going away, so I am gonna cycle tomorrow night, maybe saturday afternoon and take sunday off, then a wee run just to see if it is as bad,

Fingers crossed it wont be........

This is gonna be my last picture as I am focusing on cardio and triathlon stuff till end of August at the latest and then its into weights till december me thinks,

littlefriend

Holy sh*t the difference is unbelievable. I think thats the best before and after I've ever seen

gabgab

Thank you so much for that, your very kind!!!

I am happy with the results, am a little worried about dropping a lot of my gains doing tri but sure its good for my fitness,

I am really looking forward to doing the weights stuff back with Colm, because I am gonna do a lot more research on what I need to eat, maintenance calories, gains calories, etc and look at the idea of supplements, and maybe creatine.........

He will have a **** fit but I wanna see in picture form what 6 weeks of creatine can do, so once i go back I will take a pre photo, then creatine, protein, the same clean diet and a photo per week with a hard but intense training session!!!! I have not used it before but I am keen to see what difference it makes especailly in the very quick gains early period!!

Woddle

great pics but I'll be honest glad to hear your putting the pics away for a while, my wifes a big fan:D

gabgab

New plan,

I am hopefully going to be able to cycle in and out of work if I can work out the logistics and do it without being a smelly plonker for the day,

This way I am getting some training in, nice steady in, hard on the way home, can still lift a little and I have freed up some time in an increasingly short day,

Today I will spin in and out of work on the bike, then head up to the gym for some weights and a loooong jacuzzi, with maybe a swim in the middle,
5x50 metre sprints and get an idea of time for them with a one minute rest,

Did nothing last night except drink beer and laugh my ass off, wahooooo!!!

gabgab

Went out on the bike, very disheartened, trying to keep it in the 30km per hour is so difficult at times, my quads are pumping and I am slow, its annoying and I am sorta looking forward to these things being over,

Swimming a bit today with one of the lads and then will organise my week, as to what I am gonna do and when,

I would like to do tuesday and thursday spinning and run 5km after on a treadmill to help me keep the pace up, something I desperately need to do, so I will organise it that way,

gabgab

So the week has been good so far until I got a slightly stronger pain in my knee,

I went swimming and weights on dunday,

Not alot on monday, and on tuesday my knee started acting up, its annoying, as I did spinning for 40 minutes, felt good, then hit a treadmill for 6km planned, 1km in it was niggling, 2km in it got sore, 2.5 it was the same but I said I would get off it before I do any damage to it,

Tonight I will bike for 20 minutes maybe and swim for a bit, then its the physio on thursday night for hopefully good news, I am a bit annoyed, and a bit worried that I wont be able to run on it for a while which 30 days before first triathlon is very worrying,

On the upside if he says its bad I can go and lift weights full time and just do maintenance cardio and get onto picture diary 2....... Hmmmm!!!

gabgab

Swam some intervals today, felt a niggle in my knee and had a nice jacuzzi afterwards. Am going to see the physio tomorrow and see what he says, fingers crossed its all good news

gabgab

Went to the physio,

He figured out the problem, he reckons it was caused by a change in running surface, its my rtb, rbt, muscle that is tight but he rubbed the knots out of it,

I had a problem last year with triathlon stuff, and am proving to be quiete unlucky with them, I am very tempted to leave them and just do maintenance cardio as I am happy with my level at the moment, than just work on piling on a few pounds of muscle as I reckon I am lean enough, the triathlon stuff is not going to make me any stronger or make it easy to hold onto what I have at the moment,

Anyone any ideas??

BossArky

Triathlon sucks ar$e. I train for it, but don't actually enjoy the hours of cardio. This is probably why I don't do enough of it.

The events themselves are fun, on the day there is usually a great community feeling, and it is a good way of keeping your heart healthy .... but I have to admit I find the training mind numbingly boring.

gabgab

Excellent input there Bossarky,

I do them as a means to an end, in terms of being fit cardio wise, but the training and training and training just gives me a pain in my face,

I find them ok on the day, but for something I dont really enjoy, I am putting waaay too much time into it, life is too short I think!!!!!

Right I'm off to Spar, Lindt Mint Intense dark chocolate is 2 for €3.50, stuff is gorgeous, if I can offload this bike I am outta triathlon,

Woddle

what about one last hooray:D

gabgab

Yeh I might give Athy a blast but I am slow and that in itself is kind of embarassing you know, I did a 1hr 20 minutes in Laois last year and doubt I will be a whole lot quicker this year,

Als my mate that does them, can run 10km in 40 minutes, not cool training with him!!

Woddle

tut tut, you shouldn't compare yourself to others, but if your going to, compare yourself to the 99% including me who will probably never even enter a triathlon, let alone finish one, not to long till Athy now,best of luck,

gabgab

ha ha woddle, your a gas man, I like the "not too long now, best of luck" excellent approach

Woddle

I hope it didnt sound like I was patronising you, it was either that or the 'In the middle of every difficulty lies great opportunity' einstein I think, a bit strong also for a pep talk.
On another note, I was curious about the crossfit, If I went up lets say twice would I learn enough as regards form and what type of weight exercises to use at home, cause there only like 10 mins from my house. Cheers

gabgab

Sent you a PM Woddle,

bruzz

Hey all, not sure if this is correct place to post but basically just going to post up weight each week... .It's more for me.Im away this weekend until Tues so will post exact weight then and will post weekly from then on with update. I am 5'3 approx and approx 10st 7lb I reckon but will confirm Tuesday. Therefore want to lose quite a bit...I will post Tuesday.

gabgab

Hey bruzz, you can start your own log in fitness logs. Select new thread and log in from there, they are good to keep track of progress and that,

gabgab

Did nothing for the weekene except drink beer and eat crap, it was a nice break and deserved, especailly with this niggly knee problem.

decided that I am going to do Athy, will train for it in the coming few weeks, lift weights twice a week and just eat like a horse, then if I can offload my bike to someone I am gonna drop them, they dont go with my medium term goals and I do not get that much enjoyment out of them,

Going to spin tonight, then stretch loads, swim some intervals and then go home and chill, will post up how I got on,

ike

We all knew you would!

gabgab

ha ha cheers Ike,

But did you kow that my new diet is Ben & Jerry's ice cream....... Its only €3.50 a tub in Dunnes, I mean seriously......

Anybody know of any nice places to go swimming in the evenings for open water stuff,

I am in the carrickmines direction, maybe Dunlaoghaire??

bruzz

Thanks gabgab

gabgab

Went out last night on the bike, doing some hills and intervals,

It cemented how much I dot like the stuff, its a testament to the discipline the people that compete at these have,

I reckon if I was in a club I would prefer it, but its not assisting my long term goals, watch this space for Triathlon stuff for sale after Athy :D

gabgab

Ran last night, went fine for a km or so, then kne started niggling, stretched everything out, got going again a little slower, it then turned into a sort of rinse/repeat or wax on wax off run with constant stretching.........

Triathlon is officially not fun anymore!!

gabgab

Swam with a mate last night, went quiete well, in the pool for 40 minutes, broke it up into 100 metre blasts with a 15 second break in between,

I was going hard but was still slow, girl beside me, seriously was effortless and just glides up and down the pool, I really dislike triathlon now, and am looking forward to it being over, going on the lash after it for the weekend, then heavy lifting for the next 6 months..... Wahooooo!!!!

I will stick with swimming for a while though, because its cardio that may actually have a shape benefit to it for my physique too, minimal, but I will still be getting some cardio and its no impact for my knee

I am happy with my bodyfat etc, and am now keen on building as much muscle as I can onto my frame, without adding fat

gabgab

Last night was a cycle, maybe 20km in total, to a lake then in for what cannot be described as a swim. Far too cold and no wetsuits, but I do wanna do it again, reckon it could take me a while to get used to it but as a whole, the triathlon stuff takes up too much time out of a very small week for me,

Athy will be the last one I do unless my circumstances change, which I realistically dont want them to. cardio fitness is at a decent level, and looking forward to going lifting weights and doing some interval cardio work as maintenance, swimming and rowing I reckon

littlefriend

Hey gabgab, you are still going - well done!
About running w/ your knee - was in the woods today and I was thinking that I am going to start jogging up there rather than on the road because the ground there is softer than tarmac. Not sure would that be any hep to you at all just an idea
well done anyway - when is the big day?

gabgab

Hey Little friend,

Yeh still going but severely lacking motivation for this triathlon stuff, fueled by a very short attention span and immense impatience. Will be doing Athy at the end of may, then I am gonna lift weights for the summer and swim a bit,

That way I can develop some muscle, and keep lean, and enjoy my summer!!!

gabgab

Swam last night in Salthill Dunlaoghaire, reminded me how much I hate waves...... :eek::D

Wetsuit also cutting into my neck so need to put some glide stuff there next time, tonight I am doing interval hill work on the bike with rolling hills, plan is to stay at it until I have done 20km's then run a little afterwards,

Really am looking forward to lifting weights again soon,

gabgab

Interval cycle tonight, up very steep hill. Then some running, fed up of this at this stage, roll on the end of May. Doing the sprint in Athy, then gonna eat whatever I want, drink loads of beer, have some midweek fun, and then head out and do a big food shop, including a big tub of protein, and set out my weights plan.

Looks like once a week crossfit with Colm, on a wednesday, then have to figure out what the other nights. Reckon I will go with chins, pullups, squats, presses and bench, full body stuff twice a week and a swim after. Will chat to Colm about they sequence to do them in etc and take it from there,

gabgab

Not much planned for today however a little mishap on my behalf led to this piece of worthwhile and very entertaining training

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=55959513#post55959513

In other news I am at an all time weight or size low I reckon, trousers of suits I had taken in are loose again, I am gonna try on some jeans just to see what size my waist is,

Roll on my new eat everything in sight (clean) take protein, lift heavy and organise a programme for my add lean muscle plan, wahoooooo!!!

gabgab

Sea swimming in seapoint, its just horrible, waves whacking you around, cant do a stroke cos dunno where next breath is coming but glad I did it, will be swimming in a lake from now on, looking forward to it aswell. Got one planned for tonight, should be a bit of fun, and knee is niggling but not too bad.

gabgab

Been a bit scattereed about this lately, last night had some cycling intervals and then a swim, did a km, broke it up a bit but found it good. Will definitely be incorporating this into my new weights plan, have chatted with Colm and have it sorted,

So its a few more days, grind out this poxy triathlon, take a week off to do nothing and then sort out new challenge. A pic a week, a clean but big diet, protein, creatine, crossfit once a week, weights another two times and some cardio maybe, probably swimming as its cardio, and may assist me a little in shape and bodyfat.......

Last night was 25 minutes of hill intervals
1 km in the pool broken up into 250metres, with minimal gaps

My legs are pathetically weak, have decided this after time on the bike etc, they really are shabby so my focus is on whatever Colm has for wednesday crossfit and then big compound lifts, will be brushing up on technique for these and may record as others have done before,

Holidays start with Electric Picnic, then Spain, then Oktoberfest...... So I have between now and End of August to get lean and hopefully a little bigger

gabgab

Tonight, interval bike training, truly am fed up and just waiting for this triathlon to end now

gabgab

So I did it, ended up at an hour 29, with a bad knee niggling at me and blistering heat I am not overly hapy with it but still glad I did it. I am selling some triathlon gear if anyone is interested :D

In other news, some funny parts of the triathlon, getting pulled out of the water and seeing "the white light" :D Then having to run/walk on a wobbly sort of jettee that reminded me of something from a gladiators game:D Running through the transition area with the thought of ducking around a corner and heading home,

The bike was good and overtook some people which made me feel great and gave me a good boost, had a great little race with a lad but he just had the stronger legs in the end,

Note: If racing someone and you see that he is doing a impressive dismount that involves clipping out, then throwing one leg over and being quick off the bike, DO NOT attempt this for the first time in front of loads of people, :D. You will end up on your arse and have lots of "oooooooooooooooh....... go on ya good thing......... and then a cheer when you scramble onto your feet"

The run was a nightmare, sun belting down on me, and as always when running I had no pace, the aility to up a gear just not there and my knee started to hurt about half way through.

All in all, I reckon some shabby transitions did not help my time, I am glad I did it as it goes with my new approach to healthier living, both being a bit stronger and a bit fitter, I might not break records but I am proud of it,

Now I am of to chill and practice on my new motorbike :D Wahooooo

Going to chill this week apart from a trip to crossfit on wednesday nigth, I am really looking forward to lifting weights and making some physique changes, will throw up a pic probably at the end of the week and then start it all again with a diet and lifting focus

Woddle

Congrats gabgab, was there ever any doubt, Enjoy your motorbiking, mine got robbed last week:mad:, again well done:D

BossArky

Nice one gabgab. What kind of individual timings and transition timings did you do?

SUNGOD

well done gabgab , great to say you did it ,a friend of mine competed and he also said the heat for the run nearly killed him. anway ive enjoyed reading the trials and tribulations leading up the big day , the will he? wont he? and we all knew ya would. so just to finish congrats again you should be proud of yourself now enjoy your well earned break.

gabgab

Ah thanks a million lads, really appreciate it. I dont know bossarky, will see when the results are up, it only had provisional times when I checked.

Being fair I didnt do tat much for it in total compared o what I should of done, trying to do a little of everything and not focusing enough on anything in particular,

A shape and size change is on the cards now,

Hanley

That's awesome man. Congratulations. A triathlon and a marathon are two things I'd love to do just to be able to say that I did them. It's something I might consider when I pass out of the junior powerlifting ranks in 2010.

littlefriend

You are rockin - what a transformation since Jan - take it easy on the motorbike

ike

Well done Gabgab - great review love the 'white light bit!

Hanley wrote: »

That's awesome man. Congratulations. A triathlon and a marathon are two things I'd love to do just to be able to say that I did them. It's something I might consider when I pass out of the junior powerlifting ranks in 2010.

C'mon Hanley welcome to the world of Cardio you know you want to...:D

gabgab

I'm not messing everyone, a few boxes in the head during the swim and the heat along with goggles that gave me the same sort of visibility as stevie wonder. It made the swim exit and trip to transition area all a big blur........

I am hoping that a picture of me absolutely creaming during my rather adventureous bike dismount pops up on the site for it, be gas craic and give me lots to laugh about,

Go for it Hanley, be good craic and its definitely doable, doing it in a decent and respectable time, unlike mine, is a different story alltogether though :D

gabgab

So, I am going to weigh myself and see what these are looking like after checking technique with Colm, I will also record and see how I am progressing, I reckon squat could actually be very very funny,

Press:
Bench Press:
Deadlift:
Squat:
Deadlift:
PowerClean:

My plan is to do weights 3 times a week, once being whatever the crossfit WOD is on a wednesday, and the rest comprising of these lifts outlined above at 5x5

Then at the end a warm up on the threadmill, and then trying to get a 1km time down, for what reason I dont know but I will change the cardio every 2 weeks, starting with running, swimming, biking and rowing just to keep it interesting, starting monday or maybe sunday night.

gabgab

So I am nearly over my week of paying no attention to what I eat and generally being a slob, satay chicken from the local chinese is fabulous :D

Anyway I have used the very helpful links in the sticky and come up with the following:

Bodyweight is 75kg

75 x 15.3 + 679= (1826.5) x 1.4= 2557.1

3 hours weights=1150
1 hour cardio=600

So in total my calorie needs are 2,807. My goal is to lean out and get ripped for a holiday in 12 weeks, once that is done I will focus on eating like a horse and bulking for the winter, like a bear going into hibernation :D

At the moment I am getting about 2155 from my diet so I need to find those 700 somewhere healthy, am looking at it now will figure it out,

gabgab

So I went back lifting weights,

Well at least I know the time to go up, and the benefit of doing the lifts I am doing is that very few people are using the area so thats good news,

I was looking to get a handle on the 5x5 but will read up on it and figure it out,

What I do know is that I am weak, scarily weak and that I want to get strong but keep the rest to a minimum, so that it has a focus on cardio too.

Feels good to be back, and I am now comfortable enough to ignore people around me lifting twice the weight but in (even my fisher price form and kinder garden level of knowledge) bad form

Squat has got to get big, looking for bodyweight squat 1rm
Pull ups, 5x5 with weight added, long way off,
Press, form spot on and look at weight
Deadlift, bodyweight again
Bench, bodyweight again

I will go through all this and will be noting all the weights at the weekend, maybe friday night with what I feel is an achievable 5x5 for all lifts.