Hi guys. I’ve been lurking these forums for awhile I’d like to get more active- what better way than start a fitness journal? I guess I’ll start with a little bit about me:

I’m a 20 year old male in the Upstate New York area. My life has pretty much turned the page to a new chapter since I decided I was unhappy going to school for Computer Science. I guess I am lucky that I figured this out 2 years into college rather than after I got my degree, talk about a waste of money. So, what does this 20 year old college student decide to go out and do? Well he decides he’s going to be a law enforcement officer, hopefully a state trooper. It’s really a reality check since I am sort of forced to enter the “real world” sooner than I had anticipated. My backup plan is joining a local law enforcement agency or becoming a career military man- Marines maybe?

I’ve been running on and off for the past 5 years since I was on my high school cross country team. I’m in decent shape. I have been running 7-10 miles week for the past 4 months. I can run at a reasonable pace and have a very strong lower body. For my State Police test I need to cover 1.5 miles in under 12:18. I can do it now in around 11:30 so I am not too concerned about my running. What I’m really lacking in is upper body strength. I need to seriously hit the weights and start bulking up. I need to be able to do 33 pushups in a row (can do 17 now) and 40 situps in 1 minute (I can do around 10-15 with my feet weighted, 0 with no weight on my feet).

So, my journal is going primarily be about me training to be a trooper.

Note about my workout plan: I found my workout plan at http://www.freedomfly.net/workouts/workout1.htm - My concern is just basically getting the gym ASAP. Once I get in the routine of going I can modify the exercises based on your input or my own observations. I just want to get going and the easiest way is to start with a foundation. My apartment complex has a gym about 50 feet from my apartment so I never have an excuse not to go! :tu:

Note about my nutrition: I already eat pretty clean as it is. I cook almost all of my own dinners which usually consist of whole grain rice, veggies, and chicken breast, lean steak, or fish. I eat out for lunch everyday at work. This is not something I can change as my employer takes me out to lunch everyday (not as good as it sounds! :whistle:). I do try to keep it healthy when I'm out, I'll usually try to stick to subs on whole wheat, etc. I have a cheat meal probably once per week when I go out with my friends. The good thing about me is that I generally hate sweets. I'd rather have a steak or piece of chicken than a gallon of ice cream which is a good thing :P I also drink tons of water, around 4-5L a day.

Here are my measurements as of today as well as Day #1 of the Gym.



Right Wrist: 7”
Right Forearm: 12”
Right Bicept Flexed: 13.7”
Chest: 39”
Waist: 41”
Hips: 41”
Thigh: 24”
Calf: 16.5”

Weight: 202lbs
(was at 197.5 yesterday, probably water/food weight?)
Height: 6’ 1/2”

BF: 18.5%



Day #1 At the Gym:


10 minutes on the elliptical

Bench Press: 

1 set, 13 reps, 70lbs
1 set, 10 reps, 80lbs
1 set, 10 reps, 60lbs
1 set, 10 reps, 50lbs


Incline Press:
3 sets, 10 reps, 50lbs


Machine Flys:

1 set, 10 reps, 70lbs
2 sets, 10 reps, 50lbs



Tricep Pushdowns:
3 sets, 10 reps, 50lbs
Dips:
Couldn’t even do one, bleh :o
Crunches:
3 sets, 20 reps



I also had a 1.5mi hike/jog through the woods for a para-military game I am currently involved in with about 25 pounds of gear on :P
I really feel sore after my workout, which is a good thing. I tried to do my usual before bed pushups and couldn't get past 2 because my chest felt like it was going to rip into two.
:bb:

Pictures coming soon

Day #2 - Tuesday 10/24

Today was a good day, crappy weather though. I hit the gym earlier than usual (7:30pm).

10 minutes on a stationary bike @ resistance level 9-10

Cable Rows:
1 set, 15 reps, 70lbs -> this was easy!
1 set, 10 reps, 90lbs -> too hard
2 sets, 10 reps, 80lbs

Lat Pull Downs:
2 sets, 10 reps, 60lbs
1 set, 10 reps, 70lbs

Single Arm Dumbell Row:
1 set, 10 reps, 20lbs
2 sets, 10 reps, 25lbs

Barbell Curl:
1 set, 10 reps, 40lbs
2 sets, 10 reps, 30lbs

One change I already made is that I swapped out T-Bar Rows for Single Arm Dumbell Rows (they both hit the middle back) since my gym doesn't have any barbells, just dumbells.

My weight today was 199lb- my stomach was rumbling all day.. I'm guessing it was from the salted cod I had on Sunday. I read online that salt.. erm.. cleans you out.

I started taking supplements I had from when I was working out before (on and off). My food info is below

9am:
1 Daily Multivitamin
1 B Complex Vitamin
1 Frozen omega-3 fish oil (freezing them gets rid of the nasty burps)
1 Whey Protein Shake w/ Water (I let them get real cold in the freezer)
Bowl of Cheerios w/ no milk

Noon:
At lunch I had Blue Marlin and Asparagus

5pm:
Made chicken breast cutlets w/ cut up tomatoes

6pm:
Cheated and had a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwhich

6:30pm:

Took glutamine with water

8:30pm:

Took glutamine with water after workout
Had a Whey Protein shake w/ water

10pm:
Had a can of tuna fish with 2 small pieces of lean steak leftover

Pictures coming soooooon. I gotta find my camera.

I also did 10 pushups tonight! Tomorrow is my day off so I'm going to do a 3 mile run, I have a 5km race coming up in about a week. Well, time for bed, I need to get up early. :tucool:

I have two days of catching up to do so I'm going to do two posts.

Day #3 - Thursday

Well, I decided not to run on Wednesday. I was pretty sore.

Dumbbell Squats:
1x15@50lbs
3x10@80lbs, 50lbs, 50lbs

Leg Extension:
3x10@80lbs,90lbs,100lbs

Leg Curls:
3x10@50lbs,60lbs,50lbs

I was unable to do the leg presses because my gym doesn't have a leg press machine. I have to find a substitute, any suggestions?

I also had to do dumbbell squats since we don't have any barbells. I think I was doing my squats incorrectly so I tried to keep the weight low. I could probably do 100lbs if I figured out my form correctly.

I also did a bunch of sit-ups. Diet was good, had whey in the morning and after workout. Also took glutamine, daily multivits, and b-complex.

Day #4 - Saturday

I skipped my workout on Friday because I did not have enough time after work.

Shoulder Press:
1x15@60lbs
3x10@60lbs,50lbs,50lbs

Barbell Upright Rows:
Wasn't able to do these right so I'll have to look at some more videos on the internet

Side Dumbbell Lateral Rows:
3x10@15lbs - I think I could have been doing these wrong, the weight seemed pretty low for the amount of effort I had to put in to do them

1- Leg Standing Calf Raises:
1x10@40lbs, each leg

2-Leg Standing Calf Raises:
3x10@50lbs, 80lbs, 90lbs

So, I need to figure out a better way to hit my calves. We don't have barbells and my calves are beefy enough where the max weight we have (2x50lbs dumbbells) is too easy.

My diet today was very clean besides a little bit of ice cream.

This has been a very good week and I am ready to hit the gym on Monday again, I'm hoping to see maybe even a little progress. Next week I'm also going to start supplementing with Creatine. I have half a container left over from when I was lifting a little last year.

My weight today is 197.5. I hope I'll be at 197 tomorrow when I do my weekly weigh in. I also hope I'll see a little difference when I measure myself tomorrow too! :)

ALSO- I promise to put up pictures tomorrow afternoon. I had a good size paycheck this week so I'm going to buy a cheepy digital camera since I can't afford the digital SLR that I want.

Hey there,

Welcome and good luck. You are lucky to have found what you want to do for the rest of your life so soon. I am still struggling and have thus far studied photography and computer science but am interested in all kinds of other areas such as cooking, fitness, nutrition, graphic design to name but a few.

Once again, Good Luck and keep up the good work.
:tu:

Hey there,

Welcome and good luck. You are lucky to have found what you want to do for the rest of your life so soon. I am still struggling and have thus far studied photography and computer science but am interested in all kinds of other areas such as cooking, fitness, nutrition, graphic design to name but a few.

Once again, Good Luck and keep up the good work.
:tu:

Hi. Thanks for the post. Computer Science and Photography are both excellent career choices. I did enjoy Computer Science in the classroom but when I started doing it 40 hours a week I realized I couldn't sit in front of a screen all day. Too boring, but I know some guys who really enjoy it. It's a very flexible job as far as hours/work setting goes. Some guys even do it from home! It's funny though, because ever since I was like 10 I was pretty sure I would end up doing something computer-related.

It seems like once you get bit by the bug you know what you want to do for the rest of the life. Hopefully it'll happen to you too. I got bit by the law enforcement bug and now I can't wait to get my career going :tucool:

Summary of Week #1

Right Wrist: 6.9" ( -.1 )
Right Forearm: 11.9” ( -.1 )
Right Bicept Flexed: 13.9" ( +.2 )
Chest: 38.7” ( -.3)
Waist @ BB: 40.5” ( -.5 )
Hips: 41” ( No Change )
Thigh: 25” ( +1 )
Calf: 16.8” ( +.3 )

Weight: 197.5 in AM / 198 After Dinner ( - 4.5 Pounds )
Height: 6’ 1/2”

BF: 17.9% ( -.6% )

I am pretty happy with my progress the first week. I think some of the measurements could be a result of error from my first measure, HOWEVER- I do think I look a bit thinner. I bought a cheap point and shoot digital camera so I'm going to take some photos and put them up soon.

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/3193/1020016jn7.th.jpg (http://img85.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1020016jn7.jpg)
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9536/1020025ae0.th.jpg (http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1020025ae0.jpg)
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6897/1020031cw5.th.jpg (http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1020031cw5.jpg)
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/393/1020042lm3.th.jpg (http://img85.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1020042lm3.jpg)
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/4120/1020043vb5.th.jpg (http://img81.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1020043vb5.jpg)
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/6863/1020051rr7.th.jpg (http://img85.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1020051rr7.jpg)
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/5111/1020052gh3.th.jpg (http://img180.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1020052gh3.jpg)
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/5157/1020082kp4.th.jpg (http://img84.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1020082kp4.jpg)

Day #5

Bench Press
1x15@70lbs (same)
1x10@90lbs (+10lbs)
2x10@80lbs (+20lbs)

Incline Press
3x10@80lbs (+30lbs)

Machine Flys
1x10@50lbs (+0lbs)
2x10@70lbs (+0lbs)

Tricep Pushdowns
3x10@50lbs (+0lbs)

Dips
Did 1x2 and 1x3, couldn't do any last time (+5)


Day #6

Cable Rows
1x15@70lbs (+0lbs)
2x10@90lbs (+10lbs)
1x10@80lbs (+0lbs)

Lat Pull Downs
3x10@70lbs (+10lbs)

Single Arm DB Row
1x10@30lbs (+5lbs)
2x10@20lbs (-5lbs)

Curls
3x10@40lbs (+10lbs)

---- Thoughts

Weight is down to 197. I have noticed the amount I can lift go up which makes me happy and keeps me focused. My benches specifically- on Day 1 of last week I struggled to do 3 sets at 60 and 70lbs. This week I had no problem doing 2 sets at 80 and 1 at 90. I hope next week I can do a set @ 100. As of last week my max bench was 100. I need to get that to around 210 since some LE departments like the Pennsylvania State Police require you can bench your body weight x 1.1 atleast once. I also have to start keeping track of my pushups and situps. In 3 weeks I have a physical test for a city law enforcement agency. The requirements are 1.5mi in 12:29, 38 situps in 1 minute, and 29 pushups in one minute. I think I'll start measuring the amount of situps I can do in a minute and the amount of pushups and keep track of them here.

Happy Halloween!

Just some quick info...

I did some sit-ups and pushups tonight.

Pushups
1x7
1x10

Situps
1x4 with unweighted feet! This is amazing, couldn't believe I was able to do them since last week I couldn't do ANY without something holding my feet down.

I just need to lose all this fat in my mid-section and I bet I will really be able to kill the pushups. It's weird how my whole body is pretty lean besides my stomach.

I found a great video on YouTube of the 2006 CT State Police Graduation.. they do a great cadence during the whole video. It really gets me pumped, I copied it onto my iPod for the gym...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=o5liO4zFVuI

hail hail state police :jumping:

Today has been a great day :tucool:

Workout

Leg Extensions
3x10@100/110/120 (+20lbs)

I wanted to see how much I could max at- I was able to get 1 full rep at 160lbs!

Leg Curls
3x10@60/50/50 (+0lbs)

These hurt like hell to do, I think I'm doing too much weight

Dumbbell Squats

1x15@60lbs
3x10@60/60/80

I think I got my form better. These were more effective since I was able to fatigue my legs from doing lots of weight on the leg extensions.

I also did some forearm curls to see how they are. They didn't seem too effective? I did a set of 10lbs and one of 15lbs.

I had some great progress with my situps today. I timed myself and did 30 in 1:10. I need to be able to do a minimum of 40 in 1 minute. So I'm not too far off.

Also, I weighed myself at 196lbs today and ran out of whey protein. I'm gonna have to go buy some more.
:nod:

Another successful week :) I'll have some pictures up in a few after I weed through the bad shots and do some cropping.

I missed my workout on Friday :( I was going to make it up on Saturday but missed that too. Had a "cheat meal" on Friday night which was some Beef Tenderloin. I did a good job resisting temptation Saturday night- went out with some friends. Had some healthy sushi instead of binging on cheese like one of my buddies. When we ended the night at 6am I was super hungry and was craving some bad food, something that happens rarely since I usually eat pretty clean. Instead I came home and made myself a delicious protein milkshake which filled me right. I'm pretty proud of resisting my hankering for a cheese burger.

I measured myself today and I'm pleased with the results.

Right Wrist: 6.9" ( No Change )
Right Forearm: 11.8” ( -.1 )
Right Bicept Flexed: 13.9" ( No Change, seems like less fat more muscle though )
Chest: 38.6” ( -.1)
Waist @ BB: 39.8” ( -.7 )
Waist below BB (where my gut ends, top of my butt): 38"
Hips: 40.5” ( -.5 )
Thigh: 24.8” ( -.2 )
Calf: 16.5” ( -.3 )

Leg Extensions
3x10@100/110/120 (+20lbs)

I wanted to see how much I could max at- I was able to get 1 full rep at 160lbs!

Leg Curls
3x10@60/50/50 (+0lbs)

These hurt like hell to do, I think I'm doing too much weight

A: DON'T let your quads get too much stronger than your hamstrings. You are in a danger zone with leg extension being more than twice the weight of leg curl at the same repetitions. Injury risk is high when the quads get too much stronger than hamstrings.

B: Do you do Romanian deadlifts? I would consider using these. If you only have dumbells, or don't want to hammer your back at the same time, try single leg deadlifts with dumbells.

C: I see that one of the Connecticut State Trooper uniforms has that lavender color that is in some of the New York State Trooper uniforms. I expect there is a history behind the color choices (seems there is for most uniforms) do you know what it is in NY? You can see that color in the uniforms these guys are wearing (the guy in orange is a notorious murder suspect).

http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060909/060909_bucky_hmed4p.hmedium.jpg

A: DON'T let your quads get too much stronger than your hamstrings. You are in a danger zone with leg extension being more than twice the weight of leg curl at the same repetitions. Injury risk is high when the quads get too much stronger than hamstrings.

Thanks for the heads up! I will try and back off on quads and beef up my hamstrings.


B: Do you do Romanian deadlifts? I would consider using these. If you only have dumbells, or don't want to hammer your back at the same time, try single leg deadlifts with dumbells.

I've been wanting to do deadlifts but my apartment complex gym only has dumbbells in 5lb increments from 5-50lbs. I'm going to look at those single lead deadlifts and see if I can add them to my routine. Thanks!


C: I see that one of the Connecticut State Trooper uniforms has that lavender color that is in some of the New York State Trooper uniforms. I expect there is a history behind the color choices (seems there is for most uniforms) do you know what it is in NY? You can see that color in the uniforms these guys are wearing (the guy in orange is a notorious murder suspect).

http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060909/060909_bucky_hmed4p.hmedium.jpg

The Conn. State Police uniforms are Gray with a blue tie, blue stripe on the pants and some gold highlights. I'm not sure of the meaning behind the CSP's colors but they look pretty good in my opinion.

NY State Police have gray uniforms with a purple tie and a black stripe on their pants. If I remember correctly the purple represents their fallen brothers and the black represents their elite unit.

NYSP and CSP are both well respected agencies because they are two of a handful of agencies that use para-military training. Going to trooper academy is like going to boot camp for 8 months- sir yes sir, sir no sir, PT at 5am, etc.

Thanks again for the great input. I'm going to check out those single leg deadlifts right now. Also, I forgot to put up the pictures from this week since iPhoto crashed but I'm going to do it now. :)

NYSP and CSP are both well respected agencies because they are two of a handful of agencies that use para-military training. Going to trooper academy is like going to boot camp for 8 months- sir yes sir, sir no sir, PT at 5am, etc.

Yeah my brother in law is an Arizona State Police officer after many years of being a police officer in Flagstaff and doing some work for a federal agency. Out there, he says the State Police is sort of like retirement for guys who were cops. "Triple A with guns" he calls it - he fixes a lot of flats and gets people out of ditches. He did enough of the hard stuff already.

Yeah my brother in law is an Arizona State Police officer after many years of being a police officer in Flagstaff and doing some work for a federal agency. Out there, he says the State Police is sort of like retirement for guys who were cops. "Triple A with guns" he calls it - he fixes a lot of flats and gets people out of ditches. He did enough of the hard stuff already.

Haha, Triple A with guns, pretty funny stuff. That's good to know though, because I was thinking about applying for some LE jobs down in the area (I know Arizona is hurting for good officers) in the future.

It's a night and day difference up here as far as troopers responsibilities go. The troopers in NY & CT (I have lived in both states so I can speak from experience) are mostly young guys in their 20s-30s. The state police is brought in to serve violent warrants, state-wide investigations, etc. Also, CT does not have county-wide sheriffs like we do in NY so the troopers take on that role as well (patrolling towns w/out their own departments.) The best part of being a trooper is retirement comes in 20 years which means I'll be retired by the time I'm 41. :tu:

Week #3

I had a fantastic workout today. I did 10 minutes on the stairmaster @ level 5. I climbed 41 floors and it really kicked my ass.

Bench
1x15@70lbs ( No Change )
1x10@90lbs ( No Change )
1x10@100lbs (+20lbs )
1x10@110lbs (+30lbs )

Incline Bench
3x10@80lbs ( No Change )

Flys
1x10@60lbs (+10lbs )
2x10@70lbs ( No Change )

Tricep
3x10@60lbs ( +10lbs )

Dips
Couldn't do any since I killed my triceps and chest in the beginning.

It's nice that even 3 weeks into my routine I am still making some big jumps in strength. I am guessing that the deeper I get into this routine the slower my progress will be. That's okay though! I'm seeing some small weight loss which I'm attributing to the fact that some newly gained muscle is offsetting fat-loss on the scale. I am noticing areas of my body that I've never seen before- areas on my chest that were once flubber are receding a little bit and changing the way I look. It's pretty cool.

I starting taking Flax Seeds this week. They are great to add to almost everything- protein shakes, beans, veggies, etc. The flavor is much better than the fish oil burps :) They arn't bad if you just put two tablespoons into a glass of water, stir, and chug (although not great either). I did that tonight since I am out of protein and can't afford the whey/casein mix I want to get until payday on Friday. This means I'm going to be eating alot of extra chicken breast/tuna this week. Mm, I can't wait :eat:

I'm also going to start checking out ZMA, I heard good things about it.

Crappy day, great workout. I had a late dinner tonight. Went to the gym and started out my workout with a pretty quick run. I covered 1.3 miles in 10 minutes, so like 7:40/mile pace. 75% through my workout I felt like puking so I tried to slow down the tempo. I finished up but I still feel like my dinner is going to come back up. My workout was good though. I made some progress weight wise. I also added two new workouts- straight leg deadlifts (thanks zenpharaohs!) and hammer curls. I added the workouts because I a. felt like I wasn't spending enough time at the gym and b. wanted to mix it up a little bit.

Cable Rows:
1x15@80lbs ( +10lbs )
1x10@100lbs (+10lbs )
2x10@90lbs ( + 10lbs )

Lat Pull Downs
1x10@70lbs ( No Change )
2x10@80lbs ( +10 lbs )

Single Arm DB Row
1x10@25lbs ( -5lbs )
1x10@30lbs ( + 10lbs )
1x10@35lbs ( +15lbs )

Curls
3x10@40lbs ( No Change )

DB Straight Leg Deadlift
1x10@40lbs
1x10@60lbs
1x10@70lbs

Hammer Curls
1x10@20lbs

I also did a set of 30 situps in 1:06. I have to start timing to 40. For statistic purposes, at the same pace it would have been 1:22 for 40 situps so I need to speed up my time/situp to between 1-1.5sec per situp.

I'm going to go have my pumpkin whey protein shake with some creatine and glutamine now while I try to find the best place to find Rosetta Stone. I want to brush up on my Spanish because speaking spanish will be a huge boost in getting a LE job.

Oh, yea, I weight in at 195 this morning :bb:

Hey dude,

Enjoy reading the journal so far - inspiring to see the courage to change path in life and go for what you want.

Now, flax seed seems to be working out for you, but I thought I'd share a tip. You can eliminate the fish burps by keeping the oil in the fridge.. the lower temperature allows the oil to pass into your intestines before being broken down/absorbed.

Perhaps my explanation lacks scientifically, but it works :madpimp:

'chef

Hey Chef,

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm happy that people are reading my journal :D

I already knew about that tip. My fish oil pills are in the freezer. I still get fishy burps when I take them but not as bad as being out of the freezer. I didn't know why it helped but your explanation makes sense. Maybe I should try taking them on an empty stomach... hm, that could very well be why I still get burps.

Today was a good day at work. I bought Rosetta Stone for Latin American Spanish today. It's retail price is $500.. Guess how much I got it for? $239 brand new. How? I bought it at Barnes and Noble with a 50% coupon they sent me + 10% members discount. It's pretty sweet. They gave me an online coupon that should work until 11/12 so if anyone wants to use it, feel free. The coupon code is P7N6J9K. You need to use a Mastercard to be eligible.

Rosetta Stone is pretty sweet. I did about 1 hour of it today and boy is it addicting. It's not what I thought it would be at all- it doesn't teach you by making you learn the rules or do translation, it just shows you the word and you have to try and figure it out yourself. It makes you think in the language. When I took Spanish in high school I would always listen to a phrase, translate in my head, and then understand. With Rosetta Stone, I am already able to think in Spanish even if I only know a couple of words :)

Once I finish up Spanish I would like to learn Chinese, Italian, and Arabic. Chinese & Arabic because they are both important languages in today's world with everything going on (and maybe they can help me score a federal law enforcement job in the future). Italian because I am 100% italian and would like to get closer to my roots.

Ok, enough about Rosetta Stone :p Today is my day off. I am feeling pretty good and pretty sore :bb: My hamstrings are killing from the db deadlifts and my upper back is killing from my cable rows. I need to find a better way to hit my lats because I don't think my lat pulldowns are doing anything.

Today hasn't been good! The only meal I had was lunch- I had a panini. I need to eat dinner, ASAP. My hamstrings are absolutely killing me today from the DB Deadlifts I did Tuesday. Killing me like it hurts to walk. Today is my leg day- not gonna happen. I'm going to do some light cardio at the gym today with some timed situps and pushups. I'm hoping to do 100 situps and 100 pushups total. I was so excited to try deadlifts I did them on my arm day. Needless to say, next week they will be on my leg day.

This weekend I'm going to get a pull-up bar and a weighed vest.

I'm going to give in and buy some cheap whey from wal-mart. I'm so used to adding calories with it I am lost without having it around. I know I'm going to go buy a casein/whey mix soon but I'll find a use for this cheap stuff some how.

I got some information from the Indiana State Police today telling me their test is going to be the first week of December so I'm pretty happy about that. I've got a total of 4 tests coming up now.

Roch PD - 11/17
Indiana SP - 12/8
NYSP - 1/22
NYPD - Sometime in Feb

Ok, time to go buy some dinner and clean up my apartment.

Third week into it...

Measurements:

Right Wrist: 6.8" ( -.1 )
Right Forearm: 11.5” ( -.3 )
Right Bicept Flexed: 13.7" ( -.2 )
Chest: 38” ( -.6)
Waist @ BB: 39.1” ( -.7 )
Waist below BB (where my gut ends, top of my butt): 37.6" (-.4)
Hips: 40.4” ( -.1 )
Thigh: 24.2” ( -.6 )
Calf: 16.2” ( -.3 )
Neck: 16.2"

Weight: 192 ( -4 lbs )

Lost a total of 10lbs the past 3 weeks :-D

I'll put up pictures today, too

Keep it up man! I'm cheering for you

Hey dude,

Enjoy reading the journal so far - inspiring to see the courage to change path in life and go for what you want.

Now, flax seed seems to be working out for you, but I thought I'd share a tip. You can eliminate the fish burps by keeping the oil in the fridge.. the lower temperature allows the oil to pass into your intestines before being broken down/absorbed.

Perhaps my explanation lacks scientifically, but it works :madpimp:

'chef

Good tip. I'll try that.

Thanks for the positive comments guys. My day hasn't been fantastic so it cheered me up. I still need to post my workout from last friday up and also my workout from yesterday.

Last Friday (I was lazy):

Shoulder Press:
1x15: -
2x10@80lbs ( +20 lbs )
1x10@60lbs ( +10lbs )

DB Upright Rows
1x10@40lbs
1x10@50lbs

Side Lateral Rows
1x10@30lbs

Yesterday (Monday) - got to the gym @ 6am

Bench Press
1x15@80lbs (+10lbs)
3x10@100lbs (+10lbs)
Max Bench: 140lbs (+10lbs)

Incline Bench Press
3x10@70lbs (-10lbs)

Flys
1x10@70lbs ( No Change )
2x10@80lbs ( +10lbs )

Tricep Pushdown
1x10@70lbs ( +10lbs )
2x10@60lbs( No Change )

General info:

I reset my sleep schedule on Sunday night with Melatonin. Went to bed at 10pm, woke up at 4:45am. No melatonin on Monday night but passed the hell out and work up this morning at 4:45.. The routine should be set now. I can't seem to sleep late when it becomes winter, I'm not sure why... I usually kick ass during the winter though because I'm up so early. It makes me more motivated and I get tons done.

I bought ZMA after reading about the sleep benefits. Boy, it makes me sleep like a rock (it's awesome). It was only like $8 because your first purchase at Vitamin World is 40% off

I also got a pull-up bar. I can't do any pull-ups but can do 2 chin-ups if I start standing up and don't go down all the way for the second. I can really feel my lats and boy are they are sore. I'm going start doing lots of negatives until I can do a pull-up.

Ok, I'm headed to the gym to burn off some of this frustration. I'll post my workout when I'm done.

Tuesday

Cable Rows
1x15@90lbs (+10lbs)
3x10@100lbs (+10lbs)

Lat Pull Downs
3x10@80lbs ( Little Change )

Single Arm DB Row
2x10@30lbs (No change)

Curls
3x10@40lbs (No change)

Bunch of chin ups, negatives, and doing some pushups soon.

Man, I have been busy which is why I havn't posted here lately.

Wednesday was my day off.
Thursday I did legs.

DB Squats
1x15@60lbs
3x10@60lbs

Leg Extension
3x10@100/110/120 (No Change, I could have done more)

Leg Curls
3x10@60/50/50 (No Change)

Straight Leg Deadlift
3x10@70/70/80 (+20lbs)

The deadlifts killed my hamstrings again.

Didn't workout Friday which seems like it's becoming a common trend. I think I'm going to move Friday to Wednesday. I always miss Friday because that's when I am always busy.

Saturday morning I had my first police officer exam with the RPD. It was much easier than the practice tests I have been taking.

Sunday measurements:

Right Wrist: 6.9" ( +.1 )
Right Forearm: 11.5” ( No Change )
Right Bicept Flexed: 13.6" ( -.1 )
Chest: 38.2” ( +.2)
Waist @ BB: 39” ( -.1 )
Waist below BB (where my gut ends, top of my butt): 37.7" (+.1)
Hips: 40.6” ( +.2 )
Thigh: 24.6” ( +.4 )
Calf: 16.2” ( No Change )
Neck: 14.5 ( - 1.7?? I must have measured wrong last time)

Weight: 195.5 ( +3.5lbs )

So, I made little to no progress this week, lol. I have been eating crappy, not eating enough, and been lazy with my lifts. I really need to kick it in this week and start pushing it. My measurement have changed a little but I think I was dehydrated last weekend, so overall I havn't changed much this week.

The deadlifts killed my hamstrings again.

Well, that's what they're there for.

Well, that's what they're there for.

Lol. I love them, thanks for giving me the tip. The deadlifts seem to be, by far, one of the most effective lifts I am doing. My hamstrings are sore for like 2-3 days after.

Workouts from tonight:

Bench Press:
1x15@90lbs ( + 10lbs )
1x10@100/110/110 ( + 10lbs )
Max Bench: 150lbs ( + 10lbs )

Incline Bench
3x10@80/70/70 (+10 lbs)

Flys
3x10@80/90/90 (+10lbs)

For some reason I had a real hard time doing Tricep pushdowns tonight.

My bench has been improving nicely every week. I am very happy with my results.

Notes

First- I am going away until Saturday to visit my family for thanksgiving. I'm going to keep lifting (even on thanksgiving!) and I'll post all of my progress here when I get back.

I'm going to eat relatively clean on thanksgiving. This means lots of turkey breast (no gravy), a little bit of mashed potatoes, veggies, etc. One small piece of pumpkin pie with NO CRUST (the crust pretty much doubles the calories of the slice).

Once I get back on Saturday I am going to bite the bullet and start calorie counting. I feel I have made decent progress this first month of training. I've successfully incorporated a lifting routine into my day-to-day life. I've missed a few days but I've made it to the gym atleast 90% of the time.

I think the biggest thing holding me back right now is my diet. It's not that I don't eat clean it's just that my eating habits arn't great. I often don't eat enough or screw up my macros.

Basically what I'm saying is it's time to get serious about my diet. So for the next month I am going to plan out all of my meals. I'll have them listed here so you guys can follow along. I'm also going to try and do this on a cheap budget.. Not sure of the weekly amount yet. I'm thinking $30-40.

It's going to suck calorie counting and planning out all of my meals but I think I'll make leaps compared to the baby steps I made during my last 4 weeks.


Happy Thanksgiving ;)

Right Wrist: 7" ( +.1 )
Right Forearm: 11.7” ( +.2 )
Right Bicept Flexed: 13.6" ( No Change )
Chest: 38.2” ( No Change )
Waist @ BB: 39” ( No Change )
Waist below BB (where my gut ends, top of my butt): 37.6" (-.1)
Hips: 40.2” ( -.4 )
Thigh: 24.4” ( -.2 )
Calf: 16.1” ( -.1 )
Neck: 14.5 ( No Change )

Weight: 194.5 ( -1lbs )

I already knew about that tip. My fish oil pills are in the freezer. I still get fishy burps when I take them but not as bad as being out of the freezer.

________
Rosetta Stone is pretty sweet.
_________________




If you can find it.... I recommend Spectrum Cod Liver Fish Oil With Lemon flavor. (Never had fish taste come in or out). Actually no burps at all.

You convinced me to try Rosetta Stone. I have seen them advertised in the inflight magazines all the time, but never bit because of the price. Sounds like I was making a mistake.

Thanks for the info about them. :tucool:

Right Wrist: 7.1" ( +.1 )
Right Forearm: 11.9” ( +.2 )
Right Bicept Flexed: 13.6" ( No Change )
Chest: 38” ( -.2 )
Waist @ BB: 38.9” ( -.1 )
Waist below BB (where my gut ends, top of my butt): 37.2" (-.4)
Hips: 40” ( -.2 )
Thigh: 24.2” ( -.2 )
Calf: 16” ( -.1 )
Neck: 14.5 ( No Change )

Weight: 189lbs ( -5.5lbs )

It was a good week. Missed workouts Thur / Fri. Had good workouts on Mon / Tues. I seriously watched my diet this week. Can't believe I am finally out of 190s. Next goal is for 179lbs.

If you can find it.... I recommend Spectrum Cod Liver Fish Oil With Lemon flavor. (Never had fish taste come in or out). Actually no burps at all.

You convinced me to try Rosetta Stone. I have seen them advertised in the inflight magazines all the time, but never bit because of the price. Sounds like I was making a mistake.

Thanks for the info about them. :tucool:

Thanks for the info on the Lemon flavor fish oil. Let me know how Rosetta Stone works for you.

--

I haven't really been updating here too much. I'm going to start again. Been thinking about doing a ROTC program and going into the Air Force or Marine Corps as a commissioned officer. I'm not sure but the problem is that I'm almost a 3rd year student already which means that if I go into ROTC this late (as opposed to your 1st or 2nd year) I have to commit to 4 years of active duty after college.

December has been a busy month. I've been working out very rarely but eating very clean and with about a 700-800 cal deficit per day. I calculated that I need about 2700c to maintain my current weight and I'm eating about 2200c.

My weight is steady at about 190lbs. My waist is down about half an inch so I know I am still making progress.

I'm heading home for the holidays but I'm going to start my daily lifting regimen for the new years. I miss going to the gym everyday, haha!

Today I am trying to finish up all the food in my house. I have cleaned out everything in the fridge and now I am going through the canned goods and the rice. I want to have no food left here when I leave and it should be perfect to last me until I leave. I have about 3000c worth of food and I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon.

I hope everyone has a happy and relaxing holiday! :gl: