To Complete A Goal

[staggard]

Hello All,

It's been a goal of mine to get fit and trim. I've always admired what others have done to improve their bodys. However, I really had nothing to improve mine.

UNTIL, after a trip to the islands, I weighed myself and realized that I was 233 and very stocky. I litterally looked at the scale and thought, Dang, I'm FAT!
Shortly after, I bought an olympic gym and began working out with a goal in mind. Lose the weight and bulk w/muscle.
I started running like I did in college when I weighed 185. Hint, college was only 4 years prior. Lifted off and on for about 3.5 months. Praying to lose weight.
That February, I got sick w/ the flu or something and ended up eating very light foods for 2.5 weeks. I thought to myself then that I could get used to this and like a cement truck hitting me, my lifestlye changed and I stuck w/ it. Finally!
From being sick I lost 7lbs, and after working out and running, by the end of March I was up to 13 lost and then 17 lost by mid April. Nobody could believe what I had done. I was eating healthy, going to church and feeling good about myself. My eating habits consisted of eating 5-6X/day and drinking lots of water. I especially liked to eat dry foods, cause it helped with drinking all that water! By the end of May I lost another 13 and June/July lost another 13. TOTAL LOSS 43LBS! What a goal HUH? I was now running in small marathons and was placing very well. In addition, lifting 4-5X/Week.
Winter moved out of the area and had 1.5hr commute to work which screwed me up for 6 months. I ate well still and was back in college on top of that. But all in all ended up gaining about 10lbs back. It helped fill in the cracks though.
Currently, about 4 months ago bought a house closer to work and instead of working out at home, I started liftin with some friends who are ripped. So what greater motivation to complete my goal
I've been liftin almost 5X a week and have been working on a form routine. Low weight and focus reps is how I'll explain it. We have now changed routines and that is why I'm starting a journal. To keep track of gains.
Tomorrow, will be a chest night. We starting a 12 wk plan to do one bodypart a day. I'm really excited. Except for the re-occuring pain I've been getting on the front of both my shoulders. It's from chest days. For some reason I think im trying to push more w/my shoulders and not squeezing w/my pecs.
And advice would be great.

Other then that - I'll post before/after loss pics once i get my scanner hooked up again and appreciate any and all feedback.

[Bruteman]

Hey, new journal!



Sounds like you've had some AWESOME results so far from training! Hope the new routine works just as well for ya'. Only advice I can give about the shoulder thing is, really concentrate on keeping them back when pressing. I know it doesn't feel like you are pushing the weight as far as you should be, but it keeps your shoulders out of the move.

Lator Gator!

[Coke]

Good luck with the bodybuilding bro...hope to see some sesssions from a new cat -

[staggard]

Thanks for the advice fellow WBB'rs! Tonite was a chest night and it went very well. I spent a lot more time concentrating on what I might be doing wrong with my shoulders. It paid off. Very little if any pain!
I also started a much stricter diet then what I was already on. I tell ya though, it sucks working in a huge office with a lot of women who have a lot of candy out on their desks. I think I pissed them off when I told them not to let me eat anything on their desks. I guess they get pissed or jealous?? Who Knows.
Again, coming off the injury list so take it easy on me with the weighted sets

CHEST---

10,8,6 -- 135,155,165 Flat Bench
10,8,6 -- 45,55,60 Incline Dumbells
10,8,6 -- 40,50,60 Cables
10,8,6 -- 135,155,135 Decline Bench

Did a little ab work and also ran 1.6miles for a little cardio

Ate 6 times today. Ate about an hour before I went to the gym. It helped a lot. Kept the energy level up. Tonite also took 2 scoops of protein and need to get another bottle of creatine.

I'm just totally stoked, no pain toinight!!

[Scott S]

Welcome to WBB! And good job on the chest w/o.

[staggard]

thanks for the welcome, iv'e been watching this site for well over a year now, watching peoples progress, reading articles, and journals, looking for ideas and new ways to improve my workout.
Awesome Place.

[staggard]

It was sorta boring at the gym last night, especially for an arm night. Oh well. Took it easy again last night.

10,8,6 -- 40, Seated dumbell curls
10,8,6 -- 60,70,80 Nautilus concentration curls
10,8,6 -- 20, Reverse EZ curl bar curls
10,8,6 -- 100,110,120 Rope curls

Good diet day, ate well and feel great. I gotta get another bottle of creatine. IM LAZY as heck sometimes.

[Coke]

You did not say you were a curl jockey - j/k nice work bro!

[d-bol_dale]

Good luck and 2 nice sessions!

[Mik]

Nice to see ya posting bro. Grats on the amazing progress so far. Looks like you've got everything lined up and having this journal will be a big plus. Good luck with your goals!

[staggard]

tonite, i'm taking the night off from everything completely. just gonna chill, i've been busy forever it seems and im so pissed cause i think my waterheater just died..
i think its for the best also if i get some rest. i was late again for work. and just cause im salary doesn't make it ok.

ate 5X today, should have been six, but i missed my 10:00 food break.

had some all natural granola ceral for breakfast w/low fat milk
lunch had salad, lite olive oil dressing,fat free yogurt and a bananna
after lunch had protein drink, around 3
around 4 had a few spoonfuls of peanut butter cause i didn't have anything else around
dinner a few chicken breasts, piece of fat free cheese on top, sliced cucumber and a glass of milk

tomorrow will be a good back night, maybe i'll bump a little ab work in the mix

[staggard]

Awesome day. Actually didn't fall asleep for very long at work this time! LOL
Today was a back day. Was pumped.
10,8,6 -- 160,180,200 Rows
10,8,6 -- 150,170,190 Adjustable rows
10,8,6 -- 110,145,165 another type of plated pull back thing? I have no clue what to call it
10,8,6 -- 150,170,190 Pulldowns
Working back is kinda weird for me sometimes cause i lose my concentration and then I foreget what to do. I must be blonde somewhere deep inside i guess. Any suggestions are welcome.
I also did cardio tonite. Stairmaster for 20 min.. man did that suck! I did the himaleah trail. Just a little difficult. Felt real good though!
Ate well today.
breakfast, had a bowl of plain cheerios
mid-breakfast, small bag of grapes
lunch, huge chicken salad.. little dressing, no cheese, just plain
yogurt and bananna
midafternoon, naturevalley granola bar and a protein shake
Dinner, protein shake and a bowl of vegtables from a bag which included some potatos.. wasn't really hungry.

Tomorrow is shoulders and tris cause im going away for the weekend, so i want to squeeze them in. i love shoulders and tris day!!!

[staggard]

This entry is for Friday. Shoulders night!!!!
This weekend went to se the Pittsburgh Penguins vs Detroit Red Wings. Good game. Ate a little to much and drank a little to much. But,,,, had a great time. Game sucked at the begining and slowly got better . I think there were only two fights which sucked, but we all had box seats!!!! Awesome time, you can always count on Pittsburgh fans anytime anywere, they always stick w/their hometown forever. CRAZY PEOPLE!!! Go Penguins!

Military Presses on machine
10,8,6 -- 50,70,90

close grip same as above

Shoulder shrugs
10,8,6 -- 170,190,210

Olympic bar shrugs
10,8,6 -- 135,155,165

Ate well again,, can't remember, it was two days ago. Ate pretty much the same as I have that whole week.

[Jiin10]

nice work so far bro, its good to see someone who has progressed the way you have, and accomplishing those goals. keep pumpin hard, and everything will work to your advantage!

[staggard]

Monday October 20,
Chest night

It was a good night. Fast but good

Flat Bench
10,8,6 -- 135, 185, 185 increasing ever so slightly, still from injury
10,8,6 -- 50,60,70 incline dumbells
10,10,10 -- 60,60,60 cables (nice and slow!)
10,8,8 -- 135,155,155 decliine bench

stuck w/ same diet plan,, today was a tuna day woo hoo!!! give it up for the tuna on rye. im going to cook up some chicken tonight for this weeks lunches

Thanks for your support Jiin! Its a lot of hard work!

[staggard]

10/21/03
Great night at the gym. Bicep night. Had to workout alone. I think I was able to concentrate more tonight then working out with my buddy. Oh well, if I didn't have someone to work out with, I would end up complaining about that too.

10,10,8 -- 65,80,100 Cybex concentration curls
10,8,6 -- 75,80,85 EZ bar curls
10,8,6 -- 35,40,40 sitting dumbell curls
10,10,8 -- 120,140,160 Cable curls

also did some forearms
dumbell curls
and bar curls

no need to elaborate

[staggard]

10/23/03 got a little lazy, so i'm back-tracking a bit
10,8,6 -- 160,180,200 Rows
10,8,6 -- 150,170,190 Adjustable rows
10,8,6 -- 110,145,165 plated pull back thing
10,8,6 -- 150,170,190 Pulldowns
pretty much stuck with the same back routine as last week. shoulder feeling pretty good. however, my left knee is messed up at this point. i was crouched down trying to fix something, and i think i over stretched something or pulled something in the process. what sucks too is that it only hurts when im sitting down, not when im standing or doing anything else. and i'm a long distance runner, so it puts me out of commission for awhile. bought more creatine and some more protein also today.

[staggard]

10/27/03 skipped shoulders on friday, and took the weekend off. was supposed to do a whole lot of stuff this weekend but that fell through. was supposed to go fishing on the Susquahanna River on Sunday morning. i love to bass fish with my buddies from work. its incredibly relaxing wading through the river watching the sun rise over the mountains and listening to the ducks, geese, and seeing cranes flying around. well, i was there, but they never showed. they both forgot to turn their clocks back. what a bunch of dumb butts!

chest night- took it pretty easy, nobody to work out with tonight again. oh well it just gave me more time to work on focusing. its for the better in the end anyways.

10,10,10 -- 135,155,165 Flat bench
10,10,10 -- 50,50,55 Incline dumbells
10,10,10 -- pec deck don't remember the weight though LOL
10,10,8 -- 135,155,155 decline bench
10,8,6 -- 100,120,140 cables

well, the knee is still screwed up. had to buy a knee brace. it seems to be helping. have to go to the doctor and have it checked out cause it still hurts, and what sucks is I have two 10K races coming up in november, i think i'm going to be able to run them both as 5Ks. Totally psyched either way. The one is on thanksgiving day. last year i ran the same race and it was only 2 degrees outside! Man oh Man did I ever end up cramping from the cold!

[ChampionLifter8]

good luck losing weight

[staggard]

10/29/03 ARM NIGHT!!!

Tell me, who isn't excite for a good bicep night...

warmed up with an exercise we call, "killers"
they are sorta when you curl w/ one arm and hold your other arm sorta bent outwards and in a stationary position.. they're ok, you sorta always need to use a low weight cause they'll hurt like heck after your second set.

10,10,10 -- 25's "killer curls"
10,8,6 -- 85,95,105 Cybex concentration curls
10,8,6 -- 50,60,70 Preecher curls
10,10,10 -- 35,35,35 Incline Dumbell curls,,, slowly

15 minutes of cardio on the elyptical
weighed myself last night and i've lost 5lbs. hopefully its all that water.

I need to really spend more time working my forearms, and keeping my wrists locked,,, it's really affecting my workouts. Especially wrists, cause they're affecting everything from benching to curling.

the pics i posted are a comparison from 2001 2002 when i was fat, and the other pics are recent and from october 2003. i should post before and after pics of my face, its so totally different, that a few months ago at work, they made me get the picture on my badge re-taken cause it doesn't look like me anymore.

[staggard]

i wish i could remember to post entries, hence the name "staggard" that i chose

11/03/03 Chest Night-- by myself again

10,10,8,6 -- 115,135,155,165 Flat bench press
10,8,6 -- 55s,65s,70s Incline dumbell press
10,8,6 -- 10,10,10 120,140,160 Cables
20 min elyptical

11/04/03 Bicep Night..... Its always so exciting!

10,10,10 -- 35s,40s,45s Standing hammer curls
10,8,6 -- 85,95,105 Cybex curls
10,8,6 -- 50,60,70,80 Preacher curls
10,8,6 -- 40,50,60 Cable curls
10 elyptical machine
Pretty tiring night. whats funny is that if you look at a guy like me vs. the ripped guy i work out with, he seems more to be slacking on his diet routine and lifting routines. i just keep moving forward and making headway, and at the same time, keeping from creating more injuries for myslef. tonight will be the first leg night i am going to do since i had my knee injury. looking forward to it, but am definitly not going to push for increasing weight. I'm going to stay low.

[HahnB]

Good lookin sessions so far, good luck with your goals too

[staggard]

11/11/03 Been pretty sick, so combined a chest and arm night together. worked out again tonight by myself. Got the OK from the Doc to start working out w/my legs again after knee injury.

10,10,8,6 -- 115 warmup, 135, 155,165 Flat benchpress
10,8,6 -- 55s,60s,65s Incline dumbell press
10,8,6 -- 135,155,135 Decline Benchpress
10,8,6 -- 140,160,180 Cables

BICEPS

10,8,6 -- 35s,40s,45s Standing Hammer Curls
10,8,6 -- 65,85,95 Preecher curls
10,8,6 -- 95,105,115 Cybex Curls
10,8,6 -- 60s,70s,70s Cable Curls

[staggard]

11/12/03 First Leg Night IN FOREVER!!! Taking it easy from injury

10,10,10 -- 70,80,80 Hammy Curls
10,8,6 -- 70,80,90 Leg Presses
10,8,6 -- 120,140,160 Calf Raises
10,8,6 -- 30,35,35 Lunges

Worked out again with no partner. He's been sick also, so another lonely night at the gym, but that is ok, gives me time to concentrate and focus on my forms. Today was my first day back at work from being "sick" for 3 days. Sorta looked forward to it cause I'm tired of working on my house and staying indoors!

[staggard]

BACK Night

sounds kinda stupid and all, but i can't remember what the weight was that i did everything at cause i kept talking with my partner and the other guy we lift with.

10,8,6 pulldowns
10,8,6 pull backs, cybex
10,8,6 standing front push down thing
10,8,6 seated rows

15 minutes cardio on eliptical machine, himalayen track level 10