Getting Real 2010

[hapa]

Hello to anyone reading this. I've been lurking on the forums for about 6 months, and finally joined the gym here in my new city. Over the next year, my goal is to get down to about 10% BF and to fit into 30 or 32 pants. Also, I want to improve my overall athletic abilities (playing basketball, I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to dunk, but I want to hang on the rim) So far, the dude that has impressed me the most on the forums is Merk- dude is an absolute beast.

A Quick History:
-fairly chubby kid growing up
-did Taekwondo for a year in '01- was able to see the top 2 abs
-lifted weights throughout high school, and about five times in four years of college. Fmr 1RM
bench- 200
squat- 405
-dropped 25 lbs in senior year of college using diet alone after ballooning to my all time high of 218.

Currently:
-living in a mid-size city in Japan
-joined the gym
-probably sitting around 185-190 lbs

I know there are a lot of people who start to post on this forum and then give up or stop posting. I don't want to be one of those guys. I've done too much reading, too much thinking, and too much daydreaming about being one of those guys in the Transformation Spotlight. By the time I visit my best friend in Spain this December, I want to be down a pant size, and up big time in strength.

Stats:
Age: 22
Sex: Male
Weight: 190 (approximate)
Body Fat %: in the twenties(?)
Height: 5'7"
Waist: 35
Hips: 34

Now that I've got the boring history out of the way, time to get to work!

Workout 1
7/13/10
DB Press- 22.5 kgs- 3x8
DB Flies- 10 kgs- 3x10
close grip bench- 30 kgs- 2x8
wide grip bench 15 kg- 2x8
shrugs- 80 kg- 3x10
tricep push downs- 50 lbs- 3x8 with rope, 3x8 with handle
ran 1 mile @ about 9.2 pace

(went on vacation)

Workout 2
7/26/10
front dumbell raises- 10 kg- 3x8
lateral raises- 10 kg- 3x8
DB shoulder press- 15 kg- 3x8
lat pulldowns- 40 lbs- 3x10 or failure
T-bar rows- 90 lbs- 3x 8
seated pulley rows- 40 lbs- 3x8 or failure
DB curls- 12.5 kg- 3x8
Preacher curls- 20 kg- 3x10
exercise bike- 6 minutes at high intensity

I guess that's all for now. Need to make time for the workout tonight- legs and abs. Can't wait to get back on squats again.

Here's to becoming an athlete in 2010

[Mauidude]

You're off to a great start Hapa and you've got age on your side. Sounds like you've got the right attitude and commitment. We'll be checking your progress.

BTW, you from Hawaii? Noticed the name "Hapa"?

[hapa]

Hey Mauidude, thanks for the encouragement. I'm not from Hawaii, but I am half-Japanese and half-Caucasian- sort of a bastardization of the Hawaiian term I guess!

[hapa]

Went to the gym after work yesterday, worked on legs for the first time in more than a year.

warm-up:
squat 1x8 using the bar

routine:
squats- 3x8-10- 135 lbs
*focused on form and getting used to squatting with the bare bar
calf raises- 3x20- 135 lbs
leg press- 3x8 using ascending weight- 135, 225, 315 lbs
leg curls- 3x8 w/ "50" setting on the machine
forearm rope curl- 3 sets of going up and down both ways- 5 kg
aerobic bike- 9 minutes at a "5" pace

Have some pretty decent DOMS today in the hamstrings, glutes, and forearms with some residual ones in the biceps. My muscles are starting to feel a little tighter!

No workouts scheduled this weekend, but at least I want to get out and play basketball.

Until next time-

[hapa]

Went to the gym on Monday here- worked chest and tris and did a 10 minute exercise bike session with 2 minutes at a steady pace and 1 minute of sprinting.

Chest-
Bench Press- 3x6-8 @ 135 lbs
note- I used to warm up at this weight. This was pathetic.
DB Bench- 3x8 @ 35 lbs
DB Flyes- 3x8 @ 25 lbs
Skull Crushers- 3x8 @ ez curl bar plus 10 lbs
Tricep extensions- 3x8 @ 35 lbs
Tricep pushdowns w/ rope 3x8 @ 40
Tricep pushdowns w/ bar 3x8 @ 50

Today is Wednesday and my chest and tris are still sore as hell. However, the hardness in my muscles and the size is slowly getting better. Getting back into lifting feels nice!

[hapa]

Hit the gym again last night after work- since my chest and tris were (are) still sore, I decided to work legs. I've noticed that my diet is still severely lacking. A sad excuse, really, but a lot of the foods that I eat here in Japan aren't available as an option in FitDay. Maybe if I just keep a food journal on paper, it'll help me get a better idea so I can estimate. Save leg workout days, I've been hopping on the exercise bike after every workout. I know it's better to do it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, but with playing jazz at the club a couple nights a week and the random hangouts that go late, I can't seem to drag my ass out of bed early enough to get it done. Anyway, down to the nitty gritty

Squats
warm-up with the bar 1x8
test run at last week's weight-1x8 @ 135 lbs
3x8 @ 205
-going below parallel without a belt
Calf Raises
1x10 @ 60
1x10 @ 80
1x10 @ 100
3x20 @ 80

Leg extensions
3x10 @ 40
by this point in the workout I thought i was going to hurl

Leg curls
3x8 @ 35

I got out of the gym as fast as I could- hit ridiculous traffic on the way back, and was struggling the entire time. Got home, drank a protein shake, and rested for a while and eventually the puke sensation went away.

I'm wondering whether the puke feeling was due to drinking a medium coffee and eating a chicken breast about 30-40 before my lift, or whether it was due to really pushing myself on the squat rack.

There was a massive guy doing squats next to me (huge glutes, huge quads, calves were ridiculous) but he was doing them with an extra wide stance and obviously going down as far as possible- but with only about 115 or 125 lbs. Is this a different type of squat for isolating another part of the leg?

Well, it's 9:12 AM the next day- stairs are my worst enemy today. I'm considering cutting down on smoking... The last thing on my mind yesterday as I dragged myself out of the gym was to get a smoke.

Total health is hard. (understatement of my life)

[hapa]

Hit the gym Friday after work- didn't get as much of a satisfying feeling as I did with legs on Wednesday. It was back, shoulders, and a half-assed bicep workout.

bent over DB row- 3x8 @ 35 lbs
T-bar- 3x8 @ 45, then 90 lbs
lat pulldowns- 3x8 @ 40 on the machine

overhead press- 3x8 @ 65 lbs
front shoulder raise- 3x8 @ 20
side shoulder raise- 3x8 @ 20

preacher curl- 3x8 @ 45
concentration curls 3x8 @ 15

It was Friday- my legs were still hurting, and I just wanted to get out of the gym. I really had to force myself to go that day, but I guess it's the days when you really don't want to go that will eventually make the difference.

Monday morning here, today is tris and chest. I'll see if I can raise my embarrassing bench press from last week.

[Whoracle]

I'll race you to a transformation spotlight . Anyway good luck on your journey. It gives me tons of inspiration to go through the beginning of one of these posts and then see where they are at now. Hopefully we can both stick with it.

[hapa]

Sounds good! However, with my diet the way it is it could be a struggle

Good luck in your fitness transformation- I'm shooting for good results by the New Year, how about yourself?

[hapa]

Monday night's lift

incline bench- 3x8 @ 95, 125, and 130 lbs
flat bench- messed up the sets on this one- basically did about 4-5 sets with weight ranging from 95 to 135 lbs- @ 135 lbs I basically did 2 1/2 sets of 4- as much as my pathetic body could muster
DB flies- 2x8 @ 25 lbs, 2x8 @ 20, 2xfailure @ 15
DB kickbacks- 3x10 @ 10 lbs
skullcrushers- 3x10 @ 30 lbs (the ez curl bar is what..10 lbs?)
standing tricep extensions- 3x10 @ 35
pushdowns w/ bar 3x10 @ 40
pushdowns w/ rope- attempted some random sets, and then tried drop sets at 20, 15, and 10 keeping my chest and shoulders back and focusing on working the tricep only
bike- 13 minutes- 2 minutes at "5", 1 minute sprint at "7", decreased sprint difficulty to a 6, and a 5 at the next interval. Basically 2 minutes of steady, 1 minute of sprint for 13 minutes.

I think I'm getting better- i've always had massive thighs, but they weren't always necessarily muscle. The only part of the quad that still won't flex is the inner- since the machine at the gym isn't the best, I'm thinking about hooking up a leg strap to the bottom hook on the pushdown machine to get both outer and inner quad lifts.

I think next week, I need to integrate some dips and close grip bench. Ever since I had that killer leg lift last Wednesday, the last two workouts have left me feeling a little unsatisfied. Hopefully if I keep working at it and cranking up the intensity, i'll make progress. Grabbed a protein shake w/ milk and a banana after the lift.

My diet is still lagging! The drinking party for the noobs at work tonight isn't helping...

[Whoracle]

My goal is to lose 80 pounds by July 1st 2011 since my gym membership expires then. SO when I go to renew I want to be able to look at the guy trying to push a personal trainer on me and tell him how about I train you for $100+ bucks a session lol.

[Scott165]

Originally Posted by Whoracle

I'll race you to a transformation spotlight .

Count me in too! Just joined up and started a journal today after being a long time lurker, and seems like the three of us have pretty similar goals. I'm looking to hit my weight loss goal by the New Year as well. Figured I'd find a couple other journals to follow so I'll keep up to date on both of yours

Good luck hapa, you can definitely do this!

[Whoracle]

Looking at some of the transformations and of course John's it lets me know that this something that is definitely doable. If I would have saw a guy like John in the gym before I saw his page I'd have just assumed he was a meathead all his life and mutter to myself about how he must be juicing. Not to make him feel like an old fart but if he can do it in his 30's I can definitetly do it now.

[hapa]

Got a nice haircut yesterday and hit the gym for back and biceps- I really wanted to hit back HARD so I tried out some new things-

Deadlifts- 4x8 @ 135 lbs
1x8 @ 185 lbs
Power cleans 3x8 @ 95 lbs
lat pulldowns 1x8 @ 30, 1x8 @ 35, 1x6 @ 40, 1x4 @ 45, 1x2 @ 50
bent DB row- 3x8 @ 30, 35, 40
seated rows- same deal as Lat pulldowns- 35, 40, 45, 50- on the last couple I felt something below my right shoulder pop..it felt a little funny yesterday but today i think it's okay.

"21's" with ez curl and 10's on each side- 3 sets
concentration curls 3x8 @ 20 and 15

At this point, had to meet a buddy that is leaving the country. Got some absolutely dank Korean BBQ.

Starting light on the pulldowns made a big difference- and also starting on a big multi-muscle exercise like the deadlift helped my back to get ready for the work of pulldowns. I did some reading and really focused on squeezing my shoulder blades together as I pulled. Today, my back is as sore as it's probably ever been, so I think I did something right!

[badgolfer]

Originally Posted by hapa

Today, my back is as sore as it's probably ever been, so I think I did something right!

Excellent!

[hapa]

Skipped the gym on Friday Instead I went and tossed the pigskin around with the boys and went bowling with my girlfriend afterward. I'll hit up the gym tonight- chest & arms.

[hapa]

Worked chest, tris, and delts on Monday night. Forget to add dips to my workout routine though

DB bench- 3x8 @ 22.5, 25, 27.5 kilos
Incline bench- 3x8 @ 85 lbs
close grip incline 3x8 @ 55 lbs
decline DB bench- 3x8 @ 20 lbs (awkward bench...needed to adjust it)
DB flies- 3x8 @ 20 lbs
seated tricep extensions using rectangle bar w/ 2 handles on the inside- 3x8 @ 50-ish lbs
upright rows- 3x8 @ 55 lbs
DB front raises- 3x8 @ 20 lbs
tricep pushdowns w/ rope- 3x8 @ 35 on machine
overhead tricep pushdown (stand in front of machine with back facing weight plates, extend triceps overhead using bar attachment) 3x8 @ 40 on machine

Completely forgot about dips- the one exercise I need. At least when I was fat I had considerably more strength...My muscles are still getting harder but it's unsatisfying when I don't get those fatiguing workouts. I guess my muscles have become accustomed to lifting again- DOMS isn't nearly as bad. Then again, this particular lift left me feeling like I was going to vomit all over the gym and my car, and possibly the elevator up to my apartment. Why am I getting that sick feeling?

I need to add mass to my triceps, lose fat overall, etc. etc. I'm doubting my own commitment to diet. At home I eat well, but lunches out and occasional drinking parties (like last night) seem to be really bogging down my progress.

I realize that I just started getting back into lifting, but I'm still highly anticipating more tangible (waistline) results. On the upside, my barber noticed that I filled out the chair more with my shoulders, and I've been complimented on gaining muscle a few times in the last 2 weeks, which is nice.

Tonight is legs. Oh boy.

[hapa]

Another missed workout

Went bowling, ate more Mexican food than I should have, but went running afterward.

Bought a pocket notebook & pen so I can better track my sets/reps at the gym. Food journal is a work in progress.

Today the gym is closed, but I refuse to miss my workout on Friday.

[hapa]

Friday: legs

squats- warmup w/ bar for 8
1x8 @ 135
1x8 @ 185
1x8 @ 225
1x6 @ 225
2x8 @ 185

leg press
3x10 @ 225 w/ 2x20 calf raises at the top

bulgarian squats- no weight
1x8 each leg

glute machine (1 leg at a time)
1x8 @ 35
2x8 @ 55

Monday: Chest/Tris
Bench Press
warmup w/ bar for 8
1x8 @ 95
1x8 @ 135

BP negatives
3x4 @ 185

DB bench press
3x8 @ 25, 30, 35

DB flies
3x8 @ 20, 25, 30

DB incline press
3x8 @ 30

tricep extensions with square bar
3x8 @ 40 lbs
3x8 @ 35 lb w/ DB

tricep pushdowns
3x8 @ 35 w/ rope
3x8 @ 40 w/ flat bar overhead

attempted to do a dip, but couldn't hold myself up on the bar

That's all for now...next workout is tomorrow! Going to the jazz club to try out my new electric guitar

[hapa]

back/shoulders workout yesterday-

deadlifts
4x8 @ 135

overhead press
3x8 @ 65, 75, 75 lbs

barbell rows
3x8 @ 65 (struggled on the last set)

shoulder shrugs
3x8 @ 40, 60, 80 on machine

seated rows
3x8 @ 35, 45, 50

lat pulldowns (widegrip)
3x8 @ 35, 45, 45 (struggled on the last set)

upright barbell row
3x8 @ 65, 75, 65

chest/shoulder press
3x8 @ 25 lbs each arm

lateral extensions
3x8 @ 20, 20, 30

attempted about 4-5 pullups

back hyperextensions
3x10 @ 10 lb plate


A good workout overall, my traps are pretty sore today. My lower back was burning towards the end of those hyperextensions though!! In a couple more weeks I want to change my workouts, but I'm not sure if a program like starting strength is good for me. I guess it couldn't hurt to work the big muscle groups 3 times a week.

My strength is coming along, little by little. I'm not seeing very much belly loss, but my legs have definitely gotten slimmer. It feels good to make progress but I can't help but think that it could be so much faster if I quit smoking and got on a completely healthy diet. I don't quite understand how people with normal jobs and lunch breaks can work the 6 meal thing. Also, the social factor of missing lunches with your co-workers comes into play. I guess if you really want a body transformation, you just go past all those things...