Get Ripped or Die Trying

Sunday, July 6, 2014:

UpperBody Day

1. Bench - 3 x 10 @ 175lbs

2. Row - 3 x 12 @ 130lbs

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3. Supinated Aussie Pullups - 3 x 12 @ 35lbs, 25lbs, BW

4. Standing Arnold Press - 3 x 12 @ 50lbs

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5. Cross Curls - 3 x 10* @ 50lbs

6. Bar Dips - 3 x 15

Felt like shit throughout this whole training. Hopped on the scale and am up to 161lbs, which is an utter disappointment given that I vowed never to cross the 160 threshold again. Ate like a madman over the weekend, and still paying for it by virtue of having indigestion, lethargy, nausea, etc. Not going to eat like that again as it really messes me up for days after. Honestly feeling very spent, and could probably lie in bed for the rest of the day. Doesn't help that we have planned to do some yard work today - in 88*F sun no less. Maybe I'll do some core training tomorrow. I had planned on adding in a bunch of HIIT stuff today, but this alone almost made me puke - I can only imagine what would have happened had I added in the 180* Jumps, and burpees into the mix.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014:

UpperBody/HIIT Circuit - 3 Rounds, Rest 2 Minutes

1. Pushups 3 Ways (Incline, Staggered, Diamond) x 50

2. Renegade Row x 15* @ 25lbs*

3. Standing Mountain Climbers x 50

4. DB Snatch x 15* @ 25lbs

5. Curl & Arnold Press x 12 @ 50lbs

6. Burpees x 15

7. Delt Fly x 15 @ 25lbs

8. Pullups x 10

Awesome training today. Felt great after a couple days off. No real fatigue during this, other than it was a tough workout. Feels good to get back into more shoulder work too, especially with the chronic pain I was experiencing before. Made myself a killer salad after training too, full of steamed veggies! Back tomorrow with core.

Wednesday, July 9, 2014:

Core Day - 2 Rounds, Rest 2 Minutes

1. Alternating Toe Touch x 20*

2. Weighted Decline SitUp x 20 @ 25lbs

3. Elevated SidePlank Dips x 12*

4. Mountain Climbers x 50

5. Elevated SidePlank w/ Rotation x 15*

6. Bicycle Abs x 60

Only got in two rounds today, instead of the intended three. Was kind of bored by the end of the second round, then I got distracted by a text message so I just packed it in and ate some dinner instead. Not much to say today, just a pretty mundane afternoon. Been doing a lot of thinking about what I would like to do career-wise, which I'm sure is draining my focus. Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow for legs.

Thursday, July 10, 2014:

Legs - 3 Rounds, Rest 2 Minutes

1. Front Squat x 20 @ 70lbs

2. 180* Jumps x 16

3. Wide Leg Deadlift x 15 @ 120lbs

4. Reverse Lunge + Kick x 12*

5. Side Lunge x 12* @ 70lbs

6. Lunge Jumps x 20

Solid training today. Felt really sapped by the start of the third round. Maybe I should eat more? Hopefully that means I'm building muscle. When I say "sapped" I mean that I feel sleepy, and hungry, all at once. I could probably do with a vitamin of some kind. I'll dig them out of the pantry and start popping some this weekend. Speaking of weekends, I can't wait for this one. Nothing in particular is happening, except that I don't have to work! This week really kicked my ass, even with it being a four day week. Anyhow, I'm hungry. Back Saturday for heavy weights.

Worst friend ever award goes to.. Ross Cosgrove!

Hey man, sorry I've not been in touch! So happy to see you're still killing it bud! Am currently trying to catch up with your journal haha!

In regards to your weight gain, it's very likely muscle! Especially since your training is so intense, your bound to have made some size increases, do you have those weird things that test your body fat percentage? I would go by that rather than the scales

Saturday, July 12, 2014:

Interrupted Session

1. Bench 3 x 10/15/15 at 185/165/165lbs

2. Row 3 x 12 @ 140lbs

And then these guys came over to fix our gutters, and I spent the rest of the day just working on the house.

Worst friend ever award goes to.. Ross Cosgrove!

Hey man, sorry I've not been in touch! So happy to see you're still killing it bud! Am currently trying to catch up with your journal haha!

In regards to your weight gain, it's very likely muscle! Especially since your training is so intense, your bound to have made some size increases, do you have those weird things that test your body fat percentage? I would go by that rather than the scales

Haha - He Lives! Thanks for checking in mate. I hope you are doing well buddy. I do have a set of calipers that I use from time to time. Haven't checked on it in a while so I'll have to do that this coming weekend. I'll comment on your journal here in a minute... I'm pretty hungover today haha

Tuesday, July 15, 2014:

Day of Rest

Needed to take today off from training after a long weekend of partying too much, and not sleeping enough. Was falling asleep at my post today at work. Going to lay off the booze for a week or so. Drinking beers is a lot of fun, and beer is delicious, but I'm tired of feeling so terrible the next day. Seems like it takes me until Monday to completely recover, and by then the week has already begun again, and I've achieved little in the way of rest/recovery. I'll get back at it tomorrow, but I fell asleep on the train ride home, and that's usually an indicator that I'm just beat overall.

Made a pot of steamed veggies for dinner. For some reason potato tastes so good lately. Here's a pic

(Zucchini, Brussels sprouts, red pepper, broccoli, potato, tomatoes, Bragg's Liquid Aminos, sriracha, nutritional yeast)

Wednesday, July 16, 2014:

Upper Body Day

1. Bench - 3 x 15 @ 155lbs

2. Row - 3 x 15 @ 140lbs

3. Curl + Arnold Press - 3 x 12 @ 50lbs

4. Delt Fly - 3 x 12 @ 70lbs

5. Bar Dips - 3 x 15

6. Elevated Aussie Pullups - 3 x 15

Back in the saddle today. Felt good to get in it after a few days off. A little bit queasy at the end though, not really sure why. Took this at a slower pace as I am apparently still working through last weekend; fell asleep on the train home again. Rows were a PB today, which is cool. I remember a couple months ago when I tried that much weight and could only must maybe 8 reps. Same goes with the delt fly. Seems like I really gained strength in not that much time at all. Thinking about buying some more plates so I can increase loads and still perform multiple exercises in a single set. Legs tomorrow.

Thursday, July 17, 2014:

Legs

1. Sumo Squat - 3 x 12 @ 200lbs

2. Squat Jumps - 3 x 15

3. Close Stance Deadlift - 3 x 15 @ 155lbs

4. HighKnees - 3 x 50

5. Bulgarian Split Squat - 3 x 12* @ 70lbs

6. Buttkicks - 3 x 50

First off, I haven't been eating enough. Hands down. I calculated my calories this morning, and found that even with an additional and unexpected 280 cals from a raw juice this afternoon, by 3:00pm, I had only consumed 1,000 calories. I should probably be at around 1,500 cals by noon. So, Step 1: eat more.

Training today was pretty solid. I really like mixing up deadlifting technique, and found this one to be especially tough on the hamstrings. Split squats are always tough but today I could tell I've been neglecting my stabilizers. Pumped that I could put up 200# on the sumo squats. I miss doing regular squats, but I still don't have a mirror or pad, and the rack I have currently just doesn't seem all that reliable.

Huge salad for dinner. Taking tomorrow off, then doing some bodyweight stuff on Saturday.

Saturday, July 19, 2014:

Full Body + Core (3 Rounds, Rest 2 Minutes)

1. Offset Pushups x 20 (one hand higher than the other, up on some stacked plates, shift between hands)

2. Reverse Decline Leg Raise x 20

3. Burpee to Curlp & Arnold Press x 12 @ 50lbs

4. Elevated Oblique Dips x 15*

5. Renegade Rows x 12* @ 25lbs*

6. Russian Twist x 20*

Great training today after doing some solid yard work. I love having a lawn to mow, edge, water, and plants to care for. I got to bust out the leaf blower today as well, which was fun. Not drinking tonight, so I will hopefully get some good rest in. My left eyelid is twitching, which usually means I'm stressed/unrested. Been eating dried fruit all day like crazy. Trader Joes has these freeze dried banana chips that are awesome, along with dried sliced pineapple, which are incredible! Going to make some tofu tortas (mexican sandwich) tonight with avocado spread. I'm putting it on challah bread, so it will be a little diffferent - and fun! Also, doing some baked beans, and mac-n-cheeze. Anyhow, off to make some awesome food! I'll post up some pics, and links to recipes later.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014:

UpperBody Day (3 Rounds, Rest 3 Minutes)

1. Close Grip Bench Press x 15 @ 115lbs

2. Burpees x 15

3. Single Arm Row x 15* @ 80lbs

4. Highknees x 50

5. Pistol Grip Pullups x 12

6. Decline DB Static Bench x 15* @ 70lbs

7. Bench Dips x 20

8. Cross Curls x 15 @ 50lbs

Solid training today. Higher intensity than usual, and in volume. PB on the single arm rows. Really missing having heavier dumbbells, but I can't decide if I'd rather have a few more lighter plates to progress in other areas, or just a couple of heavy DBs to put up every now and then. I always felt like I had a stronger bench with DBs over barbell. Oh well, I suppose I'm doing just fine equipment-wise. Applying for new jobs lately, so that means I'll likely have to give up my awesome schedule sometime soon. REALLY not looking forward to that day... I'll just make the most of what I have left! Core tomorrow.

Thursday, July 24, 2014:

Legs (3 Rounds, Rest 2 Minutes)

1. Front Squats x 20 @ 70lbs

2. Squat Jumps x 15

3. Single Leg Deadlift x 15* @ 70lbs

4. Long Jumps x 16

5. Side Lunge x 15* @ 70lbs

6. Lunge Jumps x 20*

So, didn't train yesterday because I got home too late, and the weather was too nice to deny my little dog a day in the sun. Sometimes I wonder if I need an entire core day, of if I could just toss some core work in on another day. I'll do that on Saturday, when I plan to hit up some 5x5 heavy training. Weight is up to about 158, but clothes are fitting the same, and I don't look any fatter in the mirror, which hopefully means I've put on some muscle. Legs were already a bit sore today from the single arm rows I did the other day (I did those while holding a lunge position). Can already tell I'll be very sore tomorrow! I've got a lot on my mind lately, and today's training was good to just kind of ignore all that shit and put up some volume. Friday tomorrow which means lawn work, which makes me excited. I can't believe I've spent so many many years without my own green space to tend. Not sure how I didn't go totally mad without that, but I'll never lack green space again in my life. Didn't drink last week, so I can already taste the beers this week haha. Maybe I'll be good again, and skip all that crap. I certainly felt better all week, and I think I know why!

Saturday, July 26, 2014:

5x5 Attempt (Upper Body + Core; Supersets, Rest 45 Seconds Between Sets)

1. Bench - 5 x 5 @ 200lbs

2. Bicycle Abs - 5 x 50

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3. Row - 5 x 5 @ 185lbs

4. Elevated Oblique Dips - 5 x 15*

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5. Curls - 5 x 5 @ 80lbs

6. Decline Reverse Crunch - 5 x 15

5x5 for me, in a word: Boring. I felt anxious between sets, like I wasn't doing enough work. This would definitely take getting used to long term. Was planning on doing deadlifts 5x5 @ 185, but after the rows my lower back was giving me some grief, so I switched and hit curls instead. Food so far today has consisted of nothing but bananas. I think I've had six already haha. Getting some veggies in for lunch though. Not sure if I'll keep training this way. I do like doing a heavy day once per week, combined with higher volume on my other days. I think I'll start flipping things around week by week, as in:

Week 1 - volume, volume, heavy, volume

Week 2 - heavy, heavy, volume, heavy

Week 3 - volume, volume, heavy, volume

Week 4 - heavy, heavy, volume, heavy

Any thoughts? Definitely going to go back to doing 4 days per week, especially with eating as much as I have been lately.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014:

Upper Body Volume Day (3 Rounds, Rest 2 Minutes)

1. Bench x 20 @ 150lbs

2. DB Snatch x 15* @ 35lbs

3. 123 Heisman x 50*

4. Curl to Arnold Press x 15 @ 50lbs

5. ChinUps x 12

6. Bar Dips x 15

Good training today. Hit biceps pretty hard given the curls straight to chin-ups. Enjoyed doing higher volume on the bench. Feels like I'm getting stronger there as well. Core tomorrow, and I'm home early from work for the utilities company to come to move our gas meter. Food still nice and clean. Maybe too much fat though. Weight at 159 as of this morning. Work is stressful at the moment.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014:

Core Day

WarmUp (sort of...) - Insanity Core Cardio Video - first 12-15 minutes (see below)

Circuit (2 Rounds, No Rest)

1. Decline Flutter Kicks x 20*

2. Elevated Side Plan w/ Rotation | Elevated Side Plank w/ Crunch x 15*

3. Hanging Knee Raise w/ Twist x 20*

4. Weighted Decline SitUp x 20 @ 25lbs

5. Bicycle Abs x 50

Bonus Set of Straight Leg Reverse Crunch x 15

Wanted to hit up some HIIT today with the Insanity DVDs, and wanted to focus on core. This "core cardio" dvd was basically nothing by leg focused plyometrics. I guess I shouldn't have expected more, but I plan to do legs tomorrow, and there is no sense in burning them out today by doing a bunch of tuck jumps/ski jumps/football drills when I wanted to focus on core. Sure, those things probably engage core, but they also require quite a bit of leg work, so to speak. Anyway, I got about 12-15 minutes into the video before saying "WTF, this isn't really core at all!" Then I moved on to an improvised circuit. Anyway, I'm glad I got in at least some of the cardio stuff. I'm definitely dripping, as Shaun T says. I plan to revisit the Insanity dvds starting next week. Should be pretty painful at first, given that I've been doing purely weight training really for so many months. But, I'd like to burn some of this excess fat. I think I'll start slow and just add one day in per week, then two, then maybe a third down the road. Or, maybe it would be better to put the weights down for a month and just focus on the Insanity stuff.

Thoughts?

Thursday, July 31, 2014:

Unplanned Rest Day

Came home later than usual, which means I started training later than usual. Also, had a pretty terrible headache at the end of the day, that carried into my training - so I packed it in during the first set. I wasn't focused mentally, given the headache, and after the first 3 exercises, I could feel my head swelling with each flex.

Deadlift - 1 x 10 @ 195lbs

Reverse Lunge - 1 x 15* @ 70lbs

Front Squat - 1 x 15 @ 70lbs

Sucks. I'll hit up some legs either tomorrow, or Saturday for sure.

Friday, August 1, 2014:

Legs

1. Deadlift - 3 x 10 @ 200lbs

2. HighKnees - 3 x 50*

3. Sumo Squat - 3 x 12 @ 200lbs

4. Squat Jumps - 3 x 15

5. Bulgarian Split Squat - 2 x 15* @ 70lbs

6. Lunge Jumps - 2 x 20

Still had a headache today, but trained through it anyhow. Felt good to hit some heavy numbers, and the 200lb deadlift is a PR - so that was fun. Punked out on the last superset because my wife was coming home earlier than expected, and it was time to get some dinner. Going to hit up some heavier numbers tomorrow for upper body. Stoked.

Saturday, August 2, 2014:

Upper Body

1. Bench - 3 x 10 @ 185lbs

2. Delt Fly - 3 x 12 @ 70lbs

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3. Row - 3 x 10 @ 175lbs

4. Front Raise - 3 x 12 @ 35lbs

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5. Decline Bench - 3 x 20 @ 90lbs

6. DB Curls - 3 x 10 @ 70lbs

Solid training today. No headache or anything like that, finally. Energy was good too, probably because I ate like 8 bananas before noon today. Did a boatload of lawn work this morning which was fun. Always nice to get outside. Have some work to do inside before we head out for pizza tonight. Pizza also means beer! I'll try to be good

Tuesday, August 5, 2014:

Insanity Day

Did the Core Power & Resistance video today. Honestly, it was pretty tough. My HIIT cardio definitely needs work after just lifting for so long. I wouldn't say this kicked my ass, but I definitely took breaks more often/longer than the people on the video - ok it kicked my ass haha! I remember doing these a couple years ago, and I am kind of amazed and proud of how much easier this was today compared to back then.

Maybe I'll do another one tomorrrow...

I remember seeing loads of stuff about insanity, the only thing that put me off doing it was the whole, over the top infomercial crap ahha, the workouts looked killer! How are you finding it?

I remember seeing loads of stuff about insanity, the only thing that put me off doing it was the whole, over the top infomercial crap ahha, the workouts looked killer! How are you finding it?

Dude, if you're looking to burn a ton of calories, and develop some legit power (not strength) in your legs that will improve your sprints, burn fat, up your vO2 - that kind of stuff - then Insanity is killer. I think it would be great for someone coming off of a bulk. But, I also think it would depend on how bulky one was prior to starting. It has a pretty steep learning curve given that it is so cardio intensive. I remember when I first tried it out, it took me a month just to get through the warmup without having to pause the video and take a break. The cool thing is that you can make it as challenging as you want. You can loaf through it, take extra breaks, or you can go all out the whole time, even harder than the people on the video (who frequently have to take breaks in the middle of the circuits) and likely puke everywhere, maybe even go to the hospital haha.

Would I buy it again? Maybe, but not if I had the patience to come up with 45+ minutes of HIIT circuit training on my own. Also, I'd say that about 10 minutes of that 45 is stretching. I tend to skip the stretching because, well, I find it is just too damn long. When I'm ready to train, I'm ready to fucking train. Some of the dvd's are more like 70 minutes, so I'm sure those will be much more difficult to get through, since I feel like the 35 minutes of work is plenty.

It's funny I actually remember your post from many months ago, and I even wrote up a big response similar to that above - but for whatever reason the website crapped out and didn't post it. So, here you go! haha!

ps. yeah, the infomercial stuff is pretty awful, and there are some terribly annoying people on the videos (Google: Tonya Insanity).

Wednesday, August 6, 2014:

Insanity Day Redux

Did the Cardio Plyometric Circuit video today. It was tough! But, I felt much better about my performance today than I did yesterday. Still, had to pause up a couple times throughout the middle to take a little extra rest. The format is set up like 4 minutes of work, 30 seconds of rest. I need more rest, otherwise I'll pass out. Plus, I noticed that if you don't allow yourself to nearly fully recover from the work periods, form really starts to suffer. Nevertheless, I was able to get through it all and finish strong! I was sore as hell all over today, even in my lats which I don't remember working at all yesterday haha. I'll probably be crazy sore tomorrow, but I still plan to hit up some weights on lower body.

Giant bowl of steamed veggies and salsa for dinner. Really digging on sweet potatoes lately!

Thursday, August 7, 2014:

Legs

1. Sumo Squat - 3 x 12 @ 200lbs

2. 180* Jumps - 3 x 16

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3. Close Stance Deadlift - 3 x 15 @ 140lbs

4. HighKnees - 3 x 50

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5. Lunge Trio (Side, Bulgarian Split, Angled) - 3 x 12* @ 70lbs

6. Long Jumps - 3 x 12

Return to the weights today, which was nice. I really like splitting my weeks, and I was in need of a change from just strength training. I think I'll keep this up for a few weeks and see if I notice any improvements. Wife was home sick today, so I gotta run and take care of her for a bit. Off tomorrow, and then weights again on Saturday for some upper body lifting.

Saturday, August 8, 2014:

Upper / Core / Giant Sets

1. Bench - 3 x 12 @ 165lbs

2. Row - 3 x 12 @ 145lbs

3. Elevated Oblique Dips - 3 x 15*

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4. Pullups - 3 x 12

5. Delt Fly - 3 x 12 @ 70lbs

6. Bicycle Abs - 3 x 50

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7. Front Dips - 3 x 20

8. EZ Curls - 3 x 15 @ 55lbs

9. Decline Reverse Crunch - 3 x 20

Solid training today, and good to go back to giant sets; haven't done that in a while. Surprised I could get through all those pullups without much of a struggle. I will say though after all that I'm absolutely STARVING! Have a good weekend!