Second Step

[Flex]

Monday 2-7-07

8.53am Coffee (2Tsp), 1 tsp Creatine, HMB and Purins Mix

10.04am Mandarin

12.06pm Muesli Bar (10% fat, 30% Carbs), 10 g Creatine Tri-Malate

1.28pm 2 x Multigrain Rolls, 1 cup chicken, 1/2 cup Potato Salad.

4.42pm 5g Creatine Tri-Malate

5.30pm 30 minutes Exercycle (111 Rpm Avg, 15.5km distance)

100 sit-ups

7.00pm 2 cups brown rice, 1/2 cup mixed veg, 1/2 cup tuna, 1 x glass wine

8.30pm 1/2 cup chicken 5g creatine tri-malate

Thursday 5-7-07

7.30am 2tsp coffee, 3 x brown toast

8.15am 2 tsp coffee

12.00pm 1cup rice, 1/2 cup mixed veg, 5 g Micro Creatine

12.30pm 90g protein, 400ml Xtra Calcium Milk

3.30pm 1 cup rice, 1/2 cup mixed veg

4.00pm 2 tsp coffee

5.00pm 5g Creatine Transport, 10g Creatine

7.30pm 500g Steak, 2 x boiled eggs, 1 cup mixed veg, 1 glass wine

7.00am 2 tsp coffee, Calci Xtra Milk.

8.00am Muesli Bar, 5g Creatine Tri-Malate

11.10am 1 Cup rice, 1/2 cup mixed veg, 90g Protein, 300ml Trime Milk, 5g Creatine Tri-Malate

2.30pm 1 cup Rice, 1/2 cup Mixed Veg

7.00pm 500g Steak, 3 boiled Eggs, 1cup Mixed Veg, 1 glass wine.

7.30am 3 x Wheetbix, 1/2 cup trim milk, 2 tsp coffee

9.00am 2 tsp coffee, 5g Creatine

11.00am 1 cup mixed veg, 90g protein, 400ml trim milk

1.30pm Sushi x 14 (Small Pieces)

4.45pm 2 tsp coffee, 10g Creatine

7.15pm 4 x toasted Sandwhiches (Ham, Tomato, onion)

Right...so after my first week of a healthier diet, regular cardio as well as maintaining my weight training, I jumped on the scales Sunday Morning.......112.6kgs. Thats the heaviest I've been for a while.

Who wrote your diet for you? I'm sorry to say but it's awful - you're not going to lose much weight eating like that everyday.

Your nutrient breakdown is all up the shoot. There's no benefit in eating 90g of protein and 500g of steak in one sitting. Split your meals up a bit. You should be having protein with every meal rather than just 2 or 3 large servings. Ditch the bread and add in some decent carbs like oats or brown rice. Some of your meals must be at least 800 calories each which is way too much if you're trying to burn fat.

For some reason most of your calories seem to come after midday and late afternoon. Add more protein into the early part of the day. You need protein in the morning not just carbs. A protein shake or a good amount of egg whites should be included with your breakfast.

The Wine needs to go as that's going to hinder fat loss. You should be feeding every 2 to 3 hours with protein and carbs - at least 3 meals should have some fibrous carbs (veges) and add essential fats like olive oil, or cold water fish for at least 2 meals as well. Each meal should be similar size providing similar calories.

Restricting carb intake after midday or 3pm can be effective for enhancing weight loss so try and reduce your carb intake over this part of the day (except after training when you're body should utilise the carbs more effectively).

It looks like 2 meals are a cup of coffee and creatine which is a bloody awful combination. I couldn't figure out which one, but I'm also assuming one of the meals above is your post training meal. You should be using some sort of protein supplement after training - providing about 30 to 40g or protein, with some carbs. Add your creatine to your PWO shake rather than mixing it with coffee.

[Pseudonym]

Great advice, Flex! I've got a couple of questions though...

What effect does wine have on weight loss? Is it just empty calories, or is there more to it than that? I would have thought the polyphenols in a glass of red wine might be beneficial.

Creatine and coffee. Somewhere I picked up the fact that caffeine blocked the effects of creatine - which presumably is why you're saying taking the two together is a nono. Up till now, I've never really thought much about it beyond that, but how does that square with products like BSN's NO-Xplode, which has both creatine and caffeine?

[Flex]

What effect does wine have on weight loss? Is it just empty calories, or is there more to it than that? I would have thought the polyphenols in a glass of red wine might be beneficial.

Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram however it's not so much the calories in alcohol that are the problem. Alcohol is a poison so the body preferentially deals with clearing it out of the system as soon as possible. Basically it shuts down processing everything else to metabolise the alcohol, so essentially any calories taken in during this time aren't processed and are stored for metabolism later on. If you're drinking alcohol at night or drinking a large amount of alcohol your body never really gets round to burning off the "food" calories so you end up storing everything as fat.

As far as the polyphenols go it depends on your priorities. If you're seriously trying to lose weight and concerned about your body image and performance in the gym alcohol should be well off the menu. Polyphenols really just give people an excuse to justify certain foods that they should otherwise avoid. Once your inshape then you can perhaps have the luxury of adding such things in.

Creatine and coffee. Somewhere I picked up the fact that caffeine blocked the effects of creatine - which presumably is why you're saying taking the two together is a nono. Up till now, I've never really thought much about it beyond that, but how does that square with products like BSN's NO-Xplode, which has both creatine and caffeine?

The original clinical studies on creatine actually used creatine and coffee together as the creatine dissolved easier, and the creatine was still found to be effective - the creatine caffeine thing has been blown a little out of proportion.

The main disadvantage that caffeine causes is that it acts as a mild diuretic so limits the cell volumizing effect that creatine has. If you must drink coffee while using creatine this can be offset by increasing water intake - normally an extra glass or two for every caffeinated beverage should help. This is on top of the normal increase in water intake when using creatine - so you may find yourself having to drink upwards of 5 litres of water a day.

It's generally easier just to knock coffee on the head if you really want to make the most of creatine. It should be noted that alcohol is the worst offender when using creatine as it also acts as a diuretic however has no performance enhancing benefit at all, so the double up of both certainly helps reduce creatines benefits. The main reason I have problems with I_lifts creatine coffee combo is that it doesn't seem to make much sense to me as to the timing and should really be a meal instead.

[poos_n_wees]

I just gained a few brain cells after reading all that :pfft:

Nice posts Flex 8)

[Pseudonym]

:nod: Me too. Thankyou sir!

[I_lift]

Thnks for the advice guys.

Monday 9-7-07

7.30am 4 x wheetbix, 1/2 cup trim milk, 60g protein - 300ml trim milk

9.00am 2 tsp coffee, 1 x muesli bar

11.00am 4 x Rice cakes, 1 x muesli bar, 40g protein - 400ml Calci milk

1.00pm 2 x Rice Cakes, 2 x Mandarines, 5g creatine

4.00pm 2 tsp coffee, 50g Protein (400ml Calci Milk)

5.00pm 5g (Creatine, HMB, MP mix)

6.30pm 40g Protein, 10g Carb, 300ml Trim Milk

7.30pm 1 cup Pasta, 1 cup Steamed Vegetables

(I only had rice cakes and protein at work :cry: )

WorkOut Chest - Triceps

Flat Bench Press (DB)

20kg x 8

30kg x 8

35kg x 8

40kg x 8

45kg x 8

Incline Bench Press (DB)

20kg x 8

25kg x 8

30kg x 8

35kg x 8

40kg x 8

Decline DB Press

20kg x 10

30kg x 8

40kg x 8

Decline Skull Crushers

20kg x 8

25kg x 8

30kg x 8

Dips ss Pushdowns

10 ss 20kgs x 15

10 ss 25kgs x 10

10 ss 30kgs x 10

That was it. Missed 2 extra exercises due to lack of time. Diet was slightly better yesterday, thanks again for the advice peeps 8) .

[jono]

keep working hard man :grin:

[I_lift]

Tuesday 10-7-07

7.00am 4 x Wheetbix, 1/2 Cup Trim Mlik, 60g Protein 400ml Calci Milk

8.00am 2 tsp Coffee

10.30am 2 x Rice Cakes 5g Creatine

12.10pm 1 cup raw peanuts, 50g Protein 400ml Trim Milk

2.00pm 6 x Sushi, 2 x Rice Cakes

4.00pm 2 tsp Coffee

5.00pm 10g (creatine/HMB/MP) mix

9.00pm Subway (Sweet Onion Chicken T) 1 foot

WorkOut - Biceps

BB Curls

20kg x 10

30kg x 10

40kg x 10

Bowflex Preacher Curl

40lb x 10

60lb x 10

80lb x 8

Incline DB Curl (Triple Drop) ss Decline Bench Sit-Ups

12.5kg x 10 10kg x 10 8kg x 10 ss 15

12.5kg x 10 10kg x 10 8kg x 10 ss 15

15kg x 10 12.5kg x 10 10kg x 10 ss 15

Seated Hammer Curls (DB) ss Weight Ab Crunches (Bowflex)

12.5kg x 10 ss 120lb x 15

15.0kg x 10 ss 120lb x 15

17.5kg x 10 ss 140lb x 15

Seated Concentration Curls (Singles - Low Pulley)

10kg x 10

15kg x 10

15kg x 10

Cardio

Exercycle 20minutes 10.6km

That was it. had a new training partner so I think I lifted more to his level . Only slight forearms issues at the moment. Lighter weight and better form are showing improvements :pfft:

[Flex]

7.00am 4 x Wheetbix, 1/2 Cup Trim Mlik, 60g Protein 400ml Calci Milk

8.00am 2 tsp Coffee

10.30am 2 x Rice Cakes 5g Creatine

12.10pm 1 cup raw peanuts, 50g Protein 400ml Trim Milk

2.00pm 6 x Sushi, 2 x Rice Cakes

4.00pm 2 tsp Coffee

5.00pm 10g (creatine/HMB/MP) mix

9.00pm Subway (Sweet Onion Chicken T) 1 foot

Is that a mistake - A cup of raw peanuts? Do you know how much fat is in that? That's like 800 calories - with over 70g of fat, including 14g of Saturated fat.

Nuts are a good source of essential fats but if you're dieting should be eaten sparingly - at most a dozen at a time (about 120calories just in that). They're full of fibre so drink a glass of water with them as the water will expand the fibre making you feel more full.

Try to avoid peanuts due to their high saturated fat content - almonds are best (more pricey though), walnuts, hazelnuts and pistachios are also pretty good.

As I said earlier you need to reduce your protein serving size per meal. If you had a cup of peanuts - thats 40g protein, plus 50g protein (whey?) plus 400ml of milk - 16g protein - 106g protein just in that meal.

With that much protein, creatine and caffeine you'll need lots of water - at least 3 to 4 litres a day - on top of the water you use in your shakes and coffee.

If you're trying to lose weight this is an example of what you could eat:

7.00am 4 x Wheetbix, 200ml Trim Mlik, 30g Protein 200ml Calci Milk or water

8.00am 2 tsp Coffee, + water

10.30am Rice Cakes are PURE evil - You need Complex Carbs - Wholemeal bread/wholemeal pita bread, 25g protein in water 5g Creatine

12.10pm 1x Tin of Tuna or Salmon, 1/2 cup of basmati rice or brown rice, brocolli/cauliflower/or salad, + water

2.00pm 6 x Sushi, + water

4.00pm 2 tsp Coffee - Is this a preworkout booster?, + Water

5.00pm (pretraining?) 10g (creatine/HMB/MP) mix - 25g protein and banana, + Water

POST TRAINING within 30mins - 25-40g protein - plus carbs - oats, weetbix, banana, maltodextrin etc

9.00pm Subway (Sweet Onion Chicken T) 1 foot - not the worst fast food you could eat but if you're dieting try to limit this to once a week. And best not to eat such a large meal so late.

This time of night your better off with just protein - either a protein shake, or lowfat cottage cheese, + Water, maybe a handful of almonds

[poos_n_wees]

Why are rice cakes evil? They're pretty handy for a snack, if you have them with some form of protein like tuna

[Flex]

Rice cakes are so refined you may as well be eating paper. They have a very high GI - over 80, and nutritionally speaking don't really provide anything of benefit. They're a throwback from the lowfat days of the 80's that should have died along with shoulder pads.

[I_lift]

Thanks Flex. My nutritional knowledge is worse than I thought :shock:

Legs

10 minutes Recumbant (Warm-Up)

Lying Leg Curl (Bowflex)

20lb x 20

40lb x 15

60lb x 8

80lb x 6

40lb x 20

Leg Extension

30kg x 20

40kg x 20

Squats

65kg x 12

85kg x 12

105kg x 10

125kg x 8

150kg x 6 (PB-could have done more reps)

65kg x 12

Leg Extension

30kg x 20

40kg x 20

Leg Press

200kg x 12

240kg x 6

270kg x 6

Reverse Leg Curl

20kg x 20

30kg x 15

That was it. Not a bad workout.

[Pseudonym]

You've got me worried now, Flex. What about Multi-grain Corn Thins? Are they allowed? They're vastly superior to those nasty polystyrene wafers.

[Flex]

You've got me worried now, Flex. What about Multi-grain Corn Thins? Are they allowed? They're vastly superior to those nasty polystyrene wafers.

Do you mean these things? Looking at the ingredients they don't look quite as bad as Rice crackers. However after checking out the manufacturers website they're pretty shite. I wouldn't make them a regular part of the diet.

15. As a diabetic, I would like to know what is the Glycemic Index of your Corn Thins? - http://www.cornthins.com/faq.shtml

The GI of Real Foods Corn Thins are 87 +/- 10, which is classed as High GI. Foods with high GI values raise blood glucose levels more than those with low or medium values. They are useful for dietary variety and for replenishing muscle fuel stores after exercise. To lower dietary Glycemic Index simply combine high GI food that you would normally eat (eg Corn Thins, potatoes, or white rice) with lower GI foods (eg salad, fruit, vegetables, pasta, muesli) at each meal.

16. How do you make your Corn Thins?

Real Foods source the best Australian grown ingredients to manufacture Corn Thins and Rice Thins. These products are manufactured in accordance with HACCP Food Quality system requirements, to ensure the safe consumption of products by our consumers. A measured amount of pre-mixed grain is dropped into a mould. The mould is heated and the grain pops due to the high temperature of the mould. The popping grain can not escape and it fuses together in the circular shape of the mould that it is contained in. This is how the corn cakes are formed in the grain-popping machines. Flavoured Corn Thins are made exactly as above, but also have flavour delicately sprinkled on top to make a seriously tasty snack.

Multigrain Corn Thins Ingredients: Corn, brown rice, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, sunflower oil, salt.

Nutrition Facts

* Serving Size 2 slices (12g)

* Servings per container 13

* Calories 45

* Calories from Fat 0

* Total Fat 0g

* Saturated Fat 0g

* Trans Fat 0g

* Cholesterol 0mg

* Sodium 25mg

* Total Carbs 10g

* Dietary Fiber 1g

* Sugars 0g

* Protein 1g

Again these don't really provide anything of any nutritional benefit other than a little bit of fibre. As far as carbs go think of it this way - If it comes in a cardboard box avoid it (or plastic bag in this case). Generally if its in a box its had the goodness processed out of it.

[Pseudonym]

Wow. The GI is a lot higher than I would have guessed. And here I thought they were a food suitable for competition dieting!

Sorry I_lift - I'll stop hijacking your journal now... :wink:

[poos_n_wees]

Cornthins and peanut butter

Nice squats I_lift!

[I_lift]

Thursday 12-07-2007

7.15am 4 x Brown Toast, 50g Protein, 400ml water

9.00am 2tsp coffee

10.30am 6 x Sushi (Chicken/Tuna) 250ml water

12.12pm 2 x Rice Cakes, Banana, Mandarin, 50g Protein, 400ml water

2.30pm 6 x Sushi, 250ml water, 5g Creatine

4.00pm 2 tsp coffee, Banana

5.00pm 10g (Creatine,HMB,M) mix

6.45pm 50g Portein, 300ml Trim milk

8.30pm 1 cup shredded chick, 1 cup steamed vegetables.

Workout Back

Lat Pull Down (Narrow-Supinated)

40kg x 10

50kg x 10

60kg x 10

70kg x 10

80kg x 08

I use this as a warm up really, slowly increasing the weights

Lat Pull Down (Wide Pro-nated) ss Straight Arm Pull Downs

40kg x 10 ss 30lb x 10

50kg x 10 ss 40lb x 10

60kg x 10 ss 50lb x 10

Bent Over BB Row

40kg x 10

60kg x 10

70kg x 08

A little off with this exercise today.

Dead Lifts (Full)

60kg x 12 - warm up

100kg x 10

110kg x 08

Hyper Extension (45 Degree-Angle- Holding onto bar-wide Grip)

40kg x 10

60kg x 10

That was it. Was a little sick during the day, and after the workout. Body is very sore...hope its not a cold or the flu. I've only had the flu once (when I was 11) and I thought that I was going to die.

[Flex]

Thursday 12-07-2007

7.15am 4 x Brown Toast, 50g Protein, 400ml water

9.00am 2tsp coffee

10.30am 6 x Sushi (Chicken/Tuna) 250ml water

12.12pm 2 x Rice Cakes, Banana, Mandarin, 50g Protein, 400ml water

2.30pm 6 x Sushi, 250ml water, 5g Creatine

4.00pm 2 tsp coffee, Banana

5.00pm 10g (Creatine,HMB,M) mix

6.45pm 50g Portein, 300ml Trim milk

8.30pm 1 cup shredded chick, 1 cup steamed vegetables.

The diet's looking much better. If you're starting to get a cold or flu you may want to ease back the intensity of your training. If it's just a bit of a sinus thing then you should be able to train through it, but if it's more a chest/body cold then normally best to have some time off from training.

[I_lift]

Thanks Flex. Still a novice on the nutrition side. Just a sinus issue I think. I did a light workout last night.

[I_lift]

Shoulders/Traps

Military Press (Seated BB)

40kg x 12

50kg x 10

60kg x 08

Military Press (Seated DB)

20kg x 10

25kg x 08

30kg x 06

Check Press (DB)

12.5kg x 12

15kg x 10

20kg x 6

Lateral Raises (seated) ss Straight Arm Raises (20kg Plate)

7kg x 12 ss 10

9kg x 10 ss 10

10kg x 10 ss 12

Bent Over Flyes (DB) ss Ab Crunch (Weighted)

10kg x 12 ss 100lb x 15

12.5kg x 10 ss 100lb x 15

15kg x 10 ss 100lb x 15

Face Pulls ss Sit Ups (Decline Bench)

40lb x 10 ss 15

50lb x 10 ss 15

60lb x 10 ss 15

Shrugs (DB Drop Sets) ss Static Hold Vibration Trainer

40kg x 12 30kg x 12 20kg x 12 ss 30 sec

40kg x 12 30kg x 12 20kg x 15 ss 30 sec

40kg x 14 30kg x 12 20kg x 17 ss 30 sec

That was it. Felt really good after about a week off (work). I have legs tonight, looking forward to it

[I_lift]

Legs

Recumbant 10 minutes (warm up)

This has been the best choice I've made, I haven't had any knee issues since I started to use the recumbant to warm up on first.

Lying Leg Curl

20lb x 20 (Warm Up)

40lb x 15

40lb x 15

60lb x 10

80lb x 12

60lb x 15

Really happy with how these are progressing.

Leg Extension (Warm Up for Squats)

30kg x 15

40kg x 15

Squats

60kg x 15

80kg x 12

100kg x 10

120kg x 08

140kg x 06

160kg x 04 (PB)

I feel like I could do more reps for the last 2 sets. I'm a bit weary of my back.

Leg Extension

40kg x 12

60kg x 12

Leg Press (Knees to ears)

100kg x 15

150kg x 10

200kg x 10

I went a bit lighter with this, however I made them as deep as possible.

That was it. Good workout. Legs are dead today. Chest tonight

[I_lift]

Chest

Flat DB Flyes

15kg x 10 (Warm Up)

17.5kg x 10

20kg x 10

25kg x 10

Incline BB Press

40kg x 15 (Warm Up)

60kg x 10

70kg x 10

80kg x 6 - Could have done more, dont trust my spotter fully

Incline DB Press

25kg x 10 (Warm Up)

30kg x 10

40kg x 5

Cross Over

80lb x 12

120lb x 12

Flat DB Press

25kg x 10

35kg x 8

40kg x 5

That was it. By the last set I was totally fatigued, so the numbers were way down. Not use to Bar exercises. Chest is sore today so it was good to mix it up. Not lifting tonight...I'm doing cardio

[I_lift]

Arms

Tricep Push Down (Rope)

10kg x 15

15kg x 12

20kg x 12

(Warm Up set)

Tricep Push Down (Straight Bar)

25kg x 12

35kg x 12

40kg x 12

After watching Jay Cutlers DVD, I decided to try this with the elbows out, it targeted my triceps more and I was able to add weight.

Close Grip Bench Press

40kg x 15

60kg x 12

80kg x 08

Dips (BW)

12

12

15

Preacher Curl

20kg x 15

25kg x 15

30kg x 15

(Warm Up Set)

Alternate Hammer Curl (DB)

10kg x 10

12.5kg x 10

15kg x 10

Incline DB Curl

10kg x 10

12.5kg x 10

15kg x 10

Standing BB Curl (Olympic-20kg)

15

15

21

That was it. I had read somewhere that the key to bigger arms is to decrease the weight and work on the Range Of Motion (ROM). The guy had 24" arms! Triceps didn't do much but the Bi's are tight.

[Pseudonym]

Tricep Push Down (Straight Bar)

25kg x 12

35kg x 12

40kg x 12

After watching Jay Cutlers DVD, I decided to try this with the elbows out, it targeted my triceps more and I was able to add weight.

Are you saying doing triceps with the elbows winging out targets them more than keeping elbows in? Was any reason given for this? I've always found it to be the other way round...

[I_lift]

Tricep Push Down (Straight Bar)

25kg x 12

35kg x 12

40kg x 12

After watching Jay Cutlers DVD, I decided to try this with the elbows out, it targeted my triceps more and I was able to add weight.

Are you saying doing triceps with the elbows winging out targets them more than keeping elbows in? Was any reason given for this? I've always found it to be the other way round...

No, as I said I noticed that Jay Cutler did it this way. His form is pretty bad for most of his exercises (But who can argue the results). I thought that I would give it a go and my Tri's were more sore the next day than normal. I Only flare them out for the pressing down movements.