AutemOx Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Hi. I started lifting a year and a half ago, but became more serious just this year. I started with Starting Strength and then moved to a fairly standard bodybuilding 5 day split (Chest, Back, Arms, Shoulders, Legs/Other). I'm happy to receive advice about my diet and the lifts. Here is my starting values (from 5 months ago): Chest 05/06/2015Flat BB 4x5x130Incline DB 4x8x10DB Flys (Bands) 4x8x10Dumbbell Pullover (hadn't started this yet) Pushups 1x20x0 Back/Traps 05/08/2015Weighted Pull Up 3x4x25Deadlift 1x4x160One Arm DB Row 4x8x30Bent BB Rows 4x8x70 Arms 05/09/2015BB Curls 1x4x50Close Grip Bench 3x8x50Preacher curls DB 4x6x25Standing French Press 4x8x30Bent Over 1-Arm Tricep Ext (hadn't started yet)Hammer Curls 4x8x25 Shoulders 05/10/2015Military Press 4x4x80Upright DB Rows 4x8x25Front Raise 4x8x15Reverse DB flys 4x8x10Shrugs 4x8x100 Since then I have worked out:May - 16 timesJune - 17 timesJuly - 16 timesAugust - 18 timesSeptember - 12 times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AutemOx Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share Posted October 18, 2015 (edited) I've had a bad september and early october where I struggled to complete my work outs, often feeling fatigued and sick. I've had to de-load across the board on every exercise. Part of the reason I am posting here is to help get me back on track. I think this forum will also help me build more awareness about healthy eating. I am feeling pretty good today- things are looking uphill. I haven't been able to capture that great feeling from working out today, but I know it will come back with discipline and repetition. Breakfast: French toast and vegan sausageLunch: Veggie 'Salami' Sandwich and EdamameDinner: Taco bell 2 burrito 2 bean tacos and soda Back/Traps 10/18/2015Weighted Pull Up 4x6x35Deadlift 4x6x145*One Arm DB Row 4x7x70Bent BB Rows 4x7x120 *My deadlifts aren't getting better because I often skip them, get lower back pain, so I am constantly deloading and asking for advice on my form. Edited October 24, 2015 by AutemOx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmf Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 First thing I'll say: take your legs more seriously. You mentioned "legs/other" like it's an afterthought at the end of your list...and wrote out four upper body workouts, and nothing for legs. Your lower body is half your body...without it, don't expect your upper body to progress. The fact that you're "fatigued and sick" screams that your food intake is way off for your needs. Nobody really cares about the specifics about what you eat...but moreso the big picture: calories and macronutrients. What are they, and what's your stats, and what is your TDEE? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeering Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 I agree with jmf, there's no workout for your legs! Look, all someone at your (and my) level needs to progress is squats. All the other stuff is just fluff really. If you have issues with your knees etc then isolation exercises can be really useful to get a pump in your muscles safely. But if you're healthy and have no existing joint issues then I say work damn hard at those squats! if your form is good then it'll work your entire (yes, entire) lower body. Thanks to Lombard's Paradox your quads and hamstrings work simultaneously to squat, even your ankle and calves get their share of the work. Anyway, sorry to harp on there, I love that exercise ;D About your diet, do you practice IF? You've only listed two meals. They look like they couldn't possibly total more than 1500kcal am I right? If your goal is to get strength, then you'll likely need more calories. What's your weight/gender? What's your goals? Strength, fat loss, muscle, endurance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AutemOx Posted October 24, 2015 Author Share Posted October 24, 2015 I recently bought a business. I am $120,000 in debt for my business and $230,000 in debt for student loans. Most of my time is spent working or driving to and from work. I often feel tired when I get home from work, especially when I didn't sleep much the night before or when I eat poorly. I find that lack of sleep begets poor eating (due to lack of prep time) and poor eating begets poor sleep and exercise habits. This week I fell into the all too familiar routine of not getting enough sleep, not having time to prep my meals in the morning, and then eating poorly, and then feeling too tired to work out. One of my main goals for posting here is to improve my awareness of this negative cycle and correct my sleep/diet so that I can have better and more frequent work outs. Time management is going to help me control my sleep and diet more than anything else. Ironically tonight I stayed up till 11:30 writing this log instead of sleeping; hope it was worth it. Arms 10/19/2015BB Curls 3x5x85Close Grip Bench 3x5x135Preacher curls DB 3x4x45Standing French Press 3x7x50Bent Over 1-Arm Tricep Ext 3x6x25Hammer Curls 2x4x45 Sleep: approx 8 hours Breakfast: Cant rememberLunch: Chili (black bean and homony)Dinner: Tofurky Sausage (2) stir-fry with veggies 10/20/2015Unable to work out too busy with work and seeing an evil female. last time did shoulders: 8 days ago. Sleep: approx 5 hours Breakfast: Vega ShakeLunch: Subway sandwich + whole pack tofurky sandwich meatDinner: Red Curry and rice 10/21/2015Failed to work out feeling very tired from <6 hours sleep the last two nights. played a video game. last time did shoulders: 9 days ago. Last Sleep: approx 5 hours (had stayed up w evil female) Breakfast: Vega ShakeLunch: Veggie burrito, chips, sodaDinner: Spaghetti w Tofurky Sausage and Brocolli Cardio 10/22/2015Boxing 90 minutes after work. Last Sleep: approx 6 hours (had stayed up playing a video game, gah really bad) Breakfast: Shredded WheatLunch: Red Robin Boca Burger, Fries, SodaDinner: Cant remember Shoulders 10/23/2015Did not finish todays work out because got held up seeing someone after work. Last time did shoulders: 10/12 (11 days ago, should be 7! gah) Last Sleep: approx 6 hours (stayed up working, should have just saved the work for daytime) Military Press 4x4.7x110Upright DB Rows 4x6x60Front Raise 4x6x45 Reverse DB Flys 4x6x22Shrugs 4x8x160 Breakfast: Taco bell 2 bean taco, 1 burrito, sodaLunch: NoneDinner: Red Robin Boca Burger, Fries, Soda First thing I'll say: take your legs more seriously. You mentioned "legs/other" like it's an afterthought at the end of your list...and wrote out four upper body workouts, and nothing for legs. Your lower body is half your body...without it, don't expect your upper body to progress. The fact that you're "fatigued and sick" screams that your food intake is way off for your needs. Nobody really cares about the specifics about what you eat...but moreso the big picture: calories and macronutrients. What are they, and what's your stats, and what is your TDEE? Thank you. I'm planning to integrate squats 3x a week. The last couple months there was something in particular making me fatigue and sick feeling, so just being done with that will be good for me, but my diet and sleep is going to be big for improving the fatigue too! I'm not sure what my TDEE is. I did spend a couple weeks attempting to calculate it but I just couldn't find the time (a big issue for me). I have been between 170-174 lbs for over a year now, have lost some fat and gained muscle . I agree with jmf, there's no workout for your legs! Look, all someone at your (and my) level needs to progress is squats. All the other stuff is just fluff really. If you have issues with your knees etc then isolation exercises can be really useful to get a pump in your muscles safely. But if you're healthy and have no existing joint issues then I say work damn hard at those squats! if your form is good then it'll work your entire (yes, entire) lower body. Thanks to Lombard's Paradox your quads and hamstrings work simultaneously to squat, even your ankle and calves get their share of the work. Anyway, sorry to harp on there, I love that exercise ;D About your diet, do you practice IF? You've only listed two meals. They look like they couldn't possibly total more than 1500kcal am I right? If your goal is to get strength, then you'll likely need more calories. What's your weight/gender? What's your goals? Strength, fat loss, muscle, endurance? Thank you. I will incorporate squats 3x a week. I listed 2 meals because that day had not been completed yet/I had not yet eaten dinner. I am 28, male, 5"10, 172lbs. My longterm goals are body building/appearance. Since I am early on I am focused on strength. I also incorporating some cardio in the form of boxing and running but that is more for social and confidence purposes. Priority is body building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeering Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 Sounds like it's going well! BTW if you miss shoulders but get your push/pull workouts in then it's really not so bad. They will get your posterior and anterior delts just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AutemOx Posted October 24, 2015 Author Share Posted October 24, 2015 10/24/2015Was supposed to work out this morning, caught up on sleep instead. Going to try and do it tonight but have to go cheer on friend in mma tournament. Last Sleep: Slept 9 hours. Breakfast: shredded wheatLunch: TJ's indian foodDinner: Sounds like it's going well! BTW if you miss shoulders but get your push/pull workouts in then it's really not so bad. They will get your posterior and anterior delts just fine. Thank you I was actually wondering that... So if a week has gone by I should just move on to push/pull. I will do that. But hopefully I won't have to as I improve time management Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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