Patt's Training Journal

[Patt]

For the first post, a bit of background:

I am 33 years old, 5'9" tall, and currently weight 250 lbs. I'm a Software developer, so I sit on my ass most days. I maxed out about 3 months ago, and have really been working on my regular diet, and making some changes in that regard. I will also disclose here that I am plagued by an eating disorder, Compulsive Overeating which I am working on too. I have two young daughters (2.5 years old and 3 months old) that I want to be around for a long time for, and as such am making lifestyle changes.

My family has a history of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol.

I have played a ton of sports in my time, with the primaries being basketball, soccer and golf. At my absolute thinnest, I weighed 165 lbs, and at my absolute strongest I weighed about 180. Both of these were almost 15 years ago Since then I have yo-yoed from 190-220, but recently have ballooned due to stress and my aforementioned disorder. My family has recently moved (career upgrade for me), and with that, I have been trying to alter my lifestyle to incorporate several things that are helping me improve all aspects of my health.

I have joined a local gym, and after a couple of weeks of familiarization, and getting back into it, I am doing the Starting Strength program after buying the DVD and the book, and reading countless threads on the subject. I am committing to two months worth of workouts at this stage with the program before I consider altering the programming. I will also be doing yoga on some of my 'off' days to increase/restore flexibility. It helps to have a yoga instructor wife for this angle

I want to build up a basis of muscle originally, to get some balance and to change my body composition. My initial goals are basic: stick to the program for 8 weeks, journal my exercise, and continue the work on my eating habits. I obviously want to weigh less, and look better, but the number on the scale is not important to me at this stage. I am taking pictures, but at this stage will NOT be posting them. I may reconsider this in the future if ... no, WHEN I deem myself successful.

I did try to start a journal right around this time last year here on ATHF, but failed. I had pneumonia shortly after starting, and then started my career and physical move, and never got back on the wagon, and then the second kid was on the way ... excuses excuses. This time, I have a clearly defined program to follow, and some ground rules for myself in terms of the gym, and diet-related issues.

Any and all suggestions, comments, critiques will be welcomed.

EDIT: Initial Goals

Weights/Exercises (initial 8 week program) by June 5th, 2009:
Squat 250 OH Press 150
Bench 160 Power Clean 150
DeadLift 265 Chinups 5, Pullups 5

Journaling (ongoing):
ATHF training thread
Daily FitDay food tracking
Weekly Photo journal

 

[Patt]

Measurements (as of 05-Apr-2009):

BMI: 34.1 --> Obese class I (determined here). Note: due to my build, and past experiences, I expect my BMI to be high because of my frame, but it is still obviously too high at this point.

[*]Neck (around Adam's apple): 17.5"
[*]Chest (around nipples): 47"
[*]Shoulders (center to center around back): 25"
[*]Biceps (mid-point): 13 1/2"
[*]Love Handles (around bellybutton): 45"
[*]Waist (where jeans sit): 39 3/4"
[*]Butt (mid-cheek): 44"
[*]Thigh (mid-point): 25 1/4"
[*]Calf (mid-point): 16 1/2"

Blood Pressure: taken daily, averaging about 138/87

 

[Patt]

First Workout - 05-Apr-2009

Warmup:
15 minute bike ride (normally commute time to gym). Rode stationary bike this time as I drove to the gym.

Back Squats:
2x5 - Bar
1x5 - 55 lbs
1x3 - 85 lbs
1x2 - 105 lbs
3x5 (work sets) - 135 lbs

My legs have always been strong, so these weren't exactly maxing me out. I previously did some squats to almost failure, and dialed back about 20% so that I could get used to the proper form for all exercises. Definitely wasn't difficult, but at the same time, I certainly feel some DOMS coming on already 24 hours later.

Bench Press:
2x5 - Bar
1x5 - Bar
1x3 - 65 lbs
1x2 - 85 lbs
3x5 (work sets) - 105 lbs

I've always been too pussy to use the barbell to bench. My chest has always been horribly weak compared to the rest of my body, and prior work has mainly been using dumbells. I'm looking forward to having this be more in balance with the rest of my body.

Deadlift:
2x5 - 65 lbs
1x3 - 95 lbs
1x2 - 130 lbs
1x5 (work set) - 155 lbs

I've never deadlifted regularly before (or anything really ), so I'm looking forward to this, and have so far been enjoying it. Will update the Deadlift thread with my minimal contributions.

Stretching:
10 minutes - full body

Summary:
So much better having something planned out in advance. Even though I'm not terribly comfortable in the gym, especially doing some of the exercises, I was so much happier in there than I ever have been before. I feel like I have purpose, and direction, so I look forward to getting deeper into the program.

I'm a little concerned about the exercises in the next workout as I've only ever done them a few times (press and power clean with the barbell). Fortunately, I'm starting out with pretty light weights, and don't have an ego that way, so I hope to just get the form down in the next little while. I'm glad the journey has begun again.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Welcome to the group of journal junkies. Glad to see you're finally doing something about your health The excuses are in the past so let's keep 'em there. Best of luck. If you need anything or have questions, feel free to ask.

 

[brikis98]

Welcome and congrats on starting. Your plan looks solid overall - I especially like how you're doing it one part at a time and taking things gradually - but if you have questions, ask. The only thing I'd recommend at this point is to set some concrete goals. Goals like "build a base of muscle", "get toned" and so on are not useful because it's hard to measure progress towards them. Instead, include some concrete values to aim for, such as "I want to lower my bf% by X% in the next Y months" or "I want to squat X pounds by date Y." I find that having concrete targets of this sort totally changes your approach: workouts become training and eating right becomes a fun challenge. The desire to hit your numbers - even if they are fairly arbitrary - becomes an awesome motivation. Moreover, posting your goals here and telling your friends/family about it also gives you some accountability. If you see that you're slipping to achieve some number, you'll bust your ass all that much harder so that you can tell everyone you achieved it.

 

[Patt]

Originally posted by: brikis98
Welcome and congrats on starting. Your plan looks solid overall - I especially like how you're doing it one part at a time and taking things gradually - but if you have questions, ask. The only thing I'd recommend at this point is to set some concrete goals. Goals like "build a base of muscle", "get toned" and so on are not useful because it's hard to measure progress towards them. Instead, include some concrete values to aim for, such as "I want to lower my bf% by X% in the next Y months" or "I want to squat X pounds by date Y." I find that having concrete targets of this sort totally changes your approach: workouts become training and eating right becomes a fun challenge. The desire to hit your numbers - even if they are fairly arbitrary - becomes an awesome motivation. Moreover, posting your goals here and telling your friends/family about it also gives you some accountability. If you see that you're slipping to achieve some number, you'll bust your ass all that much harder so that you can tell everyone you achieved it.

Yeah ... I'll have to do some thinking about that. I guess I'm not sure right now what is realistic in terms of an actual goal. I don't have an actual BF% measure right now, and no real way to easily get that in the short term. Obviously, that is a goal though, so I should figure that out.

I'm going to set some weight goals ... but I do have to sit down and actually work them out. I think initially I've got a Starting Strength calculator MS Excel document, and I'll work within the parameters on there before branching out into something more. Thanks for the notes.

 

[Patt]

OP updated with initial goals.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: Patt
EDIT: Initial Goals

Weights/Exercises (initial 8 week program) by June 5th, 2009:
Squat 250 OH Press 150
Bench 160 Power Clean 150
DeadLift 265 Chinups 5, Pullups 5

Weight: <200 lbs by August 24th (daughter's 3rd birthday)

Nice. Now you have something very concrete to shoot for, so get to it

BTW, I suspect you may have to tweak some of these goals once you get more familiar with the exercises. In particular, most people find that the deadlift goes up a good bit higher than the squat and the bench & power clean are a good bit higher than their OH press. Anyways, you'll figure it out as you go along. Good luck.

 

[Patt]

Second Workout - 07-Apr-2009

Warmup:
10 minute bike ride to the gym.

Back Squats:
2x5 - Bar
1x5 - 55 lbs
1x3 - 95 lbs
1x2 - 115 lbs
3x5 (work sets) - 140 lbs

Felt pretty good doing the squats, I'm comfortable with this exercise, and know I could probably push to do a bit more. I'm trying to follow the progression though at the moment. Might eventually try to increase the weights in larger increments, but I'm still working on form too.

OH Press:
2x5 - Bar
1x5 - 50 lbs
1x3 - 65 lbs
1x2 - 75 lbs
1x5 (work set) - 85 lbs
2x4 (work sets) - 85 lbs

Felt horribly weak doing this exercise. My shoulders have always been kind of behind the curve, and I certainly felt them whining. Had some issues with holding proper posture too, the tendency being to arch my back. Dropped the weight from a planned 95 lbs to work on the form a bit more.

Power Clean
2x5 - Bar
1x5 - 50 lbs
1x3 - 65 lbs
1x2 - 80 lbs
3x5 - 90 lbs

Although I have practiced, and watched the SS DVD and read the book, I still struggled once I put weight onto the bar. It really felt like I was just heaving the bar up with my arms. I believe I understand how to do the exercise, but when I actually tried to do so it didn't work well. Hopefully I can get comfortable with it over the next few weeks. I'm planning on doing some bar practice at home just to ensure I have the form down before I load it up with any more weight.

Stretching and cool down:
10 minutes full body
10 minute bike ride home.

Summary:
Although two of the three primary exercises I did felt really awkward, I'm glad I have a program to follow. The structure that I have planned out just doesn't give me the excuse to quit early.

Also started a FitDay account, and tracked yesterday's intake:
2533 calories, 22% fat, 17% protein, 61% carbs

This is less calories than I normally eat, and I felt great, (and full) all day, and only had half the amount of Chicken Curry that would normally eat at dinner. I'm really focussing on sensible portion sizes.

Need to get to the gym early in the morning though, as I HATE it when it is really busy.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: Patt
Also started a FitDay account, and tracked yesterday's intake:
2533 calories, 22% fat, 17% protein, 61% carbs

This is less calories than I normally eat, and I felt great, (and full) all day, and only had half the amount of Chicken Curry that would normally eat at dinner. I'm really focussing on sensible portion sizes.

It's good that you're reducing your caloric intake, but you seem to be eating a worryingly large amount of carbs and very little protein. By my math, .17 * 2533 = 430 calories from protein. There are 4 calories in a gram of protein, so that equates to about 108 grams of protein for the entire day. In general, an average male doing weight training should be getting ~1g of protein per pound of lean body mass (LBM). If you're also trying to lose weight, your protein requirements are even higher - up to ~1g per pound of bodyweight - to ensure you don't lose muscle mass. If you weigh 231lbs, 108g of protein is WAY too little. You risk slowing your progress in weight lifting and losing muscle mass because of dieting. I highly recommend upping your intake to ~200g per day, if not more.

 

[Patt]

Originally posted by: brikis98
It's good that you're reducing your caloric intake, but you seem to be eating a worryingly large amount of carbs and very little protein. By my math, .17 * 2533 = 430 calories from protein. There are 4 calories in a gram of protein, so that equates to about 108 grams of protein for the entire day. In general, an average male doing weight training should be getting ~1g of protein per pound of lean body mass (LBM). If you're also trying to lose weight, your protein requirements are even higher - up to ~1g per pound of bodyweight - to ensure you don't lose muscle mass. If you weigh 231lbs, 108g of protein is WAY too little. You risk slowing your progress in weight lifting and losing muscle mass because of dieting. I highly recommend upping your intake to ~200g per day, if not more.

Thanks for the comments.

Just to reiterate, I'm not actually dieting ... that was just a better portion-size day I am going to be trying to balance things out better, and my task for today is to head out and pick up a protein supplement from the local store. Any suggestions on a brand or composition? I have never used any supplements before, and I do want to encourage the muscle growth as much as possible, but without going crazy on that end.

I do currently weigh around 230 ... but that certainly isn't where I should be. My goal is to not 'diet' per-se, but to become aware of what I'm powering myself with, and trying to ensure that a balance is met. Most of the carbs were in the form of fruit, and bread yesterday.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: Patt
Thanks for the comments.

Just to reiterate, I'm not actually dieting ... that was just a better portion-size day I am going to be trying to balance things out better, and my task for today is to head out and pick up a protein supplement from the local store. Any suggestions on a brand or composition? I have never used any supplements before, and I do want to encourage the muscle growth as much as possible, but without going crazy on that end.

I do currently weigh around 230 ... but that certainly isn't where I should be. My goal is to not 'diet' per-se, but to become aware of what I'm powering myself with, and trying to ensure that a balance is met. Most of the carbs were in the form of fruit, and bread yesterday.

Even if you're not dieting, you still need more protein. Protein supplements are a good way to do it, although the vast majority of your nutrition should come from whole foods. Work on increasing your protein intake from your normal diet first and only when you have that figured out, move onto supplements.

In terms of which one, you'll hear lots of different opinions. My personal favorite is Syntrax Nectar Chocolate Truffle - it's expensive, but IMO, worth it. It's a very high quality whey protein isolate, dissolves easily with stirring/shaking (no blender needed), has no unnecessary ingredients (it's basically pure protein, no carbs or fat), and is absolutely delicious. Mixed it with some milk and it tastes exactly like a milk shake. The other generally recommended one is Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey. It's cheaper and more widely available, although it's slightly less pure and, IMO, doesn't taste quite as good. You can't go wrong with either one though.

 

[Patt]

Today was a basketball day ... played for about 1 hour and 45 minutes tonight. Pretty good run, though my heels are really sore from slipping in the shoes (need some new ones), and I had one instance of knee-on-knee contact that I can still feel. I'm going to try to get the workout done tomorrow during my lunch break.

Made a specific effort to get more protein today:

2400 calories, 21% fat, 24% protein, 55% carbs

 

[Patt]

Don't know how my post got screwed up, but this was for my third workout.

Ratherh than re-do it ... I'll just continue with today's 4th workout.

 

[Patt]

Fourth Workout - 13-Apr-2009

Warmup:
10 minute bike ride to the gym.

Back Squats:
2x5 - Bar
1x5 - 65 lbs
1x3 - 95 lbs
1x2 - 120 lbs
3x5 (work sets) - 150 lbs

Legs felt it a bit more at the end of the 3rd work set today, but all in all still feel like I could probably push this a bit higher. Won't though ... yet.

OH Press:
3x5 - Bar
1x5 - 55 lbs
1x3 - 65 lbs
3x5 (work sets) - 75 lbs

Dropped the weight on this from last time to work a bit more on form. I still shudder at the weakness in my shoulders doing this exercise, so hopefully that'll round into shape before too long.

Power Clean
3x5 - Bar
1x3 - 55 lbs
1x2 - 65 lbs
3x5 (work sets) - 80 lbs

Still feel goofy, and un-coordinated. Almost feel like I'm using my head and neck to 'throw' the bar upwards. Tried to slow things down, and still ... need to work on this.

Stretching and cool down:
10 minutes full body
10 minute bike ride back to work.

Summary:
Tried to be proactive this morning and get up early and go to the gym. Woke up at 5:55, and trundled my way out the door. Rode my bike to the gym, only to realize the damn place wasn't open normal hours because of 'Easter Holiday Monday'. Last I checked that was only a federal holiday ... anyway, went into work early instead. Then dropped out of work at about 11:00 to go and the gym was the busiest I've seen.

Took me about 50 minutes to get everything done, and now I'm back at work.

 

[Patt]

Weighed myself at the gym yesterday, and realized my home scale looks to be about 20 lbs off reality. I'm at 246 now, and my home scale is in the trash. I'm a bit bummed, but realize that no matter what, I have to use that knowledge as motivation. In the past, this would have put me into a bad spiral, but admitting it here, and continuing to try to dedicate myself to the new program is what I need to do.

I know I have to get away from the numbers on the scale, but all yesterday I was referring to myself as a fat bastard after that realization. I need to look at the positives, which is that I've probably lost 5 lbs in the last couple of weeks, even if it was from a higher starting point. OP updated with adjusted weight.

 

[Patt]

Fifth Workout - 15-Apr-2009

Managed to make it to the gym before work this morning, and it was great. The ride into the gym was great, and there was only one other guy there for most of my workout.

Warmup:
15 minute bike ride.

Back Squats:
2x5 - Bar
1x5 - 55 lbs
1x3 - 95 lbs
1x2 - 120 lbs
3x5 (work sets) - 155 lbs

Left knee was a bit tender while warming up ... played some soccer last night, so maybe just a remnant of that. By the time I got to the work sets it felt good.

Bench Press:
2x5 - Bar
1x5 - 55 lbs
1x3 - 75 lbs
1x2 - 95 lbs
3x5 (work sets) - 115 lbs

Felt actually fairly easy compared to the last time. Mostly better technique I imagine.

Deadlift:
2x5 - 65 lbs
1x3 - 95 lbs
1x2 - 135 lbs
1x5 (work set) - 175 lbs

Felt good ... could certainly do a bit more in terms of the weight, but am trying to remind myself that I'm working on a progression. Checked the form regularly in the mirrors and I'm doing pretty well.

Stretching:
10 minutes - full body

Need to write up a bit of a progression so I can follow through to ensure that I'm doing everything I want to do. Fortunately, my wife is a yoga instructor, so I'll have her put together a bit of a program for me. Only issue is that there is no where in the gym that is really designed for just stretching. Certainly not as nice as some of the places I've worked out.

Summary:
Getting to the gym in the morning should be priority. So much easier to get into it for me, and nice to 'have it done with' so I can spend more time later with my family at home. I don't have issues waking up in the morning, so I'm going to try to keep that as regular as possible. I was still 30 minutes early for work today even with a 60 minute workout starting at 6:00 a.m.

 

[Patt]

Sixth Workout - 17-Apr-2009

No one else was in the gym at 6:00 AM this morning. I love that. They filtered in dribs and drabs after that, but for 30 minutes at least, the place was quiet but for whatever I was doing. It has been a pretty busy week exercise-wise for me. Monday workout, Tuesday soccer game, Wednesday workout and 90 minutes of basketball, Thursday not much, and Friday workout. Feels like I'm getting back in the groove. And I've just booked myself a regular Thursday squash game starting next week.

Warmup:
10 minute bike ride.

Back Squats:
2x5 - Bar
1x5 - 65 lbs
1x3 - 95 lbs
1x2 - 135 lbs
3x5 (work sets) - 160 lbs

Warmups felt good, focussing on form. Once I got to the work sets, they were a touch more difficult than the last few times, so I appreciated the workload.

Standing Press:
2x5 - Bar
1x5 - 50 lbs
1x3 - 60 lbs
1x2 - 70 lbs
3x5 (work sets) - 80 lbs

I've decided that this is my least favourite of the exercises. But when I'm done, it feels good, and I like to push myself, so my wimpy shoulders and upper back are thanking me.

Power Clean:
3x5 - Bar
1x3 - 55 lbs
1x2 - 65 lbs
3x5 (work sets) - 85 lbs

Felt a bit better with the form today, didn't feel so uncoordinated, or that I was simply pulling all the weight with my arms.

Stretching:
10 minutes - full body

Summary:
Again the early morning gym trip was good ... waking up was easy, and once the blood was flowing after my ride to the gym, I felt pretty decent. I feel good now, I just wish I didn't have to sit behind this computer for the next 8.5 hours

 

[gramboh]

Glad to hear things are going well and good on you for making the commitment to change. Couple comments:

1) OH press is a bitch to progress in, don't feel discouraged that it is challenging. If your gym has 2.5lbs plates (they appear to?), increment your exercise in that range. My gym has 1.25lbs so when I was doing SS I would move up in 2.5lbs jumps on the OH press once I got near my limit. It took me about 7 months to go from around 100lbs 5 rep max to 170lbs 1 rep max, but just keep at it, it's great for improving shoulder strength and function (which is great for preventing injuries in sports).

2) Power cleans, do a lot of practice with just the bar, like 5 sets of 3 reps with just the bar every time you do it (or practice after lifting so you don't use too much energy). This one takes literally years of training to master technique, but in a few months you can get relatively competent with self teaching. I recommend the Mike Burgener warm-up prior to your worksets (will help you get past early arm-pulling and focus on triple extension of the ankles, knees, hips, jumping the bar up):

http://library.crossfit.com/fr...06_Burgener_Warmup.pdf

also

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67oV26VJUzo

Note the athlete is doing it with a wide (snatch) grip, you can do it with a clean grip as well. I find it easier with the snatch grip to focus on not arm pulling.

 

[Patt]

Thanks gramboh ... I'll check those links out. Did you get out skiing to Powder King this year? I used to live in Peace River, Alberta which was about a 4 hour drive to get to PK, and I loved that place. Now I'm on Vancouver Island, and didn't ski at all this past year.

 

[gramboh]

Originally posted by: Patt
Thanks gramboh ... I'll check those links out. Did you get out skiing to Powder King this year? I used to live in Peace River, Alberta which was about a 4 hour drive to get to PK, and I loved that place. Now I'm on Vancouver Island, and didn't ski at all this past year.

I got up to PK 4 or 5 times only this year, but every time I went I was skiing untracked powder all day off skier's right of the T-bar. Had my best day of the season there actually, 10 runs top to bottom from 9-3pm every single turn knee to thigh deep low density powder (air temp about -10c so it was nice and dry), sooo much fun. This is actually my first year in PG, moved here in September from Calgary (GF is going to UNBC). Hopefully we will end up in Vancouver in fall 2010 because I want to be closer to Whistler .

 

[Patt]

Seventh Workout - 20-Apr-2009

Early morning session (started at 6:00).

Warmup:
10 minute bike ride.

Back Squats:
2x5 - Bar
1x5 - 65 lbs
1x3 - 95 lbs
1x2 - 135 lbs
3x5 (work sets) - 165 lbs

Bench Press:
2x5 - Bar
1x5 - 65 lbs
1x3 - 85 lbs
1x2 - 105 lbs
3x5 (work sets) - 120 lbs

Deadlift:
2x5 - 70 lbs
1x3 - 115 lbs
1x2 - 155 lbs
1x5 (work set) - 185 lbs

Stretching:
10 minutes - full body

Summary:
Gorgeous day ... easy to ride to the gym, tough to ride to work and go inside. Fortunately I went for a walk at lunch with the wife and kids down by the water, so it made a nice break for the day. I am enjoying my work at the gym ... for the first time, this seems sustainable. I like having concrete goals, and a program to follow for a while that I am able to progress in.

Ate kind of crappy over the weekend, so need to work on that a bit, but during the week I've been doing really well, keeping the fats moderate, the carbs moderate and the protein relatively high to my normal diet.

It has only been two weeks, but I certainly have more energy, and can see more musculatre in the legs. My back feels great, and I am so motivated to continue. Usually by around the two week mark of something like this I'm bored, and feeling like I need a change. Planning works ... need to remind myself of that regularly.

 

[brikis98]

Congrats on your progress dude. Keep challenging yourself and you'd be amazed at what you can achieve.

 

[gramboh]

The best thing about this program, which I think you are seeing already, is having a very rigid program to follow with measurable improvements happening all the time on each exercise, plus the emphasis on form. The program works because of the principle of progressive overload which is the most effective protocol for people new to weight training.

 

[Patt]

I went out yesterday for a round of golf (used some banked work time) because it was so beautiful outside. I felt pretty good and limber warming up, and was curious to see how the approximately 15 lbs I've recently lost, and the newfound strength were going to help me.

I was absolutely horrible. Instead of my normal slice swing, I was hooking everything. I honestly believe that my body is in much better balance right now, and the tendencies that I had developed over the last few years while being quite fat didn't work anymore because of the increase flexibility and strength balance that I had. By about the 11th hole I had figured some things out, and I started swinging the club more beautifully than I have in a long, long time. I probably hit 7 or 8 of the best shots I've hit in the last 5 years. Can't wait to get out again.

I can't believe the difference already. I think I'm going to do some measurements tonight to have some official tracking done ... but I feel so much better already.