Chris's diary

So, they're not counted as reps?! Damn, I'd better go re-think that workout schedule to include some bicep curls then ;)

Today was an EXCELLENT workout!! Chest & triceps is without question my favourite day. Its hard to describe what it feels like to have my shoulder back to normal again - it was such a long, slow process that I was convinced it would never happen! Its like losing one of your favourite things in the world and then finding it again! :)

Had a good steady state cardio session afterwards, about 45mins whilst watching 'hits of the 90s' on some music channel. Great fun :D

Will be cheating tomorrow with beer but then, all workout and no play makes Chris a dull boy ;) Be back on track Monday.
 
1000 posts at long last!!!

By way of celebration for my 1000th post (Yay me! :D ) , I thought I would post up some pictures taken this morning. Please bear in mind that, as I was injured for 6 months, these are BEFORE pictures. I don't like posting pictures but, figured its a good motivator to improve (an also, the best indicator of improvement)

I am currently nowhere near as lean as I would like but the pictures are better than I expected. My diet has only been in place a few days and I'm only really in the early stages of lifting weights again. Will be posting some more pics before xmas hopefully.

So much for today being my rest day......off to do a short HIIT session now ;)
 

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Another Excellent workout today :D It was legs and shoulders. Managed to add a little weight to my squats - I may try to increase in increments of 5kg and see how I get on. Shoulders felt pretty strong to, especially on arnie presses. A good 45minute steady state cardio session to finish off with and still felt pretty good afterwards.

Started up on the creatine again today so, hopefully in a week or so, I will start to notice a difference in endurance.

Awesome cheat last night involving beer & chinese, didn't feel in the least bit guilty after sticking to my nutrition plan last week.

All in all, so far, so good, feeling extremely motivated, more than I can remember being in the past......
 
ChrisJG said:
Another Excellent workout today :D It was legs and shoulders. Managed to add a little weight to my squats - I may try to increase in increments of 5kg and see how I get on. Shoulders felt pretty strong to, especially on arnie presses. A good 45minute steady state cardio session to finish off with and still felt pretty good afterwards.

Started up on the creatine again today so, hopefully in a week or so, I will start to notice a difference in endurance.

Awesome cheat last night involving beer & chinese, didn't feel in the least bit guilty after sticking to my nutrition plan last week.

All in all, so far, so good, feeling extremely motivated, more than I can remember being in the past......
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congrats on the improvement on the Squat---ROCK ON! Chris! :)
 
Thanks Chillen - as soon as I get those spotter things, I should be able to push even harder :)

Last night, just did 45mins moderate intensity intervals.

Got my new dumbbells yesterday so, in total I now have 460kg!! :eek: My rubber floor covering arrived today so, its actually looking more like a gym now than a spare bedroom, lol! I may post some pics later.

Just a dip station (and possibly treadmill) to finish it off and that should be all I need.

People have started commenting on how healthy I look and asking "Have you lost weight?". Always nice to have your hard work acknowledged :D

Back & biceps tonight...
 
Had a good workout today - actually, they all seem to be good lately!!

Another 5kg onto deadlifts and still squeezed out 3 sets of 10. Lower back feels a little sore so, I will probably be feeling it tomorrow! Gave biceps a good workout - a bodypart I've often stuggled with - pushed to failure on every set and even added a couple of sets at the end. Again, I am expecting pain in the morning!! lol

40 mins steady state X trainer to finish off at a moderate intensity.

My gym is becoming a really nice place to workout and is by far my favourite room in the house at the moment. I took a picture of one angle but, it doesn't really tell you what else is there. There is a TV and stereo behind where I'm standing and to the right are my bike and X trainer.
 

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Did nothing last night - no cardio, no weights (finally, a rest day!!) I was supposed to be starting kickboxing but, when I arrived, I found that they had merged the adult & childrens classes because there weren't enough adults attending. Not was I was looking for at all. I shall be searching the internet looking for another local martial arts class tonight. I was hoping to kickbox but, I may have to compromise on that...

I woke up with a painful shoulder (not the one I injured) this morning which concerned me but, it has dissipated now and seems only to be a outer muscular strain so, nothing really to worry about.

Chest & triceps later (my favourites :) )

I'm a little concerned about next week. As its a week's holiday, many plans have been made to meet up with friends and, as it will be my birthday, I am being taken out to dinner on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday!!! Part of me just thinks I should relax and enjoy it without worrying too much about what I'm consuming but, part of me is already feeling guilty!! A friend of mine near to where I'll be staying has a gym so, I will be able to keep up my training for the mostpart, hopefully that will be sufficient for me to relax and enjoy myeslf the rest of the time!!
 
Strange workout today. Chest & triceps is a firm favourite and yet, for some reason, my heart wasn't really in it. My weights are gradually increasing to where they were before my injury and I definitly made progress but, didn't really enjoy it as much as usual. Cardio was ok, 40 mins moderate intervals. Will be back to HIIT tomorrow and may even consider some fasted cardio in the morning as I'm not working until 10 so, I can leave breakfast until 8am.

I am going to break my rule in the morning and I'm going to weigh myself and take a bf% reading. Not because I'vew changed my mind about using my reflection to monitor progress but, I want to be able to quantify how much or how little of a setback next week turns out to be.

Still in 2 minds about it - part of me can't wait to relax and enjoy myself and part of me doesn't feel that 3 weeks is sufficient to have earned this kind of blow out! Ah well, life is too short to dwell on it I suppose....
 
What a week!

Well, last week was a bit of a mixed bag as far as training was concerned. When I stayed at my friends with the gym, I got in a good chest & triceps workout. He has a powertec workbench leverage system which I was very impressed with. I also got to use his ex-girlfriend's treadmill (which I've now agreed to buy from her, collecting next week :D ).

Anyone who has followed this diary from the start will remember my history with shinsplints. Well, the inserts I bought seem to have done the trick so, cross training my cardio will now be easier with 3 readily available excercises. The powertec workbench will have to wait as they're quite expensive and my car is due a service this month (which reminds me, I must get that booked!)

I used my dumbbells last Thursday and did the best back & biceps workout I could manage in my parents spare bedroom. Then did about 20 mins skipping with a few fast sprints up and down their garden. Improvisation at its finest ;)

On Saturday (my actual birthday) I decided to go out for a run. I was staying with my sister and they live in deepest, darkest Wales - I've never seen hills like these, they were never ending!! More like mountains if you ask me!! Only managed about 30 mins but, they were 30 very, very hard minutes!!

Sunday was a rest day and yesterday was legs and shoulders. Nice dull ache in my quads today :). Did a bit of HIIT earlier - about 30 mins including warm up and cooldown. Felt a bit sick half way but, managed to push through.

Nutritionwise, last week was a bit of a disaster. I managed to keep my protien intake up and tried to stay hydrated and eat every 3 hrs where I could but, the evenings invariably involved restaraunt food and an unhealthy (although enjoyable) quantity of alcohol!!!! ;)

I think I managed to maintain (if I'm being optimistic!) and have found it very easy to settle straight back into the routine although, I sometimes feel that work gets in the way! lol

Worst thing about the whole thing is that I have a jar of home-made fudge which my 4 yr old neice made me for my birthday. I couldn't possibly throw it away but, I can't very well eat it! I may allow myself a chuck or two on Saturday and then give it away as a gift! lol
 
Do you ever have days when you can't wait to get in the gym to relieve some of the agression that has built up through having a really, really, really, really bad day?!!!

Well, today is one of those days!!

(Should be a good workout tonight then!)
 
Interesting workout - pushed a little too hard and failed with no spotter on incline presses! Managed to get out of my predicament without too much trouble but, will need to be careful in future.

Other than that, excellent workout. 30mins cardio and added a few excercises. Will hurt in the morning!
 
Short but sweet cardio today - 25mins HIIT on the bike. 5 mins warmup, 15 mins intervals, 5 mins cooldown.

I always feel guilty when I do HIIT that I don't workout for longer but, its all about intensity. I really must try to push myself harder as I'm still only training on 1:3 ratio high intensity:recovery. I will gradually work towards 1:2 over the coming weeks.

Still using the mirror to assess progress and, whilst the mirror is being kind generally, I still struggle not to be able to quantify my progress. I'll be taking some more photos in a week or two which will hopefully be sufficient to keep my motivation levels high.

Will also be changing my routine in the next couple of weeks. Its been ab out 4 weeks now so, time to mix things up a bit :)
 
Todays workout (back & biceps) was another good one. Again, my deadlift weight has increased and I felt I kept pretty good form. Concentrated hard on the torso area and could really feel those stabilising muscles at work :)

Biceps have always been a struggle - they just never seem to gain a huge amount of strength. Tried some drop sets today, to the point where I was failing dumbbell curls with only 5kg!! lol - hurt a lot so, will hopefully see some increase in strength next time around.

Shrugs were a pain as my left hand grip was not strong enough to keep a hold of the dumbbell for the 3rd set. I've had this problem before and must work on my grip a little. This almost became a problem on deadlifts but, as they were at the beginning of the workout, my grip held.

Cardio was about 40mins of 5 min moderate intervals between levels 6 & 8 on the bike (max is 10). Although was quite bored with the music channel I'd selected - haha.

I'm pleased that I'll be changing things up soon, I feel its time.

Tomorrow I'm planning a total rest day. I've already bought my steak and beer (Saturday evening treat :D ). I do struggle to completely rest sometimes but, I shall go on a nice long run on Sunday morning to make up for it.
 
ChrisJG said:
Todays workout (back & biceps) was another good one. Again, my deadlift weight has increased and I felt I kept pretty good form. Concentrated hard on the torso area and could really feel those stabilising muscles at work :)

Biceps have always been a struggle - they just never seem to gain a huge amount of strength. Tried some drop sets today, to the point where I was failing dumbbell curls with only 5kg!! lol - hurt a lot so, will hopefully see some increase in strength next time around.

Shrugs were a pain as my left hand grip was not strong enough to keep a hold of the dumbbell for the 3rd set. I've had this problem before and must work on my grip a little. This almost became a problem on deadlifts but, as they were at the beginning of the workout, my grip held.

Cardio was about 40mins of 5 min moderate intervals between levels 6 & 8 on the bike (max is 10). Although was quite bored with the music channel I'd selected - haha.

I'm pleased that I'll be changing things up soon, I feel its time.

Tomorrow I'm planning a total rest day. I've already bought my steak and beer (Saturday evening treat :D ). I do struggle to completely rest sometimes but, I shall go on a nice long run on Sunday morning to make up for it.
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What is the change of plans, Chris? Care to share?

Oh..............ROCK ON!


Ooops........ :)
 
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Not entirely sure what changes yet. I'm considering at the moment buying one of these:-


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If I do get one, then my workout will change considerably and I will also have no problems lifting to failure in total safety. If I decide not to (due to financial constraints) then, I'll just be swapping out some of my excercises for some alternatives to keep things fresh.
 
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I did consider a power cage Stingo, or even some spotter catchers instead but, a friend of mine has the powertec system (above) which I've trained on a few times and I have to say it really is very impressive. The number of excercises you can use it for is incredible for a home gym. I particularly like the arm curl attachment as it forces you to maintain form so, all your effort is concentrating on the right muscles.

I really need to sit down and do some sums...(or get some credit ;) )
 
Did no excercise yesterday whatsoever! I had a lovely chat meal of steak, broccolli and a baked potato. My stomach clearly isn't used to that much food in one go as it made me feel uncomfortably full - still enjoyed it though :) Next week, I think I'll add a cheeky pepper sauce. Relaxed and enjoyed a couple of beers and watched the boxing afterwards.

Got up this morning nad went for a 45min run. I was worried about my shins as I haven't been running on the road since I injured myself training for a marathon almost ten years ago!! I probably ran 50% roads and 50% fields today - I think my knees may feel sore tommorrow.

Nothing more today, legs & shoulders tomorrow.

Oh, and I found a powertec system on ebay for half the retail price. I've put in a respectable bid and I'll know by tomorrow if it has been successful.....wish me luck.
 
Finally, this morning, using the mirror to assess my progress rather than the scales seems to be paying off! I noticed some definition in my stomach that I haven't seen before (or at least, not for long long time!). This really seems to have kickstarted my motivation again. Its little things like this that make all the nutrition & excercise worthwhile. Whilst I still have a long way to go before I achieve my goals and set some new ones, I feel like I'm headed in the right direction and that what I'm doing is effective. :D
 
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