Progress Review: +16 Weeks
Body Pics:
5/9/11: Day 1 Restart PT II
Monthly Archives: August 2011
Progress Review: +16 Weeks (Final Day for 12 Week Labrada Transformation Challenge)
5/9/11: Day 1 Restart PT II
Minor Program Changes
Image via Wikipedia
Made some slight changes in the program in hope of improving my lifts.
1. Additional Accessory Exercises done Pre-workout:
- Standing Ab Pulldown (2 sets of 8-10)
- Glute-Ham Raise (2 sets of 8-10)
2. Revert back to Reverse Crunch (3 sets of 12) from Dragon Flags.
3. Chin/Pull-ups and Dips rep goal now are 3 sets of 8-10.
4. Removed Power Cleans in Deadlift and Bent-over Row warm-ups.
Week 16: Workout C (Day 83 of Transformation Challenge)
Week 16: 8/26/11
Last workout on my 12 week Labrada Transformation Challenge Contest and think I did ok.
Also cycling off the stimulant that I have been using, White Flood, so I somehow do not feel so energetic this morning. Too bad I don’t like drinking coffee in the morning as that would have gave me a bit of energy when working out 1st thing in the AM.
Just another workout day.
Almost forgot. My damn left hip area is still bothering me. I mostly notice it after or while I workout. Think its a sprain or just a very tight area of my body.
Also cycling off the stimulant that I have been using, White Flood, so I somehow do not feel so energetic this morning. Too bad I don’t like drinking coffee in the morning as that would have gave me a bit of energy when working out 1st thing in the AM.
Just another workout day.
Almost forgot. My damn left hip area is still bothering me. I mostly notice it after or while I workout. Think its a sprain or just a very tight area of my body.
One rant for today.
Some guy working out across from me decided to just grab a couple of 10 lb plates as I was starting my warm-up on the squats.
I then told him that I was planning on using those after I completed the warm-up set I was doing and just brushed me off.
So I grabbed some more weights to complete my warm-ups and the other guy decided to return the plates that I no longer need. Told him I got replacements and started giving me an attitude and trying to say I am starting shit.
WTF?!?!
All this idiot needed to do was just asked if he can use the plates on the rack I am using.
I wanted to just grab a damn plate and smack him on the head but I decided to just be the better man and continue with my squats.
Some people need to be more polite and stop acting like Juice-heads!
Read the rest of this entry »
Read the rest of this entry »
Filming my lifts with my Smartphone
One of the useful tools that I discovered to be extremely helpful in my lifts is the camera. Filming yourself doing your lifts can be helpful so you can see what are the things you are doing wrong or right and improve upon it.
There are times when I thought my form was good and after viewing a recording of myself doing the lift I noticed how horrible my form and technique was. Then of course there are also some days when I thought my form was awful and it ended up being one of my better lifts! So it is a good tool to have, specially if you train by yourself like I do. You can review your lifts and see what worked and what needs to be fixed.
What I have been using is my old smartphone. At this time it is my old Samsung i910.
Week 16: Workout B (Day 81 of Transformation Challenge)
Week 16: 8/24/11
Had to miss the last 2 workouts due to being out-of-town. Happy to get back under the bar!
Today was a good workout day and was even able to get some PRs!
The only thing I regret was not eating as well the day before.
I think my Pre-workout warm-ups that I have added are helping some. Noticed my starting position on the power cleans and deadlift to be slightly better compared to how they have been in the past.
What to do before you lift? Foam Rolling & Dynamic Stretches!
Image via Wikipedia
Right after I get to the gym, after I leave the locker room, there is a certain routine I do before I start lifting. That is I do some foam rolling and dynamic stretches. This helps me prepare for my lifting routine that I will be doing that day.
Why not just start lifting right away? It is always better to warm-up, get your blood flowing and your muscles ready before you start lifting. This can help prevent injuries and loosen your body to help in your lifts.
After trying to find out ways to help fix some issues with my lifts I have found that doing some foam rolling exercises and dynamic stretches before I start any of my major lifts to help.
No workouts the next few days …
Taking the family out to the beach for a few days.
So going to miss my next 2 workouts and just relax.
Week 15: Workout B (Day 74 of Transformation Challenge)
Week 15: 8/17/11
Learned something today. Taking too much stimulant can give you the opposite response! I was feeling kinda tired early in the morning and I thought I may need more than extra boost today. So I took 2 servings of White Flood in 12 oz cold water on my way to the gym. (Normally I would just take 1 scoop of White Flood in 12 oz water on the way to the gym and maybe 1 extra scoop in my Intra-workout drink bottle that contains 1.7 L of water and ice). Well it was a bad move and the stim did not agree with me and I actually felt tired quicker after the initial boost! I guess it is time to cycle off the stims for a couple weeks.
Other than the lesson learned above, I had a good workout, it just felt crappy while doing them. The additional assistance work that I added recently will hopefully improve my performance the next few weeks.
Week 15: Workout A (Day 72 of Transformation Challenge)
Week 15: 8/15/11
Surprised myself with today’s session. I did not get a good amount of sleep (probably around 4-5 hours) because my son kept me up late last night and when I finally was able to sleep I kept waking up every 2 hours! I was not able to reach my calorie goal this weekend also.
I was really expecting to have a pathetic session because of the above reasons but it was much better than expected.
I was really expecting to have a pathetic session because of the above reasons but it was much better than expected.
This weekend I was rewatching a YouTube vid series by Matt Wenning of Elite Fitness System on squats called: So you think you can squat? I also was reading 16 Ways to maximize your Glute Ham Raise by Dave Tate. This got me to think that I should add the Glute Ham Raise (GHR) as part of my pre-workout warm-up to help improve my lifts. So I started off today with my regular foam rolling and some dynamic stretches for mobility work and then did some GHR, 2 sets and goal was 2 sets of 10 using body weight at first then progress to slowly add weight to it. It was painful!
I think I will also start incorporating seated good-mornings and reverse hypers (once I find the machine at the gym to do the reverse hypers). To help assist on my lifts. Also will try to add Standing Ab Pull Downs to help strengthen my core. I may buy some bands so I can do ab pull downs at home.
So this weekend I learned some things to help improve my lifts and very happy on educating myself on that.
Decent workout today even though I stalled in some of them. I think in the end it was a good learning trying out these new assistance exercises.
My Post-workout Shake
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I used to take a premade post-workout supplement until it got too costly and found out I can make my own at a fraction of the cost. Learned about this post-workout shake at the Stronglifts website titled: Quick, Easy & Effective Post Workout Shakes.
I didn’t change much to it but I guess I may as well post what and how exactly I do it my way.
What do I use?
- Blender Bottle Shaker Cup (Any shaker cup will do but I find the Blender Shaker Cup is the best!)
- 1 Serving Quick 1-minute Oats
- 1 Serving Whey Protein Powder
- 5 g Creatine
- 1-2 tbsp Natural Peanut Butter
- 8-10 oz Cold Water
- ~6 Ice Cubes
