Week 13 Conditioning

Treadmill Run
20:00 Minutes at 6.6 at 1% incline

This run was better than the last couple, but it was a little challenging towards the end.  I think the added day of weights and the two weighted walk sessions take its toll.

Week 13 Day 4

Warmup
Jump rope
100 Double leg
25 Right/25 Left
50 Alternating
100 Double leg

Stretches

DB OH Press
45 x 10 (Bar)
30 x 2 x 15

Push ups
40, 15

Lat Pulldowns
85 x 60, 20, 20

Curls
20 x 100

OH Tricep Extension
35 x 4 x 25

Conditioning
40 lbs. Weighted vest walk 25 minutes

Good session today.  Friday is a quick and a little painful, but it is fun getting in the gym and doing some various lifts.

Week 13 Day 3

Warmup
Jump rope
100 Double leg
25 right/25 left
50 Alternating
100 Double leg

Stretches

Pause Squats
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 1
210 x 2 x 5

Deadlifts
175 x 5
210 x 4
245 x 3
280 x 2
300 x 1
310 x 1
320 x 1

Shrugs
135 x 50, 37, 17

Pike sit ups
3 x 12

Conditioning
Treadmill Run/Walk
12:00 Min. at 6.5 at 1%
8:00 Min at 3.5 at 4.5 %

Squats were nice and smooth with a lot of pop.  Deads flew off the floor.  Shrugs were easy until I got to 50 and then I slowed down.  Conditioning has got me after these workouts.  I was easily doing a 20:00 minute run on my off days in the last cycle at a 6.5 pace, now I cannot even get 12:00 minutes.  I think the workout takes a little bit out of me and affects the run, as I do my sprints on an off day (no weights) and I have been able to increase my speed on those.

Week 13 Day 2

Warmup
Jump Rope
100 Double leg
225 Right/25 Left
50 Alternating
100 Double leg

Stretches

Bench
45 x 15
130 x 5
150 x 4
175 x 3
195 x 2
210 x 1
230 x 1
235 x 1

Push ups
40, 18

Rows
65 x 50, 25, 25

Curls
20 x 100

Tricep Pushdown
35 x 50, 25, 25

These high rep days are a killer.  I was beat last night, and took a while to get going today.  I still have to fit in my conditioning this week over the next four days.  I have seen a couple of people actually keep to the 3 day a week lifting schedule, and I might give that a whirl going forward.

Week 13 Day 1

Warm up
Jump Rope
100 Double leg
25 Right/25 Left
50 Alternating
100 Double leg

Stretches

Box Jumps
30" x 3 x 5

Squats
45 x 10
135 x 5
150 x 5
175 x 4
200 x 3
225 x 2
240 x 1
260 x 1
270 x 1

Pull ups
8 x 5
2 x 4

Lunges
BW x 100

Nutrition
Starting Weight (3/18/2103): 230
Ending Weight (3/25/2013): 227.8

Avg Calories/day: 2322
Macro Breakdown:
Protein: 36%
Carbs: 34%
Fat: 29%

Was a little tired heading into the gym today, but I got a decent workout in.  The box jumps always get me going, great way to warm up for squats.  Added one more pull up across the board.  Lunges were tough, but I got them all done in one set, was huffing and puffing and my legs were on fire, but they got done. 

As for my nutrition, this last week saw me lose 2.2 lbs.  I started last week a little heavy after a cheat day, so I have some ground to make up.  I still think 215 is very manageable. 

Week 12 Conditioning

Down the hill (modified hill sprints):

3 x 1:00 min. at 6.4/1:00 min at 3.0 @ 9% incline
3 x 1:00 min. at 7.4/1:00 min at 3.0 @ 6% incline
3 x 1:00 min. at 8.4/1:00 min at 3.0 @ 3% incline
3 x 1:00 min. at 9.4/1:00 min at 3.0 @ 0% incline

Felt great running today, way better than after my workout on Thursday.

Week 12 Day 4

Warm up
Jump rope
100 Double Leg
25 Right/25 Left
50 Alternating
100 Double Leg

Stretches

DB OH Press
45 x 10 (bar)
25 x 10
30 x 2 x 15

Push ups
30, 16

Lat Pull Downs
85 x 50, 30, 20

Curls
20 x 100

OH Tricep Extension
30 x 5 x 20

I am feeling it today.  Push ups were tough today, I think it had to do with the shoulder presses before hand.  I met the 50% set, but I was 10 push ups less on my first set.  Lat pull downs were tough, and my triceps are still pumped from the extensions. 

Week 12 Day 3

Warm up
Jump rope
100 Double Leg
25 Right/25 Left
50 Alternating
100 Double leg

Stretches

Pause Squats
45 x 10
135 x 5
195 x 2 x 5

Deadlifts
135 x 5
175 x 4
210 x 3
245 x 2
315 x 3 x 1

Shrugs
135 x 50,40,10

Decline situps
4 x 12

Conditioning
Treadmill Run
9:00 minutes at 6.7 at 1% incline

Pause squats felt very light and were a great warm up for the deadlift.  315 was my final set for deads today, and I was working in with someone else, and I was tired of constantly switching the weights, so I did all my singles at the top set of 315, instead of working up to it.  Conditioning was horrible today.  I need to get use to doing my conditioning after my workouts again.  Might need to lower the speed next week and work it back up.

Flatout Pizza Recipe

Here is a picture of my lunch today:

 

The macros are as follows:

 

Calories: 585

Carbs:  60

Fat:  23

Protein:  41

 

Not too bad if you are craving pizza.  I used a type of bread called Flatout and put some pizza sauce, shredded cheese, and turkey pepperoni on it.  Cooked at 350 for about 5 minutes and it is ready to eat.



Week 12 Day 2

Conditioning
20 minute weighted vest walk

Warmup
Jump rope
100 Double leg
25 left/25 right
50 Alternating
100 Double leg

Stretches

Bench
45 x 15
130 x 5
150 x 4
175 x 3
195 x 2
200 x 1
215 x 1
230 x 1

Pushups
40, 14

Rows
85 x 32, 16, 22, 15, 15

Curls
20 x 100

Tricep Push Down
30 x 50, 50

Woke up this morning and my legs were feeling the lunges.  Pushups are progressing nicely, but the rest of the workout kicked my butt.  I need to lower the weight on the rows, will try 65 next week.  Curls hurt and got the blood flowing, will be feeling the soreness tomorrow in the lats and biceps.

Week 12 Day 1

Warmup
Jump Rope
100 Double Leg
50 Single leg ( 25 each leg)
50 Alternating
100 Double leg

Stretches

Box Jumps
3 x 5 x 30"

Squats
10 x 45
4 x 135
5 x 150
4 x 175
3 x 200
2 x 225
1 x 230
1 x 245
1 x 260

Pullups
7 x 5 (sets x reps)
3 x 4

Lunges
40, 30, 30 (total of 50 each leg)

Squats felt good, and it was great to be back in the weight room.  I cannot do 100 reps of pullups, but I need to work on them, so I took 1 minute rests between sets.  Goal is to get to 10 sets of 5.  Lunges were tough, I will be feeling these later.  I didn't get my walk in this morning as it was pouring rain, will try and get it in later today.

Week 11 and Goals

Week 11 was an off week for me.  I continued my conditioning and did the following over the course of the week:

2 weighted vest walks for 20:00 minutes. 
Relaxed my shoulders and placed the vest a little farther back on my shoulders to ease the work on my traps, and it helped tremendously.

Down the hill (modified hill sprints):

3 x 1:00 min. at 6.3/1:00 min at 3.0 @ 9% incline
3 x 1:00 min. at 7.3/1:00 min at 3.0 @ 6% incline
3 x 1:00 min. at 8.3/1:00 min at 3.0 @ 3% incline
3 x 1:00 min. at 9.3/1:00 min at 3.0 @ 0% incline

Added speed to this and I will be adding .1 speed each week

Treadmill Run

20 minutes at 6.6 @ 1% incline

Added speed to this also, and will follow the same plan.

Goals for the next 12 weeks:

Going into this cycle, the goals are to trim down and get in great shape.  I have a couple goals that I am shooting to obtain:

Weight:
Realistic Goal: 215
Stretch Goal: 210

To get to 215 I would have to lose about one pound a week, which is doable, I just have to keep the goal in sight and stay dedicated.  For the stretch goal, I need to drop 1.5 pounds a week.  This is doable, and I would love to get down to this weight.  Need to stay disciplined.  I will be posting some meals on here and my weekly totals.  I am aiming for 2350 calories a day, and will re-evaluate after a couple of weeks to see where I am at.  I read a blog the other day that stated all the food I love will still be there when I am done with this journey, so I need to keep my eye on the prize.  My goal is to try limiting my carbs after my workout (carbs basically eliminated on the last meal of the day). 

Conditioning:
1.5 mile run: Under 12 minutes.

I think this is doable, as I ran a 12:40 just the other day.

Excited to start this new cycle, as my body is rested up and itching to get in the weight room.

Week 10 Deload

I just finished week 10 of LRB 365 which is a deload week.  I continued with my conditioning as I have a fitness test at the beginning of April and I added in two weighted vest walks.  Here is a breakdown of my week:

Monday:
Morning: 20 minute weighted vest walk

Box jumps
30" x 3 x 5

Squats
45 x 10
95 x 8
135 x 8
175 x 2 x 5

Pull ups
3 x 7

Pike sit ups
3 x 10

Tuesday
Conditioning
Treadmill Run
20:00 minutes at 6.5 at 1% incline

Wednesday
Standing OH Press
45 x 10

Bench
45 x 10
95 x 8
135 x 6
155 x 2 x 5

Push ups
42, 6

Rows
135 x 3 x 8

Friday
Morning: 20 minute weighted vest walk

Dead lift
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x5

Shrugs
135 x 2 x 20

Curls
45 x 2 x 20

Decline Sit ups
3 x 12

Saturday
1.5 mile run at 12:40

Deload felt good this week, I am going to add push ups to the two press days in the next cycle to get ready for the fitness test.  I am going to follow the 50% method, do a set, rest a minute and than try and get 50% of the reps from the first set.  I didn't do too well on the first attempt. The weighted vest isn't tough, but man, my traps are on fire when I am done with the walk.  A 12:40 1.5 mile run isn't too shabby for a base conditioning level , I have a test in a month, so we will see what I can do, and then I will test again at the end of the cycle to see where my conditioning is at.  This next week, I am taking off from the weights, I will do two days of push ups and my conditioning (2 weighted vest walks, 20 minute run, modified hill sprints on the treadmill (down the hill).  Also, I love doing the box jumps as part of my warm up for squats, so those are coming back this cycle.  I will post my goals for the conditioning and fat loss cycles this coming week.

Review /Measurements

I finished the full cycle of the Strong-15 that starts the year for LRB-365.  Here is a rundown of my measurements:

Weight

Starting (12/30/12): 230
Ending (03/02/2013): 228.6

My goal here was to maintain my weight between 225 and 230, I hit that, I have been pretty steady on my weight, only going above 230 for a couple days post Superbowl party.  However I will need to keep my nutrition in line over the next couple of months with very few cheat days to hit my target weight.

Body fat

Starting (12/30/2012) 13.5
Ending (03/02/2013) 12.9

Like I said at the beginning, take this with a grain of salt.  I would give a +2% error on this so that would put my body fat anywhere between 12.9 and 14.9.  I am happy with it for now, and I will hopefully see a great improvement over the next couple of months. 

Measurements
(start/finish)

Waist: 39/39
Chest: 43/43.5
Thigh: 22/23
Arm: 15.5/15

Nothing too exciting here, as the half inch gains could just be user error in measuring.  I have noticed that my legs have become very solid over the course of the last couple of months. 

Goals:

I am not going to be testing my weights, as I will just be moving on to the next phase after a short deload.

Squat: 350
Would easily hit this for a single

Deads: 440
I don't know if I could pull this or not.  I lowered my deadlift goal weight starting week 8.  Squatting and deadlifting on the same day took its toll on me, that is why this split is called the manmaker.  I might be able to pull this weight, but it would be a struggle.  The  weight of 415 that I plugged in week 8 is doable.

Bench: 305
Don't know on this one either, I got seven reps on my last AMRAP set in week 9, which puts my estimated 1RM at 302.  I have a fitness test in April that has a max bench press on it, so my last attempt will be 305 that day.  I will say that I am happy with the progress I made on this program, and extremely happy with the rep PR of 225 x 12.  That is a PR by two reps.

The program was a great way to start the year.  The initial high rep work (especially Friday) took its toll at the beginning along with squats and deads on the same day.  Looking forward to the next cycle to see where it takes me.

Week 9 Day 3 and Conditioning

Lat pulldown
100 x 2 x 10

Pull ups
2 x 7

Rows
95 x 1 x 10

Shrugs
135 x 20

Curls
45 x 2 x 20

Conditioning:

Down the Hill

3 x 1:00 min. at 6.2/1:00 min at 3.0 @ 9% incline
3 x 1:00 min. at 7.2/1:00 min at 3.0 @ 6% incline
3 x 1:00 min. at 8.2/1:00 min at 3.0 @ 3% incline
3 x 1:00 min. at 9.2/1:00 min at 3.0 @ 0% incline

The first part of the year is over.  I decided to throw in some pullups for fun, they weren't too bad.  Did conditioning today also, as the workout only took about 15 minutes.  I will be taking measurements and doing a write up tomorrow.