And unto this...RONIN

[Ronin]

85.6kg (up 0.65 :x )

In - 1478cal, 191P, 83C, 29F

Out

HS Row

5 x 10 x 25kg (p/s)

WG Pulldown

3 x 12 x 120lb

ss with

Seated Row

3 x 12 x 120lb

Krocs

5 x 10 x 51kg

Single-Arm Pulldown

3 x 15 x 80lb

ss with

Cable Pullover

3 x 15 x 50lb

Bike, 15min cooldown

[Ronin]

84.9kg (down 0.7)

In - 1428cal, 220P, 75C, 28F

Out

Legs with PT, pretty sure I got the numbers right :pfft:

Leg Extension

10 x 10lb

10 x 20lb

10 x 30lb

10 x 40lb

10 x 50lb

10 x 60lb

10 x 70lb

10 x 80lb

10 x 90lb

10 x 100lb

10 x 110lb

10 x 120lb

10 x 130lb

10 x 140lb

10 x 150lb

10 x 160lb

10 x 170lb

10 x 180lb

10 x 180lb

10 x 170lb

10 x 160lb

10 x 150lb

10 x 140lb

10 x 130lb

10 x 120lb

10 x 110lb

10 x 100lb

10 x 90lb

10 x 80lb

10 x 70lb

10 x 60lb

10 x 50lb

10 x 40lb

10 x 30lb

10 x 20lb

10 x 10lb

250 x 10lb

Standing Leg Curl (10r/10l/10r/10l = 1 set)

3 sets x 18kg

Calf Raise (each set 1/3 toes out, 1/3 straight, 1/3 toes in)

60 x 90kg

45 x 90kg

30 x 90kg

f*ck cardio!

Leg extensions were 15 seconds rest between sets, with about a 2 min break between ascending & descending. Gotta be honest and say that the further down the stack I got, the shorter the ROM I achieved, but that was as per the PT's instructions. Quads were fair swole by the end of the last set. First time I'd ever done standing ham curls...a little awkward, but definitely preferable to seated.

Anyhooo, before that fun and frivolity began, I had a measurement sesh...

Last measurements were done on 23/11/10

According to BMI I'm only overweight again

Waist 90.5cm (down 1.5cm)

Hips 106.5cm (up 0.5cm)

Chest 104cm (down 1.5cm)

Left Bi 35.5cm (no change)

Right Bi 35.5cm (down 0.5cm)

Abdomen 92cm (down 4cm)

Left Thigh 58cm (up 1cm)

Right Thigh 58.5cm (up 1.5cm)

Left Calf 40cm (no change)

Right Calf 40.5cm (no change)

BF = 18% (down 2.4%)

So Fat mass 17.67kg --> 15.28kg (down 2.39kg)

And LBM 68.93kg --> 69.62kg (up 0.69kg)

So, the numbers may not be spectacular, and there's definitely still a lot of improvement to be made, but I'm pretty darned chuffed. For a start, it's the first time by BF has ever dipped below 20%. Plus I'm showing some reductions in the places I want to see them (trunk) while maintaining (and even showing some increases) in limbs. I guess it's just nice to see some positive results :grin: Hell, maybe I'll even break out the camera :pfft:

[Phedder]

Hell, maybe I'll even break out the camera

DO IT :nod: Perfect time of year for it, can see where you started the year at and how far you've come. Great working on busting below the 20% marker :clap:

[morattigirl]

Hell, maybe I'll even break out the camera

DO IT :nod: Perfect time of year for it, can see where you started the year at and how far you've come. Great working on busting below the 20% marker :clap:

+1 :nod:

[Ronin]

84.1kg (down 0.8)

In - 1378cal, 223P, 63C, 25F

Out

DB Shoulder Press

10 x 13kg

10 x 18kg

8 x 18kg

5 x 18kg

5 x 18kg

4 x 18kg

Single Arm Power Throw

5 x 10 x 50lb

Front, Lateral, B/O raise Tri-set

4 x 8 x 13kg

DB Shrug

20 x 43kg

16 x 43kg (fucken grip :x )

24 x 43kg (that'll f'n show ya, wrists :grin: )

20 x 43kg

Low Pulley Sets

3 sets @ 30lb

Had to cut it short today due to little-ronin-sitter problems, so ditched abs. Might do them tomorrow if time allows, might not, I'm not terribly bothered to be honest, at least until I can see what I'm working with :pfft:

Timings got a little screwy with IF today, the window was open for about 8.5 hrs :shock: . Feckin holidays :grin:

[Ronin]

84.2 (up 0.1)

In - 1548cal, 218P, 115C, 23F

Out

BB Curl

5 x 8 x 32.5kg

DB Inc Curl

5 x 8 x 13kg

Preacher (wriggly bar)

4 x 10 x 25kg

9 x 25kg

Skull Crushers

3 x 10 x 30kg

8 x 30kg

10 x 30kg

ss with

CG Bench

3 x 10 x 30kg

8 x 30kg

10 x 30kg

Pushdowns

3 x 12 x 70lb

ss with

BB Kickbacks

3 x 12 x 17.5kg

Pushdowns

30 x 50lb

30 x 50lb

35 x 50lb

Hammer 30s

2 sets x 10kg

2 sets x 9kg

2 sets x 8kg

2 sets x 7kg

2 sets x 6kg

2 sets x 5kg

Started a coold own on the bike, but got the one with the pedal that clunks each time it goes round. After about a minute it had pissed me off enough that I just gave up and had a shower.

I had been initially a bit pissed at having to miss 3 days training while the gym's closed, but upon reflection it's probably a good thing. Recovery seems to be taking longer than usual lately, so I think maybe the gods of iron are trying to tell me to take a wee break. So tomorrow will be a day of paying little heed to dieting (but still not a complete gorge-fest) and resting. Boxing day will be straight back into IF and calorie deficit, and probably just do some body-weight stuff. Then back into the iron on 28th \:D/

Gonna take some pics tonight once the kids are in bed. Started to do it before, and the little buggers wouldn't stop giggling, so I decided to wait. Are school holidays nearly over?

[drizzt]

Timings got a little screwy with IF today, the window was open for about 8.5 hrs :shock: . Feckin holidays :grin:

I've begun to worry less when I stray every now and again - such as starting the window half an hour early, or startin an hour later etc.... Berkhan recommends you don't stick to it like a robot as that's not the intention of his diet. As long as it's 80% commited you can do what you want the other 20% of the time 8)

Keep it up bro.

[Ronin]

Yeah I'm not really all that anal about it either. The start time tends to fluctuate a little from day to day, but as long as it's not too extreme and the window lasts roughly 8 hours, I'm happy enough.

I really do like this way of eating, I can see it being a real long-term thing. Probably going to re-jig the timings once I move into caloric excess though, and go back to fasted training. Mainly just so that I don't have to lose 2hrs of eating time whilst trying to cram in more food

[Ronin]

As promised, took some pics last night. Now the snots are gone for the day, I can post them up. Not overly impressed with how they turned out, bad light, bad posing, and of course there's still the ever-present excess fat . Even so, I was hoping they'd show more of an improvement. Anyway, here I am, feel free to coment.

Edit: Escuse the southern-man tan :pfft:

[rimma]

Looking trimmer than your last progress pics (Dec 09), lost some weight?

Quads are looking strong too.

Gonna continue to cut?

[Ronin]

Thanks dude.

Just went back and checked, and yeah I've lost 3.7kg and 6%BF since the last pics. Definitely gonna continue with what I'm doing (once today's finished ) as I have a list of goals to achieve.

[groovy]

Good thickness on the legs bro. Whatever your doing is working. Keep going hard at it. 8) 8)

[Ronin]

Gym re-opened today, so finally managed to get in for some training, albeit brief due to time constraints.

85.1kg (up 0.9)

In - 1596cal, 205P, 136C, 27F

Out

DB Inc Fly

5 x 10 x 13kg

DB Bench

2 x 10 x 16kg

8 x 10 x 18kg

Preacher

5 x 10 x 25kg

Hammer 30s

2 sets @11kg

And that was time-up.

Not too unhappy about only being 0.9kg heavier after 3 days off, given the amount I ate on xmas day

Gym was a lot busier than I expected it to be today, although it was afternoon when I made it in there...hopefully it'll be a little more like normal in the morning.

Only 2 more days of training before the gym closes down for another 4 days :x

[Ronin]

85.0kg (down 0.1)

In - 1499cal, 214P, 112C, 18F

Out

Lat Pd

3 x 12 x 120lb

Seated Row

3 x 12 x 120lb

Krocs

5 x 10 x 51kg

And out of time again.

Dunno why, but for the last 2 days I just haven't been able to get my head into training mode. Not sure if its just due to the 3 days off, or something else. Either way, gym's closed Fri - Mon this weekend, so hopefully once that's out of the way and I can get back into some sort of routine, I'll find my groove again.

[Ronin]

84.55kg (down 0.45)

In - 1497cal, 226P, 91C, 22F

Out

Leg Press

10 x 120kg warmup

5 x 6 x 280kg

10 x 280kg

55 x 120kg

Upright Row

3 x 10 x 40kg

Front, Lateral, B/O raise Tri-set

3 x 8 x 13kg

Just another quickie today

[Ronin]

Gym finally re-opened today \:D/

New year, new start.

84.9kg (Up 0.35 in the last 4 days, with no training, pretty happy with that)

In - 1703cal, 256P, 54C, 52F

Out

PT sesh for the first day back. Don't recall what weights were used.

Giant Set

Inverted row, 15 reps

Incline DB Row, 25 reps

Flat Fly, 15 reps

Pushup, 25 reps

HS Row, 25 reps

Stiff-Arm Pd, 15 reps

Inc DB Press, 15 reps

Inc Fly, 25 reps.

3 sets of.

Bike, 10 min cooldown

Gym was about the busiest I've ever seen it, but oddly enough there were very few unfamiliar faces, mostly people who, like me, had been hanging out for the gym to reopen. Guess the New Years resolutioners prefer somewhere a little shinier :pfft:

And speaking of the new year, I'm not really given to making resolutions, but have set a goal or two, and over the break have had a bit of a shift in mindset. I've committed to entering my first show this year, the NABBA in Dunedin this September. So now I have a very definite target to work towards. To be honest I don't really have any expectations regarding placing, and that isn't even really my primary motivation. I just want to lose my competiton cherry, and not be the guy that everyone looks at and says "What the f*ck were you thinking". That'll be my big "f*ck you" to everyone who laughed at me or said i was too fat, wouldn't stick to training & dieting, wouldn't quit smoking or otherwise tried to throw me off. That isn't to say that I won't be giving it everything I have, and aiming to be the best I can on the day, but anything over and above my initial goal will be a bonus.

To that end, the way I think about my training has changed. Before now, when anyone at the gym told me they could see changes, I'd adopt the typical Kiwi false-modesty approach and say shit like "really? I can't see it myself". Now I realise that all I've been doing is selling myself short, and setting myself up mentally to fail. The truth is that I can see and feel changes, yes there's still a fucking long way to go, but it's time to embrace the fact that I have made, and will continue to make, changes in my health and appearance. Along with that, the way I train is changing. No more being reluctant to try something because the big guy in the corner (who I don't know, let alone care about) might think I'm a dick. No more putting off an exercise because I'm reluctant to ask for a spot or to work in with someone on a piece of equipment. And the change in attitude that I started as of a few weeks ago...I WILL grunt, groan, puff, swear and otherwise make as much noise as it takes to help encourage the weight up, and anyone who doesn't like it can f*ck off back to Les Mills where they belong.

[Phedder]

Love it, full of determination now! I'm gonna break my competition cherry at the Nabba also, except I'll be a spectator :pfft: I'd wish you luck but you won't need it, you know what needs to be done, so just do it :twisted:

[Grover]

:nod:

good luck with that goal Ronin

questions

1) What group you going to compete in?

2) competition weight target?

3) 9 months away -going to be a bulk up in there???

[Ronin]

Cheers G.

Regarding 1 & 2 above, not too sure yet, apart from Novice obviously . Would like to say definitively Physique Short, but have no real idea just how much mass I can pack on, so may end up closer to the time deciding to go for Athletic Given my height, I'm tentatively aiming for about 70-75kg. Time will tell.

For 3, the plan is to get as lean as poss by the end of Feb, then begin to bulk. Not intending to do an "eat everything" bulk, rather, planning to continue eating pretty much as I am, but increase the amounts.

[Ronin]

84.1kg (down 0.8 \:D/ )

In - 1609cal, 201P, 95C, 46F

Out

Squat

Warmup x lots x bar

10 x 60kg

10 x 80kg

4 x 6 x 100kg

5 x 100kg

Front Squat

3 x 3 x 60kg

Bear

3 x 5 x 30kg

Leg Ext

3 x 20 x 100lb

Calf Raise

20 x 390lb

2 x 15 x 390lb

Squats felt pretty good. Fronts not so much...limited by wrist/elbow (in)flexibility. Messed around a bit with a crossover grip, but it just felt all wrong, so I'll just persevere and hope time will heal all :grin: .

Bears were fun (think I got the name right), something I picked up over at Chaos and Pain. Consist of a front squat, press, back squat, press, for one rep. Just playing around for the first time, but feels like it'll be something nice to play with in future.

The rest was a bit of a rush, just had to get it done quick. I really don't see why kids need so much holiday time, they do f*ck all at school anyway :x

[morattigirl]

Love your attitude brother! Good on ya re comp this year too. Good shit 8)

[Ronin]

Cheers chick :grin:

84.15kg (up 0.05)

In - 1513cal, 201P, 74C, 47F

Out

DB Press

10 x 13kg

10 x 18kg

8 x 18kg

6 x 18kg

5 x 18kg

6 x 18kg

Front, Lateral, B/O raise Tri-set

5 x 8 x 13kg

DB Shrug

5 x 15 x 46kg

Another quickie today, actually had the wee ronins camped out on a sofa in reception with their coloring books and meusli bars. Was kinda hoping my wee lass would have a bit of a "puppy effect" on some of the single chicks but they were absent today :doh: . Probably gonna be this way for the next week or so til we head away. So for now, training isn't likely to be much of note, really just marking time.

Intake numbers are more of an estimate than usual, as I threw a bit of han into my egg-whites without knowing its macros, but then I also washed my mince which would've lowered the fat & cals.

And I know what I'm blaming the slight weight gain on...3 days without :toilet: :shock:

[rimma]

And I know what I'm blaming the slight weight gain on...3 days without :toilet: :shock:

Dude...where the fiber at? I shit three times a day! :shock: :grin:

[Ronin]

And I know what I'm blaming the slight weight gain on...3 days without :toilet: :shock:

Dude...where the fiber at? I shit three times a day! :shock: :grin:

Yeah this is a little abnormal for me lol. Although I'm not eating a lot at the mo, and I've just dropped my morning oats down to half a cup, so that could be the problem.

[Ronin]

84.6kg (up 0.45)

In - 1786cal, 224P, 102C, 55F

Out

Barbell Curl

5 x 8 x 32.5kg

Inc DB Curl

5 x 8 x 13kg

Skull Crushers

5 x 10 x 30kg

ss with

CG Bench

5 x 10 x 30kg

Tri P/d

3 x 12 x 70lb

3 x 35 x 50lb

Hammer 30s

3 @ 10kg

3 @ 7kg

Another quickie.

Re-feed today, and same situation as yesterday re numbers being slightly higher than reality. Then again, I'm kinda feeling like having a little something extra this evening :pfft: