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Mike's Training Log

mikeyb

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Details: 5'11", 68kg, 15% BF

1RMs (estimated from 5RM):

Squat: 76Kg
Bench: 68Kg
Deadlift: 76Kg

General Goal: Strength gain

Exercise history: Up until the end of last year I was a long-distance runner (semi-marathon). After realizing how pathetically weak I was I decided it was time to drop the miles and pump some iron. I started the following workout plan in January and my squat's gone up more than 50lbs since and my bench almost 40lbs, so I'm really happy with my progress. I've been slower adding to my deadlift, mostly since I struggled to get the form right at first, but now that's coming along nicely too.

Workout Program


Monday:
Squats, 3x5
Power Cleans, 3x5,
Deadlifts, 2x3

Tuesday:
Bench press, 3x5
Overhead press, 2x5 (I have trouble doing a 3rd set but I'm working on it)
Pull-ups, 2xMAX

Wednesday:
Weighted crunches
Cardio (HIIT/running)

Thursday:
(Same as Monday)

Friday:
(Same as Tuesday)

Saturday/Sunday
Rest (Don't have access to a gym on those days)

Diet

I'm not big on calorie counting. Generally, I try and get at least 100g of protein per day and to be honest I don't really count carbs and fat. That's something I need to work on. I always work fruits and vegetables into meals.
A typical day's diet might be something like this:

Breakfast: A bowl of oats with yoghurt and fruits
Lunch: Sirloin steak with fries and salad, and then a banana
Post-workout meal: Three scoops protein shake
Dinner: Half a roasted chicken with tomatoes and mushrooms, and then some grapes

Cheat meals I have one cheat meal a week where I usually eat pizza.

I read some posts here about diets and I can't imagine chugging down that amount of food being relatively inactive outside my workouts (i.e. sitting on a chair most of the day). I've already put on a bit of noticeable muscle following my current diet (as well as some fat unfortunately) so I think I can safely say that I'm eating enough.

All suggestions are welcome!
 

mikeyb

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Yesterday's workout

Date: 02/March/2009 (Monday)

Squats

Warmups: 47.5Kg x 3, 52.5Kg x 2, 57.5Kg x 1, 62.5Kg x 1

Work sets:
67.5Kg x 5
" " x 5
" " x 4
(failed on last rep)

Hang Cleans

I still can't get my elbows out fast enough. It's like I'm doing the catch in slow motion. I used video this time to record the movement and I think the problem is I'm not keeping the bar close enough to my body.

Warmup: Bar x 3

Work sets:
35Kg x 5
" " x 5
" " x 5

These felt easy, but I know I'm not doing them right. Any advice on learning the form would be greatly appreciated.


Deadlifts

Warmup: 52.5Kg x1, 62.5Kg x 1

Work sets:
67.5Kg x 3
" " x 3

Used video to check my form on these and my leg drive is definitely improving.

Diet
Breakfast: Bowl of Muesli with fruits
Lunch: Finished leftovers - 1/2 tandoori chicken, about 50g masala chicken, some rice. Then a banana.
Post-workout meal: 3 scoops protein shake
Dinner: Ground beef with pasta, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Then about 25 red grapes.
 

mikeyb

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Date: 03/March/2009 (Tuesday)

Generally not a good workout. I haven't been able to add weight to my bench or overhead in the last week and today I had to cheat to get the 5th reps up in each set.

Bench Press
3x5 @ 60Kg

Overhead Press
35kg x 3 (failed on 4th)
35Kg x 1 (failed on 2nd)

Ugh.

Pull-ups
13 reps
11 reps

Diet
Breakfast: Bowl of oats with yoghurt and fruits
Post-workout: 3 scoops protein shake.
Lunch: Ground beef with pasta, tomatoes, and mushrooms. And a banana.
Dinner: I'll post later.
 

dispatch

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Hey man, welcome to the "club" as it were. This caught my eye, since I'm about 5'10 and 70kg, so you're where I was maybe six months ago. Hit your squats hard, they are a fun exercise to get better at. Check out the program I did recently if you like - http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/

You seem like you're going well and enjoying it - make sure you really focus on deads, squat and bench and you'll be sweet.

Unfortunately I'm going to have to be the one to try and rearrange your thinking on the food issue - it really is necessary to eat that much. Try having 5-6 smaller meals instead of the 4 bigger ones. At least get another shake in there - adding eggs to shakes is another good way to get in the protein. I used to have alot of trouble even accepting it was possible to eat as much as people told me, but for us skinny guys it's just another skill we need to master.

Happy training, get back to me if you want to discuss further.

b.
 

mikeyb

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Thanks for the encouragement and the advice. Yeah, I love squats. And now my deadlifts are improving I'm really enjoying those too.

I knew someone was gonna tell me to eat more lol. I'm gonna try and follow your advice, at least adding an extra shake for now and then re-arranging my meals so as to have 5-6 smaller meals like you said.
 

dispatch

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mikeyb said:
Yeah, I love squats. And now my deadlifts are improving I'm really enjoying those too.
That was totally me aswell! No worries man, trust me - you'll feel the difference with just a few more small meals/shakes.
 

mikeyb

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A quick diet update for today. I added an extra shake like dispatch suggested. I'm out of eggs right now but will add them to shakes soon.

Breakfast: Bowl of oats with yoghurt and fruits
Post-workout: 3 scoops protein shake.
Lunch: Ground beef with pasta, tomatoes, and mushrooms. And a banana.
Snack: 3 scoops protein shake.
Dinner: Grilled sirloin steak with tomato salad, then some grapes.
 

mikeyb

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Date: 04/March/09 (Wednesday)

Weighted Crunches
This was my first time adding these to my workout program and the plan was to see what I could lift for 12 reps. However the plates quickly got too big to put on my chest as they would dig into my stomach/neck when contracting, and holding them behind my head was just plain uncomfortable.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Cardio
Cycling 30 minutes including about 15 minutes uphill

Diet
Breakfast: Oats with yoghurt and fruit
Brunch: 3 scoops protein shake
Lunch: Sirloin steak with pasta, tomatoes, and salad. Then a banana.
Dinner (pre-workout): Weekly cheat meal. 1 medium Dominos pizza with chicken strippers.
snack (post-workout): 3 scoops protein shake
 

dispatch

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that's a better diet man! (except for the pizza of course - if that had been a chicken breast or some pasta dish or something then thats a decent effort IMHO anyway... (it's what I'd call a good day for my diet, of course, we can both still improve). Read my log for more diet tips from Stallion. Looking forward to your next weights log.

b.
 

mikeyb

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@dispatch: Just had a look at your log. Boy I have a LOT of work to do before I can squat 120Kg lol.

BTW, my protein shake has 40g of carbs per 3 scoops. I figure this is a good thing post-workout, but should I get a different shake with no carbs for my "other" meal?

Date: 05/March/09 (Thursday)

Squats:
Warmup - 52.5Kg x3, 57.5Kg x 2, 62.5Kg x 1, 67.5Kg x 1

70Kg x 4 (I actually did 5 reps but after I saw the video I realized one was above parallel)
70Kg x 5 (Great set - really powered through this one)
70Kg x 5 (had a hard time with the last 2 reps)

Hang Cleans
Warmup - Bar x 5, 27.5Kg x 4

32.5Kg x 5 (forgot to add the extra plate...)
35Kg x 5

I focused on keeping the bar close to my body and the catch portion of the lift was much better as a result. Not perfect, but still a huge improvement. I think this might have been what was holding me back this whole time.

Deadlifts
Warmup - 52.5Kg x 2, 62.5Kg x 1

70Kg x 3
70Kg x 3 (Last rep was hard)


Diet
Breakfast: Oats with yoghurt and fruits
Snack: 3 scoops protein shake
Lunch (pre-workout): 1/2 roasted chicken with stuffing and mushroom&tomato salad. Then a banana and plum.
Post-workout: 3 scoops protein shake
Dinner: 1/2 roasted chicken with stuffing and mushroom&tomato salad. Then about 25-30 red grapes.
 

mikeyb

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Feel terrible today, had to sprint to the crapper the minute I got up, don't think I could press an empty bar to save my life. Maybe I'm having a hard time adjusting to the extra meal? Or maybe it was the chicken, who knows. I'm skipping today's workout, maybe I'll do it on Sunday if the train isn't late.
 

dispatch

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hey man don't sweat it - like I said in my log, I saw a guy doing 170 the other day :S insane.

About the shake thing, I'm not the most knowledgable on that stuff on the site, there are probably plenty of others that could clear up the technicality, but I don't see a big deal with it. Your body needs to replenish glycogen levels after a workout as well, so a few carbs are okay. Anyone want to elaborate?

b.

p.s. it was probably the stuffing?
 

mikeyb

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Turns out it was neither the stuffing nor anything else I ate, I just got chickenpox. Not sure whether I should continue to workout - I feel fine now but obviously it would put more stress on my body. I'm gonna try to do a light workout this afternoon and see how that goes.
 

mikeyb

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Well, the fever came back, so working out is definitely not an option. I'll post updates later.
 

mikeyb

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Based on the horror stories about adult chickenpox I read online, I almost expected to be dying right now, but so far it hasn't been that bad. I only have about 60 spots, and the vast majority of them don't itch. Hopefully it won't get much worse so I can make a quick recovery.
 

mikeyb

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OK, so I don't just have 60 spots anymore, and yes, 100% of them itched at one time or another. Had the worst of it yesterday, today is better and hopefully I'll be rid of all but the scabs by the weekend.
 
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mikeyb

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Fever's gone and soon most of the spots are crusting over. Hopefully on monday I can go for a light workout.
 
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