The SwordsMaster 6 week fitness challenge (as advertised in Get fit with SM!)

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Originally Posted by SwordsMaster

Well, I'm glad. Any comments on the routine above? I would love to have KBs for my complex imbalance exercises, but no such joy at the local gym...

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Allot of volume lol, but I seem to remember you being partial to that anyway. I like the idea of ramping up complexity, those supersets look like killers!

As far as KBs go, I love them right after I do heavy squats, cleans, or presses. KBs squats right after youve done 85% a few times really hit the spot. I have also used them, in a pinch for farmers walks but I wouldn't go so far to make them a staple of my complex movements. Not saying that isnt entierly possible though, Im sure the results will be good

Apologies for the delay:

Here is Wed 14th:

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Workout: (weight in kg)


20x Leg press (97)
20x Quad extension (63)
20x Squat (70)

2 min break

15x Leg curl (63)
3x 15x Calf raises (30 sec rest between sets/superset with following exercises) (88)
10x Behind neck lat pulldown (84)
10x Row (70)
10x Behind neck lat pulldown (70)

2 min break

10x Lateral raise (12)
10x BB Behind-neck press (15+15)

2min break

12x Bicep curl (8+8)
12x Chin-up (x10 reps...)

2 min break

22x tricep extension (65)
22x Dips

Thursday 15th:
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Don't have too much.

6 mile run
Deadlift went for a max got 300
Sprinter Squats 3x15 (225)
leg presses 4x10 (100)
Squats 3x10 (185-225)
some wrist exercises
planks and sit ups

i dont really watch what i eat its too expensive in the city and the school food is so terrible i try not to think of what im eating.

protein supplement i need to buy more just your normal whey powder and my fat burner oxyelite as well.

weight wise i am sitting at 180 doing two workouts a day one for ROTC and one on my own with more weights and sprinting.

After a workout on friday almost identical to the one on wednesday, and eating like a pig for the weekend, SM stands at 94kg as opposed to last week's 87. Don't know if it's good stuff or the south african red and belgian waffles...

Another lifting session today - I guess we'll find out.

You gained about 16lbs in one week?!

Well, about 9 days. And yes. 250+ grams of protein per day, and 3 workouts a week. Hopefully it is muscle, although I have also been overindulging a little on the fat-carb side. I can't help it, I like pasta.

Here is today: Well rested at the gym, weights up on almost everything, with consequent lowering of reps. Also not entirely unpredictably, monster appetite - over 3000 cal, double fat and over 300g of protein.

Workout: (weight in kg)

20x Leg press (97)
20x Quad extension (63)
20x Squat (80)

2 min break

15x Leg curl (77)
3x 15x Calf raises (30 sec rest between sets/superset with following exercises) (100)
10x Behind neck lat pulldown (91)
10x Row (77X6+70X5)
10x Behind neck lat pulldown (70)

2 min break

10x Lateral raise (12)
10x BB Behind-neck press (20+20)

2min break

12x Bicep curl (12+12)
12x Chin-up (x6 reps...)

2 min break

22x tricep extension (40 using machine - usual rope not available)
22x Dips (x15+8)

Pics from dailyburn:
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Sorry if this is a dumb question but if you say you did "20x Squat" does this mean you did one set of twenty squats?

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Originally Posted by Rhyfylwyr

Sorry if this is a dumb question but if you say you did "20x Squat" does this mean you did one set of twenty squats?

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Yep. If there is a (20+20) means i'm using a barbell with 20 on each side, and a (x15+8) means that i did the first 15 reps at the indicated weight, then had to either break (30sec) or lower the weight to finish the set.

No workout yesterday- had a 2 mi jog, and 4x100m sprints instead. Will workout this evening hopefully. Will update food diary later - all saved on dailyburn!

My gym plans are getting messed up by horrible sleeping schedul with awkward shifts.

One night I got no sleep, the night before last I only got 2 hours. Plus I have a cold. But I've still been going to the gym. I feel weaker though my last benching attempt was horrible.

Mean workout - same sequence as before, just added some concentration curls, as felt i wasn't hitting the whole biceps. Altogether bad today, head was elsewhere, no focus, a real grind. Got through it though, but I reckon this will last me til monday.

Will post again from Monday guys once I have a stable internet connection.

Well, this weekend I was absent - stuffing my face with waffles and chocolate in Brussels, and with irish whiskey in Netherlands some time later, so saturday is a write-off for dieting. However, Sunday I was much stricter: half an hour jog, with some sprint sets, and the following diet:

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Worked out yesterday, same weights and sequence. Been good with food, re-engineered most meals to be mostly protein-based, with about 50-60% of each plate veggies. Will post dailyburn pics for the last few days in a bit. How are you lads doing?

Moved from a five day split to a four day split as time may become an issue for workouts this year. I hope I don't see a decline in results so long as I keep my diet and the intensity of the routines. I will post one of my workouts tomorrow. It will be my "lift day", basically exercises built around and with the explicit aim of improving my deadlift, the main compound lift move.

Got back from Boston Saturday and plan to take this challenge. I have a phone app that allows me to record meals and I'll try to post from it. Monday's going to be an early day but that's when I'll start writing things down.

Work out today was Incline bench, weighted dips, military press, dumbell press and close grip bench. This is aprt of my new workout plan and it might of been the volume but my muscles felt exhausted afterwards which I guess is a good thing. Diet remains the same. I'm thinking volume is possibly my new future for muscle training.

Hitting 190 lbs now.

A couple of people said I am getting quite big now. Yay!

92kg - after oktoberfest break, went back to the gym today, feeling good, focus and rested, increased the weights on all the lifts following the same routine as above. Ran 2k in 8:38, which is quite decent for my weight. Obviously there are some postural issues - i think my solei are too tight, feel the tension in my lower back when i run. Any advice?

got a 205 bench at 175 pounds pretty happy with myself at the moment.

been eating like a fiend though even with the fat burners.

been doing about two work outs a day during the week and 1 on the weekend.

Ok. Monday was an off day and Tuesday I confirmed that I don't eat enough and I lack motivation.

Can't really find an easy way to copy and paste the totals over. However, somehow, I think I managed to injure my ankle in my sleep. More on that later.

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Originally Posted by Vladimir

Ok. Monday was an off day and Tuesday I confirmed that I don't eat enough and I lack motivation.

Can't really find an easy way to copy and paste the totals over. However, somehow, I think I managed to injure my ankle in my sleep. More on that later.

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Are you using dailyburn Vlad? If so, then just use the snipping tool that comes with windows, and then upload to the forums - what i do.

Eating enough of the right things does take some getting used to. I'm finally seeing some noticeable results. I find that having 1 high carb-high protein meal a day really speed things up - maybe the methabolism flatlines if the insulin doesn't spike occasionally... Also what I find helps, is not to eat anything a couple of hours before bed. Then i just have a couple of braxil nuts if I feel really hungry..

About the injury, don't know...

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Originally Posted by SwordsMaster

Are you using dailyburn Vlad? If so, then just use the snipping tool that comes with windows, and then upload to the forums - what i do.

Eating enough of the right things does take some getting used to. I'm finally seeing some noticeable results. I find that having 1 high carb-high protein meal a day really speed things up - maybe the methabolism flatlines if the insulin doesn't spike occasionally... Also what I find helps, is not to eat anything a couple of hours before bed. Then i just have a couple of braxil nuts if I feel really hungry..

About the injury, don't know...

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No I'm not, yet. I use My Fitness Pal Android App and just found Dailyburn released theirs:

https://market.android.com/details?i...e=related_apps

https://market.android.com/details?i...lyburn.android

Fitness pal is nice but the nutrition information is limited. I'll check yours out and let you know. On a normal day I apparently eat around 1,500 calories. According to The Machines^tm I used to burn up to 1,000 calories a workout. Those numbers seem optimistic.

I just noticed that there's no exercise tracker on Dailyburn.

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Originally Posted by SwordsMaster

92kg - after oktoberfest break, went back to the gym today, feeling good, focus and rested, increased the weights on all the lifts following the same routine as above. Ran 2k in 8:38, which is quite decent for my weight. Obviously there are some postural issues - i think my solei are too tight, feel the tension in my lower back when i run. Any advice?

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I sometimes get a stiff lower back when running. I find stretching the lower back after several minutes of running (that is, mid run) helps get rid of most of it.

Also, I've noticed that warming up somehow (pull ups, for example) before and taking longer strides both seem to help.

CR

I hit 191 lbs this morning so just 1 lb off the target I set in this thread.

And just in case y'all think I'm just becoming fat, I got my bodyfat tested today (by a trainer) and got 11.3% when the normal range for my age etc is 12-18 apparently.

Nice, well done! Sorry about the lack of updates, RL has been quite messy - haven't really been to the gym in over a week, and my diet has basically gone down the toilet. Been doing 100 pushups, 100 crunches, stretching, and 50-75 squats every second day. Weight is still 90.6 kg. Only managed to get half way to the 85 i was aiming at...

As SM analises his lack of results, several decisions have been made:

Too much meat is being consumed, and too little veggies - so there will be one entirely salad-based meal every day, probably in the evening when eating heavy isn't the greatest idea anyway.
No food for 2 hours before bed
Been reading some of Charles Atlas material, some of it is dated, but his principles are sound, and not unlike what Pavel recommends. It's all about muscle tension - ie much slower reps. It appears that about 80 seconds of tension is enough to stimulate growth. Can be achieved with quick reps and marathon sessions, or heavy posing in front of the mirror.

Thoughts?

I'm sure some of you have consumed some relevant literature? Does that seem reasonable?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SwordsMaster

As SM analises his lack of results, several decisions have been made:

Too much meat is being consumed, and too little veggies - so there will be one entirely salad-based meal every day, probably in the evening when eating heavy isn't the greatest idea anyway.
No food for 2 hours before bed
Been reading some of Charles Atlas material, some of it is dated, but his principles are sound, and not unlike what Pavel recommends. It's all about muscle tension - ie much slower reps. It appears that about 80 seconds of tension is enough to stimulate growth. Can be achieved with quick reps and marathon sessions, or heavy posing in front of the mirror.

Thoughts?

I'm sure some of you have consumed some relevant literature? Does that seem reasonable?

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The food before bed thing tends to be personal preference, that's my experience anyway. I tend to eat quite a lot before bed and it doesn't really effect my weight and I still have an apatite in the morning. I just stay away from carbs. That's just me though.

Yeah I find it difficult to eat in the morning and even into the afternoon but I wolf down a lot from dinner to supper.