Darth Pooh, Sith Lord of the Honey Pot

Well today is the day.

2200 calories and an entirely new routine at the gym. Excited and nervous all rolled into one. Today is an upper split with emphasis on the back and pull...

Weighed in this weekend at 173 and 12% BF.

So, I guess I'll report back in later today... oh I'll also update with my surgical consult about the excessive skin removal. Interesting stuff.
 
Well today is the day.

2200 calories and an entirely new routine at the gym. Excited and nervous all rolled into one. Today is an upper split with emphasis on the back and pull...

Weighed in this weekend at 173 and 12% BF.

So, I guess I'll report back in later today... oh I'll also update with my surgical consult about the excessive skin removal. Interesting stuff.

Good Luck Keith - I can't wait to hear how it goes...

Definately interested in the consult stuff, also :)
 

Hey, you're the one who brought this thread back to life! Besides, I wanted to be at 10% before I really started my bulk ;)

Good Luck Keith - I can't wait to hear how it goes...

Definately interested in the consult stuff, also :)

Well, the consult was interesting. The doctor told me I would need a FULL (not a mini like my primary thought) Tummy tuck, but without the lipo or muscle cutting.

He showed me what exactly would happen with the cuts and where they would take place. He stated that there recovery pretty much sucks (drain bags and the support girdle I would need to have). He was shocked at how my chest, arms and back looked considering how much I lost.

He explained how it is just skin on me... and he pretty much nailed (just by looking at me, without measurements) that I was 12% bf. I was impressed by that.

This won't be covered under insurance because the insurance company sees the potential treatment of rashes and irritation from loose skin to be cheaper than the cost of this surgery. It's a dollars game to them... total bill for me would be $6,000. I am going to get a second opinion and wait it out for about six months. I couldn't even have it now because my wedding is coming up in July, then I go on my Honeymoon in August, school starts in September, and the first time off really is in December for Holiday break. I also came to the decision that if everything else snapped back nicely, maybe the skin will too... just have to give it more time (which obviously I will be doing regardless). I hope that the bulk helps out with filling muscle in, to make the loose skin seem less drastic as well (I can only really hope for 2-3 lbs of muscle a month, even with the BEST conditions and circumstances).
 
First day of my new routine looked like this:

Opened up with 5 minutes of light exercise bike, get the heart rate / temp up slightly.

-Pull ups - 5 x 5 with 25 lb dumbbell added on (very cool little exercise).
-Barbell rows - 3 x 8 @ 85 lbs. made a note on my sheet to up the weight to 95 next Monday.
-Dumbbell Flyes - 3 x 8 @ 40lbs each. I could probably do 45's but I might lose some form on them. I might stick with the 40's for next week.
-Cable Row - 2 x 20 @ 70. Felt a good burn with these, must have been the high reps.
-Preacher Curls - 5 x 5 @ 70 lbs. 75 lbs next week?
-Barbell Curls - 5 x 5 @ 55 lbs. Did this with a straight bar. I saw veins in my arms I've never seen today. Shocked the hell out of me.
-Kickbacks - 3 x 8 @ 15 lbs. Moved up to 20's in the 2nd and 3rd set. Going to go with that again next week.
-Skull Crushers - 3 x 8 @ 20 lbs. 25's next week.

Did some foam rolling... had a few questions asked about that. People don't know what it is and are intrigued.

Steam room for 10 minutes... allergies are killing me today. Had to clear em out.

All in all... good workout. Interesting to change things up after a solid year of the same routine... I think this will help me attain the muscle I am looking for. I really would like to increase my size a bit in the arm area.

Got 2200 calories in today. Not sure exactly how that will progress as I am trying to find the sweet spot of WT and calorie intake. I don't know if I will get above 2500 calories due to my body type and genetics.
 
So today is a Lower day... with emphasis on squats.

This requires me to go down into the "pit" of my gym to where the juicers hang.

Not going to be fun... and it's a smaller area too. So, there is waiting that needs to be done for equipment to open up.

I'll post my weights later on.

-Full Squat - 5 x 5 @ 105 lbs. I had really good form on these today.
-Unilateral Leg Press - - 3 x 8-10 @ 0 lbs. I am not sure what the machine (doesn't do unilateral, had to use one leg) is at "dry" weight. I put on 50 lbs, and almost crushed my pelvis. Didn't think it would be that heavy. I should have gone to 20 lbs, but next week it is.
-Leg Press Calves - 6 x 8 @ 180 lbs.
-Planks - 2 sets of fronts, left, and right sides @ 30 seconds each.
-Leg Lifts - 2 sets of 20.
-Sit-up w/ 25 lb. plate - 2 sets of 20.

Allergies are KILLING me today. I need to pick up some Claratin D or something... this is bad shit.
 
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Edited my above post to reflect my workout today.

I also did about 35-40 minutes of a decent paced jog. Maybe 5-6 miles per hour. So, in order to offset the caloric burn from that, I took in 2400 calories today (200 above my set 2200). I am not sure if that is what I should have done, but I'd rather do it today with WT and CV than do it tomorrow which is a rest day. Ah, a rest day on a Wednesday... I don't know what I am going to do with myself :) Maybe get the car inspected or something...

Tomorrow is back to a 2200 calorie day...

Oh yeah... working out in the pit wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I had to wait about 5 minutes or so after my sets of Squats for the press machine, but then I was on it myself for about 15 minutes with uni's and calves.

Couple of juicers in there, but some other guys were fairly good guys... one doode was doing dead lifts off of a stepper to give him some distance from the ground, and he had an interesting grip, one forward and one reverse. I asked him about it and he said he saw the guys who were training for the movie 300 used a grip like that with higher weights to control the lift better. I know I won't need that type of grip come Friday's workout, but it's good to know about. Another guy asked me about the squats and I said I haven't done a full squat in about 4-5 years, so I might be rusty, and he said it was REALLY good form. He said he's been doing them for a while and it helped improve his core strength a ton. Good to know...
 
one doode was doing dead lifts off of a stepper to give him some distance from the ground, and he had an interesting grip, one forward and one reverse.

Ive seen in a lot of books and magazine articles the suggestion to do a deadlift off a step - definitely ups the challenge on it...

nice kudos on the goodform comment on your squats...
 
one doode was doing dead lifts off of a stepper to give him some distance from the ground,

People who feel the need to do this usually have piss poor form, as in they're not activating their glutes and hamstrings by actively pushing their rear rearward.

Instead, they simply bend at the waist and lumbar to 'get depth' thinking that's the point of the exercise.

It's not.

The point is to trigger the glutes and hamstrings.

I don't care what he does. But I don't want you doing that. Plus, he wasn't doing conventional deadlifts, right? He was doing stiff-leg or romanian deadlifts.

and he had an interesting grip, one forward and one reverse. I asked him about it and he said he saw the guys who were training for the movie 300 used a grip like that with higher weights to control the lift better.

I'm actually not a fan of that grip unless I'm nearing max effort lifts.

The alternating grip, which you saw here, reduces the chance of bar-slippage since the bar is rolling forward out of the supinated hand and rearward out of the pronated hand.... they counteract one another.

That said though, when doing most sets, I much prefer a regular pronated grip. Builds grip strength better, doesn't lead to imbalances, etc, etc.

and he said it was REALLY good form.

Good stuff... probably better than most others who lift there.

Juiceheads or not... most people don't squat right.
 
Ive seen in a lot of books and magazine articles the suggestion to do a deadlift off a step - definitely ups the challenge on it...

nice kudos on the goodform comment on your squats...

Yeah, I think the guy was hitting on me tho... :)

I don't care what he does. But I don't want you doing that. Plus, he wasn't doing conventional deadlifts, right? He was doing stiff-leg or romanian deadlifts.

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts - Yep he was doing these.

Barbell Deadlift - I am assuming this is the DL I want to be doing. Btw, this website is a great reference tool if anyone is interested.

I'm actually not a fan of that grip unless I'm nearing max effort lifts.

The alternating grip, which you saw here, reduces the chance of bar-slippage since the bar is rolling forward out of the supinated hand and rearward out of the pronated hand.... they counteract one another.

That said though, when doing most sets, I much prefer a regular pronated grip. Builds grip strength better, doesn't lead to imbalances, etc, etc.

Like I said, I won't need it because I won't be near max efforts... however, I thought it was interesting none the less. I'd prefer to avoid imbalances too... so that's great to know as well. Thanks.



Good stuff... probably better than most others who lift there.

Juiceheads or not... most people don't squat right.

I wanted to avoid the pit at all costs but I am glad I went in. I am going to be very nervous to do split squats come Friday.
 
Barbell Deadlift - I am assuming this is the DL I want to be doing.

Yes. Make sure you watch those videos a few times I gave you with Rippetoe giving instruction on the DL.

Btw, this website is a great reference tool if anyone is interested.

It's a good website. Some of their vids suck, but it certainly gives you an idea. Plus, there's a lot of useful info packed into that site. I've referenced it quite a bit.
 
I've seen that guy before. He gives some decent instruction. But it's all about the queues when it comes to instructing and he leaves out most of the ones Rippetoe states about foot and shoulder positioning. Once you get those right, it's hard to go wrong.

I think most of Rippetoes videos are found on here:



Awesome videos... I've watched most of them... though I'm not much a fan of crossfit in most circumstances.
 
Glad you went in - and they didn't bite now did they? :D or point and giggle either :)

The one guy who was impressed (and hitting on me) asked how long I've been training because I had decent form on a few other things... and I said well this is my first week in a split routine, I usually do full body. He said what is the point of full body, and I told him my goal with it was weight loss... he said you don't seem like the body type to need to lose any weight. I said, Sir, I used to weigh almost 300 lbs. At that point, a few ears perked up and questions came flying from a few different angles... interesting for me.
 
I've seen that guy before. He gives some decent instruction. But it's all about the queues when it comes to instructing and he leaves out most of the ones Rippetoe states about foot and shoulder positioning. Once you get those right, it's hard to go wrong.

I think most of Rippetoes videos are found on here:



Awesome videos... I've watched most of them... though I'm not much a fan of crossfit in most circumstances.


Thank you VM! Going to watch these in a little bit. I peaked at a little bit, he is speaking my language with Geometry. I like it...
 
Excellent video and GREAT point about how half of your foot isn't what you think it is...

I like the set-up at the very end... helps me realize how to get in the perfect position.
 
Yea, that's a dandy of a video. It should be playing on wall televisions in gyms across the country.

Less than 1% of the gym population actually deadlifts, so that's probably an overstatement, lol.
 
Yea, that's a dandy of a video. It should be playing on wall televisions in gyms across the country.

Less than 1% of the gym population actually deadlifts, so that's probably an overstatement, lol.

So, weird question... was eating more calories a smart thing to do on the day I did CV? It says for the 35-40 minutes of jogging at 5 mph, I burned about 350-400 calories. I took in 200 additional calories... not enough to offset the entire CV session but I felt it was reasonable in the sense I should not create a deficit. I could most certainly enjoy eating a few hundred extra calories once or twice a week ;)
 
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