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Lazyitis

[FONT=&quot]To put it bluntly, my goal isn’t to get “back into shape”, but to get into the best physical condition of my life.
Sometime in September, I decided to begin building towards this goal and to aid me in that I decided to start a blog (linked below). However I don’t feel that this will be sufficient to get where I want as frankly, while I have always had an interest in fitness and nutrition, I remain mostly ignorant as to the right way to go about things.
I’m hoping that starting a log here will give me some outside feedback and criticism on what I am/am not doing right.

I have a loosely structured routine in place. My first aim was to just get things going and to this end I basically just started running and lifting weights, while trying to clean up my diet. I have already seen some subtle changes in body shape, but I feel like I haven’t progressed enough in terms of my routine. Reasons for this would be laziness and lack of knowledge.

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Routine on a typical week:
Mon: 30-35 min run. Not sure of the distance, maybe 5k, could be way off.
Tue: Weights session
Wed: Same run
Thu: Weights session
Fri: Run
Weekend: Normally nothing, may go for a run/cycle/do weights if not out the night before

Weights session: Don’t know weight used offhand.
Push ups (4 x 20)
Crunches (4 x 20)
Dumbbell Bicep Curl: 4 x 12
Tricep extension: 4 x 12
Squat: 4 x 12
Bench Press: 4 x12
Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 x 12
Bent over row: 4 x 12
Looking to introduce the deadlift

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Diet:

Breakfast: Shredded wheat bitesize in low fat milk with a yop
Or Scrambled egg on a slice of wholemeal toast with a yop

Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwich using 4 slices of wholemeal bread and an apple (basically every day)

Dinner: Chicken with linguini (white pasta) in a tomato and chilli sauce with mozzarella
Or Steak with penne (white pasta) in a tomato sauce
Or Salmon with broccoli with some mashed potatoes

Post workout I would basically just have a glass of milk
Try to drink enough water throughout the day
Might snack on an apple or a couple of Gouda cheese slices (love cheese)
Drink alcohol at weekends. Don’t go overboard, but this is something that I don’t foresee cutting out.
Odd treat here and there.

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Looking back on the diet and exercise myself I can see that they lack variety and probably have some major holes in them aswell. It was however a good starting point for me to get off my arse and cut out most of the junk food, but I feel like I need to move on sharpish. I’m trying to use some info out there on the net and boards to help me, but just feel like I’m being bombarded with too much.

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Lazyitis

A little more info plus short, medium and long term goals.

I currently working full time and can therefore can only work out at night after I get home and at weekends. Looking to cut body fat and bulk up muscles, while remaining aerobically fit. Currently been doing more cardio than weights in an attempt to reduce waist size and getting some of the underlying muscle which I already have to show. However I have heard proponents of “Cut and Bulk” whereby you can achieve both simultaneously. My main focus anyway would be to slim down first as opposed to muscle gain.

Have my own weights and a bench in my house, but thinking of maybe joining a gym down the line.
Looking to do some swimming in the near future and also possibly some sort of combat sport.

Short term goals:
Restructure exercise routine, enrol in swimming classes, post on boards to see if anyone can point me in the right direction re: diet and training. Look at some of Transform’s vids on youtube. Read Gems sticky on nutrition.
Take measurements on key areas of body and keep tabs on progress.

Medium terms goals:
Introduce more nutrition and variety into diet. Get into as good condition as possible for something I’m doing at new years-need to look good naked . Be well on the way to understanding how to get the most out of my diet and exercise. Be doing some kind of sport with a social element to it, learn to cook

Long term goal:
Be in excellent physical condition and have the body that I am currently aspiring to-Thinking Men’s Health cover model body. Have a highly nutritious and varied diet


So I’ll be keeping this thread and my blog updated with my progress and any comments would be more than welcome. I am open to any and all criticism/suggestions.

Blog:
http://kingmonkey85.blogspot.com

Lazyitis

Right, a bit more info.
24 year old male, 5 7", 11 stone according to my 20 year old scales-I suspect that I weigh more. Think waist is currently 34", but not sure as 34" trousers are too big for me now even though the tape measure is telling me otherwise.
A goal for me is to get this down to at least 32" asap.

Now have the weights that I'm currently lifting at home:

Bicep curl/Hammer curl: 9.5kg each
Squat: 20kg
Tricep extension: 6kg each dumbbell
Bench press: 27kg
Lateral raise: 3.5kg each dumbbell
Upright row: 5kg each dumbbell
Deadlift: Haven’t done yet
Crunch: 2 x 25reps
Pressup: 2 x 30reps

All of these weights are excluding the weight of the bars. Also these are all 12 rep sets. I will do between 2 and 4 sets.
Some are light enough for me, but I am just trying to get my form right and settle into a weight I’m comfortable with lifting. Obviously I’ll be trying to constantly up my weight, though I’m not sure if this is consistent with my first goal of cutting some body weight.

Did a 5.3k run today in 29:35 which I’ve only recently started timing. This beat my first timed attempt on Tuesday by more than a minute. Thinking of trying to incorporate sprints into my training.
Also delighted to report that I have signed up for swimming classes so while this in itself will keep me fit, I’m looking forward to incorporating this into my training afterwards.
Diet went according to the above posted and frankly I think this is where I’m really going to struggle. I have always been quite a picky eater and have never really developed a rounded diet, so a lot of work required here on my part.

Lazyitis

Saturday

Updated weights:

All 12 reps x 3 sets.

Squat 25kg
Deadlift 25 kg
Bench Press 30kg

**weights excluding bar, will have to get it's weight

Also read a good motivational quote, "The greatest gift in life is the ability to think great thoughts and have the strength to take action…While others simply dream."

Transform

i would recommend getting in a back exercise like a one arm row or chin ups as you have no back exerise.

Also get a swiss ball so you can do swiss ball leg curls as there is no hamstring exercise also.

Keep up the good work

Lazyitis

Will look into getting one of those swiss balls and will have to find somewhere to do some chin ups. I'll check out the one arm row as I'm not sure what it actually is at the moment:o
Thinking of putting some stretching into my routine. I remember a few years back when I was doing a little Tae Kwon Do, that the warm up stretches used to really take it out of me, but subsequently improved my flexibility a lot.

Yesterday I ditched the 5k run for some interval training over the same route. Jog for 90 secs then sprint/run for 30 secs. I repeated this about 12 or 13 times and was quite tired by the end. I think this fits in more with my goals than lowish intensity cardio as I'm looking to pump up my metabolism/burn fat/change my body shape. I still plan on doing some longer runs at lower intensity, just not so often.

Have a couple of questions regarding measuring progress and trying to build muscle mass on a calorific deficit which I'm gonna post on the main forum.

Lazyitis

Tuesday 3rd of Nov

Threw in a few new exercises into the weights session and increased some weights.

All the weights are now including the bars which I got weights for.

Lunge(no extra weight) 3 x 14 (only did half as many reps as I should have which I only found out after I finished)
Reverse curl 2 x 15 (poor technique on these so have to practice)
Press up 2 x 30
Deadlift 32kg 2 x 10
Squat 31kg 2 x 10
Lateral raise (5kg each dumbbell) 2 x 12
bent over row/one arm row 11.5 kg 2 x 12

Will be looking to replace the one arm rows with chin ups.

Lazyitis

Wednesday 4th Nov

Hammer Curl: 10kg each 2 x 8, technique was bad for this, felt i was swinging my arms a bit, so think I'll have to go lighter for now

Tricep extension: 6kg each 2 x 12, again my technique was bad here. Couldn't get my shoulders back far enough for the starting position, so I think I'll have to get some more flexibilty into the.

Interval training: Jog for 2-3mins followed by a 1 min run at close to full intensity. Repeated about 8 times over just under 5k. Done in a time of 27:53:09.

Thursday 5th Nov

First swimming class today. Went well except got a cramp in my calf half way through. Was alright continuing though. Should have stretched/warmed up beforehand!



Also started a thread on the main forum about increasing muscle mass on a calorific deficit. Got some good constructive criticism from it and have taken on board a few things that I will try to implement.
Got totally out of hand after that so I've decided to leave it to the others to argue amongst themselves;)

Lazyitis

Friday 6th of November:

Squat: 31kg 4x10
Deadlift: 32kg 4x10
Benchpress: 35kg 4x12

Did a bit of stretching on my calfs and shoulders aswell. Seem to have recovered well from the pain in my calves. Were feeling perfect the next day so all good.

Have realised after posting a question on the main forum that my goals(increase muscle mass, while cutting bf%) aren't really consistent with what I plan to do with my training and diet.
So i've shifted the goalposts a bit and have decided that I will be attempting to increase my strength while becoming leaner.
I'm not exactly underweight at the moment so I think I can retain a decent amount of muscle mass while I'm at it.
I think this will keep me more motivated as I think it's an easier goal for me to achieve and I won't be taking on too much at the same time.

If I decide later on to change this goal, I will be working from a solid, more knowledgable base.

Still have to get measurements to kep tabs on my progress. Damn procrastination!

Lazyitis

Monday, 9th of November

Not much time today so a quick blast of a workout to tide me over:

Tried to do it quickly with little breaks in between sets.
2 circuits of:
Crunch: 33 reps, 27 reps
PressUp: 35, 32
Lunge: 15 reps each leg
Bent over row: 12 reps each arm, 13.5kg, can go higher next time

Didn't time myself, but done in under 20 mins, and built up a bit of a sweat, so better than nothing.

Did a quick bit of stretching on the shoulders, and a bit on the groin(wahey!).

Diet is coming along slowly, but trying to introduce at least one new thing every week. Have replaced the white pasta with wholemeal, got some cashew nuts for snacking in work, and also some oatcakes and cottage cheese (had a quick taste of the cottage cheese and not mad on it, but I'll give it some time and maybe try to have it along with something else)

Lazyitis

Wednesday 11th of November

Squat: 31kg 4x12
Deadlift: 32kg 4x10
Benchpress: 35kg 4x12
One arm row: 14kg 4x10

Hopefully will be getting my swiss balla and bands soon enough.

Lazyitis

Thursday 12th of November:

Interval training in the form of swimming. Did a lot of stretching when I got home. Calves still cramped up so did a bit of foam rolling on them along with stretches afterwards. Could really feel the tight spots so hopefully they'll start to loosen up after a while.

Friday 13th of November:

Band pull for shoulders: 4x12
Lunge: 2x15 no weight
Squat: 33.5kg 3x8
Deadlift: 37kg 3x8
Bench: 37kg 3x8
Lateral Raise: 5kg 12,11,10 reps
Crunch: 36 reps, 27 reps

Got my swiss ball yesterday too so will start to use it ASAP.
Will have to calculate my calorie intake because I don't really have a clue how much I'm taking in at the moment. Tried a website a few days ago for this, but was far too complicated so I left it.

Lazyitis

Saturday 14th of November:

Foam rolling and stretching for between 45mins-hour. Foam rolling is a killer!

Monday 16th of November:

Interval training: Circa 5k run. 2 mins jogging, 40secs hard running. Did around 10 loops. Found it quite tough in the cold, windy weather at night. Could actually taste the pollution in the air so the lungs were suffering a bit halfway through. Felt good afterwards though.
Small bit of stretching + foam rolling after.

Tuesday 17th of November:

Squat: 35kg 3x8
Deadlift: 40kg 3x8
Bench: 37kg 3x10
Reverse curl: 4x15
Swiss ball leg curl: 3x12 (Felt quite awkward, legs kept slipping off, hard to keep balance)
Lunge: 2x15 each leg, holding swiss ball above head
Pressup: 35,23 (disappointed with this, but was last thing I did so might have had something to do with it)
Band pull for shoulders: 2x15


Measurements: Weight 70kg, Waist 33.5".


Diet-wise I still think I'm eating too many carbs. Still struggling a bit here overall. While I'm not eating any junk, I still don't think I'm eating nearly as well as I could be. Going to have to calculate maintanence calories and all that stuff aswell, but still can't figure out how to work out my daily intake without physically weighing the food I'm eating.

Lazyitis

19th of November

Squat 37kg 3x8
Deadlift 41kg 3x8
Crunch(reverse) 2x15
Swiss Ball leg curl 2x15
One arm row 15kg 3x8
Band pull 2x15

20th of November

Squat 37kg 3x8
Deadlift 43kg 3x8
Bench Press 38kg 3x8
Swiss Ball leg curl 2x15
Press up + variations 3x20
Crunch(reverse) 3x20
Crunch 3x20
Foam rolling + stretching

45 minute swim (interval)

21st of November

45 minute swim (interval)


Running out of weight to add for deadlifts so will either have to join a gym or buy more plates

Lazyitis

Monday 23rd of November

Squat 38.5kg 2x8 (No squat rack so don't know how much further I should go with this)
Deadlift 44.5kg 2x8
Bench 38.5kg 2x8
Lunge (with swiss ball overhead) 2x30
Reverse crunch 2x20
One arm row 16kg

Tuesday 24th of November

35 minute swim (interval)

Exhausted after this. Struggle with prolonged swimming, but heart is thumping after a short intense burst so is working well for intervals where I basically need to completely rest for a short while after each one.


Want to look into some more exercises with the exercise bands I got as currently I only know the shoulder stretch one. Also need to start using the swiss ball more cos I'm only doing leg curls(which are very awkward to do).
Was looking at Transform's standards in flexibility vid and I obviously need to stretch a bit more. I currently only meet the standard for the shoulder stretch so a lot of work required, although foam rolling is very painful!

Lazyitis

Wednesday 25th of November

Squat 38.5kg 3x8
Deadlift 44.5kg 3x8
Press up + variations 3x25
One arm row 16kg 3x8
Shoulder stretch(exercise band) 3x15
Reverse crunch 3x20

Foam rolling + stretching

Thursday 26th of November

45 minute swim (interval)


Nothing on Friday or weekend cos of boozing so will have to step it up next week.

Lazyitis

Routine is still quite similiar though weights have increased.
Am currently at the max I can do with the weights available on the deadlift so will have to do something about that. Will post up more details soon.

Weight was 69kg last time I checked and waist is somewhere between 32.5 and 33". Measured it at 32" on a cold day a few days ago so getting close to one of my goals.
Feel my diet is improving aswell so getting there.