gazareth's journal

Nope, finished that 3 weeks ago (including the two week transition).

 

Tuesday
Breakfast - usual shake
Lunch - 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs, 10 sprouts, 1/2 avocado, apple
Afternoon - 2 scoops PP
Dinner - sea bass fillet, pancetta, salsa, butternut squash, cabbage

 

I've had a few brands but the most recent was Blue Diamond. They sell a few brands in Waitrose including BD and Alpro. They're basically the same. Just make sure to get an unsweetened one (unless you want added sugar).

 

Couch to 5K week 3 day 2
Warm-up: 5 min walk
Intervals:
1:30 run, 1:30 walk
2 x 2:30 run, 2:30 walk
1:30 run, 1:30 walk
Cool-down: 5 min walk
Avg HR: 141bpm
Max HR: 190bpm
Distance covered: 2.1mi
Strava

Fastest mile (10:01); 1km (5:51); 1/2 mile (4:46); 400m (1:58).


Wednesday
Breakfast - usual shake
Lunch - same as yesterday (chicken/sprouts/pitta) + some salsa
Afternoon - (planned) PP/PB
Dinner - (planned) teriyaki salmon, broccoli, rice

 

Thursday
Identical food to Wednesday, with exception of dinner where I am having greens instead of rice

 

Couch to 5K week 3 day 3
5 min walk
2 min run, 2 min walk
3 min run, 3 min walk - twice
2 min run, 2 min walk
5 min walk

2.3mi
140bpm avg HR, 197bpm max


Friday
Breakfast - usual shake
Lunch - 6" Subway chicken breast on whole grain with extra chicken
Afternoon - 2 scoops PP, 1 tbsp PB, apple
Dinner - pork belly, sweet potato, broccoli slaw

 

Saturday
Breakfast - usual shake (milk, frozen berries, Greek yoghurt, flax, PP)
Lunch - foot-long Subway with double chicken breast, cheese, salad, mayo
Dinner - Thai red curry with 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, green beans and jasmine rice; 1 bottle Brooklyn lager

Training Sat 29th Nov @ home - upper body

A1 Bench press - deload-ish, easy 5s - 60, 65, 70, 70, 70
A2 JG inverted rows - 4 x 8

B1 Barbell rows - 3 x 8 x 45kg, 8 x 40kg
B2 OH KB press - 4 sets/side with 16kg: 1 x 10 reps, 3 x 8

C1 JG push-ups - 2 x 12
C2 Band Pallof press - 2 x 8/side with 2 red bands

 

Thanks Phil. Consistency is key.

--

Weight 217.25lbs
Waist 40.5"

Not really losing any scale weight these last 3-4 weeks, but my waist size is still going down. Not sure what's going on, but possibly gaining back some lost muscle mass. Either way, I'm losing fat - my clothes are looser and people are noticing a difference in my appearance. I've just got to keep going. It might take another six months to get to where I want to be, but I need to stay focused on the process and not the outcome.

Sunday

Breakfast - usual shake
Lunch - CHEAT MEAL - roast chicken, roast potatoes, sprouts, carrots, gravy; chocolate fondant & ice cream
Dinner - leftover roast chicken sandwich with avocado; apple


Training Sunday 30th Nov @ home - lower body

A Front squats - 5 x 3 x 95kg
On set 1 I had the bar too low down my shoulders and I almost lost it on the last rep. From then on I set-up with it tight against my throat. It felt way more stable but it did affect my ability to take a big breath between sets, and my throat still feels a little scratchy now! The actual squats were easy; my upper back was holding me back slightly.

B RDLs - 3 x 12 x 80kg
I did 4 x 8 x 95 last week and I couldn't be bothered to load more weight on the bar after front squats (particularly as I had to strip weight off to get it from the stands to the floor), so I went more reps instead.

C1 Barbell bridge - 3 x 8 x 75kg
C2 Front plank - 3 x 45 seconds

 

Couch to 5K week 4 day 1
5 min walk
3 min run, 2 min walk
4 min run, 3 min walk - twice
3 min run, 2 min walk
5 min walk

2.8 miles

Average HR 152bpm but my monitor appears to have gone fruity again and I have several readings over 200bpm in Strava. Highest HR besides those anomalies are 181bpm ish. Fastest two mile effort today (22:55) and 1/2 mile (4:40).

First 3 minute run was easy, the first 4 minute run was OK until the last minute or so when I was going uphill, the other two runs were harder work. Another session down. I think day 2 of this week is 5 min runs in the middle two intervals with the same rest periods, then decreasing rest periods on day 3. It's ramping up quickly now!


Monday
Breakfast - shake: 250ml almond milk, 1 scoop PP, 1tbsp flax, 1/2 cup frozen berries, 3 tbsp Greek yoghurt
Lunch - 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 10 sprouts, 1/2 avocado, 1 tbsp chipotle mayo; apple
Afternoon - 2 scoops PP
Dinner - sirloin steak with carrots, broccoli, peas

 

Rest day. I can tell I'm in a good place as I'm actually disappointed about that. I'm planning to do an extra lift this week and do some deadlifts on Thursday. For some weird reason I'm excited about the idea of doing some deadlifts on Christmas Day so I thought I should ramp up towards that by getting my back used to pulling again

Tuesday
Breakfast - usual shake
Lunch - same as Monday - chicken thighs, avocado, sprouts, apple
Afternoon - 2 scoops PP, 2 tsp PB
Dinner - sea bass with pancetta, salsa, green beans, new potatoes

Meanwhile I'm thinking of setting some goals for 2015:
* Get to 34" waist measurement at whatever weight (likely somewhere in the region of 175-185lbs)
* Run 5K in 26 minutes
* ... and eventually 10K in 50 minutes
* Finally deadlift 227.5kg (500lbs) and bench press 120kg (250lbs)

 

Thanks guys. I was so close to a 500# deadlift at my last powerlifting meet (3 years ago). In fact, I'm pretty sure I'd have got it if my grip hadn't failed me on my second attempt - that forced me to re-take 215kg (and get it easily) so I never got the chance to take a shot at it. I'd love to finally nail that. I honestly believe that most people can pull 400# if they train for it for a sustained period, but 500# takes a little bit more (and 600# more again!).

--

Couch to 5K week 4 day 2
5 min warm-up walk
3 min run, 2 min walk
5 min run, 3 min walk - twice
3 min run, 2 min walk
5 min cool-down walk

2.9mi

HR data is all over the place so the average/max mean nothing to be honest. Not impressed with my HR strap.

Fastest 2 miles (22:10). I also got my second fastest 1/2 mile (4:43) despite this being the first time that I have been running long enough in any interval to run a whole half mile. This just shows that I was slow today.

I did a different route today and the first two intervals were up a very slight gradient - nothing horrible, but just enough to keep my calves working. As a result my gait was a bit stiff and my pace was down. I was also running into enough of a headwind to make it more of a challenge. My calves were pretty sore and stiff by the time I got to the downhill section so I couldn't make up the pace then. I did manage to up the pace at the start of the last interval to get a PR on a Strava segment. Strava is showing my pace to be above 9:30/mile for most of the run intervals. Boo. I guess a big part of this program is getting my body used to running for longer and longer periods - my lungs haven't ever felt gassed, it's mainly just my legs that are finding it tough.

Wednesday

Breakfast - guess what? usual shake
Lunch - same as yesterday
Afternoon - (planned) - same as yesterday
Dinner - (planned) -teriyaki salmon, new potatoes, broccoli

 

Not with that attitude!