OVER 40 MUSCLE

I was glad to get back in the gym this morning. When I stay out for the weekend it seems like forever. Anyway, I had a pretty good workout today concentrating on chest, triceps and abs. this week I am doing the basic (or compound) movements first.

I noticed that my weight stayed the same in the BB Press as last week but my DB incline press went up. Not sure if that means anything but I’ll take any increase I can get.

CHEST
Barbell Press – 2 warm up sets, 3 working sets of 10 @ 135, 10 @ 155 and 7 @ 155
Incline DB Press – 1 warm up set, 3 working sets of 10 @ 40, 10 @ 50 and 10 @ 50
Incline DB Flye – 10 @ 35, 2 sets of 10 @ 40
Cable Crossover – 10 @ 40, 2 sets of 10 @ 50

TRICEP
Close-grip bench press – 10 @ 50, 10 @ 70, 10 @ 80
Bench Dips – 2 sets of 15
Cable Press downs (v-bar) – 2 sets 10 @ 80 and 10 @ 100

ABS
Reverse Crunch – 3 sets of 15
Crunch – 1 set of 50, 1 set of 25 with 35# plate

Nutrition has been going pretty good. I have been able to stay on target with only a few bumps in the road. When I can remember to bring everything I need with me to work I do very well. Saturday I forgot my “greens” so I just had to do without. Sunday I remembered everything and it went off without a hitch.

DELTS/TRAPS/ABS

I got a late start today do I had to rush a little more than usual. Today starts week 3 of my 12-week workout routine to go along with the Ripped Rulez Challenge. This week I will combine basic and isolation movements in the same workout - basic movements being performed first in each muscle group. Basic movements will get 3 sets of 8-10 reps while isolation movements get 2 sets of 8-10. Next week the movements swap.

I almost gave in and had a “cheat meal” today but I was able to resist. I have to remain very strict on my eating for the next few days. I am going out of town next weekend and know I will not be able to stick to the plan 100% on my trip. If I stay inline for 7-10 days maybe 3 days of “off the chart eating” will not hurt too much.

Today’s numbers are not that impressive (I certainly have put up bigger numbers in the past) but lately I have been concentrating on form over ego. That being said here is today’s workout.

DELTS
BB Shoulder Press – 2 warm up sets, 3 working sets of 10 @ 70, 10 @ 80 and 10 @ 90
Wide-grip Upright Rows (Charles Glass style) – 3 working sets of 10 @ 50
DB Lateral Raise – 2 sets of 10 @ 20
Bent-over Lateral Raise – 2 sets of 10 @ 30

TRAPS
Barbell Shrugs – 1 set of 10 @ 135, 2 sets of 10 @ 185
DB Shrugs – 2 sets of 10 @ 45, 10 @ 55

ABS
Hanging Leg Raises – 2 sets of 15
Decline Crunch – 2 sets of 15

No cardio today. I am dropping back on the cardio some. I want to see just how much the RRC nutrition plan reduces my BF% with just weight training. After I get my BF% checked next month I will have a better gauge of how much cardio I need to be doing.

Have a great weekend and take good care of yourself.

LEG/CALF DAY

I had an early leg workout today. I did not move a ton of weight but the exercises I did really pumped some blood into the old quads and I am sure I will feel it tomorrow. After the weights I had to come home and cut the yard. To get in a little cardio I used the push mower instead of the rider. We have not had a lot of rain here in my part of the world so it did not take too long to cut the high parts and blow the dry parts in the neighbors yard.

Always one to add a twist to my workout today was no exception. Because of my back I have been instructed to stay away from squats for a while. However, I did do a form of squat today that gave me more pump and worked the quads more than any weighted squat has in the past. Then I added another twist to the leg extensions. After these two I knew I had been through a pretty good leg workout. If both are done right, 3 sets of 10-12 is all you want. Check out this video for more information.

QUADS
Bodybuilder Squat – 3 sets of 20
Superset with
Plie Squat – 3 sets of 20

Leg Extensions – 3 sets to failure with 50#

CALVES
Standing Calf Raise – 15 @ 180, 15 @ 270, 15@ 320

On my trip out of town last weekend I was able to do something that I could and would not do on last years vacation. I have entitled my blog “The Year the Shirt Comes Off”. Well, this vacation that is what happened. I felt totally comfortable taking my shirt off around the pool. For once, I was not the fat guy floating in the shallow end. I am not where I want to be but I am well on my way. And being able to do this is an accomplishment I will enjoy for a while. My wife even commented on how much I had changed. Also, the past two days at the gym I have had people ask me, “Are you loosing some weight?” I was happy to let them know how much and that I was not through with my transformation. Little things like that mean a lot and go a long way in motivating me to keep on.

I had a great back and bicep workout today. My back is feeling a little bit better every day and I can feel some of the strength coming back. I really felt the burn in my arm workout. I decided to superset my bicep routine and it felt great.

BACK
Wide-grip Pulldowns – 10×80 (warm-up), 3 sets of 10 @ 100
Seated Cable Rows – 10 @ 100 (warm-up), 3 sets of 10 @ 120
Straight-arm Pushdowns – 3 sets of 10 @ 80

BICEP (SUPERSET)
Cable Curls – 10/8/10 @ 80
Concentration Curls – 3 sets of 10 @ 25

After a weekend get away with the family (and somewhat butchering the feeding schedules) I got back into the swing of things this morning. On a good note, I only added a couple of pounds with my weekend splurges so maybe I did not hurt myself too bad. In a sick kind of way I looked forward to getting back on track with my eating. Scary stuff I know!

This morning I continued the second week of my 12-week workout program concentrating on isolation movements. Today’s muscle groups were chest and triceps. Because of time I had to postpone ab work until tomorrow (insert sigh).

CHEST
Incline DB Fly – 1 warm up set of 10 @ 30, 2 working sets of 10 @ 35 and 1 set of 10 @ 40
Cable Crossover – warm up set of 10 @ 40, 3 working sets of 10 @ 50
Pec Deck – 1 working set of 10 @ 80, 2 sets of 10 @ 90

TRICEP
Cable Pushdowns – 1 warm up set of 20 @ 50, 1 working sets of 10 @ 80
Seated Overhead DB Extensions – warm up set of 10 @ 10, 3 working sets of 10 @ 25

Tomorrow will be back and biceps with abs. I really enjoy that workout.

If I have ever had “one of those days” it has been today. I was supposed to do legs today but the back is still a little tender. I could not do squats and was afraid to do presses. Since I did not get to do cardio yesterday I did it today. 20 minutes of intervals on elliptical. I did not a lot of energy. Was winded at 7 minutes and I was only pushing 150-165 SPM. I leveled off and got through the workout but still did not feel too energized.

Then I get to work and get screwed on my feeding times again today. I had it by myself today and I had a training exercise for new software and ended up going 5.5 hrs between feedings. When I did eat I loaded up with my whole meal + complex carbs. Now that the training is over, I can stay on my 2 hour feeding schedule.

I am not sure what will make the day get any better – maybe Maddi will post some new pics or something. :0

Had a good workout today. I have been able to stick to the nutrition plan (with a couple of bumps) today. I had a meeting tonight that messed up my times a little but I was on track for the most part.

Here’s the workout:

BACK
Wide-grip Pullups - 8/8/8
Barbell Row - 10 @ 95/10 @ 106/10 @ 106
DB Row - 10 @ 45/10 @ 55/ 8 @ 55

BICEP
Barbell Curl - 10 @ 45/ 8 @ 50/ 8 @ 50
Preacher Curl - 3 sets of 10 @ 30

Forearm
Barbell Wrist Curl - (bar only) 3 sets of 10

No cardio today due to time constraints. Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day but I have to go out of town this weekend so I will be switching the program up a little. Tomorrow I will be doing a leg workout, Thursday will be Shoulders/Traps/Abs. I will travel Friday. The motel has a fitness center so I will be able to get in some cardio (and swimming) Saturday and Sunday.

Happy Father’s Day to all the lifting dads in our circle.

I am glad to be getting back to my regular schedule. I am a severe control freak and when things get messed up I cannot stand it. I had another doctor’s appointment for my back today and he said things were looking better. He is still cautioning me against squats (break my heart) but he said I should be able to do everything else. He wants to check me again in 2 weeks.

I had a good workout today. The power I lost while away is starting to come back. Maybe before too long I will be back to the weight level I was lifting when I got hurt. It was good to break a sweat again in the gym. This week will be all multi-joint movements shooting for 8-10 reps for 3 sets.

CHEST
Bench Press – 2 warm up sets, 3 working sets of 10 @ 135, 9 @ 155 and 6 @ 165
Incline DB Press – 1 warm up set, 3 working sets of 10 @ 35, 8 @ 40 and 8 @ 40
Decline Smith Press – 3 working sets of 10 @ 72, 8 @ 100 and 8 @ 100

TRICEPS
Close-grip press – 1 warm up set, 3 working sets of 10 @ 50, 10 @ 72 and 10 @ 72
Bench Dips – 45 total

ABS (performed as a superset)
Reverse Crunch – 3 sets of 15
Crunches – 3 sets of 15

CARDIO
20 minutes of intervals on elliptical

The nutrition side of things are going well. I had a scheduled cheat day on Sunday. However, I got off schedule today (just too busy on my days off) but I will try to salvage it. I have not eaten anything off the program, just got my times screwed up.

Tomorrow will be back, biceps and cardio.

My focus on this post is to let you in on what my nutritional intake will be for the next 12 weeks. But before I do that, let me get you up to speed on how Michael arrived at my numbers.

I had my body fat percentage checked on 05/18/07. The results were showing I had a body fat percentage of 18.6%, down from almost 22% a couple of months ago. My bodyweight at the time of the test was 214.6. My weight is lower than that now. However, for the contest my official starting weight will be 214.6 pounds.

Based on those numbers, my lean muscle mass was 174 pounds. With 1.5g per pound of lean muscle mass being the maximum protein intake for the program, that puts my total daily requirement of protein at 261g. I will divide that up among 6 feedings each day. If I come in a little lower than the 261g that will be ok for what I am trying to accomplish. Getting in anywhere around 250g of protein per day will feed my muscle tissues adequately.

The basics of the nutrition plan are simple. It is a high protein diet with moderate complex carbs. I will be limiting dietary fats to under 25g per day. Feedings are scheduled for every 2 hours (I was doing 2.5 hours on my own). Protein portions will be kept between 25-35g per feeding. The content will consist of lean quality protein, mainly chicken, turkey, fish and pork tenderloin.

Michael was very encouraging during our consult. He stated that what I was doing was good but all we were going to do was tweak it a little. Here are the changes made to my current intake.

1. Adding a breakfast of carbs before workout. These numbers will not really figure into my equation since I will be burning them off pretty soon after ingestion. I like the fact that I have a choice between the whole-grain toast and oatmeal. The fact I get to use some jam or jelly is a plus as well. The orange or apple is a given. I was already doing that.

2. Adding a deep green vegetable to each whole meal. I love spinach and broccoli cole slaw so look for a lot of that in the mix. I am not too big on asparagus or whole broccoli so unless instructed to do so – I ain’t gonna eat them.

3. I get to keep my PWO shake as it is.

4. Along with my 4 whole meals each day I will be implementing different types of protein shakes. My 1200 and 1600 feedings will be protein shakes only. Since I am using Whey protein for my PWO, it was suggested that I alternate between Soy and Egg for the other two shakes. No problem with that.

5. As an added treat, I get to eat (if I am still hungry before bedtime) a ½ cup of whole-grain cereal. My fix right now is Grape Nuts Trail Mix. This stuff is killer. Plus, the added fiber and good fats from the nuts will help my overall results.

Here is a basic rundown of what my feeding schedule will look like:

Wake – 2 pieces of whole-grain toast and jelly or 1 cup of oatmeal, fruit (apple or orange)

PWO – 2 scoops of whey protein, 10g Glutamine mixed with 20 oz of Gatorade drink

0730 – (I drink this on the way to work) 1 cup of egg white, 1 cup of water, 1 scoop whey protein

1000 – whole meal #1 (4 oz of lean meat, deep green veggie)

1200 – protein shake (egg or soy)

1400 – whole meal #2 plus complex carb (same as #1 adding sweet potato or fruit)

1600 – protein shake (egg or soy)

1800 – whole meal #3 (same as #1)

2000 – whole meal #4 (same as #2)

Bedtime – if needed, ½ cup whole-grain cereal

With the Ripped Rulez Challenge starting yesterday, I am now able to start my new workout program too. Both run 12 weeks so this should be interesting.

I first saw the program when it was published in the March 2007 issue of Muscle & Fitness (if you want to go back and find that issue, it is the one with Gunter Schlierkamp and Kim Lyons on the cover). At first, it did not interest me that much. Then, bwestgat went on the program and had some pretty cool blogs about his workouts. That made me look at it a little more. Then when the Challenge came along, it seemed like a perfect pair to me.

This program is broken down into 6 phases. Here is a quick rundown of each phase.

PHASE 1 – EXERCISE SELECTION
Week 1 – Multi-joint Exercises
Week 2 – Isolation Exercises

PHASE 2 – EXERCISE ORDER
Week 3 – Basic Movements First
Week 4 – Isolation Movements First (pre-exhaust)

PHASE 3 – RESISTANCE
Week 5 – Heavy (3-6 reps/set)
Week 6 – Light (12-20 reps/set)

PHASE 4 – VOLUME
Week 7 – Low (4-6 sets/bodypart)
Week 8 – High (16-20 sets/bodypart)

PHASE 5 – REST PERIODS
Week 9 – Long Rest (3 min. between sets)
Week 10 – Short Rest (1 minute between sets)

PHASE 6 – REP SPEED
Week 11 – Fast/Explosive reps (except for abs, calves and forearms, choose a very light weight, one that I can do 20-25 reps, but do only 5 reps, moving as fast as I can on the concentric portion.)
Week 12 – Slow Reps (choose a weight that I can do 5 reps, taking 5 seconds to perform the positive and 5 seconds to perform the negative of each rep. I will try the same weight I used the previous week. I should reach failure on the last set. Abs, calves and forearms are the exception.)

After consulting with Michael, I have been cautioned about weeks 9 and 11. For what I am doing right now (reducing body fat while building lean muscle) long rests are more for power lifters. Week 11 presents a threat of injury due to the fact that fast explosive movements could cause joint and tendon problems if you don’t warm up properly and are not accustom to them.

Next time I will post some thoughts and some more details of my nutritional plan for the next 12 weeks. Have a great weekend!