Fine at forty...gulp..sh*t

[bigdogbob]

Here it is a new journal for all your comments, advice and slappings when things get off track :oops: .

Have been at this thing called training for more than half my life now and as the title speaks 40 is looming quickly.

Got the pip, felt like someone trying to get up the down escalator all the time so took the last 2 months off.

Back into it now, 5 kilos heavier and heaps weaker but keen to get fine by forty..a trip to Cuba is my present so wanna prepare for the April sun in Cuba.

So with about 14 weeks to do it here we go.

am 40 min walk with dog

Training: Back/biceps

wide grip pulldown (wup) 20x 24, 15x 30, 10x 42, 10x 42

supersetted with hyper extensions 4 sets x12

deadlifts 20 x olympic bar, 15 x 40kgs, 15x 40kgs, 12 x 40kgs

seated row 12x 30, 12 x 30, 10 x 36

dumbell curls 20 x 5kg, 15 x 7kg, 15 x 7kg

barbell 21's with 14kg

machine preacher curls 2 sets 10 x 30

20 mins seated bike..the one with the back rest :pfft: random hill L10

Meal plan

thermos pre walk

meal 1 oats and pp

meal 2 shake and half a nana

meal 3 6 eggs 1 yolk 1x vogels

meal 4: half HPLC

meal 5: chicken, brocc and salad

Good plan let's hope I can follow it after 2 mths of eating crap and drinking loads :doh: it will be hard.

[bigdogbob]

Day 2: Did good yest with the food yay only 1 piece of chocolate

Training today

am: thermos and walked the dog 40 mins.

Went thru the bush, hate being the first one thru cos you come out covered in spider webs :x

meal 1: protein and oats

went to thegym and did shoulders

military press (Smith machine in front) 20x 10 kgs (wup) 3 sets 10 x 30kgs, 25kgs, 25kgs

Arnie press 3 sets 15 x 7 kgs

Tri set x 3 of a) lat raises 10 x 5kgs/10x 4 kgs partials from the top

with b) front raises 10 x 4kgs with c) rear lat raises 10 x 6kgs/10x 5kgs partials

Any comments or advice from you seasoned trainers???

20 minutes on bike -random hills L11

meal 2: shake and half nana

meal 3: yumcha, yumcha and more yumcha oooopppps :naughty:

how bad is that having your cheat meal on Day 2. Now I have to wait for ages and try not to cheat again. Stink

Then nanna nap in the afternoon...it's so hot.

meal 4: shake

meal 5 will have to be eggs I'm still full from lunch :pfft:

So all in all falling apart already

[teamfatboy]

Hang in there Nessie, I've seen the view from the other side of that same hill, and it does get better :-)

Mind you, nothing shabby about those military presses either! Or those curls either, 10s of machine preacher at 30kg is wicked!

[bigdogbob]

Thanks TFB, i know it will slowly get better, tho having been a lot stronger in the past it's a pain to start from what seems like puny weights but my fault for being a slack arse. Don't know if the machine preacher is 30 kgs just says 30 on the plate????

and the DOM's oh my but as they say no pain no gain or was it brain?? :?

[bigdogbob]

Well after being awake fom 4am after an incident with the kitten and my youngest, which ended in much screaming and tears, got up, took the thermos and walked 10mins/ran 10 mins/walked 10 mins/ran 10mins with the dog.

meal 1: half grapefruit, oats and protein

off to the gym now to do legs...boohoo

have to try harder to be on with the food today, looking forward to lamb racks mmmm :jive: tonight.. How i wish i didn't love to eat so much

[bigdogbob]

back from legs went like this

wup: 3 x superset leg xtn 20x 15 with lying ham curls 20 x 12

Squats: 20x olympic bar wup, 15x 30kgs, 12x 40kgs

then I changed to the smith machine cos free squats are hard for me i end up too far forward almost bent double, i think it's to do with tight achilles ????? Anyone else have this problem??

Smith machine squats: 12x 40kgs 10x 50kgs

stiff leg deadlifts: 20x olympic bar, 15x 40kgs, 15 x 50kgs, 10x 50 kgs

plie squats on smith: 20x 25 kgs, 15 x 25 kgs

reverse lunges on smith: 20 x 25 kgs, 20x 25 kgs

abductor/ side kick (like karate) superset 120 x 20/ 10 reps side kicks x 2 sets

leg xtensions: 15 x 33kgs, 12x 45kgs, 10x 53 kgs

now I'm stuffed and ready for a nap :pale:

meal 2: protein shake, half a nana, handful of small crackers and tspn peanut butter mmmmm I love peanut butter :nod:

[bigdogbob]

Did ok..ish with the food yest phew. Restricted myself to just 2 lamb rack chops and even cut the fat off the second one..where is that halo :pfft:

Today I am having a day off everything..cept work went in even though I don't start back officially til Feb. Them's the breaks of being the boss and having to keep the place afloat..nice and quiet but and got heaps done.

My legs and butt are in agony today after first deadlifts in 2 mths.arrrggh

So no walk for my furry friend and he's not happy :evil:

Back into it tommorrow with back and biceps.

Meal 1: thermos and protein shake

Meal 2: half HPLC bar

Meal 3: eggs (5 white 1 whole) and 1 piece vogels

[laurasaur]

Good effort, you sound like you are getting your eating under control

[bigdogbob]

Thanks laura..but not so good this afternoon, had to get togs on to take the boys for a swim at the pool. You'd think the sight of it would be enough to put me off eating but no thought stuff it..I look bad already and ate heaps of chips :roll: when do we learn?????

[laurasaur]

Ahhh I feel your pain - I do exactly the same, I have issues :twisted:

[bigdogbob]

Sucks huh...but tastes sooooo good :banging:

tempted to put the vodkas in the fridge now...hehehheh

[startinfromscratch]

dude, as usename implies, im pushing f*ck all weights, paying for a misspent youth, so i know the feeling! but once your in routine, your sorted i reckon.

btw, i had same prob with squats, went to smith machine, turned out to be a lack of core strength for me. hyperextensions and situps gave me a bit more stability, now back is only an issue if i do what i did today and push my luck with weight. What i do do though (to stop myself cheating) squat with a free bench behind my arse - i dont sit on it, but every squat i hit it, cos if i hit it it means my legs are parralel. it makes it easier for me as a rookie, can just look up and squat! hope this helps..

[bigdogbob]

thanks for the advice on the squats starting from scratch, yes definitely very little core strength with me, 3 babies in 4 years and the old abs are shot :oops:

Also broke my tailbone when 13 and it fused funny so i carry on average 3 kgs more on my right than my left.

Will stick with the smith i think, I can always get just below parallel and judging by the pain factor today it's working ok.

Keep going hard with your bulk up hope you get the results

[SoaringSwine]

Don't give up on the squat! Free squatting will do more for your general health and fitness than every machine exercise combined. Plus it is pretty much universally acknowledged to build more muscle.

You may have some ankle inflexability issues, but that isn't your real problem. Your problem is that you are squatting "down" rather than "back". I can't make depth either without leaning over when squatting this way.

In order to achieve depth you must sit BACK. Here's a few simple steps on how to do this:

1) unrack the bar

2) breath deeply into your stomach and brace your abs

3) push your hips back while keeping your chest up

4) once your hips are in motion then you start to squat down

You'll know you're doing it right if your shins stay pretty much vertical.

This form of squatting will still have some degree of leaning forward, but that's what a squat entails. And as mentioned above use a box! It may feel like you're falling backwards at first, so a box will give you the confidence to do it. I'd suggest actually sitting on the box rather than just touching it. If the lean is still excessive then widen your stance. This effectively shortens your femurs and keeps the torso more upright. Luckily I still have a diagram from the last person I explained this to (see attached)

So please don't give up on the squat just yet! Feel free to ask any more questions and good luck!

[bigdogbob]

thanks for that soaring swine, i pretty much look like the first pic from the side, almost bent double..yeah i thought it was ankles/achilles too, if I raise heels on a thin plate (eg 1kg) I squat a bit straighter.

Will give the wider stance a go, gotta to be good for the wobbly inside bits too :pfft:

Appreciate all the advice.

[SoaringSwine]

I can't emphasise sitting back more. It will do your glutes and hammies wonders too.

[bigdogbob]

Morning all, feeling ok today even though the scales don't agree :evil:

Crap on the food last night..shoot

Up and thermod and walked the dog, should've got up earlier maybe then i woulda caught him before he had chewed a hole thru mine and my sons togs that we left out to dry..he gets so hyper when he's not taken out, my fault.

Trained back and biceps like this:

Back:

wup lat pulldowns - front, back, leaning back 30 reps x 18

chins (wide grip overhand): 3 sets x 5 body weight

cable bent over row: 15repsx 18, 12 x 24, 10 x 24

seated row (short cable): 10 reps x 36, 10 reps x 36, failure (6) x 42

1 arm dbell row: 15 reps x 15kg, 12 x 15, 10 x 15

Biceps:

dbell curl: 15 x 8kgs, 10 x 10.5kgs, 10x 10.5 kgs, fail (8) x10.5 kgs

incline dbell curl 10 x 6kgs supersett with high cable curls 10 x 12 x 3 sets

machine preacher drop set: 5 x 40, 8 x 30, 6 x 20; 2 x 40, 6x30, 6x 20

lame attempt at some abs: 20 swiss ball crunch, alt leg raisesx 15, side to side crunch x 15/side

Post workout, meal 2: shake, half nana, quarter HPLC and tsp peanut butter

[bigred8]

Don't give up on the squat! Free squatting will do more for your general health and fitness than every machine exercise combined. Plus it is pretty much universally acknowledged to build more muscle.

You may have some ankle inflexability issues, but that isn't your real problem. Your problem is that you are squatting "down" rather than "back". I can't make depth either without leaning over when squatting this way.

In order to achieve depth you must sit BACK. Here's a few simple steps on how to do this:

1) unrack the bar

2) breath deeply into your stomach and brace your abs

3) push your hips back while keeping your chest up

4) once your hips are in motion then you start to squat down

You'll know you're doing it right if your shins stay pretty much vertical.

This form of squatting will still have some degree of leaning forward, but that's what a squat entails. And as mentioned above use a box! It may feel like you're falling backwards at first, so a box will give you the confidence to do it. I'd suggest actually sitting on the box rather than just touching it. If the lean is still excessive then widen your stance. This effectively shortens your femurs and keeps the torso more upright. Luckily I still have a diagram from the last person I explained this to (see attached)

So please don't give up on the squat just yet! Feel free to ask any more questions and good luck!

Bravo! :clap: Ditto (re: general health/fitness) deadlifts

[laurasaur]

what gym do you go to Nessie .. have I been seeing you??

[laurasaur]

Don't give up on the squat! Free squatting will do more for your general health and fitness than every machine exercise combined. Plus it is pretty much universally acknowledged to build more muscle.

You may have some ankle inflexability issues, but that isn't your real problem. Your problem is that you are squatting "down" rather than "back". I can't make depth either without leaning over when squatting this way.

In order to achieve depth you must sit BACK. Here's a few simple steps on how to do this:

1) unrack the bar

2) breath deeply into your stomach and brace your abs

3) push your hips back while keeping your chest up

4) once your hips are in motion then you start to squat down

You'll know you're doing it right if your shins stay pretty much vertical.

This form of squatting will still have some degree of leaning forward, but that's what a squat entails. And as mentioned above use a box! It may feel like you're falling backwards at first, so a box will give you the confidence to do it. I'd suggest actually sitting on the box rather than just touching it. If the lean is still excessive then widen your stance. This effectively shortens your femurs and keeps the torso more upright. Luckily I still have a diagram from the last person I explained this to (see attached)

So please don't give up on the squat just yet! Feel free to ask any more questions and good luck!

Bravo! :clap: Ditto (re: general health/fitness) deadlifts

Please can you change your picture bigred8.....

[bigred8]

Please can you change your picture bigred8.....

Yes, no problem...but I thought "I" looked EXTREMELY sweet :nod:

Watch this space... :twisted: (not )

[bigdogbob]

I train at Harbour Fitness in Birkenhead..ring any bells???

What was wrong with big reds pic??? I missed it??

This is mine of my furry friend.

[laurasaur]

I train at Harbour Fitness in Birkenhead..ring any bells???

What was wrong with big reds pic??? I missed it??

This is mine of my furry friend.

Ah no my bad I just saw someone doing what you descirbed this morning at my gym.. yes I am nosy hahah... your pic isnt showing up

[bigdogbob]

I wanted to set it as my avatar but had no idea how to make it smaller???

Any clues computer whizzz :pfft:

[bigdogbob]

Don't worry sorted it..this is my furry friend.. :grin: