The Callahan Project

[Relentless]

OK, I already track all this stuff in my little black training book, but I figure the 'peer pressure' of some other folks getting interested and supportive of what I'm doing may serve to help encourage and focus me. Or something like that.

Hell, i'll be lucky if I update this every third day. We'll see.

Today:
Food/etc-
Oatmeal & yogurt & vitamins
Green tea & ephedrine
Apple
Pre-workout shake
Post-workout bar
salad & tuna
banana
eggs, turkey, potatoes, papaya juice
Pear


Workout
Legs & Shoulders
- skipped squats (gasp) because I wasn't comfortable in the Doc Martens I was working out in and didn't want to slip.
- dropped to 720 on leg press today, again coz I was scared to slip with crap shoes on
- had some solid arnold press action today at new weight


Misc
- got good nights' sleep last night (7+ hrs)

[Relentless]

Yay, Cardio Day

Food/etc-
Oatmeal & yogurt & vitamins
Green tea & ephedrine
Handful of granola
Pre-workout shake
Post-workout bar
Beef stew and an orange

later, I will have
2 lamb chops w/ potato and veggies
some kind of fruit for evening snack

Workout:
45 minutes of elliptical trainer. Got a stitch in my side for the first time since grade school about 20 mins in. Slowed down and stretched, then gutted it out. Sweated clean through my workout tee shirt (eww). Must be doing well with the thermo aspect of cardio, I guess.

Misc:
5.5 hours' sleep last night.

[Tryska]

you can eat potatoes?

[ElPietro]

Good idea starting a journal man. It may not seem like it but having a journal here...and if you can browsing the forums and participating keeps this stuff on the brain a lot more and seriously keeps you mentally focused and determined. I know this was my problem most of my life, and in general is the biggest problem for most.

There is a ton of good info here and can give an added edge to your training. I think this site is better than any supplement on the market.

Good luck with the training!

[PowerManDL]

Originally posted by Tryska
you can eat potatoes?

People have been eating potatoes for centuries. In fact, its quite common.

[Tryska]

ok DL that was an A-B conversation, so your best bet is to C yourself out.


geez. all up in the kool-aid and don't even know the flava.

[PowerManDL]

Quit quoting Flavor-Flav. This ain't 1992.

[Relentless]

unless I've forgotten something, potatoes are neutral for B.

Sweet potatoes (yams) are GOOD for B's, which is wicked cool. I could eat yams all day.

As Popeye would say, "I YAM what I YAM."

*groan*

Yeah, I know, cheesy pun. But those are the best kind.

[Tryska]

really? I thought all nightshades were off limits for everyone except tomatoes for Os (joint inflammation?). I can eat sweet potatoes too, thank god. *lol*

of course, either way i'm jealous. i liek potatoes.

[Relentless]

Yup. Just rechecked the book. THe only nightshade I can't have is tomato.

[Tryska]

well now. i'm forced to hate you. eggplant is beneficial too.

[Relentless]

Food/etc-
Oatmeal & yogurt & vitamins
Green tea & ephedrine
2 pears
Pre-workout shake
Post-workout bar
sushi
steak and veggies
1 scoop chocolate fatfree gelato

Workout:
pecs and lats w/ biceps
solid sets on flat bench today. All pecs feeling strong.
Lats were lame. Only good sets today were t-bar
must increase machine flyes again. 195 ain't heavy enough

Misc:
5 hours' sleep last night.

[Relentless]

From Friday:
Eggs and turkey and ezekiel bread
orange juice
ephedrine
apple
pre-workout bar
post-workout bar
beef fried rice

Workout: legs and shoulders
tried hack squats to change things up... 540 seemed light
solid arnold presses

[Relentless]

Today:
Eggs and turkey and ezekiel bread
white grape juice ephedrine

plan to have some protein before/after cardio today and making some turkey soup for supper.

[Relentless]

Today:
Eggs and ezekiel bread with some cheese
yogurt
grape juice
ephedrine
banana
pre-workout shake
lamb chop w/ some yams


Workout:
Worked out in a foreign gym again today (kitchener) because I was out of town attending a funeral.

Chest and back day:
no machine press so switched to flat bench. Managed to knock off a couple sets at 225 with minimal difficulty

dips are here to stay in my workout. No need to add weights yet, but moving bodyweight for 6-8 reps is killer. i can really feel the stretch in my inner pecs and it's such a nice, powerful move

I have also decided that t-bar rows are my favourite back exercise. I find I get a better feel than seated rows and it's a cleaner motion for me. Only downside is doing it on a t-bar with a chest pad kind of squishes the ol' chest and makes it a little hard to breathe. Shouldn't be a big deal unless I start doing really long sets though.

[Relentless]

Well, I've really sucked out at updating this but i've found that it's too hard to remember to log stuff here, I don't always have time, etc, etc. besides, it's already all in my hard copy log; I feel like I'm doublecounting, which is a pain.

Anyway, here's the latest update. Some things are down a bit from peak, others are up:

Chest and back today:
Row: 8x210 7x210
Bench: 6x255 8x245
pulldown: 6x195 7x195
Inc DB Press: 7x80s, 6x80s
T-Bar 8x180, 6x180
Dips: bodyx12 bodyx7
21s: 7-7-7x50, 7-7-7x50
machine flye 8x195, 6x195


Sidebar: New evidence of working out generating noticeable results... I spent the weekend with my brother back in the little podunk town I grew up in. We go for a beer at the local 'ballet' (winkwink). My brother knows the manager, who looks at me and immediately offers me a job as a bouncer (one of his guys was going on the Injured Reserve list with an operation and he needed a replacement, pronto).

Not that I wouldn't appreciate the perks and stuff, and not that I wasn't pleased and flattered, but I'm quite sure the wife wouldn't approve. Not to mention the salary gap between "Marketing Director" and "Strip Club Bouncer". Still, it was nice to have the offer made. It's the little things like this that make me feel the best about getting bigger. Hm, come to think of it, a lot of girls have been asking me if I'm a fireman lately... chicks must have some sort of thing for firemen, and want to assume that muscular men with short hair and rugged good looks (LOL!!) are firemen.

Note to self: If I ever get divorced, immediately try to become a fireman... chicks seem to dig them.

Callahan

[Relentless]

1-leg Leg Exensions 8/7x235, 6/6x235
Shoulder Press 7x160, 6x160
Seated Leg Curl 8x225, 6x225
Arnold Press 8x70s, 6x70s
Squats 10x225, 7x275, 4x315 (lame I know, but I had a minor back injury I'm recovering from)
DB Shrugs 7x90s, 6x90s
Around the World Lat Raises 8x20s, 6x20s
Upright Rows 7x110, 6x110 15x60

left off leg press today; I may leave it for once a week and/or alternate w/ deads once I get some help with my form... don't wanna be doin' em wrong.

Note to self: Must talk to Mr. Keppie about deads and squats; verify my form on 'em before proceeding to up the weights and bomb the crap out of my legs.

[Relentless]

Well, there's a lotta threads with measurements, so I figure it can't hurt to record measurements for posterity here, and compare later. Everything is measured cold.

This is at 6'1" and 217lbs; bf% unknown exactly, but much lower than it has been in a while.

From some of the measurements I've seen on here, I guess I'm not nearly as big as some of the others; we'll see how I'm doing after a solid year of hardcoreness...

Whee!


Forearm: 13.5"
Bicep: 17"
Quad: 24"
Calf: 16.5"
Chest: 48"
Hips: 34"
Waist: 36" (still gotta trim a little fat...)

[rookiebldr]

Originally posted by Callahan
Around the World Lat Raises 8x20s, 6x20s

What are these? I'm not well traveled so I thought I'd ask.

[heathj]

Your waist is bigger then your hips? What is your bodyfat at?

[MonStar]

Is your forearm 13.5" measured correctly? If it is DAMN dude mine is around 12.75, measured correctly.

MS

[Relentless]

Heath:
Maybe I measured it wrong... I measured 'hips' at the area below waistline and above buttocks... this may be the wrong area... I'm no pro. I measured 'waist' at the thickest part of my midsection, a bit below my belly button. As I said in the post with the measurements, I'm unsure of my bf%.

MonStar:
I just put the tape measure around the thickest part of my forearm, say an inch below the inside of my elbow. Measured it cold, (i.e. no pump/workout before). If this ain't right, tell me and I can remeasure.

rookiebldr:
Around the Worlds are an idiosyncratic kind of lateral raise that I like to do as a 'polishing' exercise for shoulders. It's easy to do and KILLER on the shoulders.

Take light 2 DBs and hold them, touching, behind your back, at about butt level in a pronated (overhand) grip. Contract your shoulders and raise the weights in smooth arcs around and up until they meet above and in front of your head (say a 30-45 degree angle from the plane of your body). Lower them back down again in a controlled motion. Repeat as necessary. Do NOT use your body weight to swing the weights up/down and do NOT do it quickly. Slow and steady wins the race and you can even push the DBs together at the top and bottom of the motion for a 'peak contraction'.

I have NO idea if this makes much of a difference physiologically, but I like this exercise because it feels like it's a good stretch/flex for the entire shoulder joint and I can feel it in rear/middle/front of my delts.


Callahan

[rookiebldr]

Thanks Callahan. I'll have to give it a try.

[Relentless]

Today: Chest and Back, with a little arms for flavour

Chest and back today:
Row: 7x210 7x210 (1 less than last time... I am truly a punk)
Bench: 7x255 5+1x255
pulldown: 7x195 6x195
Inc DB Press: 7+1x80s, 6x80s
T-Bar 8x180, 7x180
Dips: bodyx12 bodyx9
21s: 7-7-7x50, 7-7-7x50
machine flye 8x195, 7x195

overall, felt good today -- slacked off a bit on the row I guess, but got a bit more on most things otherwise, which is what I want -- constant progression in either weight or reps

My chest doesn't hurt quite as much from the dips, so i think that's a good sign that my body's adapting. I will have to add more weight pretty soon, I think.

Meals were awesome today; oatmeal, yogurt, supplements, salad, tuna. It always feels better to eat virtuously.

[Relentless]

Legs and shoulders today

1-leg Leg Exensions 10/9x235, 5/6x235
Shoulder Press 7+1x160, 6x160
Seated Leg Curl 9x225, 7x225
Arnold Press 8x70s, 7x70s
Leg Press 6x810, 5x810, (feel oddly weak today; shoulda had 7+)
DB Shrugs 7x90s, 7x90s
Around the World Lateral Raises 6x22.5s, 5x22.5s
Upright Rows 9x110, 7x110 15x60