smcmichaeljr’s BodyBlog

So I’ve only got stuck under a bar once at the gym.  When I first started lifting I saw all these skinny dudes benching 135 w/ no problem.  Of course I was bigger and badder so without any warm up I threw on two 45s and went at it.  Needless to say it hit my chest and stayed there.  Not my proudest moment.  Then there’s the time we came in from baseball practice and went straight to the weight room where I proceeded to do flat bench w/ my cup still on, but that’s a story for another time.

Fast forward to yesterday,  I decided to give it a go for a PR on squats.  315.  Well I got to my sticking point and yep I was stuck.  I gutted it out though and got it up.  Boy am I sore today.

So I’ve never tried HIIT on the treadmill before.  Normally I hit the elliptical or the stairmaster for my routines, but after reading the little back and forth between these two I decided to give it a go.

0-5:59 @ 5.5

6-6:59 @ 8.5, 7-7:59 @ 4.0

8-8:59 @ 9.0, 9-9:59 @ 4.0

10-10:59 @ 9.5, 11-11:59 @ 4.0

12-12:59 @ 10, 13-13:59 @ 4.0

14-14:59 @ 10, 15-15:59 @ 4.0

16-16:59 @ 10, 17-17:59 @ 4.0

18-18:59 @ 10, 19-19:59 @ 4.0

20-20:59 @ 11, 21-25 @ 3.5

25 minutes, 489 calories.

I’m crazy tired now, but that was fun in an odd kind of way.

Thanks guys.  I think I have a new favorite way to do cardio.

Seriously.  So I’m normally the patient, optimistic, easy going one in my little family, but I’m starting to slip.  I am sooo stressed and God forbid I have an off day.  It’s like I’ve been this person for so long that if I’m just a little edgy or snap just once it’s a big deal and I’m made to feel guilty for it.

I don’t know.  Maybe I just need to suck it up.  Training helps.  Actually it helps a lot.  It seems that the more aggression I let out at the gym, the more PRs I put up.  Anyway when one of y’all finds that money tree or the store that sells patience just PM me and let me know how to get there.  Thanks.

So it was a horrible weekend on the food front.  Damn, having a preggers wife makes it hard to eat right.  We hit Chick-fil-a (chx wrap and fruit), Quiznos (roast beef dry), and The Harris County Smokehouse (Migas).

Oh well back on the horse today.  So far went to the gym w/ protein shake and oatmeal afterwards.  I’m just about due for my cottage cheese mid morning.

And every thing has gone in the right direction pretty much.  Yeah.  I was kind of doubting it for a while.  Arms bigger, Chest a little bigger, legs bigger, waist and hips smaller.

So I decided one more week of cutting and I’ll move over to mass.

So I hit the gym and thought I’d see where my tolerances were for my impending 5 x 5.

Squat:  285 x 5

Bench:  245 x 5

Deadlift:  205 x 5

Rows:  185 x 5

I know I’ve hit 225 on the incline for 5 so I didn’t hit that.  I hadn’t flat benched w/ a bar in a long time.

So I’m 2 weeks in to a quick 4 week cut, I don’t want the burden of cutting during Thanksgiving and/or Christmas, and I just want to go back to a mass workout.  I’ve decided to run w/ a 5 x 5 workout starting 2 weeks from now, but I keep thinking about upping the date to Monday.

I think my problem is I keep reading Bill’s blogs and seeing "Real Men Have Mass."  It kind of sticks in the back of my head.  Plus cutting just sucks.

….. And I love it.  

So I’m going to scour the forums as well, but not post because I don’t want to deal w/ the angry posts you get over there.

I’m looking for a proven mass building program to start around Thanksgiving.  This looks like a solid program.  I just had a few questions.

1. Is a spotter required??  I work out alone and need to know if I need to make friends at the gym.

2. For those who lift daily how hard is it to only lift 3 days a week?

3. Any special nutritional requirements?

I’m going to go through Madcow’s posts now so if some of this is redundant I’m sorry.

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

Sometimes I feel like I’m in this all alone.  I have a pregnant wife and that makes it really hard to eat right.  She also tends to say things like "I wish you would have stayed in bed with me this morning."  I know she isn’t doing it to sabotage my progress, but sometimes it just feels that way.  So really I want to say thank you to everyone on this board for keeping me focussed on what I should be doing.

So I’m on the second week of a four week intense high rep, high intensity cardio  program.  I purposely only went four weeks so that it ended prior to Turkey Day and Chistmas.  I’ll go for mass at least through the new year after this.  I’ve stayed level at 226 lbs, but I see the muscle building up so I’m pretty happy.  Also my jeans fit much better. 

Today I woke up in a horrible mood, but knocked out my shoulders and made it through 15 minutes of HIIT on the stairmaster.

Leaning Side Laterals superset w/ One arm DB press:

20 (side laterals)/ 45 (DB Press) x 15, 25/50 x 12, 25/50 x 12

Cable Side Laterals ss w/ One Arm Upright Rows:

10/15 x 15 (3 sets)

Reverse Cable Fly:

15 x 15 (3 sets)

Smith Machine Shrug ss w/ Smith Rev Shrug:

110 each x 15 (4 sets)

I’m going to hit up my addiction, spinning, tonight.  My daughter loves the Kids Club so it’s a win/win for me.

Again, and I really can’t say it enough, to all those on this board THANK YOU.