Phil's don't talk about it, DO IT! journal

Saturday Sept. 8th

I love Saturday, no work to get in the way of life! Woke up without an alrarm and leisurely enjoyed a cup of the strongest black coffee ever. A bit of surfing the net and planned todays workout.

Meal 1: All bran, plain yogurt, skim milk, whey, walnuts
Meal 2: Oatmeal, raisins, 1/2 scoop whey, cinnamon


Workout

A bit long today because I asked An(one of the gym staff) to help me with my form on squats. He's a cool guy and pretty built, so I assume he knows what he's doing. Unfortunately, he insisted that I keep the squats weight low, to work on form.... but I did get a lot of help with doing them correctly. I'll get the weights up next time.


Warm-up: 10min stretching and various exercises I used to do before judo, don't know what they're called...

Start - 12:05
Finish - 1:25
(probably 15 min spent talking)

Crunches (incline)
12 unweighted
12 x 10kg / 2 sets
12 x 15kg

Incline dumbell chest press
8 x 90 lbs (2 45s)
8 x 100
4 x 110(f)
7 x 100(f)
>An told me that I had the incline too high to really work the chest well, so lowered the bench to just a slight angle, rested for a minute and did 2 more sets:
8 x 100
8 x 110

Squats
8x60 kg / 4 sets
*Don't laugh at me! This was mainly to get the form down.

Pull ups
8 / 7 (f) / 7 (f) bodyweight

Dips
8 x bodyweight / 4 sets

Dumbell shoulder press
8 x 80 lbs (2 40's)
8 x 70 / 2 sets
8 x 80

(superset)

Frontal raise
8x 50 lbs (2 25's)
8 x 60
8 x 60

Single leg calf raises
12 x 65 lbs - Trying to balance, but still need to use fingertips to brace against wall
10 x 65 / 2 sets - better with balance

Skull crushers
12 x 40
10 x 50 / 2 sets


Overall it felt like a good workout. Not as intense as I like since I spent a good deal of time with An helping me and watching my form on various moves, but I'm sure that'll pay off down the road.


PWO: 1 1/2 tbls honey, 1 scoop whey
Meal 3: Banana and a shake: Banana, strawberries, 1/2 scoop whey, water & ice
 
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Saturday Sept. 8th

Meal 4: Chicken breast, boiled vegs, brown rice

The weekends are where I allow myself two cheat meals. I do this half to have something I've been craving and half to be sociable when out with friends. I did manage to get in a healthy meal 5 at the restaurant, and a reasonable late night meal 6.

Meal 5: Stir fried broccoli and cauliflour with beef, 3 yes 3 beers :eek:
Meal 6: Beef noodle soup

Man, it's just every time I eat out these days, the food tastes so salty...
 
Sunday Sept. 9th

Meal 1: Skim milk, whey, strawberries(blended together), All bran, walnuts, dried apricots

I love this breakfast! 560 cal. of deliciousness
 
Sunday Sept 9th

My meal 2 for today was a Semi-cheat meal at an Indian restaurant. Luckily I talked my friend out of the all-you-can-eat Indian buffet, cuz it's one of my weaknesses and I would just eat and eat. So we went to a normal place where you order off the menu.

Meal 2: Chicken kabab, steamed veg, basmati rice, whole wheat roti
Meal 3: Shake with skim milk, 1/2 scoop whey, dragonfruit
Meal 4: Chicken breast, boiled vegs(green beans, carrots, peas), brown rice, nat PB for dessert
Meal 5: 1/2 scoop whey, nat peanut butter, walnuts

Snacks: Almonds, plums, dried apricots

4 Fish oil sups

Total cal: 2730 (w/meal 2 estimated)

Over lunch my friend said that I'd inspired him to cut out refined sugar, soda, and cakes out of his diet and that he's been doing it for 6 weeks. I couldn't get him to hit the gym. Still, it's something, and it feels good to be a positive influence on a friend. :D

Exercise: fast to moderate Jump rope 30 min, calisthenics 10min - a good sweat
 
""""Over lunch my friend said that I'd inspired him to cut out refined sugar, soda, and cakes out of his diet and that he's been doing it for 6 weeks. I couldn't get him to hit the gym. Still, it's something, and it feels good to be a positive influence on a friend."""""


very nice,,, it is so much more than just about US!!!

FF
 
Mon Sept 10th(payday!)

I received my copy of NROL yesterday and haven't been able to put it down, - it's very well written, interesting, good photos and descriptions. I'm going to get started on it tomorrow with the break-in program. I'm planning to do the break-in 3 x/week for 2 weeks then on to Hypertrophy I.

Today's exercise: fast/moderate jump rope 40 min
 
Monday Sept 10

Grub:

Meal 1: All bran, Skim milk, whey, strawberries, walnuts
Meal 2: Oatmeal, 1/2 scoop whey, walnuts
Meal 3: Egg, egg whites, brown rice, mixed veg
Meal 4: Shake with skim milk, dragonfruit, 1/2 scoop whey, nat pb
Meal 5: Grilled chicken breast, Peas/carrots/green beans, Nat. tahini sauce
Meal 6: Grilled chicken breast, Peas/carrots/green beans, Nat. tahini sauce
Meal 7: 1/2 scoop whey, nat pb

Snacks: Grapefruit, dried apricots, cashews, nat pb

Total cal: 2600 - a little low today
 
Tues Sept 11

I tried an experiment yesterday drinking less coffee. I normally drink 3 big mugs of strong, black coffee - two in the a.m. and one around 3 p.m. That last one gets me going for the afternoon, but sometimes I'm just not very tired at night - especially non-lifting days. So, I've been ending up with like 6 hrs of sleep lately. Not enough. Yesterday I limited the coffee to one mug in the morning and savored it, then switched to green tea for the rest of the day. I know the green tea still has caffeine, but much less. Plus I always 'feel healthy' drinking it, even if it's just a placebo. Anyway, I was out like a light by 10:30 last night and woke up 5 min before my alarm at 6, feeling good.

Looking forward to beginning my NROL training thins afternoon!!
 

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Tues Sept 11

Did the first day of NROL. Break-in program, day 'A'

Workout 1

NROL warm up: 10 mins.

1:05 - 1:35
60sec rest btwn sets, tempo 311

Squat
15 x 82 kg(incl bar)
15 x 82 kg

-superset w/full rest-

Static lunge w/barbell
15(each side) x 52 kg
15(each side) x 52 kg

Two point dumbell row w/elbow out
15 x 35 lbs
15 x 45 lbs

-superset w/full rest-

push up
2 sets of 15

swiss ball crunch
2 sets of 20

*my gym uses kg for barbell weights and lbs for dumbells

It was a really short workout, but I was dripping with sweat right from the beginning with the squat/lunge supersets. I'm still not very confident with my form or the amount of weight i should be using on either of those. I find it hard to pay attention to my feet, knees, hips, back, shoulders, reps, speed, etc all at once...Well i guess that's called coordination! I had never done the swiss ball before and my abs were killing me for about 10 mins afterwards, even from just the 40 crunches.

Have been feeling a bit fat the last few days. I might lower cals down to 2500 until I get into the Hypertrophy I program

Meals:

Meal 1: All bran, whey, skim milk, strawberries, walnuts
Meal 2: Oatmeal, 1/2 scoop whey, walnuts
Meal 3: Oatmeal, 1/2 scoop whey, almonds
PWO: Whey, 1.5 tbls honey, water
Meal 4: Shake with Whey, banana, strawberries, water
Meal 5: Chicken breast, broad beans, brown rice, olive oil
Meal 6: Chicken breast, carrots/green beans/peas, nat. pb for desert
Meal 7: 1/2 scoop whey, nat. PB

Snacks: Grapefruit, cashew butter, dried apricots, mangosteens

Total cals: 2650

This was day 2 of one coffee limit. I stuck to green tea in the afternoon, and again I slept great last night(except for dreaming about squats!).
 
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Thurs Sept 13

Too tired last night to enter food. The reduction in coffee seems to be working, out like a light last night and got a full 8 hrs sleep. I woke up extra hungry this morning. Still feeling Tuesday's workout especially legs and glutes which surprises me cuz it was only 30 mins.


Grub for Wednsday: Day off, no workout

Meal 1: All-bran, skim milk, whey, strawberries, walnuts
Meal 2: Oatmeal, 1/2 scoop whey, cinnamon, walunts
Meal 3: Plain yogurt, 1/2 scoop whey, cashew butter
Meal 4: Egg, egg whites, carrots/peas/green beans/corn, nat pb for desert
Meal 5: Chicken breast, carrots/peas/green beans/corn, nat tahini
Meal 6: Chicken breast, carrots/peas/green beans/corn, nat tahini
Meal 7: Nat pb, 1/2 scoop whey

Snacks: Banana, plum, grapefruit, dried apricots, cashews

4 fish oil sups

Total cal: 2550

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179cm, 73kg, 39 yrs / Goal: Clean bulk
 
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Thurs Sept 13

Toady was workout 1 of day 'b' NROL Break-in program.


Several of these were new moves, so there was a lot of messing around before I got started. This was my first time doing a real Deadlift (i.e. not on any sort of machine), looks easy, but had to get a lot of help with the technique...

"you're bending your back!"
I get that straightened out then it's:
"you're letting you're knees go past your toes!"
I get that sorted out then it's:
"You gotta push those hips forward at the top!"
by that time I've forgotten the first problem!.....Man it's frustrating, but I'm sure it'll be natural at some point.

The deadlifts weren't that heavy, but the guy that runs the gym was pushing me to keep the weight low till I get the form down. I guess that makes sense, but at the same time I want to get moving. I'm considering hiring a personal trainer for at least 1 hr a week to help me with technique. There's one guy that really knows what he's doing and is cool, plus it's only $15/hr, so I think it'd be a worthwhile investment for a while.
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Warm-up: NROL warm-up routine 10 mins

1:30-2:00

60 secs rest btwn sets

Deadlift
15 x 52 kg (no laughter please)
15 x 52 kg

Step up
15(each side) x 80 lbs(2 db's)
15(each side) x 80
*probably could have gone heavier.

-superset-


Dumbell one arm shoulder press
14(f) x 30 lbs (1 30 db each side)
13(f) x 30

Close grip lat pull-down
15 x 80 kg
15 x 80 kg

-superset-

Reverse crunch
20 x bw
20

Short workout, but got a good sweat going.
___________________________________________________

Today's meals:

Meal 1: All-bran, skim milk, whey, strawberries, walnuts
Meal 2: Oatmeal, 1/2 scoop whey, cinnamon, walunts
Meal 3: Oatmeal, 1/2 scoop whey, cinnamon, walunts
PWO: Whey, 1 tbspn honey, 2 plums
Meal 4: Shake with 1/2 scoop whey, skim milk, banana, raspberries
Meal 5: Chicken breast, broad beans, brown rice, olive oil
Meal 6: Chicken breast, brussel sprouts, nat tahini

Snacks: nat pb, nat cashew butter, mangosteen, grapefruit

3 fish oil sups

Total cal: 2800

---------------------------------------------------------
179cm, 73kg, 39 yrs / Goal: Clean bulk
 
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Fri Sept 14

Just some light cardio today. Got up at 5am for a run out on the street. It's the only time that's cool and quiet.

35 min. moderate pace run

Was glad to get raspberries yesterday, hard to find and I love 'em so I bought a bunch and chucked them in the freezer.


Meal 1: All-bran, skim milk, whey, strawberries, raspberries, walnuts
Meal 2: Oatmeal, 1/2 scoop whey, cinnamon, walunts
Meal 3: Chicken breast, green beans/carrots/peas/corn, chili pepper, nat pb for desert
Meal 4: Plain Yogurt, 1/2 scoop whey, almonds, raspberries
Meal 5: Chicken breast, broad beans, olive oil
Meal 6: Chicken breast, brussle sprouts, nat tahini
Meal 7: Chicken breast, brussle sprouts, nat tahini

Snacks: nat pb, grapefruit

4 fish oil sups

Stuck to one cup of java.

Total cal: 2600
 
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Sat sept 15

This week I've been mulling over the amount of bulking calories I want. I re-read this article: TESTOSTERONE NATION which I think makes a lot of sense ,especially for s.o. who easily puts on fat like me. I'm going to lower my target cals to 2700, which is still a caloric surplus. That's following the formula in the article:

Caloric intake relative to lean body weight to support optimal growth (considering a normal activity level)

130lbs LEAN=2634kcals
I'm going to try this number for a month, combined with the best lifting I can and then re-evaluate.
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My average cals for the last week/month/2 months:

9/7 - 9/14: 2700 27%F, 41%C, 33%P
8/14 - 9/14: 2900 26%F, 41%C, 34%P
7/14 - 9/14: 2880 26%F, 42%C, 34%P, 1%A (that's ALCOHOL) I can't believe it!!! Might have to bring that up a bit.

Weight 7/14 - 70kg
Weight 9/14 - 73kg

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179cm, 73kg, 39 yrs / Goal: Clean bulk
 
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Sat Sept 15

NROL Break-in program, day 'A', Workout 2

warm up: 10 mins.

60sec rest btwn sets

11:15am-11:45

Squat
15 x 82 kg(incl bar)
15 x 87 kg


-superset w/full rest-

Static lunge w/barbell
15(each side) x 52 kg
15(each side) x 57 kg

Two point dumbell row w/elbow out
15 x 35 lbs (each side)
15 x 45 lbs


-superset w/full rest-

push up
2 sets of 15

swiss ball crunch
2 sets of 20

Squats were better this time, I think I'm getting the hang of them and a good sweat going. I may have rushed the 2nd set of lunges and could have lowered the db a little slower on the rows, but was really feeling them in the back. Again felt like a short workout, but dripping by the end and felt it.
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Grub:

Meal 1: All-bran, skim milk, whey, strawberries, raspberries, walnuts
Meal 2: Oatmeal, 1/2 scoop whey, cinnamon, walunts
PWO: Whey, 1 tblspn honey
Meal 3: Shake with 1/2 scoop whey, pineapple, banana, raspberries, water
Meal 4: Whole wheat pasta, Chicken breast, olive oil, red hot chili peppers
Meal 5: Chicken breast, broad beans/green beans/peas/carrots/corn, flax seed, nat pb for desert
Meal 6: Plain yogurt, 1/2 scoop whey, raspberris, almonds
Meal 7: Steak and grilled veg

Snacks: nat cashew butter, nat pb, dried apricots

4 fish oil sups

After the workout I had a ravenous appetite all day. Meal 7 was a weekend cheat meal , but not a bad one. We had a $100 gift cert at a restaurant so I ordered a nice big lean fillet mignon:) and subbed grilled vegs for the mashed potatoes and didn't have any wine since i was already over cals.

Total cals: 3100

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179cm, 73kg, 39 yrs / Goal: Clean bulk and big-ass muscles
 
Sun sept 16th

6:00 am 35 minute run

Today was just a very lazzzzy Sunday, bit of a sore throat so I just stayed in and watched 3 movies!

Grub:

Meal 1: All-bran, skim milk, whey, strawberries, raspberries, walnuts
Meal 2: Oatmeal, 1/2 scoop whey, cinnamon, walunts
Meal 3: Shake with 1/2 scoop whey, skim milk, raspberries, strawberries
Meal 4: Chicken breast, broad beans, brown rice, olive oil
Meal 5: Chicken breast, broad beans, nat almond butter and apricots
Meal 6: Plain yogurt, 1/2 scoop whey, raspberries, nat pb
Meal 7: Nat pb, 1/2 scoop whey

Snack: apple, grapefruit

Total cal: 2680
 
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