Xhale2007's cutting journal - New pics added - 29/11/09

Hi guys, i kinda posted my first thread in the wrong forum, seems to be more advice thrown about in here, and its a better place for me to keep track of my goals and achievments. I aim to get to 190lb as a first mile stone, then i will reassess and set another goal.
 
Anyway, i started my diet on 5th august 2009. Im 23, 5ft 11, and was weighing 216lb.
 
My diet consists of:
(as i work shifts times change weekly)
 
Week 1  - Week 2
 
5.30am  or 8.30am- 2 weetabix, glass of orange juice
10am or 12pm - cheese/ham/chicken/tuna wholemeal sandwich with salad, piece of fruit
5pm or 6pm- chicken/beef/pork with either salad wholemeal rice or veg and 3 new potatoes, yoghurt
 
Between these i will eat some fruit and drink between 2 and 3 litres of water per day.
 
My cardio consists of:
 
Mon - weds - sat, HIIT running on my running machine (Currently i do 2mins fast walk to warm up, followed by, 1 min fast as i can sprint, 1 min walk, repeated 4 times, with the final walk being 2mins again, so 11mins in total)
 
Tues - thurs, Tennis for 2 hours at a decent pace
 
So ive now been doing this for 4 weeks, im down to 204lb (12lb loss) Starting to notice a difference i think. My HIIT running started at 4mins, and i was nearly dead, i can now do the routine above and its getting easier. Ive noticed a 4" drop in size around my belly button area, and 1" around my hips, along with other smaller down sizes in thighs and arms
 
Stupidly i didnt take pics when i started, and only have them from the 20th august. But here goes (im amazed im posting these as im quite embarrassed, but its so i never go back to it)
 

 

 
Thanks for taking the time to read this, if you have any advice, fire away cos im all ears to help me loose this gut fast!!

Did my first mile run today, normally my HIIT sees me do 0.7 of a mile.

I managed it in 15mins, probably very poor compared to your guys, but im over the moon, 4 weeks ago, i couldnt jog for 5mins!!

:)

Well done on everything you have achieved so far :D and good luck in the future.

Will you be doing any resistance training? 

My Training Journal

Best of luck lad, no need to feel embarassed, its not like we know who you are!

My Journal 

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Nah thats very true :) I want to get down to my goal weight, I want to feel abit more comftable with my weight, before i start to do any resistance training.

I already have some good kit in my garage, bench, olympic bars, dumbells etc etc, so theres no reason not to start really. I just really wanna be alot slimmer first. Probably the wrong way to go about it.

Had a nice long game of tennis yesterday, 2 hours we played for!!

Quick question, why do my ankles and shins hurt so much during/after running for a few hours? is it purely because i aint used to it??

I think ive sorted the above problem.

Because i have slightly smaller feet than a size 11, and bigger than a 10.5, my shoes only fit snug with proper socks on. Because i wear shorts on the treadmill, i wear trainer socks which are thinner, my shoes are then loose.

Today i wore proper socks and my shins/ankles didnt hurt one bit. I really hope thats the problem sorted.

I dunno if they work or not, but after reading loads of reviews of thermobol i decided to take the plunge, one of the main factors was to buy some green tea extract tabs, it was only 3 or 4 quid cheaper, so i thought sod it.

Took them this morning, and im not sure if it just my fitness has improved greatly since my monday run, or they do actually work for a good energy boost. My run today increased by 6mins (from 11 to 17), i also changed from 1 min sprint/ 1 min walk to a 2min/2min set up. Either way, im well impressed by the sudden increase.
 
I also have some whey protein (pHd) from a few months back, i know im not doing any weights at present, but is it worth me adding a shake to my breakfast after my cardio work?

Thanks in advance for any help!!

Seenings as its 2 weeks today since them pics, its time for some new ones..

This is at 203lb (last pics were around the 210/211lb mark


 

Oops. that should be thermopure not thermobol.

:)

Anyone, able to help with the above question? ta

xhale2007

Anyone, able to help with the above question? ta

This one?

I also have some whey protein (pHd) from a few months back, i know im not doing any weights at present, but is it worth me adding a shake to my breakfast after my cardio work?

Can't hurt, what do you have for breakfast at the moment?

www.fingerpistol.co.uk

Any why aren't you lifting weights!!?

www.fingerpistol.co.uk

Hi mate, good luck with it all, and as 1ManRiot said why no weights it will only help build your strength for later and will aid in your weight loss.

Vision without action is a daydream.

Action with without vision is a nightmare

Dear Diary.....

good luck  mate

Yea i dont know why i havent started the weights yet, i just feel i wanna keep dropping the lbs and not train. Im probably making things slower this way, but im enjoying the losses and im pretty happy.

Once i hit my goal of 190lb i will start weights.

ok, im starting to come round to the idea of weights. Can anyone suggest me any ideal workouts for my goal?

Thanks

:)

Depends what your goals are mate?

I only suggested gettin on the weights train now as I was 16st when I started getting fit, dropped to 12 1/2st without doing any weights and then did light weights. After 2 years I was looking at myself and thought I ain't got a load of muscle here and when I joined this website I realised how far behind smaller and lighter people I was in my lifts.

I've done a 5x5 routine for 8 weeks, and now I am going to do a 4x6 for 7 weeks, but that is cos I want to bulk a bit which isn't your goal, but there's loads of info on here, and I'm sure you'll be inundated with idea's from people.

Vision without action is a daydream.

Action with without vision is a nightmare

Dear Diary.....

My goal is to lose weight, and i guess i want to tone up as well

Well what worked for me was doing light weights high reps 10-12, I had a kick/punch bag,(as I train in my garage) and doing that as well as lots of abs work. I did well on it, was proper thin and toned but it just didn't suit my frame and structure to be like that, well with not a lot of muscle either.
Sounds like you could do with getting some boxing/ kickboxing type routines for the goal your after.

Vision without action is a daydream.

Action with without vision is a nightmare

Dear Diary.....

Yea, im going to look into it today, sort my self out a routine to get into.

Just had my weekly weigh in at 9am (same time everyweek)

Last week i weighed 204lb, Today i am amazed, i have broke the 200lb barrier and am down to 199lb

Thats 5lb loss this week, maybe these thermopure pills do work lol.

Ive ran out of good food, so i need to go stock up today. Im getting pretty bored of boring meals, im gonna have to have a look around and spice things up a bit.

Is it really true that crap food makes ure taste buds get less sensitive to taste? Its just i cooked a marinated chicken with rice a few nights ago, she reckons it didnt taste of anything but chicken, but to me it tasted so strong :/ lol

Good job on the weight loss mate, stick with it.

Vision without action is a daydream.

Action with without vision is a nightmare

Dear Diary.....

Well im extremely disappointed to say, i have completly gone of track this week. I had a week of work, and ended up eating pretty poorly by the end of the week.

But i cant wory about it, its done and forgotten about. Back to work today, so i can get back into my routine again.

Im also planning on implementing so weight training into my routine.  My plan is Mon - Weds - Fri, to carry on with my HIT cardio running. Then Tues - Thurs - Sat I will do weights.

What should i be doing weights wise? Should i do fully body. or do parts each of them 3 days? Can someone please point me in the right direction as to what excersizes to perfom, i have a bench, huge selection of weights and bars, and plenty of space

Hi xhale,

As you are working out at home, your going to have that added extra guile and ingenuity in order to make a quality go of it.

Do you have access to any of thew following:

Chin bar
Squats
Lunges
Deadlifts
Dips

Legs can be quite difficult to work thoroughly at home when you do not have access to a Squat rack or any auxilliary leg attachements for your bench. Don't get me wrong, we can always work around what you have. Same goes for back.

I would proabably split the days up into Pull, Push, Legs - Mon, Wed, Fri respectively.  Pending on exercise availability, set and rep scheme is debatable, though a standard pyramid approach would work well.

I am Ripper... Tearer... Slasher... Gouger. I am the Teeth in the Darkness, the Talons in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Power!

I dont have a chin bar, but can easily buy one, i can do squats on my own just, but its risky incase of fail. I may have access to a home made rack a guy i know has tho, so might go get that.

What would i need to lunges and deads? dont have nothing to do dips on either.

I just found this 3 day workout, is it anygood??

http://www.home-gym-review.com/free-workout-routines.htmI

ALthough ive just realised i probs cant do some of them, due to lack of equipment. :(

Hi buddy,

A squat rack would be most beneficial, however lets workout what you can do before we attempt to string together a routine.

Deadlifts - Strong flooring, upstairs or wooden floorboards not an option - Barbell + Lots of free weight

Does your bench have any attachents? leg ext/curl, preacher, Latpulldown?

Does your Bench go Incline or bolt upright?

I am Ripper... Tearer... Slasher... Gouger. I am the Teeth in the Darkness, the Talons in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Power!

cheers for the help bud,

I workout in the garage, so floor is solid concrete. Have an olyimpic bar, and about 300kg or weights.

Bench has legs and curl attachments, and will go to about 60degrees with 2 other positions. Its a well built strong bench. No preacher or pull down

Awesome, perhaps something like this maybe beneficial:

Fairly basic program. The sets stated are worksets, ideally you want to be going to near failure on these sets and bumping the weights as the reps decrease. You can of course doa few warmup sets before hand, though do keep them warmup only, they should not be too taxing.

Monday:

Deadlift - 3 sets - 10,8,6 reps
Bent over row - 3 sets, 10,8,6
Dumbell row - 3 sets, 12,10,8
Barbell curls - 4 sets, 12,10,8,6

Wednesday:

Flat barbell bench press - 3 sets - 10,8,6
Incline DB bench press - 3 sets - 10,8,6
Flat DB flys - 3 sets - 12,10,8
DB shoulder press - 3 sets - 12,10,8
Skullcrushers - 4 sets - 12.10,8,6

Friday:

Front Squat (holding weight plate(s) - 3 sets, 10,8,6
Stiff legged deadlift - 3 sets, 12,10,8
Leg Extensions - 2 sets. 10,8
Leg curls - 2 sets, 10,8
Calf raise (use dbells or barbell on 2x4 block of wood) - 3 sets, 12,10,8

All weights and reps should be logged and aim to keep form clean and progress on a weekly basis.

We could always try an abbreviated fullbody routine should you wish.

I am Ripper... Tearer... Slasher... Gouger. I am the Teeth in the Darkness, the Talons in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Power!

Excellent, just what i was after. I dont like the idea of a full body workout, when i tried them when i first did weights, i got so bored by the end i was giving up/cheating. I like the idea of split up routines, and think i could stick at them.

One thing i must ask, is for some advice on beginning training. When i have tried before, the day after my first session i can either hardly walk, move my arms, or my chest feels like im having a heart attack with all the muscle pain in it.

Am i doing to much to soon? I never know what weight to use, is there any pointers, or just a case of doing what u can till u find a happy medium.

Cheers!!

Hi mate, I found going lightish then workin my way up best, it's not a race so it might take you a couple of weeks to find your weights but hah, this is a life time commitment eh!? LOL

Vision without action is a daydream.

Action with without vision is a nightmare

Dear Diary.....

I agree with Freeman,

I wouldnt start off rediciously light, however, do use weight you can handle for solid 100% form and technique. Take your time and perhaps do some light stretching after your workout also.

You will find soreness to be an issue for the first couple of weeks regardless. Any layoff from resistance training followed by re-introduction is going to yield a little muscle sorness.

Package and parcel.

Best of luck.

I am Ripper... Tearer... Slasher... Gouger. I am the Teeth in the Darkness, the Talons in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Power!

Thanks Guys!!

Gonna do these on tue-thur-sat, as im already doing cardio mon - weds - fri.

So that means i start today :) Looking forward to it, Shall be getting dressed and heading into the garage shortly.

Again, best of luck.

Take your time with it and most importantly, enjoy your session!

I look forward to reading up on how you done.

I am Ripper... Tearer... Slasher... Gouger. I am the Teeth in the Darkness, the Talons in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Power!

Quick thing, im going to eat my weetabix in a sec, should i include a shake pre workout? or save it for post?

About an hr after breakfast should i train?

Aslong as you have some protein, shake or whole foods for breakfast and ensure that all workouts ave a post workout shake, your golden!

An hour at least before your training, give your food time to digest a little. I have to give it at least 2hr 30mins on legs days as otherwise I get very nauseous.

This week is going to be pure learning curve and feeling out what you can and can't do.

I am Ripper... Tearer... Slasher... Gouger. I am the Teeth in the Darkness, the Talons in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Power!

Yea, im looking forward to it, whenevr i tried before, i just felt like i didnt want to do it, but had to.

Now ive endured nearly 6 weeks of dieting, im in the right frame of mind to start weight training, and continue to improve.

I forgot to weigh in yesterday, probably scared due to the fact i had eaten poor over the previous few days.

So i weighed in this morning. 197lb, thats another 2lb gone in just over a week, im happy with that as i didnt stay strict all week. Only 7lb to go till i hit my inital target!!! Its also time for fortnightly pic updates, so ill get the missus to take some before i go down to garage.

Never fear to step on the scales. It is just a number, what counts is the time you have and how constructively you use it.

Alot of people treat exercise as a chore.. I know I do when i comes to cardio , though it is purely a tool to achieve some physical means. View the exercise as a medium, a way of achieveing the physique that you have in your mind. Make it a goal to wield this tool with skill, form and dedication. Focus on the benefits of it and embrace the effort as a sign of improvement.

Great news on the loss by the way. The target is in sight for sure.

Onwards and upwards!

I am Ripper... Tearer... Slasher... Gouger. I am the Teeth in the Darkness, the Talons in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Power!

Well thats the first session done and dusted, really enjoyed it, but got a feeling my back is gonna disagree tomorrow. Tried my hardest to keep form as best i could, but probably wasnt quite right, but it will come.

I feel extremely week when i write the weights i used etc, but hey, we gotta start somewhere, i aint afraid to admit it. I aint gonna up the weights to look better, not the idea of the game.

So,

Deadlifts
 
10 x 30kg
8 x 40kg
6 x 50kg This was close to fail, but could maybe have done 1 or 2 more

Bent over rows

10 x 15kg
8 x 17.5kg
6 x 20kg, again this was close to fail, maybe 1 or 2 more could have been done.

DB rows

12 x 10kg (per DB)
10 x 10kg
8 x 12.5kg, Last rep was just about fail, maybe cheated to make it, couldnt have done any extra.

Barbell curls

12 x 15kg
10 x 20kg
8 x 20kg, just about failed
6 x 22.5kg, just about failed

Took me about 45-50mins

Now going to enjoy a nice cookie shake :)

Big Big thanks to valhalla for this workout, loved it!

heres updated pics, 197lb

Fantastic going buddy,

Im glad you enjoyed the workout.

How did you do the dumbell rows? Single arm with a bench? I would opt for this version to give your back a little different stimilus.

See how your back responds. Back is typically a tough nut to crack for some trainers. A couple little tips for future reference to really feel your back working:

Bent over rows - nice stretch, think of your hands as hooks on the bar only, focus on pulling the bar in a smooth motion to your navel and then squeezing the lats for a beif moment before controlling the bar back down to a stretch. Imagine you have a small squash ball on the center of your back, as the bar reaches your navel I want you to try to squeeze the ball with your shoulder blades. This will help you target your back better.

Single arm DB rows - Similar to Bent rows, Hands are hooks, pull from the elbows. Some like to start the row with the dumbell level with thier face/head and row upwards towards the hips with a contraction at the top.

Hope this helps.

I am Ripper... Tearer... Slasher... Gouger. I am the Teeth in the Darkness, the Talons in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Power!