The Jokers fitness log

pvt.joker

So, I've taken up weight training. Got an hours instruction from the F.I in the gym and he came up with the below for me to try out for 2 weeks, then include some free weights.
I don't have the weights for each yet, I'll note them down tonight after my session.
I've been doing this every 2nd day for the last week.


My current stats are
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 96kg (15 st 2)

Goals, lose about 2 stone fat, gain muscle, become more defined.


Chest Press 3 sets of 10 reps
Upper Back 3 sets of 10 reps
Biceps pull up 3 sets of 10 reps
Triceps pull down 3 sets of 10 reps
Leg machine thing 3 sets of 10 reps
Shoulder press 3 sets of 10 reps
Crunches 3 sets of 10 reps

Cardio: Treadmill 3k in 13 minutes


Todays food diary:
Breakfast: 1 bowl crunchy oats with raisins skimmed milk, 1 glass orange juice
Lunch: Brown bread sandwich - chicken/tomatoes/salad 200g portion mixed fresh fruit
Afternoon: some nuts
Dinner: stir fry brocolli/peppers/mushrooms/bean sprouts/ 1 portion noodles
Late evening: 1 piece fruit.

Am going to start taking protein supplement this week also, can anyone recommend a good one, (that preferably tastes nice!)

pvt.joker

Weight 95kg
Height 6'3"


So this is what I did yesterday,

Chest Press 3 sets of 10 30kg
Upper Back 3 sets of 10 30kg
Biceps pull up 3 sets of 10 20kg
Triceps pull down 3 sets of 10 20kg
Leg press 3 sets of 10 50kg
Shoulder press 3 sets of 10 15kg

Treadmill 2k at 14 speed
Swimming 5 laps 25m pool


Diet:

breakfast: 1 bowl crunchy oats with full fat milk, 1 glass Orange Juice
Mid morning: 1 Apple
Lunch: 225g mixed fresh fruit (apple/orange/grape/strawberry) brown bread sandwich with chicken/tomatoe/lettuce
Afternoon: 1 banana
Pre workout: handful of unsalted nuts
Post workout (9pm) stir fry (brocolli/pepper/bean sprouts/mushrooms/chicken) 1 small portion noodles.


Question: Should I aim my evening meal pre workout if possible, rather than 9pm ?

Also, have heard people talking about RAMx , should I be taking this?, is it a protein supplement, or would I need to take a protein supplement along with RAMx for building some muscle?

Thanks for reading.

Malteaser!

Hey, good work on starting the log! Just wondering, are you using a machine to perform the chest press or is it done with free weights?? Is the trainer guy saying that you should do the machines etc for the first two weeks and then move onto the free weights??

pvt.joker

Malteaser! wrote: »

Hey, good work on starting the log! Just wondering, are you using a machine to perform the chest press or is it done with free weights?? Is the trainer guy saying that you should do the machines etc for the first two weeks and then move onto the free weights??

Hi, thanks for taking the time to read!

Yes, I'm currently using a machine for the chest press (and all my others) . To be honest I wouldn't know how to work the chest with free weights, I'm a total novice to resistance training so trying to read up as much as I can (ordered starting strength book yesterday) . Im going to go back to the instructor next week and ask him to show me how to use free weights, as from what I've read , free weights are better than machines for weight training ?

Malteaser!

pvt.joker wrote: »

Hi, thanks for taking the time to read!

Yes, I'm currently using a machine for the chest press. To be honest I wouldn't know how to work the chest with free weights, I'm a total novice to resistance training so trying to read up as much as I can (ordered starting strength book yesterday) . Im going to go back to the instructor next week and ask him to show me how to use free weights, as from what I've read , free weights are better than machines for weight training ?

You made the right choice with ordering Starting Strength...It's a fantastic book!

Free weights are generally better than machines. You might find when you make the switch that you can't lift as much as you had been but don't worry because it'll catch up pretty quickly. I'd just ask the instructor to give you a run through the free weights. In my experience though, instructors tend to give out 'one for all' style programs, in that they're all pretty much the same no matter what your goals are. It might be handy to go in with a few set exercises that you want to incorporate into your program and ask them to demonstrate. For example, squats, I rarely see instructors throwing them into a program for beginners but they really should coz they're the king of all leg exercises.

pvt.joker

Thanks for the input, I've *cough* acquired an advance copy of starting strength, in anticipation of the book arriving, and I have read the introductions to squats and benchpress, and i have to say its fantastic. Very clear and gives great advice on the main things to avoid doing.

I read the section in the intro to it also which slates weights machines and after reading it I will be looking to use free weights as soon as possible.
Never knew machines were that useless

pvt.joker

10 x sit up crunches (building up to 3 sets of 10)

10 x back extensions


Breakfast: 1 x bowl crunchy oats with skimmed milk
1 x glass orange juice

Had nothing in with me to eat for mid morning or mid afternoon snacks

Lunch: 225g mixed fresh fruit (grapes/strawberries/melon/apple/orange)
brown bread sandwich (chicken/tomatoes/lettuce)

Evening: 200g cooked chicken, large handful brocolli (boiled) , 1 small potatoe, 1 small tin baked beans.

9pm: 1 banana

Drank 3 litres water during the day

pvt.joker

Last night

Chest press 10 x 3 30kgs
Leg press 10 x 3 60kgs
Upper back 10 x 3 30kgs
Biceps pull up 10 x 3 15kg
Triceps pull down 10 x 3 15kg

2km treadmill at setting 14


Diet
Breakfast : 1 x Bowl crunchy oats , 1 glass orange juice
Mid morning: apple
Lunch: Mixed fruit 225g, brown bread sandwich -chicken/salad/tomatoe
Mid afternoon: handful unsalted cashew nuts
6pm: Banana
Evening(9pm) chicken stir fry with loads of veg,brocolli/pepper/carrots 1xportion dried noodles

Is this too late to be eating I wonder?

BossArky

pvt.joker wrote: »

Evening(9pm) chicken stir fry with loads of veg,brocolli/pepper/carrots 1xportion dried noodles

Is this too late to be eating I wonder?

If you are working out hard before this I wouldn't worry about eating at 9pm. You could try and drop the noodles though as you are looking to loose 2 stone. Instead have an extra big of veg.

Don't eat rice, noodles, bread at all if possible. Fill the gap with nuts and veg.

pvt.joker

Cheers, well im not really worried about the weight, it'll drop, and has started to already, 14 stone 12 so down 6 pounds since last Friday.
Will try to avoid bread as much as possible., i find it hard to think of what else to have for lunch though. Eating about 50g nuts everyday, plenty of veg, about 400g or so of fruit.
Think ill start trying some kind of salad type instead of bread at lunch.
Am feeling the benefits already after only 1 week.

Feel in better shape physically already, resistance training is pretty addictive , much more interesting than cardio.

pvt.joker

Crunches 10 x 1 (couldnt physically do anymore) building up to 10 x 3
Back extensions 5 x 1


Diet as usual.

pvt.joker

Went to gym this morning, place was totally dead (must have been the heat outside) which was good as I got in and out in under an hour no waiting around for machines!

Chest Press 10 x 3 x 35kg (plus some warmups at half weight)
Leg Press 10 x 3 x 70kg (plus some warmups at half weight)
Biceps & Triceps extensions 10 x 3 x 17.5kg (plus some warmups at half weight)
Upper Back machine 10 x 30kg, 8 x 30kg, 8 x 30kg (failed at 8 both times)
Back extensions x 5
Cardio: Treadmill 1k at top speed

Weight: 93.9kg (14 stone 11)


Using chest press machine felt like my shoulders were doing the work, is this normal?
I am pretty sure I was using correct form, elbows at same height as shoulders etc , didnt feel anything working in my chest muscles though ?

Breakfast: 1 bowl oats with skimmed milk, 1 half glass orange juice
Mid Morning: apple, natural yoghurt with handful nuts
Lunch: vegetable and chicken stir fry, 1 portion dried noodles.
Afternoon: ??
Evening: ??

pvt.joker

Rest day today :cool:

Breakfast: bowl of oats with raisins/honey semi skimmed milk, 1 half glass orange juice
Mid morning: apple
Lunch: vegetable and chicken stir fry, 1/2 portion noodles
Afternoon:portion natural yoghurt with handful of seeds mixed through
Evening: vegetable and chicken stir fry, 1/2 portion noodles
9pm: apple
3 litres of water drank.

Tomorrow im going to try bench pressing for first time hopefully (if gym is open!) so that i can drop the chest press from my routine.

pvt.joker

warmup:5 min treadmill at 3/4 pace

Chest press 10 x 35kg, 9 x 35kg, 9 x 35kg
Leg press 10 x 80kg, 10 x 80kg, 15 x 80kg
Upper back 10 x 30kg, 10 x 30kg, 10 x 30kg
Tricep Extn: 10 x 17.5kg, 10 x 17.5kg, 10 x 17.5kg,
Bicep Extn: 5 x 17.5kg (failed at 5, dont know why , did it 2 days ago ok, maybe becaus e I did it before eating), 10 x 15kg

Cardio: 10 mins of 1 min full pace (15) / 30 seconds half pace (6.0)

Breakfast: bowl of oats with raisins semi skimmed milk, 1 half glass orange juice
Mid morning: banana
Lunch: 160g cajun chicken breast, green salad with handful cashew nuts
Mid-Afternoon: Apple
Evening: 1/4 of Galia melon with handful nuts , portion natural yoghurt with apple pieces cut through

water : 3 litres

FunkZ

Hey man with each meal there I'd throw in a chicken fillet, lean mince or a tin of tuna!
And if you're able, you should try and have a big plate of vegetables as well, they'll fill ya up with feck all calories

And if you're interested start up a food log
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1010

pvt.joker

FunkZ wrote: »

Hey man with each meal there I'd throw in a chicken fillet, lean mince or a tin of tuna!
And if you're able, you should try and have a big plate of vegetables as well, they'll fill ya up with feck all calories

And if you're interested start up a food log
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1010

Thanks for the input, yeah im trying to have 200g protein per day so will have to try and increase my chicken fillet intake. Usually eat a lot of vegeatables, none in the feckin shop today though so fruit and nuts will have to make do instead!

pvt.joker

Ok so im an idiot. I had read up that i should be eating around 1g protein per pound of bodyweight. So I think to myself 200g chicken = 200g protein , not factoring in that chicken is not 100% protein. doh! So ive ordered some pro-x protein supplement, as there is no way in hell im able to eat 200g protein per day! Seeing as I don't eat fish or eggs, and the most chicken fillets i can stomach in a day is 2. I eat a lot of unsalted nuts though so id say im getting around half my daily protein needs at least anyway.

Is it advisable/good practice to take 2 protein shakes a day, one in the morning, one in the evening, to boost my protein intake?

tribulus

It's fine. It's just whey.

You could always get some mince beef or pork to bump up the protein as well.

pvt.joker

Thanks. I think ill probably end up taking 2 or 3 of them per day, as I think theres 25g per serving in them , so I can manage 125g protein from other sources

pvt.joker

Breakfast: bowl of muesli with nuts, semi skilled milk , 1 glass orange juice
Mid morning: apple
Lunch: 225g mixed fresh fruit, brown bread sandwich w chicken/tomatoe/lettuce
Afternoon: 50g unsalted cashew nuts
Evening: 2 chicken fillets, brocolli,carrots,mushrooms (all stir fried) , 2 tblsp cottage cheese(disgusting-foul tasting stuff, couldn't eat it at all,threw rest of packet in bin)
Late evening: apple/other fruit



2 x 10 crunches (going to add weight plates to this soon for weighted sit ups, what weight would you recommend? 10kg), also can weighted sit ups only be done on an incline bench?

5 x back extensions

pvt.joker

Last night consisted of:

Warmup: 5 mins on treadmill at 3/4 pace

Chest press: 10 x 40kg, 8 x 40g(fail), 7 x 40kg (fail)
Seated Back pull: 10 x 30kg x 3
Leg Press: 10 x 90kg x 3
Bicep curl extension: 10 x 17.5kg, 8x 17.5kg (fail)
Tricep extension : 10 x 17.5kg, 10 x 17.5kg, 10 x 17.5kg

Treadmill: 5 mins at 16 kmh

The usual food intake, trying to up the protein amounts also , have a tub of pro-x at home now which ill be starting taking today twice daily

pvt.joker

Last night:

10 x 3 crunches
5 x back extensions

Food intake:
Breakfast:bowl mueslie, cup orange juice
Mid morning: handful unsalted cashew nuts
Lunch:225g mixed fresh fruit, brown bread sandwich w/ chicken/tomoatoe/lettuce
Afternoon:Apple, handful unsalted nuts
Evening: 200g chicken fillets with loads of brocolli/pepper/carrot stir fried (NO noodles. have cut these out. Next step is cutting bread at lunchtime out, finding it tough to think of alternatives though)
9pm: 3 tablespoon natural onken yoghurt

pvt.joker

07/06/2008

Chest press: 10 x 40kg, 8 x 40g(fail), 7 x 40kg (fail)
Seated Back pull: 10 x 30kg x 3
Leg Press: 10 x 100kg x 3
Bicep curl extension: 10 x 17.5kg x 3
Tricep extension : 10 x 17.5kg x 3

Cardio:
Treadmill: 10 mins at 16 kmh

pvt.joker

Diet was all over the place at weekend, some good some bad points in it.
Back to normal today

pvt.joker

Yesterday. Good workout. Got a mate up who showed me a lot of db excercises, squat and bench press.
Happy to be finally off the machines as much as possible as I know its next to impossible to build muscular mass on them.
Feeling the effects of the dumbells today. I found it tough to get used to the movement of them, swaying all over place, but I guess this improves with practice.

Dumbell Bench Press: 25kg x 10 x 3
Dumbell Shoulder Press 20kg x 10 x 3
Dumbell Bent Over Row: 12.5kg x 10 x 3
Dumbell Flat Chest Flies: 20kg x 10 x 3
Dumbell Lateral Raises: 10kg x 10 x 3
Squat (Smith) : 30kg x 10 x 3
Flat Bench Press: BAR ONLY x 10 x 3 (will add weight next time. Starting Strength advised bar only on first time to get used to movement)
Lat Pulldown: 45kg x 10 x 3
Bicep cable lift: 17.5 x 10 x 3
Tricep cable extension: 17.5 x 10 x 3
Back Extensions x 5
Crunches 10 x 3



Diet:
Breakfast: Crunchy oats (switching to porridge asap) , 1 glass orange juice, 1 whey shake
Mid Morning: Banana
Lunch: 225g mixed fresh fruit. brown bread sandwich/chicken/tomato/lettuce
Mid Afternoon: 50g unsalted cashew nuts
6pm: 2 x chicken fillets, brocolli,2 carrots, 1 red pepper, mushrooms / all stir fried
PWO: whey shake , lucozade sport

pvt.joker

it's been brought to my attention that members of the Boardeaux football team are reading this, so hello Simon :pac: and feel free to leave a comment on the log instead of stalking :cool:


Today:

Morning:
Oats,orange juice, protein shake
Mid morning:
apple
Lunch: 225g fresh fruit, brown bread sandwich/chicken/tomatoe/lettuce
Mid Afternoon: 50g cashews , apple
Evening :2 chicken fillets stir fried, salad, 20g pasta
7pm: banana

Cardio: 1 hour astro soccer

10pm: protein shake

pvt.joker

Today:

5 min warmup treadmill

chest:
flat chest press (db) 10 x 25 x 3
flat chest flies 10 x 15 x 3
lateral raises 10 x 5 x 3

shoulders:
seated shoulder press (db) 10 x 25 x 3
shoulder shrugs 10 x 15(per shoulder) x 3

Back:
single arm row 10 x 12.5 x 3


bicep pull up 10 x 15 x 3
french press (triceps) 10 x 12.5 x 3

flat bench press 10 x BAR ONLY x 2
10 x Bar + 3kg x 1

Leg Press machine 10 x 100 x 3

Lat pulldown 10 x 40 x 3

Pec deck 10 x 20 x 3

Killed myself on the db chest press so failed easily at the bench press. Going to drop the db chest press and concentrate on bb chest press next workout. Love the bench press

Im still fine tuning my programme and would love to hear comments on it, any additions , anything to drop?

pvt.joker

Last night:

Plank: 45 seconds
Bicycle Ab Excercises 10 x 3
Crunches 10 x 3

Malteaser!

When you're writing out your lifts is it reps x weights x no. of sets??

pvt.joker

Malteaser! wrote: »

When you're writing out your lifts is it reps x weights x no. of sets??

hey, yeah that's the way I write them out. Is that the norm, what way do you write yours?

Also, embarassing question , but ill ask it on my log rather than risk getting burned on the main fitness forum When you're bench pressing, do you include the weight of the bar along with the added weights?

Malteaser!

pvt.joker wrote: »

hey, yeah that's the way I write them out. Is that the norm, what way do you write yours?

Also, embarassing question , but ill ask it on my log rather than risk getting burned on the main fitness forum When you're bench pressing, do you include the weight of the bar along with the added weights?

You can do it whatever you want, I was just curious. Hanley says the way I do mine is confusing but I don't care, I like it!!

Yup you sure do and if it's a standard Olympic bar then its an extra 20kg!!