My time to get fit - stage 1 - The beginning.

[RimBlock]

Link to the CKD thread I have started here on overclockers.

Hope it becomes a good location for information for all people interested.

Cheers
RB

 

[RimBlock]

Well I swung a personal trainer session for the new gym free as orientation and got lucky.

I got a trainer who was willing to listen and suggest new exercises within the realm of freeweights. He also spent the best part of 3 hours with me.

On the bad side, the git had me doing super sets .

Hard work with 15 / 10 / 10 reps when I am used to 8//8/8.

My hand felt fine, my shoulder hurt doing the flys but this time it was at the front not where it was damamged before. My Achilles tendon felt fine.

Personally I feel he is someone I could work with when more money was available.

A PT who listens to their client. Now theres a thing

Cheers
RB

 

[RimBlock]

So cardio yesterday.

They have very few tv screens with the cardio machines but they do have a couple of the cross trainers up on a balcony overlooking the gym so I ended up using one of those with some music from my phone to keep from getting too bored.

Well I managed 60 minutes (40 at level 12 and 20 at level 10 to keep the heart rate within good solid state cardio levels). Pretty happy to have managed so long and with a heart rate most the time of 154.

I will continue with this for a bit and see if I get better results than with the HIIT I was trying (and probably failing at).

One suggestion that was made when speaking to the PT's about working out but not loosing the inches was that it could be because I am not drinking enough water. I must admit my water consumption is and has always been very low. It was down to around 1-1.5 litres of water a day (usually with a dribble of orange squash to give a hint of flavour) and two big mugs of tea. I have been told that with my size, the extra exercise and the climate here that I should be looking at 4-6 litres a day .

They believed that part of my lack of inch loss is likely due to the body retaining water to supply the core body processes but is taking it away from other minor uses like skin hydration. The water stored adds size. This does ring true as when peeing it tends to be banana skin yellow . Well I have always had a low tolerance for lots of water with it just passing through me very quickly unless I am very dehydrated. It was not until I started with the new diet and exercise that the pee has gone so yellow.

Anyway...... so now I am on a mission to drink 4 litres a day plus tea etc. For someone not used to drinking so much I really need to schedule how much by what time to make sure I am on track.

Two weeks of this and I should see some good inch loss if water retention is a cause for keeping it.

One thing that I was a bit dubious about was him pressing my arm and seeing the two white patches where his two fingers pressed and then him explaining that this was a classic sign of water retention..

Oh well, back to the water bottle .

Cheers
RB

 

[RimBlock]

Anyway...
Point is...keep your chin up and moving forward and it WILL come off!!!!

One way or another .

But seriously, thanks for the comment.

For me, the hips have gone down a bit but the belly is still there and does not seem to be reducing. Tape measure tends to agree with me and I hope that more water will help to give the body what it needs to shift the weight. My weight fluctuates a bit but then I don't keep much stock in that. The photos look a bit better but I would have expected more for 3 months work.

My concern is that if I am doing something wrong then I would like to fix it rather than going a t a very slow pace when it could be safely quicker.

I also understand your point about the fat maybe coming off rom the internal organs and that would be great but hard to measure .....

After reading so many threads on bodybuilding.com about the fat loss in 6 months etc, half way through that it seems there is little change from the first month with regards to fat loss.

Anyway, I will keep plodding away and push up on the cardio. I was happy with the 60 minutes on the cross trainer. Heart rate was good for fat burning, it was not too boring and the machine reported about 750cals burnt. Ok now we know the machine is likely to be fairly inaccurate but with 2-3 sessions of that a week I should be looking at at least 1lb per week.

Again, thanks for the support .

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Well done on the 7 inches in two months....

I have lost around 2 inches in 3 months from the widest point but my hips are now requiring me to go two notches down on my belt. It has been like this for a couple of months though.

How long was it between the inital loss and finally seeing visible loss again ?

Anyway, must stop with the complaining and work harder .

Back for another cardio today. Will try for the hour again which the machine believes should give me one less lb of fat (combines with the Wednesday session). We all know machines lie (well they were programmed by humans )

I have added waist exercises like crunches, knee raises (lay on back, knees bent and above the waist, try and put you knees on your nipples), side twists (lay on back, knees bent, feet flat on floor, legs apart, lift shoulders off the floot and touck heals with hand, alternate sides - left, right, left, right) adn the last, name unknown to me (pushup position but resting on the forearms not the hands, hold for xxx seconds).

Even after the squats etc these are burning for me so I will keep at them to continue to help strenghten my core.

Well I got through 3650ml of water yesterday, most plain apart from the last 500ml. Went to the toilet around 8 times. Finally had clear pee . Also had a big cup of tea and whatever water was in food.

Another day, another 4-6 litres of water. Time to get drinking..
RB

 

[RimBlock]

Think my visable weight loss came back after a couple of months.

I seem to go in these weird phases...ill lose 8lbs over a month and not think I look any different and then wake up one day and its as if its just suddenly come off over night.

I have also started doing some core work over the past couple of weeks.
Were only talking a couple of sets of cycle sit ups (or whatever theyre called), some leg raises and some twisting sat up with your feet raised and a weighted ball in your hands moving side to side. Then maybe a plank for 1.5 mins.

Do this twice a week.
My core is quite weak really as before taking this all up, I litteraly had done no sport or anything for about 10-11yrs.
Getting much better though and the squats and Deadlifts have helped a lot.

I am not sure if you have noticed this, probably have but, I like my morning look. Up to around 30 minutes after getting up when all the fat is still spread around from sleeping and not pooled at the stomach area again. The evening look is awful .

Mentioning squats, I did a set for the first time in a while due to my Achilies tendon and still love them. Went up to 110lbs + bar which is....... damn........ 154lbs........ which is 70Kg. My max was 80Kg befor stopping for recovery and this time they were full squats with thighs below parallel. Pretty happy with that.

I also did dropsets with the bench press. 62Kg (inc bar), dropping down around 2kg per set of 8 until I finished with a clean bar. Last 3 sets I upped to 10 or 12 reps. That really gives a good chest pump and burning arms . I quite enjoy it as well.

Another 60 minutes cardio today which was a bit boring and I am aching all over from yesterday and the cardio on my legs today.

I think for cardio I will try and rotate machines each week to keep the body guessing but try to aim for the same 'ectimated calories burnt' figure if I can.

I feel a bit adrift as far as weights routine goes now. Being 3 months in I feel it would be good to mix it up a little and have a change but am not sure what to change to. Any suggestions anyone ??

Cheers
RB

 

[RimBlock]

Cant say I have noticed the morning look.
Didnt realise fat could move around to be honest.
Assumed it was attached to your skin/internal tissue somehow.

AFAIK it is but I think it get squashed / spread a little sideways when sleeping for xxx number of hours and takes a little bit of time to go back to it's normal bulge, for me anyway .

I tend to look best when I get in after work.
Think its becuase im usualy quite hungry by then and just done my walk home so my stomach is pulling in.

Your squats are coming along.
I did my my PB of 60kg for 8reps last week.
Thats going a bit below parallel.
When I first started, i could feel it in my lower back, so I have been quite carful to nail form and work my way up.

I have a week back so also had to be careful and used the hyperextends to help strengthen it. My back certainly feels better now. I found after I got the hip rotation worked out that the form came naturally and now I really don't need to think about it too much at all. Makes concentrating on the lifts much easier. It is also good seeing the very few who do squats when I am at the gym, and a lot of guys here are pretty big, I seem the be the only one going so low and the only one with a big red face at the end .

I am happy with 3*8 @ 70Kg and want ti back up to 80Kg as my bench press is catching up. I like my leg press of 166Kg (3*8) although I have also not done that one recently as well. I have tried the hack squats with the lever machine and it was fairly easy till I sorted out the back / shoulder rest to allow me to go below parallel with 109Kg and then it was very difficult .

My bench aint great either..only 50kg.
But its better than when I started.
Chest is the area Im going to need to work on the most I think.
Shape and size wise that is.

50Kg was the average at fitness first so I was really happy going up to 60Kg and then 70Kg. For some reason though the weights don't seem to translate like they should with the 2.2lbs to 1 Kg. The poundage feels a fair bit heavier for some reason.... or maybe it is just in my head.

But ill get to that once my body fats right down and im ready to start bulking.
Its a Marathon not a sprint and all that Jazz!!!

Yeah but I seem to be running on the spot

One thing I will say is that after 1 hour and a reported 750 Kcal burnt I feel really hungry when I get home. I mean really hungry. Must resist.....

Mid autumn festival is next weekend with moon cakes and I am sure they will also be very bad for me but luckily I dont like the traditional ones. Unfortunately they now do snowskin ones which are lovely . Must resist, must resist.

Oh well, F1 rolled into Singapore for the night race well and truly today. I work on one of the circuits corners although the view is blocked from my office. You could hear the cars going around the circuit though. Looking at the practice laps on TV now the track looks like a normal track with the concrete barriers and not a lot of the city area the race is in but these roads are ones I walk down on the way to work most days .

Anyway, back to the TV.

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Thanks Sagalout

Sounds like you have been through it.

I tend to agree that it feels like I am at maintenance although stepping up the cardio has left me pretty hungry afterwards which I am taking to be a good sign.

I like the weight training and so would like to keep it but will eat to recover rather than to build for new. My biggest issue to feeling great is the legacy of smoking for 15 or so years. My lungs should recover but it will take aa long time.

I will keep with the hour cardio twice a week and the weights for now and see how it goes. The cardio was sorely missing or was at least not regular. Also doing the HIIT I never got as hungry as I am at the moment. Weight days and I am not more hungry than usual so hopefully I will see some loss soon(ish).

Trying to drink the 4 litres of water is still a challenge but no doubt it will get easier.

Thanks
RB

 

[RimBlock]

Thanks Kappa / Mekrel,

Kappa,

Yeah, 8 half litre bottles can be a real pain and having that number to drink can seem quite a mountain to overcome. I am working between 250-500ml when I get up as too much and I am crossing my legs on the hour long train journey to work . 1 litre was too much . I then try for 500ml every 2 hours which is not so bad but then you consider an hour traveling back home where I cannot drink (no food or drink allowed in the trains here) and maybe shopping on the way home for food and then that is two hours gone and I am playing catchup.

Oh well I am between 2-3.5 litres per day since I started this so it is much better than before. I was considering getting a larger bottle for work. I have two 1.5l coke bottle in the fridge with water just to make very light orange squash but I tend to refill one as it ends so I always have a cold one available.

Mekrel,

Seems like you are doing very well. 1Kg / month I believe is around the recommended. Well done with being able to maintain that loss.

I have upped the protein to help cope with the DOMS. After my first set of squats for around a month my inner thighs at the top are really giving me what for....... Standing and sitting is uncomfortable but hopefully they will recover soon. I think the hour long cardio sessions will help, just need to keep them up. Will rotate to something else this coming week.

Still need to find another weights routine to follow though. Again, riptoe or stronglifts are contenders unless anyone has anything better to suggest.

Cheers
RB

 

[RimBlock]

inner thighs at the top? It could well be the groin area being worked out as a good squat will work that area. Watch out for if it causes you pain during the exercise though!

And yes, its awesome when you cant even sit on a toilet seat without wincing!

Awesome is one way to look at it .

No problem when doing the exercise though which is great. Just lots of effort. What surprised me the most is the fact that the weight of the bar stopped causing me discomfort after 2-3 weeks even though it leaves a mark for a few hours and the number of people only doing half squats. Admittedly full squats are scary with heavy weights .

Think I may switch to 3 days cardio and 2 days weights for a time. Would like to get my pullups / chinups and dips going as well. Need to check out how to help build up for those, supplemental to doing the exercises themselves that is.

RB

 

[RimBlock]

RB, enjoying reading your thread, im in a similar position, ie getting fit again losing the pounds of unwanted stuff.

Thanks Rotters. Good to see others are also trying to get a bit more healthy.

I do a session of ju jitsu a week but this week i also did 1.5 hours of muay thai, my god i hurt but i feel so so good. the sparring and having a "sensai" (not sure what a MT teacher is called) keep you going til you drop is awesome!

I used to do a bit of karate for a few years in my teens, touched on Ju Jitsu so a short time but never touched Muay Thai. Being so close to Thailand you get to hear lots about it, much more than I did in the Uk although Wu Shu si the big one here otherwise known as Kung Fu (fight training specific rather than philosophy) in the west.

Hard work but good for dropping weight and strengthening up.

anyhow keep it up, im very new to my new fat loss plan, so im in the awesome first state of massive losses ie 10 lbs in the 1st 12 days. i know its going to get tougher though. Im also a lot bigger than you. was nearly 20st and onyl 5ft8.

Well done with the weight loss so far. It will slow down but with the right management, as as we all can see from this thread and others each person has different requirements, it will still come off all be it a little slower. Just finding the right combination and mixing it up every so often to keep the body adapting.

Anyway, keep it up.

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Reading through Rippetoes guide here and came across this which, although old, I love.....

Besides, everytime you do partial squats, Jesus kills a kitten. Don't be a *****, save the kittens. Squat deep.

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Ok, so I have decided to try Rippetoes.

3 compound exercises, 3*5, always increasing the weight next session (10 lbs if previous session was easy, 5lbs if previous was hard, 2.5lbs on previous fail, 2nd fail keep weight, 3rd fail then deload 10% and restart).

Extra exercises can be added but are not needed. Instructions are comprehensive and it should complete in maybe 6 weeks. After this one I will look to Stronglifts. Hopefully Rippetoes will give me a good strength base for stronglifts.

So, day one, set A;
Squats, Bench press, deadlifts. Warm-up set then 3*5.

Squats.
For the warm-up I pyramided up to get a reasonable starting weight. Found 110 + bar (154 lbs - 70Kg) to be good so did the 3*5 with full deep squats. Thighs definitely below parallel. Happy with that due to not doing squats for so long even though the number of reps have dropped. Not bad as the pyramid up in weight would have added value as well. I was sweating after this .

Bench press.
After moving a guy off the only bench press bench as he was doing seated db curls pyramided up a couple of sets until 114 lbs (52Kg) for the 3*5. Ok with this but it is just a starting point. Of note though is that my thumb strain didn't give me any issues so hopefully that is now fixed.

Had a discussion with a gym PT who came over and he hadn't heard of Rippetoes or Stronglifts. Gave feedback on my squats (very good form ). Offered a couple of suggestions such as legs further apart and trying an underbar grip so you cradle the bar with elbows forward rather than pulling the bar down onto the shoulders with elbows back. With elbows forwards you can tell if you ware going deep enough in the squats when the elbows touch the thighs. I prefer the stability of the elbows back as I feel I can control the bar better in the event of an overbalance and the elbows back creates a ridge of muscle to rest the bar on.

Deadlifts.
I also asked for form advice on the deadlifts as this was the first time. 114lbs (52Kg) again, using the squat rack catch area (removed the catch bars so it just had the 6" bottom of the frame). Got in position and lifted. Ben knees and lowered. PT told me not to bend the knees and to lean forward more and lift with the butt and back rather than the knees. This had me very confused as the Rippetoes guide mentioned stressing the legs with the deadlift. Anyway did the three sets which were hard on the lower back and hands. Only later did I work it out.... I believe he was showing me the SLDL (stiff legged dead lift) when I just wanted the normal deadlift. Oh well. Back to stage one on that exercise as Rippetoes specified only using the standard deadlift to get the form down correctly before moving to more advances programs.

The PT then offered to do the weight and body fat measure for me which I happily accepted. 185cm and 114Kg (38% body fat)...... yep, 114Kg the machine read. My response........ 'Your machine is .....' wait a minute, family forum ....... 'not operating within optimum parameters.' . I started 3 1.2 months ago at 106Kg. I was measured 2 months ago in the same gym at 104Kg, now I am 114Kg. Ridicules.......

The PT then outlined a training program he thought would be good for me and at this point I mentioned I would not be buying any PT sessions and out conversation ended there, pleasantly of course but ended.

I noticed there were some scales in the changing room so after a shower I weighed myself on them and surprise, surprise, 101.1 Kg in a towel. So either the other scales are ... 'not operating within optimum tolerances' or my clothes (excluding shoes and socks) weigh 12.9Kg .

Anyway, on the way home I got a small roasted chicken and a oriental salad (no idea, it was the cheapest there). The chicken was pretty good after I removed the skin but a bit salty, the salad was bad, some very strong flavoured leaves in there so ended up mainly eating the lettuce. Had a couple of whey scoops (in water) and a vit tablet before bed and today my upper back, lower back and thighs can feel the work from yesterday. Pretty good. My Achilles tendon is no better. I can feel it being a little uncomfortable walking down stairs. I can just feel it with normal walking. Rubbing behind the tendon in the gap between the bottom of the calf and the heal bone is a bit tender. i don't think it is any worse after the exercise though. I am hoping the cardio will stimulate blood flow to the area more so promote healing.

Have a good one and remember.......

Smoking and bad eating contribute to deposits clogging the blood vessels which in turn can lead to impotence.

Lift hard to stay hard ........ .

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Hi Kappa, thanks

Stiff leg deadlift can be seen here (ehowto) and here (muscleandstrength.com). I cannot view youtube at work but can see these videos.

Yep your description is exactly what I believe I had to do so keeping my legs stiff got a big frown until I worked out what the instructor was showing me.

I believe I should (grip allowing) be able to lift a lot more than 70 lbs in a standard deadlift. Might give it a go on Saturday when it comes around again.

Just finished my lunchtime cardio for my off days. 1 hour on the cross trainer again with an average heart rate of 141bpm changing the intensity to keep the target heart rate (104-150bpm). My vest was dripping at the end and by 10 minutes my legs were screaming (didn't have this the previous two times). I guess it was the squats wearing them out from the day before..... 15minutes and I was ready to give in at 20 minutes. 20 minutes came and I was determined to push to at least 30 minutes. 25 minutes came and suddenly no more screaming. I would guess that the body turned over to fat burn mode to fuel the muscle and it kicked in then. Pushed on and did the whole hour. Pretty happy if that is what it was.

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Just started a thread around what shoes are best to wear for weight training here.

A number of places highlight that running shoes with compressible soles are not the best for getting the power transfer to the ground for heavy lifts.

Thread can be found here.

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Ok so two sessions later and here are the results from the first week.

Number in brackets are the changes from the start of the week / previous session if only one session with that exercise for the current week.

Week 1

Set A
Squats: 169 lbs (+15 lbs) / 76Kg (+6Kg)
Bench Press: 124 lbs (+10 lbs) / 56Kg (+5.4Kg)
Deadlift: 134 lbs (first time) / 60Kg (first time)

Set B
Squats: As above
Military press: 64 lbs (first time) / 29Kg (first time)
Pendlay rows: 104 lbs (first time) / 47Kg (first time)

Remember the recommended increase in weight is 10 lbs if easy, 5lbs if hard and 2.5lbs on failure. 3 sessions a week rotating set A and B so for the first week set A got two sessions and set B got one. This coming week set B will get two sessions. Each exercise is 3*5 apart from deadlifts which is 1*5. Still getting to the max for most exercises apart from squats which are feeling pretty heavy and which I am having to work hard at to push out the last couple of reps.

The last session this week was on Saturday and I went after work (had to do a weekend system release). Well a few problems with the release so only got out the office at 8pm ish, got to the gym at 8:20 and they told me the gym would close at 9pm . Lucky the routine was quick so got changed and sis it in around 30 minutes. Had to use the squat rack for the bench press as a couple of large guys were sharing the only bench press bench and each one was taking what felt like a 5 minute rest between sets. Mind you I seem to be more or less the only one who uses the squat rack so not so bad. Worst thing is that it is right in front of the PT station so I keep getting PT's coming up and chit chatting to find out if I want to sign up for personal training. Not needed in the middle of a session.

The initial DOMS have gone without taking extra recovery days. The first two days sessions of squats and pendlay rows really got my inner thighs and upper back. Potty flop I believe it is called where you cant quite control that last bit of decent on to a chair and just sort of drop. Yep, had that for most of the week . All good now though.

Cheers
RB

Squats are feeling pretty heavy

 

[RimBlock]

Ok, halfway through the second week of Rippetoes.

Havent hit failure yet but the deadlifts are starting to make my fingers ache as of last nights session.

I also have an issue with the squats causing upper leg / groin pain (think pluching a taught bowstring, it is not a sharp nerve pain though its 'thicker' if you know what I mean). The pain is at the front, inside, top of both my legs and occurs when doing the squats. The soreness remains afterwards but it is only painfull whilst doing the exercise. It is not DOMS as it occurs instantly. During the 5 rep warmup with half weight I have no issues. The day after the area feels a little 'pumped' or tight but no DOMS. My legs feel exhausted though, squats and deadlifts in the same session.

I also need to correct my form again as I tend to lean a little to the right and forwards when pushing up under very heavy load, for me that is.

Having done some reading it seems it may be related to the body not being able to keep up with the weight increases or the stance being too wide.

I will try dropping back 10 lbs, correcting my form and keeping the feet to strictly shoulder width apart to see if that helps.

I am also getting dissapointed by having to wait for the machines all the time. The single bench press bench has guys doubling up but not swapping, just queuing behind each other and spotting. I finished my whole 3 exercise 3*5 routine and the same people were still on the bench press bench.

I have now worked out that the squat rack is the best. I can do deadlifts or pendlay rows from the catch secion with teh catch bars removed, shoulder presses taking the bar from the lower pegs of the rack section and cleaning it up, squats as normal adn even a bench press using the catch bars lower down as stops for failure after grabbing a free bench. Had to wait for it last night though as someone was using it for shoulder shrugs .

RB

 

[RimBlock]

End of the second week of Rippetoes Starting strength.

Results are as follows (rounded to the nearest Kg).

Week 2

Set A
Squats: 184 lbs (+15 lbs) / 84Kg (+6Kg)
Bench Press: 134 lbs (+10 lbs) / 60Kg (+4.5Kg)
Deadlift: 134 lbs (first time) / 60Kg (first time)

Set B
Squats: As above
Military press: 74 lbs (+10 lbs) / 34Kg (+4Kg)
Pendlay rows: 134 lbs (+30 lbs) / 60Kg (+14Kg)

Ok, the squats were not 3 sets of 184 lbs. Due to the pain I felt last time I have narrowed my stance and did some warmup setc (clean bar, 94 lbs, 154 lbs) then 2 sets of 5 for 184 lbs. It was murder but the tops of my legs didnt feel like they have bowstrings running through them. They did hurt but it was a much thicker feeling of pulling (like pulling rope rather than string if you get my meaning).

No failures yet but the squats are damn close and now what with the aches from teh rows and squats today, I am also getting body aches and a bad sore throat from the flu it would seem. Only came on today but classic syntoms. .

Oh well, shall see how to cope next week.

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Morba has done a great post on motivation which I think would be well worth a read here.

Morba, if you have any objections to me linking to it from here then let me know and I will remove the link.

Well the weekend was rough with muscle aches and this upper resparitory infection. I suspect tonsillitus but the 5 day course of antibiotics given by the doctor made no difference. Back to the docs today......

I will take a week out to recover from this and also give the body a bit of a break. My pain at the bottom of my thumb has gone, my shoulders feel fine and my Achilles tendon seems to be almost recovered now. I did pull my other wrist a little doing the explosive lift of the pendlay rows with my right hand not in line with my forearm so it put uneven stress on the wrist joint. Luckily there seems to be no real damage.

Not going to the gym for a week will be hard .

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Only had 1 full week off lifting weights in the last 7 months.
Going BACK after it was the hard part
Had DOMS like back when I first started!!

Hope you feel better soon mate and can get back into the swing of things.

Cheers, me too.

Don't like missing the gym but would rather take a week off than keep this sickness going longer than it needs to.

On the other plus side, my Achilles tendon seems to be showing strong signs of recovery finally. Can just about feel a tiny bit of discomfort when walking (mainly down stairs). Still tender to touch though. Hopefully this week will help set that issue to rights as well.

Cheers
RB