Update and PRs

So, been holding steady around 209.  Last week I got overloaded with work and my diet slipped a bit, which of course made me feel worse and then made dieting that much harder.  I also felt sluggish and weak in my workouts, but I've managed to get it back on track since Monday.

I seem to have hit the end of the super easy beginner lifting gains.  I'm not consistently adding weight to every lift, so I guess now the real work starts.

Here is where I currently sit on everything:

Dumbell Curl - 53 lbs x 2

Barbell Curl - 115 x 1

Military Press - 140 x 2

Seated Dumbell Overhead Press - 63 for 4 (have switched to Military Press with barbell though, so probably won't go higher with dumbbells)

Squat - 185 x 2 (had a couple good squatting weeks, but have been having some back issues since, so not sure how I'll proceed with squats) 

Bench Press - 210 x1 

Decline Bench - 205 x 2

Incline Bench - 170 for 2 (my setup isn't good for incline, so limited a bit by that)

Seattle Spartan Super and finishing Trifecta

Did the Seattle Super yesterday, had a clean run.  Didn't feel like I was running fast, but kept a consistent pace and didn't fail any obstacles.   It's definitely the highest I've ranked in a Spartan race. 

Deadlifted 290 (and other PRs)

That's all the Olympic plates I had, so I'll be getting more this weekend.  I've had such issues with my back in the past, I thought it would take me longer to get to this weight, but I'm glad my back issue seems sorted out.  Still going to be cautious with it though.

 

My lifting PRs currently are:

Dumbell Curl (most important first) - 53 lbs

Barbell Curl - 105 for 3 reps

Military Press - 135 for 3

Seated Dumbell Overhead Press - 63 for 4 (have switched to Military Press with barbell though, so probably won't go higher with dumbbells)

Squat - 170 (I think I can increase this quickly, I've been playing it extra careful)

Bench Press - 195 for 2 (I haven't benched since I built my bench rack, so I can try for 1 rep max now)

Decline Bench - 185 for 4 (doing this and incline bench after standard bench, so it suffers a bit)

Incline Bench - 165 for 2

 

So my Squat, Deadlift & Bench add up to 655.  I have a ways to go to reach the 1000 club.  I've been adding weight every week for the last couple months, so I'm curious to see when that tapers off and the real work begins.

DIY squat rack and bench rack

Needs some finishing touches, but was good enough for leg day today.  It wobbles a bit, but the fear helps me lift more.

I've had a lot of back issues and major form issues that always made me avoid squats.  But I've been working on it and made big improvements in the last few months.  

In the past, just squatting a 45 lbs bar was uncomfortable.  I could never arch my back properly, so it would hurt or feel weak.  But I'd slowly worked my way up to squatting 147 last week.  My back basically wouldn't allow my legs to generate force.

But this week I also got a cheap lifting belt.  I was surprised how much it helped.  I really focused on taking a deep breath and tightening my core before the squat.

I'd been increasing my squat my 5 or 10 lbs a week, but this week I added 23 lbs and felt I could have gone heavier, but I have a race next weekend and want to get in another training run before then, so don't want my legs too fried.

I'm excited to see if I can finally start squatting a weight that I don't feel embarrassed about.

Ran 3 miles yesterday

Felt very sluggish, and my GPS made me run a lot longer before it said 3 miles (running same coyrse, probably ran a 1/4 mile farther than last time before it announced 3 miles)

207.8 - 3 mile run

Went for a run, first time in a while.  Need to get a few more in before the Spartan Super on 10/17

211.4

Not sure why my weight dropped (have been around 213 for a while), but I'll take it.  I have been in a calorie deficit for weeks, and have been seeing changes in the mirror, but not in the scale.  I figured my weight would eventually start to move down.

212.6 - ran 2.5 miles

213 - ran 2.8 miles

Have to start getting ready for the Spartan Sprint race on 8/8, so I'm going to run a couple times a week.  

My weight has been holding steady, but I look more muscular, so it's hard to tell exactly what's going on since I started this weights/calorie counting program.  

I've been keeping calories around 2400 with 180 grams of protein (overall, about 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat).  

I feel pretty good, so only time will tell how this will work out for me.  

Screwed my neck up

A new guy showed up at Jiu Jitsu class.  He was pretty strong but had no idea what he was doing.  I was just trying to roll lightly,but somehow he ended up driving his shoulder into my face.  I felt the tip of my nose touch my forehead and blood started gushing a second later.  I thought that was the worst of it, but then I got really light headed and my neck started to hurt.

An hour later my neck was starting to lock up completely.  I woke up this morning very stiff, felt dehydrated.

I'm mainly pissed I may not be able to lift today.  Hopefully my neck will loosen up.

1.6 mile run

Went for a light jog, 1.6 miles in 16:29.  Felt rough, first time I've felt like I was in a calorie deficit.

Shoulder & ab day

Did second week of shoulder and an routine. 10 Side laterals, hammer front lifts, bent over lateral's, front raises to ceiling, 20 push-ups, repeated 5x.

Did all reps with 13 1/2 pounds, have missed matched weight set so odd weights right now.

Then did five sets of declined sit ups, using 10 pound weight for last set. Sets varied from 20 to 40 reps doing some on each side, as well as straight up.

Got Owen in on the action 

My awesome garage weight set

214 - Back and Legs day

Weighed myself for the first time in a while.  Slight weight gain, but about what I thought considering the creatine and lifting. 

I'm still figuring out what my weight lifting routine will look like.  Not sure it's good to do legs and back in the same day, since there is a lot of overlap.  I did back first, then when I got to squats, my lower back was not enjoying the squatting much.  So I think I'm going to separate those two.

But, today I did (with some warm-up sets not counted):
Pull Ups - 3 sets of 5 (had to jump a little, still can't do dead-hang pull ups)
Deadlifts - 3x5 @ 200lbs (that was every weight I had in my garage.  Probably a good weight for me right now so I can work on form.  I could probably max out around 245 right now, but it might be ugly). 
One Arm dumbbell Rows - 3x10 @45lbs
Bent Over barbell row - 3x10 @97lbs (using a combo of weird weights and a cheap bar from yard sales and Goodwill, so some are 8.8 lbs and weird stuff like that)
Upright Rows - 3x10 @63lbs
Back extensions - 5x10

Then I did legs:
Squats - 3x10 @63lbs  (starting really light because I still have major issues with squat form)
Back Lunges - 3x6 on each leg @63lbs
Front Lunges - 3x3 on each leg @52lbs (my knee started to feel weird after the back lunges, so I took it down a bit)
Jump Overs 3x10 over 18.5" box (actually jumped over my archery target)
Stiff Leg Deadlift - 3x10 @ 78lbs

Looking to build quickly on some of these, but starting out safe and focusing on strengthening my lower back without aggravating it.

First shoulder day

We've been in the process of selling our house, so the scale has been packed away.  I haven't weighed myself in a while, it will be interesting to see what the scale says when I finally do step on.  I feel like I'm still around 210.

Did a shoulder routine today:

10 lateral raises

10 hammer raises

10 bent over laterals

10 front raises (to ceiling)

20 push ups

Repeated above for 5 sets

My shoulders are weak, I've never really tried to work them before.  I did this routine with 10lbs in each hand.  The good news is that I think the "newby gains" I'll make in my shoulders will help me in BJJ and other functional strength movements.  Since  starting from so low, even a small improvement should be noticeable.  

New lifting/diet plan

Started taking creatine a couple weeks ago, and lifting 2 or 3 times a week (just using dumbbells in the garage).  Also been using a pre-workout drink (caffeine, creatine, yurba mate, guarana, etc), and whey protein shakes after workouts.  Noticed a big difference when doing that, both in willingness and ability while working out, and in recovery and strength after. 

So I've put together a more structured lifting program (still a pretty vague program, I hope to nail it down more as I go).  I wanted to do a 5x5 Stronglifts program, but I still have major issues with squat form, so I'm just going to do the following:
Sunday - Legs & back
Monday - Light active recovery (walking/jogging)
Tuesday - BJJ
Wednesday - Arms & chest
Thursday - BJJ
Friday - Shoulders and core
Saturday - rest

As I said, still pretty vague because I haven't worked out exactly what I'll be doing on each day (may depend on if I keep working out at home, or go to Mark's house, etc).  I want to track what I'm lifting, so I can be conscious of increasing weights over time.  I also want to program out the number of sets and reps, etc. 

As for diet, I'm going to a high protein, moderate carb, moderate/low fat diet.  Going for 30% protein, 40% carbs, 30% fat, and am limiting simple carbs.  I'm going to start with 180 grams of protein a day, which is 1 gram for every pound of my target weight.  I'm going to keep calories around 2000 a day.  I want to see if I can gain muscle/strength and lose fat for the first month or two (since I haven't been recently lifting or dieting hard, I think I can accomplish both for a little while).  Once I plateau, I'll decide if I want to continue on a bulking phase or a cutting phase. 

Today I did arms/chest.  I didn't have a spotter for the bench, so I didn't push myself too hard on the max weight. 
Benched 160

Curled 95 (with bar, both arms). Max 1 arm is about 40.

210.8 - still doing Whole 30

I'm feeling a bit better than when we started this diet, but not as good as I've felt doing some other diets (probably because I'm eating too much fruit on Whole 30).

I've started working on strength a few times a week (a dumbbell routine in the garage, pushups and rope climbs).  I've definitely noticed an immediate improvement in strength, muscle endurance and recovery time doing the Whole 30, similar to how I felt when I did strict Paleo for a month.

I plan to finish out the Whole 30, then add back in dairy, reduce fruit and other fast carbs and see how that goes.

211.8

Feeling a little sluggish, but I've felt stronger at the same time. Hopefully I'll feel more energetic soon as I adjust to the Whole 30 eating

212.6 - ran Alien 1 mile race yesterday

Starting the "whole 30" diet tomorrow, so the weight should start coming down.  

Ran the Alien Festival inaugural 1 mile "obstacle" run.  That was fun and very McMinnville.

Spartan Beast

Did the Beast yesterday.  The course was pretty crazy.  My time was about 5:55.  I'm hobbling around today, but happy I was able to finish it.  Made the rope climb, missed the spear throw by an inch.

 

Edit:  Here are some photos I got a couple weeks after the race.

 

 

Ran 4 miles and threw some spears

Ran to Mark's house, finally practiced spear throwing.  Feel pretty good about it.  My legs still feel stiff, I'm hoping that goes away soon.

Ran 6 miles.

Trying to get back in a rhythm.

208.8

Feeling the best I have been since November.  Need to get some longer runs in.

208.8

Got the weight bench cleared off in the garage. Starting to lift again.  It's sad to see how weak I've gotten.  But with only 2 months until the beast, fear is becoming a big motivator  

209.2. - first 3 mile run of 2015

It was painful and slow, but I'll have to keep at it if I do t want to die at the Spartan Race.

208.4

Just about over the mild sickness I had

209.8

After taking a month off of most activity, that first BJJ class has left me pretty sore.  I feel like I might also be battling a cold, so hopefully it doesn't develop into a full on sickness.  I think I can beat it if I skip BJJ tonight and get extra sleep for a few days.

210.2

Just a couple days home and the scale is moving in the right direction.  I haven't even made much if an effort, just getting back to my usual stuff.  Once I get into a rhythm with my new college schedule, I'm going to make another charge at getting below 200 lbs

Got my BJJ blue belt tonight

I wasn't sure I wanted to be promoted as quickly as I have been, but I'm in a good "head space" lately and will use this to spur me in to try harder so the promotion will feel justified.

212.4 after 3 weeks in LA

Finally got back home last night.  It was rough being in LA, but I don't think I did too much damage.